Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss.

Chapter 42

Undineday, Gnome-Decan 55, ND2019 – 8:30pm local time (Chesedonia)

Jade's head hurt atrociously.

He was also nauseous, and his vision was slightly doubled, but he could mostly ignore those discomforts. The throbbing pain in his skull, waxing and waning in rhythm with his heartbeat, was impossible to shut out. It was the worst headache he'd ever had, and it was his own damn fault.

He regretted losing his temper during the initial confrontation with Gnome. Yes, the sentience of earth had been stubborn, hostile, and thoroughly exasperating, but that was no excuse for what Jade had done. He had let his emotions get the better of him, and as usual, the consequences were not good. The savage pleasure he had felt at violently destroying the irksome little bastard wasn't worth the agony he was experiencing now.

It didn't help that his companions had locked him in a small room with a woman who hated him.

Upon their arrival in Chesedonia, the group had taken Jade to see the doctor General Cecille had recommended. Dr. Jaxon was a stout, gray-haired man in his late sixties, with sharp brown eyes and a brisk, no-nonsense manner. His examination of Jade's injury had been swift and efficient. The diagnosis of a concussion had been no surprise, but Jade was extremely displeased by the doctor's orders for treatment.

"One apple gel, no more often than once every six hours," Dr. Jaxon had said. "No lemon gels, orange gels, pineapple gels, or mixed gels. Lemon gels will make the nausea worse, and any gels commonly used to relieve mental fatigue could cause permanent brain damage. Apple gels only, and absolutely no alcohol! Understand?"

The doctor had also ordered Jade to rest, both physically and mentally, so the others had taken Jade to the inn on Malkuth's side of the city, booked a room for him, and left General Cecille to watch over him while they discussed what to do next. It was aggravating enough to be excluded from the conversation and decision-making, but assigning a Kimlascan military officer to monitor him – one whose antipathy toward him was rooted in deep fear – was just plain cruel to both of them.

He glanced across the room at General Cecille, who was sitting on the couch in the corner, as far away from Jade's bed as possible. Her arms were crossed, her legs were crossed, her lips were pressed together in a thin line, and her light hazel eyes glared at him from beneath her crimped blond eyebrows. She was obviously not happy to be here.

It was all quite the opposite of some enchanted evening.

Jade had never been particularly interested in female companionship – or male, for that matter. He preferred to spend his evenings alone with a book, a glass of wine, or occasionally both. He could endure a dance or two at the Emperor's birthday party or various holiday celebrations, playing the part of officer and gentleman, but it was very tedious. He left early whenever he was permitted to do so, which unfortunately was not often.

Sighing, he rolled over and looked at the clock on the nightstand again. Only five minutes had passed since he had last checked it. It was currently 8:30, and he wasn't allowed another apple gel until after 9:00. He hoped, against all logic, that the apple gel would dull the pain enough for him to be able to sleep.

He had attempted to recapture some of his scattered thoughts about the passage rings, sketching diagrams and writing notes, until Anise had come in to check on him. She must have tattled on him to the others, because not long afterward, Guy had stormed in and confiscated all the paper and writing implements in the room, including Jade's work-in-progress.

He longed for something, anything, that would distract him from his misery. Even some small talk, the kind of inconsequential chit-chat he normally loathed, would be better than nothing.

General Cecille's voice, barely audible over the ringing in his ears, caught his attention. "Colonel Curtiss, may I ask you something?"

He rolled back over so that she was in his line of sight again. "What is it, General?" he inquired.

She took a deep breath. "Last year, in Baticul," she began, "when you arrived to form the peace treaty, you said something to me that I've been wondering about ever since."

Jade cast his mind back, trying to recall what he had said. It must have been important, if she had been thinking about it for a year. Yes, he had said something when exchanging greetings with her on the docks in Baticul. What had he said? He couldn't remember.

"What was it?" Jade asked.

"You told me that I taught you a painful lesson in our battle in northern Chesedonia. Don't you remember?"

"Northern Chesedonia... a painful lesson. Hmmm," Jade mused. "That sounds familiar... Were we allies or enemies, in that battle?"

Cecille gave him an incredulous look. "Are you joking? We were enemies, of course! I was a lieutenant colonel at the time, and you were a captain leading a company of fonists. You don't remember?"

"I ought to remember, but no, I don't. Perhaps if my head didn't hurt so much, I could bring it back to mind. A painful lesson. Was it as painful as this concussion?"

"How should I know?! Ever since you said that to me, I've been wondering whether you were being truthful or whether that was a diplomatic lie!"

"I'm sure it must have been the truth," Jade said, feeling somewhat defensive. "But I've been in many battles and learned many lessons, some of them very painful indeed. At the moment, it's all a blur. Ask me again when this headache is gone, and maybe I'll be able to tell you which lesson, or lessons, I learned from you."

"I would appreciate that," Cecille replied. Jade thought he detected a sarcastic edge to her tone, but he couldn't be certain. The ringing in his ears was too loud; it was almost as bad as the headache.

Ten minutes later, Cecille spoke up again. "I have another question for you."

Jade sighed. "What is it this time?"

"Is the cologne you're wearing some sort of Malkuth military standard-issue?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

Jade closed his eyes, trying to visualize the label on the bottle. "Tataroo grass, sacred tree, red chamomile, and some sort of citrus, if I recall correctly."

"No, I mean, where did you get it?" Cecille asked.

"It was a gift from His Imperial Majesty – for my birthday, I believe," Jade answered, opening his eyes again. "Why do you ask?"

Cecille looked down at her boots and didn't respond.

Jade frowned, wondering what reasons a woman might have for asking about a man's cologne. Did she like it, or... "Does it smell bad to you?"

Cecille shook her head. After a moment, she pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped her eyes.

Another possibility occurred to Jade. "Are you allergic to it?"

"No. It just...brings back memories."

"Memories?" Jade asked blankly.

Cecille nodded. "It's..." she choked out. "It's the same cologne...that he always wore..."

He? Jade was baffled. Who was she talking about? Probably not Emperor Peony... who else had the Emperor given that same cologne to...? Oh. Yes, of course. "General Frings, you mean?"

Cecille nodded again before burying her face in her handkerchief and hands. She began to weep.

"I see," Jade said, sighing heavily. "Yes, I'm afraid His Imperial Majesty is not very creative when it comes to giving gifts. I'm not surprised. Aslan Frings was one of His Majesty's most trusted, valued friends. Of all the commanders in the Malkuth Imperial Forces, General Frings was—"

"Stop!" Cecille cried out.

Jade winced as the loud, sudden noise lanced his ringing ears, making his headache worse than ever.

"Don't...don't talk about him. Please, I don't want to talk about him," Cecille sobbed.

Jade sighed again. "As you wish," he said quietly. He rolled over to face away from her and checked the clock. Five more minutes until 9:00. It might as well have been five more years, the way he felt right now.

Some enchanted evening... What sentimental nonsense, Jade thought bitterly. This is shaping up to be the most unpleasant evening of my life.

A/N: I hope none of y'all have ever had a concussion. I had a minor concussion once in graduate school from bumping the back of my head hard on a steel I-beam, and it sucked! Poor old Jade...

Also, bonus points to anyone who recognizes the reference to the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "South Pacific" without having to Google for it. :)

Lastly, an announcement: I've joined AO3 and cross-posted a couple of my stories there. I really want to post this fic there, too, but I want to do an illustrated version since I found out that AO3 allows graphics. Unfortunately my drawing skills are very, very rusty, so it could be a long time before I have any illustrations of Florian and co. ready to add to my chapters. What I'd REALLY love to do is a graphic novel version of this fic, but that's not going to happen unless someone else takes on the project. Anybody out there interested in doing some artwork (illustrations or a full-fledged graphic novel) for this fic?