Chapter 54: Searching

The morning sun streamed in through the windows lighting up the castle's grand entrance hall and bathing the guards who stood dutifully at their posts. Natalia stood alone, gazing upon it all, drinking in the serenity of the morning before the hustle and bustle of the day began. It had been almost two months now since she and her companions had lowered the Outer Lands safely into the Qliphoth, and thankfully they'd yet to encounter any unforeseen consequences. Life, as it seemed, had returned to normal.

Sadly, affairs at the castle were still far from even remotely resembling normal. There were so many people hurrying about during the days, that the otherwise grand building seemed almost suffocating. It was no surprise, the entire world had gone through a major upheaval, and its echoes were still being felt by a great many regions. Not only had the lands been lowered, but a halt had been put to all Score readings. It didn't need to be said that most of the common-folk were rather uneasy, but it was something that needed to be done. The fall of the Outer Lands was not within the Score, making any subsequent readings inaccurate, even if one were to forget the chances that the Score may actually lead to destruction. And... if such a knowledge were to get out, it would cause unimaginable panic. But Ion, bless him, had taken that problem by the reigns, and Natalia was certain he had many consequences to deal with as a result. Their fight was over, but their respective tasks still weren't quite complete.

"Good morning Asch!" Natalia caught her fiancé as he walked through the doors, his younger brother in tow. Asch must have some sort of meeting today, Natalia smiled as she noted the formal clothes he was wearing. His long red hair was pulled back and bound, and he looked so very dashing. Like a future king; Natalia giggled.

"Good morning Natalia," both siblings replied.

"Good morning to you as well, Luke," the Princess added with a smile. It wasn't a surprise to see him accompanying Asch, though he lacked the formal wear his sibling was in; it seemed that Luke had made a habit of tagging along these days. It was quite nice; he didn't seem nearly as awkward or out of place here as he once had, and why should he? It was as much his place as it was Asch's or her's.

"Sorry we can't stay and chat, but I've got a meeting to get to," Asch explained apologetically. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Don't worry, Father said he'll wait for you to arrive!" Natalia called after him.

"Thanks Natalia!" he called back with a wave and began up the stairs, Luke hurrying after him with a wave of his own.

Natalia watched as the two continued up the stairs until they reached the second level where Luke turned off, leaving Asch to continue upwards towards the meeting rooms. They parted without a word, but the smile on Luke's face as he moved down the hall towards the library told her something had passed between them.

True to her word, Natalia had said nothing about their connection or their ability to create a hyperresonance. Even if she'd had the slightest inclination to do so, she knew she couldn't have. Asch had more than enough to deal with it as it was. The recent passage of his birthday had only served as a reminder of how quickly time was passing and between the fall of the lands, the peace treaty with Malkuth and the usual duties that accompanied the new year; there was no shortage of things to do.

Affairs at the castle were busier than ever, and Asch was more involved than ever before. It was only two years now before he would come of age, and with her father getting older it was no surprise that more and more responsibilities were falling to Asch. It really wouldn't be all that long before the two of them would be expected to take the throne.

Natalia sighed sadly as she watched her fiancé climb the last stairs, his sword bouncing at his side. It truly was an interesting blade and while Asch never seemed to let it out of his sight, Natalia couldn't for the life of her recall where he'd picked it up. She remembered him having it upon their return from the Absorption Gate but beyond that she couldn't recall. It certainly bore a strange resemblance to the Order of Lorelei's crest in its design; perhaps he had acquired it in Daath. Peculiar or not, Natalia quickly dismissed it. It wasn't as if he and Luke hadn't gone through half a dozen swords over the course of their journey with the sheer amount of battle and wear they put them through, and Asch's choice of weapon was really the least of her concerns.

The young Princess couldn't wait for the days when all would start to settle down and things would return to normal; both at the castle and in their lives. Lately Asch always seemed so tired and almost distracted. His attention never seemed to be on the task at hand, always on some other, unknown problem. Oh, she was being foolish, with all the things he had to tend to lately, of course he was busy thinking of other things. Still it concerned her; it wasn't unusual to have Asch worrying about things, but he hadn't really seemed himself of late. Natalia had tried asking Luke about it, but while he had noticed the same thing, he couldn't provide any more insight into the matter.

What Natalia had noticed, but that she certainly wouldn't say to her younger cousin, was that he seemed to be sharing a similar problem. She couldn't help but smile at Luke's efforts over the past couple months. He followed Asch around like a lost puppy, often taking to the library while Asch was in various meetings to which he wasn't privy. It didn't bother her as much as it had when they were younger. She used to hate it when Luke was up at the castle; she felt as if Luke was trying to replace Asch again... to take him away from her. No, perhaps hate wasn't the proper word; she had been jealous, perhaps even territorial to some extent, and she certainly hadn't given him a chance. Now such petty feelings didn't even register, and watching Luke try so dutifully to fit into his role as nobility was heart warming.

But if there was one thing that Natalia had discovered, it was this: that role didn't make Luke happy.

As soon as they had returned, Guy had resigned his position as Luke and Asch's attendant, opting to return with Jade to Grand Chokmah. It came as no surprise, Guy was Malkuth nobility after all, there was no purpose in him remaining a servant in her uncle's house; but it had been a harsh blow to Luke. They'd known it was coming, but she suspected that a part of Luke had hoped he'd stay. The two still remained in touch through letters, but it wasn't the same thing.

Natalia could relate, she did miss her chats with Tear and would love to see the others again, but she was busy enough with her own duties that she didn't have much time to dwell on it. Luke on the other hand, was really feeling the loss of their friends, and while he did write to them and had received a few replies, he was still quite lonely.

He didn't belong here.

For the first time, Natalia didn't feel that out of spite or resentment, but rather as a realization of an almost heart-breaking truth. Luke had been so happy out in the world, seeing the beauties it had to offer, meeting different people, and visiting different places. This life was nothing more than a cage, and while it may be filled with the people he cared for, it was a prison none the less.

Luke didn't belong in this life; but knowing that, Natalia couldn't help but wonder exactly where it was he fit in this world.

Luke closed the book before him with a defeated sigh. Nothing in there that he didn't already know. Lorelei was proving to be the most frustrating thing to research ever! Well not that he'd ever researched... well anything before, but Luke was sure it couldn't be this difficult! Ion had even tried to help by sending him some books from Daath on the Seventh Fonon but none of them did anything more than speculate about Lorelei's existence. The most success he'd had was reading the legends concerning the being in question and Yulia; but in the end, they were still just that: legends, and he couldn't substantiate anything they said.

The young redhead picked up the next book from his pile and began to leaf through it. He'd read this one before, and like all the others, it didn't say a damn thing about Lorelei. At least not anything useful, or that could help him and Asch figure out the problem at hand.

Luke, Asch... I will send you the key. Use it to set me free... the one who would seize glory... is trying... to capture me...

Luke glanced down and noticed he'd stopped on a page describing the Sword and Jewel of Lorelei. His finger subconsciously traced the shape of the Sword; he knew it well, after all, it had found itself a permanent home in Asch's scabbard. The artist of the book had been pretty accurate, but they were still a bit off, it didn't curve quite so sharply near the blade like that.

Luke's hand moved from the Sword to the Jewel. He wondered if the artist had made any mistakes drawing it like they had with the Sword. Luke had no idea, they didn't have the Jewel to compare... or to be more precise, he didn't have the Jewel.

It was the second half of the Key of Lorelei that said being had told them he was sending. They weren't going to be getting very far without it; the Sword was useless as the Key without the Jewel inlaid in it. There was no way Lorelei missed that fact. He had sent the Jewel... and Luke had failed to get it somehow.

Asch would never say it, but Luke knew it had to be the case. It had come up through another Sephiroth, Lorelei still held onto it... those were just excuses Asch used to make him feel better. Luke knew perfectly well it was his fault they didn't have the Jewel, so he was determined to do something about it. Unfortunately his attempts to research were getting him nowhere, but at least it took some work off of Asch's plate.

The missing Jewel of Lorelei wasn't their only problem, and unfortunately Asch was so swamped with work that there was very little time for them to try and figure out the rest of Lorelei's message. The one who would seize glory... Vandesdelca... Master Van was still alive, and there was no saying what he was up to. Lorelei had said something about Van trying to capture him, but what did that mean? Was there even a way to trap a being made of fonons? If so, how? And what could they do to stop it when Master Van was probably in the core?

There were just too many questions, and here in Baticul, neither of them were finding any kind of answer. Luke didn't dare ask any of his friends for help. Jade might be able to give some ideas, but even he had admitted to knowing next to nothing about Lorelei, and Luke knew he and Asch couldn't drag them all into their mess again. Even Ion... Luke had only asked if Ion could send him some books on the Seventh Fonon and Ion's eagerness to help him out made Luke feel guilty for lying to his friend. Stiil, Luke was determine not to get them involved again, they had all risked too much last time.

The door to the library opened, startling Luke who was staring aimlessly at the drawings in the text before him. He slammed it shut in surprise only to see Asch with a satisfied grin on his face. He should have known Asch would try and scare the living daylights out of him. Well, Luke knew he had it coming; it wouldn't have been the first time if Asch had come in and found him asleep over a book.

"Make any progress?" His sibling inquired.

"A whole lot of nothing," Luke sighed in defeat as he returned the tomes to their respective shelves, and gathering the few he had to return to Ion at some point. Maybe he should write the Fon Master another letter... but he still hadn't gotten an answer from the last one, and Ion was probably really busy. He didn't want to be a bother.

Luke followed his brother out of the library in silence. He found his eyes kept wandering towards the sword at Asch's side, and while he tried to force himself not to look, it did nothing for the tendril guilt that curled up around his throat. If only he'd been stronger... or been paying more attention... or something! Why did he have to fail at such an important time? Why didn't he get the Jewel like he was supposed to?

The two of them left the castle, escaping into the afternoon sun. Though it was still winter, the air was mild, and the light of the sun had erased almost all of the snow that had settled over the capital. Spring was just around the corner now, and the weather was showing it. Luke sighed and found himself wondering if spring ever came to Keterburg, or if a place like Chesedonia ever saw snow. Thinking about those places saddened him for some reason and Luke let go of the train of thought. He had things to do here. Baticul was his home... so why did he always find himself dreaming of everywhere but?

Asch surprised Luke by sitting down at the fountain in the middle of the giant courtyard that led up to the castle and Luke silently sat down next to him, returning to thoughts Luke himself couldn't even identify. The two sat in silence for a long time.

"You're not happy here," Asch finally stated.

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm happy here!" Luke was taken aback by Asch's sudden accusation, but even he could tell his protest lacked the conviction it should have. "This is home... how could I not be happy?"

Asch simply smiled, an understanding but almost sad smile that made the guilt that had settled in Luke earlier grow exponentially. Was...was it really that obvious? No! No! He wasn't upset about being here! He still had Mother and Father and Asch and...

"It's okay, Luke," Asch said softly. "I know this kind of life doesn't suit you, you don't have to be ashamed of that."

"I'm sorry..." Luke looked down guiltily, unable to look Asch straight in the eye.

The older redhead shook his head. He had noticed how quiet and almost withdrawn Luke had become over the past couple months. Oh he put on a good front, but deep down, he was bored with the day to day comings and goings at the castle, and above all else, he was lonely. Asch knew he hadn't had the time to spend with Luke that he'd have liked, and while he was eternally grateful for the work Luke had been doing, both to help him with his duties and to figure out the issues with Van and Lorelei, it wasn't fair to his little brother. Knowing all that made it easy to figure out what had to happen next.

"I think you should go visit everyone and see how they're doing," Asch suggested.

Luke looked up in surprise, "What?"

"I already spoke with Mother and Father about it, I think it would be good for you to get out of the city and spend some time with everyone. Everything is so crazy around here that you're getting lost in the shuffle and it's not fair to you. This way, by the time you come back, things should have settled down a bit and it will be easier for you to fit yourself in."

"But what about the Jewel and Lorelei and-"

Asch held up a hand, cutting Luke off. "Don't worry about that, I'll keep working on it. You just go and enjoy yourself. Give everyone my best," he finished with a smile.

Asch was caught off guard when Luke took him in his arms. "Thank you," Luke whispered, his voice almost apologetic. He should have known Asch would understand. After a moment Asch returned the gesture.

"Just promise me something," Asch said as the two separated.

"What's that?" Luke asked curiously.

"That you'll come back home. Preferably in one piece."

"You know I will," Luke answered with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah well, don't make me come get you this time."

"Don't worry about me," Luke said standing up and turning about, offering one last grateful smile to his older sibling.

"I know my way home."