Moonlight shone upon the gardens of her majesty, Queen Ashe. The light shimmered off her ponds and illuminated the marble features that were were scattered throughout the grand landscapes. Truly, no place was lovelier at night than that garden.
At night the few sections of the garden that the public could tour during the days were closed, guards stations around the entrances to keep intruders at bay. The routines of the guards changed weekly, though the patterns were predictable to anyone who would take the time to learn them. Also, just because the gardens were guarded did not mean there were not ways of getting in...
Balthier knew them all. The lock that need only be hit hard enough to unlatch, the hole in the hedge where one could squeeze through, the lowest point one could climb if they had the skill… the pirate could have made a book out of all the ways to enter the queen's garden.
It was through one of these ways that he would steal into the palace grounds each night and make his way towards the roses, where he would meet Dalmasca's queen for a short tryst that would leave them both with leaves in their hair and cheeks flushed red, or whisk her off for a moonlight stroll that would be enjoyed in the simple pleasure of their shared stories and the fact they were together.
In some horrible alternate world, both could imagine things that would have been said to drive them apart, angry accusations and stubborn words, neither having the will to listen to the other. They were thankful that when arguments ensued between them they had the wisdom to at least hear each other out, even if they only ended up agreeing to disagree. Communication, after all, was the key aspect to making a relationship work.
Granted, their relationship consisted solely of these stolen, precious moments. Ashe fought off suitors by day, while her lover did what he did best: seek out treasure. A queen's work was never done, and the rare breaks she did have were usually spent with the companions she had who could more easily enter the palace than a man with a bounty on his head.
A Queen and a Sky Pirate… Ashe could imagine the scandalous stories that would spread and be turned into penny romance novels if anyone ever learned of her late night garden affairs. Oh, now those would be the few romance novels she would have to read, if only to laugh at how clichéd and over the top they would make a relationship like hers and Balthier's sound. It would no doubt be all action and passion, and none of the intimacy and almost sense of domesticity that had settled over their relationship.
She playfully called him husband some nights, and he would reply right back with wife. In all sense but the legal one they were married, joined in body, soul, and mind. More recently, the two would talk of children, picking out names for their imagined offspring and joking about what sort of temperaments and looks could come from the two of them. Ashe favored a fiery tempered little girl, one who would stand up for herself and recognize her worth, while Balthier claimed any child they had would make him a very happy man. The idea of how life could be for them if they were just two people in love, neither having circumstances in their lives to keep them from being together, was one thing both reflected on even when they were apart.
They had nearly been caught once. It was a mistake that left Ashe both exhilarated by the thrill of still keeping her secret and worried that perhaps she and Balthier had become far too casual than they need be in hiding what they had. The guard had heard voices, and as he approached the two lovers, Balthier quickly hid. It took Ashe a bit of explaining, claiming she had been conversing with herself, and she even managed to muster up a few tears and tell the guard she came out here to do so because it reminded her of Rasler. Needless to say the guard quickly left her alone with numerous apologies, and Ashe and Balthier continued their time together undisturbed.
When the sun rays would peak once more above the horizon, they would have to stir, waking up and leaving the embrace of the other with a few hushed words and quick kisses. Ashe would make her way back to the palace and paperwork that waited her, while Balthier would take to the skies and find a new adventure each time. Their daily roles they played so well would slip on them like a mask as the daylight shone. Ashe would be "Your Majesty" or "My Queen" instead of just Ashe, the woman. Balthier would be "a damned thief" and "rotten pirate" instead of just Balthier, the man. As the sun traced its path along the sky, so did the two 'masked' people. Ashe would grow more relaxed as the day continued on, more lenient yet also more impatient. Balthier would grow more cautious, less reckless. It was as if their masks loosened, and their true faces began to show a little more each hour.
And when the sun once again disappeared, and the glow of the moon danced through Ashe's garden, the two could once again shed their masks in the dimmed light and hold each other as if they were just two people, letting their worries slip aside under the soft light of the moon.