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Chapter
II
DISPARITY
His black boots made a barely audible sound as
they pressed against the well polished wood
floor. He closed the door behind him carefully
as his trained eyes traveled around the dim lit
lobby warily, trying to figure out where the
right path leading to his room was. Well, not
exactly ‘his room’, because he had to share it
with Fran. Damn this hotel for lacking of rooms,
he mentally cursed. What kept him composed was
that the room had separate beds, so he didn’t
really mind.
As his figure passed,
not even a single person looked at him and he
thanked God for that. Sometimes he just loathed
those suspicious looks he was always given. But
now as he stared at them from the corner of his
eye, they didn’t seem to care, not even the
slightest. His presence was no more than a
sweeping breeze in their eyes. Turning his head
and fixing his look on the corridor ahead, he
exhaled before resuming walking, this time with
steady paces.
The dim lights, the
wall, and the doors were reflected in his brown
eyes. The reflections were so vivid that they
even competed with the real ones. As lights
sprayed dancing gleam across his face, he faced
a door and soon turned its doorknob, carefully
and silently. A second after that the door
creaked open, only to expose a room with two
beds. On one of them there slept soundly a Viera,
his partner Fran. He walked over to her, trying
not to wake her up as he did so.
Her black helmet had
been taken off and he couldn’t help but stare at
her. Now that he was looking at her like this…
Memories deluged his mind.
“Why did you use
that black helmet?”
“Why? This is useful
to protect my head, Balthier. I assume you are
aware of the fact that even though I have longer
life than Humes, I still try to avoid death at
all costs. Eluding myself from it. So in other
words, you have no objection to ask, nor
complain.”
“But! …You know, you
look prettier without that… thing.”
“…Pardon me?”
“But I guess… if
this means to keep you safe, I won’t complain.”
“…”
“Yes. Now let’s be
off. The sky is waiting, m’lady.”
A smirk adorned his
face. How they’d met and become partners was
still like a dream to him. A wonderful dream.
And he wanted to keep that forever. He could
remember Fran being so quiet at first, but after
some time, she could open up and put her trust
on him. Partners always share everything, after
all.
He
smiled down at her peaceful face and walked over
to his bed, pulling his shirt over his head.
Lying on the silky white surface, he shifted his
look upwards and stared at the ceiling. The
fragrant scent of flowers in the vase went into
his nose, calming his nerves down. He inhaled,
filling his lungs with fresh air and closing his
eyes in try to sleep. When darkness took over,
he soon was embraced by ephemeral dreams. And in
his dream land, reality became a far-off
dream.
The first thing she saw was the ceiling. She
blinked several times, dazzled by the light that
seeped through the windows. A minute later she
carefully sat up, then observed the room with
her crimson eyes vigilantly. Not long after
that, her eyes caught the sight of a figure
sleeping on the other bed not far from her. She
rose from her bed, long ears flipping back and
forth as she took more steps to examine the
sleeping gunman. Fran tilted her head. “Balthier?”
When no response spoken, the Viera turned on her
heel heading for the window.
She opened it almost
too quickly. Once the window was completely
open, she jumped over to the terrace agilely,
making no sound as her long feet stepped on the
floor. Gentle breeze swept by, causing her lithe
long locks to swing elegantly behind. Bathed by
the warm light of the sun, her cocoa skin exuded
a captivating luminosity. Resplendent rays
poured upon the town, lighting the strewn houses
up and bringing a new beginning to everyone.
Another new day.
Fran breathed in again.
The air was just refreshing… It brought
tranquility to her. After closing her eyes for a
brief moment, she lifted her head. The rooftop
did seem to attract her attention. She jumped
and stood on the rooftop swiftly, casting her
gaze upon the dawned town. Leaves began to
rustle while birds flew from their nests towards
the sky, singing in every flap of their wings,
greeting the new day.
She felt much better
now. Staring up at the sky just brought longing
to her heart. Oh how she missed flying in the
sky again… Looking for new treasures in hidden
mines, dungeons…
But this was just too
quiet. This serenity didn’t match with flying,
hunting for things. But now that she thought
about this, sky pirates always went against
nature, did they not? At this, a faint small
surfaced onto her face.
“Fran? Where are you?”
Came the gunman’s voice.
She instantly jumped
down and when she faced the gunman, her partner
gave her a baffled look. To answer his quizzical
look, the Viera spoke, “I’ve been on the
rooftop. Just feeling the air, that’s all.
Everything is changing, I can smell it. Ivalice…
is changing.”
Balthier’s voice came
out as almost a chuckle. “Oh yes, changing. And
speaking of which, I wonder, will we remain as
sky pirates, like, forever?”
His partner didn’t seem
to give a satisfying answer. “That, I do not
know. Let destiny speak itself. We can not see
our future. But for surely, beyond all the
interlaced paths of our life, there is a future.
And there will always a time when a thing such
as future comes to our grasp. But for now, we
just can wait and walk on our chosen roads.”
“Yeah. I guess you’re
right.”
Silence for a moment.
Balthier eventually noticed Fran’s eyes on him.
His bare chest, more like. A playful smirk came
across his face almost immediately. “Why are you
giving me that look? What? Never seen a hot
half-naked guy before?”
“…”
“Enthralled, aren’t
you?”
“…That sounds like a
joke.”
“It does?”
“Anyhow,” Fran walked
past him and looked over her shoulder. “I
wouldn’t be surprised if you caught a cold. You
really should have worn something.” With that
she headed for the bathroom and as the door
swung close, the gunman sighed.
“Now,
that’s what I call a joke.” He shook his head.
They went out the inn
when the sun had risen completely and now
everyone was beginning their daily activities.
The once serene town changed into something more
cheerful. Some people ran hurriedly across the
town, exclaiming something no one cared for.
Howling mobs were almost everywhere, crowding
out the streets like ants. The sky, however,
seemed very busy too. White clouds ran after
each other, as if they had an airship to catch.
Birds were also busy; preoccupied by their own
orchestra. Everything was so hectic.
Her voice was a
disturbance to the lingering silence between
them. “Where are we going, actually?” Fran asked
when they walked amongst the people. She didn’t
have any clue where her partner was taking them
to.
“Café. Who knows, maybe
I can get a job there. To hunt some monsters,
perhaps. We need money first, Fran. We’re lack
of it. I think Vaan stole our pocket –”
The crimson eyed woman
flicked her clinging hair off her face, cocking
her head to the side. She apparently had left
her helmet in the room; didn’t bother to wear it
because now she didn’t feel the need to. “…I may
be mistaken. But I think I heard you speak out
an ‘I’.”
“You are not mistaken,
my dear.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“Since when did you act on your own and leave me
behind?”
“Remember the Bahamut?”
When Fran nodded, he resumed speaking, “Remember
when you fainted and I had to act on my own?” He
gave his partner a smirk and Fran, who had been
listening to his every word, now furrowed her
brows.
“I disapprove with your
words. I think I’ve told you that I didn’t ask
for that.” She folded her arms over her chest,
half glaring at the gunman who was only
chuckling in amusement. Fran, however, didn’t
think there was anything funny to laugh at. Yet
it was sense of humor that she actually lacked
for. “Is there something funny, Balthier?” The
Viera asked, quite befuddled by her partner’s
sudden laughter but she masked herself pretty
well. Her taintless face didn’t seem to present
any noticeable emotions.
“Ah, no. No, m’lady.”
He snorted. When Fran’s white brows were drawn
deeper into a frown, Balthier couldn’t help but
guffaw. This attracted people’s attention so he
quickly closed his mouth, retaining himself from
bursting into any more possible laughter. When
his laughter receded, people continued doing
their own activities again, completely
forgetting about what had happened awhile ago.
“Well…” He stared at her for awhile before
uttering a conclusion. “You do look
pretty without that thing.”
With that he stepped
into what appeared to be a café. Fran,
meanwhile, could only gaze at her partner’s back
in bewilderment. What his statement was meant
for, she didn’t know. She shook her head to
abolish the popping questions in her mind as she
finally followed him into the café.
The smell of liquor
went into his nose in an instant. Mingled with
the scent of fresh baked breads, it spread
across the room and filled the café with the
well-known atmosphere. Inhaling deeply, Balthier
moved towards the bartender, ordered drinks for
the two of them, and seated himself. Only a
second after that Fran came, taking a seat
beside him.
A cluster of bottles
were placed on the table, not very tidily, but
neatly enough not to invite displeasing looks
from people. The whole room was filled with
inevitable noise as everyone talked; whether it
was about new treasures or the latest dirty
gossip around the town, no one seemed want to
stop babbling. Talking was something to fill the
gap between their drinks and meals.
When the bartender came
back to them with two drinks in his hands,
Balthier intertwined his fingers and asked
almost immediately, “is there anything new?” The
old man turned his head to the gunman, locking
gaze with him for awhile before settling the
drinks on the table.
“Ya seekin’ for a job
no?”
“I am.” He replied.
The bartender scratched
the back of his head. Recalling things was not
his first option at that time. Due to him being
busy all the time with his café engulfed by
crowds almost every time except sleep times, he
could hardly remember a thing. “Uhm…” He began,
and both Balthier and Fran waited patiently,
though Fran didn’t look very happy even the
slightest. “I think I’ve got one for ya.” The
old man bent a little to take something out from
a drawer. He showed them a yellow paper, eaten
by years and on it there was a picture of a
monster. “Need ya to get rid of this and take
its claws.”
“…Claws?” It was Fran’s
first comment after quite awhile. The bartended
jerked his head at her voice and almost jumped
in surprise.
Seeing this, Balthier
interfered. “What? Never seen a Hume hanging out
with a Viera together?” The expression on the
old man’s face was obvious enough to explain
everything. He did never see a Hume
hanging out with a Viera together.
“My apologies. Erh
yeah, as I said before, its claws. For herbs,
y’know. How does this sound?”
“I’m on it.” The gunman
grinned before taking a sip of his drink,
letting the familiar warm liquid to take over
his entire mouth as he savored it. “And Fran,”
He put the glass back on the table. “Before you
can protest any further, I want you to
understand the situation. For your safety, you
need to rest more. You’re not fully recovered
yet and I don’t want to lose my partner, okay?”
When the crimson eyed
woman opened her mouth to voice her objection,
Balthier quickly placed his index finger on it.
He smiled warmly at her. “No objections this
time, okay? We’re talking about your life,
m’lady.”
“…”
“I promise we can hunt
together after you’re fully recovered.”
“…You better keep that,
sky pirate.”
A smirk
emblazoned his face. “I will.”
He’d gone out by himself
leaving his partner at the café, and now he was
surrounded by trees again. Some monsters roared
simultaneously, sending chills down to his
spines. Gaining his composure back, Balthier
inserted another bullet to his gun and
scrutinized the area cautiously. His skilled
eyes rolled from time to time in try to catch a
figure that matched with the picture on the
paper.
As he concentrated on the
grassy ground ahead, a part of his mind yearned
to be recognized. This thought always bothered
him whenever he was alone without her. Of
course. It was none other than that green glow.
It was still a mystery and it seemed like he
couldn’t get his mind off it. Somewhere deep in
his heart, he knew he had to find more about
this.
He jerked his head up
so suddenly when another roar reverberated in
his ears. A familiar figure came into his sight
and he knew what to do. He automatically raised
his gun in a quick motion and aimed it at the
monster, but unfortunately the bullet missed its
target. Instead it hit a tree a few inches
beside his foe.
He sneezed.
“Damn. I think you’re
right Fran.”
Another
sneeze.
Her long ears swiveled
back and forth, alerted as they amassed
information from the talking people. While her
eyes rolled from one side to another studying
everything, she learned that Dalmasca was ready
to recover and the queen’s coronation would be
held a year later. However, this wasn’t the only
information she got. Many people were also
talking about the new age of the empire, how
Lord Larsa would lead Archadians to years of
glory and peace. Everyone seemed to have the
same topic for their gossip this morning.
“Care to have more drink
‘lad?” The bartender who had told her that his
name was Dick asked. She jerked her head at his
voice, white curls whipping at her face, red
eyes rolling towards his direction, and long
ears flipping backwards.
Fran only shook her
head politely muttering a quiet ‘no thanks’
before averting her gaze towards the people
again, lost in thoughts. As far as her eyes
could see, there was no sign of people grouping
with Viera. There wasn’t even a Viera there, for
heaven’s sake. Yeah, except her, of course.
Humes most likely didn’t partner with Viera, as
spoken in history that Viera incarcerated
themselves inside the Wood, staying away from
whatever was happening with Ivalice and Humes.
But she was different,
wasn’t she?
She, in fact, had
abandoned her home and people and to complete
her ironic fairytale, she ended up partnering
with a Hume. She gained what she had been
looking for; freedom. But to pay that price, she
was rejected by the Wood and its people.
Surprisingly enough, she didn’t really care.
She was different.
This difference…
sometimes really bothered her. Sometimes she
inquired herself questions that couldn’t be
answered, sometimes she wondered if her choice
to leave the Wood was right, sometimes she asked
herself what actually made her different from
the others.
Sometimes she was tired
of questioning herself and let everything flow
like water.
Fran
exhaled and interlaced her fingers together,
studying the area again as she murmured in a low
tone, “how prosaic…”
She couldn’t help but smirk in amusement when
she saw her companion sneezing over and over in
the past ten minutes. She tilted her head as
Balthier gave up with his cards and banged them
on the table. “Tired already, no?” She said.
“I want to stop
sneezing. Really, I do.”
She grinned. “You
should have worn something, I told you.”
“But it was hot, okay?”
“Now who needs to take
a break for awhile?”
The gunman didn’t say
anything. Instead he rested his legs on the
table and folded his arms behind his head. Fran
eyed him for awhile, knowing how bad his mood
was that time. Balthier simply didn’t like any
‘bad condition’ because it meant an obstacle to
his treasure hunting and his so-called ‘career’
as a sky pirate. No job, no money. No treasure,
no money.
“How was the hunt
today?” She asked in monotone.
“Fine. Except when I
sneezed over and over and missed the target from
time to time. Sucked, I know.” He replied with a
heavy sigh.
Her red eyes were
suddenly attracted by light coming through the
windows. She shifted her look from her partner
to it, blinking several times as she spotted the
moon hanging in the sky dauntlessly. Fran looked
at him again with unreadable expression on her
face. “Want to go out in a bit? The moon looks
nice today.” She asked and he shrugged, but rose
from his seat nonetheless.
As soon as they stepped
out their room to the terrace, the moon hailed
them with its beaming pale light. Clusters of
stars stretched across the dark sky, sparkling
gaily as they escorted the princess of night
showering glitters upon the town. The sky was
decorated temptingly, taintless without blemish.
For awhile, she just gazed at the heavens, this
time awe was clearly seen upon her face. Not so
long after that she spoke, “…we rarely can see
pretty moon like this from the Wood.”
“Oh?” Balthier arched
one of his eyebrows.
“In the Wood, there are
so many trees that even the sun or the moon is
blocked from our sight. We hardly can see a
thing. Isolated, it is.”
“…Yeah. That… sucks.”
“What keeps us alive
and hope for tomorrow is the light of the sun.
Even though it’s only a little, it is enough to
bring hopes to our hearts.”
“And now,” The gunman
stretched out his arms a bit and yawned. “Now
that you can see the sun and moon fully, how
does it feel?” He asked, to which Fran replied
with a warm smile. Strange how a small smile
from her like that could ease him a lot,
relaxing his mind so abruptly…
“It feels good.” She
answered.
“Something bothering
you, Fran?”
The Viera’s stomach
suddenly gave a jolt as she turned her head to
him. His brown eyes gleamed mischievously and a
small smirk crept to his face. In her
contemplation, Fran finally reckoned he was
being an observer right now, with his so-called
ability to read people’s mind. Not like she
really believed him though. The gunman always
joked around that sometimes she wondered when he
was actually being serious.
A single ear turned to
his direction while the other stayed still,
unmoving. “Why did you say so?” She asked, eyes
rolling towards his profile skeptically. “Being
an observer again, aren’t you?”
He chuckled slightly,
arms crossed over his chest and the previous
smirk had apparently changed into something
bigger and more impish. “Oh well, I am, am I
not? Want me to share this ability so you can
read my mind as well?”
“…Not interested.”
“Oh okay. Back to our
topic. Is something bothering you, woman?
Because it seems like you have something in
mind.”
She shrugged unsurely.
“I don’t really know. But yes, maybe I have
something in mind.”
“Do speak.”
“…” She inhaled, hoping
the fresh night air could bring serenity to her
heart and aid her in speaking. She was never the
one to talk much; she wasn’t as talkative as the
gunman, but the bonds between them had helped
her to trust him and she could open up and talk
more. “I… I have been just wondering what makes
me different from the other Viera. Why I wanted
to partner with a Hume? Why I abandoned my home,
siblings, and friends? Why I chose to leave the
arms that held me tightly in the past?” She let
out a sigh. “This morning when I was in the café
alone, I learned much. Never ever did history
mention about a Viera hanging out with a Hume
together. And it is clear. I think it’s just me
that goes against the law.”
“I too, go against it,
y’know. But who cares?” Balthier said airily,
smiling. “What about rewriting the pages of
history eh? Sounds like fun, don’t you think? I
wonder if we get paid by doing that.”
“…Only money is in your
head, is it not, sky pirate?”
“Ah.” He unfolded his
arms and gave her a meaningful smile, but she
just cocked her head to the side, flustered.
“Not really. I do have something else in my
mind.”
“And you won’t speak of
it, will you?”
“No until later.”
“Hhh… Fine.”
“Well, difference is
not bad, Fran.” He leaned against the wall while
she stood still, wind blowing her long locks
slightly. Even under the pale light of the moon
she still looked as captivating as ever.
Compared to her, he was nothing. His skin was
too customary for his own taste, while hers
looked like coffee – so warm and addictive. Her
white hair, regardless of what other people
said, he still thought it was beautiful; a gift
Humes couldn’t have. She was a marvel in his
eyes.
“…Care to tell why?”
He smiled, turning on
his heel as he looked over his shoulder locking
gaze with her. “Because the difference you have
makes you special and unique. And so, no can
replace you.” With that he turned his head,
waved a hand in the air, and said, “I’m sleepy.
Go in if you’ve had enough time watching the
moon ‘kay?” And the door swung close silently
behind him.
For mere seconds that
felt like a short eternity, Fran could only
stare blankly at the spot where her companion
had been before, as if that place was something
so precious; something memorable and important.
She might look so emotionless right now, but
inside, her mind was struggling with words and
thoughts. Musing had become one of her habits,
so it wasn’t quaint at all to see her deep in
thoughts again, especially when there was only
silence accompanying her.
Inside, Balthier’s
words echoed repeatedly.
Inside, she felt so
ease.
And she gained her
confidence.
No. She didn’t regret
leaving the Wood. She didn’t regret partnering
with Humes at all. Because one of them… had made
her realize so many things. A certain Hume had
taught her how life actually felt like.
And she thought it was
amazing.
Her high heels rang
noiselessly in the air as she walked slowly
towards the door leading inside. Fran carefully
opened the door, closing it once she was inside
and a moment later she approached the sleeping
gunman. A small smile came to her face as
abruptly as warmth had inundated her heart.
She bent a little to
draw the blanket closer to his neck.
She
hoped it would keep him warm enough.
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