Fanfiction still isn't showing any views on anything. Not that the satisfaction of views is why I write, but the website's never done this for so long before. Maybe if you'd leave a simple "Hi!" or "I'm here" review, it'd raise my confidence.
Anyway, enjoy this chapter! I haven't finished the next one yet, due to a combination of long school days, tests, and writer's block, but I should have it done in two weeks.
Chapter Six
The Imperial Capital, Archades
Year 707 of the Old Valendian Calendar
Balthier pressed his back against the brick wall of one of Archades' many inns, sunlight warming his face as it broke through the cloud cover above. The timeless smells of exhaust caught in his lungs; Balthier swallowed it and banished the memories it stirred up.
Ashe and Penelo crowded behind him. In the alley just across, he could see Vaan sitting tight, occasionally glancing out of his cover, and Fran behind him, eyes closed, but tall, furry ears twitching.
Balthier raised a finger to his lips, motioning for Vaan to be quiet – something he'd told him earlier, but hoped the kid would remember. Vaan replied with a silent salute, at which Balthier rolled his eyes, then craned his neck to look out of the alley at what he'd come to find.
After dropping off Basch and Larsa, and a lengthier goodbye than Balthier had been hoping for, they'd made their way to old Archades to pay a visit to an… old acquaintance. Jules had proved useful – and quite expensive, but Balthier was counting on royal reimbursement. He'd made certain Jules caught no glimpse of Ashe. The only information the streetear had provided him with was the whereabouts of someone else who'd been asking Jules of the princess's location earlier that day. A suspicious, non-local character who, according to Jules, had had some business with him in the past. And apparently Jules already knew that Ashe was in the city and had told this person accordingly. Balthier had made note of Jules's description; "Oh, you can't miss him. A lanky lad, one eye, two swords."
And the young man striding through the alleyway behind the inn matched that description perfectly. At his approach, Balthier had had them all hide; there was no reason to scare this One-Eye with numbers. Balthier just wanted a little chat with him. But, at the same time, if this person, evidently searching for Ashe, was one of the ones trying to kill her, he could be dangerous, and backup could be necessary.
So when One-Eye was a few strides passed where Balthier hid, he stepped into the newly-blossomed sunshine and called out.
"You there! Could I have a word?"
One-Eye spun around. "Am I supposed to know you?" he said, a look of obvious suspicion on his face. He looked only about Vaan's age, but battled scarred enough for any war veteran, with a sword at each hip. The gruesome scar that erased his left eye looked like it'd been dealt with a sword stroke; not a pretty sight.
"No," Balthier replied. "But you look like you're from out of town. I was wondering if you'd heard anything regarding the Princess Ashe."
One-Eye's one eye narrowed. "Dalmasca's Princess Ashe, huh? And you think I know?"
"Your tone right now tells me you do," Balthier replied evenly.
One-Eye snorted a chuckle. "Yeah, right. Look. You know who I am, and I know who you are. So why don't we stop beating around the bush?"
Balthier lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I-"
"Haa!" One-Eye ripped both swords from their sheaths and with a bellowing shout, flew at Balthier. Balthier's eyes widened, and he had enough reflex to yank out his rifle and block before both blades crashed down on him with lightning speed. He made a quick backstep, shoving One-Eye's two blades aside.
"Hold on a moment!" Balthier said. "I only wanted to-"
"Yeah, I don't talk to people like you!" One-Eye shouted back with a snarl. He charged again, swinging down both blades. Balthier spun away, letting One-Eye crash into the wall. Out of the corner of his eye, Balthier could see Penelo practically holding Ashe back. Finally noticing that things weren't going well, Vaan and Fran charged from their alleyway. One-Eye's jaw dropped, then snapped closed with a growl.
"More of you? Fine, then!" He raised his swords, a snarl on his lips. "Come on, show me whatchya got!"
Vaan swung his one sword at One-Eye, who blocked it with both blades crossed. It took him only a heartbeat to uncross his blades with an astonishing amount of force, sending Vaan flying with a painful crack into the brick wall.
"Ha!" One-Eye grinned. "What were you, born yesterday?"
While Vaan, teeth clenched and fuming, used his sword to climb back to his feet, One-Eye turned on Balthier again. Balthier blocked one sword, then ducked under the other to avoid decapitation.
"Will you listen to me?" Balthier snapped. "I-"
"I'm not falling for that! I'd make your peace, if I were you!"
Balthier dived into a shoulder roll to avoid the next cross-blade strike aimed for his head. Vaan, breathing hard, one arm held against his side, raised his sword to charge.
"Oh, wanna go again, short stuff?" One-Eye held out his swords nonchalantly, grinning in a way that looked much like his snarl. "Hey, I'll go easy on ya, huh?"
Gripping his sword in both hands, Vaan charged with a yell. Still grin-snarling, One-Eye flew to meet him. But before they could collide, a full-strength, cracking Viera kick sailed into One-Eye's head. He slammed into the far wall, where he slumped to the ground in a heap, hands limply around the two swords that splayed at his sides. Vaan skidded to a halt to avoid crashing into Fran; lockjawed and breathing hard, he let his sword lower.
Balthier sighed, brushing dust out of his hair as he examined the unconscious form with a frown.
"Fran, did you have to hit him that hard?" he said, sending his Viera partner a look.
"He'd become dangerous," Fran replied evenly. "He'd have hurt someone."
"I don't think you were gonna get him to talk reasonably, anyway," Vaan hissed through clenched teeth.
Ashe dashed from the alleyway, Penelo close behind her. The princess had her sword out, but stopped, blinking at the unconscious young man.
"Is he alright?" Ashe asked, slowly sliding the blade back into its sheath.
"Hopefully in good enough condition to converse," Balthier replied, folding his arms.
"Vaan! Wait, let me see!" Penelo ran to her brother and took his arm, but he jerked away from her.
"I'm fine, Penelo. It's just a bruise," he said, turning away so she couldn't see.
A scowl pulled down Penelo's face. "Vaan, but-"
"I said I'm fine!" Vaan slammed his sword away and marched to stand over their fallen foe, frowning fiercely. "What do we do with him now?"
Balthier looked One-Eye over one more time, then let out a sigh. "We tie him up, drag him into the alley, and when he wakes up, hope he doesn't have a concussion and can answer a few polite questions."
A few minutes later, One-Eye slumped against the wall deep in alley, hands and ankles tied, head hanging limply against his chest. Balthier stood over him with Fran, arms folded. Vaan rubbed his arm he still hadn't let Penelo look at, and his sister stood against the opposite wall, eyeing with wide eyes their sleeping captive. Ashe studied him from a bit closer.
Then the young man stirred, a faint furrowing of the brow, a twitch of the cheek. Muscles tensed all around.
"Here we go. No one mentions Ashe, alright?" Balthier said. Then he turned to the princess. "No, actually, Ashe, you need to get out of sight."
"What?" Ashe looked horrified. "But I have questions for him, too. I want to help you!"
"It wouldn't be much of a help if you let this suspicious character know exactly where you are and who your companions are," Balthier replied.
"But I can help! I can't just hide!" Ashe said, eyes flashing with that indignant look like this was all so unfair. Balthier sighed, tipping his head back for a moment to collect himself. Low white clouds blended with airship exhaust blanketed the sky, patchy with holes of sunlight and blue.
"Ashe, this man is likely trying to kill you," Balthier said, bringing his gaze back to the stubborn princess. "It wouldn't do to let him see exactly where you are." He motioned towards the end of the alleyway where the princess could remain out of sight beyond the corner. "Now go hide."
Ashe locked eyes with him, scowling.
"…Fine. I'll go," she said at last, then turned and strode off. Balthier breathed out a sigh of relief, then turned back to their prisoner. His single eye was just starting to open, a wordless mumble coming out of his mouth.
"Ca…a…?"
Then he tried to move his arms, and they stayed firmly bound behind his back. That brought his eye fully open.
"What-?" It took only a moment for the snarl to spring back to his lips. "Ah…! Blast it!" One-Eye jerked on his bonds as if he thought he could break the ropes.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Balthier said. "I'm terribly sorry about all this, but you didn't seem very responsive to civilized conversation."
One-Eye didn't seem to hear. "Oh, blast, blast. This wasn't part of the plan…" He finally gave up tugging on his bonds and swung a vicious look over his captors.
"All I'd like to know," Balthier said, getting down on one knee to get level with One-Eye, "is why you were asking around about Princess-"
"I'm not gonna talk, you know!" One-Eye spat, cutting him off. He leaned back into the wall, looking away. "Do whatever you like, torture me all you want, but I'm not breathing a word! I'll never tell you where our base is, and I'll never tell you where the princess is!"
"So you know where the princess is?" Balthier asked.
"N-No." One-Eye stiffened up. "Course not! Why'd you think a thing like that? Of course I don't!"
"Of course." Balthier rolled his eyes. "You're a terrible liar, you know."
"Even if I did know, it doesn't make a difference!" One-Eye shouted. "I'm not telling you Red Fang scum anything!"
"Red Fang?" Balthier arched an eyebrow. "What, you think we're Red Fangs? And why would you think that?"
"Because you are!" One-Eye said.
"Don't Red Fangs usually wear distinctive uniforms?" Balthier said.
"Maybe you finally wised up and tried to go inconspicuous," One-Eye replied. "Not that what you're wearing's inconspicuous; what are you supposed to be, a sky pirate?"
"As a matter of fact, I am a sky pirate," Balthier replied, "and I'd prefer it if you didn't use the word in such a derogatory manner. Now back to point: why would the Red Fangs want to know where Princess Ashe is?"
"You know! You are Red Fangs!"
"We are not," Fran said, giving the captive a dark look. Balthier lifted a hand to stop her from going further, never breaking eye contact with One-Eye.
"Humor me," he said.
One-Eye studied him in confusion. "No. No, you're… You're trying to get me talking, so I'll spill something. Well it's not gonna happen! I told you, I'm not breathing a word!"
"You've already 'breathed' plenty of words," Balthier said. "I know you're looking for Princess Ashe, and that you're working for someone who has a base of some sort. And that you think we're Red Fangs, which is something I'd quite like to hear an explanation for. So?"
"I told you, that's not gonna happen!" One-Eye said. "I'm not telling you a thing!"
"Will you tell me, then?"
Balthier turned with a start at Ashe's voice; the princess stood, gleaming in the sunlight, determined gaze set on their captive.
"A-" Balthier caught himself before saying her name. "What are you doing? I told you to stay hidden!"
"Princess Ashe?" One-Eye's one eyes went wide. He recognized her; oh, wonderful. "But- Wait-" he spluttered, frowning in confusion. "I don't… get it. They caught you?"
"These people are my friends," Ashe said. "They've been protecting me since I left Rabanastre. We'd heard that you'd been asking around town after me, and we thought that was a good place to start investigating. I'm so sorry if we've gotten something mixed up."
"Wait… What?" One-Eye sent a frown over the four interrogators standing over him. "You mean… You're not Red Fangs?"
"We tried to tell you that," Vaan said.
"But then… I did it!" One-Eye's eye lit up. "Oh, yes! Okay, so, um, since we're all friends here, could you maybe, I don't know, untie me?" He gave a nervous smile, jerking on the ropes once more.
"Really?" Balthier raised an eyebrow. "For all I know, you're one of the ones trying to kill the princess. Con-"
"I'm not!" One-Eye said, cutting him off. "Er, well, I am, but-"
"There. I'm definitely not untying you now," Balthier said.
"Balthier, please, let's hear him out," Ashe said, turning pleading eyes to him. Balthier sighed, then turned to One-Eye. He raised an eyebrow.
"Well?"
"I am one of them, I mean, the people trying to kill the princess," One-Eye said. "But I'm not trying to kill her! I came here to protect her!"
Balthier scoffed. "Well, that's touching and all, but the princess has protection enough."
"You don't know what's going on, do you?" One-Eye waited a few moments for a response; when none came, a satisfied smile spread his face. "Well, I do." He leaned back like he was sitting in a cushioned chair, arms behind his head, rather than tied up in an alleyway.
Balthier walked a few strides to stand directly over him; he was quite satisfied with how the sun cast his shadow over the captive. "Then start talking."
"Well- um… It's actually pretty complicated." One-Eye's face twisted in thought. "You seem to know what the Red Fangs are, huh?"
"That's right," Balthier replied.
"Okay then… I'm with a group called the Peace Keepers," One-Eye said. "We're-"
"You're trying to assassinate Princess Ashe?" Balthier said, arching an eyebrow.
"I'm getting to that part! Yeesh!" One-Eye rolled his eye. "Like I was saying, I'm with the Peace Keepers. Our leader and founder, Tazer, used to be a Red Fang. But he saw all the terrible things they were doing, and tried to reform them from the inside. When that didn't work, he left and formed the Peace Keepers. We do some mercenary stuff, you know, for funds and stuff, but mostly, we stop the Red Fangs." He snarled the last word.
"Are the Red Fangs that big an operation?" Balthier said, quirking an eyebrow.
"The Peace Keepers aren't that big a group," One-Eye replied. "But we do good!"
"Oh, don't get me wrong; nothing wrong with a remote vigilante band," Balthier said. "But what does murdering a princess have to do with stopping the Red Fangs?"
"Um…" One-Eye hesitated again, sorting information in his brain. "Well… Raithwall met the Occuria a thousand years ago; you know that, right? According to the legends, they gave him his nethicite. The legends also say they left a mark on him, and that's why the Shards reacted with his blood, proving decent from the Dynast King. The Red Fang's lead scientist theorized that there were traces of nethicite in the blood stream of all Raithwall's decedents. And if that were true, then that could be isolated and used to create more."
"Ah." Balthier put a hand to his chin, running the calculations in his mind. Ashe's eyes were locked on One-Eye, expression unreadable.
"Could that really be true?" Penelo said, eyes wide.
"It would explain the Shards' reaction to Raithwall's blood. And how you could sense the Dawn Shard in the sandsea." Balthier nodded to Ashe. "As well as how the Occuria controlled you at Giruvegan."
"But it's all just conjecture, isn't?" Ashe said. "We have no idea if that's actually true!"
"Oh, yes we do," One-Eye said, a deep growl coming to his voice. "Razner tested it; there's no doubt. It didn't work, and fried his subject-" One-Eye paused a moment, breathing hard through clenched teeth- "but we think he's made some sort of breakthrough now. Our intelligence gathered that the Red Fangs were preparing to abduct the princess, so Tazer-" he broke off, again struggling to contain explosive anger- "Tazer decided we should just kill the princess to make sure Razner never gets his nethicite! I don't know what's wrong with him; he's a good man, really. I told him that'd make us just as bad as they were, but he wouldn't listen! So I left and came looking for Princess Ashe, so I could protect her from the Red Fangs and the Peace Keepers!"
Silence reigned for several moments as One-Eye's words echoed off brick and metal, his words sinking into ears and minds.
"Well," Balthier said, "that's quite the story, One-Eye, I'll-"
"Don't call me that!" One-Eye snapped, lips curling.
Balthier sighed. Would this man not let him finish a sentence? "Well, you haven't told me what else I'm supposed to call you."
"Ziafer." One-Eye lifted his chin. "My name's Ziafer."
"Just Ziafer?" Balthier lifted an eyebrow.
"For now, yeah," Ziafer replied. "I don't trust you that much." He jerked on his wrist bonds. "Do you think you can untie me now?"
Balthier studied the young, bound suspect with narrowed eyes, a look Ziafer returned fiercely.
"Not quite yet," Balthier said.
"What?" Ziafer's jaw dropped. He went back to tugging on his ropes "Oh, come on! What are you gonna do, just leave me here to rot?"
"It'd serve you right," Vaan mumbled.
"Not, I'd like you to sit quietly while we discuss our next move." Balthier turned to Ashe, who still looked shell-shocked. "Well? Princess? They're your assassins. What do you think?"
"What?" Ashe lifted her head, blinking. "Oh, yes… um…"
As Ashe's brow furrowed in thought, Fran set a hand on her shoulder. "It's a lot to take in," she said, addressing Ashe but glancing at Balthier. "Take a moment."
Ashe gave a quick, shallow nod. Balthier sighed, then turned to Ziafer.
"Do these 'Peace Keepers' of yours know Ashe is in the city?" he asked. "You were hot enough on her tail."
"Last thing I heard, they were planning to raid the palace in Rabanastre," Ziafer replied. "I just stopped here 'cause it was the closest city from our base." He smirked. "Couldn't believe my luck when that steetear said the princess was here."hhhhhjjjjhldskhfkajsf
Ashe lifted her head. "Your base is nearby?"
"Yeah, in the woods north of the Tchita downs," Ziafer replied. "I left yesterday on foot."
"Ashe, what are you thinking?" Balthier narrowed his eyes.
"Well, maybe… If I could talk to this Tazer person, we could convince him to stop, and we could work together to neutralize the Red Fang threat. He'll know more about their plans, won't he?"
"Princess, the man is trying to kill you," Balthier said with a scoff. "You honestly think he'll talk?"
"Ziafer said he's a good man at heart," Ashe replied, eyes emphatic. "So I don't believe he'll order me executed, face to face, before hearing me out. I have to try!"
Balthier sighed. "You are stubborn, princess." He glanced at Ziafer. "North of here, you said? I suppose we can fly up."
"What do you mean, fly?" Ziafer frowned.
"I'm a pirate. I have an airship," Balthier replied. "She's a nifty form of transportation."
"Oh. Well, the woods are thick; there'd be nowhere good to anchor," Ziafer said. "Besides, maybe 'base' was a bit too… permanent a word. We'd – They'd pack up and run like shadows at dawn at the first sound of engines. It's not that far, just a day's journey."
"I suppose. Fine. Sounds like a plan," Balthier said, nodding. He caught Ashe's eyes, blue, determined, sparkling in the light, and decided it was redundant to ask if she was sure about this. "Shall we be going, then?"
"Uh, not until you untie me!" Ziafer said. "I'm coming, too. I can here to protect the princess, and I intend to do just that!"
Balthier sighed and looked over his shoulder at the young man against the wall. "And I said, the princess has protection enough."
Ziafer scoffed. "Like you know the way!"
"I bet we could find it," Vaan said. "Someone'd probably untie him eventually if we just left him here."
Ziafer's response was a glare cast generally over all present.
"You need me to show you the way," Ziafer repeated. "You seem to believe everything else I said; why not believe me when I say I'm on your side?"
Balthier studied him a few more moments with a frown, then sighed. "Vaan, untie him."
"What?" Vaan said, opened mouthed.
"He is right that we don't know where this base is. Besides, if he tries anything funny, we can just have Fran knock him out again."
Fran lifted one eyebrow, just slightly, a single lone motion on her face.
After a few moments' silent protest, Vaan knelt beside Ziafer with a sigh and started to remove his bonds. The moment the last rope came off, the scarred boy leapt to his feet, swinging his arms.
"Ah!" After giving himself a good shake, Ziafer went to rubbing his wrists. "A little tight, wasn't that?" He held out his hands. "And what about my swords? Ya gonna give those back?"
"Eventually," Balthier replied. "Be happy you're free at all."
Ziafer scowled, wrinkling the scar over his empty left eye. "Wow, real warm and friendly, aren't you?"
"I'm glad you think so," Balthier said, turning away. He waved a hand, motioning to the others as he walked by. "No let's get out of this alley and get some supplies. Seems we've got a journey to make."
