Disclaimer: Square Enix owns FFXII and all of the characters. I only wish I owned Balthier.
Chapter 3
Ashe awoke to the sound of her maid placing breakfast on the table. She began to stir in the bed, not quite ready to face another day of coronation planning. "Only one more day," she thought to herself as she rolled out of bed and stretched her arms, "and I will finally be Queen." Regaining her throne was the main task that she had wanted to accomplish when she began her journey so long ago. But, by the end of her journey, there had been something else that she had "wanted." She quickly dismissed such silly, girlish thoughts from her mind, and went through the motions of getting ready for her day. She left her room and hurried to a meeting with several of her advisors, resolving herself to focus on the task at hand.
About halfway through the meeting, one of the guards came in and left a note next to her on the table. She opened it up and nearly dropped it in surprise. "I wonder why Penelo needs to see me so urgently," Ashe contemplated to herself. As soon as the meeting adjourned, she asked one of her guards to bring the girl to her audience chamber. The soon-to-be queen rushed down the hall, with curiosity fueling her quickened pace. She entered the chamber, awaiting the arrival of her guest. She had not seen her friend since the end of their journey, and she would be glad to see a familiar face.
"Ashe!" Penelo chirped as she entered, "I've missed you so much!"
"I have missed you too," Ashe stated as she rose to greet the cheerful young woman. They chatted for a little while discussing many things, trying to catch up as best they could. Ashe even had a chance to ask her friend if she had received her invitation to the coronation ball. It wasn't long, however, before Ashe's curiosity got the best of her.
"So, what brings you here Penelo? I know you have important news."
The girl gave a small, noncommittal smile and stated, "I'm not quite sure where to begin, Ashe. I don't know what is happening, but I think you need to know about it." She produced a brown pouch and a note and extended them out to Ashe. "The pouch belongs to you."
She took the items from her friend's hand. "Where did these come from?"
"They were left in a hangar at the Aerodome last night," Penelo drew a deep breath, "and whoever left them took the Strahl."
"What are you implying? You can't possibly mean…" Ashe felt the words she wanted to say sit on the edge of her tongue, but she could not push them forward out of her mouth. She couldn't bring herself to say it, and then find out that it was untrue. Tears filled her eyes, and threatened to fall down her face.
"He's alive, Ashe."
Her mind reeled as her friend spoke what she could not. She forced other words forward, though they seemed foreign to her ears. "The dead cannot fly airships, Penelo," she said more harshly than she had intended, "he cannot be alive. He could not have survived the crash."
"Who else would know Vaan's passcode, take the Strahl, and leave something for you? It is definitely Balthier's handiwork, and he is most definitely alive," Penelo stated with conviction.
Ashe stared down at the brown bag and letter that sat in her hand. Could these be from the man she loved? Could he be alive? She didn't dare hope that he had somehow survived the Bahamut, even though he claimed that the "leading man never dies."
"There is only one way to get to the bottom of this," Ashe stated as matter-of-factly as she could. She pulled the strings, opening the end of the bag.
As the ring tumbled out onto the floor, Ashe's heart tumbled in her chest. She could not believe what she was seeing with her own two eyes, yet she could not deny that the ring that now lay on the floor of her audience chamber was previously in the possession of one Balthier Bunansa. She could not move; she could not breathe. The only thing she could do was stare at the trinket as it laid on the floor of her audience chamber. Penelo reached down, picked up the ring, and placed it back into her open palm.
"Ashe, we are going to find him, and when we do, I will personally drag his sorry behind…"
"Say no more," Ashe sighed. "There is no need for that, Penelo. I am sorry to cut our visit short, but I must go, I have a coronation to prepare for." With that, Ashe walked out of her audience chamber.
Later that evening, Ashe sat once again on her balcony. Tonight, there would be no ritual, no lamenting for lost love. He was alive! Yet, he did not come to see her. Tonight, there would be resentment to replace the sadness; tears will be shed in anger instead of sorrow. "How could he not bring the ring back himself!" she screamed out loud in frustration.
Both the note and the ring sat in front of her on a table, mocking her. She picked up the note, staring at the flowing handwriting on the paper. Earlier, in the audience chamber, she had been in such shock that she had forgotten about the missive all together. Later, as shock turned into anger, she remembered that she had it, but decided against reading it until she was alone in her chambers. As she pored over it again for the thousandth time, she could feel her bitterness consuming her. "Something more valuable…the Cache of Glabados…I await in Bervenia." She then flipped the note over, and read the back: "P.S. Give this to our queen for me, would you?" She growled as she read the words, "He has the nerve to imply that treasure is more valuable than…" She allowed her thought to trail off, as she did not like where it was going. She briefly entertained the idea of sending soldiers to capture the flippant pirate, but quickly put it out of her mind. "Tomorrow, I will be Queen. I do not have time to ponder on such foolishness." She stood up from her chair on the balcony, and walked into her bedroom.