Ashe and the Glass Sword

by KuroKoneko Kamen

  Snow followed Ashe’s line of sight and grinned. “The boy in the wheelchair is named Linden. And the girl, who is pushing his wheelchair, is his sister Blossom. She always makes sure he’s included in their games. She’s such a sweet little girl.”

  Blossom caught sight of Snow in that moment, and her blue eyes widened and sparkled. “It’s Prince Snow! Prince Snow is here, everyone!”

  All the kids turned to look at Prince Snow as the wagon approached the church. The children instantly grew excited. “Big Brother Snow!” they cried as they ran towards the wagon.

  Ashe raised an eyebrow at Snow. “Big Brother?”

  Snow flushed and rubbed the back of his neck out of embarrassment. “The kids gave me that nickname.”

  “They must like you a lot,” Ashe said, giving the children a wary look. “I’m not really good with kids.”

  “Don’t worry,” Snow said reassuringly. “They’re all very friendly.” The prince pulled back on the horse’s reins and brought the wagon to a stop directly in front of the church. Snow hopped down from the driver’s seat, and as soon as his feet touched the ground Blossom was leaping at Snow.

  “Prince Snow!” Blossom cried as she threw her arms around Snow’s waist.

  Chuckling at the girl’s overzealous greeting, Snow caught the girl in his arms, and spun her around. “Hey, Blossom!”

  Ashe hopped down from the driver’s seat, and a chill crawled up his spine. That’s when he realized that he had been surrounded by a group of snot-nosed brats, who were looking up at him with wide, curious gazes. “Your hair is silver…” “Your eyes are gold…” “I’ve never seen anyone with gold eyes before.” “He looks like a unicorn.”

  Ashe didn’t like that curious gleam in the children’s eyes. Were they going to attack him? Or hug him? He started to back away cautiously, just in case.

  “Children! It isn’t polite to stare!” a melodious female voice chided sternly.

  Ashe followed the sound of the woman’s voice and spotted a pretty young nun standing in the open doorway to the church. The nun had a heart-shaped face, a peachy complexion, and sparkling blue eyes. She was wearing a blue dress and matching habit, which covered her red hair.

  Sister Avaron approached Ashe with an apologetic look on her face. “I’m sorry about that. They don’t meet very many strangers so they tend to get overly excited when they do.”

  “You must be Sister Avaron,” Ashe said, taking a closer look at her face. The nun’s blue eyes had long, dark lashes, and her full, luscious lips begged to be kissed. No wonder Snow had come all the way out here to try and woo the nun. “The rumors of your beauty were not exaggerated.”

  Sister Avaron gasped and a pink tinge rose to her cheeks. “Oh, my. I…er…and who might you be, Milord?”

  “I’m no lord. At least, not anymore,” Ashe groused. “My name is Ashe.”

  Sister Avaron’s blue eyes twinkled. “I bet that’s an interesting story, Ashe.”

  “Perhaps, I will tell you my sad tale sometime, Sister,” Ashe said.

  “It is only after one has experienced great sadness that one can appreciate true happiness,” Sister Avaron said sagely.

  “I think the moral of my story is more along the lines of ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger’,” Ashe countered. “And more jaded.” He gave the nun a sardonic smirk.

  Sister Avaron giggled softly. “Oh, dear. One mustn’t give up hope for the future.”

  “What’s in the wagon, Prince Snow?” Blossom asked, her blue eyes sparkling with interest.

  “The reddest and juiciest apples in all of Apple Kingdom!” Snow bragged, puffing up his chest with pride. “I picked the best of the crop for you kids.”

  “Yay! Apples!” the children shouted happily. Snow made his way around to the back of the wagon and started handing apples out to the children.

  Sister Avaron shot Snow a fond look as she watched him giving away apples to the children in her care. “Those apples will be a huge help. We were running low on food.” Her lips dipped into a tiny frown. “Prince Snow used to come here more often. That is…until the attempts on his life started.”

  Ashe gave the nun a curious look. “When did the assassination attempts start exactly?”

  “On Snow’s 18th birthday,” Sister Avaron informed him. “Ever since then his life has been in grave danger. He’s always smiling and making jokes, but I know it bothers him. He tries to live each day to its fullest as if it could be his last.”

  That long? Ashe thought in shock. He didn’t think he would have been able to stay so positive if he had someone trying to kill him all the time. He’d probably be even more bitter and jaded than he already was.

  After the children had finished their snack Snow started to play games with them. Ashe watched the hem of Snow’s cape get muddy as he chased after one of the kids. “I never thought I’d see that flashy fop playing in the dirt with kids.”

  “You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover,” Sister Avaron chided.

  The nun’s words reminded Ashe of Monster Hunter Aurelion who had a fearsome appearance, but was in reality a big softy. Pretty boy Rapunzel looked like he would be sweet, kind, and a romantic, but he was stoic and overly serious. Ashe couldn’t help it - he started to laugh loudly. “You’re right about that, Sister!” Sister Avaron started to giggle along with Ashe, and they smiled at each other.

  “What’s so funny?” a female voice moaned from behind Ashe.

  Ashe didn’t even jump. He was pretty used to his stalker popping up behind him randomly, at this point.

  Sister Avaron looked over Ashe’s shoulder, and spotted Juleka. Juleka had her long, curly black hair loose about her shoulders, which only lent to her ominous aura. The nun pointed a trembling finger in Juleka’s direction. “A g-g-ghost!” she stammered.

  At the nun’s frightened exclamation the children’s attention was immediately drawn to Juleka. Juleka had seemingly appeared out of thin air since she’d hopped out of her invisible carriage. The children’s eyes widened like saucers and their jaws dropped. “Ah! It’s a ghost!” “A ghost!” “Prince Snow, save us!”

  The children began to run behind Snow for protection. Ashe only started to laugh harder and finally Snow joined in on the laughter.

  “She’s not a ghost,” Ashe said breathlessly. “She’s my stalker.”

  Sister Avaron frowned at Ashe’s casual, matter-of-fact tone, and gave Juleka a disapproving look. “Excuse me. Did you just say, your…stalker?”

  “Her name is Julie,” Ashe said. “Don’t be afraid, kids. Julie is a nice stalker. She saved my life once. She’s a brave heroine despite her eccentric appearance.”

  Their curiosity getting the better of them, the children began to emerge out from behind Prince Snow, and started to approach Juleka. A few brave kids reached out to touch her beautiful, pink, silk gown. “He’s right. She’s not a ghost!” “She’s real!”

  “Why are you wearing a unicorn mask?” a little girl asked Juleka with wide, brown eyes.

  “Because I love unicorns,” Juleka admitted with a slightly giddy tone to her voice.

  “But…there aren’t any unicorns left in Fantasia. Are there?” a little boy questioned with a frown. “They were all hunted down and killed.”

  “When I was a little girl I had my very own unicorn,” Juleka revealed with a wistful note to her voice. “I used to love to go riding. He was so fast; it felt like we were flying through the forest. It was magical.”

  “Where is your unicorn now?” Blossom asked.

  “He’s…dead,” Juleka revealed sadly, and reached up to touch her unicorn mask. “That’s why I wear this mask. It’s to honor his memory.”

  Ashe realized this was the perfect opportunity to give Julie the stuffed unicorn he’d made her. He cleared his throat to get her attention. “Ahem. That reminds me…I have something for you, Julie. A present as thanks for saving me the other day.” Ashe whipped out the stuffed unicorn toy and handed it to a stu
nned Juleka.

  “A unicorn! Where did you find such a rare toy?” Juleka asked, her voice laced with awe.

  “I made it myself actually,” Ashe admitted, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.

  “You made this? For me? It’s…wonderful. I love it.” Juleka hugged the stuffed unicorn to her chest.

  All of the children were giving Juleka jealous looks at this point, and they turned their attention on Ashe. “You can make stuffed animals?” Linden asked eagerly.

  Ashe turned to regard the children and noticed how they were all giving him wide-eyed, beseeching looks. “Yes. Sewing is a hobby of mine.”

  “Oh, please make me one!” Blossom said, giving Ashe puppy-dog eyes.

  “And me!” Linden quickly added.

  “Make me one too!” a little girl piped up.

  All of a sudden the children were latched onto Ashe’s arms, and they were begging him to make them toys. Ashe was so caught off guard by the request that he found himself agreeing: “Er…sure.”

  “Yay!” the children all cried out and started to celebrate.

  “If I’m going to make you all stuffed animals I’m going to need to know what your favorite animal is-” Ashe began.

  The children started shouting out the names of their favorite animals: “I want a dragon!” “I want a troll!” “I want a lion!” “I want a pink unicorn!” Ashe made a quick mental note of all their requests.

  Snow chuckled and patted Ashe on the back. “I knew the kids would adore you. Who would have guessed you have such a girlie hobby,” he teased.

  “Oh, shut up,” Ashe grumbled.

  Snow, Ashe and Juleka ended up playing games such as tag and hide and seek with the children for the rest of the afternoon. When the sun started to set, the trio started to say their goodbyes to the children. Juleka impressed the children by getting into her carriage and simply disappearing. Ashe promised the children that he would return the following day with the toys they’d requested.

  Snow drove Ashe back to the château in the wagon. Hours later, after Ashe had finished making and serving dinner to Lord Tremaine and his sons, Ashe went up to the attic where he started to work on the stuffed animals for the children. He worked throughout the night and didn’t get a wink of sleep, but in the end he’d managed to make all of the children toys.

  Ashe was excited to see what the children’s reactions to his toys would be, but he needn’t have worried. The following day, Snow picked Ashe up at the château, and drove the wagon to the church. As soon as they arrived Ashe started to hand out the stuffed animals he’d made, and they were a huge hit.

  The children spent most of the day playing with their new toys until Sister Avaron announced that the apple pie she’d been baking was ready to eat. Snow, Ashe, and Juleka were invited by Sister Avaron to join them inside the church to eat pie along with the children.

  Ashe was curious about whether or not Julie would take her mask off to eat the apple pie. Prince Snow almost fell out of his chair when he saw that Julie didn’t remove her mask, only moved it a little bit in front of her face so that she had just enough room to slip a fork full of pie into her mouth. “Oh, come on! Ashe got to see your face, Milady!”

  Juleka jumped and shot Ashe a questioning look. “You told him about that? Wait…how much did you tell him?”

  Ashe flushed. “Not much. I didn’t tell him about that…if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “That?” Snow raised an eyebrow, and glanced between Ashe and Juleka who had clamed up all of a sudden. “Now I’m really curious.”

  Sister Avaron cleared her throat. “Gentlemen don’t kiss and tell.”

  The nun’s words only served to make Ashe blush harder, Juleka to act even more nervous, and for Snow to burst out laughing. The prince didn’t even seem to mind when Juleka accidentally stabbed his arm with a fork.

  Since they were still waiting for Aurelion’s injuries to fully heal so that they could resume their sword training, over the course of the next few days Snow and Ashe continued to visit the orphanage, and play with the children since they had spare time.

  More and more, Ashe found his gaze going to Juleka as she played with the kids. He was surprised by how well she got along with them. He hadn’t expected that. But Juleka apparently had oodles of patience, which came in handy when dealing with a group of hyper children that wanted to play games all day, and never seemed to get tired. She’ll make a good mother someday. Ashe thought, and then paled as he realized how romantic that thought had sounded in regards to his stalker.

  Snow noticed how Ashe was staring at Julie with this horrified look on his face, and a cat’s paw smile formed on his face. He nudged Ashe’s side with his elbow playfully. “You were just thinking something like: ‘Julie will make a good mother’. Weren’t you?”

  “Oh, shut up,” Ashe snarled.

  “You should just court her already,” Snow said with an air of impatience.

  “I don’t wish to court Julie,” Ashe snapped. “And even if I did…I can’t. I’m still just a slave until I buy my freedom back from Lord Tremaine. I’m not free to love. And besides, she only likes me because I remind her of someone from her past who was obviously precious to her.”

  Snow stroked his chin thoughtfully. “You think she was in love with this person? If that’s the case then…you just have to make her love you more.”

  “And how am I supposed to do something like that?” Ashe asked.

  “Blow her mind in bed, of course,” Snow said, waggling his eyebrows.

  “Ugh, you’re disgusting,” Ashe said, throwing his arms up into the air in a show of exasperation.

  Snow laughed in amusement. “For an ex-gigolo you’re such a prude!”

  While the two young men bantered Blossom walked up to them. “Prince Snow, I want to give you a present.” Blossom whipped out an apple that was a brilliant red color. “It’s the most beautiful and reddest apple I’ve ever seen. It’s special. Like you.” She handed him the apple.

  Snow flushed, and shot Blossom a grin. “Aw, thank you, Blossom. That’s so sweet.” He ruffled her bob of short blonde hair. “I’ll eat it later. I’m not that hungry right now.”

  “No!” Blossom blurted out and then looked embarrassed by her outburst. “If you don’t eat it now the apple will rot. Please, just take a bite.”

  Snow let out a resigned sigh. How could he refuse the wishes of such an adorable little princess? “Alright. I’ll take just one bite.”

  Blossom let out a breath of relief and Ashe noticed that she crossed her fingers behind her back. What the fuck?

  Just as Snow was bringing the apple to his mouth Ashe’s sword snapped out and he skewered the apple. Ashe then pulled his sword back, effectively stealing the apple from Snow’s grasp. “No! Don’t eat that!”

  Snow gaped at Ashe. “Ashe, what the hell, man? That was very rude.”

  Ashe’s attention was on Blossom, however, and his golden eyes narrowed at her dangerously. “What did you do to this apple, Blossom?”

  The blood started to drain out of Blossom’s face. “I…didn’t do anything.”

  Ashe pointed his sword in Blossom’s direction, offering her the apple on the sword’s tip. “Why don’t you take a bite out of it first then?” he challenged.

  “Ashe!” Snow exclaimed.

  “Don’t worry. She won’t eat it. It’s poisoned,” Ashe said confidently.

  Blossom’s expression turned cold as she regarded Ashe. “How did you know it was poisoned?”

  “I saw you cross your fingers behind your back and just assumed the worse.” Ashe shrugged. “I always assume the worst about people these days.”

  “Ashe! You’re wrong!” Snow objected. “There’s no way Blossom would do such a horrible thing. She’s just a little girl.”

  “Why did you do it, Blossom?” Ashe prodded.

  Blossom raised her chin in a show of defiance. “I did it to save my brother Linden. An old man approached me in the forest and to
ld me that he was a potions master, and that he could cure Linden, but in return I had to give Prince Snow a poisoned apple that he provided me with.”

  Snow stumbled backwards a few steps out of shock. “Blossom, how could you?” he asked, his voice laced with hurt.

  “Who was this old man, Blossom? Who gave you the apple?” Ashe demanded.

  “I don’t know who he was…” Blossom said. “Only that he was a member of the League of Villains. He said that if I failed to kill you…he would kill my brother unless I delivered a message to you: The League of Villains is coming for you Prince Snow Flurris. Your days are numbered. And this is a taste of what you can expect from us.” Blossom reached out, grabbed the apple, and skipped backwards a few steps.

  “No, Blossom! Don’t do it!” Snow yelled upon realizing the little girl’s intentions.

  Blossom’s blue eyes swirled with sadness. “I’m sorry I tried to kill you. I love you, but I love my little brother more. Farewell, Prince Snow Flurris.” Blossom took a bite out of the poisoned apple, chewed, and swallowed.

  “No!” Snow cried.

  Blossom collapsed to the ground where her body remained unmoving. Snow ran to Blossom’s side, and cradled her limp body in his arms. “No, Blossom…”

  Ashe was stunned. Everything had happened so fast that he hadn’t been able to stop the girl from taking a bite out of the apple. He never thought she would in the first place…people were only out for themselves, right? So why would the girl poison herself in order to save her brother? It didn’t make any sense.

  Snow looked up at Ashe with a forlorn look on his face. “We could take her to Punzie. Maybe there’s still time to save her…”

  Ashe walked over to Snow and Blossom, crouched beside them, and reached out to touch the side of the little girl’s neck. He waited to see if her pulse would flicker against his touch, but it never did. He shook his head, and gave his friend an apologetic look. “Her heart has stopped. Her soul has already left her body. She’s…gone. I’m…sorry. I didn’t stop her…”