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Chapter 34: Awake at Night
Balthier yawned surreptitiously at the back his hand, trying to hide it from his Viera partner as they traveled through the skies, the cloaking device of the Strahl activated so they could travel freely without catching the attention of their "friends". Balthier however, need not worry that Fran would see his yawn, for when he turned to look at the seat beside him, she was gone.
Brows knitted together, Balthier tried to focus on the skies again, knowing full-well if Fran decided to join him, she would. He knew she knew that he could not take flying in silence for too long, especially at night. He had a habit of falling asleep at the wheel if no one was there to talk to him. Fran knew well the last time she left him alone at the wheel at night. It took a few months to get the Strahl back to proper working condition.
When moments passed and Fran still had not returned, Balthier thought it was a good idea to switch to auto-pilot and get some sleep. Doing exactly that, the sky pirate stretched and proceeded to retire to his room adjacent from Fran's own.
Balthier had not told Fran where they were going; only suggesting they search around Golmore first. He had no intention of looking for that blasted nethicite until it was absolutely necessary, and he thought perhaps looking at the exact situation behind Ortal's threat would make him decide. What would happen if he did let Ortal destroy the whole Viera population? Fran had no intention of making further contact with her sisters, her village, and her kin.
At least, that was the impression she had given him. Balthier could not blame her in any case, with that heartless excuse for a Viera as the elder, he would not want to be in her presence for too long. Even if Jote was somewhat different in beauty from Fran, he still would not want to be exposed to her for an amount of time. As for Mjrn, who, despite being alike from Fran, was opposite from her when it comes to independence. Mjrn was far too dependent and Balthier knew he will also not relish being in the young viera's company for too long. Fran was the perfect combination of the two, the only sister he could tolerate. Perhaps he was biased, but he had no intention of changing his opinion.
His footsteps made dull padded sounds across the metal floor as he stopped at the hall where the rooms where located. The Strahl was not a ship for too many travelers and it only had three rooms. During their travels with the two orphans, the renegade captain and admiringly beautiful princess, he had slept at the makeshift cot at the bridge whereas Fran had her own room at the start of their journey. But as their journey progressed, Balthier remembered that Penelo preferred staying with Fran rather than Ashe when it was time to retire. He did not know why, but he had the impression that the princess seemed too intimidating to the young lady and compared to Ashe, who did not speak often but preferred to be left alone with her thoughts, Fran had at least spoken with little if not a lot of wit and humor of her own.
Now that the two of them were travelling alone again, Fran had her own room once again and Balthier reclaimed his room where Basch and Vaan had slept.
Presently, Balthier gazed at the closed door of Fran's room and wondered if she was inside. She rarely slept before him, and though it was not unheard of, he knew Fran required little sleep and preferred to sleep only if Balthier himself was tired.
He wondered if there was something plaguing Fran. She had been unusually silent and more aloof than ordinary and normally he would not take notice at this, (she preferred it that way) but he had a feeling this was different. Balthier knocked softly against her door, knowing full well that she would hear him if she was inside. It did not surprise him however to discover that the room was empty when he poked his head in her room a few minutes later, the bed still made.
Sighing, he now knew where Fran was all this time, and knew that whatever was plaguing her mind, it was serious. Abandoning his desires to collapse on his own bed, he proceeded to go up onto the deck where he would undoubtedly find his partner staring at the stars.
Xoxoxox
Yvelle could not sleep. Not that her accommodations were unsuitable ( her room at the Royal Palace was as grand as expected), but as usual, her dreams were plagued with that wyrm she could not escape from. She knew she should take some rest, Penelo had hinted that they might be travelling again soon and that she needed her strength. But Yvelle did not care. Though she did not have as much experience as hunting marks as she would like, she had enough or perhaps extensive knowledge when it comes to travelling rough. Yvelle also knew that if anybody were in her position now, they would not be getting sleep either. To think that she had awoken a night ago full of apprehension of what's going to happen to her in the future and now she's sleeping in the Royal Palace, saw and met the Emperor of Archadia, the Queen of Dalmasca and Ivalice's most famous hunters!
Yvelle also knew that this journey was nothing that she had done before. This one was full of political intrigue and adventure, and though Vaan had not allowed her to enter the Queen's study that afternoon, she had heard enough the night at the Clan Hall to know what was going on. To think she would be involved in something like this!
The dinner with the Queen was something Yvelle wanted never to forget. She had sat beside Penelo in a chair that cost more than any weapon she had owned in her whole life, watched as the Emperor, his guards, the Queen and the two hunters talked about different things from the grim subject they had discussed in the study and wondered if she belonged with any of them. All of these people had different experiences and most of them had shared these experiences together, experiences that she could not begin to comprehend. She still had been a bit of shell-shocked at the end of the dinner when Queen Ashelia's handmaidens showed Yvelle her room and she was pleasantly amazed at everything.
Now she could not sleep and thought that maybe a walk would help her fall back into sleep. It had been a habit with her ever since she had gotten those nightmares. Yvelle grabbed one of the dress robes the Palace staff had offered her and left the room at the silent of the night.
XOXOXOX
Yvelle had managed to get herself lost after walking about the palace for a few minutes. She had been too fascinated with the paintings at the walls depicting the history of Dalmasca that she had not been paying attention to where she was going. She tried to retrace her steps but she only ended up getting more lost. Sighing now, she tried to feel the wind at the corridors, knowing that she might as well look for the gardens or somewhere she could see the stars or the moon.
Several more minutes of wandering later, she found herself in a corridor that showed the open courtyard as well several more rooms. She was just looking for the means to get to this open courtyard when she spotted a shadow ahead. Yvelle stopped in her tracks, trying to distinguish if she was just imagining things and she just decided to go ahead when she bumped into someone with a very hard and very broad back.
Yvelle felt herself fall to the ground as the person turned around at her sound of surprise and when she pushed the locks of blue hair away from her eyes to glimpse at this person, she was surprised to see a familiar face.
Tall frame, silver hair and sharp cheekbones met her eyes as the person she had met outside the Queen's study and then again at dinner stood before her, his silver eyes widened slightly in surprise.
'My apologies,' Captain Sephyr murmured in a smooth voice, bending down to help her. 'I did not know anybody else was awake and walking about,'
Yvelle had accepted his offered hand but at his words she gave him a look with raised eyebrows. Sephyr didn't seem to notice this because when she was standing once more, he turned around again and began to ignore her.
Yvelle stood there, watching him with a curious look on his back before clearing her throat to catch his attention.
'I could heal that for you, if you allow me to,' Yvelle said with a friendly and concerned tone when Sephyr looked at back at her with a faint look of surprise.
'Pardon me?'
Yvelle did not answer, but instead reached for his longer and larger hand with both of her own. 'You have bruises all over your body, broken ribs and you've been hiding your face behind your hair all this time.'
'What's wrong with my hair?" was the first thing that came out of the Captain's mouth for her words, though not untrue, were startling to say at the least.
Yvelle again did not say anything but smiled softly. 'I could heal them if you want me to. I don't think you're injuries could be healed by a simple X-potion or such. Which I'm sure you tried, didn't you?" she continued to examine his hand which Sephyr was surprised he did not pull away.
When Sephyr was silent, Yvelle smiled again and after a few words and a soft glow of her palms, the bruises on Sephyr's hand and arm disappeared.
'Better?' she asked him letting go of his hand and smiling up at him once more. Sephyr was silent, examined his arm which was bare from a short sleeved tunic he had worn for sleeping and nodded his thanks when he saw and felt that there was no longer any pain there. Even the previous scars he had from other battles were gone.
'You have a talent for majicks.' He said a matter-of-factly looking at Yvelle's violet eyes. At his words however, her smile fell and looked away.
'Tis a strange thing when I give maidens compliments they shy away from my words,' he muttered almost to himself, walking away from her and leaning against the railing of the corridor. Yvelle looked up at this and gave an apologetic smile.
'It's my turn to apologize, Captain.' She said softly. She did not add anything however and merely asked him again if she would like to heal him completely.
'I would not like to be responsible to the depletion of your stores of Mist, my lady.' He said smoothly but Yvelle ignored him and moved to stand directly in front of him. Before Sephyr could protest, she had placed her hands to hover in front of his chest and with the same words she used on his hand and with brighter glow of her hands, she healed every injury he had, from his bruises, to his broken ribs and the gashes on his face.
Yvelle stepped back after it was over, still looking at him. 'Is that better?' she asked trying to peer at his face hidden by his silver hair. To answer her question, he pushed his hair away from his face, to reveal unbroken skin and completely healed face and hands.
'You have my thanks, Lady..' he started with yet another nod.
'Yvelle.' She answered quickly. 'Just Yvelle, Captain. I am no lady of the court. I am a hunter, well, at least, I'm trying.' She added under her breath, looking away again.
Sephyr folded his arms and regarded her with a look of incredulity. He did not say anything however, just looked at her steadily that she felt uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze.
'Does the emperor know of the injuries you sustained?' Yvelle asked in order to stir the subject away from her. Sephyr merely shrugged, making the silver-colored locks move with his broad shoulders.
'Are you always so silent?' Yvelle blurted out loud and this time a faint smile appeared on the Captain's face.
'And are you always this talkative?' he asked smoothly, making Yvelle blush in embarrassment.
'No,' she murmured admittedly, looking at her feet, her blue hair shielding her bright violet eyes. Sephyr however, was silent again and without another word he bid her goodnight and disappeared behind the door to his room.
Yvelle stood speechless, staring at the wooden door where Sephyr disappeared to. He did not even ask her what she was doing up at this hour, or how she came about her knowledge of healing magick, anything! Not that she wanted him to ask, but she so wanted somebody to talk to, to help her understand whatever it is that's happening and somebody in the middle of this whole trouble might be able to help her greatly. But instead, she found herself once again lost in the many twists and turns of the palace; she did not know if she might be able to find her room on her own. Her only consolation was that perhaps she could find the stairs to lead her to the open courtyard, the fountain looked beautiful even from where she had stood in the second-floor corridor and she wanted to see it up close. Minutes of careful searching later, she found a stair to lead to the corridor and Yvelle smiled at her victory.
The fountain was beautifully carved from marble into several persons, dressed in the armor of the Old Dalmascan knights, the water gushing out from their raised swords and the mouth of the marble chocobo standing behind them. Yvelle stood looking at the fountain, smiling softly at the water that caught the shimmers of the moon and the stars and she began to wonder at the skill of the carver, how long it took them to carve it and if this fountain portrayed the real people well into marble. She was too immersed into studying the big fountain that she did not notice, nor hear the person who approached her from behind, his steps slow and purposeful.
'It is now wise for any person to wander around the palace at night,' he spoke gruffly making her start and turn around. 'Much more a lady such as you.'
Yvelle stared speechlessly at Judge Majister Basch, dressed still in his dinner attire and giving her a penetrating look with those green eyes. This time, she did not smile or tease him like she did with Captain Sephyr but instead was silent. There was something about this man that gave him the aura of silent power that was absent from Sephyr. There was something different about Judge Majister Basch, this, Yvelle noticed.
'Forgive me, Judge Majister,' Yvelle whispered. 'I..' hastily she explained that she got lost when she went out to take a walk and had been unable to find her way.
Basch nodded understandably but said nothing, instead, he walked past her to look up at the fountain.
'I first glimpsed at this fountain when I myself got lost at my first night here at the palace,' Basch said with a light tone.
Yvelle looked up startled. She did not know that the Judge Majister was familiar with the Palace and she blurted this out to him. Basch seemed amused at her remark but he raised his eyebrows at her that she blushed embarrassedly.
'Forgive me,' she murmured, looking at her hands.
'Don't be,' Basch replied in his gruff voice. 'It has been so long since somebody unrecognized me. I must admit it's quite refreshing.'
'But I have heard of you,' she found herself contradicting the Judge Majister. When Basch looked at her with that look on his eyes again, she blushed but continued to say she knew he had been one of the Lady Ashe's companions when she stopped the war between the Resistance and Archadia, along with Vaan and Penelo and the Emperor of Archadia. After she said this, Basch seemed to find it more amusing and a soft smile broke through his otherwise aloof face.
Yvelle found herself blushing again. She had never been known for her conversation skills and she always found herself saying things that were either amusing to other people but embarrassing for her. That's why at most times, she just keeps her mouth shut.
However, that principle she followed disappeared along with her old life back at the Clan Hall of Centurio. She found herself talking more than what she deemed necessary and as a result got more and more embarrassed.
Now she bit her lip and tried to stop talking or refrain from commenting. She could not really blame herself since everything was so new to her and she was naturally curious.
'I do applaud you for your spirit,' Judge Majister Basch said presently that Yvelle once more looked up. 'It takes some time for a person to adjust to new and strange situations and you have done so quickly and far better than I would have if I were in your position.'
'Really?' Yvelle blurted out so quickly that she actually slapped her hand over her mouth in horror. This time Basch let out a soft chuckle.
'You need not worry that you cause offense with your words.' He reassured her.
'I worry that I get embarrassed from them actually,' she blurted out again that Basch actually started. Yvelle found herself smiling sheepishly and shrugging, embarrassed again and tried to find a subject that would be suitable. She need not worry however since Basch offered one himself.
'You said that you are lost and could not find your room. Allow me the honor to escort you.'
'Thank you,' Yvelle started to accept then repeatedly shook her head. Though she like talking to the Judge Majister, she did not know if she could take getting more embarrassed.
'We shall not say anything, if that shall spare you from embarrassment.' Basch said, as if reading her thoughts. 'I want to be able to help you, it is not a very good thing to wander about this halls at night. Not even the Queen memorizes all its nook and crannies and more often than not, she gets lost herself.'
'But you do know the way don't you?' she asked the much taller man as he pointed out a path that led back inside. 'We won't get lost?'
Basch merely shook his head, that small smile back on his face. 'I rather pride myself that I know more than the Queen when it comes to her own home.'
Yvelle had to laugh at this. From what she saw of the Queen at dinner a while back, it was hard to imagine her unknowing at all. Nevertheless, she followed him back inside, struggling slightly to keep up with his long strides.
'Do you remember what the color of the floor was at the front of your rooms?' Basch asked her when they were inside the warmth of the richly carpeted hallway. It seemed such a weird question that Yvelle did not register it at first until the Judge Majister explained that for every wing there was a different color or theme at the floor and at the walls. Yvelle tried to recall if she could and she suddenly remembered the floor being somewhat yellow, as she remembered thinking it looked like chocobo feathers.
Somehow, this comment seemed to amuse Basch more for he smiled again, but not before explaining that the color was one of the Queen's favorites, which would mean Yvelle's room would be found somewhere along the east wing.
'Are we not on the same wing?' Yvelle asked curiously and Basch shook his head. 'I thought it was best if the Emperor and Penelo had no night time wanderings, at least for tonight. Vaan seemed to think so as well so we took the case to the Queen.'
'You're interrupting the Emperor's love life?' Yvelle asked shocked. 'Will he not get mad?'
Basch again looked as if he enjoyed her words. 'The Emperor himself asked this of me, so you need not worry if I will get into trouble.'
Again, red alert! Yvelle could not believe that she attempted to chastise a Judge Majister of Archadia only a few minutes and it cause a flush to spread across her cheeks. She hoped he did not offend him or anything, or made herself look idiotic or stupid. She could find however, though Basch seemed not to notice her remarks. He merely did as he promised, the rest of their walk was silent and when they found her room, Basch merely did what Sephyr did earlier: he bid her goodnight and walked away, presumably to return to his room, leaving Yvelle surprisingly at with a different mood. Suddenly she felt tired and in very much in need of sleep. And when she slept, her dreams were not filled with really bad wyrms, but rather of some things totally different.
A/N: Hey guys...We're back after the Easter holidays! We'd really like to find out what your thougts are about are characters..About Yvelle and Sephyr or Basch..either way...Sephyr is developing into quite a character I daresay..so I hope after you read the chapter you can press that little button below...it says Sumit review..press it! press it! Our regards to your health!
