UnShaekable (FFXII)

XXXIV) Brothers

TWO THINGS: 1. SORRY FOR THE LACK OF AN UPDATE LAST WEEK- IT WAS MOVE-IN FOR COLLEGE FRESHMEN (STILL CRAZY TO ME THAT I'M AN ACTUAL ADULT NOW LOL).

2. I WON'T BE ABLE TO UPLOAD TWO CHAPTERS AT A TIME ANYMORE BECAUSE I CAN'T WRITE AS MUCH AS I USED TO WITH COLLEGE BEATING ME TO DEATH. STILL, ONCE A WEEK YOU GET A "CHAPPIE" AS I CALLED THEM IN THE DAYS OF MY YOUTH ON WATTPAD.

TRUST ME, LEAN ON ME WAS A ROUGH TIME. THOSE WERE THE INTERESTING DAYS WHEN I WAS 14 AND LEFT THE HOUSE ONCE A WEEK (#VINNIEISNOTAMUSED WILL NEVER DIE). ANYWAY...

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

~5 months before~

            A month. That's how long I've waited for word from Dern and I have yet to receive a thing. I'm tired of playing Jonan's games and earning money through simple one-man jobs. I pace back and forth down the main hallway of the Castean. No, I'm heading out to find him. Dern never disappears without assuring me of his safety. He ran off a few times in the beginning, but he always returned within a week. He always made sure I knew he was alive. But this... Something's gone awry. I just know it.

The first place I stop is the very same village he entered to make sure he was captured. He did it to make sure I could escape. He wouldn't know where I went; he wouldn't have any information for them. Surely the Imperials caught on within weeks. Archadians aren't fond of having useless materials hanging around their cells. Dern only has so much time left, if they haven't killed him yet. If they're still using him as bait. I know they'll be waiting; I can't find it in me to care.

I pull the black hood of my heavy black cloak over my head and hurry into the village. People wander through the dirt streets, eyeing me as I pass. I ask only the most socialized people where the sky pirate was taken. The blacksmith, the stablemaster, the general goods salesman. No one knows, shrugging me off with suspicious stares. If they turn me over to the Imperials, all the better. They'll kill Dern if I'm not fast enough to set him free, whether I'm captured or not. Finally, the gruff innkeeper has something to say.

"Ah, yes. The poor lad. Captured because of one affiliation or another." The burly man leans an arm forward on the counter, nodding toward the trio of Imperial guards huddled in the back of the lobby. "Them soldiers were talkin' about a gentleman they took away from here 'bout a month ago."

"Any mentions of where they took him?" I ask, keeping my voice low and my face shielded.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" The innkeeper chuckles, shaking his head when I scoff. "Why're you so interested, girly?"

"A favor for a friend," I reply, staring down at the wooden countertop. "What's it to you?"

"I generally make a profit off information," he shrugs, his voice hardly over a mutter as he leans closer to my face. "So what're you offering?"

"How often do you head out to Archades?" I ask, glancing up at him. He stares back thoughtfully.

"About once every full moon." His chapped lips turn up into a greedy smile. I nod, reaching down into my cloak and pulling a stack of wooden blocks free. The man stares at the pile on his counter.

"Six sandalwood chops for all you know." I nudge the stack toward him. "This'll get you to the higher status shops in Archades. Buy better stock, sell your rooms for a higher price."

"Now that's a deal I can't turn down," he chuckles, taken aback by my offer. "The gentleman? They took 'im to a base outside Archades. Some Imperial setup they got for prisoners less... significant to the public." He leans so close that I can smell the cheap ale on his breath and his voice lowers to a barely-audible snarl. "Now, princess, hand over the rest of them blocks before I raise a holler."