Chapter 61: Politics
A soft morning breeze travelled down and around, tossing the uncut grasses from side to side. Wildflowers were slowly blooming, awakening to the everlasting spring that their home above the clouds afforded them. The same cool wind tossed Cantabile's bangs around her face, annoying the violet eye that wasn't hidden behind her leather eye patch. This fact, however, was far from being the source of the God-General's irritation.
"She gave it back?"
"According to intelligence," Legretta confirmed. "Arietta arranged for them to escape in exchange for the Fon Master. She returned all their equipment; including giving Asch the Sword of Lorelei back."
"That girl... it would have been right before I delivered her orders too! If I had known when I saw her, I swear..."
"It won't do any good to dwell on it. Arietta has further since abandoned her post guarding the Seventh Fonstone and now it's missing. She's likely somewhere back in Daath by this point."
"So what's Van going to do with her?" Cantabile asked.
"For now, he's instructed us to leave her be."
"Even though she's lost the Seventh Fonstone? That seems suspicious."
"The only purpose for that fonstone is to serve as bait for Mohs. So long as he doesn't know we don't have it, it still serves its purpose. We've no need for such a thing."
"True, but still... to just let her run wild?" The younger God-General raised an eyebrow. "That's not like him at all."
"As long as she doesn't get in our way," Legretta stated. "As it stands now, she has no reason to fight so she's useless. She'll return to us when she learns the truth about the Fon Master. She'll see that she too has been a victim of the Score, whether she realized it or not."
"I still don't like the idea of leaving her alone," Cantabile muttered, her eye darted across the ground while her mind fluttered through an assortment of ideas. So many were beyond the realm of possibility, but a few could work. A sly grin worked its way across her face. "I'm all for speeding up that process a little," she finally stated, an especially evil gleam in her eye.
"If you want to stick your nose in, feel free; but it will have to wait until we've completed our own mission first," Legretta reminded her.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't you worry; those two Fabre brats are as good as mine."
The hum of the Albiore's engines faded into the background, dismissed on the basis of their familiarity to the melodist who walked back towards the small cabins. It was nice to have everyone together again; they hadn't all been on the same Albiore since leaving the Absorption Gate which seemed like a lifetime ago. Perhaps it was a bit cramped to have eight people and a cheagle in a single fon machine, but they wouldn't have it any other way.
Tear did feel for Noelle though, the poor girl was flying all by herself. After losing a game of rock-paper-scissors with Ginji, they'd managed to load the Seventh Fonstone onto her Albiore for transport to Choral Castle. In the end, even Jade had been impressed with the location Asch had described to them. It was in a secluded courtyard in the center of the abandoned manor. The basement or tunnels that passed below it had caved in, creating a convenient little nest in which they could set the fonstone. Anyone casually walking by wouldn't be able to see it since it was just below the ground and the towers made it very difficult to spot from the air. Of course, that made it unbelievably difficult to get in place, but the location was well worth the day they had spent orchestrating it. With some conveniently placed debris, it didn't look like there was anything there at all; much less the item countries had fought over for more than a millennia.
They had secured part of the Seventh Fonstone, a means to read the last of the Score Yulia had unveiled over 2000 years ago. It was tempting to read what was on it, to know what words had driven her brother to such drastically desperate measures. They had talked about it for a long time, but in the end, they'd made the decision against it. That was the thing about the last of anything; it meant there had to be an end. Knowing what it was wouldn't make a difference. It was only one of many paths and no matter where it led; it was for the world to decide in which direction they would take their future.
As for the direction of her future, it had taken her to the door to Luke and Asch's room. Though the older of the two was sitting up front with Anise and Guy, to the best of anyone's knowledge, Luke was still back here, the reason for which Tear wanted to know. She raised her hand and gently knocked, the hollow metal making an empty echo at each impact.
"It's open," the voice came from inside.
Tear opened the door and saw Luke sitting on the bed, his gaze turning to see who had entered before returning to the window behind which the clouds were racing by.
"What are you doing in here all by yourself?" Tear asked, sitting down on the bed beside him.
"Not much, just thinking I guess."
"What are you thinking about?"
"A little bit of everything. It's still another day before we get to Baticul; I'm just killing time." The young noble shrugged. "So," Luke turned to face her. "What's up?"
"Nothing in particular," Tear replied. "I was just worried about you; I wanted to see how you were doing."
"I'm fine, really," Luke answered with a smile.
"How are things with you and Asch?"
"We'll be alright," the young noble said. "We had a good long talk about everything last night, so at least for now we've got stuff sorted out."
"Can I..." Tear hesitated a moment. "Can I ask you about Asch?"
"Huh?" Luke was caught completely off guard by the question. "Well- I mean... sure, but... why the sudden interest?"
"Well with everything that's happened lately, I realized just how little I actually know about him. He's always so quiet and never really talks about himself. The things he likes to eat, his favourite colour, his interests, I don't know anything... Even though we've travelled together all this time, I don't feel like I know him at all, at least, not the same way I know you or Natalia, or any of the others."
"Asch has always been that way," Luke answered, disguising a soft chuckle, "For as long as I can remember. He's the kind of person who has a hard time making friends, because he can't bring himself to open up to others. Unless someone is forced to be with him for any given amount of time, they tend to shy away or avoid him before ever really getting to know him."
"Because he's the heir to the throne?"
"Well I'm sure it doesn't help, that's for sure," Luke replied with a sad smile. "I think the real problem though, is that a part of him is afraid of being hurt and afraid of being judged... so he closes himself off. I think he finds it safer that way. It's easier not to get hurt and to simply avoid dealing with others. That's why always comes off as being so cold and no one ever really wants to associate with him. No one ever wants to be his friend. Add to that the fact that he's been confined to the manor for the most part, I guess it's not that surprising he isn't so great at dealing with people. Deep down, he does want to be friends with everyone... he just doesn't know how to say it, because he doesn't really know how to open up to or to trust others."
"I think you're wrong," Tear offered gently. What Luke said made sense, and really, he knew Asch better than anyone, right? Still, Tear couldn't shake that look in his eyes, his demeanour when they had been locked in that cell together. Nothing there had forced him to talk to her, or to share the things that he had. There was a part of him that wasn't like that at all. "He does open up, and he does trust others. I think that maybe even he doesn't realize it, but something brought him back to us, right?"
Luke smiled. "Maybe..."
"Do you think he resents being forced to take the throne?"
"No," Luke answered with a gentle shake of his head. "I think if he were given a hundred choices, that would still be the one he'd pick. It's probably the fact that the choice was taken away that bugs him more than anything."
"I don't think that the choice was taken from him. All these years, he could have always chosen to leave or to abandon that path, but he never did. That is a choice in and of itself."
Luke chuckled. "Try suggesting that to Father, I don't think it was much of a choice."
"Maybe not," Tear agreed with a smile. While they may have only met a couple times, Duke Fabre was certainly a man she'd think twice before crossing.
Silence fell between the two teenagers and Tear began to see why Luke had been sitting here alone. The gentle hum of the engines that she'd ignored now seemed so comforting. The soft rumble entranced her thoughts, reducing them to nothing and allowing her to calmly drift along. Tear leaned over, her head coming to rest on Luke's shoulder as her eyes wandered about the empty room.
"Is that the Sword of Lorelei?" The melodist asked when her gaze fell upon the two weapons sitting in the corner.
"Yeah," Luke answered, standing up from his bed and forcing Tear to shuffle a bit. He stood there for a moment, staring at the blade as if lost in the mix of red and silver reflections that danced in its depths. Carefully running his hand down the black handle, he watched intently as if hoping to see something, but whatever he sought, Luke didn't find. The Sword lay dormant, protecting all its secrets as it lay gently against Luke's own weapon. His hand closed around the handle and he lifted the Sword from its corner.
"Asch said it's supposed to glow when the Jewel is nearby," Luke explained. "It's sort of like a Jewel detector, but so far we've got nothing." Luke's grip on the Sword tightened. What he wouldn't give to see the Sword glow... he didn't care where or what he'd have to do. They needed that jewel!
"Well maybe with all the flying we're doing, it'll glow when we pass over it," Tear suggested.
"I hope so," Luke agreed.
Tear watched on curiously, observing the young noble weighing the Sword in his hand. The look on his face was somewhat fond, and very carefully, he swung the blade a few times, flipping it around in his grasp.
"You know," he eventually spoke up. "It really is a nice sword. Even though it's such a weird shape, it's really well balanced."
Tear couldn't resist a smile at the warmth in his expression. "I didn't realize you liked swords so much," she commented.
"Huh?" Surprised by her comment, Luke fumbled, nearly dropping the blade. "I- I don't really," he managed, putting the Sword of Lorelei back in its corner. Tear giggled. Really now, why was he trying to hide it? He was so cute when he got embarrassed. Tear felt her own cheeks take on a pinkish hue.
Luke sat back down on the bed, leaning back against the wall allowing silence to overtake them again.
"Ummm...Tear? Can... can I ask you for a favour?" He asked hesitantly, sitting up to look Tear in the eye.
"Of course."
"Would you sing your fonic hymns for me?"
"I can, but why?"
"I just... find them really calming," Luke managed, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes.
"Sure," she answered softly, placing a hand gently over his. There was something bothering him, something stirring beneath the surface that had him on edge, but for now, Tear decided that she wouldn't pry. He would tell her when he was ready; she knew that he would. After indulging her all this time, trusting in that was really the least she could do.
Twei Rei Tsuae Croix Ryo Twei Tsuae...
"Hey Ginji," Asch popped his head in the pilot's cockpit. "How long until we're in Baticul?"
"Oh, hey there Luke-"
"Asch," the redhead corrected.
"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" Ginji suddenly grew flustered, taking his eyes off the sky to get more than a quick glance at who was behind him. He had been so sure he'd seen Luke, but sure enough, Asch was standing there smiling at him. Ugh! It was terrible! What an awful person he was! He couldn't even keep his own two friends straight!
"It's alright," Asch laughed, nodding at Ginji to pay a bit more attention to the sky in front of them.
"No really, after all this time I should know better!" the young pilot berated himself.
"Don't worry about it," the redhead insisted. "How far are we?"
"Probably about fifteen minutes or so before we pull into port," Ginji answered.
"Actually, Ginji," Luke interrupted. Asch stepped aside so Ginji could see the other redhead who had just come up from the cabins. "Can we land outside the main entrance, rather than the port please?"
"Well we can I guess, but why do you want to go by land, Asch?"
"Luke," the redhead corrected.
"Argh! Sorry!" Ginji pulled at his silver hair in frustration. They had just gone over this!
"Really now you two," Jade said with an amused shake of his head. "How long do you plan on torturing the poor boy for getting it right?"
"What?" Anise jumped up. "Again?" Seriously those two, they hadn't made up for a week yet! She hated it when they fought because they just got annoying, but at least her sanity stayed intact.
Surprise, surprise, Luke and Asch both wore matching grins. Anise almost wished it would get old... but they were so damn good at it, she was sure her reaction made their whole stinking day every single time. Just wait, she'd get them figured out, then it would be her turn to gloat with that cocky grin of theirs. She was just counting the days...
The two redheads simultaneously shrugged. "It's alright," Asch said removing Luke's jacket. "Our time was just about up anyways."
Natalia let out a defeated sigh. "And here I was hoping the two of you might have outgrown that little game of yours."
"What fun would that be?" Luke asked, dawning his own coat.
"Plenty for us, actually," Natalia tossed in with a mock disproving glare. Luke stuck his tongue out and the entire cockpit erupted in laughter. Only Tear sat in her seat, watching the antics before her. The smiles on both redheads faces, the light in their eyes and yet... she couldn't help but wonder.
How long had the two of them been switched like that?
It was so strange, beneath all the embarrassment that usually ensued their little game, Tear had never really experienced anything but amusement at the final result. This time... she was bothered. It bothered her that she didn't know; that even with how special they were to her, she still couldn't tell them apart. The person she'd spent her time with the past couple days... she thought it was Luke, she truly did believe it had been him. The things he said, the warmth in his smile, they were all pointing towards Luke... but she could never really be sure. Had they switched this morning? Yesterday? Or might it even have been since they left Feres Isle?
Tear looked up at the pair of them, each now with their respective clothes on. Noticing her uncertain shuffle, Luke caught her gaze and sent her a mischievous wink. The melodist let out a sigh of relief and returned his smile. Maybe, just maybe she was getting closer...
"Why did you two switch anyway?" Anise asked sceptically.
Luke shrugged. "For something to do." The younger sibling stole a glance at his older brother. Even he didn't know why Asch had wanted to trade places. Asch usually had a reason for it, so he'd been fine just playing along. Something had been on Asch's mind for awhile now, so if Luke could lift that burden from him, even if just for a short while, he was more than happy to do it. From the looks of things, whatever Asch had hoped to figure out while in Luke's place, he hadn't discovered. If anything, he looked even more concerned.
"You two have got to find a better pastime than driving us crazy! Take up knitting or something!"
Luke barely managed to suppress his laughter at the thought of Asch knitting before catching said sibling's backhand. Luke returned the shot but was also easily blocked before Asch kicked one of his feet out from under him and the younger redhead took a tumble, almost landing on Anise who had previously been happily seated on the floor.
"Hey! Watch where you're throwing your brother!" Anise protested, her voice rising over the laughter that filled the cockpit, only adding to the mirth.
"Okay you guys," Ginji called back, suppressing a chuckle of his own. "I'm going to be landing soon, you'd best take a seat."
"I hate this part," Anise grumbled.
"Really, all this time, and you're still afraid of flying?" Natalia inquired.
"I was never afraid of flying! I just... hate how bumpy landings always are."
"Well better landing than crashing," Jade commented.
"Shut up, Colonel!"
With an echoing chuckle, Ginji did his utmost to land smoothly in an open field not far outside Baticul's eastern entrance, just as Asch had asked him to. Everyone was curious as to the reason for the redhead's odd request but no one bothered to ask. Something was clearly on the monarch's mind and if anyone was the wiser to what it was, they weren't saying anything.
It was probably better that way though, from the looks of things, it might get stormy and Ginji had always said he hated leaving the Albiore in the port during storms. Too much got tossed around. Seriously, the Albiore was like his baby. Anise pitied the kid that was going to have to compete with the thing for his attention someday. Still, it's not like Asch knew in advance that the weather was going to suck, so he obviously had some other reason. Standing facing the wooden bridge that lead into the capital, it didn't look like he was planning on telling anyone what that reason was.
Small drops began to fall, leaving dark spots spattered across the ground, tracing their way along the bridge. Rain, just perfect, the young monarch swore that the weather was just trying to make this worse than it was bound to turn out to be. It surprised him just to what extent he was bothered. It didn't matter though, this was completely unavoidable. Asch took a deep breath.
"Natalia," the redhead unstrapped his weapon. "Hold onto this for me."
"But Asch-" the Kimlascan Princess barely had the time to protest before having the sheathed Sword of Lorelei forced into her arms. What in the world was he doing?
"Take care of it for a bit."
"Why, what's going-"
"There he is!" Four soldiers standing near the gates burst through the city's crowd and before anyone could voice a word of protest they had the oldest sibling surrounded. Asch instinctively took a defensive stance.
The first soldier charged forward snatching him by the coat and forcefully slamming him into the stone wall. A small stream or red appeared from his crimson hair, running down his face. The guard pressed him even harder against the wall but Asch stayed silent, offering no form of resistance.
"You are under arrest for treason," the soldier's voice declared and two of the other men moved in to restrain him. Forcing Asch around, the redhead stumbled, and was sent crashing into the stone ground, two soldiers now pinning him down.
"Stop it!" Luke yelled in outrage. "Let him go! It wasn't him!"
"Enough of this!" Natalia demanded. "Release him! We've uncovered the true culprits; we bring news to my father."
"Sorry Princess," the fourth guard offered. "But this goes beyond your jurisdiction, you'll have to take it up at the castle.
"No! This is nonsense, I refuse!"
"You can't arrest him!" Luke violently protested.
"Luke don't-" Asch intervened, but cut himself off when the soldiers looked ready to take it upon themselves to ensure he didn't try to raise a fuss.
"Why? It's not your fault!" Luke shook his head, ignoring what had become a steady drizzle coming down on them all. This was the reason! Luke had known Asch was nervous about something the whole way here, but he hadn't even been thinking! Asch was scared of coming back to Baticul, he had known this was what was waiting for him. But... but he had done it anyway, because they needed him to. Asch had been afraid but he came back for Luke and for everyone else! Luke wasn't going to let this happen!
'I trust you,' Asch said as he was forcefully hauled to his feet. 'Looks like I have you cleaning up my mess this time around... sorry.'
'Don't be. I swear if it's the last thing I do, I'll get you out of this.'
'I know you will,' Asch replied with a mental smile. 'Thank you.'
"Damn it!" Luke cursed as soon as Asch was out of an earshot.
"Will Asch be alright?" Mieu asked, his ears sagging as he hid from the rain under Luke's long red hair.
"He'd better be," Luke answered vehemently. "Or I'm going to have more than something to say about it."
"Might I suggest doing that talking up at the castle?" Jade interrupted. "It might have more of an effect that way."
"Jade's right," Natalia agreed, carefully clutching the Sword of Lorelei in her arms. "Let's get this sorted out as quickly as possible. We need to see my father."
The downpour that had quickly grown rather violent emptied the streets and Natalia couldn't be more grateful. She loved her people like no other, but they truly didn't have the time to dawdle today. If it were any other situation, the princess would at least like to believe that she wouldn't feel like the world was ending, but that wasn't the case. Her airways tied themselves into knots and the lack of air was nauseating. They all hurried, because they all knew.
The punishment for treason was death.
"He'll be alright," Luke offered. Natalia looked over at her cousin, but she knew full well he was equally trying to convince himself as he was trying to comfort her. Luke's eyes darted from her own, to what she was holding and back again. Then the implications of what she held onto suddenly reached her.
"Would you like to hang onto it?" Natalia offered the sword to her cousin. Really by all rights it should be Luke who guarded such a valuable thing. He was an isofons of Lorelei as well, after all; but Luke shook his head.
"No, he gave it to you."
"I'm not sure why, but-"
"Don't worry about it," Luke cut her off. "I'm the first one the God-Generals would expect to have it. It's safer with you."
"Well it won't be with me long," she added with a reassuring nod.
"Not while we have something to say about it," Luke agreed.
The castle was almost as empty as the streets had become and neither the princess nor the young noble bothered to take the time to fix themselves up. Water dripped from them making a trail that traced their movements up the stairs, and creating a small hazard for their companions who followed in their wake.
"Father!" Natalia burst in the throne room, interrupting a casual conversation he was having with one of the advisors.
"Natalia!" Ingobert looked up, surprised to see his daughter in disarray. "Luke, everyone, goodness what's the matter?"
"Father, they've arrested Asch."
"Yes, I just received word."
"Your Highness," Guy interrupted. "We have every reason to believe that he is being wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he did not commit."
"Do you have anything to back up these claims?" Ingobert asked.
"We do," Luke replied.
"Then let us discuss the matter," he said, taking his place on the throne. "Who then, do you claim the true culprit to be?"
Luke stood before the king, meeting his unnerving stare and the young noble really had to hand it to his uncle. If it hadn't been for their chat in the library the last time they were here, he would have absolutely outraged at the cold and uncaring demeanour of the ruler before him. If nothing else though, Luke had learnt this: his uncle was just that... his uncle, family, and he was Asch's family as well. As someone who believed in and wanted to defend Asch, he had to remain indifferent lest his opinion and desires meet the same fate their father's had. Being the king, he wasn't so easily excluded from the court proceedings, but it was a very fine line he was treading. Yes, Luke could understand... and he also couldn't even begin to express how much he hated politics.
"We believe that the culprit is former Grand Maestro Mohs, current leader of the New Order of Lorelei," Luke declared.
"On what grounds do you make such accusations?" One of the courtiers demanded.
"We investigated one of his strongholds," Jade provided. "There we found a fomicry facility and a plethora of old military supplies." At a nod from the Colonel, Anise brought a package forward and handed it to the advisors.
"They are definitely ours," the men agreed, holding up the armour and an old banner. "The banner is somewhat outdated though, as is the design of the armour."
"We have very good reason to believe that it was replicas disguised as Kimlascan soldiers that attacked Malkuth," Jade stated. "Orchestrated by the New Order of Lorelei in pursuit of their own goals, not Asch fon Fabre."
"Then why did he flee?" The advisor demanded, doing nothing to mask his accusation.
"His goals were his own," Jade answered. "Perhaps to investigate the rumours of this New Order and its attempts at dragging you to war," he suggested slyly. "You'll have to ask him."
"If it is indeed this New Order of Lorelei, it would explain where the replicas have been coming from," Ingobert pointed out.
"That may be true but-"
"Replicas, you highness?" Guy asked.
"Recently there has been a huge surge in Baticul's population. People have turned up out of nowhere, many without any knowledge of the law or proper conduct. The outbreak of crime has been significant and much of the populace is uneasy. The lack of such basic knowledge among other things has lead us to believe that these people may be replicas."
"That would make sense," Guy agreed.
"Unfortunately, though many seem to have left, they are causing a good deal of civil unrest. Because of their crimes, innocent though the replicas may be, they are all subject to a good deal of abuse and are straining the economy. There is little we can do."
"Well we've shut down the facility that we investigated," Natalia said. "However, I don't doubt that the New Order of Lorelei will continue to produce the replicas despite this fact."
"Word of this New Order has travelled quickly," Ingobert replied. "With the return of the miasma, many people have already requested that we seek their assistance."
"I don't believe that to be wise," Natalia stated. "Their goals are to see the Score fulfilled which would mean war and who knows what other atrocities."
"Yet, they claim to have the Seventh Fonstone," an advisor stated. "They could know of the prosperity that might lie beyond such hardships."
"That's a lie," Luke interrupted.
"And how do you know that?"
"Because we have it," Luke shot back.
"What?"
"Father," Natalia jumped in. "I propose a summit between the world's powers. Now is the time more than ever to work together to overcome the problems that our world now faces. Kimlasca, Malkuth and even Daath must unite to find a solution that will benefit not just one country, but all the people of this world. We should share a common stand be it with or against this New Order, however it is decided between us all. If we are divided now, then we shall be doomed to fail."
"But what of the Seventh Fonstone?" the courtier asked.
"We will guard its location until an agreement is made on what should be done with it," Natalia answered.
"I believe that to be a fair proposition," Ingobert agreed. "Call for an immediate council meeting!"
"Sir!" Several men all left the throne room to issue their respective summons.
"Don't worry," Ingobert said quietly as he passed them by. "You've done well, things should go more smoothly from here on out. I won't let anything happen to Asch."
"I guess that went about as well as it could have," Guy commented once the room was empty save for his friends.
"All that's left is to await their decision," Natalia agreed. "Let us hope it is a wise one."
"Make one more lap Luke, and I'm going to have Tokunaga knock your legs out," Anise commented.
Luke stopped and looked up at the annoyed glare he was getting from the former Fon Master Guardian. Sitting haphazardly on the steps, her chin resting on the object of her threat, she was none too pleased with the small rut Luke had set out to dig in the castle floor over the past two hours. Looking around, he could identify various degrees of irritation radiating from his friends who had all found themselves a place to sit in the entryway. Even Ginji had joined them after waiting for Noelle's arrival, but how could they all be so patient?
Guy sighed when despite Anise's threat, Luke returned to his pacing. He needed something to channel all that nervous energy into, but he was really only making things worse. It wasn't the first time in the past hour or so that Guy was entertaining the thought of going next door and sicking Luke's mother on him, if only to distract him from the eternity that the court was taking to make a decision. As appealing as that plan may be, all it would do is add one more person's anxiety to the equation and if the former attendant knew one thing, it was that Lady Fabre could worry enough for all of them.
For all that things had gone down pretty nasty as far as Asch was concerned lately; the blond hoped he'd be able to get out of this tangle relatively unharmed. He didn't doubt that the future monarch's neck would come out intact, but there were a handful of other issues the redhead would have to work his way out of, not the least of which would be getting permission to leave again. Given the trouble he was in, his usual intimidation tactics wasn't in the bag of tricks he could pull out. No, at times like this, Guy didn't envy Asch's position in the least.
"I wonder how much longer they'll be," Tear wondered.
"Unfortunately if the past is any indication, it could be days," Natalia answered. "It depends on how agreeable all the members are and how willing those who don't support the proposal are to sway."
"You wouldn't think they'd be so opposed to just talking," Anise commented.
"It's not just the idea of talking though," Natalia pointed out. "Even if they do agree to talk, they must decide what stand Kimlasca is going to take on all the matters involved."
"But they aren't going to do that now," Luke interrupted. "They'll meet again later to decide that stuff. After all, it's not like we've even made a proposal to Peony yet. The reason it's taking so long is because they're figuring out what to do with Asch."
"Most likely," Jade agreed. "However, deciding what to do with Asch is directly tied to the stand they will take on the New Order of Lorelei. If they drop Asch's charges, they will have to assign the blame elsewhere, meaning they are going to stand against Mohs."
"It's a big decision," Guy said. "Things could get ugly for Kimlasca if Malkuth doesn't share their stance. Given that Mohs has proven he has his own army and the fact that he has the support of the people, they're taking a huge chance on this. They don't have the military strength to fight both Malkuth and Mohs' New Order if Peony goes the other way."
"But Peony isn't likely to support Mohs," Tear pointed out.
"True, but they don't know that," the blond replied, "and they can't just take our word for it. To them, it's still a gamble."
"You'd think something like that shouldn't matter. It's still the truth that Asch didn't do it," Luke commented. "But it's not that simple, no matter how much it should be."
"It is pretty stupid, isn't it?" Guy asked and was rewarded by a grateful smile from his best friend. Luke really had come a long way in these two months. He knew the world his brother lived in, could navigate it to some extent, and could see the complexities that had so easily evaded him before. Of course, that didn't mean he had to like it. It was almost harder on him, because he could see just to what extent the two of them, Asch in particular, were used as political tools. Was it really any wonder they guarded their hyperresonance so carefully?
What Guy really didn't want to consider was how much the fact that Luke was a replica was probably playing into their discussions. From the sounds of things, there were a lot more replicas around than they'd given Mohs credit for and the problems they were causing just from their lack of knowledge was quickly giving them a bad reputation. It wasn't their fault; they didn't know any better. The problem was with your average everyday person, who also didn't know any better. Add that conflict to the mix, and the fact that the enemy had himself a replica army; and Guy was wondering just how many of those thick-headed idiots in there doubted Luke solely because of how he was born.
"I hate politics."
"Asch!" Luke almost tackled his sibling who came through the door, the latter still rubbing his wrists, reddened as they were from the restraints he'd been in. Completely caught off guard by his little brother's gesture, the young monarch nearly fell over, but managed to steady both himself and his sibling. The bitter expression on his face faded and he let Luke hold onto him.
"You're alright," Natalia commented with a smile, once Asch managed to detach Luke. "I believe this is yours." She handed him the Sword of Lorelei.
"Thank you," Asch replied, accepting the Sword from her and re-equipping it.
"How's your head?" She inquired worriedly. It looked like the soldiers had at least bandaged the wound they'd inflicted while subduing him, but the deep crimson stain told them that no healer had been by to see him. "Here." Natalia quickly moved around to the side, untying the bandage before he had a chance to protest. "Honestly," she grumbled. "You would think they needn't be so violent, they probably gave you a concussion."
"Well if his history is any indication of how they expected him to react, it's not much surprise they felt the need to use excessive force," Jade said slyly. "After all there were only four of them."
"Just what are you implying old man?"
"I'm just saying that you can be needlessly violent when the mood strikes you," he shrugged.
"Asch, ignore him for the moment," Natalia forced the redhead to look at her. "How do you feel?"
"Natalia, I'm fine," Asch protested, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Luke only smirked; he was being fawned over by Natalia and he was loving every second of it.
'You shut up too,' Asch tossed.
'Oh I'm not worried about you having a concussion,' Luke shrugged. 'You've always been brain damaged, but you somehow function just fine.'
'You and Jade are just asking for it, aren't you?' The older sibling tried to sound threatening but failed as bits of laughter and amusement trickled through.
"So what's the final verdict?" Guy asked when Natalia forced Asch to sit on the steps so she could better see what she was doing.
"The council apparently decided to support the idea of a summit and will work with Malkuth to try and find a solution to the miasma," Asch provided. "They want me to go with Natalia to make the proposition."
"That's great!" Ginji cheered. "That means you get to come with us, right?"
"Yeah," Asch nodded. "In the meantime they're going to work on what stand they're going to take on each of the issues to be discussed."
"Well at the very least your head looks like it should be fine," Natalia declared. "So negotiations oughtn't be exceptionally difficult."
"I guess we're off to Grand Chokmah next then, huh?" Anise said with a sigh.
"You sound disappointed," Tear pointed out.
"Not really, I was just wondering when we're going back to Daath. I want to see how Ion is doing!"
"I'm sure we'll make it there soon enough," Jade provided. "We may need to employ Daath as a location for the summit seeing as we'll need neutral territory and Yulia City is technically on Malkuth ground."
"I know..." Anise grumbled. "I just don't trust Arietta. Who knows what she's doing to him while no one's there to watch over him!"
"Why don't I stay here?" Noelle suggested. "Once you guys talk about stuff with Peony, you can let us know over the transmitters and I can bring everyone on this end where they need to go. It'll be much faster that way."
"Are you sure, Noelle?" Guy asked.
"Of course," she replied cheerfully.
"Alright then, we should head off to Grand Chokmah as soon as we can," Asch stood up. "I love Baticul, I really do, but I am more than ready to get out of here."
"Fair enough," Guy conceded. "Maybe your reception will be a little warmer next time."
"I'd rather not think of how they would plan to make it any worse," the future monarch shot back with a smirk.
'So...' Luke began as they stepped out into the rain. 'What did you really say to convince them to let you go?'
'Don't ask,' Asch replied.
'That bad?'
'I'm pushing my luck.'
'You're always pushing your luck,' Luke commented slyly.
'I told them if they didn't plan on letting me go they'd better throw me right back in the dungeon, because that was the only way I was staying.'
'Ouch,' Luke almost winced. 'You are pushing your luck.'
'Yeah well, let's find out how long it plans to hold.'
Emperor Peony sat silently on his throne, having just listened to the story his latest guests had told him. Being the deceptively cunning person that he was, deciphering exactly what he was thinking in response to the tale that Asch and his companions had recounted was next to impossible. Many people who met Peony wouldn't think such a thing of the Malkuth Emperor, but those who truly knew him, knew much better than that. Peony was far too cunning for his own good; he just directed said cunning in all the wrong places. After all, who else was good enough to keep even Jade in line?
"I'm glad to hear the charges against you were dropped," Peony commented. "I was beginning to think I'd have some new competition to corrupt."
"Thank you, your Majesty," Asch replied, unable to keep the full smirk off his face.
"I'll present it to the council, but I don't see there being any opposition to the summit you've proposed. We've had our share of problems with the recent surge of replicas too, and the miasma is causing a good deal of concern with the people. I don't want to support Mohs' New Order, but he definitely has his claws in everyone."
"That seems to be a common obstacle," Natalia stated. "I believe if the two countries can come to a common stance on the matter, it may help reassure the people."
"Something definitely has to be done; things right now are just chaotic." Peony shook his head.
"Yes, and they're only going to get worse," Luke said solemnly.
Anise sighed, just listening to everyone talk politics was putting her to sleep, forget the fact she was out on it to begin with. It wasn't like she didn't know that all this stuff had to happen, but why did it have to be so boring! Now that she didn't have to report all the little details of what she heard, Anise was really discovering how little she cared for any of it. It was definitely more Ion's cup of tea; she didn't get what anyone saw in this stuff! Here all her friends were still going on and on despite having been talking for what was at least an hour now, discussing ins and outs that she didn't even think would have to be considered.
The former Fon Master Guardian would give it to Peony though, for all his quirks, he was totally in business mode. Then again, she wondered if he actually thought any of them hadn't noticed his eyes kept landing on Natalia's chest. Asch certainly had, Anise almost giggled. He was trying to be as inconspicuous as he could while he slowly shuffled over. Luke was smart, he'd put himself near Tear to begin with.
Anise looked around, why wasn't anyone standing near her? Why was Peony so intent on staring at Natalia's cleavage, anyway? It wasn't like she was all that well endowed! Sure maybe Anise wasn't much now, but she'd definitely fill out, maybe not as nicely as Tear, but better than Natalia! Peony had no foresight at all!
Ugh! Just how much longer were they going to talk? Anise wasn't entirely sure just how much more of this she was going to be able to take. Asch was going into this willingly? Man, he was messed in the head somewhere; then again, they all knew that already. Anise giggled; she'd probably find it more interesting if she participated, but for the most part, while she could follow along, she could never quite grasp at all the subtle complexities that had to be considered and usually just ended up sounding stupid.
At least before she had Luke who could always be counted on to ask or suggest something stupider and take the pressure off her, but he must have been getting private lessons from Asch or something because he was right up there with the rest of them blithering on about... well whatever they were talking about. Anise had lost track of the conversation somewhere around Mohs talking people into becoming his little Score slaves.
Shuffling at the front of the room caught Anise's attention and she looked up to see Peony standing from the throne. Finally!
"I'll call for the council to gather," Peony said, a nod sent several members of the court off to issue summons. "You're more than welcome to stay at the palace here," the monarch offered. "Though I'm sure Guy will offer you his place," he added with a wink.
"Well you can stay there if you'd like," Guy replied. "But it might be a bit easier to stay at the Palace. My manor isn't especially well staffed or anything."
"Or fully furnished," Asch added with smirk.
"How did you-?" Guy turned to Luke who shrugged apologetically.
"I'll have someone prepare some rooms," Peony laughed. "It may be awhile before we get everything sorted out and arranged with Kimlasca."
"Actually, Your Majesty, there is a transmitter on the Albiore that you can use to speed up the negotiations in terms of location and time," Jade provided. "Noelle has remained in Baticul so we can send messages through her. We can also facilitate the transport process at your Majesty's request."
"Always a convenient solution," the Emperor said with a smirk. "You're going to run out of good ideas one of these days."
"I wish for nothing more than for His Majesty to live that long," Jade replied with a mock bow. He was rewarded by a wave from the blond monarch as he walked away.
"What do you think?" Anise asked once Peony and his court had left the room. "You think they'll go for it?"
"I doubt there will be much opposition to the discussions with Kimlasca," Jade answered. "Though there may be some underlying resentment towards prior aggressive acts, with Kimlasca offering a proper explanation, I don't imagine that should be much of a roadblock. The rate-limiting step will be deciding how they will stand and what issues they want to address at the summit."
"I guess it's a waiting game for now," Asch commented.
"I hate those," Anise grumbled.
"So do I," the redhead agreed.
"We may be able to be productive in the meantime," Jade suggested.
"I suppose that's a good point," Natalia agreed, "but where do we even begin."
"Where we always start," Luke said with a laugh.
"Yeah," Asch agreed. "So, old man, where's the library around here?"
Asch looked up from the book that he had found himself engrossed in. The redhead was surprised to find the moon hanging in the sky out the window, darkness creeping in, held back solely by the small fonstone lamp he'd appropriated early that evening. Everyone had left, given up at supper time and he said he'd follow as soon as he finished that book, but one lead to two and well... now they were probably all wondering where he was.
'It's alright,' Luke said sleepily. 'I told them you'd probably gotten yourself lost in a book.'
'You don't sound too worried,' Asch teased.
'I would have been, if you hadn't done it for seven years now,' Luke answered sceptically.
'Are you in bed?'
'Have you looked at what time it is?'
'Sorry,' Asch answered with a chuckle, but Luke's mind was already drifting off.
Setting down the book he had been reading, Asch placed it on the pile of others he'd sifted through. Not surprisingly, Malkuth's royal library didn't have much of anything that could possibly relate to the miasma or potential ways to get rid of it, something like that would have to wait for Daath. Maybe Ion would have some ideas, Luke had mentioned Ion intended to do some research once he was up and about, and he was sure that the young Fon Master would be the first to look into a matter like this.
All things considered, the afternoon had been quite the waste of time, but Asch couldn't really say he didn't enjoy reading. It was nice to get lost in the words on a page and he was sure he'd ploughed his way through more books than usual; unfortunately not to any avail. The miasma was the standing issue, and there wasn't much chance that the summit would come up with a way to resolve it, even with both sides employing their greatest minds towards the search for a solution. There was just too little known about the toxic fog. Yulia City may not be a bad place to look; they must have some kind of library.
Asch looked out the window again; Luke was right, it really was getting late. He should have called it a night awhile ago, but he'd found quite a few interesting looking books, including a census of Malkuth that curiously counted Akzeriuth among its citizens. It made sense, seeing as Akzeriuth had officially been a Malkuth city, but Asch could recall a similar book in the Kimlascan Royal library that stated the exact same thing, claiming Akzeriuth's population as its own. A frown settled in; now neither country did. They had to stop Van... Asch refused to let this entire world be a forgotten page in a history book.
A shadowed figure standing near the window startled the redhead as he turned the corner. Taking a defensive stance, Asch dropped the last book he was carrying, startling the intruder.
"Asch," Peony let out a sigh of relief. "What are you doing up and about so late?"
"I'd ask the same thing of you, but that seeing as this is your palace, that would be rude."
"Yeah well, the fun thing about not being a ruler yet, is that you don't have to observe all the formalities," Peony said with a wink.
"Well since we're throwing the rules out the window, do mind if I ask you something?"
"Go for it," Peony offered. "You may not get an answer though."
"What's up with you and the Score?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"The first time I suggested it to Kimlasca's court, it took me hours to even get them to start thinking about abandoning the Score. With you, it never even took five minutes."
"You obviously weren't there when I had to present it to Malkuth's court," Peony commented. "I'd bet they're ten times more stubborn than Kimlasca's."
"Old cods are just that, no matter what school they're from," Asch said with a shrug. Peony erupted into laughter.
"We have got to separate you and Jade; he's having a terrible influence on you."
"Why were you so willing to abandon the Score?"
"What makes you think I was willing?"
"To accept such an obviously radical idea so quickly, you had to have given it some serious thought before it was even proposed." Asch waited expectantly, but Peony didn't have a witty reply to offer.
"What happened?" Asch asked.
"Nothing worth noting," Peony replied.
"Should I be asking Jade?"
"I don't know how much he'd be able to tell you, he was already in Grand Chokmah by that point."
"So it does have to do with Nephry."
"How did you figure that out?"
"Because you just told me." Asch smiled slyly. "Besides, who else would it be outside of Grand Chokmah?"
Peony grinned in defeat. "Nothing gets past you does it?"
"Not when I have something to say about it."
"Well it was a long time ago," the emperor shrugged. "I was still living in Keterburg at the time. After the professor's death, Jade was adopted into the military, and it didn't take Saphir long to start chasing after him. They both vanished off the face of the planet as far as we were concerned, isolated way up north. Only the odd whispers would reach our ears."
"Jade the Necromancer..." Asch guessed. Those rumours had spread all the way to Kimlasca, no surprise they'd made it to Keterburg.
"The first night I went to see her, was to bring her news I'd gotten from Grand Chokmah," Peony explained. "That Jade was safe, so was Saphir. I'd never seen Nephry so happy. All I could think of was that I wanted to be able to make her smile like that again. Jade was one of my closest friends, with him gone, I felt it was my responsibility to look after her."
"Then it grew to something more than that."
"We grew closer and closer each time I climbed that tree to her window sill with my half written letters, trivial news that I never even ended up telling her... until one day, I heard rumours of the death of my last living brother. I was called back to the capital. Still I swore to her that I would return for her, I refused to let anything come between us, no matter what."
"Vows like that are far too easily broken," Asch commented.
"You sound like you have experience."
"More than I'd like to," the redhead smiled sadly. Peony nodded.
"We still wrote each other though," he continued. "For almost seven years we held onto our feelings for each other, never once did they even flicker."
"So what ended up happening?"
"Then one year, Nephry had her Score read, and it told her that she would marry. She would marry someone else."
Silence fell across the library, the only light coming from a shimmering fonstone in the corner. The shadows cast on the emperor's face only further darkened his expression. Asch waited patiently, his eyes tracing the pale light of the moon reflected as it was in Peony's eyes.
"Jade bought me time; I left for Keterburg that night," Peony finally began to speak again. "I told her to forget the Score, that it didn't mean a thing; neither of us wanted to accept it anyway. I asked her to leave with me. I told her I'd abandon my country, that we could take off and be together, escape the absolution that the Score demanded. Then Nephry told me something I will never forget."
"What was that?"
"She told me that I was born with the status and the ability to become the emperor, and that even if I could abandon my country, I could never abandon the people in it."
Peony smiled sadly, losing his gaze among the stars in the heavens.
"That was the night we said goodbye."
"She was right," Asch broke the silence. "You're too good of a person to have abandoned your people."
"You think so?" the Emperor asked, his face growing serious.
"Yeah, and you're not all that good at hiding it," the redhead teased.
"Shouldn't you be off to bed or something?" Peony asked.
"Yeah yeah," Asch conceded, replacing the last book on the shelf.
"Hey watch it, I said you don't have to observe all the formalities, not that you didn't have to observe any."
"I'll take my chances."
"Would you do it?" Peony's question froze Asch in the doorway. Asch remained silent for several minutes.
"Yes."
"Liar."
"Don't be so sure, after all, my own country locked me up. Besides, it's not like they haven't proven they can replace me if need be."
"You still wouldn't do it," Peony declared. "You're too kind."
"Try me."
"You may think that and you can deny it until you're as old and foggy as Jade is," Peony almost whispered, passing by the young Kimlascan. "It's different when it comes right down to it."
"I'm not you," the redhead replied silently. "What makes you think I have that kind of strength?"
"Because..." Peony turned and grinned before vanishing into the shadows of the hallway. "You're not all that good at hiding it either."