Chapter 42, Fork in the road

Ashe sat in a corner of the village, turning the useless nethicite over in her hands. In a way she was being stubborn. She'd wanted a way to stop the fighting and Larsa had delivered, Gramis was not a bad man. She'd met him once and he seemed very laid back, perhaps a bit too much so when letting Vayne run free. Here she was at the edge of reason desperately clinging to a past that was gone forever. Then quite suddenly, as if responding to her feelings, the dawn shard began to glow gently. She stared at it, intrigued. If all power was gone from the stone then why this reaction? Without even thinking she looked up. There he was again, just like in Raithwall's tomb, the ethereal form of Rasler had appeared a few feet away. This couldn't be a coincidence, at first the times when she saw him she thought she was seeing things, the pressure had got to her or some insane reaction of the magick in the tomb but this third time when there was no recognisable force to create it, it had to be real. There he stood smiling encouragingly as if to say...

"Come on, you can do it. Not much further now, a little more and this will all be behind us."

"Rasler." Ashe whimpered and ran towards him, but before she could reach him he vanished.

"Woah, princess!" Vaan yelled, he had been running in the other direction and had nearly gone smack into her. "Sorry, didn't see you there."

"It's alright, it's alright." She said quickly composing herself. An awkward silence fell on the area.

"Well..." Vaan said finally. "I guess we'll see you in the morning."

"Vaan..." Ashe said suddenly as he began to walk away. "Can I talk to you?"

Vaan raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

The princess returned to her perch and began staring at the nethicite again. "I don't really want to be alone right now."

"Don't you normally have Basch for this kinda thing?"

"I can't find him anywhere."

"Oh so I'm a last resort."

"Something like that," She smiled. "Now hurry up and sit down, that's an order."

Vaan complied sitting next to her and gazing up at the stars.

"Any thoughts about tomorrow?" He sighed.

Ashe shook her head. "None, if we go then we give up every ideal we've worked for these past two years, if we don't we condemn the whole land to war" She turned to face Vaan. "What would you do?"

For the first time since meeting her she looked like an ordinary teenage girl, "Y'know, I've seen you act like royalty, like a general, a commander, a revolutionary and a soldier..." He said, Ashe looked confused. "I think this suits you better." He finished.

"Not only does that fail to answer my question but it fails to come even close to a rational thought." She said haughtily.

"Oh I see, the royal cloak's back on is it?"

"It was never off."

"Can't you once in a while have a little fun? Remember fun. Like me and Penelo, we're always smiling. You'd fit right in with our gang back in Rabanastre."

"What, trying to bring me down to your level are you?" Ashe smiled wryly. "I've talked to your friend you know, she told me all about your little escapades. You leading all the boys and scaring all the girls with your ungainly advances."

"Not all of them said no..." Vaan said wickedly.

Ashe scoffed. "Oh that's what this is. That's why you want me in your little group, I'm sorry little boy but I am far out of your league." She said tossing her hair back.

"Who says your my type?" Vaan muttered. Ashe promptly kicked him in the head sending him flying into a pile of Nanaa dung. Ashe couldn't help it, she fell to the ground laughing. Vaan dragged himself up through the smelly mess and patiently waited until the giggles subsided.

"You see." He said. "Fun."

Ashe cleared her throat and tried to look dignified again. "I'm sorry, I forgot myself."

"No, you remembered yourself."

"Oh I..." But then a thought came to her. "Vaan, why were you running?"

Vaan looked a little sheepish. "I thought I saw someone, like someone in a really bright light. I guessed I was just seeing things back at Raithwall's tomb but then it happened again and..."

"You saw him." Ashe said seizing him by the shoulders. "You definitely saw him?"

"I think so," Vaan said uncomfortably. "I mean I was probably seeing things."

"No no no, I saw him too." Ashe almost shrieked, she looked quite deranged.

"Wait how to you know him?"

"Well I was married to him wasn't I?"

"Lord Rasler?"

"Yes of course Lord Rasler."

"I didn't see Lord Rasler."

Ashe seemed to deflate slightly. "Well then who did you see?"

Vaan strode back to his seat. "My brother." He said quietly.

For a moment there was silence, then Ashe spoke. "Do you know what this means? Somehow the dead are trying to reach us through this stone, telling us not to give up. To keep going." She cradled the stone to her chest. "And we will, but in which direction."

"I think I can answer your question now princess." Vaan stood up again. "If your ever confused about which way to go, ask the fun side of you. because that is me and Penelo, that's the people of Dalmasca, that is what your fighting for." Ashe remained silent. "Hating the Empire, getting revenge was all I ever thought about, but I never did anything about it. I used to say stuff like, I'm gonna be a sky pirate. All I was doing was running away." He turned to face her. "Don't run away." He said.

She turned her head back to face him. "You stink, go and have a bath."

Vaan chuckled. "Yes princess." He turned to leave.

"Vaan!" She called after him. "Thank you. I am still a child and I need to be reminded once in a while."

"My pleasure." He shouted back as he ran off towards the stream.

Vaan emerged from the stream two hours later, utterly confident the smell was gone.

"You smell terrible, go and have a bath."

Vaan glared up to find Supinelu meditating on a rock. "I just spent two hours in the stream." He protested.

"Garif senses are sharper than hume ones." The chief said sternly. "I can't let you around the village like that, you'll be a public menace."

Vaan sat down grumpily next to him. "How about here?"

"I'll breath through my mouth."

"Hey." Vaan said. "Fran said you're good at giving advice, the princess is feeling bad. Anything you can do?"

"I've already given her something to think about."

"Not me though."

"You had the chance to ask me but you didn't, are you asking me now?"

Vaan shrugged. "Sure, give me some advice."

Supinelu stretched and looked up at the sky. "It seems to me you are torn between two paths yourself."

"Wrong." Vaan cut across him. "I just follow the orders and go where everyone else goes."

"I'm not talking about a physical path, I'm talking about the path of your life. Half of you wants to be him." He gestured to Basch's tent. "He is strong, proud and also caring and kind. He has honour and purpose and despite so many years in exile with his very land hating him he still finds the will to fight."

"Yeah Basch is something alright," Vaan sighed. "But I wouldn't want to be him."

Supinelu nodded. "Of course not. No matter his strength or virtue he is bound tighter than you can imagine, he serves the princess and that gives him his strength but he is never free and probably never will be."

"I want to be free," Vaan said. "Free of all this."

"Exactly." Supinelu said. "The other half of you wants to be him." He gestured to Balthier's tent from which loud snoring could be heard. "He is not without honour or kindness but he is very self serving, he cares for profit and if there is none he will abandon whatever venture he is on. He's not without strength either but it is never used. He however is free as a bird, to go where he wills, not tied down by commitment or attachment. But is that any different from running away?"

Vaan sat in silence for a few minutes. "You're really good at this." He said softly. "But that doesn't really help me."

"Well." The war chief said. "In the end the choice is up to you."

Vann looked down at his feet. "I don't have much strength, or skill."

"That's an easy one." Supinelu chuckled. "You are being taught by the knight correct?" Vaan nodded. "You are using his fighting style, he's big and has bulk. He can afford to throw his weight around, you are of slighter build and must therefore develop your own style."

Vaan pulled out his heavy sword. "I can't help myself with a weapon like this."

Supinelu thought for a moment. "I'll be right back." He said finally, and strode off.

Vaan put his back to the ground and stared up at the sky. What a hypocrite he was, giving the princess advice about two directions when he was probably more lost than she. Again he looked at the Dalmascan blade. How had he ever liked this thing, it was heavy and awkward and uncomfortable to hold. He had chosen it because it was shiny but since he bought it he'd been next to useless.

"My brother always taught me, if you are faced with two impossible choices then choose the third option." Said Supinelu as he climbed back to the rock. "This is my advice to you."

"That doesn't really help." Vaan said. "There isn't a third option."

"Then cut one, with this." From behind his back, the chief pulled the most magnificent sword. It was thin and long, with a small round hand guard and a smooth handle wrapped in white cloth. Vaan gingerly pulled it out of it's sheath where it hung in the air, suspended by his fingers.

"It's so light." He breathed. He swung it through the air and it sang like a choir. "The blade's so thin, wont it break?"

"A saurian could tread on it and it wouldn't even be scratched. I give it to you."

"Where did you get this?" Vaan exclaimed barely able to contain his excitement.

"It was my brother's." Supinelu said softly.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"You see, he was originally the war chief. I was a lowly warrior trying to prove myself, I went looking for a demon beast that was haunting us. If it weren't for my brother I would never have survived, but he died saving me."

"So you became war chief to make it up to him."

The Garif nodded slowly. "I now give his sword to you, now you have the means to cut your own path. I cannot give you the answers which you seek but I have no doubt if you follow the princess, you will find what you're looking for. If you live long enough." He added.

"Are you sure, you want me to have this?" Vaan asked earnestly, sheathing the magnificent weapon. "You won't regret it later."

"It belonged to a good soul, now it belongs to another good soul. There is nothing to regret."

An extra long chapter specially for kissychan, blacksword zero, Stonehenge, wyl and anyone else who is reading this. A special thank you to Wyl for reminding me that people are still reading this. Every word I type I type for you guys.