This chapter is "mostly" just crack, and I was way to tired when writing this to actually care (still kinda love it though!). It's just an ego-boost for Balthier, an annoyance to Ashe, and again Vaan is stupid and has no idea what's going on around him (and yes LightBlueLightning, I, at least, think Vaan is that stupid xD ). Basch is getting suspicious and Fran has for reasons unknown missed the shady pub. Penelo, as usual, is just there for no apparent reason.
Thanks to DeAmonQuEen for suggesting Elza, who will make an appearance here (duh! Look at the headline...). Also, thank you to guest debi6988, and welcome to the randomness of this fic! Vaan won't catch a break in this chapter either X3
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to SquareEnix, and they NEED to make a remastered edition of FFXII! :D
Part 8: The Women of Balfonheim, including Elza
"We're taking a break here, again?" Vaan complained.
"The Strahl needs some repairs done, and to be honest, she needs a break and some pampering after being manhandled by you!" Balthier glared at the youth.
Vaan shrank back, still immensely embarrassed that he hadn't managed to hold the Strahl steady for even one minute. As they made their way back from Giruvegan and the Feywood, Balthier had finally agreed to let Vaan try steering his beloved airship. Vaan had been ecstatic to say the least, and had nearly jumped in his seat as he sat in the cockpit. His enthusiasm and curiosity had shortly gotten the better of him, and two random buttons later Balthier had threatened to throw him head first out of the airship.
"It wasn't all that bad..." Vaan muttered, regretting it barely seconds after the words had left his mouth.
Balthier rounded on him, a sharp index finger poking repeatedly at his chest, hard. "You do never, ever, touch something without knowing what it's for! Especially when that something is on my Strahl! She is a sensitive ship, and needs to be handled with care and love! It's a fool's luck you didn't mess up something crucial."
The rest of their party stood awkwardly to the side -not because how Balthier talked about the Stralh- all of them having just exited the aerodome and entered the streets of Balfonheim. Fortunately, Balthier calmed down after his little outburst, and took a deep, calming breath before dragging a hand over his hair, making sure it stayed perfectly in place.
"Besides, Vaan," Baltheir turned and kept strolling casually down the cobbled street. "Nono and his crew have to install the skystone Reddas gave us, or there will be no way for us to cross the Naldoan Sea and reach the Pharos Lighthouse, remember? So, instead of sitting around waiting, I suggest we live it down like the pirates we are." He stopped and looked at Vaan for a second. "Or rather, the pirate I am, and you want to be."
"You mean to say we didn't 'live it down' enough the last time we were here?" Ashe asked with a raised eyebrow.
Balthier smirked. "Oh, princess, I did plenty of pirate living. The rest of you on the other hand, were disappointingly boring and passive." he said, before adding so only she could hear. "You had a remarkable comeback at the end of the night, mind you."
She blushed.
"I would much rather take an early night..." Basch started.
"Oh, no you won't!" Balthier rested one hand on his hip. "I know now how much fun it is to have you as a drinking buddy, so you have no choice but to come with me. Now, I expect the rest of you to tag along as well, so we can get this -let's call it shore-leave- going."
And so Balthier lead them all towards the docks, and ushered them inside a large, run-down building. Which, once inside, turned out to be a pub.
"Welcome to the Shady Wench." Fran said, some actual warmth in her voice, which took the entire party, except Balthier, by surprise. "This is where Balthier and I met for the first time."
"This was our home for a while, and now it feels like home away from home." Balthier grinned as he sat down at a table, large enough to seat all six of them. "It's slightly run down, but the food is good, the glasses are clean and..."
"So are the wenches."
All six heads turned towards the newcomer, a dark-haired beauty with a huge cleavage and a wicked grin. "Long time, no see, Balthier." She purred, as she placed six mugs of beer down on their table. "You haven't forgotten about us poor, lonely girls, have you now?"
"Oh no, my dear," Balthier handed her some gil. " How could I possibly forget such lovely creatures as you and your friends? Now, be a sweetheart and get me and my crew some proper food before we all starve to death."
"We wouldn't want that." The dark-haired woman said with a wink as she turned and walked away. "After all, you need your strength for later tonight."
Ashe nearly choked on her beer, couching hard as Penelo slapped her in the back, helping her regain her breath.
"What did she mean by that?" Vaan asked, clearly puzzled. "Is something happening tonight? A party?" He nearly jumped in his seat. "Say that it's going to be a party! A want to see what a real pirate party is like!"
Balthier chuckled. "I might be able to arrange that you and her have a party, yes."
Penelo stared daggers at Balthier, who simply ignored her. Basch looked very much uncomfortable. Ashe was still trying to breath normally. Vaan still smiled like a moron, while the joke went straight over his head. And Fran, Fran hummed quietly to herself, looking around her surroundings with a small smile.
"So," Ashe finally managed to speak, though her voice was still a bit hoarse. "Who was she?" She tried really hard not to sound upset, or jealous, but knew she failed miserably because even Basch sent her a strange look.
"Just an old friend."
"Friends? Ha!" The tavern wench was back, carrying a huge tray filled with six plates of delicious-smelling stew. "We were never friends, Balthier Bunansa, and the stormy seas themselves know it! No, cutie," she looked at Ashe. "He slept his way through every single girl working in this pub, at least twice. None of us minded, though." She shrugged and grinned. "After all, the silver tongue of his is famous for a reason." And with that she left.
The awkwardness was a tangible thing around their table. No one said anything.
Ashe sat with her arms crossed, feeling herself getting more and more angry, though she knew there was no logical reason for it. After all, this was before the two of them had even met.
Basch was studying the princess' face, and how she glared at the pirate, and the pirate in turn looking everywhere but at her.
It was Penelo's turn to be a rogue-tomato, and she found it best to emerge herself in the careful study of the stew, trying to identify every ingredient, though most of them were unrecognizable.
Vaan, like always, had no idea what any of it had meant, and instead of lingering on it threw himself over the still hot food, resulting in a numb tongue and a pouting face.
Fran was still humming quietly to herself, not a care in the world.
The rest of the meal was spent in relative silence, Vaan trying over and over again to start a conversation, but failing each time. In the end, he gave up, and concentrated on his food instead.
When everyone had eaten their fill, the dark-haired tavern wench came back. "Everyone had a good meal?" She asked as she removed their plates.
"It was delicious as always." Balthier leaned back in his chair.
"A fine meal." Fran nodded.
"I will bring you something more to drink."
'Something more' quickly became a lot more, and the mood suddenly went from tense and uneasy to fun and relaxed. Balthier figured it was time to admit he had a drinking problem, which never had been a problem at all until he joined this little suicide mission, but since they were all probably going to die anyways there was no need to worry.
Penelo had fallen asleep after her second drink, now snoring with her head rested on the table. The rest of them enjoying a growing buzz.
As the night approached, the pub filled up, getting more crowded for each passing minute. Men and women pored in from the street, eager to drink the night a way like 'real pirates', as Balthier put it.
To Ashe's great annoyance, many of the women seemed to know Balthier, and made their way over to where they were seated to make conversation. He loved the attention, that much was certain. He had just left to buy them some more drinks, and was practically swimming in women trying to get his attention.
Ashe was seething, and Basch noticed.
"What is the matter, princess?"
"Nothing!"
He was a bit taken aback, but cleared his throat and tried again. "Clearly something is bothering you. This is not a place for one of your standing, so maybe it is best of we leave, if it does not please you to be here."
"It's not that, Basch." She sighted. "It's...I can't really explain."
He simply nodded, looking in the same direction as her, at Balthier. Was he the reason the princess was upset? No, there was no reason for the sight to anger her, was there? Had Basch had two beers less, he would have understood perfectly, but the gentle buzzing in his head kept him from it, and from running Balthier through with his sword.
Finally, Balthier made his way back to them, giving them all a new drink. He turned towards Ashe, just about to say something, when three people walked over to their table and interrupted him.
It was Reddas' side-kicks. Elza, Rikken and Raz.
"We heard you were back in town." Rikken said. "I take it your mission was a success then?"
"Oh, it was!" Vaan grinned proudly. "We kicked some serious butt, pirate-style, right Balthier?"
Shaking his head with a sigh, Balthier turned towards the newcomers. "I take it you were the ones Blondie here talked to after we left Reddas? We appreciate your help, it led us just where we wanted to go. Now, is the good Reddas here somewhere?"
Elza's face grew red in anger for a second before she controlled herself, and crossed her arms with a now suspicious look on her face. "No, he is not. He is making preparations for whatever it is you're planning next. Tell me, why do you want to know?"
"You could say that he and Balthier bonded the last time we were here." Ashe said, sounding more grumpy than she intended.
"Well, the Lord needs more friends." Rikken nodded, shaking Balthier's hand.
"He has friends." Elza said annoyed. "And he certainty does not need friends like them."
Raz patted her on the knee, not reaching any higher without risking being kicked in the face. "He cannot just talk to the three of us."
She huffed and walked over to the bar, ignoring Rikken's calls for her to stay.
"Not a big fan of us, is she?" Balthier asked.
"That's one way to put it." Rikken pulled a chair over and sat down. "She gets easily jealous whenever someone new comes along. Didn't like me in the beginning either, but that's just the way she is."
"I still don't think she likes you at times."
"Shut it, Raz."
Balthier and Rikken was soon engrossed in a hefty debate about airships and different mods which were better or worse at different times. Ashe didn't understand half of it, and Vaan and Basch had for some reason gone to play darts, which Vaan failed miserably at. Fran still sat with a small smile on her face, and there was no contact to be made.
With a sigh, the princess got up and walked over to the bar as well. Maybe this Elza would be a better conversation partner than any of her little rag-tag team, which shouldn't be all that hard, not now at least.
"So..." Ashe was so very bad at making small talk it was a bit painful.
"Did you want something?" The look Elza gave her was not mean or rude in anyway, but still it felt a bit unwelcoming.
"I just needed to get away from that table," Ashe sat down on a bar-stool. "It feels like everyone has gone completely insane. It was like that the last time we were in Balfonheim as well."
"There's something in the beer." Elza shrugged as she took a health swig of her own. "Makes even the noblest of gentlemen turn into a big-mouthed, pigheaded buffoon."
Ashe nodded with a grin, watching Balthier argue intensely with something Rikken just said.
"Vaan tells me you work for Reddas."
"Lord Reddas."
"Oh, sorry."
"And yes, I do work for Lord Reddas. Have been for a long time." Elza fixed on her with a searching stare. "Do you have the best interest of Lord Reddas at heart, or do you only seek to use him for your own ends?"
Ashe was a bit taken aback, not entirely sure of what to answer. "I have my own interests at heart, but they do match Re...Lord Reddas' in many ways. Neither of us wish for war."
The female pirate seemed to accept the answer, and for a while the two women sat quietly drinking.
"What about him?"
Ashe followed Elza's eyes, and landed on Balthier, now leaning gracefully back in his chair, and by the impressed and amused looks of the bystanders -most of them women- around the table, was telling some tall tale of his pirate ways, and of all his great travels and treasures.
Without realizing it, Ashe snorted. "Balthier? He flies his own winds, I guess. Though he truly has stepped up, and shown that he as well wants what's best for the people of Ivalice."
"Do you believe that, in your heart?"
She sat thinking for a second. "Yes, I do."
"I think he is a self-involved, arrogant, lying dick."
It was more the casualness than the actual words which shocked Ashe. She turned to stare at Elza, making sure she had heard right, and the look on the female pirate's face told her that she had. Elza was staring daggers at Balthier -who luckily had his back turned- her face tightly knit and eyebrows furrowed. If she had been closer, Ashe was sure Elza would have smashed her mug right over his perfectly kept hair.
"Do the two of you know each other?" Ashe asked carefully.
"No."
Not knowing what to say to that, Ashe kept quiet. Whether or not Elza told the truth, it was none of her business, although it was a bit strange that she so obviously disliked someone she claimed not to know.
The answer would come a short hour later, when things in the shady, little pub escalated quickly without warning.
First Penelo woke up with a start, somehow being able to sleep through all the ruckus and noise up until now. She shot up from her seat, waving her hands fanatically, and somehow managed to knock over a small tavern wench, who just so happened to walk behind her.
The tavern wench didn't go down without a fight, and with impressive skills managed to drag Basch down with her. In Basch's defense, he probably would not have gone down as easily had he not been intoxicated and the wench not been so pretty. This distracted Vaan, who still was trying his best at playing darts, and so the small, but sharp, dart flew way off, hitting Fran in one of her very sensitive ears. The panic and fear on Vaan's face had been hilarious, if it hadn't been for the fact that Fran was curling her talon like fingers into fists, suddenly standing up and throwing herself over the table in a flurry of rage. Vaan screamed like a girl and ran around the room in circles, Fran chasing him.
The table which now only Balthier sat at -his face in a mix of shock and mirth- was flipped over in Fran's chase, sending him sprawling on the ground, beer-mug flying through the air, missing a now very drunk Elza by half an inch, but splashing its content on her red coat.
Ashe watched as one of her eyes twitched a few times before she jumped Balthier, who barely managed to get a hold of her wrists before she started scratching his face.
"How dare you waltz around Balfonheim, all dashing and pretty?!" She yelled at him, and the only reason Ashe hear it was because she was focusing on the two pirates, trashing on the floor. The volume in the pub had grown exponentially over a few short seconds. "Reddas should get all the attention, not you! Not some fancy, little pretty-boy with a super hot Viera partner!"
Balthier flipped them over, pinning her down. "What in the world are you talking about, woman?"
Elza's lower lip quivered. "You are soooo pretty!" She whined. "And you don't even remember meeee..."
"Should I?"
"YES!" Elza tried to get out of Balthier's grip, but failed. "When you first came to Balfonheim, I..."
Exactly what Elza was about to say, no one ever hear, because at that moment Vaan came crashing through a table, slamming hip first into Balthier who was immediately knocked to the floor, only to be knocked unconscious a second later as Fran flipped the blonde over, landing him directly at the pirate's head.
...
The next day, Balthier woke up with a intense headache. He knew it was not due to the drinking, as this felt different. Gingerly, he reached up a hand to his head, and felt the bandages there.
"You are up." It was Ashe, and she sat right next to his bed. It looked like she had been sleeping there. Her hair was messy, eyes red and swollen from lack of sleep, and a woolen blanket covered her shoulders. "You've been out for hours, I thought you would never wake up."
"What happened?" His throat was dry and speaking was a bit painful.
Ashe sighted, and told him.
"That blonde little..."
"Stop it." Ashe told him sternly. "It was not Vaan's fault."
"That's just it, isn't it? It's never his fault, any of it!"
Ashe just rolled her eyes. Right now was not the time to let Balthier vent his growing frustration with the party's very own bad-luck charm and accident prone little blonde.
"What's all this?"
"Took you long enough to notice." Ashe said sarcastically as she looked the room over.
It was filled with what could only be the pirate equivalent of "get well"-flowers and cards. The large desk which was placed in the room was filled with old fashioned ships in bottles, their white little sails almost looking as if they moved.
"Who are they from?"
"Oh, no one special..." Ashe was feeling her irritation grow as she spoke. "Just every tavern wench, prostitute and shopkeeper's daughter in the entire city. I even think one or two of them were carrying wedding rings. And that big one, that's from Elza."
"Ah."
"Ah? AH?!" Ashe stood up abruptly. "Is that all you have to say?!"
"Actually, I have many things to say, but with your current tempter and my current state, I do not at all deem it safe for me to say anything at all which will make you angrier than what you already are."
She calmed down a little bit. "How do you know Elza? She seemed incredibly upset last night, and very much guilty and downbeat this morning when she came by."
Balthier massaged his forehead. "Ashe, in all seriousness, is this necessary? This was all before I met you."
"I still would like to know." She crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Fine." He breathed. "She was one of the first people I met in this town. I was young, scared and broke. Elza allowed me to stay with her for a while, and soon after she fell in love with me. I had no experience with women, and saw this as a good opportunity."
"You didn't?!" Ashe asked shoked.
"Let me finish. On the night of our planned 'date', Fran showed up, saved me out from a hairy situation, and became my best friend and partner in crime. So I sort of forgot about Elza. And to be honest, I just remembered her again as Vaan knocked me out cold."
"You bastard." Ashe spat. "You truly are a womanizing piece of..."
Balthier grabbed her hand, which shut her up.
"You know princess," his eyes were on hers, and his hand warm to the touch. "That was the old me, the way I was before meeting you. All of them are in my past. You, on the other hand, are something else entirely. You see, you are my future."
Ashe was stunned out of her anger.
"Now, can we put this silly thing behind us?"
"Be happy you have a way with words," Ashe grumbled, not entirely managing to keep the anger from slowly fading away. "Silver-tongue."
"That's my nick-name."
He immediately regretted those words, as Ashe hit him hard on the shoulder.