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Ashe woke up the next morning, feeling as refreshed as she would had she slept for days instead of just mere hours the night before. Smiling to herself, she remembered why it was that she had gotten so little sleep the previous eve. She would have changed nothing.

Looking to her left, she saw him, still sound asleep, looking as peaceful as she'd ever seen him. She ran her fingertip along his jawline softly and curled into his side, unwilling to get out of the bed and greet the rest of her day. If only time could stop, just for a little while, just for them.

Every day led her closer and closer to -- what, she didn't know. But closer to something. And she knew in her heart if she kept walking this path, with her five companions, she would in time reclaim her throne, and her old life. As much as she longed for a free Dalmasca, and all that she would gain with it ... she knew she would also be losing immeasurably when that day came.

She would be Queen. Queens did not consort with thieves or ... or pirates. The thought had her sitting up in bed, clutching the sheets to her chest and fighting for air. She hadn't thought about it when this had all started. This wasn't supposed to happen at all. These ... people ... they were only supposed to help her! She was never supposed to get involved with them, never supposed to care.

Never supposed to fall in love.

The revelation of that hit her with such a force that she nearly choked. In love? No ... not in love. I couldn't possibly be ... But her eyes drifted to the man sharing her bed, and she knew it was true. For better or worse, she had found the One. No, Rasler had been the One ... Balthier was ... Balthier was ...Everything.

But he could be nothing to a Queen.

Balthier woke to the sound of Ashe's forced and labored breathing. He looked at her quizically, saw the frantic look in her eyes, and immediately sat up, wrapping his arms around her. "What is it, Ashe? What's the matter?" he said softly, soothing, like you would to a child.

"I -- I'm going to be Queen," she whispered.

"If the gods deem it so, then yes," Balthier said slowly, not following her. Wasn't this a good thing?

"No. Balthier. I'll be Queen. Queen Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca. It's what I've dreamed of, for two years. It's everything I've wanted, everything I've worked for ... and it scares me to death," she whispered.

"Well, you'd hardly be considered normal if it didn't scare you, Princess," Balthier replied calmly, still not following his Princess.

"Queens do not consort with pirates," she said quietly, sadly, and suddenly he understood.

He turned her to face him and looked her deep in the eyes. "We can't worry about all that now, Ashelia. We've got to make it through all this other nonsense first. Then we can worry about what happens next." He paused, almost afraid to say the next bit. "Unless you'd rather walk away right now? Perhaps pretend it never happened?"

The frightened look in her eyes said what her voice could not. "NO!" they practically screamed at him. After a long pause, she shook her head. "No," she finally said, smiling at him ever-so-slightly. "Not yet."

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Less than two hours later, the party met in the lobby of The Archadian. Everyone seemed well-rested and relaxed. Everyone, save Ashe. She seemed uncharacteristically keyed-up and nervous. Penelo assumed she was apprehensive about breaking into Draklor. It would be understandable. She herself had doubts, and she was far more accustomed to such behavior than Ashe.

The party made their way across the Tsenoble district until they reached the Laboratory. "It seems quiet," Basch remarked off-handedly.

Ashe looked around, studying the surroundings, trying to sense whatever it was Basch was sensing. She didn't have a clue as to what to look for, though.

Balthier's keen eyes narrowed. "Passing strange ... There are supposed to be guards here."

Vaan shrugged, ever-cheerful. "Maybe we're just lucky?"

Balthier eyed him. "Maybe you're just optimistic."

Basch nodded. "Something may be afoot. We proceed with caution," he said firmly.

Balthier shook his head, aggravated beyond reason. The morning's conversation with Ashe had unnerved him. He usually knew what was going to happen -- he always had a plan for everything. Usually, he would bed the object of his current infatuation, and the infatuation would go away. The chase was the fun, after all. But with Ashe ... with Ashe, it was different. The longer he was near her, the more he wanted, the more he needed. She had become a sort of craving for him. He was unaccustomed to it, and it was quite unsettling.

The fact that she was forbidden fruit wasn't really helping matters, either. He did so love breaking the rules.

"No time for caution!" he said carelessly. "Step to it. Cid's chambers are on the top level." He grabbed Ashe by the hand and pulled her into the building, the others close behind.

Apparently they were not the first "visitors" to Cid's office that day. "Someone lacking manners has been here," Fran sniffed, looking around the quarters that were in complete disarray.

"Someone after the Nethicite?" Vaan ventured.

Ashe walked around the office, running her fingers along books and volumes absently. Balthier stood at the desk, rifling through the research notes, talking to himself as if there was no one else in the room. "The Jagd Difohr was it? Six years, and ever since you got back, this … What madness found you there?"

Ashe walked up to him, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. As much as she knew she should be distancing herself, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Like a moth to a flame, she was drawn to him, and she wondered, much to her chagrin, if it would always be that way.

Suddenly, there were sounds from below -- guards. "Up! Above us! Drop bulkheads five and eight! Be to it!"

Vaan looked at Fran, panic in his blue eyes. "They found us!"

She shook her head. "His earlier visitors, most likely," she assured him. We should lie low for now."

But Balthier shook his head. "No. We'll use their confusion. We've got to find Cid. Now." There was fire, venom behind his hazel eyes, and his hand clamped around hers as though he were asking her for strength. She only hoped she had enough to give.

The group fought through the Imperial guards up to the 70th floor. Upon reaching the landing, they were immediately assaulted by a hulking bald man with bushy white sideburns. He lunged at Basch, his double swords glinting as he went in for the strike. Basch blocked his attacks expertly and knocked him back.

The man righted himself, and then bowed his head slightly. "My apologies," he said. "You bear not the stench of Cid's lackeys."

"And you are ... the earlier visitor?" Basch supplied, arms crossed, eyeing the man warily.

The voice of Dr. Cidolfus Demen Bunansa broke into their conversation. "Ah, yes, a valuable man. One I'd sooner not lose. Yet he knows too much."

The bald man glowered in the direction of the staircase leading up, where one could presume Dr. Cid waited. Ashe swore she heard him growl under his breath. He took off up the stairs, and with little hesitation, the others followed.

Dr. Cid was at one end of an enormous, circular room. Ashe couldn't help but find it quite striking -- the resemblence between father and son. If only the father weren't mad with power ...

"Cid!" the strange man bellowed. "You know Deifacted Nethicite brought down the Leviathan. How can you persist with this folly?"

Cid laughed slightly. "And you've come to stop me? I'd fain to see you try."

"Mind your bones, Old Man," Balthier said coolly. "You're outmatched."

"Ah, pirate scum of the skies," Cid snarled. "What brings you here?"

"Treasure," Balthier continued, undeterred by his father's glower. "What else would a pirate want? We'll take the Dusk Shard."

Cid laughed uproariously. "You've come for that trinket? And here, I thought you above all that!" Suddenly his eyes honed in on the girl whose hand Balthier was clinging to. "Hm? What's that?" He seemed to be talking to himself. "Ahh, the Princess of Dalmasca, come to visit? She's certainly not without merit," he said with a meaningful look at his son. "A test of sorts for our Princess?" Again, he said it to someone no one else could see.

Ashe glared. "You're a babbling fool," she spat.

"A trial for Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca!" Cid roared. Then he lowered his tone, as though he were speaking only to Ashe. "You lust for the stone's power, do you not?"

Ashe said nothing, but felt Balthier's grip tighten around her hand. She sighed in anger, frustration.

"Lend him not your ears, M'Lady," the bald stranger said. "He means to use you."

At that moment, Cid jumped from his platform, his body seemingly burning with power. Four rooks circled him, attacking the party menacingly, whilst Cid stood behind them, using them as a shield.

One of the rooks swung out erratically and sent Ashe flying into the far wall. She crumpled unconsciously on the floor. Balthier made to move for her, but Fran stopped him with a hand on his arm. "It's Manufacted Nethicite," she said quietly, nodding at Penelo as she spoke. Penelo immediately went to Ashe and began casting Curaga. Basch stood like a sentinel over the two women. "Like Bergan. You, Vaan, and I will stop him, and they will tend to her."

Balthier nodded at Fran, then clenched his fists, and turned to his father. "How could you do this?" he demanded. "How could you fall this far?"

Cid merely laughed. Vaan swung his sword at a Rook and knocked it out, leaving Cid partially defenseless. "Always hiding behind your toys," Balthier sneered. "Pity if something were to happen to them." He, Fran, and Vaan finished off the Rooks and then began attacking Cid himself.

Cid finally fell, dropping his two machine guns and kneeling on the floor. The stranger took a running leap toward him, presumably to finish him off, but was knocked back by an invisible force. Miraculously, he managed to land on his feet.

Suddenly, a terrifying demonic creature appeared behind Doctor Cid. "Venat, you shouldn't have," Cid said.

"This creature ... this is your Venat?" Balthier asked, staring at the ghostly apparition in wonderment. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.

Cid shook his head, looked back at Ashe, who was now back on her feet, only a little shaky and worse for the wear. Balthier thanked the gods that Penelo had been studying her healing magicks so much lately.

"Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca!" Cid boomed out. "Just how far will you go for power? Does your lust for Nethicite consume you?"

Ashe looked at him, her chin set at its familiar haughty level. She would not justify his babblings with a response.

"Am I right? I am, aren't I?" Cid continued. "You would do well to go to Giruvegan. Who knows? You may receive a new stone for your trouble." A hover drone appeared then, and Cid boarded it.

"Your words mean nothing to me!" Ashe screamed, angry now, and scared. Was he right? Would she too, end up just like him if she continued on this quest?

"The reins of History back in the hands of Man!" Cid replied. "I, too, make for Giruvegan. Give chase, if you dare it!" And then he was gone.

Balthier's hands fisted yet again. "Hate it when he does that," he muttered. Then he made haste to Ashe's side. "You are all right?" He took both of her hands into his.

Ashe smiled at him tenderly. "I am fine, if not a little angry. I can't believe ... that's your father."

Balthier chuckled a bit. "Sometimes it's a stretch for me, as well."

The stranger approached them then. "Mayhaps you think me remiss," he began. "The Lady Ashe of Dalmasca?" Ashe nodded, a curious expression on her face. "I am the Sky Pirate Reddas, at your employ." He bowed deeply.

"Yes?" Ashe said.

"I would have you and your party accompany me to Balfonheim Port. I have information that you may be interested in," Reddas said.

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They went to Reddas' manse in Balfonheim, discussing with him the Resistance, the Marquis Ondore, and their next destination. They agreed to go to Giruvegan, though Reddas seemed to have misgivings.

"Not coming, Reddas?" Balthier asked, slightly challenging. He never trusted other pirates, it tended to end badly. "Forget your precious Nethicite already?"

Reddas simply shook his head. "Cid's words rang hollow to me. I shall follow another course," he said.

"Ah, another lead, then," Balthier surmised. "You're well-informed."

"I could well say the same to you, Pirate," Reddas retorted.

Vaan appeared then. "Hurry it up, Balthier, or we'll leave without you."

Balthier sighed and headed toward the door. "Fly first, ask questions later," Reddas quipped. "Your apprentice is more pirate than you."

"I don't have an apprentice," Balthier said sourly. He motioned for Ashe to follow him, and she began to.

"Princess Ashe." Reddas' voice stopped her. "I would hear your heart. If Doctor Cid has spoke the truth, you may well be rewarded with more Nethicite in Giruvegan. Tell me: do you still desire the stone?"

Ashe paused, thoughtful. "I desire its power. I want ... yet I also fear," she said after some contemplation. " I must protect Dalmasca. I can't afford to fear anything." Unwittingly, her mind drifted back to that morning ... now seeming so long ago. Her duty was to Dalmasca, she couldn't falter. She couldn't let her fears -- be they about Nethicite, or a certain Sky Pirate -- blind her.

"Do not forget Nabudis," Reddas said warningly. "That is my only counsel for you."

Ashe nodded and took her leave. Balthier waited for her outside the manse. "What did he say?" he asked her.

"He told me not to forget Nabudis," Ashe said solemnly. "I shan't."

"Come along," Balthier said gently. "Let us eat and then get some rest. We leave for Giruvegan on the morrow."

The party spoke to three of Reddas' most trusted "men" (one of whom was a woman, the other being a moogle, and the final being an actual "man"), and they were informed that they would need to travel through the dreaded Feywood and solve a mystifying puzzle to reach the ancient, holy city of Giruvegan.

When the party arrived at the Whitecap, Balfonheim's local pub and inn, Ashe sank into a chair with exhaustion and ordered an enormous amount of food, which she proceeded to devour. The rest of the party ate their own meals and watched her in utter amazement.

"Wow. I didn't know Princesses could eat that much," Vaan said simply.

Ashe sighed. "Leave me alone, Vaan," she said irritably. "It's been a terribly long day." She delicately wiped her mouth with a napkin, and pushed away from the table. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed." She placed a hand on Balthier's shoulder before leaving.

He placed a hand over hers. "I'll be along shortly," he told her, and she nodded. She headed up the stairs and prepared to pamper herself with a nice long bath.

Basch, Vaan, and Penelo all soon claimed exhaustion as well, and headed up to their own rented rooms. Fran and Balthier sat in companionable silence for several minutes before Fran spoke. "Balthier. Tell me, what will you do when she is Queen?"

Balthier eyed his long-time companion warily. "I haven't much thought about it," he answered honestly. "Right now, I just want to see that she makes it to the throne in one piece."

"But you care about her," Fran pressed.

He took a long drink of his ale and avoided looking at the viera, wondering if he should play it off as nothing, just another girl, or if he should confess it all. Fran was the one person who wouldn't judge him, either way.

"Balthier." Her tone was warning, bordering on cool.

"I haven't thought about it," he repeated, quieter this time, "because it hurts too damn much. All right?" he said challengingly. "Is that want you wanted to hear?"

"Yes," Fran said matter-of-factly. "I told you she couldn't be another one of your conquests ..."

"Fran, damn it, I know that. She wasn't ... isn't."

"If you'd let me finish," Fran said evenly, "I would have said that I told you she couldn't be another of your conquests. Not that you couldn't have a relationship with her. The way you looked at her when you took Rasler's ring said it all. You took it because you didn't want to see her sad. I was worried for you then -- since when does Balthier care if anyone is sad or not? -- and I worry for you now. Tell me, Balthier. Do you love her?"

Balthier sucked in a breath. Leave it to Fran to be frank and to the point. "Fran ..." he began, trying to dodge the inevitable bullet.

"We've been partners for nearly six years, Balthier," Fran said calmly. "I've watched you go through dozens of women, no second glances, no regrets. The bounty on your head is ridiculous, and it fazes you not a bit. But I ask you what you'll do when she becomes Queen, and you have no blase comment. No glib remark.

"I've been by your side when no one else would dare. You owe me the truth."

"Damn it, Fran," Balthier cursed, but smiled at her nonetheless. This viera was maddening ... she could break even the most seemingly complex things into just a few sentences, and make him feel like a bleeding idiot.

"You love her," Fran said simply. "I knew it."

"How is it you knew it before I did?" he asked her after a few moments of silence.

"I didn't," she said simply. "You knew it all along. You just didn't want to admit it." Smiling fondly at him, she nodded in the direction of the stairs. "Are you going to sit with me all night, or are you going to go tell her?"

Balthier shook his head. "It's not the time, Fran," he said. "There's too much happening, and it would be callous and cruel of me to drop this on her now."

Fran's eyes widened in realization. "You don't think she feels the same," she said. "You're afraid. Balthier, afraid. Amazing. Now I have seen it all." She sighed. "Then don't tell her now. But you should be with her, regardless." She stood and took her leave of him.

The last thing she saw before going up the stairs was the sight of her best friend, brooding into his ale. Shaking her head, she grinned. She'd often wondered if she'd be around when he'd give up going through the girls, and find the girl who would go through him. Shocking, yet rather befitting, that it took a Princess.

It had truly been a day of amazing revelations.