Another chapter up and finished. I decided to do a little bit more into Jiiryn's past with Basch and at the request of some of you, I put in some more flashbacks with Basch and Ashe. I must admit, I hadn't put much of those in recently. I just hope these ones are okay.
Events are certainly moving on now. It's getting closer. XD
To all those who have reviewed and given me so much advice. Thank you. It is you who makes me go on with this. You are the best.
Final Fantasy 12
TRUE FEELINGS
MEMORIES
Feywood - Year 686
There was a swarm of them. Maybe more than one pack now circled the two of them and were closing in. The darkness of the wood was more evident as these creature's horned snouts were a blaze like fire, giving off a hellish red glow. But it wasn't just them. Other fiends were crawling from the depths of the mist, getting closer and closer to them.
Basch had not come across a large group of fiends such as this before, he had never even felt such hostility from them. They were rabid, drool and seething spit dripped from their black jaws and all around him there was a thick heavy feeling of evil. The evil was raw and ancient and when he looked at his sword, he didn't think that it would do much against it.
"Will your Hume skills protect us now?"
He felt her back against his. Her quiver of arrows dug into him, but the bow was already loaded and ready to start firing. Even the fabled archery skills of the Viera wouldn't save them from all this lot.
"Is that another criticism?" he sneered back.
"Merely a question. Surely even your skills are limited against this number of fiends."
Basch didn't want to remind the young Viera that he had helped save her in her own precious Golomore wood, but he couldn't deny the fact that she was right. There were far too many of them.
"I'll keep back those that get too close." said Basch, as he gripped this sword with both hands. "You can try and take out those further back."
"I do not takes orders from Humes!"
"No shit?! You've got a better idea?!"
Basch craned his neck and scowled at Jiiryn. The Viera was equally annoyed, but reluctantly she nodded and tensed up her bow string. There were a piercing howl.
Two of the wolves jumped from the packs, straight towards Basch. He swung his sword and managed to slice off one of the fiend's head with relative ease. There was a splattering of blood against his face, the horrid stench made him falter and turn away, making him miss the follow through for the second. It's horn gouged deep into his back and he screamed, falling to the ground. His cry of pain invoked the fury of the rest of the wood.
They all leapt forward.
Basch remembered only lashing out erratically with his sword. The dark swirls of mist in this wood was like a dense fog and he only saw flickering blurs of the flaming wolf creatures. He felt his lunging swings connect with a few and every time they did, Basch felt the wound in his back tear and burn with agony. He could barely stand, though finally he felt the cleansing douse of the healing potion as Jiiryn ended up a small bottle over him. The wound was healed as much as it could heal, but there would be a scar. There always were for ones so deep. He was still weak, but he continued to fight.
It was never ending, the hacking of his sword like an axe against the thick fiery hides, did little to diminish the numbers. Even Jiiryn's efforts with her bow didn't seem to be making a dent. They received more injuries, the last of the potions in Jiiryn's pouch had been used up, and both of them were becoming weak.
"This is your fault!" Jiiryn sneered as she used an arrow to slice a wolf's neck before placing it in her bow. She fired the same arrow and it embedded with a crack into the Cerberus' head, where it exploded from impact with like a water balloon. "I should never have left Golomore! I should never have taken pity on you!"
Basch snarled as he slashed a Golem in half, the tree and earthy tendrils were still wrapped around his body as it fell, providing the young teen with more work to rid himself free of the entanglements. He ducked just as two screeching Deadly Nightshades leapt onto his head and started tearing at his hair. He swore and cursed as he tried to get them off, swatting them like the pesky irritants they were. The packs of the Tartarus and Cerberus were taking advantage of Basch's incapacity, their claws and mouths took swipes at him as he flayed, some scratching and gouging at his legs and abdomen. Yet Basch managed to grab at one of the Deadly Nightshades, it kicked and screamed, snarling big dripping festering teeth as it tried to free itself from the boy's grasp. He then spun round and rammed the howling creature right into the open jaws of a Tartarus. The small red beast was squashed like a Morsen fruit plant in the wolf's jaws, which would have happened to Basch instead.
Jiiryn swatted the last from Basch's head with a clenched fist, ablazed with magics. She then took up a horn, that she had ripped from a Tartarus' head and she embedded it into a Cerberus' neck. Basch was getting weaker. He couldn't keep a steady stance, his face was scratched, he had more wounds that he could actually feel and still more fiends were emerging from the thickness of the Feywood.
But then he felt her hands wrap around his. Her long cold claws squeezed against his knuckles and he felt the strange tingle against his skin.
"Concentrate, hume. Feel the mist!"
It had never happened to him before. His skin boiled, it tingled with a rage of fire and darkness. He felt within him a power that was enveloped with black, a boiling and seething agony that threatened to rip his very bones apart. It was the magics, the essence of the magicite that penetrated all life here, but never had he been aware of it….or as this Viera linked with him….been able to control it.
A ripping blistering wind whipped around them, as he struggled to stand firm, Basch could sense everything so clearly. Every single fiend was known to him in his mind, every spec of mist that churned in this air, he saw it all. He felt it breathing into his lungs, penetrating his skin, giving him an immense rush of power.
"Just let the quickening come to you. Let it become our strength."
He saw her. What she truly was. Basch was startled, he tried to move away, but Jiiryn's grip was strong. He wasn't worthy.
"Concentrate!!"
It was getting too much. Around their hands was a dark ebbing ball of black matter, throbbing and pulsing with power. It was growing, building up in size around his hands and it began to drain him. He could feel the magic sapping everything he had left, but still Jiiryn screamed for him to control it.
She then ripped away from him. The power of the darkness mist was ripped in two and Basch was left standing with a still swelling and bubbling ball of dark matter. So too was she.
The Viera woman stood tall and strong, holding the ball of dark mist out towards the fiends. Time had slowed during this charge of the air, Basch could sense the fear from these creatures. They were more than scared.
He tried to pull his hands apart, Basch focused on the energies that were swirling around his palms still draining him, sucking his life and strength. Instead of watching the Viera, he tried to pull again. Then, something happened that surprised even Jiiryn.
The ball split. Basch had ripped the darkness into two on his own accord and now as his hands rose to the sides, each one was enveloped by spheres of black and foggy darkness. These two grew, the quickening rush was draining him even more and Basch sagged down onto his knees.
"Release it! Release it towards them or the mist will kill you!"
The wind was getting stronger. It began to tear the very ground beneath them, the trees of Feywood were cracking and splitting almost to breaking point. The howls of the fiends fears were becoming shrill over the screaming winds.
There was an explosion. A roaring stream of dark magics shot from out of nowhere like a jet of rushing waters. Basch heard Jiiryn scream, a loud piercing cry of force, before he could no longer contain the control he had. He couldn't keep his hands apart, they were dragged back together and there was a huge gush of scorching black flames. The force of such intense power knocked him off his knees and he crashed to the ground with a sickening thud.
"What did you do?!"
Everything went dark and there was no more light.
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Year 707
She was naked. Strapped to some kind of cold metal operating table, surrounded by medical equipment and screens. She also saw some very sharp surgical knives.
The lower half of her body was aching, but it was different than before. It felt as if she had been prodded with some painful and invasive instruments, that someone had torn about inside of her.
Looking up, she could see no ceiling as all the technical equipment was blocking her view. To the left of her, she could just catch a few glimpses of another person on a similar table next to her. To the right, there was another, but it remained empty. She suspected, by the way all the equipment was set up around it, that someone would soon be on that table.
Someone was watching, she could feel it, but she saw no one in sight. The sound of voices softly murmured from behind her. There must have been five or six people in the room, but she couldn't angle her head to get any kind of view.
"She's been completely changed?" asked one voice, male, youthful and high.
"No. There are still some Viera characteristics about her, even some of her original organs are intact." The other voice was deeper and croaked with old age. "But she is also Hume. I'm reading some Hume organs in places where her Viera ones should be."
"How is this possible?" said a third voice, female and rasping.
"I don't know. However, I do know that this Viera is now able to procreate."
"You what? That's impossible. Viera don't procreate!"
"Well this one can! She has reproductive organs….ovaries, a womb…..she's got everything and she's bleeding as if a normal Hume woman would on her cycle! Right now, this Viera woman could conceive and bare a child if she wanted to!"
"There are hume hormones in her system as well." said the first man. "Viera don't have any of this! They aren't remotely like us, so why does she bleed? Why is she like this? "
Jiiryn didn't want to believe what she was hearing, but it did start to make sense. Jiiryn often wondered what was sending all her people insane, for she felt the fear and terror as well. The change, the alteration of their very being was cutting them off from the connection they had to Golomore and to Ivalice. The song never sung and it drove them beyond their points to cope. It made them want to stop this silence.
Yet, Jiiryn was different. She now realised why she wasn't as affected as the others.
Compared to most of the Viera who had left Golomore, she was but a child. Only thirty seven years old was nothing for her kind, and having spent most of her life away from the wood anyway, the absence of Golomore's song was not as painful. Yet the wood still punished her for the abandonment.
To a spirit like Golomore, the worst punishment was to turn Her beloved creatures into ones that meant little to Her. It all made such sense now.
There was a pang of hope inside Jiiryn's beating chest. She was like the Humes? The man with the deep croaky voice had said she was able to procreate, she was able to do what Humes did. If that were true, then one of her dreams could finally come true.
Jiiryn no longer struggled against the straps that held her down to the stinging cold table. She didn't dwell on the aching inside her or on the smarting skin from where they had cut her. Instead, the one dream she had had during all these years came back to her mind. There was hope. A small hope. A false hope.
"Okay. What about the girl?"
Jiiryn heard the voices of the men again. Her ears pricked up at the sounds that now echoed through the coldness of this room. There was a horrible squeaking as a metal trolley was manoeuvred around to the bed to her left. Machines now whirred into life and many voices began to mutter in low whispers. Jiiryn's ears turned and twisted at each sound, every voice she listened to intently, but there was none that she recognised.
"Have you been able to determine what Ultima did to her?" one woman asked.
Penelo?! Jiiryn shifted on the table and saw Penelo on the bed next to her. She couldn't see her clearly, but the Hume girl was so still and pale. She too was bound and strapped naked like some ghastly experiment, she wasn't moving. Jiiryn saw the blood.
"I see no physical changes." said the first man, as he ran a scanner over Penelo's body. The screen next to her bleeped in a steady constant manner. "Though life magics do tend to effect the body more than the mind. This is surprising. I see no side effects to Ultima having brought her back from the dead."
"There has to be something. There are always consequences. Always."
There was more bustling. More tests and sounds of mechanical devices were used over Penelo. Whoever these people were, they didn't care about the sweet young woman who they were experimenting on, they didn't care about anything. Jiiryn started to struggle. She pulled at her straps with all her might and a scream released from her dry cracked throat.
"The Viera is awake!"
Jiiryn screamed louder, straining harder at her restraints and against the pain. She would not allow them to hurt Penelo any more, so like a crazed beast she lashed out as much as she could. But it was all futile. So many hands pinned her back down, fingers and nails dug into her skin and she could no longer move. Their grasps were so strong, she was so weak.
"Sedate her for god's sake!"
"NO!" Jiiryn cried out, spitting her fury towards the faceless and soulless fiends that bound her tightly to the examination table. They never faltered, one, a woman…her face obscured by masses of red hair, leaned over her. The long needle was hard to miss, the clear white contents of the syringe dripped from the sharp point, but just before it could dig into her skin, there was a different sound.
The sound of crashing doors, loud cursing voices and the heavy blows of punches and the gasping replies.
"Was that really necessary? I've already had that great big oaf kick me several times in the happy sacks! Any more blows and I'll become sterile!"
The witty comment was replied by another cracking punch. Jiiryn heard coughing and spluttering, but that was soon replaced by the angry voices of these lab rats.
"What do you think you are doing Soldier?!" shouted the old man. "You can't come barging into here as if you…."
"Lord Teiern has brought you a new subject." sneered the soldier. "Something new to learn."
"Yes…you have a problem with your calculus?" wheezed a voice from the floor. "I'm the man to help you! Though I suck at ancient history and my spelling is a little suspect. But don't worry, I can help you ace that A+ in no time!"
There was another vicious crack and a scream.
"That was uncalled for!"
"It seems he doesn't know when to shut the hell up. Sedation might be in order."
"Why on earth do I want to waste my time on this…this pirate?" asked the old man.
Balthier. Jiiryn should have known, but she was far too disorientated herself. Those lab doctors and staff were still holding her down. She could feel their sickly gazes over her naked body and her stomach churned horribly.
"He's another of Ultima's accomplishments."
"We were promised a look at Zodiark." said the old man, as Balthier was scooped up from the floor and slammed down hard on the examination table. "His lordship said we could examine the Esper when he is still in the traitor knight."
"Change of plans. You can have the pirate…see what's been messed up in that body of his, and deal with it."
There were sounds of protests from all around, these people obviously did not like having their plans changed, but the heavy metal footfalls of the soldier walked away and Jiiryn heard the doors slam. The furious scientists still wouldn't stop shouting. Jiiryn heard a name, they all yelled at him for answers.
"Morden! We were to examine the Zodiark Esper! Not this hume child!"
"What if the Esper retreats from the body he's in? We'll never know…."
"Enough!" The old man roared above the others. "I will not go against Teiern's wishes. This sky pirate obviously has been brought back from the dead by Ultima. Do your jobs and find out what has gone wrong with him! Check over the girl again, there must be something we've missed. Cella, I want samples taken from the Viera."
Jiiryn cried out as once again the hands and binds tightened even more against her bare skin. They pinched and tore, but that was nothing to the harsh jab of a long needle in her neck. She felt the cursing swear words spit from her lips as her vision began to haze. Then the sounds around her began to muffle.
She heard tearing and as her head flopped to her right, she saw Balthier lying on the examination bed. The so called scientists had ripped the remainder of his clothes from him, so he now lay just as Jiiryn and Penelo were. They had to fight, they had to get away from this place, it wasn't right.
Then Jiiryn heard a horrible heart wrenching sound. Penelo had come to.
Her cries were hysterical and painful. Jiiryn forced herself to look towards her and Penelo was thrashing wildly like a crazed fiend. Penelo's fingers curled like claws and scratched at her captures, but this savagery was nothing compared to the desperate calls for help.
"Vaan! Help me! Please! Vaan!! I need you!"
Jiiryn saw and heard no more. Her eyes could no longer remain open.
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More was slipping away. He had recalled vaguely being taken from the cell. He had felt the pain of wounds inflicted upon him and then eventually the healing waters of the potions. He was dragged through corridors by his arms, the place had looked familiar, but he couldn't remember any of it. In fact, he didn't know why he was in the cell. Where had the wounds come from?
All there was, was screaming. Holy magics tore up inside the cell and there was plenty of agonizing and bellowing cries. Then there was more screaming, different, angry and furied. He had seen her and something inside him clicked.
"I know her. I know her well."
But he could do nothing. Again his mouth got him some more punches and new wounds, but he could do nothing as they picked him up and threw him down on a hard metal surface as if he was nothing. They stripped him of his clothes and began to tie him securely to the surface with leather straps. Then he saw the needle.
"Oh you have got to be kidding."
The long metal needle jabbed hard into his neck.
He looked to the still screaming goddess next to him.
"I know her. Don't I?"
Then the sedative took affect and Balthier slipped into unconsciousness.
When he wakes, he would not be the same.
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"What is this? What new piece of your past will help me convince you?"
There was no reply. She couldn't communicate with her, she didn't know how to. Instead, neither of them broke through the barrier that kept them apart. One was unwilling to come back to what she had been, the other was hanging onto desperate last acts to keep themselves safe.
"This is not me! Why am I remembering all this? It is your life you pathetic hume woman! You should not be letting go of this! Remember…please."
Please. It didn't even take that.
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Rabanastre Year 703
The knock on the door was punctual as usual. Ashe rose from her chair and rushed over to open it.
Basch stood in the doorway in his best armour, which was gleaming and clean from him no doubt polishing it up for this occasion.
He looked so handsome that Ashe was shocked into another trance of teenage infatuation. She looked up at him with wide adoring eyes and beamed an uncontrollable grin. Her mind immediately recalled the time she had snuck away to the barracks and training camps, she remembered seeing Basch return and in that hot weather had stripped himself down to almost nothing. The memory flashed the image of his nakedness and her cheeks burned. Her mind screamed at her to look away from him and stop being so smitten. But she couldn't help it, nor could she stop herself from hating what she was wearing.
"You are ready?" he asked, with a puzzled frown as he looked at the young princess' choice of outfit. Ashe opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn't.
Sure enough, Basch had taken her to do some weapons training. As usual, Ashe couldn't concentrate or focus, but he had been so understanding and Basch had tried to help. The lesson hadn't really progressed, Ashe had snapped and yelled a couple of times, though regretting it fiercely afterwards. She couldn't seem to get anything right.
"Don't worry, highness. You'll catch on. Sword play is never easy, but I have every confidence in you."
Damn him for being so polite and patient.
She couldn't go back on her word now. She had to attend this stupid ball and meet this Rasler, but she wasn't going to be looking forward to it at all.
So she chose the worst dress she could think of in her wardrobe, rather than the silk Nabradian piece that Arla had requested. It was not flattering at all and Ashe had made sure that it was just so. She wanted to make this Rasler lose all interest in her.
However, the long green frilly dress was not something she wished Basch to have seen her in. She knew that it was a stupid thought, but she actually hated wearing this in front of him.
"I'm ready." she said finally, as she slipped on the green shoes to go with the dress. They felt too small and pinched at her toes. No, she would not dance and these shoes would be a perfect excuse.
"Is…everything all right?" Basch's deep voice made Ashe quiver slightly. She looked up and brushed her curled hair out of her eyes.
"Yes. Fine. Everything is fine."
"Then I shall accompany you to the ball. Princess."
He held out his arm and Ashe had to hold herself back from snatching on so suddenly. She pretended to adjust some more of the folds on her dress and then rested her hand on the metal sheath covering his forearm. Basch lead her out of her room and escorted her towards the main ballroom, where all the guests would be waiting. Ashe was dreading it with every step.
The music was already playing, it lulled from the hall all the way down the corridor and Ashe forgot for a moment who's arm she was actually holding. The anger swelled up inside her once more as she remembered just what this "ball" was for. Her father had made it quite clear but it seemed no one really wanted to know what Ashe wanted.
"I want you to stay close."
They halted suddenly in mid-step and Basch's eyes widened in a worried pose.
"I can rely on you to keep…unwanted guests at a distance?" asked Ashe.
He did not say a word, though the look on his face told Ashe how uncomfortable he was.
"You could do this for me…please, Captain? I don't want to meet this prince, even if everyone does praise him. I'm not ready for any of this! It angers me and I don't think I can cope."
There was an awkward silence. Basch looked away from her, down towards where the large wooden doors of the ballroom hid Ashe's fears. He sighed heavily and for a moment, Ashe thought she heard him mutter a curse under his breath.
"You are Princess Asheila." he said eventually, straightening up to a formal attentive stance. "You can cope with anything. You do not need me to watch over you."
"But you are my protector…you have been since…"
"Highness, this is but a ball. There are no fiends, no imperials or mercenaries present that would endanger your life, only your father and our allied guests. You do not need protecting from them."
"I need protecting from a forced marriage." she seethed. "I don't want to meet him or go anywhere near him. You can keep him at bay for me."
"As I said." Basch broke the hold and took a few steps back to make a more comfortable distance. "You do not need me to keep him away. Though hear me, you have nothing to lose by meeting Prince Rasler. If you don't like him, leave. But don't shy from your fears, don't run away because you don't think you can cope. They will not fault nor blame you if you try."
Ashe felt the truth in his words. Basch was right and Ashe couldn't believe how childish she was being. She was always one for speaking her mind and doing what she wanted even at the expense of others. She had angered her father too many times in the past for being so brash and stubborn and she had lost count the times of when she had shirked away from her lessons and duties. She had always run away, but now, would be different.
Ashe turned and started to walk back along the corridor.
"Princess! Where are you going?" asked Basch.
"I'm going to change, Captain." she said smiling and holding out the hem of her vulgar green dress. "If I'm going to make any kind of effort, then I'm not wearing this. It's not very flattering. Is it?"
"It's not my place to say, highness." said Basch bowing his head. Ashe smirked and folded her arms.
"I know you hate it. Why don't you say so?"
"One has to know when to confront their fears and when to hold back." Basch shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "I shall inform your father that you will be coming along shortly."
"I will Basch. I promise."
"I know."
She didn't need to say thank you. Ashe never said the words, but she knew that the man heard them. He bowed gracefully once again, turned and strode towards the ballroom. Ashe watched him every step of the way. She wasn't going to break this promise, she wouldn't fail him. From now on, Asheila B'nargin Dalmasca wouldn't run away. She would confront her fears and this marriage to Rasler would not go ahead. Not if she had anything to do with it.
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She had returned in a much more sensual outfit. Her father wasn't quite pleased about it, as it showed a lot of flesh, but Ashe didn't care. She strode into that ballroom despite the sense of dread still lingering in the pit of her stomach. She showed everyone that she was in attendance, but her disapproval of the arranged marriage was clear to them all.
She had looked for him. Ashe's intention was to keep away from all these nobles and royal dignitaries, but it never happened. He wasn't there.
Her father had explained that the fighting between Archadia and Rozzaria was getting perilously close to Nabradia, so Rasler's father and some of the Knights went back to assess the situation. Basch had been one of them.
Her foul mood reflected on everyone else for the most of the evening. Except one.
He had finally approached her and his smile washed away her foul temper. Ashe couldn't help but warm to him, to his kindness and soft words, she was swayed by his shy charm.
Rasler was everything they said he was and she found the prospect of marriage to this young man not as terrible as she thought it would be. She became enamoured and the few days that followed, she had completely forgotten of her crush on a man she could never have.
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Giruvegan Year 707
The wind was bitterly cold, it stung at her skin and the sensation hurt the more she stood out in the open. The memory was distant, though why she had thought of it, she didn't know. It was irrelevant, it was a blight on her senses and like everything else around her, she wished it gone.
Ashe stood in front of the Gigas gate, glaring with hate and pain at the doors that still remained shut. Behind her, the ship's lights illuminated through the darkness, she heard the soldiers securing the perimeter and entrance to the ancient city, every noise and sight hurting her. She felt so dead to the rest of the world. Everything was so painful.
Why had she been brought back to this hell?
"Do you still wish to be alone?"
The child had returned. He was beginning to annoy her, so Ashe ignored him. She closed her eyes and tried to blank out the agonizing breaths she drew and the lifelessness of the world around her. The child did not go away.
"This must be difficult for you." Teiern said, approaching her side and gazing too at the closed doors. "Death is such a hard thing to recover from."
Go away. Go away or stop talking! It's sickening to hear such whining.
"But it's even more to come back from There. I can only imagine what you experienced, it must make you long for death again."
She wasn't going to respond to him. The voice only added to her pain when she spoke, so Ashe instead walked away from the child and up to the gate. There was a desperate need to get inside, she felt it pumping hard in her body, driving on the ever craving desire to leave this place. Everything she did was not the same any more. Those memories of her past, her feelings…the dream…she didn't want any of them. But the child was right, if she couldn't go back, then death would be preferable.
"Don't think of that just yet." Teiern had followed her again and this time the little boy's fingers etched over the carvings on the ancient gates. "She sent you back for a reason. Have you been able to talk to your other half?"
Ashe sneered but still said no words. She always sensed Ultima. The Esper inside was trying to break loose all the time, the struggle was immense and just as painful as everything else she was feeling. Ashe had no intention of allowing the being to sway her. There was only one thing that could help her break away from this hell and Ashe was going to see it through.
"Obviously you have not." Teiern chuckled and then faced Ashe. She actually found herself looking down at him, but the sight of the boy made her even sicker. She saw the resemblance and the hate swelled up in her chest once again. "Do not worry, Your Majesty. My mother will explain everything to you and the gates will be able to open. Then you and Ultima can go back. You won't have to feel any of this pain again. Nothing in this world will ever hurt you."
There was only the connection and joining. The penetration.
It hurt. It hurt her so much, but it was beyond any agony she could ever conceive of. It went beyond. It broke through, it became a pain of bliss and such ecstasy that she tensed and cried out in elation. She could barely breathe, her hold on him tightened, pulling him close to her as she possibly could, but already the rocking of his pelvis, the deeper delving of him made her spasm, made her cry and moan.
Basch!
Ashe staggered. The memory of the dream sent her falling to the cold snow covered ground. Through the chill of the snow, there was a hard burning throb between her legs and she still felt his hands on her skin.
She screamed. It hurt so much that she couldn't bare it. Her hand shot out and grabbed hold of the young boy by his clothes. She pulled him down to her level, the stinging tears streaming down her face.
"Where is she?! I can't take this any more! I can't cope with this existence! He's still killing me!"
An almighty roar of an airship ripped through the air. The deafening sound shrilled horribly in her ears, but as she looked up, she saw the disgusting black vessel descend. It was just the same as the other. A ship that belonged to the Archadian fleet, a powerful and foreboding sight, but for Ashe this was the arrival of answers and hopefully an end to her pain.
She heard the voice.
"Don't do this to me. Don't hand me over like this. Not on HER terms. I will fight you if I have to."
Ashe ignored it. It was nothing but an idle threat.
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Rabanastre Year 692
The sun was pleasantly warm, the humidity was bearable, but Ashe was smiling for the first time in months. She sat on the garden wall, swinging her legs and gazing out to the blooming flowers that scattered before her. Today was a great day and nothing could spoil it.
"Do you want some?"
Ashe offered up a piece of bread that was smothered with thick sweet sticky lerren. The knight who sat beside her on the wall, shook his head, but picked up the small pot. He placed it closer to the young royal.
"No thank you. You can have the rest."
The smile on her face would be a joy for all in the palace. Since her mother's death, there had been no consoling the princess. She kept away from others and was distant to all, especially her father. It was only when he came out from the infirmary, recovered (as much as he could) from his wounds that Ashe brightened up. She had smiled then and Ashe had seen how relieved they all were. It could have been so different, if he hadn't come back to her.
"You kept your promise. You didn't leave." she said with her mouthful of bread and her lips smothered with lerren.
"I said I wouldn't."
Ashe giggled when he too began to swing his legs, just like her. She watched him pick up a small green leaf of fela and as he munched on the crunchy salad, his legs still kicked back and forth. Ashe had never seen him like this before.
"You won't ever hurt me. Will you?" Ashe said, when she had finally finished eating. The little girl picked up the napkin from her lap and wiped the lerren from her face. She shifted along the wall and moved the picnic basket out of her way. Basch didn't take his eyes off the colourful arrangements of flowers in the gardens.
"Never." Was his immediate reply.
"Not even if I was bad and was horrible to you?"
"Are you planning to be?"
"Not to you." Ashe shrugged her shoulders. "Not really. I don't mean like what I do to Vossler. I meant if something happened and I became like the fiends. If I became bad…would you try to kill me?"
"I have sworn to protect you, princess. I could never let such a thing happen to you."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Ashe's smile beamed, for the rest of the afternoon the princess and Knight sat on the wall in silence basking in the beauty of the Dalmascan gardens, both swinging their legs like they didn't have a care in the world.
000000000000
Year 707
The little girl walked up to Larsa, her black soulless eyes held his gaze and he feared as he could not look away. There was a freezing cold in the room, emanating from her as her breath fogged with every exhalation. Larsa shuddered at her close proximity, yet he couldn't move.
"My daughter Vaya is very special." Eri said as the little girl in question still continued to stare at Larsa. "There is no other like her in this world."
You're afraid of her, just as much as I am, thought Larsa. I know you are.
"We're at Giruvegan now." Eri approached her daughter and wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders. Larsa saw the woman tremble at such contact, but "Vaya" didn't seem to notice. Or was that even care?
He wished that the girl would stop staring at him, he wished that she would go away and allow some kind of feeling to come back to his freezing cold…limbs. Larsa jerked suddenly in his chair. He didn't want to think about his trauma, he didn't want to remember what had happened to him in Golomore. It hurt too much to think about it.
Now, all he tried to do was focus on what was left of his future, if there was one for a one legged Emperor. If indeed he survived whatever these twin women had in store for them. They had stopped explaining the story of their past, as soon as "Vaya" had entered the room.
Larsa looked to Vaan and he could see that the older boy was feeling just the same. His face was creased up into a frown, puzzled and angry to the situation unfurling before them. He wanted answers as well. Yet why did they stop at the presence of this…empty child?
"Shall we get moving now?" Arla's impatient temper was getting more and more erratic. Eri seemed troubled by her twin's lack of tolerance. "Teiern must be waiting for us and I for one am eager to…"
"Yes we all know what you want Arla. But you have to be patient." Eri waved a dismissive hand and then held it out to Larsa and the others. "Come. We have someone to meet and then we can finally open the Gigas gates."
Larsa felt Vaan clutch at his shoulder. The young Emperor could see the worried look on Vaan's face and he noticed that he still clasped at the pouch which held Belias' crystal. So Vaan knew why they had allowed him to come along, for they needed him to summon the Esper and open the gates.
"Why didn't you ask us?" Larsa said, as he noticed the women putting on long black coats. "If you simply wanted the gates to be opened, why didn't you ask politely instead of all this force?"
"Simply open the gates?" Arla scoffed and as she flipped up the hood of her coat she walked out of the room, laughing.
"It's more than that, Emperor." Eri said. "But believe me when I say it is the only way to end this darkness and save Ivalice. Vaya is the one to save all of us from being utterly destroyed and you are going to help her."
Larsa was once again caught in the gaze of the little girl. Those black eyes just tore right into him, dredging up his fears and pains. The temperature wouldn't warm at all, she swathed the entire room in such bitterness that Larsa shivered and tried to pat his arms to get some feeling back into them. Vaya just grinned that un-smile and reached out to touch him.
"Don't worry, little hume." Those eyes never blinked. They never looked away. "I can help you too. I know that you will see reason and understand. This is the right thing to do."
He didn't believe her, but there was no resistance. He couldn't say no or refuse.
A tiny hand reached out and took hold of Larsa's. The shock was enough to turn him ashen white, his whole body tensed in his chair as the strength in this grip was immense. Vaan tried to pull Larsa's hand away from the girl, but the look he received from her made him take a few paces back from the chair.
"Who are you?" Vaan hissed. Vaya looked to her mother and then back to Vaan. She pressed a finger to her pale blue lips.
"Sssh." She whispered. "It's a secret."
000000000000
Rabanastre Year…..
"Who is there?"
There was no reply. Only a faint creaking of the cell door squeaked in the darkness and there was a rattling of chains and rusted metal. Basch focused through the black and saw some shadows moving cautiously towards him. He shuffled from the corner of the cell and crouched low on his feet. He was used to the lack of light and eventually he saw the two small visitors who had somehow sneaked into see him.
"You should not be here." he said grievously. "Leave at once…please."
The two small boys still said nothing, yet they stood close to him, their young faces worried and scared. One of them reached out for Basch and touched at the shackles that bound his wrists.
"We can't leave you here." said the boy. "They're going to kill you for something you didn't do."
Basch couldn't help but allow a bemused chuckle to leave his lips.
"That is nothing new. They could certainly try and do so, but they would fail."
"You didn't hurt our mother…did you?"
Basch shook his head. He could not. Not ever again.
"Then you don't deserve to be here. We can let you go. You can escape."
"Where would I go?" Basch asked, aching to take hold of the boy's hands. "Dalmasca holds no love for me and I cannot return to Archadia."
The boys gave each other a look and Basch knew that these amazing young children had thought this through. The one who had spoken, still held on to his shackles and looked up at him with hope.
"Landis. You can go back to Landis. It will be safe for you there."
Basch didn't know if he could. It had been too many years since he had left his homeland and to be so far from Ashe, from these boys…he didn't think he would be able to cope. He still felt a duty to Dalmasca and he could not allow it to fall even more in to despair. He would not abandon Ashelia.
"No. I shall face my trial and execution…it will only prove how wrong your father has been."
"He is not our father!" The other boy snapped harshly.
Basch had never heard this twin speak at all. It was believed that he couldn't, that his voice was scared away from the trauma of their kidnapping. They had all thought him mute and incapable of talking further, but hearing him for the first time brought a large smile to Basch's face.
"You speak, Ronnah."
"When I want to."
"It is good to hear it so. But please, go from here, go to your mother for she will need you. There is nothing you can do here."
"You are a hero." said Ronnah. "You saved us…we should save you. You can flee."
"I cannot run away." Basch replied, holding up his hands and the metal that cuffed him to the wall.
Ronnah shook his head and then he gave his brother a nod and a little nudge in his back. Basch didn't understand, but Biran reached out for the metal cuffs once again and his fingers curled around his sore red swollen skin.
To his amazement, from the boy's fingers there came wisps of black smoke which swirled around the metal in his hold. Basch squirmed as the shackles tried to ignite the magics that kept him weak, there was a brief white flash but the sheer determination from Biran forced it into dormancy. The metal buckled and shattered, falling to the cold stone floor in pieces. Biran staggered and fell, but Basch caught him securely in his arms. Using such magic had drained the young boy.
"Please, don't stay here. Don't die on us." Biran whispered. "We don't want you to die."
"You are Basch Fon Ronsenberg." Ronnah said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You can stop all of this and save Dalmasca. Save our mother."
"Father…." Biran reach out and touched Basch's cheek. " You would do this for us?"
Basch brought his son to his chest in a tight embrace. He squeezed him with all the love that he had and kissed Biran's brow.
"Aye. My sons. I will do it."
"Promise?" they asked in unison.
"Promise."