In the Snow
A Tales of the Abyss fanfiction by Midori

Summary: Natalia's position as the future ruler of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear pushes her to take a decision she'll most likely regret sooner than later: In absence of any candidate worth considering, Emperor Peony proposes Jade as a suitor to ask for the princess hand in marriage. Their engagement poses as a good strategical move, but neither seem fascinated with the idea. However, as hardships happen and complicated situations keep bringing them together, they discover that they have more in common than they've ever thought.

Pairing: Jade x Natalia. Others mentioned.

Rating: R-15 / T . Spoilers from the whole game are mentioned from the very starting point of the story.

Disclaimer (1) I do not own Tales of the Abyss nor any reference to the Tales of Series that may appear in this fanfiction. Characters and original plot belong to Namco Bandai and Inomata, Okumura, Iwamura and Fujishima-sensei. Enjoy!

Disclaimer (2) I am perfectly aware of the tremendous age gap between the main characters that conform the ship of the story. Both characters are of legal age and aware of the mess they're in. (The author likes shipping hot people who never interact during their original stories).

A/N: Hello, everyone! This may be my first published work on this account, but I actually had another one for at least 10 years, which I rage quitted and nuked completely. I decided to start anew once my writer's block vanished and got my hands back into typing and my imagination running wild with inspiration. It's actually good to be back! I have to credit several sources of inspiration that got me back into shape, but I'll talk about them later. For now, let's talk about this story:

This fic saw the light just because there is only a couple of good stories about them that updated back in 2007. So, I got angry and started writing afterwards, and god darn it, it took a LONG, long time to write. It's my fault for arriving late to this fandom. I do understand why this ship is not popular at all, though. I know that if anybody reads this, they're telling me head first: "Oh, JadexNat? That's a weird couple, I've never thought of them together!", believe me, I KNOW. I was there before you. But my imagination ran wild and now I can't get out of this mess. Now, the question is, will you fall into the trap just like I did a year ago? Tell me what you think in a kind like & review! I shall let you know english is not my first language so it may be rough around the edges... but I don't care. I really liked writting this mostly for myself, I'm publishing it to do something with it now that it's completed. If anyone's interested, yes, I've already finished the 10 chapters that conform this story. I'll upload them steadily as I edit them, but if I notice someone is actually reading this, I might work on it faster.

*Published in Wattpad and AO3 as well*

Written between October 2015- 2016

Chapter 1: Head in the Clouds

It had started three years ago. One suitor after another had visited Kimlasca-Lanvaldear's castle ever since Natalia became of age. And one after another, Natalia had refused their offering into marriage. King Ingobert the VI was growing steadily tired as his daughter's indecision prolonged the arrival of a new heir to the crown. He had hoped that when his nephew reappeared many years ago the situation would turn around, but he didn't expect the young Fon Fabre would drop his title and run away with his friends. They intended to travel the world in search for stray replicas who needed aid in adapting into society, and Luke had no intention to marry Natalia whatsoever. The possibilities of a marriage between them had dropped to zero ever since she'd discovered he wasn't, in fact, the Luke that had proposed to her several years ago. That man was long gone now.

"Have you taught about someone else, Natalia?" Her father asked as he took another sip of his teacup. The king's weary eyes looked at her daughter expectantly, surrounded by wrinkles and gray hairs on his brow. Worry was present on each word her father had spoken to her for the past month. It almost always came around the subject of Natalia's future engagement, and she was growing tired of it just as much as he did. "Lord Oswell's son has been waiting for your response for two weeks, darling, you might as well…"

"I sent him a letter this morning, father. Unfortunately, it's been known that Lord Oswell's son has a record on threatening the civilians of his feud close to Engeve if they don't pay extra taxes, beyond those stipulated by the official edict. I've already sent the Royal Guard to investigate the case." Natalia answered and took a bite of a small biscuit she'd been nibbling on for the past twenty minutes. One after another, Natalia had found a dirty little secret to blame on her suitors to discard their offering.

King Ingobert sighed in desperation. Even though Natalia was being logical and had her well-thought arguments to refute every single proposal, the problem had dragged for too long. "You have to decide on someone soon, Natalia. Don't make me have to pick for you…", he said with a large frown.

"I won't, father." She had no appetite and had been eaten very few things each time she had to sit down and talk with her father. The knowledge of having the afternoon tea with him each day lead to that sort of conversation had turned the meals bland and unsavory. "I don't want to make a wrong decision that will affect both our family and the kingdom, that's it."

In truth, Natalia wasn't sure that was the only reason she kept dodging the situation for so long. It was a fact that she cared for the people of her country and their future, but she couldn't get around the idea of having to be forced into an arranged marriage. As a child, the idea sounded almost romantic. She hoped she'd wed the man she loved, the one that promised her a world rid of war and destruction, of poverty and hunger for the people of her beloved kingdom. But that man had disappeared many years ago: just as Asch came back into her world three years ago, he went away and vanished.

Was it really Luke who came back that night? It happened so fast she didn't want to believe Asch had died. When he reappeared over the selenia garden two years ago, she assumed it had to be replica-Luke, but as they talked during their trips or during his shorts stays at the Fabre mansion, some traits and mannerisms proper of Asch would pop out. Luke seemed mostly unaware of them, but Natalia could notice them, however subtle they were. His voice was rougher, his temper shorter. Untraceable parts of Asch remained, that only she was able to see. She had not told anyone about it, but she knew at least Tear and Guy were aware of the situation.

Natalia asked herself if, in some way, Asch's consciousness had remained inside of his replica after what happened in Eldrant's core, or if their memories had slowly started to merge and Luke was simply oblivious of it. Whichever was the case, it was obvious that Luke returned and Asch did not, at least not entirely. The consciousness that prevailed was Luke's, which was evident as he had come back to fulfil his promise to meet with Tear… and he never mentioned even once anything about his engagement with Natalia. After a month or so, Natalia decided it was time to formally call the arrangement off which set Luke free of the promise he didn't remember making. She was happy for them, and she didn't feel any sort of jealousy, or at least that's what Natalia told to herself each time she saw them together.

"You seem lost in thought, are you alright?". Ingobert interrupted, stopping Natalia's mental blabbering. She turned around to face him with a kind smile and nodded twice. "I'm sure you'll make a good decision, darling, I just hope it'll be sooner than later. And next time, please, tell me before you send the guard to arrest someone from a noble house…" He continued. "Moreover, I think you should get over the idea that our family has the right to make its people wait for personal benefit. I know you're scared and that an arranged marriage with a stranger is not what you'd have wished when you were younger, but the situation is growing dire, Natalia…"

"I understand perfectly, father." She interrupted him before a scolding started. "I can't deny I'm bothered by the idea, but I keep close track of my responsibilities… I've made up my mind about it months ago, it's just that none of the suitors seems to be apt for the role." Natalia wasn't lying.

Even if she still hoped for her original engagement to come true out of the blue, she knew those were childhood dreams she had to let go and grow up from them. She had already embraced the concept of arranged marriage, she didn't even care if she had no idea who her suitors were. The only thing she wished for was her father not having the last word on the matter. It had to be her decision, and hers only. She'd listen and negotiate the situation as any diplomat would do. That was her role as a princess and future queen, anyway.

Ingobert sighed again, grabbing his daughter's hand compassionately. Her thin fingers were covered by white, silk gloves that had belonged to her late mother. Even if Natalia wasn't their biological child, she reminded him so much of Olivia. Strong-willed, stubborn, tender and loving, the princess had grown to be a carbon copy of her mother's personality.

"Ah, I almost forgot." the king exclaimed, letting go of her hand to fetch one of the butlers. The elderly servant handed him a white envelope, which was already opened. "This letter arrived from Malkuth some weeks ago, requesting a royal audience in relation to the peace treaty, I remember telling you during one of our meals. I need you to be present during the negotiations and the renovation of the pledge. I've been informed another messenger was sent by Emperor Peony himself. I'd like you to accompany us during dinner to appoint the situation."

"It'd be my pleasure, father. When is the messenger arriving?" She asked, finishing the biscuit at last.

"At noon, perhaps two hours from now."

"It's enough for me to get ready for the audience. Would you kindly send a servant to fetch me when it's time?" Natalia stood up after the servants removed the silver tray with the empty teapot and cups and cleaned the breadcrumbs off the table.

"Of course, dear." the king remained seated, but squished his daughter's hand when she placed it atop of his shoulder before she left the tea room. "See you at noon."

"Good evening, father." She made a small reverence and walked out of the room, followed closely by one of her handmaids.

Natalia walked to her chambers, making small talk with the maid accompanying her. She was worried, because the peace treaty had been a complicated matter to attend when it first happened almost six years ago. It was because of a potential global cataclysm menaced of destroying both kingdoms that Malkuth and Kimlasca managed to sign an agreement, but otherwise the two nations would have mauled each other into war for no other reason than the Score said it was the predestined thing to do.

Five years without keeping track of the Score had been a great challenge, but both nations and their rulers had managed to bring things together one way or another. One of them had been the marriage between noble houses of the two empires, for example. Natalia wondered if it was possible some nobleman from Malkuth would apply to be her suitor. So far, it had only been noblemen from Kimlasca and she wasn't sure her father would be glad to accept an outsider from the kingdom into the royal family. Nevertheless, she knew her father had grown impatient and that desperate situations called to desperate solutions, even if it included the possibilities of the two kingdoms merging once again.

After taking a long bath, the maid fixed her hair and put some makeup on her face before helping her into the dress. Natalia walked out of the bathroom wearing nothing but her undergarments into the dressing room, where a formal white robe with lace embroidery awaited.

"Uhm… Giselle?" She asked the maid, who rushed back into the princess' side. "Isn't this a bit too formal? My father said it was just a diplomatic visit, shouldn't I receive them with a humbler attire?"

"T-they informed me the messenger was an important member from the Malkuth Empire and that I should help milady into these clothes, it was a request forwarded by King Ingobert himself. I got noticed while you were taking a bath, Lady Natalia." Giselle replied and offered a hand to help Natalia get into her high heeled shoes.

"Oh, you should have told me before! It's fine, Giselle… do you think it could be another proposal? It'd be the first one coming from a Malkuthian nobleman." Natalia slipped inside the dress and her maid helped her to button up the high collar of the upper part, the one that reached behind her back.

"I… I don't know, milady. I don't know if His Majesty would allow it." Giselle answered with honesty and placed a long navy blue coat over Natalia's shoulders. The princess walked into the mirror and took out several earrings and collars to combine them with the dress as she kept talking with the maid. The younger girl finished doing Natalia's hair and placed the silver tiara atop of her head. Natalia had to agree, she didn't know what her father's reaction might be. But she was certain of one thing: the king was wearing tired of the whole situation, and so was she. Anything could happen.

When Giselle was about to exit the room after Natalia had dismissed her, the King's personal butler knocked at the door. The messenger had arrived into the castle. Natalia fixed her tiara and thanked both the butler and her handmaid for their services when she walked out of the room. The elderly man locked it and escorted Natalia into the throne room, where her father was already waiting for her and the emissary, who wasn't there yet. Natalia greeted her father once again with a small reverence and a chaste kiss on the cheek, before sitting on the smaller throne to his left side.

"May I ask father, why the formalities with the messenger? I believe you said they were only an envoy sent by Emperor Peony, not Emperor Peony himself. Is there any other reasons behind the dress?"

To her surprise, King Ingobert chuckled slightly. "Be patient, dear. You look lovely, by the way." Natalia smiled a bit unsure of what was happening. She noticed, however, that her father was wearing his usual assembly attire, there was nothing special about his robes in comparison to hers.

"Is this another marriage proposal, father?" She asked, with obvious annoyance in her voice. The king smiled again, with a small tone of mischievousness in his muffled laughter.

"Not quite, Natalia. I'm sure you'll enjoy the visitor's presence." King Ingobert nodded at the servant at the door, who introduced no one else than the newly appointed General Commander Curtiss from the third division of the Malkuth Military.

"Jade!" Natalia screeched in a higher tone that she'd have wished. "You should've sent a letter, I'd have received you myself" She stood up from her throne and walked towards her friend, who kneeled before her as a sign of respect. In the sudden burst of excitement, she had forgotten about etiquette referring to visitors and envoys from other nations. She couldn't help it, though. It'd been months since she had last seen Jade. Once in a while they'd exchange letters to catch up, but they'd not seen each other often. Since his new appointment as a General Commander some months ago, Jade basically had disappeared from their lives.

"It would have been disrespectful, your highness~" his words mocked her, making Natalia smile a with cocky smirk on her lips. "Besides, I was sent by Emperor Peony with a letter directed personally to King Ingobert, therefore I had to obey the protocol."

"I know. Congratulations on your promotion, General Curtiss" She teased back, bowing her head in response.

Jade handed a white envelope with the Malkuth Empire seal on the front to the butler after greeting the King. The man opened and handed the letter to the butler, who opened and passed it to his master. He read it in silence, barely even blinking. King Ingobert's eyes flashed across the paper several times, Natalia noticed her father read the letter at least three times before speaking a single word.

"Read it out loud, General." He handed the paper to Jade, with the same smile he'd been wearing ever since before Jade entered the room. Both his daughter and the Necromancer knew something should've shaken the king in order for him to read the same paper three times, and still ask the messenger himself to read the letter. Doubtfully, Jade took the letter and cleared his throat before proceeding to read it, exchanging a confused look with Natalia.

To his Highness King Ingobert the VI from the great kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear

I, as the maximum ruler of the Malkuth Empire, request a sign of mutual cooperation in behalf of the reinforcement peace treaty established on the year of N.D. 2018, as a renewal of the pledge of trust accorded by the two nations. The mere intention of this letter is to offer a proposal to his Royal Highness in regard of Princess Natalia's future as the Regnant Queen of the kingdom. It is known that Princess Natalia's engagement has been postponed for the lack of an appropriate suitor, but she's been of marrying age for the past four years. As an offering of peace, trust, and mutual cooperation, I, Emperor Peony Upala IX would like to-

Jade stopped reading out loud. Natalia stared at him in confusion, but she didn't ask what happened. She could see in Jade's shocked expression something had gone wrong with the letter, but he continued to read it beneath his breath until the end.

"...there must be a mistake, your Highness." Jade muttered, raising his eyes from the paper into the King's face.

"For your reaction I must imagine you had no idea of Emperor Peony's plan… keep on reading, General Curtiss." Ingobert said with a low chuckle. Natalia's eyes drifted from Jade to her father, and back.

...As an offering of peace, trust and mutual cooperation, I, Emperor Peony Upala IX would like to offer General Commander Jade Curtiss as a possible suitor for Princess Natalia. Should General Curtiss become prince consort of the royal family of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, the agreement would need no further reinforcement or sign of renewal during the upcoming years while both parties remain alive and wed. As my right-hand man and personal friend of Princess Natalia, General Curtiss should act as a bond between our two nations, in service of both of their people and their royal families. Should Princess Natalia accept my proposal to take General Curtiss as her husband, I'd like to personally introduce the new formal agreement to King Ingobert IV on the neutral grounds of Daath or Yulia City.

Awaiting for your response,

Emperor Peony Upala IX, from the Malkuth Empire.

As Jade finished reading, Natalia noticed he was as pale as the paper he'd been holding on his hands the whole time. She was shocked as well, but nothing good had come out of making Jade read Peony's letter out loud. He looked nauseated, almost sick. Natalia had never seen him so shaken before, but he regained his composure when he handled the letter back to the servant.

"Jade is right, there must be a mistake", Natalia argued, but her father had a cheerful look on his face. "This has to be a joke or something, right, father?"

"I actually think is a good idea." The king said, with the large smile still plastered on his lips. King Ingobert looked almost amused with both of their reactions. "But what's your take on the matter, General?"

"If… If the Emperor has issued an order, I have to comply." Jade seemed to be gritting his teeth as he said it. On very few occasions Natalia had seen him this bothered, noticeably because of his lack of snarky and sarcastic remarks on the matter. It was almost like someone had told him people were using fomicry again.

"I remember there was an issue for high noblemen of Kimlasca to marry into those of Malkuth, father… General Cecille's family is proof of that." Natalia replied after a prolonged silence, since Jade seemed to be at a loss of words that didn't imply insulting Emperor Peony in some way.

"Indeed there was a problem, but General Cecille's family name was restored into grace once the peace treaty was signed, no longer been seen as traitors to the crown. The situation got complicated decades ago because of the Hod war, but nowadays it's no longer the case." Ingobert looked both at his daughter and the man in front of him, waiting for another logical approach to avoid the situation. Their silence, however, made him believe he had the upper hand at the matter.

"I stand with Milady, Your Highness. This puts us both on a precarious spot, not to say you'd be delivering your daughter onto a formerly enemy soldier with a reputation that precedes him." Jade's argument was valid, Natalia thought. Jade's name brought a taint into his own reputation, both as the father of fomicry and the almost legendary status they'd given to him as the Necromancer.

"Do you realize you've been fixing your own mistakes for the past twenty years, General? They go far beyond the name you made for yourself…" King Ingobert's smile remained on his face. "For example, banning fomicry research and development, helping bring peace between Malkuth and Kimlasca, saving Auldrant from falling into the Qliphoth and subsequently being dragged into the liquefied core and consumed by miasma, destroying the rouge replica from Professor Nebilim, not to mention developing the research to stabilize the bodies of replicas that remained after the whole incident with General Grantz, therefore taking personal care of my nephew's health... You might as well be considered a national hero for both Kimlasca and Malkuth." Ingobert could continue enlisting the deeds Jade and the others had accomplished to save the world many years ago, but it was obvious he had made his point already.

Natalia seemed like she was about to fall into a temper tantrum, but Jade had slowly recovered his composure, and kept a discreet smile on his face. The princess knew better, though: it was just a facade that Jade had perfected over the years to conceal his true emotions. She had only seen his perfect mask of serenity slip when people brought the abuse on fomicry and replicas into the table, but as it seemed, there were more topics that made Jade lose his calm. Had something happened she wasn't aware of? Natalia was sure Emperor Peony would know about it and he'd not force Jade to do something like that for diplomatic measures. Something seemed off, and she had to make sure what was it.

"I have no arguments against that," Jade admitted, fixing his glasses over the bridge of his nose. "Nevertheless, there will probably be a strain against your family name because of taking me as a possible suitor. Not to mention there are certain other business regarding Princess Natalia's marriage that should be considered already, have you thought about them, Your Majesty?" She knew exactly what he was talking about, and she was sure her father did as well. In those years, they'd never set those discussions over the table, not even once.

After the ungrateful incident in which it was uncovered that Natalia wasn't the righteous heir to the crown, as the original princess had been stillborn and replaced with a servant's newborn child, the King and his daughter slowly made amends and started anew. But regarding her marriage and future status as regnant queen, they'd never discussed over the matter. If either Asch or Luke had married her, the problem would have most likely been overlooked. If things got complicated within the noble houses, either of them would have been proclaimed king instead, but no one would care that fake princess Meryl married into the royal family. But given the case Luke wasn't up to marry Natalia anymore, and Asch had seemingly disappeared or died during the events that happened years ago, the situation turned out for the worst.

"I am well aware of the troublesome situation Natalia might find herself in the future." The king answered, still smiling. For some reason, he looked awfully sure of himself that night, Natalia thought. "But it's been proved that the future queen counts with full support of her people, who'd even give their lives protecting her. That includes the sympathy of Malkuth citizens, who'd empathize with the situation even more if you were to be taken into the Royal Family." Ingobert fixed his position, sitting straight to look more imposing. "Besides, if anything were to happen to Natalia, I'd hope my son-in-law would be able to protect her from harm. I see no problem with you being capable of doing that, General."

"Ah, perhaps you're forgetting I am but a mere fragile old man, Your Majesty. Your daughter is in the prime of her youth and you're willing to offer her hand in marriage to a rotten, four-eyed, foul tempered old man... however, I'd gladly listen to His Highness arguments during dinner, if you consider my Emperor's plan a good idea. I am willing to follow the orders given to me as long as we've all come to a common accord." Jade bowed his head with a slight tone of defeat in his voice and a faint sigh escaping his lips. Natalia knew she'd be having a hard time refusing this unwilling proposal, but she believed there could be another option. Jade should be thinking of some sort of logical outcome for all this and he'd be able to call it off, right? He was always three steps in front of everyone else when situations grew dire, so he should be able to sort this one out, Natalia hoped.

"For now, I kindly ask for a few minutes to send a letter to Malkuth before the dinner's discussion, if your Majesty would allow me." Natalia's eyes popped open. It was the perfect opportunity to talk about it without her father's prying eyes watching over them. She also needed to send an urgent messenger dove to Tear, seeing the outcome of that night's reunion.

"Father! I remembered I had fetched my handmaid with something for the mailman sometime this evening, but I forgot to attach a present! Would you mind if I personally escort General Curtiss to the messenger's office and walk him back to the dining room?" She had to take advantage of their time apart from her father to ask Jade's true opinion on the matter, as she believed there was no way he was alright with the King and the Emperor's decision.

"Fine. You're both dismissed. Make sure to be at the diner room in half an hour, please."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

A/N: I mentioned I had to credit some sources of inspiration for this fic. First of all, if you're interested in this couple or you're curious of it, there are many... +18 very explicit doujinshi out there. Being honest, they're wonderfuly drawn, the artist is very good, but I understand it's not everybody's cup of tea. But the one that fueled this fic is another story called "The Princess and the Patriot" by Mikomi's Pen, written back in 2007. Check it out, you'll love it and you'll find many simmilarities with this chapter. It trully inspired me to keep on doing this one. In other news, Jade is freakingly hard to write and I like shipping aesthetically-pleasing characters who barely interact with one another.