(A/N: No reviews? Come on, I want to know how people are enjoying my story. But I guess that if you're reading it, then you're enjoying it, but reviews would be nice. So, here's the next chapter.)

Chapter 12: Truth and Lies

Even before Lord Yupa opened his eyes, he knew that the Pejite prince wasn't in the room. It was very obvious where he had gone, and Lord Yupa sighed in frustration.

"Oh, Asbel, why don't you listen?"

He got up and retrieved his sword, heading out to the Kalvandir ship. He didn't want to look like he suspected anything, so he asked everyone he ran into if they had seen his apprentice, receiving that same answer every time.

Pressing the button on the large steel door, the sword master waited patiently for the Kalvandirs to respond to his call. He didn't have to wait long as one of the guards appeared on the screen.

"How may I assist you?" the guard asked.

"I am searching for Asbel." Lord Yupa replied calmly, making sound as if he was simply curious as to where his apprentice currently was.

The guard frowned. "I do apologize, Lord Yupa, but Asbel is not here. I have been working monitor all day, and he has not stopped by."

Whether the guard was lying or not, Lord Yupa wasn't sure, especially since he figured that Asbel had most likely snuck in. He simply bowed his head to the guard and turned to leave.

"Thank you for your time. Should you see him, please tell him that I am searching for him."

The guard nodded. "Will do, sir. Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

Lord Yupa waved over his shoulder as he continued walking away. "No thank you. Have a good day."

His outward appearance made it seem as if he wasn't concerned about his apprentice, but inside the sword master was very worried. 'Asbel, what has happened to you?'

He decided not to jump to conclusions until he had all the facts. Perhaps Asbel had simply decided to watch over Nausicaä rather than investigate the Kalvandirs. He made his way to the palace to search for the princess. One of the servants informed him that she was in the dining all, having breakfast, and he went to meet her.

He found her sitting at the large table, feeding what she did not finish to Teto, giggling as the little fox-squirrel gobbled down the food.

"Oh, Lord Yupa, good morning." She greeted. "Did you sleep alright?"

The sword master nodded. "I slept fine."

"That's good to hear. Would you care for some breakfast?"

Lord Yupa shook his head. "Perhaps later. I'm looking for Asbel, have you seen him?"

Nausicaä frowned. "No, not since yesterday. Perhaps he's training with Ved again."

Again, Lord Yupa shook his head. "I checked the training arena, he was not there. Nor had he gone to the Kalvandir ship."

"Hmm." Nausicaä tapped her chin. "Where could he have gone? He wouldn't have gone into the toxic jungle, would he?"

"Not without informing someone, at least you or me."

Nausicaä pushed out her chair and stood up. "I'll help you look for him. Let's ask Ved, perhaps he's seen him."

As the two left the dining hall, they ran into the very person that they were searching for. The moment he saw him, Lord Yupa could tell that something was wrong. There was a strange atmosphere around Ved that he hadn't sensed or noticed before.

Ved bowed to the two of them. "Nausicaä, Lord Yupa, good morning to you both."

While Lord Yupa remained silent, Nausicaä greeted the Kalavandir like any other morning. "Hello, Ved, good morning."

Ved nodded to her. "Nausicaä, I have something I need to tell you."

Nausicaä nodded. "Ok, but first, have you seen Asbel? No one seems to know where he is."

Ved frowned. "That' s actually what I needed to speak to you about." He told her, his voice full of concern. "Last night, Asbel asked to speak to me early in the morning. He had some rather… strange news."

Lord Yupa narrowed his eyes. "What did he say?" he asked, not ready to believe what he was about to hear.

Ved sighed. "He's gone. Asbel's gone."

Nausicaä's mouth literally dropped open. "W-What? Gone?"

Ved nodded. "Yes, he said something about having to find his own path and becoming a better person." He gave Nausicaä a sympathetic look. "He said that he didn't want to interfere with us, and told me to take care of you. Do you know what he means?"

Nausicaä shook her head. Her heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces. Asbel was leaving? He was leaving? She wouldn't see him again. Never see his handsome face, never hear his kind voice, never enjoy his company, never… never…

"Why?" she asked, feeling as if she were in trance. "Why did he leave?"

Ved sighed. "He said that he was no longer needed. I'm not exactly sure what he meant though."

"I see." Lord Yupa replied calmly, though he was silently saying, 'Oh, he's good. And it seems as if he's in on whatever Ken is planning, perhaps even behind it. This was why I told Asbel not to do anything until we had more information.'

He didn't believe Ved's lies even for a moment. Even if he hadn't known about whatever the Kalvandirs were planning, he knew that Asbel would never just up and leave. Heck, he didn't think the Pejite prince ever would be able to bring himself to leave Nausicaä.

"How come you didn't tell me sooner?" Nausicaä cried, tears in her eyes.

Ved gave her his most sympathetic look. "I wanted to, Nausicaä. Truly I did. But before he told me of his plan, he made me swear not to tell anyone until at least tonight. I agreed, but after hearing that he was leaving, I couldn't bring myself to wait that long."

'He's very good.' Lord Yupa thought.

"Nausicaä, are you alright?" the Kalvandir prince asked in concern."

Nausicaä was struggling not to cry, though tears were still running down her cheeks. "I… I…"

Without warning, she spun around and ranoff , ignoring Ved's cries. Lord Yupa watched her go, feeling terrible about this. He knew that Asbel might do something careless. He should have waited before telling Asbel.

"Will she be ok?" asked Ved.

Lord Yupa had to struggle to control his anger. He didn't know what Ved had done with his apprentice, but he hoped the Pejite prince was alright. "She will be fine. I'll speak to her."

He turned and walked in the direction Nausicaä had run off in. He didn't even need to look at Ved to know that the Kalvandir prince was smiling.

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Nausicaä wiped away the tears that had managed to escape as she laid on her bed, hugging her pillow. She couldn't believe it, Asbel was gone. She had been hoping and hoping that he would stay. The thought of no longer being able to see him was unbearable.

Teto went up to her and nuzzled her leg, squeaking in concern. Nausicaä gave him a sad smile and picked him up. "I guess I shouldn't be that surprised." She told him. "I knew that there was a chance that he might leave." She wiped away some tears. "I just didn't think it would hurt this much." She looked out the window, placing her hand on the glass. "He didn't even say goodbye. I don't know when I'll see him again or if I ever will."

A knock came at the door, but Nausicaä didn't even notice it. The door opened, regardless of the lack of invite, and Lord Yupa stepped in.

"Nausicaä."

The princess spun around, rubbing her eyes, though they were still red and puffy. "Oh, Lord Yupa. Sorry, I'm just…"

"Upset about Asbel's leaving." The sword master said, even though that hadn't been what Nausicaä had planned to say. He sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. "I can understand that you're upset. I would be too… if it were true."

It took Nausicaä a moment to realize what he said, and when she did she gave him a curious look. "If it were… what do you mean?"

Lord Yupa sighed again and crossed his arms. "I've been with Asbel for two years, and you know him very well too. Does this seem like something Asbel would do?"

Nausicaä thought about it for a moment, and realized that this was indeed very unlike Asbel. "But, Ved said that he-"

"You are forgetting one very important thing." Interrupted Lord Yupa. "You know Asbel. You know him very well. But how well do you know Ved?"

Nausicaä's eyes widened. "What? Are you saying that Ved lied?"

"I am saying that I would believe that Ved is lying before I believe Asbel would just leave."

Nausicaä was silent for a moment, trying to comprehend all this. "But why would he lie?"

Lord Yupa closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes, that is the question."

Nausicaä stared at him for a moment before her eyes narrowed in determination. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

Lord Yupa held up a hand to stop her. "Don't be reckless. I'm sure that is why Asbel's missing."

"What?"

Looking weary, the sword master rubbed his brow. "I told him to wait, but he wouldn't listen. So now I'm going to tell you what I've discovered, so listen closely."

For the next half hour, he explained everything that had occurred. From tracking down the Kalvandir spies to listening in on Ken's plan. Nausicaä listened very carefully, her eyes getting wider as the story progressed. A mixture of worry and anger began to stir up within her when she thought of the possibilities that could come out of this.

"He should have waited for me." Lord Yupa finished. "It seems as if he's been caught, so now they're making up a story about how he decided to leave to 'find his own path in life', as Ved put it." He crossed his arms. "Originally, I had thought that Ved was a pawn in this plan, but if he's supporting this story, then he's a part of it."

Nausicaä's fists clenched. "We have to find Asbel, before… before…" Her eyes widened fearfully. "Oh… what if he's… he's…"

"Calm yourself, Nausicaä." Lord Yupa told her. "Do not assume the worst. I will investigate the situation and-"

"I'm coming too!"

Lord Yupa closed his eyes. He had been afraid of this. "Nausicaä…"

Nausicaä wouldn't hear it. "As princess of the Valley of the Wind, I order you to allow me to accompany you on this assignment."

Lord Yupa's eyes widened. Nausicaä had actually pulled rank on him and given a direct order. He couldn't remember the last time she had done that. Heck, had she ever done that.

"Nausicaä, I just don't want you to get hurt."

Nausicaä stomped her foot, almost as if the sound would silence the sword master. "This is not up for discussion." She said in a calm cool voice, full of authority.

The two stared at each other, Lord Yupa's gaze filled with concern while Nausicaä's was filled with determination. Finally the sword master sighed.

"I can see that there's no talking you out of this." His eyes shifted to the door. Someone was coming. This conversation would have to be postponed. "But we'll finish this later."

He walked to the door and opened it, revealing Ved on the other side. The Kalvandir prince bowed to him, keeping up his perfect act. "Lord Yupa, I was hoping to speak with Nausicaä, if that's alright."

Lord Yupa simply walked past the Kalvandir prince. "Do as you wish."

Ved raise an eyebrow at the sword master's behavior. Nausicaä quickly spoke up, noticing Ved's suspicions. "He's very upset about Asbel's sudden departure."

Understanding crossed over Ved's face and he nodded. "I understand. That was actually why I came to see you. You seemed very upset over the unfortunate news."

Nausicaä sat down, knowing that she had to keep up the act of being the worried princess. "It was quite a shock. I care for Asbel very much. I don't know what I'll do without him." Though she was still pretending that she didn't know anything that Lord Yupa had told her, the words she spoke were very true indeed, and it surprised her when she realized this. "I just don't understand why he would just leave."

Ved rested a hand on top of hers, and she had to struggle not to pull away as he spoke to her. "He needs to find his own path. It's not up to us to tell him what to do with his life."

Sighing, Nausicaä nodded. "I know, I just wish he would have stayed. I would do anything to have him back."

This time she did pull her hand away. Ved's eyes narrowed slightly and the hand that had been on top of hers closed into a fist. "You speak of him so fondly. I understand that you are really good friends, but just how close are you?"

Nausicaä gave him a serious look. "He's the most important person to me." She said without hesitation,

Ved stared at her for a moment before sighing, a look of surrender entering his eyes. "You love him, don't you?"

Nausicaä looked surprised. She hadn't been expecting the question at all, and her face turned red. "I… I…"

"You don't have to explain." Ved told her. "I knew all along who your heart truly belonged to, but I had hoped…" He trailed off and shook his head. Turning back to Nausicaä, her gave her a sad smile. "I guess there's no helping it. Just remember, Nausicaä, I'll always be here for you." He got up and went to the door. "Good bye, Nausicaä."

The door closed and Nausicaä was left alone. Now the question was, what was she going to do?

(A/N: Yes, what is she going to do? What's going to happen to Asbel? And has Ved really given up on Nausicaä. All your questions shall be answered in time. Now then, how about some reviews?)