The doctor came in and, under the watchful eyes of Jade, Natalia, and Tear; gave Asch and Luke full physical checkups. He checked their vital signs and had them do all kinds of stretches to make sure their bodies were functioning well. Luke was given a perfect bill of health, his blood fonons were great and his physique was better than it had been when he freed Lorelei. Asch, on the other hand, was still weak. He moved more like an old man than a 20 year old former General. It pained the original to even get out of bed for the physical. At the end of Asch's physical, the doctor adjusted his glasses and examined the worried faces before him. "I suggest getting Asch into some kind of physical therapy if he wants to make a full recovery. Keep him away from alcohol," This received a groan from Asch. "And make sure he has a healthy diet. Dr. Balfour, do you have anything to add?"
Jade looked up, having been lost in thought. "I plan on asking His Imperial Majesty for a temporary leave of absence so I may observe these two. I can take over Asch's physical therapy, if needed. In fact, it would probably be best, so there is no possibility of miscommunication between different medical providers."
The doctor nodded in agreement, his lined face fixed in a neutral expression. "That's a fine idea. I hope you intend to record your practices and publish them later?" This earned a dirty look from Natalia, Tear, and the two redheads.
"I won't necessarily publish them. The boys are not a science experiment. If they feel that their experiences would be beneficial to future replica and original pairs like them and they are fine with the world knowing about their personal lives, then I may publish my observations. However, my concern is not publishing right now. I just want to make sure that these two won't experience fonon separation again."
Luke piped up, "I'm fine with my experiences being shared, but I can't speak for Asch."
"I just want to be able to walk on my own without being in pain. Can we start with that before deciding if you're going to tell everybody in Auldrant about life experiences that my own mother didn't know about until a couple of years ago?" Asch grimaced in pain as he tried to get up, but fell back down. Natalia rushed to his side and lent him her shoulder. Trying not to put all of his weight on the Princess, Asch allowed her to help him up. "We're going to go sit outside, I need some fresh air."
Natalia helped Asch shuffle out of the room and along the hallway. "Have you felt any improvement since you've been resting? I can't imagine what it must be like, to come back to life like that." Her question meant well, but it reminded Asch of why he was in so much pain.
"When I woke up with the rep- I mean Luke in Eldrant's remains, I was a lot worse off. My body was as if no time had passed, I just didn't have any swords sticking out of me." Asch stopped Natalia to kiss her chastely on the cheek. "Thank you for healing me. You reacted with the clear head that I knew you could." They resumed shuffling down the hall; with Natalia taking care to set a pace that wouldn't aggravate Asch's healing body.
"So what happened when you were in the Fon Belt? Were you," Natalia paused, not sure how to word her question. "I'm not sure what the proper word is, but were you aware that you were in the Fon Belt?"
Asch stared at the ground ahead of them as they made slow progress towards the door, "It was more than being aware. It was as if we were part of the Fon Belt ourselves. We were still separate entities, but we were nothing more than conscious thoughts. It's almost like how cities are part of a country. They have their own governing bodies and citizens, but those are all a part of the larger country." Asch looked up. "Luke and I were constantly aware, even as the rest of the world slept below us. It gave us no choice but to talk to each other. I wasn't too fond of the idea, but it got pretty lonely after just a couple of days. Two years gave us a better understanding of our situation." They had made it outside and Natalia was helping him to sit down on a bench. "I realized that he's not just my replica. You guys don't see us like that; Mother and Father don't see us like that. The only people who really saw us like that were Van and the other God Generals. It helped me gain some peace with some of my own issues."
"I'm glad that you found some peace. You never said it out loud, but I could see how much it bothered you when you would see him with Guy and me." Natalia sat down beside him and took his hand into hers.
Asch observed their surroundings. The town around them looked familiar, but he couldn't identify where they were. He knew he hadn't recognized the inn that they had just exited, but that was to be expected. He hadn't stayed in many inns before he died. "Where are we?"
"We're in Yulia City. We didn't want to take too long to get you into a bed. It looks so different without the Miasma everywhere. They built this inn to accommodate all of the visitors from the Outer Lands. It's quite the tourist destination now."
"It doesn't look nearly as haunting as it did before we neutralized the Miasma. I haven't been here since right after Akzeriuth." He took a closer look at his surroundings. He recognized that area where he knew the city hall and residential areas were. The city had exploded in the two years that he had been gone. There were a couple of shops open; and he could see a man selling produce from Engeve from a cart not too far away from them. Asch rested his head on Natalia's shoulder.
"Would you like to return to your room?" Natalia asked him gently.
"No, this is fine. I can't stand being confined in that room. I know I don't have much choice in it, but being outside is so nice after however long I was in there."
"That's fine; just tell me when you want to go back in." Natalia guided him back gently, so they could lean on the back of the bench.
Asch looked up into Natalia's hazel eyes. "So how have you been? What have you been up to since Eldrant?"
Natalia sighed, "Kimlasca and Malkuth have been working together to help the world adjust to life with the Score. A lot of babies were born 9 months after we all returned home, so we had a lot of angry parents who wanted a Score reading for their children's birth." Natalia shook her head, "Things are finally quieting down about the Score. People are realizing that it isn't coming back and they're accepting it."
"That doesn't surprise me. People would get a little too crazy about the Score. Once, when I was still just an unranked soldier, I had to escort a Scorer home every night because people kept harassing him about what they should have for dinner or what clothes they should wear the next day. I never really understood that kind of dependence on the Score, but I guess it's because I knew how my Score ended."
Natalia frowned, knowing that he meant that the Score predicted for him to die for the sake of "prosperity" on Auldrant. "We overturned the Score, though."
"I still died for the benefit of everybody else." Asch snapped. "Auldrant just didn't get the unprecedented prosperity that the Score promised."
Natalia was taken aback at Asch's sudden harshness, but didn't let it faze her. "You may have died, but you weren't the one the Score was talking about. Since you no longer went by Luke, you weren't the Light of the Sacred Flame anymore. We all overturned the Score of Destruction; the Score that spoke of plagues and continued poisoning by the miasma and the end of Auldrant as we know it. You chose to risk your life back in Eldrant just like the rest of us. Would you rather have not and ended up with a replica world? Do you really resent Auldrant and the Score so much that you would have rather died anyway and not have the chance to come back? Would you have let your Mother and my Father die because Van destroyed the world they live on so he could make his sick replica world a reality?" Asch flinched at the mention of his mother, wishing he had thought before speaking about his frustrations. "I know you're frustrated, but you aren't the only one whose life was thrown out of control because of the Score. What about Luke or Guy? What about Sync and the Ion that I knew? What about me? I was only born because the Score told Badaq and Sylvia that they needed to have a child. I was to be executed by the man who raised me as his child because of the Score. Instead of getting angry over the past, why not help us fix the issues of the present day so we don't have to worry about these problems in the future?" Natalia's gentle voice had an edge to it that he wasn't used to hearing, and it made him realize how selfish he sounded.
Asch sighed, "You're right, I'm sorry. It's just hard getting out of my old mindset. I spent more than seven years hating the Score. If Van didn't know about the Score of Destruction, I wouldn't have been replicated and I would have just perished in Akzeriuth none the wiser. So I guess it's a good thing that Van tried to make his replica world, because then none of this would have happened." Asch smiled at Natalia, whose mouth was still set into a slight frown.
"Let's get you back to bed; you need to rest up before we go back to Baticul." Natalia stood, and stooped so Asch could put his arm around her. They were almost to Asch's room inside when he realized that Natalia had been carrying most of his weight on her own with little effort.
"You know, you're really strong for a princess." He remarked, watching her face for any sign of offense at his observation.
"I spent a year fighting monsters with soldiers like Tear and Jade, I had to become strong. After Eldrant, I never stopped training, since I didn't want to continue relying on so many personal guards. However, I was never weak to begin with. Have you ever shot a Lanvaldear style bow? It's not like the toy bow I got when I was eight; you can't draw it back without some kind of arm strength." Natalia wasn't offended as much as she was amused. Everybody knew she was a master archer, but they had never considered the physical strength that it took to fire with such precision and speed. After Eldrant, she had a taken up a couple of lessons in swordsmanship, so she wouldn't need to fully rely on her bow. She was no master with the blade, but she could defend herself at close ranged if needed.
"Maybe when I regain my strength, we can train together." Asch joked with a chuckle.
"Then we need to get you back to Baticul soon so we can begin your therapy." Natalia smiled sweetly. "You can't get better just sleeping in an inn." Natalia opened the door to his room. They shuffled to the bed, and Natalia gently let Asch sit down on it. She held the blankets up for him so he could get underneath them with minimal effort on his part, and then tucked the covers around him when he was settled. She kissed him briefly on the lips and tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear. Looking up at the window, she could see the sun setting over the ocean.
She began to leave, when she heard him call softly. "Wait, stay with me until I fall asleep." She smiled sweetly and sat in the chair by his bed, holding his hand and playing gently with his rough fingers as he drifted off. Once he was snoring, she rose quietly and slipped out the door and down the hall to the room she was sharing with Tear.
Tear was tending to her knives when Natalia slipped in. She looked up from her whetstone and surveyed the blonde. "How is he?"
"Same old Asch, he's frustrated about needing therapy, but I know he'll recover." Natalia kicked her shoes off and sat on the bed opposite of Tear. "What about Luke? I haven't had a chance to speak with him yet."
"He's been really quiet and distant. He won't talk to me about what happened. I haven't ever seen him like this." Tear put her knives and whetstone on the bedside table. "Should we get a therapist for them? Or should we wait and see what happens first?"
Natalia leaned back on her arms, "I suppose we should at least get in touch with a therapist just in case. I can't imagine what they must be going through right now. And it's only been just a couple of days. What's going to happen if and when they resume their duties as Viscounts and members of the Royal Family? How will Asch adjust to living in Baticul and reconnecting with his parents after almost ten years? It's going to be so complicated for a while and I just hope that they'll let us help them in any way we can."
"I understand what you mean. Asch is a soldier and he's probably going to have issues with adjusting to life as a civilian, like I did. And considering how stubborn he is, he may have issues asking for help if he needs it. I think we just need to pay attention to them both and do what we can based on their needs."
"We leave for Baticul tomorrow. Their parents and my Father are trying to get their bedroom back in order. It was only built for one person, so one of them may have to live at the palace. Probably Asch so Jade can stay in a room nearby."
"I can't imagine that Fabre Manor holds many pleasant memories for Asch since the he was kidnapped, either. The Palace is probably the best option for him either way." Tear paused, in thought. "I know that I can't stay in my grandfather's home now that I know the truth about Van. Everything in the house reminds me of growing up with him and how he betrayed our family and the world for his crazy ideals. I know it's not the same, but it's the best that I can relate to the situation. Maybe it's best that we let Luke and Asch decide who stays where."
"That sounds reasonable. I know that Father is going to throw a small welcome home feast for them after they get settled tomorrow. We'll just have to see what happens after that."
"I agree. Do you know if Guy will be joining us?"
"I'm not sure. I'll ask him tomorrow before we board the Albiore. I wouldn't blame him if he chose not to go back to Baticul with us. He's not too happy with Asch, and his hatred of Duke Fabre may make visiting Baticul just all the more unattractive to him."
A/N: Thanks for reading guys! Don't forget to review!