"I need to talk to you tonight. Kimlasca Side Inn. Midnight. Room 204. -A"
Natalia clutched the scrawled note in her hand as she made her way across the desert city. Despite the empty streets, she had donned a black cloak and utilized the hood to conceal her identity. She didn't want a stray soldier giving her away to her companions.
Mere months ago, she never would have guessed that she would be sneaking away from an Inn in Chesedonia to meet with a man. That she, Princess Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Landvaldeer, would have a secret meeting with one of the Six God Generals before they both set out to end Grand Maestro Mohs the next day. Asch the Bloody wasn't just a God General to her, though. He was still her Luke. Her childhood friend who had promised to help her change their country together when they grew up was no longer the Luke that lived in the Fabre manor. She knew that Asch denied his birth identity, but he couldn't deny their childhood together.
Reaching the Inn, she stepped inside. She strode to the desk. "I am meeting somebody in Room 204. Is he here yet?
"Yes, horribly rude man. Must be impatient to meet with you or something." The innkeeper winked suggestively at her. Natalia scoffed in disgust. If she weren't trying to keep a low profile, she'd give the man a royal ass-chewing.
She turned on her heel and ascended the stairs to her left to the second floor. The doors were on the left side of the hall. The right wall was nothing more than a railing that prevented guests from falling over the balcony into the lobby. Natalia's heart was pounding with anticipation as her pace slowed. She approached the fourth door down the hall. What did Asch want to talk about? Did he have some secret plan for tomorrow's battle? Did he want to convince her to go home to Baticul and stay safe? She swallowed as she gently knocked on the door; there was no turning back now.
The door cracked open, and she saw a sliver of Asch's face as he peered out at her. "Is that you, Natalia?" His voice was hesitant.
"I swear on my country that it is." Natalia could feel her voice shaking. She was so sure that she wanted to see him tonight when she got his carrier pigeon. Now she was wondering if this was a good idea.
Asch opened the door, just wide enough to exit the room. He wasn't in his armor, having discarded it for the evening. He stood before her in his simple black tunic and pants. He had forgone socks, so he stood barefoot on the rough carpet. He had pulled back his hair in a low ponytail. "I promise, this isn't about tomorrow, I just wanted to see you. Gingi is doing last minute preparations on the Albiore III, will you come in?" He offered his hand to her. She took it, hesitantly. His hands were rough and calloused from years of training with the Oracle Knights. She was so angry at Van for taking him away from her. It was selfish, but she wanted those years back. She had lost seven years of time with Asch, and she would never get them back. The only thing that made the situation better was that she knew that if Van hadn't kidnapped Asch to make the Luke replica, Asch would have perished in Akzeriuth as Luke fon Fabre.
Asch led her into the room. On one of the two beds lay Asch's armor in a neat pile and his sword; his boots were next to the door. Asch let go of her hand to move his armor and sword from the bed to a wooden chair near the window. Sitting on the bed, he patted the spot next to him, indicating that he wanted the Princess to sit with him. "I need to apologize to you," Asch began. "I shouldn't have gotten frustrated with you when you were struggling to deal with learning about Luke and me. It was a lot to take in, and I can't be mad that you couldn't differentiate between us."
"I was expecting everything to go back to how it was, just with another Luke. I should not have expected you to not change in the seven years since the kidnapping. You went through traumatic events, and it was wrong of me to expect the Luke that I knew as a ten year old to remain as is. You are not Luke any longer and I should respect that."
"One thing hasn't changed since the kidnapping." Asch whispered. Two pairs of green eyes met as Asch and Nataila gazed at each other.
"What would that be, Asch?"
"I still want to marry you." Asch took Natalia's hands in his grasp. "I still want to change our country together, that's what I wanted to talk about tonight."
"I am not the Princess you thought I was." Natalia looked away from Asch and stood up. Asch stood up as well, and pulled her into a hug. "I'm not the Princess, I'm just a substitute. The real Natalia died years ago," she mumbled into his chest.
"How many times do I have to tell you that I never wanted to marry you because you were the princess? I want to marry you because you love our country and our people. I want to marry you because you have a kind heart and will help anybody in need." Asch could feel her tears soaking through his shirt. He softly stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "I want to marry you because I love you with all of my heart and soul." He took her chin gently in his hand and pulled her face up to look her in the eyes. "That is the one thing that will never change about me."
With tears still in her eyes, Natalia kissed Asch on the cheek. "You'd better make it out alive, tomorrow," she whispered as she pulled away from him. Turning towards the door to leave, Natalia felt Asch's hand on her wrist. He pulled her close and placed one hand on her cheek.
"This is my promise to you," He tilted his head and gently kissed her. His lips were gentle as they moved against hers, conveying the feelings that he was too scared to say aloud. He knew what would happen tomorrow, and he knew she wasn't prepared for it. Pulling away, he took her face in both hands as he looked into her eyes. "I; the original Luke fon Fabre, first and only son of Duke Fabre and tertiary heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Landvaldeer; hereby dissolve our engagement." Natalia's eyes widened in shock, she opened her mouth to speak, but Asch put a finger to her lips to stop her. "I swear on Lorelei that I will propose to you the proper way when we next see each other. You were engaged to Luke fon Fabre, not Asch the Bloody of the Six God Generals. I don't want you to marry who I was. I want you to marry me as I am. We don't have to be the Princess and the Duke's son if we don't want to. We can just be Natalia and Asch; I just want you to be happy."
"I will be happy with my marriage as long as it is with you. Knowing what I know now, I cannot imagine living my life with Luke. Knowing that my efforts to bring back his memories from before the kidnapping – your memories– would have been fruitless, knowing that he would never have loved me like you love me, and knowing that he wasn't you; I couldn't marry him knowing that you existed." Natalia's hands found his once again and gently grasped them. "I want to present you to the people as my fiancé once you propose to me. I want them all to know you as Asch the Bloody, the God General, and the man who holds my hearts and will stand by me as I work for the betterment of my country."
"If we get married, I will be that and so much more." Asch's face was hiding the pain and sadness that he felt. He knew that his death tomorrow would destroy her. He hated building her hope up like this, but he had to free her from marrying against her will to his replica. He had already paid the Dark Wings to deliver a message to her upon her next birthday. The message contained an apology for what he had said tonight and a request that she move on and be happy. The message wouldn't tell her that he knew that he would die, but it would suggest that he had prepared for the worst. This way, she could move on without wondering if doing so would be disrespectful to his memory. He continued kissing all over her face, on her cheeks and forehead. He wanted to memorize every inch of her face so he could remember her as clearly as possible when he closed his eyes for the last time. "You should go; the others will start to worry," he murmured against her skin. He could feel his willpower crumbling. Every fonon in his body was screaming at him to just take her and run. Run away so they could escape the replica world and the destruction of Auldrant, but he knew that she would never run. She loved her country too much and would never do a selfish thing when she could help her people.
"I suppose I should. We both need our rest for tomorrow." She stood up on tiptoe to kiss him once more, before turning and slipping out the door. Asch didn't move from his spot. Once she was out the door and he was sure he was far enough away, he collapsed to the floor with a sob and remained there for a solid hour before he crawled to bed.
His last thoughts when he died the next day were of Natalia and her smiling face.
A/N: This is a one shot that I thought of while watching the Tales of the Abyss Anime. For those of you who are reading Personal, I'm sorry for the delay! I promise good things are coming for Colette!