Title: Links
Summary: Sharing a body between two souls will always have conflict, worse when neither is fighting for it. Drabbles about Lambda and Asbel's relationship during and after the game.
A/N: Similar to 'Eternal' but not at the same time and I'm going to use the "pairings" that was placed by the game at the end for this. I just wanted to expand it more. I hope you enjoy this despite its similarities.
Chapter 17
Asbel smiled, everything was perfect. He and Cheria had gotten married just a year ago, a grand wedding that was celebrated by all of Lhant. All their friends attended, even the various kings of the nations came to join to watch their unity - Asbel wasn't too sure about them though. The following months after the marriage Cheria had gotten pregnant; they were going to have a child. Everyone was ecstatic, even more so when he was born that same year. Their son, Dabin, had been born healthy and was no doubt absolutely perfect in every way. For them, there was nothing better than him.
Months passed quickly since Dabin's birth, Cheria taking care of him mostly while Asbel continued his work as the lord of Lhant. Sophie helped play with the child, enjoying her family immensely, and there were times she would take Dabin to the flower fields to read him books. Asbel could only smile at the thought of seeing his cute son laughing and playing in the flower fields, enjoying himself like there was nothing wrong with the world. Everything was perfect - he had the perfect life, the perfect family, the perfect everything.
Two more years passed and his son was quickly growing up, his features more prominent when compared to his parents. His son looked exactly like him when he was younger with the red hair and overly happy attitude. There was one thing that wasn't his though: Dabin had Cheria's eyes. Those kindhearted eyes that had been with him for years. During the time of their marriage, he and Cheria had been living together in perfect happiness. It was like nothing could get in their way.
Lambda stayed within Asbel's body and since the marriage he had been keeping quiet, but would appear now and then to talk to Sophie. Asbel didn't mind, instead he welcomed the exchange between the two, knowing very well that sooner or later it would be just the two of them left. Conversations between himself and Lambda began to get rarer, neither of the two knowing what to do about the silence. It wasn't as if there was much to talk about after all, they practically knew everything about each other Life continued onwards regardless.
More years past and he was now twenty-four, fully in tune with his work to the point where he could predict what was going to happen next. With that, he gained more free time for his family. He would read books to Dabin during his breaks while Cheria would cook snacks in the kitchen. Eventually, Sophie left to do some traveling around the world, wanting to see all that she could. Asbel knew very well that Lambda wanted to go with her, wanted to see what she was seeing, but he knew he couldn't do that. That would leave Lhant and everything he knew behind and there was no way he could do such a thing, not to his family. He knew that Lambda understood, knowing his responsibilities, but the desire didn't leave. Asbel couldn't bring himself to blame him, he understood Lambda enough to know what the other was feeling most of the time.
It was another year later that things began to get weird. It wasn't noticeable at first, but eventually, it began to rear its ugly head. No one noticed it, not even Asbel himself. It was simple conversations that generally went nowhere, the thought never truly crossing their minds.
"Dammit, Asbel! You haven't changed one bit and here I am getting older and older with each passing day!" Cheria screamed out as she looked herself in the mirror, glaring at her husband through the reflection. She was placing various creams onto her cheeks, rubbing them in as deeply as possible. "It's not fair! I wish I had those genes!"
The redhead just laughed, fixing his hair through the same mirror. "Can't help it!"
His wife just huffed and continued getting ready for the day by putting makeup atop of the creams. "I swear, at this rate I'll look like I'm ten years older than you."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Asbel! That's terrible," Cheria snapped her head towards the redhead, her cheeks puffed out. "The wife is supposed to look younger, not the other way around!"
Asbel just shook his head, done with getting ready for the day, and quickly made his way out of the bedroom. He knew when it was best to get out of there as quickly as possible; there was a hidden threat in the air. As he walked down the hallway towards his office, he paused as he passed by a large mirror, staring into it. He did look like he hadn't aged a bit. Still, it wasn't too concerning. Perhaps he just aged slower than others? His health was great after all and his mother was also aging quite slowly, simply enjoying her days outside with the flowers. Continuing on, he hummed gently to himself, happy about his current life.
More years passed and he was getting close to turning twenty-six. He was expecting a visit from Richard soon and he was overjoyed to be meeting his old friend after a year. It couldn't be helped after all, not when there was a large religious group on the rise causing widespread trouble. The general public considered them to be terrorists; a group of mad people creating chaos and destruction everywhere they went. People had lost their lives during the attacks; mainly innocents that had nothing to do with the issues. However, they were beginning to die down soon after Richard captured their head leader during one of their raids. The leader had been properly executed and the rest of the group were hunted down; making sure that there wouldn't be any regiments left to rise up again.
Asbel was quite happy at the prospect of meeting the King; getting everything quickly prepared for his arrival. The mansion was bustling, the maids and butlers getting the rooms prepared for their soon-to-be guest. Cheria was getting herself dressed up while Dabin was with Frederic who was helping him get ready. Asbel had managed to clear up his mess of a desk, preparing himself for a wonderful presentation. All of the food was up to date, the roads cleared out of monsters, and the people of Lhant were getting ready to welcome their wonderful King. Soon, Richard arrived, greeted everyone in the town with a cheerful wave of his right arm and Asbel could only laugh in amusement as the blonde was rapidly attacked by his adoring fans. It took almost a couple hours before Richard was finally free, settled inside the Lhant manor at the dining table and chatting with the rest of the Asbel family.
They exchanged their stories, all happy to see each other, before Richard finally noticed something. "You know old friend," The King chuckled as he looked at the redhead. "You haven't changed one bit! You look so young! Look at me! I've aged so much since the last time we've met."
"Oh goodness, you're right, Richard!" Cheria butted in, chuckling at Asbel's embarrassed expression, and raised her hand up against her lips. "He always looks younger than me! It's not fair!" Instead of the usual detest, it held laughter and amusement.
"Cheria, you're always complaining about that." The lord of Lhant commented from the side, his spoon settled at the side of the bowl as he attempted to move the conversation along.
Richard just laughed happily at the sight of the two, enjoying the married couple's presence. "My, my, Asbel I see you're still having trouble with the ladies even after being married for so long."
"Shut up!"
More months passed, turning into years, and yet nothing changed all that much. A larger quantity people were beginning to comment on Asbel's youth, questioning how he managed to retain his facial appearance after so many years. However, this began to reflect negatively towards Cheria. Just like they would question Asbel, they did the same towards her but in the opposite direction, commenting how much older she looked. It was never a pleasant subject.
"My, I never knew you were such cougar." One of the wives from another town Lord commented during a party of the local regions. They were separated from everyone else, no one able to hear their conversation over the loud music and constant chatter.
Cheria stared at the woman offensively. "Excuse me?!"
The wife just laughed in amusement, easily taunting the pink-haired woman. "You can't deny it! Your ages are so different!" She glanced towards the lord of Lhant who was happily chattering with a few men. He looked to be the youngest of the group despite being one of the oldest. "You look like you're nearing your thirties and he's, what, late teens to just barely twenty? I get it though. The younger they are; the feistier in bed, right?"
Cheria continued to glower in rage. "What nonsense are you talking about?! Asbel is the same age as me! We're both twenty-nine!"
"Really now?" The woman clearly didn't believe the announced age, the difference between the two was too much. "I don't believe you. I doubt any woman ever would. Unless he's got some sort of miraculous genes that prevent him from aging too much, then you'll forever get that type of accusation. You, my lady, are a cougar." With that, she strode away, heading towards a batch of ladies towards the back of the hallway. Cheria stood in place in shock, unable to process those words, and watched as the group of women laughed among themselves gleefully. Her eyes eventually turned towards her husband, the man she loved, and stared. It was true, Asbel looked so much younger than she was. It didn't take a fool to realize the truth.
Another year passed, and this time, it was mainly in silence. Asbel noticed it right away, spotting Cheria staring out the window or remaining in her bedroom facing the mirror. Their son, Dabin, who was now nine years of age, was looking at his mother with worry. She was no longer smiling, her cooking suffered greatly, she would crash into random things from her lack of attention, and there were times she would just start crying out of nowhere. For a while, Asbel wrote it off as depression and tried to help lift Cheria's spirits but nothing seemed to work all that well. It was like she fell further down the path of depression every time she saw him. During those separated times, many with him sleeping in the guest bedrooms, Lambda seemed to be more active. He would often talk to Asbel during his periods of loneliness. Their conversations were simple, nothing all that major, just them simply getting to know one another better. Asbel loved the conversations, they were becoming the highlight of his days and he wished they would never end.
Getting desperate, he called up the entire gang from long ago to meet up, hoping that seeing familiar faces would cheer her up. He knew that Lambda might like it, too, wanting to see the people who had once saved him all back together in one room. It had been a good idea at first, but he never thought how things might turn out.
When he saw everyone, he couldn't help but notice how everyone had aged over the years. His younger brother, Hubert, now had some gray hairs sprouting within the mass of blue. He had married to Pascal a couple of years back, causing a mild uproar among the nations. Pascal had given birth to two girls, both who were now playing with Dabin in another room, and there was no doubt that she, too, had aged just like her husband. Her hair was much longer, but the rich redness that once had been in it was now gone, dulling down to a pinkish shade. There were wrinkles visible on her face and dark circles underneath her eyes. The same went with the others - Malik and even Richard were showing their age, especially the former. Malik's hair was mostly gray now and whenever he moved there was a sign of stiffness in his joints. Richard's golden hair had grown out and there were circles under his eyes from working so hard as King over the years. The only one who hadn't changed was none other than Sophie, but she had an excuse for that.
Asbel turned around to stare at a mirror, looking over himself once more. It was noticeable, too noticeable. There was no point denying it any longer - he hadn't aged a day. Immediately upon seeing everyone, he raced up the stairs towards the bedroom, ignoring everyone's calls from behind and began shuffling through the closest. He remembered taking pictures long ago, right after the whole ordeal with Little Queen had finished. He wanted to see, to make sure.
"Asbel! What's the meaning of this?" Cheria cried out from behind, staring at her husband as if he were crazy. She was ignored as the redhead torn through the various containers, yanking out picture after picture until he reached the set he had been looking for. "Asbel?"
The lord of Lhant stared at the images, flipping through them, and stood up from his kneeled position, heading towards the mirror. He needed confirmation, he needed to know.
"What's wrong, Asbel? This isn't like you." Malik spoke from aside, staring at his ex-student in wonder.
"I knew it," Asbel muttered under his breath as he examined the picture and his reflection. Nothing had changed; nothing at all. He looked exactly how he had all those years ago. "I haven't aged a bit." The group of people stared at each other questionably, wondering what their old friend was talking about. Only Cheria seemed to understand the meaning, placing her hands up against her lips as she gasped. Immediately, Asbel spun around, revealing the pictures. "Look at this and tell me that I don't look exactly the same as I did back then!"
No one spoke, no one could. There was little difference between the two while compared to everyone else there had been changes – lots of them. Everyone had clearly aged, grown over the years, but not Asbel, he had remained the same, just like Sophie.
"It's true, isn't it?!" The redhead screamed out, daring any of them to say otherwise before turning towards his wife. "Cheria, you noticed it, didn't you? Is that why you've been so depressed? Why you avoid going anywhere with me?"
"YES!" There was a resounding silence that followed after Cheria's outburst, screaming from the top of her lungs. "It's the only reason! I get made fun of by everyone who sees us together! We're both thirty, Asbel! But you-" She pointed towards her husband, obviously identifying him as the main reason. "But you look like you're only twenty!"
At her explosion, everyone remained silent, no one able to respond until Richard stepped in. He peered between the two and sighed heavily. "How about we sit and talk about this? That way we can get everything off our minds. Surely with all of us together we can figure something out, yes?" No one bothered to voice a response, simply agreeing in silence seeing as there was no other option. No one knew how to respond and it was just easier that way. Everyone slowly filtered into the dining room, settling into the seats and kept everyone together in one corner of the table. Richard handled the rest of the issues with the staff, telling them to leave them alone for the next hour or so. The group continued to remain quiet, staring at both Cheria and Asbel questioningly, everyone wanting to say something.
"Alright," Richard started, settling into his own seat. "Let's try to think this through. There has to be a cause for this whole mess. Is there any reason as to why this might have occurred to Asbel?"
Pascal immediately responded. "Maybe Asbel drank a magical potion and became immortal."
"Shot down!" Hubert yelled out soon after, slamming his hands onto the table. "That's completely illogical!"
"Awww, but it would be so cool!"
"I have an idea," This time it was Malik that spoke up, everyone's eyes turning towards him as if he was some sort of savior. "Could it be because of Lambda?"
"That's ridiculous," Richard commented. "If that was true, then I wouldn't have aged since I was a child."
"OH! How about this?" Pascal jumped up this time, almost like she was sparkling. "When Lambda first possessed Richard, he was in a dormant state so his powers didn't influence Richard's body until later on. However, by then Lambda had already transferred over to Asbel. It wasn't long enough to have any noticeable effects. The following year, Lambda was dormant again and held no influence over the body until the Little Queen incident. It was only then that his powers began to influence Asbel's body since, after all, Lambda's power is supposed to alter a body's cells." Everyone sat in silence as they thought over those words. "How's that everyone?"
Hubert rubbed the bottom of his chin and then nodded his head. "Yes, that would make absolute sense. It would explain everything in a way. It's the most logical outcome. However, if that's true then…" He trailed off, his eyes trailing up to Asbel for a moment before sighing heavily. "It's too late. Even if we were to transfer Lambda or stop his abilities from influencing your body, the damage is already done. You will most likely start to age, but from whatever age your body is currently at. You'll forever be a decade behind all of us."
"No…" Cheria looked absolutely heartbroken at that result. "That can't be… true."
As the news settled between the group, only one person looked positively happy about the whole thing. Sophie tried to hide the smile on her face and momentarily clapped her hands together happily. However, she didn't care reveal it to anyone, knowing they would be upset. For her, she had someone else that would remain with her. It was all that mattered.
In the end, there was little anyone could do, no one able to rebuke that theory. They couldn't transfer Lambda to anyone else since Asbel was the only one that could really contain Lambda's power beside Richard. However, they knew better than to give the King him after what happened in the past – it was impossible. Upon learning the truth about Asbel's condition, Cheria began to back away from her husband. She couldn't help it; she couldn't stand the thought of the person she married being unable to live alongside her. Instead, she focused more on their son, spending more time with him at every given moment. Asbel tried to do the same, but things became hard whenever Cheria and he were in the same room, a thick tension growing between them. After a while, he began to hang around Sophie instead, the purple-haired girl done with her exploring for the time being to remain home. She was waiting for the time when Asbel could leave with her, taking Lambda along so that they could all be together. That was all that mattered and there was no doubt that Lambda knew that as well.
More years passed and Asbel was now thirty-five. Nothing had changed to him, but everything else has. His son was now fifteen and he was already asking questions about his father, whose physical age wasn't too far from his own, as well as Sophie. The explanation was troublesome due to Dabin's lack of understanding, but he stopped after a while, figuring that it wasn't something that could be explained, that and the fact that his precious mother would start crying at each mentioning. Asbel began to leave the mansion less often due to the questioning stares, unable to take it, and hid inside his office to keep himself away from the judgmental eyes. It wasn't until Asbel turned forty with Dabin now twenty that he left the household, leaving the town of Lhant to his son. It was better this way after all. It was beginning to become too obvious to the residents that Asbel Lhant wasn't aging like everyone else; they were beginning to view him as some sort of freak. Sophie went with him, keeping the redhead company, and they vanished into thin air.
Every now and then, people might see Asbel and Sophie around Lhant like they were visiting, sneaking around the streets to prevent as many wandering eyes as possible. They would check up on their family, staying over for a week or two before disappearing again. Dabin was almost twenty-five himself, married to some pretty lady he had found in another town and was about to have a child soon. Both immortals made sure to visit more often in order to see the expanding family.
The next time people really saw Asbel was ten years later during Frederic and then his mother's funeral. People viewed it odd that their Lord's father looked the same as always, much younger than the son. However, the family refused to answer the questions, best leaving it in the dark.
When Dabin turned fifty, Cheria became ill with a sickness that was spreading rapidly across Lhant like wildfire. It was highly communicable, the infection rate spreading too fast to contain. The babies and elderly immediately suffered the most, their bodies unable to fight back while everyone else recovered just fine. Cheria was around seventy by then and became one of the many that was taken away by the disease. Both Asbel and Sophie cried at losing a person they dearly loved along with the rest of the town, everyone suffering equally. The following years their close friends began to follow in Cheria's footsteps - all slowly passing away. Neither of the two could bear it, falling into depression at watching everyone around them perish, and Lambda became the one person who kept the two together. It was the only way the group could handle all the tragedy that was appearing before them, simply using each other as comfort.
"Logan, look. I want you to meet some people." An elderly man who was obviously beginning to show his age kneeled down before a young child. His red hair was already graying and his movements were weak from the deterioration of his bones, but he was still had enough energy to get around.
"Grandpa Dabin?" The child spoke curiously, glancing towards the man and woman standing behind his grandfather. The young boy was only around five or six, playing with his toy ball that was within his hands.
"I want you to meet these two old friends of mine, Asbel and Sophie." Dabin spoke, smiling kindly as he peered down at child before looking back up at his father with a strong fondness radiating within his eyes.
Asbel kneeled down and reached forward, patting Logan over the head. "Hello, Logan, it's nice to meet you. I'm Asbel."
So if you're questioning why I used Dabin as the son's name, I absolutely have no clue. I just typed in something and went 'bam done'. Was the son's name ever revealed? If not, then Dabin is fine.