The Things Left Unsaid
The young Lord of Lhant was spent. He had spent the entirety of the morning and a good number of hours of a weekend afternoon dealing with the massive amount of paperwork that had piled up on his desk and yet he had hardly made a dent. His head was aching, his back was cramping up, and his wrist was stiffening from all the writing he was doing. Asbel Lhant was definitely not made for office work. Given the choice, he'd rather fight Lambda all over again.
He had just finished going over the third pile of documents and was about to start on the fourth when a knock interrupted him. He looked up from his work, expecting Frederic to come in with even more documents for him to look over. He waited a moment, but no one came in thorough the door. The knocking sound came again, but this time, Asbel realized that it was coming not from the door but the window, where he could see Sophie rapping her knuckles against the glass.
Welcoming the chance to stretch his neck, back, and legs, Asbel pushed back his chair and stood up, moving toward the window and opening it. He smiled at the young girl. "Hello, Sophie."
"Hi, Asbel," she greeted, smiling. "Am I disturbing you?"
"No, not at all. Is something wrong? You're normally at the gardens at this time."
Sophie nodded. "I was. Cheria asked me to tell you that she'll be getting a few things from her house so she'll be out for awhile."
"Ah, I see. Does she need any help getting them here?"
"No, she said she'll be fine."
Cheria. Asbel's thoughts lingered for a moment on his childhood friend. It had been two weeks since she had come back to Lhant and begun living in the Manor. Things were normal. Lady Kerri had welcomed her with open arms, Frederic had no complaints and was even pleased about the arrangement. Of course, Sophie was more than thrilled at having Cheria stay in the same house. In fact, they even shared a room. Yep, everything was normal. Absolutely nothing had changed.
And that was precisely why things were far from okay.
Asbel's spirits dropped like a rock. Why was nothing happening? When he had invited Cheria to come live with him, he had hoped that things would naturally fall into place when they did. After all, it was a pretty big deal for her to move into his house, right? And yet the weeks had passed by with complete normalcy, with nothing remotely significant to speak of. His intentions were clear, weren't they? There was no doubt that he wanted Cheria to... that he and she would...
"Asbel? Are you okay?" Sophie asked. "Your face is red."
"I-I'm fine," he answered quickly. God, he had to get a hold of himself. If he was getting flustered just thinking about it, there was absolutely no hope for him. He looked at Sophie, who still hadn't moved from the window. She was fidgeting slightly, and from what he could tell from her expression, there was something bothering her, but she couldn't bring herself to talk about it.
"Is there something else?" Asbel asked gently.
She bit her lip, struggling with the decision of whether or not to talk about it. Her head was bowed forward and her bangs dropped, concealing her face. "Asbel..."
"Yes?"
"You're... my father, right?"
He nodded. "Yes, that's right."
She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Then... is Cheria my mother?"
The weight in her voice told Asbel of what her real concerns were. Like she had always treated Asbel as a father figure, she had also always treated Cheria as a mother figure. But now, having adopted her in the Lhant family, she really was her daughter, no buts about it. On the other hand, Cheria...
Asbel sat down on the windowsill. "Did something happen?"
She shook her head. "Not really. But... when I was helping Cheria at her house the other day, I talked to the neighbor's kids. They asked me why Cheria was living with us... and then I started thinking about it." She looked up at him. "I'm really happy to be your daughter, Asbel. But I..."
Sophie fell silent, perhaps thinking that it would be too selfish of her to continue. Asbel reached a hand out to gently stroke his daughter's head. "Cheria has always been a mother to you, Sophie. And she always will be." He heaved a sigh before continuing. "But no... she isn't really your mother. At the very least, you can't go around calling her mom."
Her head dropped even further. "I see..."
Seeing his daughter look so dejected, Asbel couldn't help but feel guilty. Right now, with the way things were, he was blessed with enough happiness to last him a lifetime. And while he was sure that Sophie was also happy, he felt like he was denying her the last piece of her happiness by sitting around doing nothing. In fact, if he were to pursue her wish, wouldn't it be his happiness as well? Wasn't what she wanted also something he wanted?
Asbel looked at Sophie with tender eyes. "Hey, Sophie?"
"Yes?"
He cleared his throat uncomfortably. He hadn't even gotten used to the idea of thinking about it, and now here he was, trying to talk about it. "Would you... would you be happy if Cheria became your real mother?"
Her eyes lit up like fireworks. "Yes! Will she? Will she really be my mother?"
If anything, her enthusiasm made it even harder for him to talk. Asbel pulled his hand back and averted his eyes from her excited expression. "It's... it's not a sure thing yet. But... I'd really like her to be." He smiled at her. "And if it makes you happy, then now I'm even more sure."
"When? When?" she asked, jumping up and down.
Asbel shifted uncomfortably. "Um, when? I... can't really say yet. I kind of have to talk to Cheria before anything else."
"Ohhh..." An expression of understanding appeared on Sophie's face. "For Cheria to become my mom, you have to propose. That's why you need to talk, right?"
"U-um, yeah... The Captain taught you that, didn't he?"
"Mhmm. He also said that when two people get married, they share a room so they can-"
"S-Sophie!" he cut in quickly. "Please forget what Captain Malik said about that." After getting a nod from her, Asbel put a hand on Sophie's shoulder and looked at her seriously. "Listen, Sophie. This is a secret between the two of us, okay?"
"About couples-"
"No, not about that! I'm talking about me proposing to Cheria. You can't tell anyone about what we talked about. Especially not Cheria."
Sophie frowned. "I'm not very good at keeping secrets."
"Please, Sophie," Asbel begged. "You just have to keep quiet until I talk to her."
She was quiet for a moment, thinking his words through. "Okay, I won't tell anyone until you talk to Cheria."
He let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Sophie. Just be patient, okay? I promise I'll talk to her soon."
Sophie nodded. "Okay! I'll do my best!"
She ran off, probably returning to the garden to continue taking care of the flowers. Asbel watched her leave with a skip in her step before returning to his desk. He just sat there for a few moments, his brain trying to process everything that had happened. Once everything became clear, he slammed his head onto the table. Did he just announce his intentions of proposing to Cheria?
Thinking about it, this wasn't all that unexpected. He did invite her to live in his house after all. That in itself was already something like an indirect proposal. Then again, remembering that nothing had happened in the past two weeks, an actual proposal might be appropriate.
He had been conceited, he realized. It was very selfish of him to hope for things to progress between them when he was being so vague, only to save himself the trouble of actually saying what needed to be said. Well, there would be no more of that. It wasn't fair to Cheria. He would tell her the words he had kept in his heart that day, the thing he had left unsaid. Soon. Eventually. When he was ready.
Asbel slammed his head into the desk again. No! He was not going to be wishy-washy about this anymore. He would make a plan and do it! He would need... flowers, right? Cheria liked flowers. Maybe he should prepare a gift also. She liked ribbons, didn't she? If he was going with things she liked, should he also prepare some grilled chicken? It was her favorite... but somehow, it felt like it didn't give off the right image.
He pulled his head up off the desk and began jotting down a few notes. What was the other romantic crap that girls liked? Would a serenade be good? But he didn't know how to play any instrument, and he definitely didn't have any confidence in his voice. Maybe a poem or something? Or some kind of speech?
His thoughts continued going back and forth like this for over an hour until his head hurt. The page he had been writing on was filled with every little idea he could think of, from the time of day he would do it down to the clothes he would wear. Asbel tried to reread it and check if there was something he could add, but the content was so embarrassing that he could barely look at it.
A knock sounded on the door of his study. Quick as a flash, Asbel stuffed the piece of paper into his pocket. Making sure that nothing looked suspicious, he called out, "Come in!"
The door was pushed open and Frederic came in. "Lord Asbel, your afternoon tea is ready if you would like to take a break."
"Um, sure." To be honest, he would feel a little guilty about taking a break when he hadn't been doing any official work in the past hour. Then again, he had been working himself the entire morning and half the afternoon, so it couldn't hurt. "I'll be there in a bit."
"Very good, sir." Frederic bowed once and left, closing the door behind him. After arranging things on his desk, Asbel stood up and made his way to the dining room.
When he got there, two people were already seated at the table: Sophie and Cheria. He could feel his heart rate pick up at the sight of the pink haired girl. Taking a few calming breaths, he did his best to act normally as he took a seat at the table.
"H-Hi, Cheria. Are you done with your errands?"
She nodded distractedly. "Yes, I only just finished. But never mind that, what's wrong with Sophie?"
Asbel turned to look at Sophie and nearly jumped out of his chair. That was some expression on her face, if it could even be called an expression. It was as if she was pulling on all her facial muscles all while keeping her lips zipped tight. She glanced at him, nodded once, and then loosed her lips for one big breath before sealing them tight once more.
"Has... she been like that since you saw her?" Asbel asked.
Cheria nodded, continuing to watch the younger girl. Sophie reached for a biscuit on the plate in front of her. She then opened her pursed lips by a tiny crack in the corner of her mouth and tried to wedge it in. Doing so successfully, she bit off a piece and and began to chew, all while maintaining that same stiff expression.
"She won't even look at me, let alone talk to me," Cheria complained. "I wonder if I did something to upset her..."
Of course, Asbel realized this wasn't the case. He let out an inaudible sigh. If he had known that this was the only way she could deal with keeping a secret from Cheria, maybe he shouldn't have told her his plans in the first place. But what's done is done. In any case, he couldn't leave his daughter like this for any longer than what was necessary. It looked like he had no choice. He'd have to tell her now.
But not now now. Despite Sophie's situation, he still wanted this to be something remotely memorable. He'd have to improvise his plans though.
Asbel pushed his chair back, standing up. "Cheria, can you come with me for a moment?"
She looked surprised at his sudden invitation. "Right now? But what about Sophie?"
"She'll be fine. I just really need to talk to you."
"Um..." She hesitated, but seeing the serious look on Asbel's face, she consented. "Okay."
Cheria got up and followed Asbel out the dining room. She was about to head for the study, where she assumed would be the place they would talk, but Asbel took her hand and pulled her outside.
"W-Where are we going?"
"Someplace where we can both relax," he answered. "So I can say what I need to say."
Deciding not to question him further, Cheria let Asbel lead her by the hand. She was surprised when he led her outside the gates of Lhant, and then realized that he was probably taking her to the flower meadow on Lhant hill. That was probably what he meant by a place where they could both relax. But what could he possibly want to talk about there?
They continued walking hand in hand, eventually making it to the top of the hill. They stood there in silence, not a single word being spoken between them since they had left Lhant. The two of them were rather tense, but standing there, in the middle of the flowers with the gentle breeze blowing, managed to soothe their nerves a bit.
Cheria turned to face the boy next to her. "W-What did you want to talk about, Asbel?"
Asbel gulped. He had done this on the spur of the moment. Now that he was here, he had no idea about what he should do, let alone what to say. Cheria simply stood there, waiting patiently for him to answer, but her looking at him only made him more nervous. He could feel his chest tightening and his throat go dry. He couldn't just stand there like an idiot. He had to say something! Anything!
"I want you to come live with me!"
Okay, so maybe not anything. He could have definitely done better than that.
Cheria canted her head in confusion. "...I know. I've been living with you for two weeks already."
"What I mean to say is..." He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself before he said anything crazy. Well, crazi-er to be more precise. He must already look like a lunatic. But then he looked at her, and completely froze up. "My mother wants me to get married!"
So much for not saying anything crazy. Or crazier. Whichever. He was a total idiot either way.
She lowered her gaze. "Ah, yes... I heard from Hubert before."
"N-no! That's not what I meant! I mean, it's related but..." He pinched himself on the arm, trying to bring himself back to his senses. And then he looked at her again, and lost it. "Sophie wants a mother!"
She raised an eyebrow at that. "Asbel, what are you trying to tell me?"
"I-I... Just give me a sec! I need to sort out my thoughts!" This really wasn't going the way he thought it would. Every time he looked at her, all of it would just hit him: what she meant to him, what he would tell her, what he would ask her to do. He was surprised that his heart hadn't burst with all the things she was filling it with.
Asbel looked at her again, and this time, he just let her fill his entire being. He let her enter his every thought so that every word that he said would hopefully communicate what she was to him. "When I invited you to live with me, there was something I didn't say... even though I should have."
"And I'm not doing this because it's what my mom wants," he added. "I'm not even doing it because it's what Sophie wants, though it did give me a push. I'm doing it because it's what I want, and I hope that it's something you'd want too..."
He looked at her, even more intensely than before. "Cheria... I... About you..."
Asbel bit his lip. Why the heck was he choking now of all times? Just three words, plus another four! That's all he needed. He'd give up an entire life's worth of luck if he could just say those words.
And then Cheria laughed. She laughed. She was doing her best to cover it up, but the unmistakable sound of laughter still made it through. Asbel could feel his spirits dropping. Yep, she had just confirmed how much of an idiot he looked right now.
"You're really no good with words, are you, Asbel?" She smiled at him, her cheeks flushing a light pink. "I know... so it's fine. You don't have to force it."
"Y-You do?"
"Of course, I do," she said. "I've known you for a long time, long enough to know what you're thinking just by watching you. That's why... it's okay." She smiled at him, then turned toward the sea. The sun was setting, dying the sky in a beautiful palette of pink and orange. It would have been a perfect moment if Asbel had pulled through, she thought to herself. But that might be asking too much. It was fine. She was glad he was trying, and that was good enough for her.
"No, it's not okay."
Cheria turned back to him at those words, surprise etched on her face. He had his head bowed and was clenching his fist as hard as he could, as if he were reprimanding himself harshly. "You deserve better. To do any less would be unfair to you. That's why, even if you say you know, even if you say it's okay, I'll tell you all the same."
He looked at her once more, conveying his intentions with all seriousness. "Cheria... I-I love you. More than anything or anyone in this world. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"
He had finally said it. After all this time, he had finally managed to say it. He had stuttered a little at the start, but he had said it clearly enough for his intentions to be known.
The air between them was filled with silence. Asbel waited patiently for her response, gazing at her intensely. At first, he could only read an expression of surprise on her face. But then, a single tear rolled down her cheek.
"Huh? That's strange." She reached up to wipe away the tear, but more tears just kept on coming, streaming down her face. "I... I can't seem to stop crying. I don't know why though."
"Cheria..." Asbel took a half-step toward her, wondering whether it would be better to comfort her or give her some space.
"I see... I get it now." She no longer tried to wipe her tears and let them freely flow down her face. Instead, she used her hands to block Asbel's view of her face, embarrassed of openly crying in front of him. "I'm happy... I feel so happy and so relieved. Even though I said it's fine... even though I said I already know and that's good enough... hearing you say it... I'm so happy."
Something suddenly burned in the pit of Asbel's stomach. He took a few steps forward, taking Cheria's hands into his own and slowly bringing them down, revealing her tear-stained face.
"W-Wait, Asbel... I-I'm a mess. Don't look at me, I-"
"You're beautiful." Even though he had said it smoothly enough, a deep red colored his face. Cheria couldn't help but let a small giggle out at how he looked. She knew he was trying so hard to be suave but it just didn't suit him at all. He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "Cheria... Could you let me hear your answer? Will you spend the rest of your life with me?"
Cheria looked into his eyes and saw him looking at her. He was really looking at her. For a long time, she had thought that it was only her looking at him. As they traveled together, she began to think that he would look her way once in a while. But now, he was looking at her and only her, and a future together with her.
She smiled, the tears threatening to spill again. "Yes, Asbel. I will."
He kissed her then and there, unable to restrain himself. And his heart soared when she kissed him back. He wrapped his arms around her, embracing her gently and yet holding her as if he never wanted to part from her.
When they separated, both were breathless and their faces displaying a healthy shade of red. Asbel rested his forehead against Cheria's, closed his eyes, and let out a breath.
"Asbel? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine... It's just- I'm on cloud nine right now, so I'm a little dazed."
Cheria laughed at that. "How do you think I feel?"
"I'm betting not even half as good as me."
She swatted at his arm playfully. "Stop it, you. It's not a competition." She paused, thinking it over for a bit. "And if it was, I'd definitely win."
Asbel took a step back, looking at the woman who was now her fiancée. Hah. His fiancée. He could actually go around and tell people that Cheria was his fiancée now. The thought put a smile on his face that threatened to split his face in half.
On the subject of telling people, he supposed there was one person who was first in line to hear the good news.
"Come on," he said. He held Cheria by the hand, leading her down the hill. "Someone's waiting for us."
-x-x-x-
They didn't have to go very far to find her. Not too far from the starting slope of Lhant hill, they found Sophie pacing nervously back and forth. As soon as she saw them, her expression brightened for a moment before she caught herself and went back to that rigid poker face of hers.
"It's okay, Sophie," Asbel said. "I told her already."
Her expression brightened once more. "You did? You really did?" she asked jumping up and down. She turned to Cheria this time. "And? What did you say? What did you say?"
Cheria smiled. "I said yes!"
Not wasting a single second, Sophie launched herself at the two, grabbing them in a tight embrace and knocking all of them down onto the grassy road. The three simply lay there, laughing their hearts out.
Sophie was smiling so much her cheeks hurt. "It's happening. It's really happening! We're gonna be a family!"
"We've always been family, Sophie," Cheria corrected her. "We're just formalizing it a little. And saying the things that need to be said," she added, smiling at Asbel.
Asbel sat up, slowly, something finally dawning on him. "Hey... come to think of it, you've never really said it either."
Cheria blinked. "Huh? Said what?"
"That you love me," he clarified.
She sat up quickly, her face darkening a few shades of red. "R-Really? I haven't? I-Isn't that interesting..."
Sophie got up as well, sitting closer to Asbel so that they were both looking at Cheria. "Aren't you going to say it?"
"S-Say it? You mean... right now?" Asbel and Sophie nodded at the same time. "B-But..."
"Let's all say it!" Sophie suddenly announced.
"Say what... exactly?" Asbel asked.
The young girl didn't answer but simply continued on her own. "Let me do it first!" The two looked at her with confused expressions but she continued nonetheless. She looked first to Asbel. "I love my strong and brave father, Asbel. You've always protected me, ever since you found me that day seven years ago. You gave me a home and made me a part of your family." Asbel beamed and rubbed the top of her head affectionately.
Then, turning to Cheria, she continued. "And I love my gentle and caring mother, Cheria. I love when you fuss over me and when you make crablettes, and when you help me in the garden. But most of all, I love your hugs, when you hold me tight against you like you never want to let go."
Finishing with a beautiful and innocent smile, she tugged on Asbel's sleeve, indicating that it was his turn.
"Okay, I got it," he said nodding. He gently pressed his forehead against Sophie's and continued. "I love my wonderful daughter, Sophie. I love you as if you were my own flesh and blood, and the day I took you into my family is one of the happiest days of my life." He turned to Cheria, his cheeks coloring the lightest shade of red, and spoke in an even gentler voice. "And I love my beautiful, thoughtful, and sweet soon-to-be wife, Cheria. I might have not always known it, but you've been there for me all of these years. And in the next years, I promise to always be there for you. No matter what."
Cheria's face was burning red now, and her heart was melting. She took a moment to look at the two most important people in her life before taking a deep breath.
"I love you, my sweet and lovable daughter, Sophie. I love how innocent you are, because it helps me to realize the most important things in life." She opened her arms and Sophie jumped right in, wrapping her in a tight hug. Looking over the top of her head, she looked at Asbel and continued. "And I love you, Asbel. I love you so much. I've loved you since we were children, and I continued loving you even when we were apart for seven years. And after everything we've been through, if there's only one thing I can say for certain, it's that I love you, with all my heart."
Asbel smiled and, leaning over Sophie's head, gently pressed his lips against hers. While he was tempted to prolong the kiss, he was painfully aware that they were in full view of his young and innocent daughter. Cutting it short, he stood up and stretched a hand out to the two of them. With wide smiles on their faces, Cheria and Sophie each took a hand and they all began walking together, back home to their home.
A content and satisfied silence settled between them as they made their way back to Lhant. But there was just one more question that had to be asked.
"Asbel, are you and Cheria going to start sharing a room-"
Asbel clamped a hand over Sophie's mouth. Maybe he ought to reconsider sending Captain Malik an invitation to their wedding.
A/N: My first fic in a long time, and my first in the Tales fandom. I've been interested in the Tales games for awhile, but only got to play them recently. We assign games at our house (so we avoid spoiling the story for each other), and the Tales series is under the jurisdiction of my brother, so I was mostly watching instead of playing. I play games more for their story anyway, so it was fine with me.
We actually finished Graces awhile back, and this idea also comes from awhile back, but I only managed to get it down now. A little forcefully too, since there are a few bits I'd want to change but have no idea how. I had originally planned a sequel for this starring Hubert and Pascal with the title "The Things Previously Said" but I'm happy enough with this. Anyway, it's nice to relax and write fanfiction for a change. I've been obsessed with writing originals, and it's no walk in the park. Might get back to my KH fic sometime soon... Anyway, thanks for reading and I'd appreciate the reviews.