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Disclaimer: I own a copy of Final Fantasy XII but not any of its characters.

The City Tour

Penelo awoke the next morning feeling very refreshed. She got out of her bed and looked around at her surroundings. At first she was shocked to see herself in such a nice room, certainly wasn't hers back in Dalmasca. For a split second the blonde thought she was dreaming, but she hit herself mentally when she realized that she was saying in Larsa's estate. She checked the time, and it was a few hours after sunrise. She turned around and noticed the pot of flowers had been replaced with fresh new ones.

She wondered if Larsa himself had changed them, or was it one of his servants. Anyways, shower time. Penelo took out a change of clothes and some toiletries and walked into the bathroom. When she stepped in she gasped and nearly dropped what she was carrying. It was obvious that it was going to take some time to get used to all the opulence in the estate. The bathroom was quite large, about the size of her own room back in the flat that she, Kytes and Vaan shared. The floor was covered in black and white stones, the bathtub was of a red marble, and all the various fixtures were silver and brass. The handles on each one was set with some kind of jewel or design.

Penelo took a minute to take the room in before trying out the shower. It took her a few seconds to get all the dials right and pretty soon she was taking her morning shower. She allowed the hot water to pour over her body, and started to scrub one of the various bars of soap and shampoo. She enjoyed the feeling as she was more frugal back home and water was scarce. She did live in a desert after all. But now she decided to enjoy herself.

There was a knock on the door of the bedroom and Penelo quickly wrapped one of the white fluffy towels around her body.

On the other side, Larsa hesitated and decided to open the door, he put a gloved hand on the handle, turned the knob slowly, and to his surprise, it opened. He pushed the door open ever so gingerly and poked his head in.

"Penelo?"

He turned the knob ever so carefully; to his surprise the door was unlocked. Penelo must have been too tired to lock it. He thought, as he walked into her room. But before he took two steps he walked right into Penelo who only to walk straight into a half-covered Penelo and at his height, he walked straight into her chest.

Larsa felt himself blushing, jumped back and turned his head away politely. "Wah! Penelo! I am so sorry! Please forgive my intrusion!"

Penelo blushed as well, but merely smiled and said, "It's fine Larsa, don't worry about it, you should see Vaan back home, he's even worse!"

"I shall remind myself of that, breakfast will be served soon." Larsa replied with a small bow and quickly left.

Poor Larsa, he's probably never been around girls his age, but he is still ever so polite.

After getting dressed in a fresh change of clothes, Penelo met up with Vaan in his room and both headed down to breakfast in the dinning hall. A maid was there to escort them through the labyrinth like halls to a large room that had several large windows on one side with the drapes pulled back to let the morning sun in.

Larsa and Basch were already waiting for them in the hall. Only after Penelo and Vaan were seated then the two of them also took their seats on the eight-person table. Larsa sat on one end with Basch on his left and Penelo on his right. Vaan was seated next to Penelo.

"Wow Larsa, I've never seen a dinning hall this big before!"

"Ah, that is because this is not the dinning hall. This is the quaint breakfast chamber my family used when they would entertain guests or would dine by themselves. There are actually two more dinning rooms in addition to this one."

As soon as Larsa finished his sentence, breakfast was being served. It was simple, yet delicious. Well, simple by Archadian standards. To Penelo and Vaan, this was a feast. There were assorted breads and jams on one plate, another plate was stacked neatly with different meats like hams and bacon and other ones they could not guess. Next to that were a bowl of hard-boiled eggs, and there was at least a dozen different teas to chose from. Still on another plate was a plate of fruits cut and arranged very neatly in the middle of the table.

Larsa motioned for Vaan and Penelo to help themselves. They were just trying to take it all in, not having seen different types of bread and butter when they grew up. Vaan, not sure what to eat, decided to try a little bit of everything and picked one of each different bread and meat. He also tried three different jams, and two different flavors of butters. He didn't even know that two different kinds of butter existed.

Penelo on the other hand was trying to restrain herself and focused on choosing a couple of pieces of rosemary bread, two jams and one butter. She looked over at Vaan and was slightly appalled by his less than perfect table manners.

Larsa and Basch didn't seem to mind. "Have you tried one of the teas yet Penelo?" Larsa asked the blonde girl.

"Oh! Um, no I haven't, but....there are so many.....what would you recommend?"

"I personally like the fruit flavored teas in the morning, but if you prefer something with more spice I would try the Archadian Red tea."

"Oh, um, thanks."

"You should wait until we have dinner, it is by far simpler." Larsa said sarcastically.

After breakfast was finished, Larsa asked the two of them, "What would you like to do today? Please feel free to drag me around all day."

"Um, I'm not sure, I was thinking so much about just coming to see you Larsa, I-I didn't really think about what we were going to do here."

"How about looking around the city? We've barely got to see it the last time we came." Vaan suggested.

Penelo was a little shocked that Vaan could come up with that suggestion, but nevertheless thought it was a pretty good idea. Last time they came to Archades, they were trying to get to Dr. Cid's laboratory, to see if Princess Ashe could obtain deifacted nethicite. After passing the guards without a hitch, Vaan charged down a street and started turning his head in every direction. Penelo had to scold Vaan that this wasn't a field trip. At the same time, coming to the Empire's capital wasn't something that they got to do every day.

So naturally when Larsa was showing them the city, Penelo had more than once restrained Vaan from wandering off like a kid. Larsa was dressed in his casual clothes today, his favorite white dress shirt, a green vest, matching trousers and walking boots.

It was a pity that Judge Gabranth would not be joining them today though. There were several reasons for this. The first was that he joked how an adult like him shouldn't intrude on a bunch of kids' fun time. A more practical reason was simply that there was a mutual understanding within the palace that if Larsa had to step out for whatever reason, the chain of command would fall to him.

"This also lessens the chances of you mistakenly calling me 'Basch,' Vaan. You two do have a habit of doing that." He said with a small chuckle before they left.

"You're not going to wear your crown or robes today Larsa?"

"Oh not today I'm afraid. I certainly enjoy dragging my clothes and being weighted down by them when I walk through the streets."

So as the two blond teenagers and one dark haired pre-teen walked through the streets, they looked like just another group of friends having fun and sight-seeing. However, that was not the case. The three of them drew a few stares here and there from the locals considering that they didn't get to see their Emperor out of the palace very often.

Vaan and Larsa didn't seem to mind, but Penelo was a little more nervous. She and Vaan would sometimes cause a raucous back home sometimes fighting over something insignificant. But they were hardly noticed.

As the three continued to browse the various shops and marketplaces, passed by eateries and trinket vendors, Penelo got more and more used to it. In a way, it meant that she had some sort of status because she was friends with the Archadian Head of State.

She then came to notice that as the day dragged on, most people didn't pay much attention to them either. A few waved and smiled politely at Larsa who merely nodded, smiled and waved back.

Vaan and Penelo lived in Rabanastre, another capital city. Naturally, they knew their city was significantly better off than some of the surrounding towns and villages. But Rababatre had a much older, a classic example of Galtean architecture. The buildings all had a unique and almost whimsical style of construction.

But Archades was modernized, and newer. The city's buildings were built using copper and bronze colored stone and steel contrary to the gray and limestone that older buildings were constructed from. The city also had a sophisticated airship system that the city could boast that is second to none in all of Ivalice.

"You seem to marvel at the city, would you like to hear a brief history of its founding and construction?" Larsa asked Penelo and Vaan.

"Sure, why not?" It would take her mind off trying to find a present for Larsa for the time being.

Larsa cleared his throat and began. "My Great-grandfather, Emperor Daryus Solidor was the man responsible for the construction of the city. He chose this site adjacent to the old city, and commissioned a new capital, one that would symbolize the Empire's growing power as well as its commitment to progress."

Larsa paused and looked up. Vaan didn't pay much attention as he was too busy intrigued by a group of street performers. Penelo on the other hand was listening intently.

"Go on."

"Unique to the capital was the idea of central planning, and its cartwheel spoke layout. In case you have not noticed, done of the streets here are parallel to on another. All of the main avenues all point towards the palace. At the time of its construction, the city could also boast to be the first city of its kind to be planned and built in such a manner."

"That sounds really amazing! Your great-grandfather sure did a great job on it!" Penelo complimented.

"Aye, but it was at the cost of abandoning the old city where many of the more.....destitute continue to live. Those who unable to afford the proper documents or permits were left forgotten."

Penelo looked down at the pavement a bit. "That's......sad."

"Do not worry Penelo. This is my responsibility and I intend to show the nobles of the capital that the Empire's wealth belongs not to the privileged few, but to all who live within its boundaries. I have already taken measures to start integrating the old city into the modern one. There have been schools, shelters and other necessities being built as we speak. We also are working to extend the capital's waste and drainage system in that area as well."

The blond dancer was impressed with the young Emperor's monologue. He truly was different than how she first met him. She knew that Larsa must have been disappointed at how Archadians were treated in general.

And it was true when they first came to the city and noted just how many of its citizens or at least the wealthy tended to act snobbish and aloof.

But Larsa was different than the others she could tell. He truly cared for his people, not just the select few.

Ah, how could she forget the first time she met Larsa? She could remember it as if it was yesterday.......