Day of the Banquet

Basch sat on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands. He kept re-playing the images of Ashe in his mind as he had done so every day for the past six years; but since re-entering her presence he couldn't escape her face, her eyes, her soft skin and hands, her smile, the memory of her beneath him…

He shook his head violently, squeezing his eyes tightly. That was then, this is now. Back then they had been so empty, so vacant of emotion, filled with numbness that they had tried to fill it with physical desire. Carnal lust.

Standing he pulled on pants, decided against a shirt for the current moment, then went over to splash his face with water. As the water trickled down his face a flashback hit him. Ashe, her eyes, her voice, her tears. Her tears falling silently, as they had made love the night before his departure. He grabbed a towel, wiping his face almost in attempt to erase the memory from his churning mind.

A knock at the door stopped him from scraping every last bit of skin from his face. Throwing the towel over his neck he approached the doorway.

By the time he realized that he had nothing covering the top half of his body he had already turned the knob, swung open the door, and came face to face with Ashelia Banargin Dalmasca herself.

"Oh Gods" Both faces turned crimson but composures did not falter.

"Good day, Judge Gabbranth, I'm glad to be able to bear witness…" she paused, a small gleam in her eye before she cleared her throat and corrected

" To see you so refreshed after another wonderful nights slumber."

" My Queen, I, err... I wasn't expecting…"

"Of course, you never are" she sighed. He couldn't tell if it was out of annoyance or almost wistful. They paused in silence.

"Come inside quickly before anyone sees. You don't want any rumors to spread."

" I am above rumors Bash. My entire existence after my "suicide" was built upon rumors and speculations."

"Aye"

Despite her statement, declaring herself unafraid of such non-sense, Basch saw her eyes flicker from side to side quickly, in the obvious fear of truly being spotted. She stepped through the door, Basch closing it hastily behind her.

When he turned back to face her, he froze. He never realized how beautiful she was, especially now. The way the light was illuminating her figure made her appear more ethereal than Hume. Her entire body had a gold glow, a gold casing around it. It seemed to be radiating not from the sun, but from Ashe herself. Her long hair looked so smooth and shone all the way down her back, where it rested at her hips. Her hips, better yet, her perfectly shaped figure was stunning. Her weight, which had been awkward six years ago, had filled in, in all the right places. While taking in her stunning beauty, he felt an alarmingly, as well as embarrassingly hard response in his groin. He thanked the gods he was wearing pants that were loose in that particular area.

" How am I so fortunate to be graced by your presence at such an early hour." He said looking at her, unaware of the soft expression his face assumed while gazing upon her.

"Without escorts" he added.

"To talk to you". The playful Ashe he had greeted was gone now. Her voice was soft, her demeanor withdrawn. He grabbed a shirt quickly and threw it on. He didn't want there to be any distractions.

"What troubles you?" He asked taking a step toward her.

" For so many years I waited for you." She whispered. He froze.

" For so many years I waited for you. Even when you were accused of murdering my father…"

Basch closed his eyes, his jaw clenching. He didn't want to remember those two years of hell. Hell, without her. Now, after six years apart her, the first meaningful conversation they have alone…

" And now, after six years alone, I have done nothing but wait. Wishing, hoping, praying…"

"Ashe…." He immediately sensed a change in her emotional composure.

" Basch, I've been waiting for you for six years! Waiting for a letter, waiting for you to respond, waiting for you to…. To… to…" she trailed off.

"To come back to me," she finally admitted.

"I missed you Basch, I missed your presence, I missed your company, I missed making passionate love to you. I missed all of that, but I knew that you had your reasons, you had your promises to fulfill." She chuckled.

"You had your pride and honor to stand by. Your loyalty always did out-weigh your common sense."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he felt a sudden burst of anger. Had she just insulted him?

"You would rather die in battle than listen to your lover plead for you to rethink putting your life in danger."

" I would rather die in battler to protect the woman I love! To know that she will be safe!"

"You and Rassler! You both put politics before people who loved you! Look what happened to him!"

Suddenly this pointless conversation was making sense. She was accusing him of leaving her side for purposes that were more important than staying with her and having the life they both wanted. Purposes that were more beneficial for him. Purposes that were an excuse to leave her, to escape.

" Basch I loved you! I still do! Why did you have to promise the man who killed my father, tortured you without regret, stripped you of everything, that you would take up his duties! Why? How? How could you forgive him!"

"He was my brother Ashe! We are sworn to…"

"Brother or not he failed you! You abandoned me, to make right of the wrongs that concerned you not! Why did you HAVE to promise him?"

His chest felt heavy and his heart burned. She was becoming too much for his emotions to bear.

"What did you want me to do? Do you think this was an easy choice for me to make? Do you honestly believe I would find any excuse to leave your side?" his voice was raising with each sentence until he was moment away from yelling at the top of his lungs. Ashe backed away toward the wall, each step he took toward her.

"Don't you remember what I told Noah the day he died? Right before I had to fight him? He asked my how I still kept my honor. I told him that I had someone to protect, that she was all I had left, and protect her I did. Do you remember?" She nodded her head, her eyes filling and overflowing with tears.

"For years I've been by your side! For years I have done everything I could for you! For years I have sacrificed myself only to be called a traitor! For years the people I have sworn to protect have died or denied me! I have lived most of my life branded as a failure!" He took a breath, trying to calm down, but it didn't help.

"DAMNIT!" he roared turning around. He never lost it like this. Never. He sat on the edge of the bed and slumped forward, putting his head in his hands in shame. He felt so weak. His body was shaking, but he managed to release a last phrase from his lips before he had the chance to collect himself enough to say it properly.

"I love you Ashe."

Once again, the sounds of silence pervaded the air.

There was a light shuffling sound of Ashe's skirt as she took small, nervous steps towards this usually reserved, yet gentle giant, she had never loved more.

Upon reaching him, she kneeled down like a child does, to inspect something. Her hands rested in her lap, before she tentatively reached out, hesitated, her hand resting in midair, before it came to rest on his shoulder, lightly at first to test his reaction. When there was none, she took a silent breath of relief as she began to rub his shoulder slowly, while she took her other hand and rested it gently on his lap.

"Basch, I… I'm… I'm so sorry, I don't know why I was yelilng at you, I had no reason to I'm so sor…" she cut herself off when she felt something, a warm watery substance fell onto her hand that rested in his lap. She felt her own eyes begin to create the substance; tears. Basch von Rosenberg, born and bred a warrior, was crying.