A/N: First of all, thank you so much for all the support on the first chapter! Second, like I have said earlier, this will follow the game, and therefore some of the dialogue (probably a lot of it) will be taken from the game. I apologise if you guys don't like that.
Also, I am well aware that there are a lot of other stories like this one here on Fanfiction (like Reflections, which happens to be one of my absolute favourite stories on this site), but I will go my own way with my own idea. If something becomes similar, I apologise for that, as it is not my intention to do so. I know how I want this story to go, and I can only hope you will enjoy it and come along on the journey.
Once again, I am sincerely sorry for all grammar mistakes.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 1
It Started With a Song
ND2018
It had started just like every other normal day at the manor on top of Kimlasca's capital Baticul. The maids had gone from bedroom to bedroom in order to wake the members of the Fabre family, informing them of visitors expected during the day and of the weather outside, before returning to their other duties.
The manor was a grand building with more rooms than anyone cared to count, formed like a horse shoe with a courtyard decorated with a stoneground and water in the middle. Unconnected to the main house, in the space left open, stood two identical, smaller buildings. They separated the courtyard from the garden which otherwise surrounded the manor on all sides beside the front entrance.
A window was open on the back side of the building to the left, letting the warm light from the sun shine into the only room on the inside. It was a lovely weather outside with hardly any clouds to be seen in the sky, leaving the fonstones floating above the land in full sight of everyone who wanted to watch them. Green eyes watched them with a longing gaze from the open window. Red hair moved slightly due to the wind blowing past, but not enough to bother the sky watcher. The red haired one was a young boy at the age of seventeen, the youngest member of the Fabre family. The room he stood in was his bedroom, carefully decorated with plants and paintings to match the light colours of the walls. The light colours had been his mother's idea, and while he didn't really care about it, it had made her happy to be allowed to decide what the room should look like.
The youth turned away from the window and walked toward the door leading out of his bedroom. He had been woken up hours earlier by one of the maids, but had decided to stay inside for the sake of listening to music – he had a pair of gramophones by his bed – instead of going outside. It wasn't like it mattered what he did anyway; the day would turn out just like any other. A normal and boring day in his life.
The youth grabbed his sword and strapped it to the back of his white jacket as he walked by it there it lay on his bed. It felt good just to have the sword close and ready, even though he most likely wouldn't need it inside the manor. It hung on his lower back, with the hilt sticking out to the left so he could easily grip it.
The boy was about to take a hold on the doorknob when a strange sound stopped him. He threw a wondering look around the room before frowning slightly. Nothing out of the usual was in sight and the gramophones had been off for a while, so he doubted they were guilty.
… Guess I'm hearing things. Probably. He had had headaches as long as he could remember, and strange sounds had occurred before together with them. The boy shook his head before reaching for the doorknob once more.
The youth looked around for any familiar faces the moment he stepped outside of his door. To the right side stood a building that was the twin of the one he had just walked out of, quiet and peaceful in the summer sun. The boy grinned. If he was really quiet, and lucky, maybe he could get revenge for the bucket of water that fell over his head yesterday morning. A loud scream right after entering should work well enough.
Filled with eager, the youth ran down the stairs from his bedroom and turned toward his destination. He would have been there in a few seconds, and probably carried out the revenge too, had he not almost collided with an old man working with the flowers growing in the middle of the two twin buildings. The red haired boy stopped just in time, and as a result the old man stood up from his work. He was dressed in the uniform of the manors gardeners, with all the necessary tools close at hand.
"Hello, Master Luke," he said, a tone of surprise in his voice as he bowed for the young lord, "nice weather we're having today." Luke, albeit a little disappointed he had been stopped, smiled at the old man.
"Digging in the dirt again today, Pere? Don't you get bored doing that every single day?" he knew he himself would be.
"Not at all. This is my job," the old man said, smiling back at the youth, "nothing makes me happier than to see the flowers I grow warm the hearts of this manor's inhabitants." Luke watched the white flowers growing right beside him. They were rather nice, and he knew his mother cared a lot for them. However, they would never be enough to make the days at the manor more interesting.
"No offense, but I'm bored as all hell of this manor. I want my freedom." Just like the fonstones in the sky, free to float wherever they wanted to. Not that he had ever seen them change position. Okay, so not free like the fonstones. More like the birds.
The thoughts made Luke miss the sad look Pere gave him.
"Yes, I can understand how being forbidden to leave the manor would cause you to feel that way," forbidden to leave when everyone else could come and go as they pleased, "but it's an order from His Majesty himself. You just need to wait a little longer… until you come of age," the old man laughed softly, "I'm sure you're used to these flowers by now, but I still hope they can warm your heart." Luke opened his mouth to answer, just for his words to fade from his mind as he heard a door open and the sound of footsteps on stone. Only one word, a name, remained while he watched the newcomer approach them.
"Asch!"
"Good morning, Master Asch."
Asch fon Fabre stopped the moment he reached the duo, crimson red hair blowing around him from the sudden lack of movement. Even after all the years Pere had worked at the manor, the similarity between the two red heads still shocked him. They were just too identical for their own good: The same height, weight, green eyes and sizes. Even the lengths of their hairs were the same – all the way down their backs.
Yet there were a few outside differences one could use to separate them from each other. Luke had a lighter red colour on his hair with golden edges and spikes that covered the top his head and hung down in his eyes, while Asch's was darker and the spikes were pulled straight back to keep them away from his face. The darker haired one also kept his sword on his left side. The easiest way to tell them apart, however, was to look at the way they dressed. The clothes were almost identical too, but small differences and choice of colours made it possible for others to separate them. Both wore jackets which covered the back of their legs, but Asch had the front of his reach all the way down to his hips, while Luke only had three buttons at the top and showed off the muscles covering his stomach. Dark grey with red linings for the oldest, and white with yellow lining for the youngest.
"Good morning, Luke, Pere," Asch smiled friendly to them as he came to a halt.
"I hope this idiot doesn't bother you, Pere," he said, giving the other red haired boy a sharp look. Luke crossed his arms and glared at the flowers. He wasn't bothering Pere, and now the surprise attack he had planned for his older twin brother could no longer be fulfilled, not that day at least. Why did Asch always have to come at the wrong time?
The older red haired one seemed to notice his younger brother's irritation, for his green eyes moved from Pere to Luke.
"Awake so early, Luke? I was sure we would have to use the bucket again to get you up before dinner." The younger one glared all he could at his twin, which probably looked pathetic because the other one only laughed and ruffled his already spiky hair as he passed him by, heading for the main building.
"Asch, where are you going?" Luke asked as he twisted around to follow his brother, giving a small wave of goodbye to Pere as he left. The older one kept walking straight forward in a fast tempo, but slowed down just enough for his brother to catch up with him without having to run.
"The castle." Luke gave him an evil grin.
"Natalia made you come to look at her dresses again?" He could have sworn Asch turned a little red by his words, and the younger of the two made sure to keep himself out of his brother's reach. Asch loved the princess, he knew that, but he also knew his brother would never say such a thing, no matter how engaged and in love the oldest Fabre boy and the princess were.
"It's none of your business."
The duo reached the entrance hall. Asch stopped not too far away from the door leading out of the manor, green eyes falling on his younger brother.
"Luke, I'm…"
"It's fine. Sheesh, whatever. Say hello to Natalia for…"
"Young Masters." Both boys turned around at the sound of the titles, eyes widening as they saw Ramdas, an older man with hair formed like the horns of a ram, coming towards them.
"The Order of Lorelei Maestro, Dorian General Van Grants will be arriving soon."
"What?" though the reaction of shouting out the word was similar from both the red heads, the rest were quite opposite of each other. While Luke almost jumped up and down with excitement, Asch gained a suspicious and serious look on his face. The younger one had never understood why the other one didn't like their Master very much – he hardly worked at all to hide those feelings – and whenever he asked, the older one would never answer. That didn't stop him from being excited, though, or from asking Ramdas more questions.
"Master Van's coming? Today's not a training day." Asch had crossed his arms and seemed more and more unpleased as the seconds went by.
"I've heard he's here on urgent business. I was told they'll be calling the two of you later, Young Masters, so please wait in your rooms," the man focused his attention on Asch, "I'm sorry, Young Master, but the Princess will have to wait for the time being." Asch cursed under his breath, an action only heard by Luke. He frowned, but kept from asking. He knew better than to ask at times like this. Especially with someone around. Instead, another thing stirred up in his memories from just seconds ago.
"Stop calling us "young" already," he said, crossing his arms and glaring at Ramdas. The older man turned his attention away from Asch and raised his eyebrows at the younger one instead.
"No, until you reach maturity at age 20, I shall continue to refer to you as Young Masters." Luke was about to give a reply when the other red head gripped his right arm and dragged him toward the hallway. A discussion with Ramdas would just bring them trouble anyway, and Asch had had enough of those for a lifetime. However, the older man wasn't done with them just yet, and had no intentions of letting them go without saying what was on his mind.
"Young Masters…" he called after them, "please stop fraternizing with that gardener, Pere. It isn't fit for you to speak to one of his status."
"We know, we know," Asch answered as he pushed his brother out of the door.
*~^:^~*
"What does it matter to Ramdas who we speak to?" Luke walked restlessly around his bedroom, too annoyed to sit down on the bed like Asch did. They had both decided to stay together until they were called to the drawing room, and Luke's bedroom was the most inviting one – Asch's was painted in dark colours, the opposite of his brother's.
"We're nobles, Luke. Some find it unfitting for nobles to talk to servant," Asch answered, watching Luke walk back and forth. The younger one stopped suddenly, glaring at his brother.
"That doesn't stop us from hanging out with Guy," he said, crossing his arms. The older one felt the corners of his mouth pull upward.
"It doesn't," he confirmed as he stood up, considering whether he should turn on some music or not. That might calm his irritated younger brother down a little. He knew it wasn't the thing with Ramdas that bothered the other red head the most, but it was the only thing he could say out loud.
A strange sound crashed through his head, causing the older teen to lift both hands to his head and bowing down. Twice in a day, that wasn't usual.
Asch… Luke… Fragments… Of my soul… Heed… Voice. Words, that was just as unusual as a headache twice in a day. What the hell? Asch could hear Luke's knees hit the ground on the other side of the bed, but the sudden pain stopped him from turning around.
"Luke! Asch! What is it? Not another one of those headaches?" the pain disappeared when the familiar voice reached him. Asch straightened up as his head cleared and threw a look toward the window. There, leaning against the wall in the window sill, stood a blond, young man who watched them both with worried eyes. The older red head shook his head. Guy Cecil had rather unusual entrance methods, he was well aware of that, and judging by Luke's lack of reaction, the window was probably a normal one. Whenever Asch hung out with them – when he wasn't at the castle or busy with something else – the red haired duo would go look for the other one. It seemed other rules applied when he wasn't around.
"It's okay. It's gone," Luke said, finally getting up from the floor. Asch looked his younger brother over with a quick gaze to make sure everything was fine with him, before returning the attention to the blond man.
Guy had been hired as Asch's – or Luke's, since that had been his name then – babysitter when he was still a small child, and they had grown to become good friends – in his opinion, at least – over the years. It had also been Guy's responsibility to watch over Luke when the youngest came to the manor seven years ago. He was a servant at the household, but also a friend both boys cared about.
"You two hearing things again?" Guy asked, receiving identical nods from the twins.
"I wish I knew what the hell it was. It's so annoying," Luke said, staring past Guy and out on the blue sky beyond them.
"They're getting more frequent. They started after you were kidnapped by the Malkuth Empire. What's that, seven years now?" Guy was looking at Asch as he spoke, his words more aimed at him than at Luke. Asch gave him a grateful nod in return. The blond servant had played along with his little lie since the very beginning. Luckily, the younger one didn't seem to notice where their friend was looking, nor the nod from his brother. If he did, it would just lead to unanswerable questions. Best to get the attention elsewhere before Luke thought things over and asked something stupid.
"It doesn't matter. What do you want, Guy?" Asch said, walking around the bed to stand by his brother's side. The blond grinned and jumped down from the window sill, all worries forgotten at the moment.
"I was wondering if you two wanted to do something today. How about some sword practice?" Being five years older than them and trained in a rather unusual fighting style with the sword, Guy would always make an interesting opponent on the training grounds. He hardly lost to the twins when they fought, and Asch had a feeling the other one never went all out against them.
"We have a meeting to attend to and I have to go to the castle later, so not today," the oldest of the twins said, throwing their friend an apologising look.
"Master Van's here," Luke followed up with, the excitement rising in him again. Guy frowned.
"Van? But today's not a training day, is it?"
"Urgent business," the crimson haired one explained. The blond servant's face grew serious and wondering.
A knock on the door stopped them from going deeper into the matter.
"Master Luke? May I come in?" one of the maid's voice sounded from the other side of the door. The trio exchanged slightly panicked looks, before rushing toward the open window. Guy was not allowed to be in their rooms, and if the maid saw him there she was sure to go to Ramdas. That would just give all three of them more problems than they wanted. The blond man jumped up in the sill and turned to the twins with one last look.
"I'm out of here before I get caught. See you," he whispered as he jumped out and ran through the garden in the opposite direction. Asch, who had been ready to push the blond out if necessary, closed the window. Both boys breathed out air they didn't knew they had been holding inside. Their father could give quite the scolding if he found his sons doing things they weren't supposed to do, and fraternizing with the servants was one of those.
The maid knocked once more, calling out for the one whose bedroom both twins stood in.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Come on in, it's open," Luke answered, throwing one last look at the window to make sure their friend was gone. The maid opened the door, took two steps inside and bowed. As she straightened up again, her eyes landed on the older twin and a slight blush covered her cheeks.
"Ah, Master Asch!" the mentioned one nodded as a greeting, signalling for the maid to continue.
"His Grace requested your presence in the drawing room, the both of you," she said, still a bit flushed for not noticing her other master right away.
"All right. Dismissed." She bowed again and closed the door behind her as she left the room, leaving the boys to their thoughts before they too headed outside to the warm sun.
*~^:^~*
"You wanted to see us, Father?" Asch said as he opened the door to the drawing room and walked in, holding the door open for Luke, who came right behind him. Both their parents and Van was to be seen sitting around the table in the middle of the room, apparently waiting for the two boys to arrive. Their father watched them from his usual spot at the left end of the table, with their mother on his right side and Van Grants on the left, leaving the two chairs furthest away from him empty.
"Mmm. Have a seat, Asch, Luke," he said, nodding toward the two empty chairs. They both hurried over to the table, where the Asch sat down in the chair beside their master and Luke by their mother. The younger one kept looking from his brother to their master, a bit uneasy due to the way his twin glared at Van. He didn't want them to fight as they were both important persons in his life, but knew better than to get between them. Whatever was going on was their deal, not his. Besides, if Master Van was at the manor, they might be able to practice later when Asch had gone to the castle. It would be worth a try to ask, at least. That might drag Asch's glare away from their Master as well.
"Hey! Master Van! Do I get to train with you today?" the youngest red head said, grinning widely to the man at the other side of the table. His father might not approve of him bringing up such a thing at the beginning of what appeared to be an important discussion, but it would keep Asch and the Master from each other's throats. Well, it would keep Asch from their Master's, was probably a more right thing to say.
Van returned the cheerful smile of his apprentice with his own. "We'll have time for that later. First, we have to talk about something," he said, his eyes moving back and forth between the two boys. The oldest had sunk back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest, while the younger had an eager look in his eyes, hoping the meeting would finish soon.
"Dorian General Grants is returning to Daath tomorrow," the Duke said. The twins straightened up in their chairs, two pair of green eyes watching the leader of the family.
"Huh? Why?" Luke almost rose to his feet, eyes traveling from Master Van to his father. The only reason he stayed in his place was because of the sharp look Asch sent him.
"You know that I am a member of the Oracle Knights, part of the Order of Lorelei," the Dorian General answered with, waiting patiently for the boy to calm down. The older of the boys had no intention of saying anything at all and stayed quiet in his chair. If they wanted to let his brother bother the General, then so be it. He knew how much the training sessions with their master meant to the other; it was the only thing he had to do when Asch was at the castle with Natalia and Guy worked. And while the older of the twins might not trust or like Van at all – not after the whole kidnapping part, but who would after something like that -, but if Luke was happy, who was he to deny his brother that?
"As the leader of the Knights, it's my duty to provide protection for Fon Master Ion." Asch blinked. Had Luke answered or asked something he missed? It didn't matter. At least his younger brother knew who Fon Master Ion was; he had beaten that into his thick skull some weeks ago as a part of their lessons. Fon Master Ion, the leader of the Order of Lorelei, whose predecessor had ended the Hod war and created the truce between the Malkuth Empire and the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. For many he was the very symbol of the peace. Asch had never met the Fon Master himself, but he had heard many good things about him.
"Unfortunately, Ion has gone missing." His father's words gained the older twin's attention. Ion was missing? That might become a serious problem, especially if something happened to the Fon Master.
"Therefore, I must attend to my duty as an Oracle Knight and join the search for Fon Master Ion," Van continued. So it was for that urgent business he had come to the manor. The Fon Master was missing and because of that Van couldn't stay and train them for the time being. For reasons unknown, their father had also wanted his two boys to know of this instead of just telling them that Van wouldn't be back for a while.
Luke wanted to disagree with his Master's decision of going back to his home, wanted him to stay and train them, but knew better than to do so. Fon Master Ion was someone important – Asch had explained that rather well some weeks before – and for those reasons he needed to be found and protected. Besides, Asch would be angry with him if he voiced his desire for their Master to stay.
Master Van must have seen that the boy looked a little down by his sudden departure, for he sent him a reassuring smile. "Cheer up, Luke. We'll train hard enough today to make up for the entire time I'm gone," he stood up, "Duke, Milady; by your leave. We must begin our training." Asch and Luke followed his actions, though the older one started to head in the direction of the entrance.
"I'm going to the castle," he announced as he reached the door. Luke was about to call after him, but stopped as his brother disappeared from sight. Four pairs of eyes watched the door close behind the future king. Van laid a comforting hand on his apprentice's right shoulder.
"I'll head on to the courtyard. Come join me as soon as you're ready," he said, before bowing to the Duke and his wife and disappearing from the room by the door the twins had entered through earlier. Luke stood still for a few seconds, before he turned to follow his sword instructor.
"Luke, dear, please do be careful out there," his mother called after him, earning a warm smile from her youngest son as he turned his head toward her.
"I know, I know."
*~^:^~*
Asch found himself lost in thoughts as he sat on a sofa in Natalia's bed chambers. He didn't like to leave Luke alone with Van, but hopefully Guy would be close enough to keep an eye on the younger red head. To keep him out of trouble. Asch didn't trust Van, and he didn't trust his intentions when it came to his younger brother, his replica.
After all these seven years since the red haired duo arrived in the manors entrance hall, Asch had yet to tell anyone what had happened during his abduction. Nobody knew it wasn't Malkuth that had kidnapped him and nobody knew the truth about Luke. That was the way he wanted it, and he would do almost anything to keep it like that.
His mother had been rather understanding when her son told her the other one was his younger brother. She had just accepted and talked his father into adopting the replica. An outstanding and amazing woman, his mother. He didn't think many would say yes to something like that. She had even agreed to his plan of making Luke believe he had always been here and that he was Asch's blood twin, just with a strong case of amnesia – all his memories up to age ten was gone due to the kidnapping of both boys. Together they had gotten everyone to play along, even Father, the King, Natalia and Guy. It was cruel, perhaps, but it was the only solution the ten year old Asch had been able to come up with. But all lies become exposed someday, and he feared the moment it would happen. He wasn't ready to explain, wasn't ready to tell the truth. Because if anyone became aware of the truth, Luke might be taken away. Fomicry on human beings was forbidden, and Asch didn't want anyone to experiment on his younger brother for the sake of science, which was a possibility if the truth came out.
He hadn't saved Luke from death and killed for his sake just to see the boy taken away from him and most likely die as a cause. Sure, he had taken him from one prison to another – Luke was forbidden to leave the manor because of the lie, Asch was allowed to go to the castle, but no further due to fear of him being kidnapped again -, but this was a prison of safety, not one of pain. None the less, he felt guilty for it whenever he left the manor and his younger brother behind.
The fear of losing one of his important people – his brother had become so when they travelled together back to Baticul – was what kept him from telling his parents that Van had been behind the kidnapping. Because if he blamed Van, the man would most likely tell what he had done and what Luke was, which would lead to the replica being taken away. And that was the last thing he wanted, next to losing Natalia.
"Asch!" the sharp voice of the young princess ripped him out of his thoughts. She stood right in front of him, her short, blond hair bathed in the sunlight coming in through the windows of her chambers. He gave her a weak smile.
"Sorry?" the princess rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips.
"I asked you what you think of the dress I just showed you," she said impatiently. The red haired boy tried to think back to find out which dress she spoke of, but none came to mind.
"It was… nice?" worth a try, even if she would scold him for not paying attention. He waited for her voice to rise and scream his ears off – he loved her quite dearly, but she could be so loud sometimes.
It never came.
Instead, she sat down beside him on the sofa, her eyes watching something in the distant.
"I'm sure Luke's fine," she said, a warm smile on her face. The boy was taken off guard. How had she known he was thinking of his brother?
Resound…! The will of Lorelei shall reach you… and open the way! The strange, yet somehow familiar voice made the red haired youth jump up and off the sofa. Natalia made a move to stand too, but stopped as a bright light shined in through the window. Two pairs of eyes watched as something shoot out from the manor below them and towards the sky. Asch tried to piece things together – what was that light, what had caused it, and was that a song he heard? -, and kept staring long after the light had died away. He didn't know how much time passed between the light the sudden knock on the door behind the couple, it didn't matter anyway.
The red haired boy didn't know which maid came in to them, didn't bother to look behind him, but the words she spoke sent a shiver down his spine and kept floating through his head for days later.
"Master Luke disappeared."
The hand of the clock ticking down towards the time he wanted to avoid had started to move.
*~^:^~*
A/N:I apologise if the characters are very OOC. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
