bluebearsg, you're back! Thanks for reviewing these last six chapters!

I'm slowly starting to run out of non-AU ideas... I reckon I've got about six left, ignoring any I come up with in the future. If you readers have any suggestions, leave a one-word prompt in a review, and I'll give it a shot.

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Farewells

704 OV, 1 month before Ashe's marriage to Rasler

"Ashe, the carriage is ready to leave. Please hurry."

"I'm coming, Vossler! Calm down – it's not exactly going to leave without me, is it?"

In reality, Ashe was not coming. She hadn't even got changed. She'd been putting that off for the last hour or so. Today was the day she was finally going to meet her husband to be, and if truth be told, she wasn't relishing the prospect of marriage.

It seemed so long ago now, when her father had told her of the upcoming match. Back then she'd been resigned to her fate, as she had all her life, but now... It suddenly seemed very real, far removed from the distant event she had agreed to all those months ago.

"Ashe?"

Vossler's voice sounded again, snapping her out of her reverie. She had procrastinated too long; from his tone, it sounded like he was on the verge of coming into the room and checking on her progress himself. But he wouldn't, of course. It wouldn't be proper.

"I'm on my way out!"

Looking into the mirror, Ashe did a quick self-assessment. She needed a suitable dress, shoes, and... Gods, her hair was a complete mess. Tugging a brush through the tangled locks, she rooted through one of the trunks the maids had prepared for her stay in Nabradia, pulling out the first gown she saw. Everything else was hastily thrown back in, her bedclothes flung over the bed as she battled with the complex fastenings of the dress she'd selected.

"Ashe..."

Securing an ornate necklace around her neck, she finally walked out of the door, managing to look as if she'd been ready for hours. A wave of relief washed over Vossler's features, and he rushed into her rooms to pick up the trunks. It was not one of his official duties, as knight or bodyguard, but Ashe had requested that he do it, so that she may talk with him as she prepared to leave Dalmasca.

They reached the front doors of the palace, where Vossler lay down the heavy cases.

"I'm afraid this is as far as I go."

"You're not coming with me?"

"Nay, your father has decreed that Basch shall take my place on the journey, and, upon your arrival, Nabradia will provide the necessary protection."

Was she mistaken, or did she detect a hint of sadness in his voice? He masked it well, and she saw him stiffen into military stance as King Raminas arrived to bid farewell to his daughter. His royal duties bound him to Rabanastre, and so could not accompany her, but he was keen to see her off. She listened to his send-offs, giving him a brief hug before turning to Vossler once more.

Only when she was sure her father was truly gone did she speak.

"Promise that you'll visit me in Nabradia. No matter what my father - or the other knights – say."

With that, she wrapped her arms around him, and was pleasantly surprised when he hugged her back. He didn't say anything, but that one embrace said more than words ever could. Both knew they held each other too long, but in this final moment before a month's separation, neither cared.

"Majesty?"

Basch had appeared behind them, though he had the decency not to comment. Ashe turned to him, giving Vossler one more meaningful look before she did so. She doubted he'd be able to come to Nabradia at all, given what rumours such a visitation would be sure to evoke, but she could hope.

As she and Basch proceeded down the steps to the waiting carriage, Vossler watched Ashe go. The knight in him told him that this separation was for the best: she was to married, and it would do for her to seem too attached to another, particularly if that other happened to be merely a soldier in her service. But the rest of him knew that, over the next month, he was going to miss her.

He turned away as the palace gates closed behind the departing carriage, making a mental note to take leave and head to Nabudis at some point in the coming month.