Ashe and the Glass Sword

by KuroKoneko Kamen

  Snow gave Rapunzel a disappointed look. “You just had to ruin the touching bonding moment we were having, didn’t you?”

  “Bonding?” Rapunzel spluttered. “Shut up, you pervert!”

  Snow flushed. “You’re the one who just made it perverted! I meant…we were becoming closer friends. That’s all.”

  Rapunzel folded his arms over his broad chest. “I don’t have friends, remember?”

  “Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that, Punzie,” Snow said, waving his hand through the air in a dismissive gesture.

  When Ashe awoke hours later, Rapunzel told Ashe that it was too dangerous for him to return to Lord Tremaine’s château, and offered to let Ashe stay in his tower. Ashe agreed to the unexpected offer, and spent the next few days recovering in Rapunzel’s tower.

  Once Ashe’s wound was completely healed and his strength was back he resumed his swordsmanship training with Aurelion. For the next couple of weeks, Ashe spent his days sparring against Aurelion and Snow as he honed his swordsmanship skills.

  In order not to be a burden to Rapunzel, Ashe cleaned the tower from top to bottom, and cooked their meals. The strange and unique recipes that Lord Tremaine had taught Ashe impressed the blacksmith. It got to the point that instead of being bothered by Ashe’s company, Rapunzel started to feel guilty over how much he was enjoying Ashe’s cooking, and the fact that the tower was now dust free.

  Only a couple of weeks had passed, and Rapunzel had stopped asking Ashe when he was going to move out. But all good things must one day come to an end, and one day while Ashe was sparring against Aurelion, the Monster Hunter noticed that Ashe was pushing himself too hard, and lowered his sword. “We should take a break and go have lunch with Punzie,” Aurelion suggested casually.

  “Sure.” Ashe shrugged and lowered his sword. He, Aurelion and Snow ended up having lunch with Punzie in the blacksmith’s living room. While Ashe ate a sandwich he glanced around the room and noticed that Rapunzel had decided to hang the painting of Cinderelron in his unicorn form with the little girl in the pink dress on the wall. It was weird thinking about how it was a painting of his father and Juleka.

  A dark cloud settled over Ashe’s face. The woman he’d been falling in love with was the cause of his life being a living hell, and Ashe wasn’t sure how to deal with this revelation. Snow continued to spout the merits of forgiveness, but Ashe just couldn’t find it in his heart to forgive Juleka yet.

  Snow noticed Ashe’s dark expression, and followed his line of sight to see the painting hanging on the wall. Snow’s eyes widened and he elbowed Rapunzel in his side. “Punzie, why the hell did you hang up that painting?”

  Rapunzel arched an eyebrow at the playboy and the hushed voice he was using. “Why not? Ashe knows his father was a unicorn shifter.”

  “That’s…not that point.” Snow raked a hand back through his wavy black hair. “That’s Princess Juleka Glass. Ashe blames her for his father’s death, and…I think he was in love with her before he found out the truth.”

  “He’ll get over it,” Rapunzel said, taking a large bite out of his sandwich. He let out a moan. The sandwiches Ashe made were always scrumptious.

  Snow shot the blacksmith a frustrated look. He wasn’t so sure Ashe would get over it. He’d been rather quiet and reserved ever since the ball.

  At that moment, a blue-haired fairy suddenly flew into the room with a rolled up piece of parchment gripped in his tiny hands.

  A vein at Ashe’s temple throbbed in anger at the sight of the familiar fairy. “You! I almost died because of your half-assed healing magic, you shitty fairy bastard!”

  Blue bristled with obvious offense. “Is that any way to treat your Fairy Godfather? If it weren’t for me you never would have managed to go to the ball and save your beloved!”

  “Big deal,” Ashe sneered. “And she’s not my beloved.”

  Blue raised an eyebrow. “No? But you made love to her that night.”

  Ashe flushed, and his eyes widened like saucers. “How do you know about that, perverted fairy?”

  A twinkle formed in Blue’s eyes. “Gardens are full of flower fairies.”

  “Gah.” Ashe scrubbed a hand down his face to conceal his embarrassment that apparently he and Juleka had been watched by a bunch of voyeuristic fairies. “Why the hell are you here anyways? What do you want?”

  “Queen Krista has made a new Royal decree,” Blue announced.

  “A Royal decree?” Ashe’s interest was piqued, but he quickly schooled his expression into a more neutral one. “Not interested.”

  “Well, I am interested,” Snow butt in. “Please read it to us, Blue.”

  Blue unrolled the parchment, and began to read the decree: “By order of Queen Krista Glass it has been decided that the Princess Juleka Glass will only wed the strongest man in Glass Kingdom. A tournament will be held in order to determine the princess’s husband-to-be.”

  Everyone turned to give Ashe an expectant look, and he scowled at them. “What? Why are you all looking at me like that? I’m not going to participate in that tournament. Why should I care who the princess marries, anyways?” He folded his arms over his chest in a defiant pose.

  Snow let out an exasperated sigh. “You do care…because you’re in love with her.”

  “I don’t care,” Ashe denied. “And I’m not in love with her.”

  “Your stepbrother Picasso plans to participate in the tournament,” Blue began in an ominous voice. “If he wins he will wed Princess Juleka and become King of Glass Kingdom.”

  Ashe clenched his hands into fists at the thought of Picasso marrying Juleka, and of consummating their marriage. Dammit! Ashe still didn’t know if he could forgive Juleka for being the reason his father died, and for deceiving him. He literally felt torn, and imagined his arms and legs being tied to four different horses that wanted to go in four different directions.

  The horses’ names were: Heart, Mind, Body and Soul. The horses would inevitably pull his body apart, and destroy him. But there seemed to be one thing his heart, mind, body and soul seemed to agree on. They didn’t like the idea of another man touching his Juleka intimately.

  Ashe raked a shaky hand back through his silvery hair. “Fine. I’ll enter the tournament, defeat Picasso, and then forfeit my next match. Juleka can marry whoever ultimately wins the tournament.”

  “You can’t do that!” Blue objected passionately, his eyes blazing. “There’s something you need to know. It’s the reason I used my magic to make sure you went to the ball. Princess Juleka is pregnant with your child.”

  A heavy silence descended upon a room. One could hear a pin drop. “How is that possible?” Ashe questioned, his voice laced with shock.

  “Well, when a man and a woman-” Snow started to explain in a cheeky manner.

  Blue swiftly interrupted the playboy from continuing with his lewd explanation. “Were you aware Princess Juleka had taken a magic potion?”

  “Yes,” Ashe admitted uncomfortably.

  “Well, that potion’s name is The Cat in Heat Love Potion,” Blue revealed in a solemn tone. “It causes a woman to go into heat just like a female cat does, and to become incredibly fertile. Your stepbrother Picasso planned to inseminate her that night, but you did instead.”

  “It’s that shitty potions fault!” Ashe growled.

  “Pretty sure it was your sperms’ fault,” Snow said, and when Ashe shot him a glare he shrugged. “Just saying. Still, I’m surprised with you, Ashe. Taking advantage of Juleka while she was under the effects of a potion. That doesn’t sound like you.” He shook his head sadly, and with obvious disappointment.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Ashe began to explain. “I tried to resist her allure. But she smelled so good. I couldn’t control myself. I don’t know what happened.”

  “Pheromones,” Blue piped up. “It’s part of the potion’s effects. She would have been irresistible to any man. No man could have denied her wishes. In a way you were put under a spell too, As
he.”

  Aurelion’s brow furrowed with confusion. “So the woman you love is pregnant with your child?” A grin spread across the Monster Hunter’s face. “Congratulations!”

  “It’s not that simple, you big oaf,” Ashe growled. “Don’t forget that I’ve discovered that the woman I love is the reason my life was hell!”

  “True love is about forgiveness, Ashe,” Blue said patiently.

  “That’s what I’ve been saying,” Snow said in a smug voice.

  “Try to find it in your heart to forgive her,” Blue continued, giving Ashe a pleading look. “She’s the mother of your child, and she loves you so.”

  “The mother of my child?” Ashe murmured.

  “Ashe, you’re being a hypocrite!” Rapunzel accused harshly. “You’re angry that your father Cinderelron supposedly abandoned his wife and son…but you’re about to do the same thing by abandoning Juleka and your unborn child. Are you really going to abandon your family?”

  Ashe felt queasy as his stomach tied itself up into knots. The thought of abandoning his family made him sick. He shook his, and a determined expression settled over his face. “No. I won’t abandon my family. You’re absolutely right, Punzie. I was being a hypocrite. I will enter the tournament, and I will win the hand of the woman I love.”

  ***

  The day of the fighting tournament had arrived, and the Glass Coliseum was filled with more than 60,000 spectators. Almost all of the citizens of Glass Kingdom had shown up to watch the tournament and to see who would win Juleka’s hand in marriage.

  The tournament’s male participants were from all different races: elves, fairies, vampires, incubi, dwarves, wizards and humans. There were many elimination rounds until only eight contestants remained: Ashe, his stepbrothers, an incubus demon named Cupidon, an elf named Alberich, a vampire named Sethos, a wizard named Mercurius and a fairy named Papillion.

  Viper, the Master of Ceremonies, had decided the following match ups by pulling names out of a helmet. Ashe would be facing Cupidon. Knuckles would be fighting Alberich. Picasso would be fighting Sethos. And Mercurius would be fighting Papillion.

  Ashe sat on a bench in the prep area sharpening the edges of his Glass Sword with a whetstone. He was trying to stay out of the other contestants’ way. He was surprised Picasso and Knuckles had managed to make it this far in the tournament since several of the contestants possessed magic.

  Those two have the devil’s luck. Ashe’s hopes that Picasso and Knuckles would just ignore him were dashed when they walked over to him.

  Picasso had a smug expression on his face that caused Ashe’s hackles to rise. “You never came back home. We missed you, brother,” Picasso said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “Yeah, right,” Ashe scoffed. “You missed getting to torture me, maybe.”

  Knuckles chuckled. “He’s been complaining ever since you left. We’ve had to cook our own meals and do our own laundry without you around. Also, the house is getting really dusty, and none of us wants to clean. It’s getting hard to breathe in there.”

  Ashe arched an eyebrow at Picasso. “You should have thought about the consequences of trying to kill me, asshole. Have fun cleaning the floor on your hands and knees.” Ashe couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face at the visual image he had in his mind of Picasso cleaning the floor with a sponge.

  “You’re alive, aren’t you?” Picasso said bitterly. “I knew you wouldn’t be that easy to kill. After all…” The macabre artist leaned in close and said in a low voice: “Aren’t you supposed to be some kind of mythical creature?”

  Ashe stiffened at Picasso’s reference to his unicorn heritage. “You knew. All this time you knew the truth about what I really am.”

  “We all did,” Knuckles confirmed.

  “Why do you think we treated you like an animal?” A sadistic smile spread across Picasso’s face. “Because you are one, Ashe. You’re not even truly human. You’re just a failed potions ingredient.”

  “Fuck you, Picasso,” Ashe snapped.

  Picasso blithely continued speaking, “A unicorn without a horn is so useless. I wonder why you never ‘awakened’. Bad blood, perhaps? You see it with dog breeders. If there’s a problem with the bitch - there’s a problem with the pup.”

  “I’m going to kill you, Picasso,” Ashe promised. He would never forgive his mother for selling him to Lord Tremaine, but there had been a time when Ashe had been younger when he’d loved his mother. That had been before Cinderelron’s death.

  Picasso gave Ashe a skeptical look. “Oh? If you wanted to kill me why didn’t you back in the secret garden where there were no witnesses? Hmm?”

  “I was there too,” Knuckles said, scratching his head.

  Ashe grinded his teeth out of frustration. Picasso had a point. Why didn’t he just kill Picasso when he had the chance? He’d been more concerned with Juleka and distracted by the sensual way she was acting. His attention had become completely focused on her, and he’d forgotten all about Picasso. Dammit. I really do love her. He thought.

  Picasso smiled sharply. “That’s what I thought. You don’t have the balls for it - killing. They call you ‘Ashe the Merciful’, but you’re really just ‘Ashe the Coward’. You’ve never killed anyone-”

  “I’ve killed skeletons before,” Ashe interrupted. “Does that count?”

  “Anyone living,” Picasso amended. “Will you be able to get blood on your hands? I doubt it, Coward.” The macabre artist cackled as he swaggered off to talk to the other contestants and learn their weaknesses by using his silver tongue on them.

  Ashe’s attention turned to Knuckles, and his brow furrowed in confusion. “Knuckles, why are you even here? Did Lord Tremaine order you to fight in this tournament? You don’t possess magic. It’s suicide. Drop out now.”

  “Father had nothing to do with it,” Knuckles said. “I want to participate in the tournament because I’m in love with Princess Juleka.”

  Ashe’s jaw dropped. “You love Juleka?”

  A pink tinge rose to Knuckles’s chubby cheeks. “Juleka is the first girl to ever be kind to me. She danced with me even though I’m an ugly, fat bastard. Juleka is also incredibly beautiful. Oh, and she made me desserts. She’s perfect.” Knuckles started to drool slightly as he recalled the desserts Juleka had her patissier make for him.

  A crooked smile formed on Ashe’s face, and he shook his head. “Well, they do say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

  “I didn’t think I had a chance competing against you, but this is my chance,” Knuckles waved a hand in the direction of the gate, which led to the arena. “Fighting is something I know how to do. This means, I actually have a chance to be with Juleka because she decided to have this tournament to choose her husband. Juleka is worth the risk of dying if there’s even the tiniest chance that I may get to be with a classy dame like her.”

  Ashe’s amused expression softened. “Yeah, she is worth it, isn’t she? Let’s do our best out there, Knuckles.” He offered Knuckles his hand.

  With a surprised expression on his face, Knuckles looked down at the offered hand. He hesitated for only a moment before he took Ashe’s hand and shook it. “Yeah. Let’s go kick some ass!”

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, there are only three rounds left in this elimination tournament!” Viper’s voice boomed from the arena. “We’re getting close now to seeing who will win Juleka Glass’s hand in marriage! It’s time for the first match of this round to begin! The wizard Mercurius will be facing against the fairy Papillion! Mercurius, Papillion, it’s time for you to both enter the arena!”

  This match would obviously be a match with magic being pitted against magic, and Ashe was curious about who the victor would be. Ashe and the other contestants watched as Mercurius and Papillion passed through the raised gate and into the arena where they faced off.

  The female spectators that were seated in the tiered seats of the coliseum began to cheer wildly at the appearance of
the two handsome contestants. Mercurius had shoulder-length, shaggy brown hair, and a pair of oval-shaped glasses was perched on his nose, giving him an intellectual look. The pointed, wide-brimmed hat sitting on his head and the robes he was wearing were a dark blue color, and the pattern of stars had been embroidered into the material with golden thread. The young wizard was wielding a plain wooden wand.

  Papillion had short, pale green hair, and sparkling forest-green eyes. He was wearing a green and yellow tunic, brown leather pants, and green leather shoes. The fairy was currently five-feet-tall, and his wings were absent.

  “Fighters…begin!” Viper called out, slashing his hand down through the air.

  Mercurius wasted no time in conjuring a fireball with a wave of his wand. He then flicked his wand in Papillion’s direction so that the fireball went zooming the fairy’s way. Papillion’s body began to glow with a golden light that blinded the spectators for a moment.

  Once the light dimmed, Papillion was revealed to be only five-inches-tall. A pair of pale green and yellow wings had emerged from the fairy’s back, and the wings were flapping behind him slowly.

  Due to the fairy’s sudden decrease in size the fireball attack completely missed him. Not one to be deterred easily, however, Mercurius conjured five fireballs simultaneously. He flicked his wand Papillion’s way, sending the fireballs zooming in the fairy’s direction again.

  Papillion flew down towards the ground, placed his hand on the sandy arena floor, and conjured an enormous wall of dirt and rock to block the fireballs.

  “Tch,” Mercurius let out a frustrated sound as he watched the fireballs hit the wall, and dissipate. He raised his wand and was about to attack Papillion again when a giant hand made out of dirt grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides.

  Papillion flew over, hovered directly in front of the wizard’s face, and pointed his tiny wand at Mercurius’s nose. “Do you yield, Wizard?”

  With a wide-eyed expression on his youthful face, Mercurius gulped and nodded vigorously. “I…yield.”