Knight in Shining Armor: Chapter 1

Usually I hate pairing names like "Yuffentine" and "Tuna" and "Cloti", but I couldn't resist the lure of "Banelo". It makes me think of bananas... and baloney XD
-------

Basch stretched his arms over his head and let out a small groan of contentment as his sore back cricked pleasantly. After nearly a full day of constantly running and fighting he was glad to finally have some downtime in a safe place. The Babbling Vale was a rather beautiful oasis in the middle of the Highwaste’s rocky, depressing atmosphere. A enjoyable scent permeated the air and the entire vale was full of greenery and flowers. It was a pity the shrines were broken. Basch had heard long ago that the water that usually bubbled up in the shrines had healing properties. Something he needed at that moment. A tangle with a python left some deep gouges in one shoulder. They hadn’t bothered him at first, but in the hour since they first arrived the injury began to throb and itch. Basch could just feel some kind of infection setting in.

However, as his gaze swept the small area, he could not find Penelo among the small crowd of campers. She was the group’s only white mage. Ashe and Fran were on the other side of the camp, heads together, poring over the rather large map of the Phon Coast while a nearby Bangaa eyed them both hopefully. The former knight frowned slightly. He couldn’t find hide nor hair of Balthier and Vaan either. Quite surprising as Balthier and Fran normally acted as though they were joined at the hip. Somewhere in the distance a Worgen howled. Basch hoped that the trio hadn’t left the vale. The Mosphoran Highwaste was much more dangerous at night and the sun was starting to set.

Ignoring the burning, itching pain in his shoulder Basch crossed the camp. Fran’s ears twitched before he was even within speaking distance and she looked up and watched him approach. Ashe only noticed that Fran was looking up when Basch was a few meters away and she looked up too, smiling at the man.

“Hello Basch.”

“Good evening, Princess.” Basch replied. “Fran.”

The viera inclined her head at Basch. “Basch.”

“Have either of you seen Penelo?” He asked.

“No, not recently.” Ashe craned her neck and looked around the camp. “I know I saw her before we got the map out, but… I do not see her now. I hope she hasn’t left the vale.”

“The vale is bigger than it looks.” Fran spoke up rather unexpectedly, making Ashe jump a bit. “There are many cracks in the cliff faces that lead to sheltered places smaller than this. There are also trails that lead to the tops of smalls cliffs and plateaus within the vale.”

Basch nodded, “And Balthier and Vaan? Have you seen either of them around?”

A funny expression came to Fran’s face. She looked as if she was trying to suppress a smile.

“I am sure Vaan felt adventurous and dragged Balthier along with him. No doubt he is exploring the vale with Balthier complaining good naturedly in his wake.”

The viera suddenly frowned and looked sharply off towards her left. “Perhaps you should go and look for Penelo. I think she left sometime after Balthier and Vaan.”

Basch was taken back by this sudden change in Fran’s behavior, but he nodded.

“I’m in need of her white magick skills. That is why I asked…”

Basch turned to gaze in the direction Fran had looked in and Ashe let out a hiss of sympathetic pain.

“Basch… that wound looks… poisoned.”

“Then the sooner I find Penelo the better. I’ll report back in half an hour if I haven’t found her.”

Fran and Ashe nodded, the viera still looking contemplative about something, and Basch set off along the trail Fran had looked at earlier. As he walked, the setting sun cast a red glow on the cliffs and more Worgens howled in the distance. Basch soon discovered what Fran was talking about. He found a handful of fissures in the cliffs that led to small, oblong-shaped chasms. However they were all empty.

Basch searched high and low, ignoring the throbbing pain in his shoulder. The sky was beginning to purple when he finally found Penelo. He’d just climbed up a steep, winding path that lead out onto a small plateau dotted with shrubs and was slightly out of breath. The girl was sitting on a rock, seemingly staring out at the Highwaste, her shoulders shaking. Once Basch got control of his breathing again and wasn’t panting so loudly the wind brought the sound to him. Penelo was crying.

“…Penelo?” The man took a cautious step forward.

The girl hastily wiped at her eyes and turned to face Basch. “Basch! Hi!”

The blonde forced a smile onto her face and Basch inwardly recoiled. It felt so unnatural to see Penelo forcing herself to look happy. The façade didn’t last long however as tears sparkled in the girl’s eyes and she quickly turned away. Basch shifted uncomfortably. Despite being a former knight, fixing the woes of beautiful young women was not his forte. But… Penelo was so downcast. She was crying. He had to do… or say… something.

“Penelo are… you all right?” Basch asked, moving to stand a little bit behind her.

The man silently berated himself for that pathetic question, but Penelo answered nevertheless in an abnormally high-pitched voice.

“Oh yes, I’m fine!”

She then contradicted herself completely by bursting into a fresh round of tears. Basch’s wound gave a particularly angry flare of pain, but he ignored it and moved forward to place one hand awkwardly on Penelo’s shoulder. The girl hiccoughed slightly when Basch’s hand touched her and she looked up at him, crystalline tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Please… tell me what’s wrong.” Basch said.

Penelo’s lips trembled. “I feel like such a fool. I’d hoped that the reason he didn’t seem interested in other girls was because he was interested in me but… oh I’m such a fool!”

The man had absolutely no idea what Penelo was talking about and he nodded in what he hoped was a sympathetic and understanding manner.

Despite herself, the girl gave a watery chuckle. “You… you have no idea what I’m talking about.”

“I’m afraid I don’t.” Basch replied shame-facedly.

“Vaan…” Her lips trembled again, but she seemed to steel herself and continued on. “Vaan left the camp with Balthier. I noticed they’d been doing this a lot lately whenever we stopped for a rest. I thought it was odd so I followed them. Well, I tried to follow them. I lost them for a while, but then… then I found them… they didn’t see me. They were…” Penelo flushed bright red even as a another tear tracked down her face. “They were… being intimate.”

The man’s thought process snagged for a moment on this piece of information. Balthier and Vaan? He never would have imagined such a thing in his wildest thoughts. However Penelo was looking sadly out at the Highwaste once more and Basch pushed his own questions aside.

“When I was much younger than you…” Basch moved to sit cross-legged beside Penelo’s rock. “There was a girl who I fancied. I thought she fancied me too, but I soon learned… that it was my brother she was taken with. I was sad, like you, for quite some time. But… eventually the hurt did go away and I found someone who fancied me.”

“Was that a real story or are you trying to make me feel better?” Penelo teased lightly with a smile.

“It is quite real.” Basch replied, trying not to think of beautiful Rosalie, who died along with Landis.

Penelo’s smile faltered at the seriousness of Basch’s profile. It seemed the man did understand what she felt after all.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered.

Basch looked at her and smiled, “No harm done, Penelo.”

The girl blushed slightly and could not bring herself to meet Basch’s eyes. She chose to look elsewhere instead and gasped when she saw Basch’s shoulder.

“Basch! You’ve been poisoned!!”

“Yes.” The blond glanced over his shoulder. “The reason I went looking for you in fact.”

“You… doofus! Why didn’t you say anything sooner??”

Basch who’d never been called a ‘doofus’ in his life had to suppress a chuckle as Penelo moved to examine his shoulder.

“You were crying.” He said once he had himself under control. “It was more important that I found out if you were all right or not.”

“Very gallant, Basch.” Penelo replied. “But sometimes if left too long these snake bites can cause permanent scars. Poisona…”

The man shrugged his uninjured shoulder as Penelo’s magick tickled his skin. “I already have a few permanent scars. It’s no matter.”

“Hmph. Curaga…”

Basch twitched uneasily. He always disliked the feeling of his skin rapidly knitting back together.

“How do you feel?” Penelo asked once the magick had faded away.

“Excellent.” Basch reached back and brushed his fingers over the healed skin. “Thank-you, Penelo.”

“You’re welcome. You were lucky. There was no scarring.”

The girl stood and absently patted Basch on the head as she went to sit on her rock again. This time, the man could not contain his smile. The sky had deepened from purple to blue and the first few stars were starting to twinkle. Penelo turned her face upwards to watch them. She wasn’t crying anymore, but her expression was still sullen. Basch did not speak. He merely sat with her and watched the stars come out.

“Thanks.” Penelo said at last. “Thanks for making me feel better, Basch.”

“I’m delighted that I helped. These matters are not my strong suit.”

“Strong enough.” The girl replied with a smile. “I hope I don’t sound mean, but… could I have some time alone to think?”

“Of course.” Basch answered, standing up. “I understand. You can find your way back to camp?”

“Yup. I can see it from here.” She pointed east towards the glow of many campfires. “No problem. I’ll be back in thirty minutes or so.”

“Very well.”

Basch patted her shoulder and set off. He was at the mouth of the trail when he turned to look at Penelo.

“Penelo?”

The girl turned to face him. “Yes?”

“Don’t fret. You’ll find your knight in shining armor one day.”

The man turned and started walking back down the winding path. Penelo watched him go with a thoughtful smile on her lips. She wondered if Basch had chosen his words deliberately.

-------
The end!! X3