Epilogue

Ashelia tried to stand still as her chambermaids prepared her for the evening ball that night, but it was a challenge. Her heart pounded against her ribs, her hands fidgeted of their own accord, and she could barely keep the smile from her face. Finally, I am queen. The coronation had been that day and everyone who had helped her along the way had shown up with the exception of Fran: Vaan, Penelo, Marskot, Sari, Basch—as Gabranth of course—Larsa, Al-Cid, Vale, and, to her great pleasure, Balthier.

He had left as planned after another month of recovery. He'd gotten the sling off after only a month and a half or so of recuperation, but he had overused his left arm and suffered for it. Eventually the doctor felt he was fully capable of flying the Strahl. As he waited, though, he set his affairs in Archades in order and he boarded his ship knowing that he had a job awaiting him and a cushion of gil from his estates.

"Goodbye, Ashe. I'll see you eventually," he had said to her with that characteristic smirk on his face. "If Larsa doesn't bury me under paperwork that is."

She had been allowed to see him off straight from the Aerodrome, but as she was accompanied by an escort he had to keep an arms distance from her. Although Ashe imagined that the council suspected something, no one was really sure of their relationship and it was best that way.

"Try to keep from letting your mouth run away with you. I had heard you gave Al-Cid the other side of your tongue last week," Ashe said. She was smiling at him despite the dread in her heart. The council and her people had enough work ahead of her to keep her occupied, but she would never be able to shake Balthier's absence from her conscience.

"It was not without cause. Your Highness, Archades is not moving any closer, I really must be off," he said. Balthier dared to step within the artificial boundaries they had been trying to keep and kissed her hand gently. Then he turned and walked up the steps of the Strahl without a backwards glance.

"Goodbye, your Highness," Sari said with a bow and a smile. "Thank you for allowing us to stay at your palace. I hope we did not bother you too much."

"Of course not. You are welcome back at any time," Ashe replied. Although her face was even, she still felt the deep pangs of jealousy she had for this woman. Sari and Balthier were not together, but she could tell he still cared deeply for her and she still feared that he might reclaim Sari for his own. Have faith in him, she told herself. He has not betrayed your trust thus far.

"Goodbye, Ashelia! Sari and I will try to make it to your coronation. Send word of it through Balthier, and I'm sure he'll eventually get it to us. Be sure to invite us specifically so that he cannot forget to pass it along," Marskot said, having long lost the need to call her by a title and for which she was grateful. "Tell your Uncle I said 'thanks.'" He held up his violin to get his point across and then was also gone.

This left only Vale and she looked at Ashe as though wondering if she might bite, but then she said, "Um…thank you for everything, your Majesty. Goodbye!"

That had been eight months ago. Balthier had attempted to send her letters, but after only a couple they stopped coming and she assumed that he became too busy to bother with it. The rest of her news from him came secondhand through either Larsa, or Vaan and Penelo when they were visiting Larsa: "Balthier sends his greetings" or "He wishes he could see you, but he's busy."

Ashe had met Larsa at the palace's landing pad and her smile had brightened as soon as she saw Balthier exiting the craft as part of Lord Larsa's entourage. It had amused her all the more than he looked utterly bored out of his mind, but he hid it behind sunglasses and a composed face. What did Larsa do to him? He was behaving! She could hardly believe her eyes. It was not that he hadn't at the very least been courteous when traveling with her, but he certainly hadn't been afraid to speak his mind about some things.

She had been unable to speak to him there in front of everyone, but she could feel his eyes on her as she had walked up to greet Larsa. From then on, time had been consistently snatched away from the both of them as dignitaries from around the world continued to arrive to see her coronation as queen. Tonight was hardly looking better as she would be tied up in the festivities until very late at night. Perhaps they could chance a meeting in the early hours, but Ashelia knew that Larsa was heading back to Archades the very next day.

Calm down, Ashelia. There is time. If Balthier wants to see me in private, he will find a way, she told herself.

"Please, stop fidgeting, Ashelia, so I don't poke you with this needle," the head chambermaid said. She was older than Ashe by twenty years at least, but her face retained a certain strength and youth that the queen admired and hoped she could possess.

"My apology," she said and took a deep breath. "I simply cannot believe I am queen now."

"It is exciting! You will do so well," one of the other chambermaids who was close to her age said, as she adjusted the dress in the back to fit Ashe's slim figure.

"Enough of that, let's focus on what's happening now," the older woman said as she finished applying a dash of blush to Ashe's pale cheeks. "There you are, my dear. You look simply radiant."

Ashe turned around to look at herself in the full length mirror of her bedroom and almost gasped. The reflected woman was a far cry from the princess warrior running all across Ivalice to reclaim her kingdom. The bright pink skirt and white high-collared top were replaced with a royal red gown that skimmed the floor and flowed up to be held by a single strap around her neck, leaving her shoulders free. A golden necklace flowed into the outward stretching wings of a Kyte that was encrusted with a ruby. It was exquisite and yet comfortable to wear for the evening. She had allowed her hair to lengthen a little and that had been pulled back into an intricate style, and carefully stuck into her hair was a small, curled gold tiara. For the first time since she had reentered her palace, Ashelia felt like the queen she was supposed to be.

"Thank you all," Ashe said to the four women standing near her. "It's perfect."

Yes, perfect, she thought when her appearance generated a low rumble of murmurs. Already she could see a hundred nobles or so, but a mere glance at the crowd confirmed that Emperor Larsa had yet to arrive with his attending entourage.

"Queen Ashelia, you look absolutely beautiful," Al-Cid said and he kissed her extended hand.

Right on cue, Ashe thought. He was one of the first she had seen and he had looked up at her with extremely appreciative eyes. "Thank you, Lord Margrace."

"Al-Cid if you would. May I have the first dance?" He requested. She could see that coming from a mile away but she could hardly refuse him.

"Of course," Ashe replied with a smile.

"I will be looking forward to it. Now, may I escort you to your seat?"

She dearly wanted to sigh and roll her eyes, but it would be impolite to refuse him and on such an occasion as her crowning, any refusal might be regarded as an insult. It annoyed her how sensitive nobles were to insults of their character, but she certainly had no power to make them think otherwise.

Larsa and his two metal-plated Judges soon entered the room and she breathed a sigh of relief at who was just behind them, adjusting his cuffs as he walked with Sari and Marskot. He had discarded the sunglasses and it was only then that she realized what else she had not seen since he had left for Archades: his earrings. He was never without them during the journey. I wonder where they are now.

"Your Highness," Larsa said and bowed to her. "You look magnificent. It was such a pleasure to be in attendance of your coronation today."

"Thank you, Lord Larsa," Ashe said from her seat at the table. "And thank you for coming. I know how busy you are in Archadia."

"Think nothing of it. I had always intended to be here," Larsa said. "Have a good evening." He walked off with his two escorts to a seat not too far from her.

Balthier stepped before her and bowed as well. "Forgive me for saying so, but I am speechless, your Majesty. This is not a side of you I have oft seen," he offered.

She wanted to retort with something biting, which he would appreciate but the company of other nobles forced her to tame her tongue into a boring, standard answer. "You look very well yourself. Might I ask, though, where are you earrings?"

Balthier's mouth drew into a line in annoyance for a moment, but then he sighed and said, "Larsa enforced a dress code. Eventually we came to a compromise." He leaned over with his head turned to the side and she could barely see the silver polished studs.

"I'm surprised. He wears studs as well."

"Yes. That's why he allowed me, after I pointed out this glaring hypocrisy," Balthier replied. "I should get to my seat. I insist that you save a dance—or two—for me tonight." He winked and let her talk to Marskot and Sari.

Sari had her arm wrapped around Marskot's and they both bowed upon reaching her. "Your Highness, it is such a pleasure to see you again. You look absolutely stunning. I hope life has been treating you well," Marskot said.

"Thank you very much. Indeed it is. You were at the ceremony this morning."

Sari grinned. "Of course we were. You looked beautiful then as well. I envy you."

"Nonsense, Sari. You look beautiful as well," Ashelia said, feeling a blush creeping up her cheeks. She was surprised though. Most of the other women were dressed in gaudy, colorful dresses with as much jewelry as they could manage, but Sari was in a simple, flat black dress, with merely a simple silver necklace with a tiny pendant around her neck. "But I must ask: why are you wearing black?"

"We're a part of the orchestra," Marskot said.

"We asked the director if we could volunteer our violins," Sari added.

"Really? Well, I will be looking for you there then."

"Yes, and speaking of which, we should be going for that now. Have a lovely evening, your Highness."

And with that Ashe was left to speak to only the unfamiliar and less amusing nobles.

The fare for dinner was nothing less than exquisite and she decided she might have to give her chef a generous bonus for this concoction of broiled and roasted meats, cheeses, salads, and breads. However Ashe could hardly wait to abandon the food in favor of the dance floor. Although she would have to put up with Al-Cid first, she would eventually be able to speak and dance with Balthier.

Eventually Al-Cid came to take her hand and start off the next round of the banquet as the first couple on the floor. The encounter with him was utterly predictable: holding her in his hands—the one on her waist was a little too low for her comfort—he slid across the floor and showered her with endless flattery. She was able to appreciate that the Rozarrian was an extremely good dancer, which was more than she could say for most of the nobles present, but she could hardly wait to be out of his arms.

As soon as she managed to pull herself away, though, someone else was there to sweep her back up and to her displeasure it was not Balthier. This one was hardly as good as Al-Cid was, but she kept her smile in place despite the man's intense grip on waist and trodden feet.

"Ah, good sir, I hope you do not mind if I have the lady for the next dance."

She desperately wanted to roll her eyes upward and thank every god she could name—save the Occurria—for having Balthier step in when he did. The man conceded her, but not without an unintelligible grumble under his breath and she was finally able to look into those amber eyes she had longed to see.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Of course. Did you have fun with Al-Cid?" There was a sparkle in his eye as he said it this and she raised her eyebrow in surprise.

"You were not jealous?"

"Ashe, you looked bored even from where I was sitting."

She grimaced slightly. "I hope Al-Cid couldn't tell."

"Well, Al-Cid isn't one you need to particularly impress. He does that well enough on his own."

Oh, Balthier. "Balthier, it has been so long. How does it feel to be grounded?"

He quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "Do you really think I would have pirated without Fran?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"No amount of freedom is worth the accompanying loneliness. I've already had my fair share of it, and I would prefer never to experience it again," he said, his face suddenly sober. She could empathize. After Rasler had died she had felt like there was nothing that could take the bite from his missing presence in her life.

"Why did you stop writing letters to me?" She asked, trying to take their conversation to a lighter direction.

"Princess—"

"It's queen now."

He grinned. "Your Highness, I am terrible at keeping in touch. Sari would be a case-in-point." Ashe chuckled. "And Larsa was sending me to various parts of the world, constantly giving me nobles to entertain."

"What did you do for Larsa?"

"I am the Head Advisor and Ambassador, which is a fancy name for him to shove anything he did not want to do onto me. I was, quite frankly, like some mother attending to her children. I was an ambassador, I wrote letters, I directed the palace staff, and I wrote a couple of his speeches."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise as he continued to glide her across the floor with such ease she hardly realized they were dancing. "You did all of that for Larsa?"

"A couple more things as well. I was just hardly more than a servant with a fancy title. He did not do it out of malice, merely necessity. But how have you been? You look more rested than when I left."

Ashe gave him a mocking glare. "Don't change the subject! But yes, the council cut back on my work after I accidentally fell asleep during one of their meetings."

"Serves them right, I suppose."

There were a couple seconds of silence when Ashe asked, "How is Vale?"

"Not as bad as you might imagine," Balthier replied. Before he left it had been a constant source of amusement to think of Balthier taking care of a twelve-year-old girl. "She's a good girl. Always has been. Much more of a handful at six and seven than I think she will ever be now."

"Wait a moment…you took care of her when she was that young?"

"We are separated by ten years and I first knew Sari when I was fifteen."

"I'm having difficulty imagining it."

"I bet you are."

The music stopped, and then he was kissing her before she could even react and for one strange moment she forgot where she was. It had been so long since they had intimate contact and she melted into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck.

All the nobles around them halted abruptly at their display on the dance floor and Larsa seemed particularly astounded as he stood next to the refreshments with Marskot and Sari, who were getting a drink of water before they returned to their instruments. The young emperor watched them with his mouth agape and said, "That is not a proposal! He said he was to propose."

"Damn near close enough," Marskot replied, the only one unperturbed by the scene.

"Oh, is he really kissing her? Finally," Sari said. "A job well done, Marskot."

"Indeed."

When he pulled away, the audience came crashing back to Ashe and if she had been blushing before, she was scarlet now. Balthier merely rested his forehead against hers, apparently oblivious to all the other people watching. "Please marry me before I am forced to strangle a noble for some measure of peace and quiet," he whispered into her ear.

Even as the nobles buzzed with conversation and speculation from the kiss, Ashelia still managed to smile. Oh, Balthier, how very like you to ask for my hand in the midst of a scandal you just created. "Very well," she replied, "if only for your hypothetical noble."

He smiled and placed a chaste kiss on her lips before he turned back to face the crowd, with her hand still in his.

The End

Author's Note: It's done! I am finally at the end of this project, and what a project it was. Pages: 317 Word count: 134, 589. By far the longest one I have ever written, and it might not have been possible without the support of you, the readers and reviewers. These things are always ten times easier to write when you know that someone is or will enjoy it. Thank you, Panzer 718, for being a beta and making the chapters more easily read. You were a great help. Expect the sequel soon. Thank you so very much!