Day 2: Useless Freedom

[twinsavior]

Characters: Asch fon Fabre, Natalia Kimlasca-Lanvaldear (AU) (closed)
Location: Grand Chokmah
Time: Early afternoon (Day 2)
Warnings: None so far~

Comments

[velvet_glove]

It hadn't been the most pleasant experience, camping out on the road, knowing that -- while their conversation with Generals Cecille and Ling had been somewhat heartening -- they might yet be attacked by soldiers from either side (even both sides), at any moment. Sleep did not come easily, and the uneven earth made for a rough bed.

But she endured it, and silently, because there were worse things ahead of them. People were dying. Her people; Malkuth's people. And all of it, meaningless. All of it because they thought she and Luke had perished--

So she had stayed awake long into the night, but clearly at some point she had fallen asleep, because now she appeared to be waking up, and...

And, Natalia realized slowly, not in their small campsite any longer.

This was -- a public shop, among other things. She sat up, staring around at the shelves and the goods, and felt the eyes of the few other customers settling on her. Why, she would have sworn she saw a surprise on their faces almost equal to her own -- as though she had simply appeared there, in a puff of smoke.

As she climbed to her feet, still surveying the area carefully, Natalia took note of several distinctly Malkuthian products. At least she knew which side of the border she was on, but...

What in the world was going on?

[twinsavior]

Asch, sadly, hadn't been one of the those few customers who had noticed Natalia's presence. Not at first, anyhow. His gaze was too fixed on the shelves of items - some more violent than others - and the people behind the counter. He wasn't fond of shopping. There was just something about the whole experience, from the rude clerks who couldn't bag things right to not finding that shirt you wanted to the girlfriend who made you stay in the store for five more hours. Or in his case, his own mother.

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. Even if he hated shopping, he still had to spend a decent amount of time in here. He had freedom to move about as he pleased by himself, so he'd better make the most of it. What else could he do, though, but look at the items and choose whichever looked the least suspicious?

(If he even thought to bring those apple gels back.. heavens knows what they'd start thinking of him and his so-called "violent tendencies".)

That was when he finally spotted her. Blinking, he turned to face her. He had to remind himself that she couldn't possibly be his Natalia - not the girl that he had left behind back home. She wasn't married to him; she wouldn't know how much he hated shopping.

It'd be better to ignore her, since she probably thought he was dead. Luke had certainly thought that much. He had to ignore her and pretend he never saw her--

And yet, his heart wasn't listening. "Natalia," He called, still looking over at her. "You all right?"

[velvet_glove]

The voice was familiar, on at least three separate levels -- Natalia startled, straightened, began to speak. "Luke! At least we were not completely separated! Have you--"

And then she stopped, her expression tightening. "...Asch," she corrected herself brusquely. "I am sorry." She kept making that mistake, and no doubt it was unpleasant for him.

He had expressed concern for her -- but that was no reason to let her guard down. Whatever Luke may have thought of his original, whatever past she and he may have shared, it changed none of the salient facts. Asch was still a God-General, and they had not yet been able to discover his motives. She shifted her hand to the hilt of her sword and kept it there. "You. Are you responsible for bringing me here?"

[twinsavior]

He didn't know what he did to deserve that face. Frowning, he shook his head. "Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong."

To be honest, her actions towards him were odd for a girl who was supposedly his best friend. She seemed... almost wary of him. Yeesh, this wouldn't bode well. He had most likely done something horrible to her (as if he were capable of doing more than tickling her), and she hadn't forgiven him yet. It couldn't be too bad... hopefully...

That was when he noticed the sword. His eyes widened; he immediately glanced over at the shelves of rune bottles. "... No. It's not in my nature," He responded. How on Auldrant had she gained a sword? Could she even use it...? It was a crazy thought.

You learn something new every day, he supposed. "... Out of curiosity, when did you learn to use a sword?"

[velvet_glove]

"I'd say confusing two distinct people for the hundredth time..." She shook her head. "Of course it's worth apologizing for." If for no other reason than the sake

The rapier was long and almost visibly sharp -- her hand on it firm and steady. She certainly looked like a swordsman. "I've had lessons since I was a child." She did not add, but thought morosely: I know you remember these things. It was, she supposed, his own business if he wanted to continue to pretend he wasn't the boy she remembered, but...

Coolly, she replied, "Not in your nature. Have you had a change of heart, then?"

[twinsavior]

If she wanted to apologize, Asch might as well let her. It didn't look like there was much else he could do to prevent it.

Staring at the sword (he couldn't help it! It just didn't suit Natalia to have that large... pointed, sharp object in her hands), he managed to add a somewhat surprised, "I... see." The truth was that he really didn't understand. He remembered archery lessons and cooking lessons that never worked out. And it didn't make sense that he, her own husband, wouldn't know about it!

He opened his mouth to protest, pausing as he heard her speak. "A change of heart? ... I thought our wedding rings would have said everything." It was almost as if he had never gotten married to her - almost as if they had never said the wedding vows. And as Asch slowly realized, it probably never did happen.

[velvet_glove]

And what a change of heart, indeed! He truly did not seem to mind her confusing him for his -- replica, when the last time they'd seen each other... Natalia had never been exposed to such potent bitterness. She frowned slightly, approving of the new attitude but somewhat curious as to what had brought it on. A change of such magnitude could have only been brought on by an equally enormous event. They hadn't seen each other for a while, true, but--

Natalia paused, all thought abandoned, to stare at the man. Even as the rest of her was struggling to process those words, some small rational part reflected that marriage was certainly an enormous event.

"--Wedding rings," she repeated, a bit blankly, and with none of the tact she liked to pride herself on. "Ours?"

Perhaps he'd hit his head recently.

In which case, she should probably be playing along! At least, that was what the characters in her comic books always did whenever someone suffered cranial trauma that for some reason gave them a type of amnesia...

"Ah, of course," she said, and sheathed her sword with an effort. It felt like turning her back on a rattle snake. "I do apologize. Finding myself here, so suddenly -- perhaps Luke's hyperresonance went wild again. It was very disorienting, I hardly feel like myself."

[twinsavior]

There went his heartstrings. Asch subconsciously fiddled with his right hand; he pulled up and down on the silver ring on his finger. Though he had already known that this hadn't been his world, some part of him had obliviously hoped that his Natalia would follow with him. (Hah, as if. The most likely person would have been Ginji, and he hadn't heard about the pilot since he arrived)

It was just like her to play along, wasn't it? Finally looking up, he slowly nodded. "About a year ago, I got married to the princess of Kimlasca."

Yet, that princess was standing in front of him. Biting his lip, he knew he should dispel these lies. This couldn't be the Natalia that originally lived here, right...? He didn't know much about this world (just that Dist was in prison, supposedly, and that there was an Emperor Peony. Oddly enough, there was no Empress like he had been accustomed to), so it was plausible.

"I've noticed," He finally managed with a weak smile. "You don't have to apologize, really. I... think it's sort of amazing that you can wield a rapier so effortlessly." He shook his head. (He had to dispel these lies, no matter how much he didn't want to!) "Natalia...? I.. don't think you're the Natalia I know. And I'm definitely not the Asch you knew."

He motioned to a nearby seating area. "I don't want to lie, but I want to talk. What was the last thing you remember?"

[velvet_glove]

She hesitated, eyeing him if anything only more intently now. A terrible, terrible blow to the head. And the emotion he associated with these false memories was so potent that he... he genuinely appeared to be hurt by it.

Natalia studied him a moment longer, expressionless herself, before saying, slowly, "You do realize that nothing you have said makes the slightest bit of sense?" Not the Asch she knew? That was easily enough explained, if her enemies were still making replicas -- but she, not the Natalia he knew?

Would the other God-Generals really go so far?!

"If you have met someone claiming to be me," Natalia finally continued, her hands sliding to her hips, "I would know about it now. It is criminal to impersonate a future queen."

[twinsavior]

Oh-kay, that probably hadn't been the best way to go about all this. "Yeah, I know I'm not making sense," He admitted, brushing back his hair. If the roles had been reversed, he knew that he would've been the one asking for answers.

Heck, he didn't even believe Luke and Tear until they told him about a different Asch. One that had been a God-General under Van. He knew he had to explain this to her - even if it really wasn't his obligation, he still had a duty as someone supposedly close to her.

"I'm going to sound even more crazier than I am now," He began, sitting down on one of the nearby benches. "But I come from a different world. I'm not sure how - or why - I'm here, but I'm not the Asch you knew... and I don't mean I'm a replica by that. As if they'd make replicas of someone who already has a twin brother."

[velvet_glove]

And now they were back to the head injury theory. Natalia pursed her lips, studying his face. He didn't look like a madman or a liar, but he was clearly a little of both.

"A twin brother," she repeated. "Of course. And I suppose his name is Luke?"

[twinsavior]

He nodded. "That'd be correct. I believe he's my replica in most other worlds I've heard of." It was strange to be talking about it as if it were an everyday occurrence. (He had only just heard of Luke and Tear's worlds before, and both of them had confirmed that Luke was a replica)

Glancing out towards the window, he added, "I don't blame you if you don't believe me. I... think I can answer most questions if you have them. And if not? ... Well, I'm sure the wonderful guards can lead us to someone who can."

[velvet_glove]

Guards? Was that a threat? They were, after all, clearly somewhere in Malkuth, and -- well, her face was not entirely welcome here at the moment.

Fun was fun; this had now most definitely crossed a certain line. Natalia folded her arms across her chest and drew herself to her full height. "Enough is enough, Asch," she pronounced with quiet authority. "You will tell me where we are, and you will do so immediately."

She was not, however, especially interested in whatever answers he might have been able to give her himself; really, just the thought of hearing any more about his strange delusions was -- it put her on edge, she didn't like it at all.

[twinsavior]

How could he have forgotten that he wasn't dealing with someone who would've been able to calmly talk this over tea? (Not that he would've minded some tea right about now) Sighing, he slowly nodded.

"I suppose that's fair enough. We're in one of the stores within Grand Chokmah. Though I couldn't tell you which district we're in."

He rose from his seat, keeping care to look more towards the window than her. "I'd lead you out myself, but... the guards would be with us the entire time." He shrugged. Course he was still bitter about the whole deal, but it was better to be straightforward and honest about everything. She still had that sword, and Asch had rather hoped to stay on the shopkeeper's good side today.

[velvet_glove]

"Grand Chokmah," she repeated, and relaxed, if slightly. She still wasn't quite clear on how she had gotten here, but at least within the Empress's direct line of sight she felt... largely safe. Natalia had not formed the strongest impression of Peony, admittedly... she hadn't had much chance to. But the other woman's judgment had so far been impeccable.

Nothing like she'd been raised to expect, from Malkuth.

Natalia turned again to eye Asch skeptically. What was he doing here, really? Obviously his version of events was out of the question -- a twin brother named Luke, married to her, honestly -- but surely, before the delusions started, he had come here for some reason. Had the guards apparently supervising him found him out in some field, wandering dazedly, and taken pity on a former foe clearly suffering from from some sort of traumatic blow to the head? Even in war, there were--

Oh no.

She strode towards him, not quite sheathing her sword but seizing his collar with her free hand (and ignoring the startled reactions from other customers and the nervous shopkeeper). It was too much to hope he'd remember in his current state, but she couldn't help but ask: "Asch. The war between Kimlasca and Malkuth. Have you any news of it?"

She felt as though she had hardly gone to sleep, but at the very least it was now morning, and time had been of the essence...

[twinsavior]

Okay, this was getting awkward. There was still some part of Asch that wanted to clear all of this up - or at least put some peace back into the shop. He'd probably have to lie about this one and say that his girlfriend was PMSing. Or something along those lines.

Then there was talk of a war? A... oh, right. The misunderstanding. He nodded, still slightly stunned that she of all people would be seizing him like this. (What was he, chopped liver?)

"It's over, Natalia. Both sides agreed to a compromise and the rulers already finished their peace treaty talks." Better that he left out how this happened three years ago, right? And that it only happened because of what was going on to their world? (Heck, the misunderstanding was probably the reason why the war started in the first place)