'Without me, they're perfectly fine...'
The 10-year-old gazed down upon the happy group, the atmosphere around him quite the opposite of theirs. That group is his family...his servants...his people. Everyone that he cared for, dearly. Everything was there...except something did not belong. The one that did not fit in the scene was a certain boy that was identical to him; a crying child that was fawned over by his servants, and his mother as his father looked on...
Depression and darkness hid his once bright, green eyes from the world. Batical, his homeland, was completely peaceful, even if one of their young royals was an imposter. How could they not tell the difference? How could they not see that that boy was not him?
He is Luke fon Fabre. Not that...that replica.
He is the future ruler to Kimlasca. There was no way that the copy of himself could possibly be capable to lead his country.
But...then again, they did not even notice that there was a change in their heir. They just assumed that it was some...kind of condition. Amnesia gained from that horrific kidnapping...
He, Luke fon Fabre, remembered those nights stuck in that dark, hidden cage. A prison on his body, along with his heart; keeping him from seeing the people that he belonged with...
That replica did not go through any of the dreadful experiences he had in his life. That replica was not kidnapped by one of the people he trusted most. That replica did not go through the indescribable pain...his DNA being extracted out of him.
The DNA that created that ignorant replica.
He traveled all this way to get back to Batical. He wished to see his people, so much that he snuck onto a boat, fought through monsters, and walked the rest of the way...
Luke spotted a blonde girl, small hands on her hips as she gripped a flowery crown in one of the hands. 'Natalia...' He remembered the girl well. They were to be wed when they grew up...but...
Every future in mind was shattered as she placed that hand-made crown unto the head of his replica...
That was it. They did not need him. They just needed that copy. Did they really not notice that it was not really him? Or did they just not care...? Was it just...as long as it looked like him, it was fine? No...that couldn't be it...definitely not.
He just couldn't find the strength to run up to them. It'd be too confusing...too...was 'scary' the word? Luke couldn't decide. He just knew that he did not have the courage to face them all. He just wasn't strong enough to see them all, looking at him with shocked expressions, not knowing what to believe.
Who was he to be now...? His legs gave way, and he felt the soft grass against his scarred knees. The tattered cape flew around him, but even its slight warmth wasn't comforting as he watched them all walk away in their cheerfulness. Master Van...the one that kidnapped him...he was there. Talking to him...
Tears formed at the corners of Luke's eyes, and he hiccupped, trying to control his emotions. They didn't notice...They did not once think that that boy was not him. He was replaced...
His whole life was stolen, just like that.
The salty tears streamed down his cheeks freely now, sobs wracking his body uncontrollably as his mind was slowly filled with Van's words. He was eased into another state...another sense of belonging.
Of course, Luke loved Kimlasca, and the people that lived in that grand, top level of Batical. But he was not Luke, any longer.
He was just the remnants of 'the sacred flame.'
Asch...charred remains of that flame that shone brightly in Kimlasca Lanvaldear.
He would live a new life, with Master Van, and his specialized group of soldiers - The God Generals. Tossing away his old life, shunning the name that he once carried so proudly...
It's a shame that truly, he was ignorant to the truth. The real intentions of his teacher...
But then again, for that short while, ignorance was bliss. Just as his family were unknowingly adopting a fake into their household, happily going along with their lives...
