Final Fantasy XII (Basch, Balthier) [week 4, prompt 2]
Title: The Trouble They're In Author: Laylah Rating: worksafe Word Count: 200 Summary: Balthier lays out the court cards, facing away so the knight can study them.
Balthier lays out the court cards, facing away so the knight can study them. "Now choose one for you," he says, "and then another for each of the persons about whom you're asking."
The knight barely hesitates before he makes his choices. His eyes are clear gray and focused, under that livid scar, and he moves like a man used to certainty.
"The king of coins for you," Balthier says.
"I'm hardly --"
"Not so hasty," Balthier says. "He's not always a rich man. He's a steady one. Dependable. Wouldn't you say?" It would never work, he tells himself. He usually chooses the prince of cups for his own, mercurial and dramatic. Never mind that the knight is handsome, then.
"Fine," the knight says. "The others?"
"The king of swords, a proud man, and fierce -- and the queen of wands, a woman willful as a man. Headstrong combination, that." He fans out the trumps, face down. "One for the trouble they're in, and one for the hope they have."
The knight turns over the House of God -- poor man'll have his work cut out for him -- and then the Lovers.
"Meaning each other?" Balthier asks. "Or do they look for you?"