This is a Tales of Graces f fan fiction. Collab with Robin Logan! Based during the opening between the main arc and the future arc. I played as Sophie, Asbel and Hubert, while she played Richard, and Cheria. Also, happy National Teenager Day! This is by no means intended to be yaoi.

As the redheaded young man glanced out the window, he drummed his fingers on the sill. They were almost to Windor. He was giddy and joyous at being able to visit with Richard again but also a tad apprehensive. They hadn't seen each other in a few months and hadn't visited each other since he had become one with Lambda.

It wasn't for lack of not desiring to spend time or visit with each other, they sent letters regularly. There was just much clean up to be done by the Lord of Lhant and King of Windor respectively. So when Richard had extended an invitation to him to visit him at the capital, how could he refuse? Though he did groan when he thought about the mountains of paper that were going to await his return...

"Asbel?"

At the utterance of his name, he glanced towards his lavender haired companion. She was wearing an outfit that Cheria had given her, an attire of white and pink, fit with a mini jacket and white shorts. She placed a palm over near where her heart was. "What is it, Sophie? Is something wrong?"

She tilted her head sideways. "I feel... nervous. But why do I feel this way? Richard is our friend."

"Oh don't worry Sophie; it's only natural to feel anxious after what happened."

"So, it's because of memory that I feel this way?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it, I'm sure we'll have a great time."

Encouraged by his words, Sophie nodded and smiled warmly. "Ok."

It was only a few more minutes before the turtlez dropped them off at the beginning of the city. As the two began their trek through the city, Asbel smiled at the sights of architecture and shop stalls. Somehow Barona felt lighter and happily than when he had been here last. He wasn't sure if that actually had merit or if it was just in his head. Either way it was a pleasant change of pace. Near the castle, one of the guards came out to escort them.

The castle wasn't abuzz with activity, simply a maid or guard scurrying once in a while. It seems Richard wanted the visit to be as quiet and uneventful as possible. Eventually, they were led to a smaller meeting room before the guard left them. Before entering, Asbel knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Richard called from the other side of the door.

Taking the invitation, Asbel carefully turned the handle and the door opened seamlessly. What greeted him was his best friend standing up next to a table adorned with a cloth that was the color of snow with golden tips at the edges. Richard's attire differed from when he saw him last. It was softer on the eyes, a beautiful emerald rather than ebony.

Asbel briefly wondered how formal he should be. He knew Richard preferred him to lose formality with him most of the time, but also, he was the king... So instead he chose a middle route, doing a slight bow with his head and shoulders. "It's great to see you, Richard."

Richard smiled softly at his best friend and walked over to stand in front of him. "It's good to see you too, Asbel, Sophie." He nodded to the lavender haired girl next to Asbel.

"Yes." Sophie agreed, lilac eyes locking with golden for a moment before her eyes drifted around the room. She didn't believe she had ever seen this room before and the new sights interested her.

Richard smiled at her. "Well, you two feel free to make yourselves at home. Would you like anything to drink or anything else?"

The girl piped up immediately, her eyes sparkling. "Can I have royal Crablettes?"

Richard chuckled at her adorableness. "Now, Sophie, there are no such thing as royal Crablettes, they're just normal Crablettes."

She pouted for a moment, disappointed before she brightened again. "Ok."

"I can get you Crablettes though, if you'd like." Richard told her, putting a hand on his hip.

"Yes!" She grinned.

Richard nodded, looking over to Asbel. "Would you like anything?"

Asbel hummed a little in thought, scratching the back of his head. "Anything is fine."

"Alright then," Richard said, turning to a maid in the corner of the room. "A plate of Crablettes and tea for my friends here, please."

The maid nodded before leaving the room. It only took a few minutes for the maid and a few butlers to return with their order, a generous portion of crablettes and a porcelain tea pot laid on a tray. As they laid the food out on the table, Sophie eagerly glanced at the food but paused when she remembered the lessons the others had given her on manners. So, she politely waited until the server had finished serving their tea and took their leave, before she began to dig in.

Glancing down at tea in front of him, Asbel decided to add a bit of sugar to it.

Richard took a sip of his own tea then, glancing between Sophie and Asbel. "So... I'm glad you two had the time to come and visit."

"Well of course," Asbel beamed. "If you can make the time for us, then we can do the same."

Richard returned the smile. "True. Hopefully we'll both get much more time in the future too. I've missed being able to talk to you in person like this."

"Absolutely. Don't you agree Sophie?"

The lavender haired girl glanced up from her crablettes and nodded, her reply sincere but month full to the brim with food. Richard laughed a little at her response, sipping at his tea a bit more and glancing out the window.

By the time the trio had finished, and were involved in casual conversation, Asbel suddenly felt an uneasy feeling welling up in his pit of his stomach. At first he thought that maybe it was the same reason he was anxious coming here. Somehow that didn't feel right so he wondered if it was due to being near Sophie. He had become uneasy around her for no reason lately. He assumed it was likely due to Lambda's presence within him, but he didn't alert the others to prevent them from worrying more than they already were.

However, after a while, Richard seemed to notice something was off about him. "Asbel, do you feel alright?"

The young man, who was spacing out, jolted back to attention at the voice and sheepishly added. "Sorry... What did you say?"

Richard frowned at his best friend. "Have you not been sleeping properly? I know you must be very busy, but sleep is important, Asbel."

"Oh no, it's not that. I just... felt anxious for some reason." He admitted.

Richard furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Asbel wearily. "Oh?"

"It's probably nothing." Asbel reassured. Sophie was glancing up at him in concern as well.

"Alright." Richard muttered, looking away from Asbel now.

Not more than a few minutes later, one of the captains of the guard came rushing into the room. "Your Majesty! We just received word that a dangerous character has snuck into the castle!"

"What?" Richard asked in shock, quickly getting to his feet. Asbel and Sophie soon followed after him. The magenta haired young man scowled when he reached for his sword to find it absent. He vaguely remembered the guards making them surrender their weapons at the door, claiming that no one could visit his majesty armed. Normally that would have been fine but now...

"It isn't safe here. We have a better place in mind, if you would follow me."

Richard nodded, walking over to the guard. "Yes, of course."

Once the three of them approached the guard, Sophie on Richard's left and Asbel on his right, Asbel felt a jolt go through him. He felt like... Lambda was trying to communicate something to him. A tad suspiciously, he warily glanced to the guard, but tried not to stare. He didn't recognize him, but he also wasn't certain if that meant anything. At least Sophie could fight well without her gauntlets, and Richard had his rapier. So, it was only him who remained pretty defenseless. He would grab a sword the first he saw one.

"I'm sorry about this." Richard mumbled, glancing over to Asbel to Sophie.

"It's alright; it's not your fault." Asbel reassured but kept an eye on that guard as he began to lead them out.

"Yeah." Sophie agreed.

Richard nodded. Still though, he had hoped he could just have a relaxing day with his two best friends, and still felt a bit bad that he got them to come all this way, just for this to happen. But Asbel was right. It wasn't really his fault, so right now he should just try to remain calm.

As they kept walking, Asbel wondered why there would only be one guard for the king of the whole country. That was multiple levels of queer as well. The more he thought about it, the more peculiar it was. He was just about communicate his feelings to Richard when he remembered that he was more likely to be suspicious of people than Asbel, himself, was. Meaning it probably wouldn't help.

"The other guards are waiting here, Highness." The captain directed, standing at the doorway.

"Right, thank you." Richard said, wearily walking over to the doorway and opening the door. Before Asbel knew what he was doing, he felt his adrenaline kick into high gear and he rushed forward, knocking into Richard and raising his arm to deflect a blow from a sword. Unfortunately, because he didn't have his sword to block like he normally would, his arm did little to hinder the blow, and ended up cutting into his shoulder deeply anyways.

The lavender haired girl reacted just as swiftly, calling his name before aiming a kick at the villain in front of her. He shoved her back and began to retreat, but she pursued him.

"Sophie!" Richard yelled, pulling out his rapier and about to run after her, though he hesitated, looking down at Asbel's bleeding shoulder.

"...Go ahead... I'll be fine..." Asbel urged, but he wasn't even convincing himself. There was something dipped on that sword, a poison or a sedative and he was feeling his energy sapped. At the corners of his mind getting progressively stronger he felt Lambda's influence offering him the strength to rejoin the fray, but he ignored it. He wanted to trust Lambda, but it was too risky. Still though, Sophie couldn't be out there by herself!

Richard stared at Asbel in concern. "Are you sure? Asbel, you don't look well at all."

The magenta haired young man glanced from Richard to Sophie's retreating form. She was almost completely out of sight now; Richard would have to sprint to catch up with her. Asbel probably couldn't convince Richard to go in time to catch her by this point. Probably better to be honest, and Sophie was the strongest out of the three of them. She could handle herself. "I... Don't know." He admitted, hand clutching his shoulder. His breathes were already labored.

"Alright, well, why don't you sit down and let me take a look at that wound?" Richard quickly suggested, walking closer to Asbel.

"A-alright..." Asbel conceded defeat with a sigh, sitting down gently before adding. "I... think it must have tipped with something… on his blade."

Richard raised his eyebrows. "Like... poison or something?"

"Maybe... I don't think the injury... was severe enough to-" He winced and clutched his shoulder as a wave of pain hit him like a mini hurricane.

"Asbel! Ugh, we need to get you to a doctor!" Richard said, carefully putting his hand on Asbel's other shoulder and staring at him wearily.

Asbel had to agree... His strength was almost completely diminished, he was growing limp. He hoped Sophie wasn't hurt because of his defenselessness. If only he had his sword. Maybe he could have blocked the blow from reaching his skin completely. "..sorry..." He murmured.

"What are you apologizing for? You protected me, so I should be thanking you." Richard shook his head, moving his arm underneath Asbel's arm to help support him. "Never mind that, can you walk?"

"...probably not..." He admitted. Richard frowned, not sure what to do. He didn't want to leave Asbel here alone and defenseless, but at the same time, he needed a doctor now. Maybe he could get some guards over here to protect Asbel though, but again, he just wasn't sure.

No... I should try and stay awake... The magenta haired adolescent frowned mentally to himself, but his consciousness was slipping away. It was gradual at first, but the call of sleep was increasingly becoming stronger and more powerful. He was going to pass out soon, he knew it, but he wanted to hold it off as long as possible.

Seeing as Asbel was looking more and more tired by the passing second, Richard made his decision, crouching in front of Asbel and turning around. "Alright, Asbel, can you wrap your arms around my neck?"

His best friend did as was instructed but his grip was weak. Richard stood up unsteadily, and began to walk through the castle, hoping Asbel could keep himself awake long enough until he got him to a doctor.

After a bit of walking, Richard opened one of the doors in the hall that led to a medical looking room. "Oh, my. What happened here?" A man in a white coat asked, looking up from some papers.

"He was attacked. I think he might be poisoned." Richard told him urgently, walking over to one of the beds in the room. The doctor helped Asbel off of his back, laying him down on the bed and examining his shoulder for a moment, before nodding to himself. "Ah, I see. Well, don't worry sir, he's in safe hands.

Richard nodded, backing away from the bed a bit and letting the doctor treat Asbel. By the time they arrived at the medical ward, Asbel was fully unconscious. He could no longer fight the urges of sleep pulling him to his clutches. For the most part he appeared peaceful, except for the occasional grimace on his facial features.

Several guards piled into the room after a few minutes. Thankfully, they were all faces that Richard recognized well to ease his anxiety of another attack. The leader of the pile stepped forward. "Your Majesty! Are you uninjured?"

"I'm fine." Richard replied, glancing over at the unconscious Asbel a little ways off. "What about the attacker? Do you have any idea on where he's at?"

"We have men tailing him right now, Highness. My apologies, but we'll have to wait until they return."

Richard frowned, but nodded. "Have you seen a girl with purple hair and pigtails? She's a friend of mine and she ran off to find the attacker."

"Yes. She was still in pursuit of him last we saw him."

Richard sighed, staring down at the floor. He felt useless here, he should be helping! "I need to go find her."

"I-is that a wise decision, your Majesty?" The captain didn't appear to want to question him but was still leery of their king going into danger.

"It's fine. I know how to fight and I can handle myself." Richard told him, pulling out his rapier. "I want one of you to guard this room though."

"Of course, your Highness."

Richard nodded then, leaving the room and walking down the hall of his castle, not quite sure where he might be able to find Sophie and that man. But surely he'd run into them eventually. As the king neared the lower levels of the castle, he saw a familiar head of blue hair. He was with a few soldiers from Strahta and pressing his glasses up impatiently. Richard stared in surprise, quickly walking over to him. "Hubert? What are you doing here?"

"I was coming here to discuss politics between Strahta and Windor but considering the current state of things, it seems best to put it on hold." Hubert sighed, turning to face Richard. "I've also heard that my foolish brother was injured again. He needs to be more careful."

Richard shook his head. "He was only wounded because he protected me. If anything I wasn't being careful enough. Also, I apologize about what happened to him."

"Hmm... I see. He is quite self-sacrificing." Hubert nodded to himself. "Were you going after the perpetrator?"

"Yes. Sophie went after her, so I have to find him and help her." Richard explained. "You... didn't happen to see her, did you?"

"No... I only arrived here a few minutes ago." Hubert explained.

Richard nodded, humming a little in response. "Well, perhaps you could come along and help me find them?"

"Of course. There is strength in numbers." Hubert agreed, pressing up his glasses.

Richard nodded. "I appreciate the help. Now, let's get going, shall we?"

"Yes, let's," Hubert agreed.

Richard continued going through the castle with Hubert, listening for any sound of fighting, and keeping his eyes out for anything that showed a sign of battle. After a bit of searching, Hubert concluded that they had probably left the castle by now so the duo headed into the city.

As they walked through the city, Richard looked around wearily. "Well, it doesn't look like anything was destroyed..."

"Right, it appears to have been the job of a few. I heard that the man who attacked you was an impersonator." Hubert replied. "Perhaps someone saw them?"

"Perhaps. We should definitely ask around." Richard agreed with a nod, looking around town and thinking about who to ask.

"Agreed." Hubert headed over to the shops in closest range to the castle. The ones that are most likely to have seen something.

Richard followed him, and as the two walked over to one of the stalls, a girl tending her stall looked up at them. "O-oh, can I help you two with anything?"

"Have you seen any suspicious activity here recently?" Hubert inquired, being broad to surround anything that might have a use.

"Um, now that you mention it... I think I did see a guy running by here? I didn't think much of it at the time, plus I was dealing with a customer." The girl explained with a shrug.

"How long ago was this?" Hubert pressed further.

"Um, I don't know." The girl looked up in thought. "It wasn't that long ago. Maybe just ten minutes, more or less?"

"Did you see which way he went?" Richard asked her, and she tapped on her chin. "Umm...that way, I think. It looked like he was trying to leave town."

"That way leads to the main exit to Barona, so it would be wise to go to the beginning of the town and talk to people there." Hubert deduced.

Richard nodded at that. "I agree." He turned back to the girl then. "Thanks for your help."

The girl smiled at him. "You're welcome!"

Richard moved away from the stall, starting to walk to the direction she pointed to, that led to the exit of Barona. After receiving a bit more direction, the duo headed out of Windor in search of the attacker. They were met with a familiar dirt path. The blue-haired young man felt quite nostalgic traveling this path that they had traveled on in their adventures...

As the two walked beside each other in silence, Richard couldn't help but wonder if Sophie was even still chasing those people. They had to assume she was, but it's not like they knew for sure. Either he somehow outran her and she went back to the castle, or she was still chasing him. Or he supposed she could have fought one of them while the others escaped, if there even was another. But what if she-no. He wouldn't allow his mind to go there. He was sure she was okay, wherever she was. Besides, rather she was still with the attacker or not, they still had to track him down.

…

The magenta haired young man awoke from a burning originating from his shoulder. Groaning, he forced his eyes open. Ugh... What happened...? It took him a minute or two before he remembered the assault on Richard's life and that Sophie was missing, and possibly in peril. Filled with a cold chill after that came back into his consciousness, he jolted upright, using the medical bed to steady himself.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy." A voice quickly said, and a man in a white coat rushed over to Asbel's bed.

Asbel scowled. He couldn't stay here and do nothing; he had to go assist Richard and Sophie! "I-I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You were injured and poisoned. You really don't look that well." The doctor told him wearily.

He assumed that they must have used an antidote or the poison had mostly worn off, because he could hardly feel the effects anymore. The pain from his shoulder was horrid but not enough to keep him confined to a bed, given he move slow at first...! "Yeah, I just need some water and a few minutes, and then I'll be good." Asbel spoke more confidently, able to sit up without the support of the bed.

The doctor nodded. "I'll get you some water then." He said, quickly leaving the room. After a moment, he came back with a glass of water, offering it to Asbel. Once Asbel finished off the water and felt some of the strength return to his legs, he stood up, managing not to wobble.

"Um, maybe you should rest a little bit more first?" The doctor suggested, staring at him.

"No, I'm okay." Asbel insisted, heading for the door.

The doctor quickly moved in front of the door before Asbel could reach it though. "Hold on just a second! At least tell me you don't plan on going on there to fight again. You really need your rest and the last thing you should do is go out fighting more."

"But I have to go help them! I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Asbel protested.

"Well, you're going to have to, so you can get better!" The doctor tried to tell Asbel. Just in that moment though, the door opened up, another doctor rushing in the room. "Hey, I found another injured guard. I could really use your help over there, if you're not busy?"

The first doctor glanced at Asbel, before glancing back at the woman that walked in the room. "Yes, of course." He quickly followed her out of the room then.

The young man did feel a bit of guilt for this, but he was blinded by his desire to protect those he cherished, so, he snuck out of the room while the doctor was gone. His shoulder did throb, but not enough for it to hinder him as he approached the guard he remembered had made them surrender their weapons. This was going to require his sword without question. "I'm headed out of the castle, would you mind returning my sword? And Sophie's gauntlets too." Asbel asked.

"Yes, of course." The guard said, pulling out the sword that belonged to Asbel, handing it to him, along with Sophie's gauntlets.

"Thank you." Asbel nodded in thankfully, before equipping his sword and heading out to find out where Richard had gone off to.

…

As Richard and Hubert walked side by side, Richard spotted something on the ground a little ahead of them. He slowed to a halt as they got closer to the small puddles. "Blood." He said aloud, looking over to Hubert. "Do you think it's the attacker's blood?"

"Hard to say." Hubert inquired, pressing up his glasses. "Either way, it isn't a large quantity, so the wound was probably not horribly severe."

"No." Richard agreed. "But at least we might be on the right track. That or either I guess it could've been someone else or a wounded animal."

"Yes..." Hubert agreed. "For now, let's head in the direction this came from."

Richard nodded, continuing to walk in that direction. As the duo headed off, it wasn't long before a feral growl caught their attention. The evitable had come, monsters would soon stand in their way. Hubert instinctively had duelblades at the ready. "Are you ready?"

Richard nodded, pulling out his rapier. "Yes, of course."

One of the beasts ran at him then, jumping at him, and he held his blade up to shield himself. Before the monster regained its composure, Richard dashed at it, swinging his blade through it and easily killing it. The accompanied wolf monster lunged towards Hubert. The light sapphire haired young man was swifter, skewering a fatal blow with his spear. One of the other wolves circled around its opponents, before charging at Richard, who spun around just in time, slicing his sword at it right as it came for him.

The last wolf, seeing its fallen brethren, was far more cautious in its approach, keeping a distance from the young men. So, Hubert doubled his duelblades as a gun and shot at it several times. The shots met their target and the monster doubled over, never to get up again. Hubert sighed, and pressed up his slipping glasses with his forefinger. "Are you alright, King Richard?"

"Yes." Richard responded, sheathing his blade. "What about you? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

Richard nodded. "Good. We should get going then."

"Agreed." Hubert nodded.

….

The white clad young man had managed to escape the city without any trouble. He had heard that Richard and his brother Hubert were heading down the path he was traversing now. Asbel hoped to be able to catch up to them... even though he knew Hubert would most definitely give him an earful about his "foolishness." But he wasn't about to be just resting when the people he cared for were in danger! So, here he was. Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, he massaged his shoulder. He would be fine. The poison was gone, his injury wasn't that severe.

"Oh, there you are!" He heard a girl call out to him from behind, sounding out of breath.

Surprised with wide eyes, Asbel flipped around to see a young woman with rosy pink hair and chocolate eyes that he knew well. "Ch-cheria?!"

"Hey," Cheria said, panting a little. "I started getting a little worried after a while, so I thought I'd drop by and visit. And then I heard about what happened when I got here! You weren't hurt, were you?!"

"Uh..." Asbel wasn't sure if he should answer honestly. If he did, Cheria might attempt to force him to stay behind. Then again, his lying skills were subpar.

Cheria stared at him expectantly. "You were, weren't you!?"

"Maybe?" He admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Where at, let me see it!" Cheria ordered, putting her hands on her hips. Despite how direct she was being though, she did look really concerned for him. Admitting defeat, Asbel sighed and gestured to his injured shoulder. Cheria walked closer to him then, sliding back part of his white coat and carefully undoing a part of the bandage on his shoulder to inspect the wound. "Ah, that looks horrible! Here, hold still and I'll heal this up for you."

"Thank you." Asbel smiled. If his wound was healed, then he would more easily be able to go after Richard and Hubert.

Cheria smiled warmly at him, putting her hands near his wound and began healing. "It's nothing, really. But...where's Richard and Sophie?"

"Well... Sophie was in pursuit of the man that attacked Richard, and we haven't seen her since. So, Richard and Hubert went after them." Asbel explained with a frown. The longer, more prolonged this was, the more anxious he grew of their safety. He was giddy to continue after them.

"Oh." Cheria said with a frown. "I hope they're okay..." She mumbled, backing away from him now she was done healing his wound up. "I'll help you look for him. And... even though your healed up now, I want you to take it easy, okay!?"

Well, as long as I don't have to go back... Asbel mused to himself. "Well, I shouldn't have to with you here."

"Don't be stupid! You're going to exhaust yourself! I mean, you know, I don't have to heal you!" Cheria snapped at him.

Scowling in response, Asbel remarked. "Why does it matter if I exhaust myself?! We need to stop talking about this and just go after them!"

"I don't want you fainting though! Ugh, whatever, let's get going then." Cheria rolled her eyes, beginning to walk ahead now.

Sighing, the magenta haired young man followed after her, keeping a fair distance away for the time being. He understood where she was coming from, but they had much more critical problems now than his health. He was fine, especially now that he had received some healing from Cheria. Richard, Sophie or even Hubert could be in a much worse state right now. The focus should be on them, not him.

…..

Somewhere along the way, the lavender haired girl had lost the man who had made an assault on Richard's life. Moreover, Sophie's focus was exclusively on him, so she had completely lost sense of her surroundings... and she didn't have her gauntlets on her. Also, hadn't he wounded Asbel? A crushing sort of dread filled her as she realized he was probably wounded. Maybe she shouldn't have rushed off like she did, but, then who would stop that man from attacking Richard again?

As the girl aimlessly walked around, unsure of where she really was, or where Richard's attacker was at, a man from behind a tree watched her. He smirked, pulling his long sword out slowly, making sure it didn't make any noise. Then, with one swoop movement, he pushed himself away from behind the tree, running at her and swinging his blade, aiming for her head. Fortunately for the purple haired girl, she was also equally swift with excellent senses that alerted her to movement. Forgetting momentarily that she didn't have her gauntlets with her, she blocked the blow with her arm, only to have it slice into her skin.

"Haha, didn't expect that, did you?" The man asked with evil smirk, backing away from her a little and holding his sword out to shield himself.

I can't let him escape or he'll attack Richard again. Sophie nodded in affirmation to herself, before propelling herself upwards for an attack from above. The attacker fell to the ground, unable to dodge the attack, but still he immediately got back up, sword in hand, and he charged at her, with his blade at the ready. Sophie ducked down, slipping under him to attempt to land an assault on his back. Again, she was able to land a successful hit, knocking the wind out of his lungs. He recovered after a moment though, quickly spinning around and shoving her to the ground.

Swiftly recovering, Sophie used her palms to swing her feet upwards, aiming high near the chin. He quickly backed away from her, but tripped on a branch on the ground, falling on his back and dropping his blade. She landed near the blade and kicked it far from his grasp.

He glared up at her. "I surrender." He muttered reluctantly.

…

The powder blue haired young man abruptly stopped in the middle of their trek. His ears were prickled to his surroundings. Richard stared at him curiously, before glancing around trying to figure out what caught his attention.

"I can hear that someone else is here." Hubert announced.

"Hm." Richard responded, carefully looking around for any movement and mentally preparing himself for battle. The bespectacled headed forward, duelblades in hand.

Richard quickly followed him, though as they walked around a hill, Richard spotted a lavender haired girl with pigtails, and he quickly ran ahead, going up to her as he sheathed his sword. "Sophie!"

"Richard!" Sophie smiled brightly, before it faded. "Is Asbel... okay?"

"Um...he was injured and poisoned. Don't worry, he should be okay. But... what about you? Your arm..." Richard said with a frown, looking down at her injured arm.

"I'm okay, don't worry, I can heal myself." Sophie reassured, placing her palm over her forearm as the white shining light enveloped it. "I managed to catch him too."

"The villain that attacked King Richard?" Hubert inquired, to which the girl nodded.

"Where is he?" Richard quickly asked.

"Over here," Sophie gestured, leading them to the part of the hill that was currently obscured from their vision. Richard followed her quietly, his hand on the hilt of his blade just in case. The man was lying flat on his back, with his eyes screwed shut. It was clear, Sophie had knocked him unconscious.

Richard stared at him for a moment before looking at Sophie. "I'm glad you were able to take care of him alright by yourself."

"Yes, he wasn't too strong." Sophie remarked, tilting her head. "I wouldn't have been injured at all if I had my gauntlets."

"Yes, quite fortunate, since you rushed out on your own." Hubert's voice had a condescending, commanding tone for it. "Asbel must be rubbing off on you, you shouldn't do that."

Richard glanced at him. "Well, it doesn't matter that much. She was just trying to help, and she did defeat him."

The powder blue haired young man sighed, in obvious disagreement. It seems Asbel has worn off on him too. He thought but didn't voice aloud.

"Anyways... we should go back to the castle with this man, get him to prison and try to figure out who he's working for." Richard suggested.

"Agreed." Hubert nodded.

…..

Cheria and Asbel continued traveling the path they believed Richard and Hubert had walked. "Asbel, do you feel okay?" Cheria finally broke the silence, looking over at him.

"Yes, I'm doing fine. Don't worry." Asbel reassured with a smile.

"You're not just saying that, are you?" Cheria asked, glaring at him.

"No, the healing helped a lot." Asbel nodded, now that the pain much more bearable now. He was certain he could make it until they found Richard and Sophie at least.

Cheria stared at him for a long moment. "Okay, good. I don't want you pushing yourself."

"What's that?" Asbel wondered abruptly, glancing at the path in front of him with renewed interest.

She followed his gaze to see the little bit of blood that was on the path. "Oh... isn't that... blood?"

Eyes widened, Asbel gaped and hurried over to the sight. "It is!"

Cheria frowned. "I hope they're okay... Come on, we should just try to find them!"

"Right!" Asbel agreed swiftly, his steps dedicated to following the trail and its direction. Cheria followed, feeling much wearier then before, and trying to keep horrible thoughts out of her head. She had to stay focus and remain calm.

…..

As the trio was heading back to Barona, Sophie tugged on Richard's cloak to retrieve his attention. "I hear footsteps."

Richard looked down at her, realizing he heard footsteps as well. Though he knew it could possibly be guards or someone looking for him, he still wanted to remain cautious, pulling out his rapier. The powder blue haired young man followed suit, preparing his duelblades.

Though as they all prepared themselves for a battle, two familiar faces came into view, and Richard stared in surprise. "Asbel? Cheria?"

"Richard? Sophie?" Asbel hurried over to them, his sapphire eyes were drawn to Sophie's forearm. "A-are you two alright?!"

"Yes, we're fine. And thanks to Sophie, the man who attacked me has been dealt with. But more importantly, are you alright?" Richard asked wearily.

"Yeah, Cheria healed me." Asbel reassured. Though, now that he knew his friends were alright, he felt a wave of exhaustion course through him. The lavender haired girl frowned at him.

"Are you sure?" She inquired, worriedly.

"Healed or not, you should really be resting." Richard told him, eyebrows furrowed.

Sighing, the younger sibling scowled. "You were quite foolish following us here, Asbel; but since I'm sure Cheria gave you enough of an earful, I'll leave it alone for now."

The magenta haired young man was relieved to hear that. He wasn't sure if he possessed the energy to defend himself at present. "Don't worry, I'll get plenty of rest... when we return to Barona."

"Good." Richard said with a nod. "We should get going then."

The group agreed and set off the rest of the way to Barona.

….

Soon, Asbel, Sophie, Richard, Hubert, and Cheria were back in Barona. Though the guards were still a bit on edge, and, not to mention, some were injured from the attack. Some damage was done to the castle as well, but all things considered, the damage wasn't too bad, and it seemed that a lot of citizens were oblivious to what happened at the castle. After all, no matter how skilled and cunning, one person could only do so much damage. It was amazing that he was able to do as much damage as he did. The idea sent chills down Sophie's spine. Hubert and Cheria had already said farewell for everything was settled now and they needed to be on their way.

As the trio stopped walking once they were in the castle, Richard turned to look at Asbel and Sophie. "I am sorry about what happened here today. I was hoping we could all just hang out for a while, and instead this whole mess happened..."

"It's fine, Richard, you didn't know this would happen." Asbel reassured. The lavender haired girl nodded in agreement. "We still have time. After all, I can't go back until I get some rest."

"Ah, are you sure?" Richard asked, looking a bit shocked, but happy nevertheless.

"Yes, I'm sure we can have plenty of fun while resting." Sophie agreed.

Richard smiled at her. "Wonderful. I'm glad to hear that. I was worried you two would have to be on your way and we wouldn't get another chance like this for a while..."

"Of course not, I'm sure we can afford to be away a little longer." Asbel smiled.

"Alright then," Richard said. "Any ideas on what we should do?"

"Anything is fine with me." Asbel grinned, while Sophie also was soon copying his expression as if it was contagious. The three of them continued walking towards a more cordial room. They were simply grateful that they could relax and spend time with each other like they intended, and, no one was severely injured in this affair.

Fin