Author's note: I'm not dead, just chronologically challenged. My job is super stressful so it makes it super hard to just sit down and write. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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Chapter 16

The timing of everything in Ashe's life seemed to be ironic, on her first anniversary she gave birth to her son who died the day after. Tomorrow, the day after her second anniversary, she would finally exact her revenge on the consul and the empire for taking her throne, her homeland, the life of her son and the freedom of her people. She ground her sword onto the whetstone, hoping that the blade's freshly hewn edge would be sharp enough to fend her foes and carry her will. Grabbing a cloth, she polished the blade, until it reflected the dim lighting of the resistance army's headquarters.

Vossler crouched down before her. "Take the rest of the day off."

She jumped not expecting anyone to come to her. "Why? We have to prepare."

"We also need well rested soldiers, who have already attended to all their affairs at home. If they tire or their mind strays, we may just lose the battle. The fete is in the evening, we have plenty of time to place the squads." He glanced at the clock. "Now go." His voice hardened a little.

Ashe nodded and rose from her spot. She then placed her sword in storage, carrying it with her would only arouse more suspicion from the imperials; instead she carried a carefully hidden dagger and attempted to blend with the crowd. Rasler was already waiting for her at the door. They stepped out into Lowtown together. "You told him to let me out early, did you not?" She looked him in the eye and crossed her arms.

"Yes, I thought you wouldn't mind…it is our anniversary and all." He swallowed and looked down avoiding her eye.

She shook her head and sighed, taking a moment to think over her words. "I-I it's complicated. I have mixed feelings about today, and I just do not know what to feel anymore. We are supposed to celebrate being married and yet, this is the same day I gave birth to our son whose life was much too short." Her hand covered her mouth, as she fought back the tears. Breaking down here where the members of the resistance could see would be disastrous, she had worked hard to earn their respect and to be treated as an equal. If they were to see her break down here, who knew how they would react to that. She swallowed and took in a deep breath to calm herself. "I want to see him."

"Of course." He replied.

They walked out of Lowtown and onto the streets of the city. After what seemed like an eternity they arrived at the graveyard were their son lay buried. Ashe rushed to her son's grave, with a small offering that she picked up along the way in hand. She knelt beside the pile of stones that served as grave marker and placed the toy beside it. Rasler knelt next to her with enough distance between them to give her the space she needed.

"It's been a year, since you were among us. I pray that you have found peace, with the rest of your family." Her voice was quiet as she was actually speaking to a child. "At first I knew not what to do when you left us, but later I knew… I knew there was something I needed to do to honor you, and to ensure that it was not in vain." The small graveyard was silent as if expecting her to continue. "Tomorrow I will see to the end of the occupation, the empire will know remorse, and Dalmasca shall belong to her people once again. It shall be a new beginning for Dalmasca. Your father shall see his homeland avenged, the destruction of its land and people will not be forgotten or be in vain. We will rise from the ashes stronger than before."

She brushed off the sand that had accumulated on the stones that served as his grave marker. "I still love you, and you will always my first child no matter what happens. I shall always remember you even if no one else knows of your existence." The sound of sand and gravel shifting signaled that Rasler had knelt next to her. With her eyes shut and head bowed, she let herself dwell on what precious little memories she had of him. It was too soon for him to leave, but she will always treasure what little time he had. "You will always be in our thoughts." She gestured to her husband and reached out for his hand. It was quiet once again, a sanctuary within the chaos of an occupied city. To find peace here was a rarity, there always seemed to be something happening at all hours of the day, it all served as a reminder of Rabanastre's state of occupation.

Several minutes passed as they silently meditated on the events of the past two years. Ashe rose from kneeling and her husband followed suit. "I want you to have this." Rasler handed her a tied up handkerchief. She felt the weight of the metal chain contained within the fabric, with one quick motion she undid the loose knot. The cloth fell aside revealing a platinum oval locket inlaid with polished jet, and a matching chain. Mourning jewelry, had she still lived in the palace when he died, she would have traded her finery for this to honor his memory.

"Rasler… you shouldn't have…" The desert sun reflected off the locket, as it lay on her palm. She opened the locket; inside was engraved with fine calligraphy. "There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world." She read aloud, fighting the tears that welled up in the corner of her eyes. "Why?"

"I though you would want something to remember him by, which would always be with you." His gaze shifted to the ground for a few brief seconds.

Ashe placed the chain around her neck, letting the locket rest on her décolletage. "It's beautiful." She whispered reaching for his hand and leaning into him for a kiss.

They began their walk home, which felt as if it took ages. Imperial soldiers swarmed the streets, "protection" for new consulate; it was clear how little they trusted the local population, despite putting on an act of forgiveness and building a new future together. It was truly quite sickening. After tomorrow, there was to be no consulate and Rabanastre then all of Dalmasca would once again be rightfully hers. The next time the emperor would see his son, was in his burial casket, as heir to the throne Ashe would personally see to that.

The door made a squealing sound as they finally arrived home. If she has to bear the sight of another imperial soldier, she knew not what she would do with herself. Their mere presence was a reminder of the ordeal she faced only a year ago. Her son's memory would drive her tomorrow when she fought for Dalmasca. Not only were there the lofty ideals of reclaiming her throne and freeing her people, but this was also personal, as they had taken her son from her.

Ashe flopped onto the bed, the old mattress giving off a loud creak as she lay upon it. A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Two years she had been married to Rasler, and despite their circumstances, she was still as happy as ever. She thanked the gods for sparing his life, he returned from the war gravely injured barely clinging to life and by luck or sheer stubbornness he had made it through and eventually recovered. She certainly liked to think that he survived for her sake, but a part deep inside of her also thought that he persevered for the sake of his homeland. Either way he was still there for her and that all that truly mattered.

The bed made a sharp creak again as she propped herself up and watched him remove his armor, dropping it on the floor leaving him in a pair of pants thin sweat dampened tunic that clung his muscled form. With one swift motion, he threw off tunic leaving it to join his armor on the floor. Rasler sat on the other side of the bed, and flexed his arm muscles, which showed off his form. If she lay here she would squander this opportunity to "set her personal affairs straight," in a manner of speaking. She reached over and skimmed the sinewy flesh on his stomach.

"I certainly think it would be a pity if we were to let this evening go to waste." Her fingers traced over his hardened muscles, and she leaned in close enough to feel the warmth of his skin. "Take me as you please, and make me beg for release… then later we switch." Her lips just barely brushed against his, a quick tease for what was to come later.

"Very well then, two can play at that." He reached over and grabbed a scarf from a drawer. "You want to beg, I can certainly make you. Though I shall stop at a moment's notice if you tell me so." Rasler placed his hand on the fastening of her shirt.

Ashe blinked, she anticipated that he would begin undressing her immediately, but his warm hand stayed there just lightly touching her skin, a gentle motion that only served to fan the flames of her desire. So the game of wills had begun, and he made his first play. She took a in a deep breath and readied herself for what was to come. "Very well then, tie me up and do your worst."

0o0

It was the day of reckoning for the empire, today Ashe and fellow members of the resistance would reclaim what was theirs, and the empire shall know remorse for their actions. There was no room uncertainty and indecision today; it was a time for action and resolve, any sign of weakness would simply be a barrier to their goal.

She could almost taste Dalmasca's freedom, her people would prosper and no longer live in fear, and her husband could finally avenge the annihilation of his homeland and people. The dead demanded justice and restitution, and the empire shall atone for its misdeeds. No longer was she the innocent flower that would let itself be trampled upon, she had grown into a desert cacti fruitful, imposing and able to take on those who wished to harm her.

The small headquarters of the resistance soon became crowded as they all gathered, awaiting their orders, around the table where she sat with her husband and Vossler. Ashe rose from her seat climbing atop it to make her presence know. A deep breath escaped her lips; she sensed that they were hesitant and nervous, no matter how devoted to their cause they were. She was the rouse them, and remind them of the suffering they faced under the empire.

"Tonight Dalmasca needs you more than ever; we have spent nearly two years honing our edge preparing for this very day. Tonight we will reclaim what is rightfully ours, and the empire will face its day of reckoning. Some of you may have heard the Consul's word from earlier, but they are just that words and false promises blown away by the desert wind. Only a fool would believe such sickeningly sweet words, intent on poisoning our hearts and minds with lies but we know better. No longer will we have to fear those who patrol our streets, or fear losing our homes and businesses, 'nor will our children know what it is like to be treated as a foreigner in one's homeland. We shall show then neither fear nor mercy, for we have much to gain and the gods look upon those who work for justice. The sun will rise once again on a free Dalmasca."

Cheers and applause rose the crowd of her fellow countrymen, in those few moments she had managed to raise their spirits, and it would be enough to ensure their victory. Vossler gave her a nod of approval, and rose from his seat. "She is right; tonight we do not fight for ourselves, but for Dalmasca and for her future, and those who have fallen protecting her. We dare not let them down, nor squander their sacrifices."

The cheers died down, as the realization of the gravity of their mission hit them. Yet the air exuded confidence and determination. Ashe took her seat and turned to her husband. He placed his arm on her forearm, "You did well. I would speak, but I fear I would give my identity away." He said to her quietly.

"It is understandable...I've never given a public speech until now."

With a stern glare and a slight clearing of his throat, Vossler brought the attention back to him. "Everyone know what squadron they belong in?" He was met with a reassuring silence. "Good, we begin positioning ourselves in the waterway. Find your leader and he will tell what to do next."

She rose from her seat and Rasler followed suit. "I assume this is where we part for the evening." She leaned in and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Yes, but this will be all over come morning." He held tightly and kissed her, quickly enough to not bring attention to them.

"I pray 'tis true. We have been forced to wait too long."

He nodded and let go of her. "Good bye and good luck. I will see you later."

"I wish the same for you." She turned around to meet with her squadron.

0o0

The raid on the palace was a spectacular failure, a trap set up by the good consul himself, to lure the resistance in and eliminate them in one fell swoop. Thinking back, Rasler should have seen how obvious it was, Vayne was certainly not a stupid man and neither was he. Two of his men and two imperials lay on the ground beside him, and he himself was lucky to be alive now. A sharp pain radiated from his bad knee, of all the times his old injuries could act up now was the worse. He sifted through his pockets and found a potion, he drank down the bitter brew and it instantly healed his cuts and bruises. For now, he could hold on and find Ashe, unless he was ambushed. A loud deafening crash echoed through the sewers, sending shockwaves through his body.

His heart raced, he was not sure if he could hold up in another fight against imperials being both injured and outnumbered. As the ringing in his ears faded, voices from the crash site echoed though the sewers. First was a woman's voice, a Viera judging by her melodic accent, then a man spoke with a distinct Archadian accent. Rasler readied himself to hide and feign death, as he listened into their conversation. The Archadian mentioned a thief, who called himself Vaan, the conversation soon turned back to the Archadian, named Balthier who the Viera mentioned to be a sky pirate. Vaan was clearly Dalmascan, which became evident when he spoke. The group decided to work together, or at least temporarily. It seemed that they would not pose any sort of threat to him at least for now. The sound of footsteps grew louder as they approached him and his fallen comrades.

"A member of the insurgence and his fallen comrades I presume?" said one of the members of the group, who sounded like Balthier.

Rasler slowly stood up. "Resistance," he corrected. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you three were making you way out of here. I'm looking for a…'friend' of mine; we were separated during the chaos." It was a half lie, but there really was no need to tell these strangers the whole truth, chances were that he would never see them after this.

"Either way I'm quite sorry. Vayne's not the type to pass up an opportunity like this."Balthier adjusted the cuffs on his sleeves. "You're quite welcome to come and go as you please. I certainly won't stop you. I'm Balthier, and this is Vaan and Fran." He turned to the younger man and the Viera. "And you would be?"

Rasler paused for a moment to think of a false name to use. "Call me Ramis."

"Nice to meet you." Vaan said, before looking down into his pocket as if checking for something. "Hmm that's new." He mumbled to himself

"Very well then, shall we be off?"Balthier motioned to the rest of the waterway. "Keep your wits about you, who knows what or who might be lurking here."

Rasler nodded, "Yes. Staying here would put us a risk." He stepped onto the main path of the waterway.

They trudged through the waterway, its cool water permeating soaking though everyone's boots. The air was thick and damp, and they had to stop frequently to take care of the various monsters that lurked in the tunnels. Soon Rasler's muscles began to ache in protest, and the chill of the water numbed his feet. Once he found his wife and Vossler, he would leave this place and collapse onto his bed.

The waterway was infested with creatures that, forced them to fight and fend them off hindering their progress though the vast network of tunnels and chambers. He forced himself to continue as abandoning his wife and comrades was not an option, not only was it disgraceful, but he had sworn to protect her when they married. He had already failed her once, which he would never let happen again.

Ahead in the distance, he heard the distinct metallic clanking of imperial armor. Rasler gripped his sword and prepared himself to take the enemy soldiers on. He followed as the group followed the sound. At the edge of the ledge overhead, his wife stood corned by imperial soldiers. "Who would be next?"

His eyes darted around looking for a way to save her, out of the corner of his eye he spotted stairs that lead to the ledge. Gripping his sword tightly he bolted for the stairs hoping that he would make in time to save her.

"Jump down!" Vaan called out form below.

Rasler turned towards Vaan and the group, Ashe had escaped the enemy at least for now. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she was safe.

"She's not alone." The imperials turned heading down towards them. Rasler quickly backtracked joining them on the ground below.

He watched closely as they moved in on them, anticipating their next move. The low ranking soldiers were easy to read as they lacked the finesse and control of someone who has trained for many years. He parried the attack then counter attacked, injuring his enemy. Out of the corer of his eye, he watched as Ashe dispatched her opponent. Her strength and form had improved dramatically in the last two years despite her circumstances. He ducked dodging a blow, and he used that chance to swing low and disable the enemy. As quickly, as they appeared the imperials were dispatched.

Ashe sheathed her sword and walked to Rasler, aside from a few minor injuries, being soaked in water and covered in filth she was perfectly fine. He reached out for her hand, knowing that they both needed reassurance. Her hand was cold and clammy yet he held on.

"Is this your friend? Is she okay?" Vaan asked.

Ashe looked the young man up and down in contempt. "I'm perfectly fine thank you."

"I'm Vaan, and this is Balthier-" He cut himself off. "What's your name?"

She paused before speaking. "Amalia"

"Amalia? Nice to meet you."

Ashe turned towards her husband and glanced to the chamber ahead of them. "There were others with me…"

"As with me." Rasler said to her quietly.

"I'm sorry." Fran bowed her head for a brief moment.

Vaan clutched a piece of magicite in his hand; it glowed brightly in the dim light of the sewers and reflected in broken ripples off the water. The stone reminded him of the Midlight shard proof of his birthright.

"Oh, now isn't that impressive." Balthier turned his attention to the stone.

"Don't get any ideas. I said it's mine." Vaan clutched the stone protectively.

"I'm afraid the jury's still out on that one."

Ashe turned to the pair. "You stole that?"

Vaan's face lit up with pride. "Yeah!"

Of course, a street rat would be proud of such a thing, Rasler had to resist the urge frown or show any contempt. These people were now his and Ashe's allies no matter how temporary it was, neither he or Ashe were in any condition to carry on fighting alone and they both needed all of the help they could get.

"Have you finished? When the guards don't report in, they'll come looking for us." Fran said her voice cutting in though the distraction.

"If they aren't already." Balthier replied.

Vaan turned to Ashe, "You two should come with us. It's better than just going out by yourselves, especially since you both look beat."

Rasler nodded, he had long weighed his options and he was not sure how long he would last if it were just him and Ashe escaping.

"Very well." She and Rasler walked to the exit of the chamber, she then crouched down and pulled up his pant leg to examine his knee. "It's swollen. Does it hurt?"

"A little, but I think it's the chill of the air and all the running. Don't worry about it we'll be out of here soon."

"How can I not?" She rose to meet him and took his hand letting go when the sound of footsteps neared.

The rest of the group approached them. Ashe rested her palm against her chin. "The situation requires us to accept help as we find, though it be from thieves. We shall accompany you until we find our companions no longer."

Balthier turned to Vaan and quietly explained the arrangements of their group.

"Well what are we waiting for?" She asked.

The journey out of the water way was tedious, monsters hide around every corner and the air was thick with a cold dampness. As they continued though the mazelike tunnels a group of flans had attacked, and they were quickly dispatched. Lingering here would only get them caught by imperials. By now, they had probably sent patrols to look for the missing squadron. They were finally nearing the exit to Lowtown. Rasler may not have found Vossler and his other companions but soon they would be in safety.

A fireball shot out from behind and then revealed itself to be Firemane. As close as they were to leaving the Waterway presented itself with one last obstacle. It seemed that this place was determined to make his life more difficult. Rasler unsheathed his sword, as did the rest of his companions. The chamber became a battlefield where the beast danced with swords, guns, and bows. It fought valiantly, but it soon had met its final fate. Now there was a moment of quiet where they took the time to heal and compose themselves before leaving.

"Stand where you are!" A harsh voice cut though the silence.

0o0o0o0

Authors note: I'm rather pleased with this chapter. I finally caught up to the main events of the game. After this things are going to get a touch easier at least for mean. You probably might of noticed that I streamed lined and edited line some of the original dialogue from the game, I did partially because I not a fan of including stuff like umm and err in dialogue and also because the latter part of this chapter is in Rasler perspective so there's a bit of filter since the narration is so close to him. The stuff that's unimportant in his POV gets sort of skimmed over. I also hope that the scenes with dialogue between multiple people aren't too awkward to read, that's something I always have trouble with for whatever reason. Anyway reviews and concrit are loved as always.

Any I have a quick question for my readers. In my original outline of the story I planned on including Lilah, (Ondore's daughter from chapter 3) as a foil to Rasler and because I like to keep my parties with an even number of people, but I'm kind of concerned if that will leave me with too many characters to deal with. Then again the narrative is in a close third so stuff that doesn't apply to the POV is filtered. I'm still debating whether or not to include her, but she'll actually have some character development and growth if I do include her.

I'm sorry this chapter took forever to come out. It would of taken less time but I've been like super easily distracted lately, and that been taking a toll on my writing. Not to mention my other hobbies are pretty time consuming, like LARPing (Live Action Roleplaying) I'm a hardcore game with strict costuming and weapon requirements/guidelines. But yeah, I'll try to get my shit together and post chapters more often.