Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places, etc. from Tales of Berseria. It all belongs to its respectful owners.

Spoilers Warning: This contains spoilers for Tales of Berseria. I suggest completing the game before reading this fanfiction.

Chapter 1

"How are you feeling?" The pointed question caused the young boy to glance away from the window he was staring out of towards the silver-haired figure standing a short distance away.

"Ok I guess…" The blonde turned away when he noticed the arched eyebrow that happened in response to his unresolved statement, his clasped hands fidgeting in his lap.

"'You guess?' What seems to be the matter?"

"…I can't really taste anything…" The eleven-year old trailed off once more, knowing that if he just started complaining that the man would most likely lecture him once more, instead prompting to finish the sentence in his head.

No matter how much I eat, no matter what I eat, no matter how hungry I seem to feel…

"Ah, that." The boy didn't need to focus his gaze on the man to know that he had glanced at the unfinished portion of food on the small table beside the bed that the pre-teen was laying on. At his request, the piece of furniture had been moved in front of the window so that he could gaze out of it as he rested.

I've had enough time gazing out of windows though… ten whole years…

When the man didn't reply, the blonde shifted his gaze back out towards the streets below. Honey-colored eyes watched people of various ages, heights, and colors pass, unaware of the boy's presence.

"Laphicet," The boy turned towards the man once more when he heard his name- his actual name, not the one that everyone kept referring to him as- his eyes staring into the man's blue-green ones. "That's a natural part of what you are now. There's no reason to fear the transformation(1)."

At those words, Laphicet glanced down at his hands, pulling them up to his chest when he realized that they were shaking. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second before opening them to glance back at the silver-haired man.

"I-I'm not afraid…" He trailed off when he heard his voice shake, causing the boy to shake his head a moment later, as if to confirm that he indeed wasn't afraid. He could feel the edges of his eyes prickling, bringing back the familiar sensation of tears. "I chose this. I'm just… disappointed, I guess…"

Artorius stared back at him, his gaze those cold, expressionless eyes that Laphicet often saw him use when in the presence of other officials from the Abbey, before they almost seemed to soften just a bit. The man slowly drew closer, as if not to frighten the boy any more than he seemed to be.

"And why's that?"

Biting the inside of his cheek, the eleven-year old blinked his eyes, trying to get the tears to go away, before shaking his head when they wouldn't vanish. He took one shaky breath after the other, trying to calm himself down, so that he could try to explain, but found that he couldn't, his eyes still clenched tightly shut. A firm hand on his shoulder caused his eyes to snap open, his gaze drawing upwards to where his brother-in-law was now standing beside him.

"It's alright. You can tell me."

Can I really though? The thought caused the tears to make their way down his cheeks, making the boy banish the thought. He could trust Arthur; after all, trust in the man was what had gotten him here in the first place.

"I-I know that this might be s-stupid but…" He took another breath, glancing down at his clenched, shaking hands, wishing that his emotions would go away, just this once. "…I was just thinking… that if V-Velvet were here…and she m-made something… and… and she asked me to t-taste it… a-and tell her h-how it was…t-that I w-wouldn't be able t-to…" That I would have to lie… The thought caused all of his emotions to come out, his tears turning into full-fledged sobs. He tried to wipe away the constant stream of salty water, but the more he wiped, the faster the tears continued to flow. The hand on his shoulder disappeared, reappearing a moment later as hands wrapped around his shaking body, pulling him up against his brother-in-law.

"I understand." The familiar warmth caused the sobs to die down a bit, becoming less frequent, as the boy closed his eyes once again, suddenly feeling weary.

"Y-you know how much she likes being told how good her food is…" The words were slower and quieter than the way he would normally say them, his eyes half-lidded as he opened them again to stare at the figure standing a short distance away from them. The red-haired woman hadn't made a reaction the whole time she was here, merely following Arthur around.

"Indeed she does…" The man's voice was quieter now as well, almost contemplative, as they both thought of the black-haired girl who was far away from here. Honey-colored eyes closed once more, with the boy's breathing evening out into a steady rhythm.

"Arthur… I'm tired…" The words were just barely able to be muttered, as he could feel himself slipping closer towards sleep.

"Then it's best if you rest." He could feel hands gently laying him back down onto the bed, releasing him once his head had touched the pillow. The young boy heard the opening of the bedroom door and footsteps, but neither caused him to stir.

"Sir, they're waiting for you." The unfamiliar voice caused the boy to shift in the bed, trying to open his weary eyes and see who was there. The attempt was unsuccessful, with the boy trying to place where he had heard the voice before.

"I'll be right there, Oscar." The shadow that had been over the eleven year-old suddenly vanished as the man moved towards the door, towards where the younger Praetor was waiting. "Seres, watch over him."

The sound of the door closing and footsteps fading away caused the boy to attempt to open his eyes once more. Light barely entered his vision as he noticed the Malak come towards him, her footsteps light on the floor, so as not to wake him. The blinds covering the windows were released, causing the room to darken slightly. The bed shifted as the woman sat down at the edge of it, near to where Laphicet's head was lying, as she glanced down at him through her black and gold colored mask.

"You really are tired…" Her light whisper, as well as the stroking motion of her hand against his head, caused the boy to nod slowly.

"Just a bit…" He trailed off, his eyes closing as his breathing got deeper. Despite his day just beginning, he was already going to go to sleep. "But… I wanted to go outside today, just this once, sister…" His words came out in a mumble as Seres continued to stroke his head, the familiar motion causing the young boy to drift off into sleep.

(1)- So I'm not actually sure whether Laphicet was just reborn into a Malak's body like with Seres or whether it happened gradually. When I think of it, for some reason I think of when Colette was transforming into an Angel in Tales of Symphonia.

So, what did you all think? Despite as hard as I try to still hate Arthur, I find myself instead having understanding on why he did what he did. Although that still doesn't make what happened any easier, or any more excusable, in my mind. This is kind of a time period of what was happening in between those three years where Velvet was in the prison, and might go into the actual game, I'm not sure completely on that yet. Not sure whether to keep it as a one-shot/series of one-shots or whether to turn it into an actual story. Also, do you think it's ok to put Laphicet Crowe in the characters' link? I didn't want to spoil anyone who hasn't beaten the game/ or ignored my earlier warning, so I just put Innominat for now. Like I said earlier, this fanfiction is going to spoil quite a bit of the game so I suggest beating or at least watching the end, for those of you who don't have the game yet, so that you understand/ I don't spoil you on everything. :) Please let me know what you all thought since I'm curious to see how I did!

-AnimeWolfGirl16