Disclaimer:

Once upon a time there was an Isodrink. And he owned Namco and all the other companies that created Tales of Graces. And he had lots of money and he was happy. Sadly, he had to wake up to realize that all of that had been a dream. In sad, sad and unfair reality, Isodrink didn't own shit. The only thing he did own was a slightly exaggerated imagination which he used to create this story, basing on the work of Namco&Co which he did and still does not own ( he didn't own their work as well, most sadly). Therefore: Story = mine. Characters and everything else in the story based on the game Tales of Graces = Namco's.

Chapter 3: Work, worries and an overprotective mother

Nervously Asbel took another look at Pascals device, to be sure he hadn't missed any incoming message. It showed him the same thing it had the countless times before: "No new messages". Frustrated, he continued walking in circles around his room, just like he had done the hour before. It was a silly thing to do, sure, since he could not possibly miss anything. The appearance of the ball-bird was far too flashy for that. Still, he couldn't help himself. Impatiently he had waited for Pascal's message ever since he woke up. Being completely clueless and without a plan was something that nearly drove him mad, especially if there wasn't anything to do at the moment.

Cheria had left earlier, saying that she wanted to check on the wounded. She had offered him to accompany her, but he had kindly declined. He knew she would eventually have to watch after the two soldiers of Lhant who both had lost a leg yesterday.

Both legs had been shattered by a tail-spin attack by one of the wyverns and a doctor had amputated it later, after they had reached Gralesyde. Asbel wasn't sure if he was ready for the silent accusations that would be in the room, even if he would be the only one to make them. He wasn't even sure if he was ready to face any of the consequences of yesterday's battle.

Instead, he had gone to Richard's quarters inside Duke Dalen's mansion to talk to his old friend. Surprised, he had found a message waiting for him, telling him that the king was already in another meeting with the Duke to plan what had to happen in the future to prevent any political complications, what they should do about Barona's refugees, how to prepare for possible future attacks and lots of other stuff Asbel couldn't remember.

Something about that had irritated Asbel. Maybe because he, as the lord of Lhant, should be present in this meeting as well since he already was in Gralesyde. Didn't Richard want him to help? Was there something going on?

But he quickly dismissed these thoughts. It was more likely that Richard simply didn't want to bore him to death and therefore hadn't informed him of this meeting instead of wanted to exclude Asbel from his political plans. And after reminding himself, that the meeting also most likely contained politics on a level that would make his head explode, the lord didn't mind it all that much.

However, it still left him with nothing to do at the moment because the only other companion he could have turned to was still asleep. The meeting yesterday had dragged on for far too long for Sophie to be up right now. When she had finally retreated towards the inn, the first rays of sunlight had already touched the surface. Looking back, she hadn't done all that much. In fact she had sat on a chair in Duke Dalen's study most of the time, only listening and by doing that, learning about politics. She had also tried to show Richard some emotional support with a warm smile and reassuring glances whenever he looked her way. He seemed like he could use it. Though she had been mostly passive, the sober looks at the catastrophic situation eventually had begun to scratch at even her emotional stamina. By the time she had returned to the inn, she had been very happy to lie down and let the sorrows of the world rest for a bit.

Therefore, Asbel did not know what to do. Even worse, worries had started to crawl in his mind. Pascal usually wasn't one to wait with an answer. Surely she had been awake at some point between yesterday and now. So why hadn't he received any message yet? The possible explanations that his mind came up with didn't soothe his worries one bit. Could something have happened to them?

After a while he mentally slapped himself. It wasn't like him to start having negative thoughts all the time! Since when did he always assume the worst when confronted with an unusual event? This whole incident really began to wear him down.

'It would be way too much of a coincidence if there was something wrong in Strahta as well. They'll be just fine. Maybe Pascal simply forgot where she put her communicator. Yeah, that's probably it...' The thought was a rather poor attempt to calm himself, but it worked, even if only a little, and eased his restlessness.

In an attempt to get away from his negative thoughts, he put on his boots and sneaked outside the inn, careful not to wake his daughter as he passed her door. A small wind greeted him and played with his hair the moment Asbel closed the door behind him. It felt refreshing on his skin as the lord closed his eyes and relished the moment for a while. The seconds passed by and he would've liked to enjoyed the feeling a bit longer. But his stomach reminded him that he had skipped breakfast and judging by the position of the sun, afternoon wasn't all that far away.

With a sigh he found his way to a bakery and bought a few sandwiches. One sandwich in his stomach, and three more in a bag for later, his feet carried him through Gralesyde and Asbel took the opportunity to look at the city more closely. The town itself was radiant with life. Everywhere people talked and walked, kids ran around, laughing and teasing each other. The sun radiated with a pleasant warmth that countered the slightly stronger breeze.

But there were also others. Silent people, standing around with empty glares in their eyes. Kids that didn't run, but simply sat around, not uttering a single word. Dogs that winced instead of barked. They tended to separate themselves from the more lively crowd, but there still was a heavy note.

Though the atmosphere in general was pleasant, it was obvious that many people were still disturbed by the events in Barona. Especially the refugees, who most likely made up the biggest part of the silent people. It were the small signs that gave them away. A small tear on a shirt, a stain on a pair of trousers that seemed a little bit too old, wrinkles in the clothes as if one had slept in them. But it usually was the helplessness in their gaze that made it easy to identify them. They had either grown quiet or ignored the whole situation altogether. They didn't know what else to do or how else to deal with what had happened .

Through the small ocean of people, his feet found a path to the crowd filled central plaza. He managed to occupy one of the benches and it became his territory while he leaned back and watched the people pass in front of him.

Alone with his thoughts he sat there, taking small bites from another sandwich occasionally, until an unexpected voice caught his attention.

"Good to see you Asbel!"

Asbel looked up.

"Richard?" His intonation betrayed his surprise "I thought you were in a meeting with Duke Dalen!"

"We're taking a little break. And most certainly, we need it." A sigh escaped from the king's lips.

Something in his voice made Asbel look closer at his friend while Richard sat down beside him. Nothing seemed wrong at first glance. On the surface Richard was attentive and groomed as always. But a closer look showed him, that the dark circles under his eyes, that had been subtle yesterday, were now a not-so-subtle black. And Asbel could swear his friend had never been that pale before. His king seemed tired, even more than yesterday. The strain in his glances and the waver in his voice did nothing to counter this thought.

'Did he even sleep yesterday?' Asbel asked himself silently and then more audible:

"Richard? Are you ok? You look like a ghost, you know that?"

"I'll be ok. There are just so many things left to do that it sometimes looks like I'll never be finished. The refugees, establishing a new capital, the soldiers, the monsters, the food supply, the people... There are so many things to organize and to take care of... I feel like...sometimes...Gah! Please lets not talk about work at the moment. It's so unnerving."

Irritated he waved with his hand as if to drive away evil spirits, his feelings showing on his face.

"Are you sure about that? I can help you, you know?"

"You don't need to, I'll manage somehow. Listen, just let it go for now..."

"It wouldn't be a problem. I have enough time left at the moment anyway."

"No...Asbel... lets just be silent for a while, I don't want to talk about it..."

Asbel ignored the rising anger in his friend's intonation and how Richard's right hand had started to grip his sword frantically.

"No, no, It's okay, really. I can do that. How about I come with you next ti..."

He was stopped mid-sentence by a sudden outburst.

"ENOUGH!"

Richard got up and stood in front of him. He looked like he needed to punch someone in the face.

"Asbel I don't have time for that right now! I don't even have the energy for it! I just wanted to relax with you, not listen to your sympathetic words! Yes, the whole thing is hard. But I'll manage, I always have, even when you weren't there. And besides, politics never were your forte, you couldn't really help me there anyway. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go to a place where people will actually give me some peace!"

With a rustle he turned and walked back in the direction of Dalen's mansion, his cloak waving behind him.

In shock Asbel watched after his friend, too surprised to be hurt by the words and too confused to realize what on Ephinea had just happened . Then he saw him stumble. Then he saw him fall on the ground without rising up again.

It took the Lord of Lhant little more than a second to be at his king's side again.

"Richard?! Richard?! Are you ok?! Richard?! Talk to me! Come on! Say something! Anything!"

But by the time the words reached Richard's ear, the man had already fallen deep, deep into the black void that was unconsciousness.

"Stress, stress and again stress. This guy has been working even way after the point any normal human being should. If I had to guess I'd say he's quite used to overworking himself. Seems like this time he bit off more than he could chew though. Damn, his system is so out of it that even his immune system might collapse if he isn't careful. But don't worry buddy, everything will turn out just fine. Give him a few days of rest and he will be jumping around in no time at all. "

Sophie, Cheria and Asbel stood in front of Richard's door that the medic in his thirties just had closed behind him. It was a cheerful fellow. Clothed in white robes, he seemed as big as a tree, wide as a cupboard with a few muscles here and there and with a glow around him that seemed to lift the mood in a room the moment he entered and made him instantly likeable. He spoke in one of those silly southern Windor dialects that would have made everyone in the group smile, if they were not so worried about Richard.

"Mr..." Cheria began, slightly unsure how to talk to the man.

"Wudrow. Mandor Wudrow. Call me however you like young lady, as long as its something respectful," the southern man gave her a small wink. Distracted by her worries about Richard she didn't even notice the far too informal style which the medic used to talk her.

"Mr. Wudrow, is there anything I could do to help Richard? I'm an adept healer and maybe I could..." She was interrupted before she was able to finish the sentence.

"Nah young lady, that would relax a muscle inside him at best. In worst case, it might finish off his immune system entirely. Healing only works on physical wounds. If I got your little talk earlier right, you compress the pain caused by the wound in a small time frame and lessen it a bit while accelerating the healing process. It wouldn't work in his case. And if it did, the short-term pain might be enough to make it worse, not better. So, no magics here!"

"Can't we help Richard?" Sophie's voice was glum at the thought of her friend being hurt without her being able to do something about it.

"Oh now now, I didn't say that little lady. Maybe a few flowers would help him when he wakes up. Lighten up his mood and so on. Do you know where to get some?"

She shot a small grimace at first for being called "young lady" and the way the doctor talked down to her. In the year after the Fodra incident it had begun to bother her when people treated her like a small child. In regards of age she was the oldest being on Ephinea after all! At least in terms of the age of her body. But the idea of flowers had some appeal to her, so she nodded and left the house with a smile towards the medic.

Now Asbel turned to the big man.

"And there's really nothing we can do?"

"Nope. I hate to repeat what I said, but there's nothing at all. If anything, I'd suggest that you get a nap there yourself. You look a bit pale around the nose and standing here for five hours didn't do you any good either. Now, if you'll excuse me, I still have those two roasted guys to tend to, the ones you brought me yesterday. They seriously have no sense of humor, at all I tell you. Didn't even snicker when I asked them if their backs were rare, medium or well done. "

The medic's face contorted as if he had bitten a lemon.

"Anyway, have a nice day guys and girls!" and with that, he left them alone in front of the door.

Asbel leaned his back against the wooden wall and sighed.

"This is so frustrating! First I have to worry if my friend is still alive and not a day afterwards he gets a mental break-down. I should have gone with him yesterday, maybe I could have..."

But Cheria stopped him mid-sentence. She knew his self-destructive behavior and was quite adept at ending it by now.

"Asbel, stop it. If you had done that, we would have two irritated and tired break-down victims right now instead of one. Richard will get back on his feet, you heard the doctor. And he was right about you needing some sleep, you look like you have seen a ghost!"

The irony of the last words, especially when he reminded himself of his first few words to Richard that afternoon, wasn't lost on him. It nearly brought a smile out of him.

But he stayed silent with a stoic impression on his face. Cheria stepped a bit closer and tried to focus his eyes on her. But they stayed firmly fixed on the door between him and the person unconscious on the other side.

"I can't sleep now, you know that. I mean, how could I while he's lying in there?" he answered her, his voice heavy.

"But you need to and you know that as well. At least try, for my sake, ok?"

The lord sighed and looked at his wife. She was obviously right. And he really wanted to try sleeping. But still, there was something nagging inside his head. It was not the guilt this time, it was something different. As if he had forgotten something...

"Pascal!" with a shout the lord stood straight and started rummaging around his pockets. It didn't take long for him to find the communication device. Quickly he checked if there had been any new messages while he wasn't around. Disappointment reflected on his face when he noticed that the Amarcian still hadn't answered.

"Asbel? What is it with Pascal? Is there something wrong?" Cheria was confused.

"No, nothing like that. You remember yesterday when Richard and I went to Barona so I could see that dragon? We thought that it was impossible for something with such a strength to appear suddenly out of thin air, without anyone knowing anything about it. Nothing that powerful should have been able to go unnoticed until now. Someone had to know something about it, so I sent Pascal a message and asked her."

"So? What's her answer then?"

"That's why I'm worried. She hasn't answered yet. She didn't even send a reply just to check if everything's ok. That's so unlike her..."

"You think something has happened to them?" Worry started to enter her voice.

"I don't know. I mean, for all we know she could simply have forgotten where she put the thing. Wouldn't surprise me at all. But still..."

Silently his wife agreed with him. The whole situation had yet another feeling of foreboding, even to her.

"Asbel, we have to go to Strahta."

Asbel nodded at her words. It was something he had thought about as well while waiting in front of Richard's room.

"We can't sit here forever and wait for the wyrms to come back for another attack. We have to do something. And if it's the fastest way to get rid of that monster, then we should go to her. I'm sure Richard would support the idea."

"Indeed he would. So much in fact, that he would like to accompany you. If that would be fine with you, of course"

The unexpected voice of their king made both of them jump. Behind them, Richard was leaning against the doorframe to his room, a small smile playing around his lips.

"Richard! You're awake!" Cheria cried out the obvious as she turned.

"You look...better" added Asbel after a second.

Indeed, though still not the prime example of healthy, the skin of his friend had gotten a bit more colorful and the circles beneath his eyes had faded. That slightly amused look in his eyes, that belonged to Richard like a banana to Pascal, had also found its way back to him.

Though these eyes were filled with sadness when they looked to Asbel.

"Asbel, I am sorry. There is no excuse for what I have said to you this afternoon. I should never have spoken these words. I hope you can accept my apology"

Richards voice trembled a bit, unsure if he should add something or not. Asbel waved it off before he could talk.

"It's not important Richard. You're better now, that's enough. Just take better care of yourself okay?"

He paused for a moment.

"And are you sure you want to come with us? You have to rest and more stress surely wouldn't do you any good. And you have things to take care of over here as well. I'm not even sure if you should be standing here right now..."

Now it was Richards turn to wave Asbel's words off.

"I'll have more than enough time to rest on the ship to Strahta. Duke Dalen will take care of the rest here, we have finished most of the work already anyway. The rest is merely sending out a few messengers and starting the plans we have set in motion. He will manage"

Richard smiled again when he continued.

"Though sometimes I wonder why or how the man can be so loyal towards me. But he never showed any intention of overthrowing the throne. Besides you and our friends, Asbel, he is one of the very few people at court that I can trust. He's a true blessing for me at times"

"So you'll leave with us then? With the Duke as your replacement?" Cheria asked after finally regaining her composure.

"Yes, as I said, he will manage. But now let me ask you something. You were waiting here, but where is Sophie? I wanted to..."

A tap on the shoulder made him stop and turn. Sophie had already returned from her errand. She smiled happily, a few sopherias in her hand that were held out to him.

"I got some flowers for you, Richard. The doctor said they would help you recover."

Richard's smile widened. Occasional demonstrations of Sophie's innocence like these were the reason that people consider her more of a child than an adult which she, considering her looks, undoubtably was. But that didn't matter to Richard. He liked her that way.

"Thank you Sophie" The words were accompanied by an affectionate look as he took the flowers.

Then he turned to Asbel and Cheria again.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to convince the Duke of my plans without him sending a regiment of soldiers after me to 'support me in my fragile condition.' "

He made a small grimace.

"That will not be a small feat."

The way the Duke could be overly protective about him got on the king's nerves sometimes.

"Oh no. You can forget that. We won't leave you alone until we're sure that you're fine. We'll go with you. I'm sure the Duke will be easier convinced if we can reassure him that the only thing you will be allowed to do is watching the landscape."

Cheria's motherly intonation filled the room while she completely ignored that it was her king she was talking to.

"Oh? Will I?"

Amusement and a small dare filled Richards voice. No one had dared to speak to him like that in years. Somewhere in his head he asked himself if the Duke or his friend's wife would win in a 'Look after the helpless king'-contest against each other.

Cheria heard the subtle dare, but didn't back down. She even played the joke a little further.

"Yes, you will. And if you don't, you will go to bed without dinner!"

It didn't take long for Asbel to join them in their banter.

"Better listen to her Richard. Her dinners are delicious after all. Remember that mild curry she made on our trip to Fodra? She can do it even better now! Last time she made it I could almost see stars!"

Richard stifled a laugh. Conversations like these were the reason he missed the whole group so terribly whenever they didn't meet. There was something in the way they didn't mind his status at all when they talked to him. They never minded their words around him. They were simply honest. It made their friendship all the more precious to him.

"We don't want that to happen now, do we? I guess I'll settle for looking around then."

With a satisfied smile on her face, the four of them made their way towards the Duke's room.

A/N:

I'm in kind of a situation here. I'm not that sure how to write Sophie. On the one hand, she's slightly grown up after L&L. On the other hand, she's still the slightly naïve little girl that can be fooled by guys like the captain. And I'm not entirely sure what her speech patterns were at the end of L&L, though I'm replaying the game atm for that. But I'm currently barely after the Kurt-fight in the original game, so that may take a while .

Small excursion for Kurt, simply because Kurt: Damn this guy is ridiculous! There are like three bosses in the whole game that need an all-divide (Chaos-difficulty): Cedric, Kurt and Fodra. And Cedric simply because I was too lazy to try without one. For Kurt I still had to grind to level 45 to stand a chance against this guy. It's ridiculous! This guy is like Chuck Norris little brother on speed! In a fight Kurt vs Richard, Kurt wouldn't even have to lift his weapons. His stares would crit Richard for 99999 damage in a 100 Hit combo and the fight would be over after a second! Well... I somehow still like the fight. It was the third real challenge for me in the game, after cedric and the parasite and I felt soooooo much satisfaction when he finally bit the dust.

Back to topic: It's a bit hard to grasp what Sophie would say in different situations. Especially when I still try to keep her dialogues as simple as possible.

Another thing is the relationship between Richard and Cheria. I know that Richard most of the time makes fun of everyone, but I never got the feeling that there's any kind of relationship between him and Cheria, wether it be friendship or simple acquaintances. They're simply somehow connected through Asbel. So it's hard to write how they feel towards each other =/

agarfinkel: I only defeated Gloandi (I think his real name was Gloandrake or something?) in my first game. Was around level 60 or something on evil. He was pretty easy compared to the other dragons. I've seen turtles faster than him and it's pretty easy to get his attention with Asbel. And dodging him isn't all that hard either, so defense against him is mostly unnecessary. I tried Duplemar and Forbrannir (Forgot the names, sorry) afterwards, arrogantly thinking I could defeat them. The fact that they had double the hit points should've been a warning... They kicked my ass and I was too lazy to grind my way towards acceptable levels for them.

But I plan on kicking their asses this time. I overlooked quite a lot of secrets in my first game and I plan to fix that now (especially the fact that I didn't even get a look at the Zhonecage). Doesn't hurt either that it's a completely new game depending on which character you choose to main ;)

Update 20.03: I'm very sorry everyone. I was just writing the fourth chapter and suddenly noticed something: I didn't write a damn thing about Sophie and how she had changed. And that's quite important since she has changed! She's now slightly (though not a lot) more mature, way more expressive, has more of an aura around her and is in several ways more human. I think I'll go more into the effects of her transformation in the future someday. For now it's just important that her powers remained and so did the powers she bestowed onto the others. I wrote a small paragraph that described her in more detail in chapter 1 and updated it (around 300 words). I'm shamefully aware that this paragraph should have been there from the start, but it took watching the end of L&L again until I noticed... =/

If you care enough I recommend rereading chapter 1. I slightly changed the description of Forbrannir's motivation anyway since I thought that was necessary (going a bit more in detail why he's furious).

Anyway, have a nice day everyone ;)!

Update 17.04: Officially beta-proofread chapter!