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To say that Judge Magister Gabranth was surprised to receive the queen's odd request was an understatement– he sat for a full five minutes staring down at the parchment that smelled faintly of flowers and spices, trying to figure out not only what she wished him to do, but how she expected him to accomplish the task.  It was true that he'd been trained in code-breaking, but he had not been given information on any Archadian codes of the sort, and odds were good that it was not only foreign but pirate as well (of which, of course, he would have little dealings).

He set the parchment down and picked up the book she'd enclosed with the package.  It was old and worn and he recognized it easily from his past with the queen– she kept it by her bedside table at all times to read before bed, as she had done for years before the fall of her country during her seventeenth year.  He skimmed through the pages, letting the paper flip by the ends of his fingers.  There were notes in the margins that were definitely scrawled by a pirate hand, and though he grew irate at the notion of the man defacing something so obviously of value to the queen, he could not help the quirk of his mouth as he read several of the thoughts.

Ashe had marked the section she wished him to decipher with an old, worn bookmark, and he opened the book and laid it flat on the desk.  There were letters circled, some odd number of them in total, and at first it did not seem that there was any rhyme or reason to the choosing of the individual sounds.  He glanced through the rest of the passage, noting that the letters stopped at the end of the verse itself, and then began jotting down the letters onto a blank paper with his pen.

When he had written them all, he stared down at them, willing them to form some semblance of code he was familiar with.  He tried translating them into Rozarrian– it was a fleeting idea, but he had to rule all possibilities out, and when he received nothing for his troubles but a sentence of gibberish, he realized it would simply not be that easy.  He sat back and started calculating through all the codes he knew from his days in the Rabanastre army.  There were several, though he could rule out three due to the use of only letters rather than numbers, and then another one because there were no symbols.

He went through and tried to translate it into Nabudis– another far cry, but it too failed.  Then he scratched out the letters and assigned them sounds in the Garif dialect, which, as he had expected, revealed nothing as well.

After another few hours and enough saltwater sweetcandy to rot the teeth of a dozen children, the Judge Magister realized that he was overthinking the whole thing. It wasn't really a code at all. Just a simple message. No dialectal issues, no translating, just a few simple words in a jumble.

He was able to figure out "Princess" within a minute, and he noticed that Balthier had chosen all the letters that made up that word from one paragraph – a paragraph about the Lady Nemaria before she had become Queen. It really was that simple, and everything began to fall into place. "Will you" was unscrambled next, and he realized there were only seven letters to go. And that was when Basch's eyes narrowed.

This couldn't be the message. He must have misinterpreted one of the other words, surely. Maybe it wasn't Princess, but Prince. Maybe? Basch set down the quill and dug out another piece of candy and noticed his hands were shaking as he undid the wrapper. He tossed the sweet item into his mouth and set his jaw. He'd need at least another handful of candy before he would decide what to do with the knowledge of Balthier's message to the Queen.

"Princess will you marry me" stared back at him, and he wondered if Balthier had imagined someone other than Ashe getting to see this message.

--

The letter Ashe received in return from Basch was not what she had expected. Instead of a simple translation or deciphering, he'd only sent her a brief message.

My lady,

I have almost completed the task you requested. Thank you very much for the kind gift but know always that any favor you ask of me needs no gift or incentive. But in this instance, I would ask a favor in return. Lord Larsa has some essential documents to transport to Dalmasca, but they are of the utmost secrecy. Please send your official transport to pick up these documents to ensure their safe arrival in Rabanastre.

Your humble friend always,
Basch

Larsa had not mentioned any documents upon their last meeting. Perhaps there was a dangerous plot afoot? She sighed at the realization of what she now had to do, but there was little time. She called for a messenger and sent him immediately to the aerodrome. Within the hour, Balthier was escorted into her chambers.

"Have you cracked it yet?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye, and it infuriated her.

"That is of little consequence to me right now," she replied and noticed the sky pirate twitch at her words. Why was this little game so damned important to him? "I need you and Fran to go to Archades. Larsa has some documents to give me that are too sensitive to send by mail or via the Archadian fleet. Apparently he considers you trustworthy enough to transport them."

The sky pirate seemed dubious of his new assignment. "Is that so? Well, then I hope he's planning to pay me for fuel?"

She shook her head. "Basch didn't mention it. He just requested the Strahl for this mission, so please just do this for me. I will reward you…"

"Oh?"

Ashe scowled. "Don't even think about it. You and Fran will be well compensated for your trouble…financially."

He grinned and bowed to her. "Then we leave within the hour. I'm sure we'll be back tomorrow. That gives you another day free to work on your deciphering!" She only nodded, hoping that he wouldn't pick up on her nervousness. Luckily he hadn't looked around the room for the book and her translation efforts. The sky pirate gave her a wink and strutted out of her chambers in his usual fashion.

--

"Is this really necessary?"

Basch sighed and flipped off the commlink to the palace aerodrome. The Strahl had just arrived. He met Larsa's annoyed face and nodded. "Yes, my lord."

"Well, I don't approve. I really don't see why this is such a bad thing," the young man muttered huffily. Apparently Larsa Solidor had a romantic streak in him, and when Basch had communicated the news of Balthier's intentions, the Archadian emperor had been positively gleeful. "They're a good match for each other. Why do you need to do this?"

Basch grabbed his judge helmet from the table and put it on. "Because they will never accept it in Dalmasca." He bowed to Larsa and took his leave.

"Judge Gabranth!" Larsa called when he reached the door. He halted his steps and waited. "You'll never change his mind."

Basch stomped off, knowing that the teenager was grinning behind him. A pair of guards waited for him outside of the emperor's chambers, and they trailed behind as he marched to the aerodrome. Some part of him thought this to be an immature and altogether ridiculous scheme, but if it would protect the Lady Ashe, then he would do his duty. Balthier was honorable enough, but if he thought to become the Queen's consort, he would have to go through Basch first.

He reached the Strahl's hangar and saw Fran waiting patiently outside. The Viera gave him a skeptical stare when he approached with the guards. "Is he inside?" the Judge Magister inquired, his voice muffled but hopefully still imposing through the helmet.

Fran smirked. "Yes. I had no idea you were serious about this."

He moved to the ship's steps. "I didn't think you'd actually come along, knowing how this will go."

"I let him fight his own battles." The Viera followed him and the guards into the ship. "And you'll find that this is one he will not give up."

At that moment, Balthier emerged from the cockpit. "Fran, what are you yammering on…" The sky pirate noticed that his airship now possessed three more people than he'd expected. "Hmm…Judge Gabranth," Balthier said pointedly. "Where is the cargo we're to transport?"

If Basch didn't know any better, he'd have sworn that Fran was turning away to hide a smile. The Viera moved past her partner into the cockpit. Larsa had told him not to be flashy, but Judge Magisters rarely got to have this much fun. He drew his sword from his scabbard and pointed it at the sky pirate's heart. Balthier arched an eyebrow in surprise, but his face gave nothing else away.

"Ffamran Mid Bunansa!" Basch announced, and the sky pirate visibly winced at the use of his real name. "By the power vested in me by the great Archadian Empire, I hereby arrest you for piracy." The guards moved to restrain Balthier, and the sky pirate scowled.

"What the hell are you doing?" Balthier protested, the shock on his face almost reminiscent of the faces Vaan usually had made when they'd encountered a rather challenging mark. If Balthier had only looked behind him, he would have seen his Viera partner struggling in vain to hold in laughter. "Ashe said you had classified materials for me to transport!"

He beckoned for the guards to begin to haul Balthier away. "She was mistaken."

"I want to talk to Larsa right now!" the younger man protested as he was dragged off through the hangar. "I want legal representation! I was lured here under false pretenses! I was a judge before! I know my rights!" The aerodrome was already buzzing, and Basch had not expected Balthier to be so…noisy. Perhaps it would have been best to knock him out. "I'm the hero of Dalmasca! I can have forty-seven character witnesses here within the hour if you just get Fran on the radio. Wait a moment…what are you going to do to Fran?"

"The warrant is only for you," Basch replied steadily as they pulled the pirate into the palace.

"I refuse to go along with this any longer," Balthier scowled, as one of the guards gave him a rather hard shove into a small questioning room off the main receiving hall.  He stumbled, grabbing onto the table corner, and looked somewhat surprised when the guards turned to walk past Basch with a stiff bow.  When they had left, the two men were alone in the room, and Balthier was glaring at the judge with an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Well, what are you going to do now?" the pirate asked, moving around the table to sit.  His movements were jerky from the restraints on his hands and feet, but he managed to sit down with a righteous huff of indignation, and Basch turned to close the door behind him.  He knew his armor cut a formidable figure– and thus he left it all, removing only the helmet, and keeping his sword in plain view.  He had need to use all the status he could afford himself.

"There is a matter we need to discuss," he said slowly, setting his helmet down on the tabletop with a soft thud.

"Could it possibly be the warrant for my arrest?" Balthier asked sourly.  "I can't believe Larsa would allow you to haul me in here after everything we've–"

"Quiet," Basch growled, and for once, the pirate did as he was told, though he kept the angry grimace on his features.  "It is another matter entirely that you've been summoned here."

"So it's not about that jaunt down in the Necrohol from last month?" Balthier asked, looking, Basch had to give him credit, only marginally surprised.

"What jaunt?" Basch asked, furrowing his brow, and Balthier held up both hands as best he could with the restraints, feigning surrender.

"Nothing," he corrected hastily.  "Forget I mentioned it.  By all means, please continue."

"Are you familiar with the story of Raithwall and Nemaria?" Basch asked casually, and the sky pirate's face remained neutral. However, years of interrogating taught him to look for other clues. Like reddening earlobes. "It's not a story that really reached Landis, I'm afraid. I myself did not become well-versed in the tale until I was in the employ of King Raminas." He watched the sky pirate begin to shuffle about in the seat. "The king adored the story. Having lost his beloved wife, it was a story that brought comfort to him…and comfort to his children."

Balthier's voice was not its usual arrogant timbre. "I don't suppose this abuse of power display is going to come to a point any time soon, Basch?"

He slammed a heavy, gauntleted fist down on the table. "The book you defaced was Her Majesty's most cherished possession! It is a memory of her parents and you…" Balthier looked terrified. "You wrote in it! You destroyed it!"

The sky pirate began to stumble over his words. "How do you…did she…but I left that for…"

"You think the Lady Ashe has time to decipher your scribbles? Do you know nothing of the pressure she is under day and night?"

"But I…"

"Do you realize how you have scandalized her?"

"Wait just a moment…"

"Do you understand that you have distressed her so greatly that she sent your marriage proposal to me to decipher because she didn't know what else to do?"

"I–" Balthier started, looking, for all Ivalice, like a chocobo corralled against a fence, and Basch held up a hand to silence him.

"You nothing," the judge hissed.  "You will do nothing."

There was a tense moment of silence, and he could almost see the cogs turning in the other man's head, and then, all of a sudden, the pirate's face darkened considerably, and Basch knew that Fran was right– he would not give this up lightly.  Basch did not know if this enlightenment made him feel better or worse, and perhaps, it was both.

"Now, you listen," Balthier snapped, rising to his feet.  "I don't think that you have the authority to deny me the right to marry anyone, specific circumstances notwithstanding."

"You understand nothing about the politics of Dalmasca," Basch threw back, rising as well, so they were standing on opposite sides of the table, squaring off across the wooden top.

"I don't need to understand the politics of Dalmasca!" the pirate replied.  "I'm fairly sure all I need to know is her!"

"She is the queen!" Basch roared.  "And the people will not accept this!"

His words seemed to sink in, for Balthier looked deflated, and he sank back down into his seat with heavy-lidded eyes staring down at his restrained hands.

"I know," he said, sounding infinitely weary.  "Don't think I haven't thought of this."

"Then why?" Basch asked, keeping on his feet, for his towering height now gave him the distinct advantage.  "Why would you ask if you knew?"

Balthier looked up at him, raising an eyebrow again, a ghost of his familiar smirk haunting his mouth.

"A man has to try, does he not?"

Basch realized for the first time that Balthier was not just infatuated with Ashe or using her for his own devices. There was a genuine love there, and it was not something he had previously thought the man capable of feeling. His reputation as a lothario had followed them to every port in their journey to restore Ashe to her throne, but it was all an act.

"Balthier," he replied as gently as he could. "Why not some other solution? Do you need to marry her?"

The sky pirate chuckled. "If you'd asked me that when I first met her, I'd have thought you a lunatic, Captain. But she has this way about her…rather irritating at times, enough to drive a leading man to desperate measures."

"And what way is that?"

Balthier looked down and smiled. "A way that makes a man like me – a man who thought he'd be content to roam the skies until he can't even piss of his own volition – she makes me want to stay by her side and never leave."

Basch sighed. If Larsa had heard the man's words just then, the wedding invites would already be on their way to the presses, despite the bride's lack of participation. There'd be many obstacles, but the Judge Magister realized that there could be no turning back. At the very least, he would do what he could to help the love struck pirate. "You seem rather attached to this proposal then?"

The sky pirate smirked. "I suppose I didn't have to go through all this trouble if I'd have known you'd be deciphering it. You've no sense of romance, Basch."

He sighed wearily. "Answer the question, pirate."

"I want to marry her. I would do anything to make that a reality."

Basch sat down with a hard clunk, his armor banging noisily against the back of the chair.  There was a long moment of silence, each lost in their own thoughts, and then, struck with genius, Basch looked up again.

"There could be a way," he said slowly, because he did not wish to get the pirate's hopes up should the idea fail.  From the way Balthier's eyes lit, there seemed to be little the judge could do to stop it.  "If– if you cooperate."

"Why wouldn't I?" Balthier asked, but he was smirking, and there was no menace in his tone.

"I know of your past here," Basch said, moving his armored finger along the wooden tabletop.  "I know of your father's station and your past as a judge.  If you were to, say, reclaim your family name... the bounties on your head would not carry."

"You mean–" Balthier started, and then, as if confused, shook his head before continuing, "I should become a Bunansa again?"

"You were a judge," Basch pointed out.  "And Larsa could absolve you of deserting the position due to the immorality in the system at that time.  If anything, you proved your worth by refusing to fall under Vayne's puppet hands."

"You think this will work?" the pirate asked, eyeing Basch warily.

"I think it is your only hope," Basch said firmly.  "You had station, and you had a history.  And it might just be noble enough to be allowed to marry into the Dalmascan royal family."

"You realize that all of this depends on the girl," the pirate grinned, though the action seemed forced.  "If memory serves, she sent the book to you and has not yet seen the message."

"Aye," Basch answered, sighing slightly.  "There is that."

"So why don't you spring me, and I'll happily bring your deciphering back to the Queen." The sky pirate cocked his head. "I won't even hold a grudge for the arrest."

"There was no other way to confront you."

Balthier snorted. "Liar."

Basch stood and put his helmet back on. "Mr. Bunansa, the Archadian Empire apologizes for its grave error in arresting you." He moved to the corner of the room where he'd stashed the book and parchment. He shoved the items roughly into the sky pirate's cuffed hands. "I will see you back to your ship."

Balthier rolled his eyes and stood, clutching the book in his fingers. "Did Larsa sign off on this nonsense?"

Basch opened the door and marched at the pirate's side back to the aerodrome. "Not exactly, no. You appear to have won his favor somehow."

The sky pirate grinned. "Every child wants to be a pirate, Captain. He'll always take my side."

The Judge Magister shook his head. "Lord Larsa might, but the Archadian court system is another matter entirely. If Her Majesty thinks to lower herself by contemplating marriage to a thief like you…" Balthier smiled broadly, and Basch was happy for the helmet to mask his own grin. "Then I would suggest you read up on the law codes. You'll have to win the court over before they'll grant you your title."

They reached the Strahl shortly thereafter, and Basch produced the key for the restraints. "Your best behavior, pirate. Don't even think about thieving until this matter is settled. One misstep and you'll never get what you want."

Balthier nodded in acknowledgment. "I've got a nest egg, Captain. No worries." The sky pirate grimaced as he looked at his ship. "Get out here right now, traitor!"

Fran's long legs gracefully descended the Strahl's steps to greet them. "Are we all set to depart?"

Basch inclined his head. "A misunderstanding. You are free to return to Her Majesty. Apologies for the inconvenience."

Balthier looked about ready to throttle his partner, and she appeared unfazed by his menacing glare. "You were in on this! You are dead to me!"

Fran smirked. "It was nice to see you again, Judge Gabranth. Thank you for the spare coupling." Basch watched the Viera turn back to enter the ship, the pirate trailing grumpily after her. As he walked back to the palace, he couldn't help overhearing Balthier's shouting.

"He bribed you with parts? You sell me out for a trifle like that?"

Basch chuckled. His interrogation had not dissuaded the sky pirate, but he had a feeling that the man had his work cut out for him. Now Balthier had to face his toughest challenge yet.

The Queen of Dalmasca.

--

Ashe had found little that was as overtly exhausting as sitting for an entire day with the Rozarrian royal council in addition to her own senators.  The arguments that arose were nothing short of jaw-dropping– for, once, the slander had gotten so bad that several of the older members of her council had begun referring to the Rozarrians as "fruits", and she was forced to play a rather heavy-handed mediator between the two parties.

It came as little surprise when she wanted nothing more than to collapse on her bed at the end of the day, annoyed with both sects, and dream away her problems in hopes that tomorrow morning, they simply would not seem so alarming.  Her hand maidens walked with her to her chambers, bringing a jar of water and a glass so that she could attempt to calm herself before sleeping, and she felt all too happy to strip off her gown in favor of her silken night shift.  She settled herself down in one of the chairs with a weary sigh, accepting the glass of water from her servant.

"Thank you," she said, and then the maids left, leaving her decidedly alone.  She sat for a few moments before reaching for Balthier's book– the leather on the cover was still crisp and smelled of the oils used on it, and the pages were crisp and sharp beneath her fingers.  She could not deny the beauty to it, for on several pages there were wood-carved illustrations that took her breath away.  And yet, for all his charm, the pirate was horrible at understanding the needs and wishes of nostalgia.  She closed the book, feeling unsettled in her stomach.

There was a long moment of silence, and then a thud on her balcony, and she started and jumped out of surprise.  She had not expected him back so soon– surely the goods Basch wished delivered would have taken more than a few days time to redistribute?  She rose and went to the double doors, pulling aside the draperies.

"Ah, good," the pirate smiled, stepping inside as soon as she had opened the door.  "You are here."

"You are back early," she said, drawing the curtains closed behind him.  "Was the errand so simple in nature?"

"It was– an interesting one," was all he would say, flopping down in her chair as he usually did, though his actions seemed stiff and forced.  There was something different to him, that much she could tell.  He did not seem as flippant or relaxed as usual, and his face wore a frown rather than his trademark smirk.

"Well, where are the documents from Larsa? Have you forgotten the one simple thing I asked you to do?" She regretted the shortness of her temper considering his forlorn expression. But he had arrived empty handed. What was going on?

"There were no documents."

"What do you mean? Basch said that…"

He interrupted her. "Well, let me rephrase that. The document I was asked to fetch…" She watched the sky pirate roll up his left sleeve, and she watched in shock as he pulled out the thin sheet of parchment with the twenty-two letters. How had he gotten it back from Basch? "Perhaps you're familiar with it?"

Ashe didn't know if he was upset with her for outsourcing his little riddle or upset about something else. So she decided to move on. "Has he deciphered it?" Balthier crumpled the parchment in his hand and tossed it over his shoulder. It hit the wall and fell underneath her desk. "What does it say?"

"Nothing terribly important," he muttered.

He'd given her the run around the whole time? It was just a stupid trick? She rushed forward to blunder around under her desk, but he was out of the chair with a hand around her wrist before she could reach it. "I want to know what it says. You went through all the trouble of ruining my book for this stupid message." He looked like she'd just wounded him deeply, but he kept a firm grip on her. "Unhand me, I want to read what it says!"

"Ashe, please." His eyes were serious, and she stopped struggling. "I've been a real ass about this, so I want to try this a different way."

"You're an ass about everything," she spat at him as a knee-jerk reaction, but she took a moment to ponder what he was implying. "Wait…what are you talking about? Try what in a different way?"

He moved his hand from her wrist to her hand, clutching it tightly. Was he sweating? "Ashe…I, uh…gods, the note was supposed to alleviate all these nerves…" He moved down to one knee, and she grew deeply worried. What was wrong with him?

"Are you ill, Balthier? Shall I fetch you a glass of water?"

"I– Ashe, no, gods, will you pay attention?" he stumbled out somehow, voice hitching, and all of a sudden something seemed to click inside her head, something that perhaps she had missed because she was not expecting it, and now, oh gods now, it was right in front of her.  She might have gasped, but the sound was muffled by her hand flying to cover her mouth, and she stared down at him.  For a long moment, neither of them moved, and then his hand slid down her wrist to link his fingers with hers.

"I know this is terribly unorthodox," he started, "and honestly, I didn't think I'd be doing this, but– oh, hell, Ashe.  Will you marry me?"

"What?" she squeaked out, though it came out sounding a bit more like a breathy sigh than the actual word.  He stared up at her, and then he smirked a bit, as if her lack of speech had given him all the answer he needed.

"You'll have to repeat that," he said, grinning.  "I didn't catch it."

"Oh," she sputtered, aware that her cheeks were burning.  "I– oh.  Oh!"

"I don't quite think there was an answer in there," he replied, and his thumb was running in lazy circles over the back of her hand.  It was distracting, and she was having trouble organizing her thoughts as it was.

"I– yes," she breathed, the words catching in her throat.  "Yes."

"Oh, thank the gods," he said.  His shoulders sagged forward in obvious relief, and he rose from his kneeling position.

He rose to his full height and simply stared at her, the strangest smile crossing his features. Ashe shook her head. "All this time? Is that what that silly message was?" She moved away from him, her hands shaking in excitement. The Queen retrieved the parchment from beneath her desk and examined it. She saw Basch's handwriting all over the page and smiled at the deciphering. The words "Princess will you" were clearly written out while the "marry me" was scratched down harshly, as if the hand who wrote it was in disbelief.

"I didn't know how else to ask. I thought it would be fun," he remarked, and she could feel him watching her as she reexamined the parchment and circled letters with new eyes. "But if I'd have known you were going to have Basch arrest me for defacing your book…"

She looked up from the message with a start. "Wait…what are you talking about? I only sent this for him to translate…"

The sky pirate sighed and moved to her side. "Well, that would be the ruse about the documents in Archades then. Basch conned you as well. I never thought him capable of such crafty tactics, so good on him."

Ashe grinned. "He arrested you?"

Balthier nodded and wrapped his arms around her. "Yes. In front of the entire palace aerodrome staff. He even bribed Fran to keep her mouth shut. She's been duly punished – cleaning the exhaust valves for the next four months for her complicity in that damned scheme."

She leaned against him and smiled. "I had no idea he was going to do that."

He kissed the top of her head and gave her a squeeze. "Yeah, you sound rather upset," he muttered sarcastically.

"Why, I'm dreadfully distraught," she whispered against his shoulder.  In truth, there was something different about the moment– something shimmering around them, warming her.  It was the strangest feeling, not at all like when her betrothal to Rasler had been announced, and yet still very much the same.  The butterflies in the base of her stomach– those, she remembered.

"Yes, I can see that," he murmured, and his mouth was so very close to her ear.  She could feel his breath against her earlobe, and it sent shivers down her spine.  She clenched her hands tighter against his shoulders.

"What will we do?" she asked.

"You mean to marry?" he clarified, and she nodded against his shirt.

"How will it be possible?"

"Our Judge friend had some ideas about that," he said, sighing softly.  "About me going back to Archadia and taking up my father's estate."

"You would– you would have to give up piracy," she whispered.  It seemed impossible to hold on to such a small hope, but it fluttered there in her stomach despite it all, taking wing.  Basch had been correct.  With a noble standing, such a feat would be at least possible, and the council could not look down upon it.  It would be a good match, and a marriage allowed by station, but if it would work, she could not tell.

"Yes," he said, and there was no hesitation.

"Gods," she laughed, because she couldn't keep the adrenaline inside any longer.  "Truly?"

"Truly," he said, pulling away to look down at her.  The smile on his face was contagious, and she had to return it.

"Perhaps we should celebrate," she breathed, leaning in to capture his lips with her own.

"I agree," he said, and then she was swept away, and could see nothing but him.