A Betrayal of Interests

[lowkey]

Title: A Betrayal of Interests
Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Characters: Vossler York Azelas
Rating: G
Word Count: 598
Summary: The last son of Dalmasca contemplates the future.



"When we return to Dalmasca, we can announce that you are alive and well. I will then continue on negotiations with the Empire. I believe Larsa is the key. He'll listen to us - we should trust him."

Her Majesty swiveled to face Vossler, incensed. "Who are you, Vossler, to talk of trust?" she spat.

Vossler dropped his eyes, unable to meet his Lady's gaze. The perversity of the scene did not escape the knight – him free, telling Her Majesty what to do; Lady Ashe, dictated to by her sworn guardian, manacled and betrayed.

Feeling betrayed, Vossler corrected. Events had transpired to cast his efforts in a harsh light, but he was no traitor. The knight had always fought, and would always fight, by the Lady Ashe's side.

But Her Majesty must see reason! The resistance's last, best hope of success – the attempt on Vayne Solidor's life – had been an abject failure, betrayed from within and crushed from without. Balzac and his followers had spirit, but they weren't soldiers. They would die quicker than those they were meant to replace. The resistance was devolving into nothing more than an ill-maintained street gang.

And time marched on. Vayne Solidor, the eldest surviving son of the Archadian Emperor himself, was Consul-Governor of occupied Dalmasca. Every day, the citizens of Rabanastre grew more and more accommodating of the Empire's policing. Dalmasca was on the cusp of becoming just another province of the Archadian Empire. If her independence was to be preserved – even if in spirit alone – then a new tack must be pursued.

They had valiantly struggled for two years against the Arcadian Empire, and to what end? For two years, the resistance had bled. For two years, Vossler had led good men, irreplaceable men, to worthless deaths. And for two years, the knight had seen his Lady swallow her pride and live a life she did not deserve.

More than any wound he had taken in Her Majesty's service, it pained him to see the Lady Ashe question his loyalty. But he knew who was, and who he would be until the day he died. "A son of Dalmasca."

But the Lady Ashe had already turned her back on him, falling in line with the sky pirate.

The sky pirate. Vossler's anger flared. Duplicitous, deceiving, disloyal – all of those described the sky pirate Balthier. Her Majesty believed him to be trustworthy, but her thirst for revenge blinded her to the pirate's true loyalties: to his skin first and his gil second.

Ahead, Balthier's viera fell to her knees, convulsing. From where he stood in the rear, it was clear to Vossler it was some sort of ruse. Sure enough, the Archadian guard that went to pull her upright was thrown across the chamber, struck by a magick attack.

"Hold her down!" Vossler shouted – only to witness the viera snap her chains and vault from soldier to soldier, felling one after another.

Vossler stumbled back, struck by a glancing blow. So things had come to a head. The sky pirate intended to steal away the Lady Ashe – and with it, any hope for the peaceful restoration of Her Majesty. Vossler would not allow that to happen.

It was men like Balthier, not Vossler, who had betrayed Dalmasca. And it was men like Vossler, and not Balthier, who would see her restored.

But she would see that. She would come to understand, in time. The true threat to Her Majesty's kingdom stood before him. Vossler stood and put his sword at the ready.

"No farther! The future of Dalmasca will not be stolen!"



You can also read this fic on the Archive of Our Own. If you have any recommendations as to what tags I should use to describe the story, I'm all ears.

Comments

[mako_lies]

Very nice! I like the contrast of Vossler and Balthier's motivations--as perceived by Vossler. I really feel like you've captured Vossler's voice here.

(A minor detail, but I loved how he assumed Fran was faking it. :) )

[lowkey]

Thank you! Vossler was one of my favorite things about XII, and this was my way of trying to work through what he did and why. I don't think I've ever felt as capable of "speaking" with the voice of a character as I did in this piece, so I really appreciate the nice comments. YOU ARE SO KIND

(Personally? I felt that Vossler really got shafted by the plot—especially because our heroes end up doing EXACTLY what he recommended.)

[mako_lies]

(Well, you know, it was one of the things about XII that made it so fascinating--the way the good intentions paved the way to damnation at every turn. The way a good man can become a traitor (or be perceived as one). He couldn't have made any other choice right there, nor could they have made any other choice. And those choices paved the way for other choices that deepened the intrigue and the necessity of the choices they made later.)

[lowkey]

I kkkknnnnooooooowwwwwwwwwww ::sobs loudly::

I love FFXII, and I totally understand how Vossler fits—or more accurately, didn't fit—into the events that unfolded onboard the Shiva. But I reserve the right to grumble about my man Vossler's death.

[mako_lies]

Oh heck yes. Because Vossler was beast and he was fabulous and his death was sad, sad, sad. (But, you know, I've read some good fic that explored if he hadn't died and they had found him post-game, and it was fabulous. I could see if I could find them again...?

[lowkey]

BE STILL MY BEATING HEART

[mako_lies]

Okay, so I found it. Here's the series--it spans from beginning game to way, way post-game. Be wary: some of it's not for the faint of heart. I'd recommend looking closely at the tags before clicking anything.

Here's a specific story that came to mind. It's Fran and Vossler, post-game, visiting Vossler's lands... It's rather sad. :)

[mako_lies]

(And look at ratings.)

[lowkey]

I will temper my excitement with caution, then.

[mako_lies]

Good plan. She's one of my favorite fic-writers and I haven't found anything of hers I didn't at least like on an intellectual level, but I can see how some of it might be a little (or a lot) disturbing, especially if you don't know what you're getting into.

[lowkey]

Also: for some reason, I'm more often than not fascinated by multi-faceted "traitors" in works of fiction. I'm halfway through HBO's A Game of Thrones, and Ser Jorah Mormont is... if not my favorite character, then at least one I have a special affinity for.

[nal_rene]

Oh my god. I haven't been able to see the series yet, but I've read all of the books that Martin has out. (He never finished the last book, so I have no Idea how the series is going to cope with that) BUT is it good so far?

[lowkey]

I've read none of the books, so I don't know how the series compares. But as a stand alone work of art, the show is amazing. They might err a little on the side of "too much information" (there have been a few instances of "children's lesson as information dump") but that's okay—the actors and actresses are amazing, and their costumes are awesome to boot.

Not sure how this works...

[danchekker.livejournal.com]

But I hope it's visible! It's nice to see this piece again; this time through, I was struck by how deferential Vossler is to Ashe, even in his thoughts. I know, THAT'S KINDA THE POINT, but still it makes me happy. Almost as happy-making is your icon. Kate Beaton for the win! -M

Re: Not sure how this works...

[lowkey]

WHOA, you got that to work! Now I'll have to see if I can do the same, going from DW to LJ.

And thank you! I really played up the "knight supporting his lady" aspect, and you know what? I THINK IT WORKS.

Vossler love!

[nal_rene]

Vossler was honestly one of my favorite charaters, as far as non-main characters. No one could hold a candle to him, except maybe Dr. Cid, so to see a good introspective fic about one of the most heart wrenching scenes in game just makes my day.

Re: Vossler love!

[lowkey]

One of the saddest things in the whole game was seeing the illustration of Cid hugging a young Balthier in the credits. D:

FFXII: all about the amazing, dead support characters.