Midnight Conversation
Reina didn't know what woke her up that night. Laying
on her cot she blinked sleepily as she gazed around at
the large sleeping chamber that they all shared aboard
the Zeppelin. Deciding there was little point in just
laying there she slipped from between the covers and
dressed swiftly while noting that one of the beds was
empty.
'I wonder how my father would react to my sharing a
room with three men?' Reina mused as she smoothly
belted her sword around her waist. 'Well, two and a
half, anyway,' she corrected. He would probably be
most upset, but Reina knew she was safe with her
companions. 'Besides,' she smiled, 'I've gotten pretty
good with a sword since we began our quest.'
Reina softly walked up the stairs to the deck, nodding
slightly to those pirates that were awake on this
shift. Oddly she had gotten used to the privateers,
noting that they had a almost gentlemanly but crude
way about them. A light wind teased her violet hair as
she walked across the deck, settling in beside the
figure who stared out across the waters.
"Been like that for over an hour," one pirate murmured
with a nod to Reina, "it'd prob'ly be best not to
disturb 'im, I'd say."
"Thank you," Reina murmured but still walked on. The
dark purple haired figure who stood over there could
easily be mistaken for a beautiful boy, but Reina knew
differently. Dressed like all of the other pirates
Faris seemed to perfectly fit aboard this flying ship,
almost like it was the life that she was destined to
lead.
"Princess," Faris turned slightly to smile at her, and
again she was struck by how handsome she could look.
"Salsa..." Reina started to say.
Faris shook her head firmly while giving her a wry
little smile, "No, Princess, I think I'll be sticking
with Faris."
Reina sighed to herself softly, looking out again at
the smooth waters around them. Many years ago her
sister Salsa had been lost to them, disappearing
mysteriously. Her father King Tycoon had done
everything in his power to find her, but in the end it
all came to nothing, years passing with no word or
sign of Salsa.
Then while seeking the Wind Crystal she, Galuf and
Bartz stumbled upon the pirate camp and foolishly
attempted to steal the pirate's ship. Captured by the
pirates and taken to Faris she had been struck dumb on
meeting him, wondering at the resemblance. More and
more she wondered if the pirate was her long lost
sister, but it wasn't until many battles passed that
she was sure.
"It's not that I don't want to be your sister," Faris
looked over to her with surprising gentleness, "but
I've lived as Faris a lot longer than Salsa."
"I understand," Reina nodded slightly. She smiled as
she looked over at her curiously, "What was it like,
being raised by the pirates?"
"Like having a army of older brothers," Faris chuckled
softly. She looked off into the distance, "They showed
me everything I needed to sail a ship, to be a
privateer, and I even went ashore to celebrate with
them."
"That had to be interesting," Reina blinked. "What,
drinking and all?"
"Oh yes," Faris agreed. She laughed softly, "Though I
quickly learned my limits on drinking ale after my
first bad hangover."
"Poor thing," Reina found herself smiling.
Faris grinned fondly at the memory even as she
reminisced, "Why, they even hired my first barmaid for
me."
There was a moment of dead silence then Reina managed,
"What?"
The pirate looked amused at Reina's surprise. "I've
been living as a boy for years," Faris noted, "what'd
you think they would do, buy me a man?"
"I'm sorry," Reina answered, blushing fiercely.
Faris smiled in memory as she said wickedly, "And she
wasn't too disappointed when she got my trousers down,
either. It seems that privately she preferred the
girls, anyway, an' she taught me quite a bit that
night."
If Reina's face got much redder, she'd probably faint.
"It seems that I have much to learn about the world,"
she murmured.
"I guess being raised in a castle leads to a sheltered
life," Faris agreed.
"True," Reina murmured. "Though there was a scandal
about two noblewomen who lived together," she
recalled, "I guess I just hadn't thought that they
were...." She trailed off, knowing that she was lying,
just a little. Her mind had conjured up images of what
those fair ladies might have done, haunting her nights
for a time.
Faris looked over at her scarlet cheeks and smiled,
"You blush charmingly."
"Pardon?" Reina blinked.
"You're just lucky we're related," Faris reached out
to gently push a lock of Reina's much lighter tinted
hair back from her face as Faris mused, "or I'd be
offering to teach you much more about the ways of the
world."
Reina found herself reaching up to catch Faris' hand
in hers, cradling it gently. "What do you mean?" she
asked softly.
Faris smiled as she slipped her hand free,
intentionally taking a half step away from the younger
woman. "Just that you're the type of woman that I've
come to like," she explained. Faris walked over to the
stairs leading below, "You'd best get to bed,
Princess. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
And with that she disappeared below.
Reina stood gazing after Faris for a few minutes, her
heart beating so fast in her chest. 'Did she really
say...' she wondered, 'and did she mean what she
said?' With hesitant steps she walked to the stairs,
quietly walking down below.
Standing in the near darkness of the chamber Reina
calmly stripped herself of her outer garb, piling them
carefully so that she didn't have to think about what
she had just heard. She paused in her underclothes
then swiftly pulled them off before walking to her
bed. Silently she slipped between the covers, closing
her eyes and willing herself to sleep.
Faris smiled to herself slightly, looking over at the
girl without letting her know that she was still
awake. 'I think this is going to be an interesting
voyage,' she thought happily.
End.
Author's Notes: While not a big videogame fan I do
like some of the RPGs, such as Final Fantasy V. In
playing this game I found myself wondering about
Faris/Salsa, the female pirate character and how she
might be interacting with the others. In my first
draft I had Reina decide to get into bed with Faris
but I decided that wouldn't be realistic.
Back to Final Fantasy 5 Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction