Hello, everyone! This is my first Tales of the Abyss fanfic, and this is a series. It'll last for seven chapters or so, and I do hope I'll be able to update this regularly. I'm currently on my OJT, and when I am done with it, I'll be able to concentrate on fic writing more.

Anyways, this will be an Asch x Natalia/Meryl fic, so please enjoy. I've also got an R-18 version of this that can be found somewhere in the internet so… [whistles]

Don't forget to review!

Warning: Spoilers for the entire game.

Disclaimers: I do not own Tales of the Abyss. It belongs to Bandai-Namco Games.

Vacation Leave

Chapter 1

Viscount Asch fon Fabre was one overworked individual, yet he was the type who loved to work. It was not because he was bored nor was he the masochistic type who wanted to inflict pain to himself, but rather, he wanted to know more about the country he was to rule one day. First in line for the throne of Kimlasca, the red head wanted to be fully prepared, and at the age of ten years old, he was already devouring every book about his beloved country.

Duke and Madam Fabre were thrilled at this, but as years went by, they were alarmed when they noticed that Asch was not stopping at all with his 'learning'. Susanne did what she could to make her son be interested in other things like music, sword training and the like, but failed in her endeavor. Luke fon Fabre, her youngest son and Asch's younger twin, was the one who showed interest in those and became much more sociable than his sibling. While Luke became closer with the commoners, Asch became more withdrawn, relying so much on the books that he read.

Concerned for his heir's well-being, his father had ordered him on a forced vacation. Before the red head could protest, he immediately sent him off on the private ship owned by the family and sent him off to Choral Castle along with a personal maid who would ensure that he would be able to relax. The maid that was sent along with him was Meryl Oakland.

The daughter of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, Meryl had been trained in House Fabre as a house maid as soon as she was able to walk. She was to become a lady-in-waiting herself when she turns twenty, the age when one becomes an adult. Currently, she was nineteen years old, and still had two years to go before she is finally going to court.

She was a stand out in House Fabre, for among the household staff, only she had short blonde hair and olive green eyes, while the rest of the staff either had black or brown hair. The Fabre family, of course, had red hair and green eyes.

Just like the young man before her.

"Master Asch, we have just arrived in the Kaitzur Port." She bowed.

"… I can see that." Just as she suspected, the young Viscount was not happy with the situation.

"We shall be heading to Choral Castle when the carriage has been prepared, sir. Will you require anything?" she continued, her tone very much polite.

"Leave me alone."

"I'm afraid I cannot do such, Master Asch." She reminded him. "Madam Fabre said—"

At this, he suddenly stood up and towered over her. "Listen, you. Stop acting as if you're the one in charge." He told her coldly.

To his surprise, the blonde maid smirked. "I AM in charge of this 'mission', Master Asch. His Grace has ordered me to help you relax for a week, or I'll be fired. Of course, it's not that type of relaxation that many indulge in." she reminded him.

"I can assure you, I will always and forever will be not interested in a commoner like you." He sneered back.

She laughed, much to his displeasure. "Good, good! Since we're clear on that matter, let's get going to Choral Castle. It is nearly lunch time, and I am betting that you want to eat already." The young noble scowled at her in an attempt to intimidate her but failed when she heard his stomach growl in hunger. In turn, she laughed harder.

When he glared the next time, Meryl knew she had to shut up or risk his wrath. "Alright, alright. Let's get going to the carriage, Master." She bowed low at him. "Please go on ahead. I shall follow."

Still frowning, Asch went on his way to port and immediately hopped on the carriage that was waiting for him, followed by his maid. The White Knights, the Fabre family's personal bodyguards, were the ones manning the carriage.

Inside the carriage, Meryl tried once more to make small talk with the heir to the throne but was promptly ignored by the red head, who was staring out of the window and scowling. She did not blame him; everything was too sudden, and Asch had been forced to do something he did not like. Meryl wondered what made him so interested in the life of the commoners yet he disdained them, most especially her.

She did not know what she had done to him in the past, but Asch made her felt that she had done something so unforgivable.

What's his problem anyway?

The maid did not have to ponder on for long.

The carriage went to a complete stop.

They have just arrived in Choral Castle.

As Asch made his way to the grand hallway of the castle, the maids formed two straight lines and bowed as the young master passed by between them, stepping on the long red carpet. Meryl followed behind him, though she did not walk on the red carpet like her master. She greeted her fellow maids, smiling at her friends whom she had not seen for the longest time. She then informed the maids to prepare lunch for the young master, and they immediately headed to the kitchen. She, on the other hand, followed behind the Viscount.

She found him inside his room, sitting by his bed and looking very much unhappy.

"Excuse me." she knocked on the door. "May I?"

"Enter." He said monotonously.

She did what he bid her to do. "What's wrong now, Master Asch?" Meryl kneeled in front of him.

"I want to go back and read books about politics…"

The blonde woman shook her head. "You know you can't…"

The red head rolled his eyes. For goodness' sake, this woman was treating him like a child! Fighting back the urge to scream at her, he said, "Well, what do YOU have in mind? I'm bored!" he nearly shouted at her.

The young woman thought for a while until she spoke aloud, "Why don't we ask Luke to come here? He can keep you compa—"

"NO."

"Why not?"

"I don't want him ruining my vacation." He informed her bluntly.

She raised an eyebrow at this, but did not direct her gaze at him.

It has been confirmed: Asch hated his younger twin brother Luke.

She was surprised at this. Growing up with the twins, they were inseparable when they were younger. Both liked to play games, and even went as far as to start fooling everyone by switching with one another. It used to drive everyone in House Fabre mad with the antics of the twins, and it continued until both had turned ten. Asch turned to his books while Luke turned to his 'big sister' Meryl, confiding to her that he was slowly losing his brother to the books until finally, what Luke feared the most happened when they both turned fifteen.

Asch was completely ignoring him already, and if he was not ignoring him, he treated Luke like a stranger.

Meryl's heart went out to the younger twin, of course.

Luke still acted like a kid at times, probably because of the influence his mother had when he was younger, and his brother's sudden change of demeanor towards him was what made him throw a tantrum one day. It took Meryl the whole day to calm down the red head, who was crying hard inside his new room, when Asch unceremoniously dropped all of his younger twin's belongings in the room located in the west wing of the manor. All the servants had gathered outside his room at that time, wondering why Master Luke was crying so much.

Inside the room, Meryl was also crying with him.

"Don't worry, Luke. If he does something bad… you'll know where to find me."

"S-sure…?" he echoed.

"Yes." She nodded. "Just look for me, okay? Whatever happens, I'll help you out. If I seem too busy, don't hesitate. I'll drop whatever it is that I am doing and go straight to you."

With that, the two became closer than they ever could. Luke looked up to her as an older sister while Meryl thought of Luke as her child. The relationship had to stop when Duke Fabre forbade Luke from fraternizing with servants, Meryl included. Luke exploded with anger at this and it took his mother some time to convince the Duke that Luke needed to have Meryl by his side. He conceded, though it was forced.

"I understand." She nodded absentmindedly at him. "Then I shall have to think up of an activity to not let you get bored."

"You'd better." He huffed.

"Yes, my lord." Discreetly, she rolled her eyes as she began to unpack his clothing and placing it on the cabinets of his room.

Some things never change.

Lunch was served to the heir, and to his surprise, they had prepared chicken for him. It was one of his favorite dishes, and he made a mental note to at least give a word of thanks to the servants. The last time he was in Choral Castle, they had served him octopus. He nearly fired the cook for his incompetence because he hated eat such a dish, and had to wait an extra hour for the cook to at least redeem himself by cooking up delicious beef stew.

As he ate, Meryl stood by his side.

"What the hell are you doing, standing beside me?"

The blonde woman shrugged. "Standard procedure, my lord." She informed him. "His Grace does this all the time in the Manor. He requests that I stand by his side. Just in case he needs something, he can always send me to do his bidding."

He gave her a look that he did not buy her explanation, so she gave out a fake sigh, as if she were to explain something so complicated to a child and did not have the patience for it. "Well, Viscount Fabre, you rarely dine in with His Grace and the Madam lately. This is His Grace's new rule, actually."

"…"

The maid rolled her eyes heavenward once more. "Okay, to put it simply, I'm the one whom you are going to inform if you need more food, drinks or any errands that you would like me to take care of."

He ignored her explanation and continued his meal.

Meryl felt stupid for even attempting to talk to someone who loved pretending to be a wall.

I am so going to have my sanity put to the test for a week…

Suddenly, she regretted going up for the task of ensuing that His Grace's heir is to relax for a week. Why, it hasn't even been twenty hours yet, and she was going crazy and livid with his sarcasm and his 'I'm-way-up-there' attitude. Absent-mindedly, she was rubbing her temples. Some aspirin would do once mealtime is over.

Lorelei help me.

"Hey, where's Meryl?" a loud voice suddenly echoed in the dining room.

She looked up to the door, and there stood Luke fon Fabre by the doorway, grinning at her. "Luke?! What are you doing here?"

"Mother told me you were here." He suddenly walked up to her. "Oh, hi Asch."

His twin glared at him in return, then shot the blonde maid a look, as if she had been conspiring with his twin with his 'sudden arrival' at Choral Castle. "Why are you here?"

Luke gave out a smirk and opened his mouth.

Two words.

One name.

"Meryl Oakland."

To say that Asch fon Fabre was angry right now was an understatement. Twin or not, he wanted to throw Luke out of the castle right now, even if he had some sauce on his fingers from eating too many of those buffalo chicken wings. It was not that he really hates his brother, as Luke and most of the servants in the manor knew.

It was a very simple reason.

Luke had ruined any moment he would and should have had with Meryl Oakland.

In other words, Viscount Fabre was jealous.