"Hit me."
Both Luke and Asch gazed at Mieu intently.
"Are you sure?" asked Luke. The cheagle nodded, staring determinedly at the more than half dozen playing cards he held as Luke silently handed him another. Asch snorted impatiently.
They were sitting on the floor of Luke's room, the furniture pushed to the side for additional space, huddled in a small circle and playing Blackjack. Luke and Mieu had recently gone to Keterburg, where the cheagle had heard mention of the game and wanted to know how to play it. Luke had agreed to teach him, on the condition that he never tell Tear that they'd taught him to play cards.
Well? Asch prompted him, as the cheagle seemed to take an inordinate amount of time to count his cards. He was in a bad mood; he'd busted on the first pass (what a time to draw a queen!) and since both Luke and Mieu could understand him without the ring (Mieu said that Canine was very similar to Monster, even though he "had a funny accent") the cheagle had the ring for the moment so that Luke could hear him.
"Hit me."
Don't tempt me, pipsqueak.
Luke glared at Asch reproachfully but said nothing as he gave Mieu another card. The cheagle had to be over the 21 mark by now, but they were only playing for fun, after all. Luke was surprised that Asch had agreed to play with them in the first place; he'd originally gone to ask Guy (who'd returned late the night before, muttering something about a rappig mating season and that Jade sent his regards) but the Malkuth noble who spent so much time in Kimlasca couldn't be found that morning. That was when he and Asch had come across each other and the setter had been surprisingly receptive to the idea.
Asch was starting to wonder himself why he'd bothered. He'd only agreed out of sheer boredom; Natalia had disappeared this morning sometime after breakfast, and there wasn't much for him to do around the castle by himself. It had been about two weeks since they'd picnicked together, and in that time Asch had to admit that he wasn't going to get a better deal anywhere else. Natalia practically treated him as a human being, even when she had to do things for him that he couldn't do himself, such as brushing out his long, beautiful coat. Even the rest of the castle had warmed to him, mostly because he was so clean and considerate for a dog, regularly washing to ensure he'd have no doggy smell and wiping his paws when he came in to avoid tracking mud. The only thing he couldn't do much about was the shedding, but even that had eased up now that he wasn't so stressed. He hadn't so much decided to stay as he'd put off his departure indefinitely- much of his average day was spent in Natalia's company, and jaded though he was even he couldn't deny how much he enjoyed that. He did feel guilty every now and again for withholding from her the truth, but he rationalized that his presence made her happy, even though it had become obvious that something was bothering her. But although she shared with him many of her thoughts and feelings, she didn't seem to want to talk about this. Part of his motive for coming to the manor had been to ask Luke about it.
If this damned cheagle would hurry up.
Aren't you done yet? he snapped.
"Mieu?" Luke asked more gently, sensing Asch's impatience. His original actually seemed to have calmed down a lot compared to how he had once been- they'd been able to hold civil conversations with one another, and he hadn't even called him "dreck" once yet. However, Asch still had a short temper and Luke had decided that it was best to learn the warning signs and avoid antagonizing him unnecessarily. He looked over at the red setter, and imagined that this must be what it was like to have a brother- except for the fact that one of them had four feet, a tail, and perhaps the occasional urge to chew shoes.
"Are you ready, Mieu?" he prompted again, as the cheagle hadn't responded. Mieu's face was the picture of concentration; it was like he'd bet the entirety of the Cheagle Woods on this hand.
"Hit me."
Grrr, enough already! There's no way you could have that many cards and not bust! Asch exploded, as Luke handed Mieu another card.
"Well, Mieu? How about you show us your hand, now?" Luke asked, trying to ignore the seething Asch. Mieu scrutinized his hand, which was now ten cards, and for a moment the young noble feared that he was going to ask for another and further incur the setter's wrath.
Fortunately, Mieu finally looked up and with his customary cheerfulness said "Okay!" as he laid out his cards. Luke and Asch both leaned forward to look at them- an assortment of threes, twos and the ace he'd just been given.
Asch frowned inwardly as he tried to add the numbers. This was simple math, he knew, but for some reason he couldn't make sense of them. He shook his head in frustration. He was irritated, and becoming more so, and he always had trouble concentrating when he got that way. He didn't have much time to dwell on it, though, for Luke had already counted the numbers.
"That adds up to 21, all right," he said, surprised. "You win, Mieu."
"Yay!" the cheagle bounced happily.
You're not shuffling the cards right! Asch yelled at Luke. Here, let me show you how to do it. Although Asch couldn't shuffle the cards himself, he carefully directed Luke how to do so, and soon they'd started a new game using his technique. Asch glanced at his two cards, propped up by one paw and secured with his dewclaw (a dewclaw was no replacement for an opposable thumb, but he was learning to make the most of it.) He didn't need to do math to realize that he'd been dealt a good hand- a king and a queen. He'd almost certainly win this time.
"Master, what does it mean again when I have a jack and an ace?"
"Err, that's called a 'blackjack.' It means you win again, Mieu," Luke replied, sounding surprised. "And I keep telling you, I'm not your 'Master' anymore."
"Mieu, sorry Master."
Damn it! Asch fumed, throwing down his cards.
"Asch, calm down," Luke said, his patience finally at an end. "We're just having some fun."
Stupid annoying blue...thing, Asch grumbled.
"Mieu, I'm sorry," squeaked the cheagle, then he brightened as a thought came to him. "Here, you can use the Sorcerer's Ring for a bit!" And with that he approached the setter and took off the ring, carefully placing it about Asch's neck. Asch felt the peculiar sensation in his throat that meant that he could now speak once more.
Luke began to get up. "You guys are welcome to stay if you want," he can said, "but I can't play anymore today. I've got to get ready."
"Ready for what?" Asch asked, jumping onto Luke's bed. He didn't like having to talk up to him.
Luke grinned as he stepped in front of his mirror. "Tear's coming today," he said.
"Yesterday Guy, now Tear? Baticul must be a really popular place."
"Well, we all have a lot of responsibilities now, but we still try to see each other when we can. We went through a lot together- of course we're all still close." He looked over at the setter, but he was still scowling uncomprehendingly. He sighed, but supposed it wasn't fair to expect Asch to understand such a level of friendship and camaraderie. He couldn't help but pity him for it. "Anyway, Tear's latest assignment brings her near here, so she's stopping by for a bit."
"Oh," said Asch, sounding distracted. When Luke looked over, he was nosing the black traveling cloak that had been flung onto the bed when they'd moved it earlier. "This is mine," he said.
"Um, yeah," said Luke, a bit uncomfortably. "Listen, when Lorelei brought me back, my own clothing was in pretty bad shape, and I... found... some of yours, and thought I'd borrow it... It was pretty shredded, but I manage to save part of your tabard, and had it remade." He thought for a moment. "I used to wear it in memory of you, but you're right, it's yours. Take it."
"What am I going to do with it now?" Asch retorted.
"Right," said Luke, as he went to his wardrobe.
"So, Tear is coming... I'd have thought you'd two be married or something by now," Asch said, watching Luke's reaction from the corner of his eye.
"Well... it's kind of complicated," Luke said, pausing.
"Oh?" Asch prompted. Nothing would lighten his mood like hearing about Luke's problems.
"It's the whole class thing," he said, selecting a collared shirt and walking back to the mirror. "I'm supposed to marry someone from among the nobility, and Tear isn't nobility. Father and Uncle are trying to work things out, and even Jade is quietly compiling research showing why the current tradition is genetically unhealthy, but it's been... messy." He absently pulled off his shirt, revealing a toned but heavily scarred torso- many of the scars were old and faded, but four stood out brutal and red. Two even looked as though they'd been made by the same weapon, run clean through the abdomen, although such a wound should have been fatal. Regardless, they had all been terrible and painful. Asch knew; he remembered receiving them.
Luke turned as he was putting the shirt on, oblivious to the impending danger. "Still, we don't have it as bad as... Asch, what's wrong?" The setter was staring him with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly gaping.
"Th-that's my...body," he stammered.
Luke looked down at the scars still exposed by his unbuttoned shirt and realized his mistake. "Asch," he said quickly, trying to diffuse the situation. "I can explain. You see, when I freed Lorelei, you were already dead and my body was disintegrating, and I'm not quite sure what happened but I think it combined what was left of me with your body and-"
His attempt at placation was in vain. Asch exploded with a sudden fury that made Mieu rush for cover and startled even Luke.
"It wasn't enough for you to just take my place, was it?! You had to have everything now,including my body! Does it make you happy, dreck?! You miserable grave-robbing corpse-thief!"
"Asch, calm down!" Luke cried frantically.
"Don't tell me to calm down! Don't you dare tell me to calm down! How can I calm down after-"
"Master Luke!" cried a muffled voice from behind the door. "What's wrong?" It was Ramdas.
Luke looked panicked but managed to keep his tone relatively calm as he answered, "Uh, nothing Ramdas, everything's fine!"
"Lord Fabre, may I come in?" Ramdas asked uncertainly.
There was a flurry of motion in the room as Asch hastily passed the ring back to Mieu while Luke buttoned up his shirt. "Um, yes, of course, Ramdas!" he called to the door, which opened to permit Ramdas' head. He peered around the room, taking in the cleared furniture, the scattered playing cards on the floor, the cheagle sitting on the bed with the princess's dog and the young noble standing next to it wearing a shirt that had been buttoned wrong.
"I heard shouting," he said, unsure how to interpret the strange scene. "I came to make sure things were all right."
"Everything's fine," Luke said quickly. "We- I- was, uh, rehearsing for a new play, Jade the Necromancer." And he grabbed some papers off of his desk, hoping Ramdas wouldn't somehow realize that they were a list of produce imports and not a script. "Asch and Mieu here are my sounding board."
Ramdasraised an eyebrow but fortunately did not pursue the matter. "Locrian Sergeant Grants has arrived," was all he said.
"Thank you, Ramdas, you may go now," Luke said, with an unusually authoritative air. Ramdas bowed and withdrew, shaking his head as he closed the door. Duke fon Fabre had long since ceased most of his attempts to make Luke a proper noble, bur rehearsing plays with cheagles and dogs? Luke's behavior was becoming increasingly more bizarre and worrisome.
Luke put his hand to his forehead. "That was close," he said.
Asch jumped off of the bed. I'm out of here, he announced.
"Asch..." Luke started to say something, but stopped. "Sorry," he said helplessly.
Whatever. Enjoy your "date," Luke, the setter said sarcastically as he let himself out. He left the manor and headed for the castle, still fuming. It was bad enough that he was dead, but what a way to add insult to injury! The nerve of that- that- what? He couldn't call him a replica anymore, because he now inhabited his original's body. He couldn't really call him "dreck" anymore, either- he'd proven himself better than Asch in almost every respect. He'd bested him in battle on Eldrant. He'd been the one to defeat Van and save the world, to return the hero, to hold mother's hand when she'd... she'd...
Asch sighed, his anger draining out of him at the memory of Susanne's death. There was no question about it. Luke was the better student, the better son, the better Luke fon Fabre. Asch was the imposter now.
His self pitying was interrupted by the commotion in th castle's reception hall. It was full of people, and they all smelled- literally, to Asch's nose- like gald and in some cases perfume. He looked around and realized that every noble house in Kimlasca must be represented here- probably just the heads of houses, come together to meet with the king about something important. He noticed that the majority of them were redheads, and was suddenly reminded about what Luke had said about current marriage tradition being genetically unhealthly. He spotted Alpine glancing about apprehensively as he stood before the entrance to the Audience Room, and Duke fon Fabre talking to another noble. Asch starting walking toward him, hoping to overhear what this meeting was about, when he realized that his father was talking to none other than Lord Teon, looking out of place with his blonde hair. Asch quickly reversed direction at that; the last thing he needed was the trouble there'd be if he were recognized. He made a beeline for the door- and smacked his snout straight into a tall nobleman who smelled overpoweringly like lavender. Asch didn't particularly hate flowery scents, but he didn't really like them either, especially when it was so strong that he felt like he'd smell nothing else for the rest of the week. The nobleman looked down at him with the look he might give something he'd found on the bottom of his shoe, and Asch managed to return his glare, but remembered that he didn't want to attract unnecessary attention to himself. He strode past the noble with a surprising dignity and quietly exited the castle.
He decided to head to the picnic meadow until Teon and the others had gone; he wanted to be alone for a bit, anyway. The guards ignored him as he worked the elevator to go down, having grown used to his quirky behavior. He steadily made his way through the lower parts of the city and out of its bounds, remembering the path he and Natalia had taken a couple of weeks prior. Soon he had crested a small rise to look out across the meadow.
And saw something that made his blood run cold.
