Final Fantasy XII - Even a Stray has Pride

Part I: Childhood's End - The Shard

'Is Nareszcie ready?'

My mother was shouting at us, all excited as a little girl going on vacation for the first time. But something was wrong.

I was alone outside, in the garden, waiting for Basch to finish packing. When he finally came – his bag almost too big to pass the door – I looked thoroughly at his eyes to catch the message. The previous day, at night, we had a brotherly conversation concerning our Olszewska friend. We had very little sleep, busy as we were with our concern – and a little of excitement as well.

'Mother...' I began.

'Well', Basch interrupted. 'Noah would probably ignore how to say it so here it is: Old Olszewski died only a month ago.'

I sent him an angry look and pursued:

'We both think it is a bad idea to invite Naria to join us on our trip to Nabradia'.

Basch and I had rarely been agreed on usual topics, but on this one, we had for once the same opinion.

'And about your question...' Basch said, 'How do you want us to know if she's ready? We don't have electronic transmitters. This is the Ronsenburg family, not the Archadian army.'

My mother joined us outside and replied to him:

'So you consider Nareszcie as a Ronsenburg now? Good, my son!'

She was all laughs. Basch and I exchanged a terrified look.

'Listen, my sons', she said, bending over us, a hand on each one's shoulder. 'It is true that little Nareszcie is not a part of our family. But it is very important that we make her feel so, because she has lost both parents now and must face life alone. Have you ever wondered how it must feel? And what's more, she needs this support precisely now; now that she lost her father.'

'Mom...' Basch said, a bit irritated.

'... We did not say we were against bringing her support. We said that supporting her does not involve travelling to Nabradia, to an entertainment park!' I tried to explain in a lower tone.

Mom stood up and smiled.

'You do not know it now but I am sure the idea will please her. Let's get going!'

One year had passed again. One year separating us from the death of the man we used to call Father. My mother had been very grieved in the beginning, hardly setting a foot outside. But for some reason, some weeks later, her mood had changed utterly. She began to spend more time with the flock, with the neighbours from the nearby houses and farms, and of course, with Naria. I thought that unlike what she said, she always dreamt to have a daughter, and the death of Old Olszewski had given her the opportunity to get closer to this lone girl, full of life and energy. She had helped her become a 'little woman', as she said, dealing with all kind of housework, cooking and farm work. Slowly but surely, Naria had begun to handle all these tasks alone. She commanded over the farm workers after her father's death, with surprising authority and influence. She also took care of the farm's accounting – much better than when we went to sell the goods in Waldgott.

All these news had been given to us by our mother, for we had almost no opportunity to meet her in person since the sad event. And this was precisely the reason bringing her to a trip all of a sudden was out of the question. But Linda fon Ronsenburg obviously had no wish to listen to her fourteen-year-old sons...

'Come on!', she said. 'Don't look like dead corpses! We're alive, and we're going to spend good time in Nabradia with our friend.'

We finally reached the Olscewski farm. My mother had told Naria the previous day to get prepared to go with us, so since she didn't change her mind, she would probably keep her invitation. And indeed, before we reached the house, we saw Naria riding her Book chocobo all over the garden. She was wearing a white dress and a hat, and waved at us as we were approaching. She apparently was all ready for the trip.