Moonstruck

| Chapter XII |

Trigger Warning for Death

Ash sobbed, tears and hiccups wrecking his whole body. Seeing his dad die at the ripe age of 14 isn't the best way to start your day, after all. The memory lay in his mind, seeing his dad bleed as a stressed out 16 year old nurse attempts to stop the blood with an excessive amount of bandages. The tears blur his vision as he watches his fathers' eyes fade from their originally vibrant color. He put his head in his shaking palms, not even attempting to wipe the tears off of his cheeks. "Hey..." Ash looked up, to see a tanned girl with messy black hair looking down at him.

"Can you quiet down, I'm trying to rea- oh crap- are you crying??" Ash didn't respond, he knew it was the princess, he'd guarded her once, after all. They just didn't talk unless it was a fleeting, "Are you alright, my grace?" or "Do you need anything, my liege?" Ash put his head back down, not feeling the need to talk at the moment. "Hey hurry up, I need to pass this stupid qui- heyy, is that that weird knight you always talk about?" A new voice said. Hearing this, ash was no longer sad, but now peeved. "I'm not weird." The little darker princess huffed, not phased by the drying tears on ash's cheeks. "Yeah, and the sky is purple." She said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms

"Why are you in the back of the library crying? Don't you have work to do, secondary?" The younger princess caught a quick jab in the elbow by her older sister, shooting her a glare. "Be nice, you twat." The older walks over to the knight and sits next to him, sitting on the wall. "Are you okay? What happened, knight?" Ash wiped at his now dried tears. "My dad died in the infiltration. the enemy killed him and got away. I...I watched him die." Princess Samantha frowned, putting a hand on her chest. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't imagine how you feel right now." The younger's expression doesn't change. "that's tough." and Samantha shoots another glare. "Be more sympathetic, 'lanie. How would you feel if mom died in front of our eyes?" She lectured. The younger rolled her eyes at first, but then it began to shine with small tears. "See?"

"shut up, Sam." The younger pouts, blinking away any excess moisture in her eyes. Sam rolls her eyes, fixing her attention back to the secondary knight. "Hey,, if it makes you feel any better, think of it like this. Whenever you feel lonely or sad, he'll always be with you in spirit!" She sticks her finger against his chest, looking up at him fondly. ash pushes out a small chuckle, "And you say I'm weird." Taylanie comments. Both princesses giggle a small bit. Taylanie suddenly speaks up, "Hey, maybe if I annoy Chef Gisselle enough, she'll make us cakes!!" Sam nodded, getting to her feet and holding a hand out to the knight. "On your feet, Secondary." she said, softly. "Yes, Princess Samantha," Ash said, smiling. sam waved her hand weirdly. "Ah, no formalities. Just Sam." Ash looked confused and Sam sighed. "We're friends, don't friends address each other informally?"

Ash found himself guarding princess taylanie in the courtyard a year later, lazily looking up to the sky as taylanie clumsily fumbles with a bow and arrow. The far gone memory of his father still whispers softly in his mind, the way he praised him for swinging his sword correctly, the way he'd reprimanded him for being rude to upper-knights, the way his father would reassure him that he's doing an amazing job, ruffling his hair and repeatedly saying that he's proud of his son. Ash doesn't cry at the memories anymore, but he still feels that painful ache in his stomach at the memory. Ash doesn't notice Taylanie staring at him, but when he does, her words surprise him. "Do you still miss your dad?"

Ash doesn't vocally answer, but instead wobbles his hand side to side. She purses her lips together, seeming deep in thought. Ash's gaze doesn't linger long, snorting at the thought of smoke coming out of her ears from thinking too hard. "Do you have any other family?" She asks, picking her bow up from the dirt. Ash nods. "Two siblings and my Mother. don't know them that well though, so it's not like I can go see them." Ash says, watching as Taylanie tries to aim her arrow again. "Where are they now?" She says, adjusting her grip. Ash's face bends awkwardly. "You sure are nosey for a Princess. Aren't you supposed to be quiet and polite?" Ash shoots, his playful expression giving away his lack of hostility. Taylanie releases her bow and misses, terribly, huffing and turning to the older. "Have you ever known me to be quiet? Much less polite?" Ash laughs and shrugs, and the conversation fades.

But the thought still lingers. Where ARE they right now? Do they still remember him? Resent him? His father? A grim thought makes itself known in the back of the Knights's mind. Are they dead? "Stop that." Ash looks up to see taylanie glaring at him. "Stop what?"

"Stop thinking. you'll start a fire." Ash chuckles, and a jerking grin lingers on his lips. Who cares if they're dead? At least Ash has who he considers family now. His found family.

Envy wasn't really good in these types of situations. Ash was buckled up on the floor, tears flowing like rivers and Envy stood awkwardly above him attempting to calm him down with various stoic hand motions, which was obviously not helping. "Hey, are you two-"Knight Khai walks in and sees Ash on the floor, curled up in a ball. Shocked, he jogs toward him. "Ash?? Hey, are you okay?" And he kneels down in front of him, bending down to wipe his tears. Ash looks up at him slightly, his eyes softening a bit. Although Envy wasn't really in a position to get a good look at Khai's face, he saw his eyes. And the way Khai looked at him, Envy thought that Khai assumed they were the only two people in the world at that moment.

Khai's touch was gentle as he wiped more of the salty liquid coming from Ash's eyes. "It's the kidnapping, isn't it?" Ash nodded, leaning into the knight's palm, bringing his hand up to hold the back of Khai's hand as he leaned into it. "They'll be okay, alright? After all, it's you that the King decided to look for them." Ash sighed, and Envy could practically hear the thick knot in his throat, along with the small sniffling. "But- it's just that-" Khai interrupts him with a tight hug around his neck, Ash's arms automatically wrapping around the other's torso. "No buts. They will be okay. Think too much and you'll think all your time away." There was a beat of silence, save for Ash's small intakes of breath and hiccups. He speaks, "Hey, do you remember-" "The last time I saw you like this?" Envy can see the corners of Khai's mouth tick up. "Yes, I do." Ash chuckles a bit, something rattling in his throat. He sighs, hugging the other tighter. "I miss you."

Khai stays silent. "I really, really do." Ash finishes, forehead resting on Khai's shoulder. Now, Envy was glad that Ash was feeling better, but Envy really couldn't help but feel a bit awkward as the two shared their embrace, so Envy quietly left the two in the library to go see when Mika and Qwen would return.