Log; complete

[resolving.livejournal.com]

When; September 5th, evening
Rating; G
Characters; Larsa cooperating and Ashe resolving
Summary; Larsa and Ashe finds that friendship is not so hard to build after all.
Log;

The 'world' he had dreamed himself into was so alien that it was slowly becoming more and more difficult to believe that it was truly just a dream. This place was more than a mere product of subconscious imagination. The further he walked, the more Larsa doubted his own grip on sanity.

Surely his losses had not been that great? He was all that remained of House Solidor, and while it was a great burden to bear, it was one that he bore with pride. An insane Emperor would not be able to keep the peace. Perhaps his brother had infected him with such madness.

...And just how large was this garden? He had been walking for a good while now, and his feet were sore. When traveling with the Princess and her friends, he had gotten quite used to walking great distances...but it had been a year, and he had been pampered far too much since.

It was with a sigh that the boy all but collapsed onto a stone bench, a large array of tulips lined along the path nearby. His proper upbringing was the only thing keeping him from slumping in frustration. A dream was all well and good, but this had gone on for far too long. It was time to wake up.

Maybe if he willed it hard enough, it would happen.



Ashe was not dressed for the evening air, but the chill that pricked her skin was not foremost on her mind. She could not quite remember the last event before she found herself standing in the middle of the strange garden. In the back of her mind, she knew that she had a perfectly legitimate reason to panic, but it felt so easy to simply push the thought away. Idly she thought it pleasant to be alone.

The last she remembered... the last... the last was... nothing. She could not remember anything. Furrowing her brows in frustration, she contemplated searching around for a clue of where she was. The calmness of the garden was overwhelming however. Perhaps she could stay here, just for a little while. After that, she would find her way back before the servants wake.

She weighed her options first. After the many criticisms she received from the temporary council members, she had picked up a habit of weighing things up too thoroughly before going on with a plan. She decided. It was childish to want to play in a garden. Surely there was something that needs to be done back in the palace. They would be worried to find her missing, too. With a disheartened smile, she turned around to find a path, finding what seemed to be a familiar figure instead.

It must be her mind playing tricks on her. Why would the young Emperor be in a garden without his entourage? Still, "...you?"



It was only one word, but he recognized the owner of the voice immediately. There was a certain haughty air to it that someone else might have taken offense to...but he understood. She hated the Empire, after all. Even with a treaty in the works, things would be tense for a long while.

Would he never be through with cleaning up the mess of his father and brother?

Quickly, Larsa stood to turn and confirm his suspicions. This did not make sense. There was no offense intended, of course, but he had no reason to be dreaming of her. So then...?

"Your Royal Highness," he responded warmly, a light smile hinting at the corners of his mouth. It had been quite some time since they had seen one another, and she didn't appear to have changed one bit. Was she still so weary? He could empathize.

"It is a surprise to find you here, but one I am grateful for. A familiar face is always welcome." The boy had glanced behind her, expecting some sort of entourage, but found no one. Was she in the same situation as he, then? If it was a kidnapping, then who was the culprit?



The bitter feelings between the Empire and herself had more or less disappeared, but that did not make it easier for Ashe to formulate what to say. He was always the more eloquent one, and she was glad that he started the greeting. She blinked several times, confirming her sight and hearing before giving him a smile. He deserved one, at least, he had done so much for one so young. Let it not be said that she was ungrateful to all that he has done to protect the peace of the world.

"A surprise indeed, but a pleasant one, I am sure," she replied, letting the silence hang on her last word. She could guess what he was thinking, but she was still not sure. "Where..." She surely was not the more eloquent one, "Perhaps you are aware of our whereabouts?"



The smile set him more at ease, and it showed in the way he leaned a little more toward her. When she asked about their location, however, his own smile did falter. "I do not know much. I had been hoping that perhaps you were better informed."

Her lack of knowledge brought back his nerves, and Larsa's gaze drifted towards the tulips thoughtfully. A kidnapping still didn't make any sense. He had asked several people that had looked Hume about this place, but they had all said the same thing. Was there some sort of conspiracy running about?

A dream. Surely. He could believe no other possibility. And yet...even if it was a dream, he would treat it with care. Mistakes were a luxery he could not make.

"Lady Ashe, though radiant as ever, you do appear understandably weary. Please sit, and I will tell you what little I know." Quickly stepping away from the bench, he waved a hand for her to take a seat.



He amused her, the way he acted so much like a grown gentleman yet how he still resembled a mere child. But that was not the most important concern at the moment. Ashe never once thought that it would be a dream; it never struck her as thus. "I am afraid I know nothing of how I came to this place," she replied, eyes filling with worry.

She watched him quietly as he looked deep in thought. Considering her lack of memory, she had no speculations whatsoever. It was unnerving at best, but somehow, she felt calm. The gravity of the situation had not hit her yet. She turned back to him when he addressed her again, giving him a smile, wishing she had not seem so weary. She did not want him to think that this was not what she wanted, although, she herself was still unsure. "Sit with me," she offered. "You seem weary yourself."



Not wanting to offend, and still eager to rest for a bit, he waited for the lady to sit before he took his place beside her. Even seated, she was still taller. Keeping a respectful distance between them, the boy folded his hands in his lap and gazed downward as he speculated on the best way to explain.

"I have asked many about our current situation, and my inquiries have all drawn about similar answers, though they vary in details. If I am to go by what I have been told, then we are in an...alternate plane of existence. I suppose it is meant to trap us as well as confuse us." Looking up, he gauged her reaction as he continued to explain.

"The Humes here call it The City. I have not attempted interaction with the other races, as they are...unknown to me. The people say there is no way to escape, and trying to walk out is impossible. If anything, it seems like an abduction, and that this city is now home to races from...many different worlds. Nobody here that I have spoken to has even heard of Ivalice. If this is true, then I am troubled. I know not how to return us to our homes."



She could read through his actions quite plainly, noticing the little things he did to be as polite to her as possible. She felt grateful for it, not saying anything but reminding herself that he might have done these things during their journey too. Only she might have been too preoccupied, too upset, to notice the small details. She watched him patiently as he started explaining what he had found during his stay here, looking away in worry as the seriousness of the situation finally dawned on her.

Alternate plane of existence? It would be troublesome enough to have been mysteriously transported across the land, but her mind could not even imagine how crossing through planes of existences would be like. She looked at her lap with brows furrowed, trying hard to remember how it happened. Still listening to Larsa's explanation, she tried to fit the pieces together, tried to make it fit her sense.

It couldn't. "So we are to simply stay in this place from here on?" Her tone rose slightly, but she noticed and reprimanded herself mentally for it. It was no fault of his that they were here. If anything, she would have played a part in it too. The dread grew in her; the coronation was only a few days away. She had promises to keep. "This is far more terrible than I first imagined..." her voice did not betray her growing fear.



Her tone did make him wince inwardly, and with a sigh he turned his gaze ahead of them. A tree. It looked simple enough. Their current surroundings looked like some extension of a palace, and it would be easy to delude oneself into thinking they were still in their world.

"It seems as such. It would be easier if this were simply an undiscovered continent..." But he knew better. "And there is more, yet. The dead walk among us."

Realizing how ridiculous it sounded at first, and recalling her late husband, Larsa bit his tongue and mentally scolded himself. Backtracking, he tried to rephrase. "I mean to say...that apparently when one has passed on here, they are able to rise up again the next day. Not as the frightful monsters we encountered in the mines, but as the same people they were before. Apparently the only thing lacking is a heartbeat..."

Saying it all out loud really did make him seem mad, and Larsa hung his head a bit while shutting his eyes. His voice was a murmur, perhaps simply thinking aloud with his next words. "As if such a thing were trivial to our existence..."



At the mention of the dead, Ashe took a sharp breath, almost inaudible. Sometimes she wondered when the wound would close thoroughly. It had been three years and more since his death now, when they had barely spent a year together. But no, wishing for the past almost led her terribly astray, she would not be tempted by such things anymore. She had only the future to wish for.

Ashe noticed him hanging his head from the corner of her eyes, and feeling her heart sinking a little in her, she turned to watch him. Without his proud way of carrying himself and the eloquence of his words, Larsa was only but a child. She watched him with concern, trying hard to find some consoling words she could give him and finding none. "What do you propose we do?" She bit her lower lip in regret to her words already. She should have known better than to pile even more responsibility on such young shoulders.

"It is dark," she quickly said. "Perhaps finding a room for the night would be best... for now."



Hearing Ashe answer her own inquiry was somewhat of a relief, though it was somewhat of a blow. He had hesitated too long to give a response. He had made a mistake, something he loathed.

"Yes, of course." Larsa also noticed that she seemed a little chilly, which was no surprise to him considering where she was from. The temperature was fine to him, but he had nothing to offer her for warmth. The best thing he could do would be to locate somewhere warm for both of them to find food and shelter.

After smoothly standing, the boy turned to hold his hand out to assist her, merely out of habit than anything. "I will be certain to locate appropriate accomodations quickly. Perhaps there, we can learn more about this place, and even seek out more from Ivalice."

Then, with a hesitant smile, he murmured out, "And I hope not to offend, but I doubt it will suit us to be tossing our true names about when we don't know our enemies here. Would it be asking too much for you to pick a new nickname during our stay?"



She was amused by how he held out his hand for her, but she took it graciously. It was unnecessary, at most, but endearing, just like how he seemed adamant about taking care of her instead of the other way around. Ashe simply nodded in reply to his suggestion. It would be good to find people from the same world, they might know more than the two of them did.

Ashe turned away from him, looking at the tulips surrounding the bench so as to not meet his eyes. "Larsa," his name felt strange on her tongue. She still could not find it in her to address him properly. "I hope we had met under better circumstances, but I am glad still to have your company." It wasn't as hard as she expected it would be.

"I will go by the name Amalia," she said, turning back to face him, as if she had said nothing before that. "And as for yourself?"



Her words brought warmth to his heart. Their friendship had always been fragile at best, but the alliance and time seemed to have strengthened it. Understanding that admitting such seemed hard on her, Larsa tried to think of a way to respond without embarrassing her.

"In truth, I could hardly wait to see you at your coronation. I have missed you, along with the others. I know that His Hon-- ...Basch has missed you as well. And please do not fear... I will be sure to find a solution to our problem before too much time passes." It wasn't as if they could hold a coronation without her, and neither of their counties could afford their absence at the present time.

Still, he left that unsaid, since it seemed obvious enough and he didn't want to upset her even more.

Waving a hand for her to walk beside him, even willing to stay a step or two behind out of respect, he began walking in the direction he had come from. "I have found that Lamont has worked well in the past."

And here he had thought his days of sneaking out were over.



There was no end to her wondering about his wisdom that was definitely beyond his years, but for now she was glad for his understanding. She granted him another smile; it was starting to become easier over time. "And I will help you to the best of my abilities," she replied. Surely, with them working together, they would achieve something. They brought peace to a war-filled world last time, they could get through this too.

"Lamont it is, then."

Perhaps this was a chance at reconciliation, without the hassle of formalities and audience.