(no subject)
Title: Black Dream
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Characters: Jade, Noir
Notes: A little epilogue piece that's been kicking around the back of my head for a while now.
Noir sighed, and brushed dust off her papers. The winds of the Meggioran Highlands were getting in through the cracks again, but they didn't have enough money right now to make repairs. The circus didn't bring in enough profit on its own, and although Malkuth and Kimlasca both seemed to have conveniently forgotten about the Dark Wings, she hadn't wanted to push her luck by resorting to banditry again. Besides, it was a terrible way to live - not that she had any great respect for the law, but every heist was a chance to get captured and put away, thus abandoning the very people she'd taken up thievery for. And toward the end, there had been far too many close calls, especially in Malkuth as their special forces had closed in.
Still, at this point it was looking like they wouldn't have a choice much longer...
“Uhh...Miss Noir?” York's good-natured voice interrupted her thoughts from the other side of her door. “There's, um, someone here to see you...”
They didn't get visitors often. Perhaps it was little Din from Chesedonia, come to trade supplies? In any case, any distraction from her thoughts would be welcome, even if York's tone sounded suspiciously uncertain. “Well, show them in, then,” she called, and almost immediately regretted it when the door opened, revealing the visitor's identity.
It was not, in fact, little Din from Chesedonia. It was Colonel Jade Curtiss of the Malkuth Special Forces, who had come so close to catching Noir and her companions that they'd been forced to destroy the Rotelro Bridge to cover their escape...and who had later discovered the location of their hideout, apparently more or less by accident. “Think of the devil himself, and he appears on your doorstep,” Noir drawled. “And what can I do for you today?”
“I'm deeply flattered to hear that I've been in your thoughts,” Jade replied with a characteristic open-palmed shrug. “As it happens, I'm here in an official capacity, bearing word from His Majesty, the Emperor of Malkuth.”
Noir's smirk dropped away, her expression turning into a carefully-blank mask. This was it. They were going to demand the surrender of the Dark Wings, in return for letting the rest go. At best, there would be a fine levied that they would have no way whatsoever of paying. She ran through the list of options in her head, and had to bite back a curse. Were it anyone else, they might be able to incapacitate or even kill the messenger and pack everything up before Malkuth could get word, but there was no way she could get the jump on the Necromancer, and even if she could, harming him would be signing their death warrant. Everyone knew how close he was to the Emperor.
Jade seemed not to notice her discomfort as he continued, pulling an official-looking letter from his tunic. “This one, I believe, grants amnesty for the crimes of the Dark Wings bandits, in recognition of services rendered during the recent global crisis.”
The despair that had been paralyzing Noir broke apart into incredulity, and she snatched the letter from Jade at once, opening it to scan the contents. It was almost word for word what Jade had declared it to be. “What's the catch?” she responded, raising an eyebrow at him.
That earned an enigmatic smirk from Jade. “The 'catch', as you put it, is that the amnesty will be revoked if the Dark Wings are spotted back at their usual tricks,” he replied.
And just like that, the clutching desperation was back, like clammy fingers wrapping around her heart. “It's not worth much, then,” she replied nonchalantly. “The circus isn't bringing in more money than it was before, after all - and it isn't likely we'll find another God-General to hire us now, is it?”
“Giving in so soon?” Jade shook his head. “You haven't even heard the rest of the message.”
That made Noir's brow furrow. “I wasn't aware an Emperor would have so much to say to a bandit,” she told him, too unhappy to play it off as if the situation didn't matter.
“Ah, but with that amnesty letter, you're no longer a bandit,” Jade countered smoothly. “And as it happens, His Majesty has rather more to say to circus performers. He seems to have somehow gotten wind of your reputation.” Another letter was produced from somewhere inside Jade's tunic. “A request for a performance,” he explained as he handed it over. “Publicly, on the palace grounds.” He shrugged again, as if it was all out of his hands, although Noir was beginning to suspect that he'd orchestrated the entire thing. “The whims of royalty are a mystery to us all.”
Noir took and read the second letter. “My,” she murmured, reeling from the sudden and repeated changes of fortune. A chance to perform in front of royalty, public endorsement from Malkuth's most beloved Emperor in centuries...if they played it right, they could garner enough publicity from this one performance to live comfortably off the proceeds of the circus alone from now on.
But she winced to think of the performers' tattered wardrobes and the peeling paint on the sets being brought out in front of an audience used to the highest quality available. They'd have to scrape and scrounge to raise enough to brighten things up to their audience's expectations. “Of course, it may take some time to prepare,” she purred. “After all, we've never performed for royalty before~”
Jade's smile only widened. “Would payment in advance speed the process?” he asked mildly, and produced a large bag of coins, forcing Noir to wonder just where he was keeping it all. “Five hundred thousand should be enough to get you started,” he added at her startled look.
Noir was frozen in shock. That amount would be more than enough to enact all the repairs and improvements they needed. She had visions of new shoes for all the children, finally restocking the infirmary all the way - medicines were always the most expensive, and therefore one of the first things they started to give up when things went south. Finally, she looked up at Jade, to see triumph and challenge mingled in his gaze.
Well, she couldn't have him thinking he'd gotten the better of her, even if he had. She smirked up at him instead. “In that case, you can assure His Majesty that in a month's time, he'll have our finest performance yet on his palace grounds~” she cooed.
“I'm sure he'll be delighted to hear it,” Jade replied amiably. “I'll inform him of when to expect you - I daresay he would be terribly disappointed if you were late.” That was a threat, Noir knew - if they took the money and ran with it, justice would pursue them.
Fortunately, she had no intention of squandering her big break that way. “Jade,” she called to him abruptly as he turned to leave, intentionally dropping her flirtatious tone for just a moment. “...This means a lot. Thanks.”
Jade paused with his hand on the doorknob, and regarded her evenly over his shoulder. “I haven't done anything,” he replied, “except opened a door. Whether you walk through it, and how, is entirely up to you.”
She grinned at him. “Then I suppose I'll have to keep from disappointing you as well, won't I?”
A smirk was her only reply, but just before he turned away fully, Noir thought with some satisfaction that Jade was looking a tiny bit pinker than usual. Once he was truly gone, she called out, “York, Urushi! Get in here!
“We've got a show to plan.”
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Characters: Jade, Noir
Notes: A little epilogue piece that's been kicking around the back of my head for a while now.
Noir sighed, and brushed dust off her papers. The winds of the Meggioran Highlands were getting in through the cracks again, but they didn't have enough money right now to make repairs. The circus didn't bring in enough profit on its own, and although Malkuth and Kimlasca both seemed to have conveniently forgotten about the Dark Wings, she hadn't wanted to push her luck by resorting to banditry again. Besides, it was a terrible way to live - not that she had any great respect for the law, but every heist was a chance to get captured and put away, thus abandoning the very people she'd taken up thievery for. And toward the end, there had been far too many close calls, especially in Malkuth as their special forces had closed in.
Still, at this point it was looking like they wouldn't have a choice much longer...
“Uhh...Miss Noir?” York's good-natured voice interrupted her thoughts from the other side of her door. “There's, um, someone here to see you...”
They didn't get visitors often. Perhaps it was little Din from Chesedonia, come to trade supplies? In any case, any distraction from her thoughts would be welcome, even if York's tone sounded suspiciously uncertain. “Well, show them in, then,” she called, and almost immediately regretted it when the door opened, revealing the visitor's identity.
It was not, in fact, little Din from Chesedonia. It was Colonel Jade Curtiss of the Malkuth Special Forces, who had come so close to catching Noir and her companions that they'd been forced to destroy the Rotelro Bridge to cover their escape...and who had later discovered the location of their hideout, apparently more or less by accident. “Think of the devil himself, and he appears on your doorstep,” Noir drawled. “And what can I do for you today?”
“I'm deeply flattered to hear that I've been in your thoughts,” Jade replied with a characteristic open-palmed shrug. “As it happens, I'm here in an official capacity, bearing word from His Majesty, the Emperor of Malkuth.”
Noir's smirk dropped away, her expression turning into a carefully-blank mask. This was it. They were going to demand the surrender of the Dark Wings, in return for letting the rest go. At best, there would be a fine levied that they would have no way whatsoever of paying. She ran through the list of options in her head, and had to bite back a curse. Were it anyone else, they might be able to incapacitate or even kill the messenger and pack everything up before Malkuth could get word, but there was no way she could get the jump on the Necromancer, and even if she could, harming him would be signing their death warrant. Everyone knew how close he was to the Emperor.
Jade seemed not to notice her discomfort as he continued, pulling an official-looking letter from his tunic. “This one, I believe, grants amnesty for the crimes of the Dark Wings bandits, in recognition of services rendered during the recent global crisis.”
The despair that had been paralyzing Noir broke apart into incredulity, and she snatched the letter from Jade at once, opening it to scan the contents. It was almost word for word what Jade had declared it to be. “What's the catch?” she responded, raising an eyebrow at him.
That earned an enigmatic smirk from Jade. “The 'catch', as you put it, is that the amnesty will be revoked if the Dark Wings are spotted back at their usual tricks,” he replied.
And just like that, the clutching desperation was back, like clammy fingers wrapping around her heart. “It's not worth much, then,” she replied nonchalantly. “The circus isn't bringing in more money than it was before, after all - and it isn't likely we'll find another God-General to hire us now, is it?”
“Giving in so soon?” Jade shook his head. “You haven't even heard the rest of the message.”
That made Noir's brow furrow. “I wasn't aware an Emperor would have so much to say to a bandit,” she told him, too unhappy to play it off as if the situation didn't matter.
“Ah, but with that amnesty letter, you're no longer a bandit,” Jade countered smoothly. “And as it happens, His Majesty has rather more to say to circus performers. He seems to have somehow gotten wind of your reputation.” Another letter was produced from somewhere inside Jade's tunic. “A request for a performance,” he explained as he handed it over. “Publicly, on the palace grounds.” He shrugged again, as if it was all out of his hands, although Noir was beginning to suspect that he'd orchestrated the entire thing. “The whims of royalty are a mystery to us all.”
Noir took and read the second letter. “My,” she murmured, reeling from the sudden and repeated changes of fortune. A chance to perform in front of royalty, public endorsement from Malkuth's most beloved Emperor in centuries...if they played it right, they could garner enough publicity from this one performance to live comfortably off the proceeds of the circus alone from now on.
But she winced to think of the performers' tattered wardrobes and the peeling paint on the sets being brought out in front of an audience used to the highest quality available. They'd have to scrape and scrounge to raise enough to brighten things up to their audience's expectations. “Of course, it may take some time to prepare,” she purred. “After all, we've never performed for royalty before~”
Jade's smile only widened. “Would payment in advance speed the process?” he asked mildly, and produced a large bag of coins, forcing Noir to wonder just where he was keeping it all. “Five hundred thousand should be enough to get you started,” he added at her startled look.
Noir was frozen in shock. That amount would be more than enough to enact all the repairs and improvements they needed. She had visions of new shoes for all the children, finally restocking the infirmary all the way - medicines were always the most expensive, and therefore one of the first things they started to give up when things went south. Finally, she looked up at Jade, to see triumph and challenge mingled in his gaze.
Well, she couldn't have him thinking he'd gotten the better of her, even if he had. She smirked up at him instead. “In that case, you can assure His Majesty that in a month's time, he'll have our finest performance yet on his palace grounds~” she cooed.
“I'm sure he'll be delighted to hear it,” Jade replied amiably. “I'll inform him of when to expect you - I daresay he would be terribly disappointed if you were late.” That was a threat, Noir knew - if they took the money and ran with it, justice would pursue them.
Fortunately, she had no intention of squandering her big break that way. “Jade,” she called to him abruptly as he turned to leave, intentionally dropping her flirtatious tone for just a moment. “...This means a lot. Thanks.”
Jade paused with his hand on the doorknob, and regarded her evenly over his shoulder. “I haven't done anything,” he replied, “except opened a door. Whether you walk through it, and how, is entirely up to you.”
She grinned at him. “Then I suppose I'll have to keep from disappointing you as well, won't I?”
A smirk was her only reply, but just before he turned away fully, Noir thought with some satisfaction that Jade was looking a tiny bit pinker than usual. Once he was truly gone, she called out, “York, Urushi! Get in here!
“We've got a show to plan.”