>>5504035You force yourself to smile at Ashe’s poor attempt at a joke. You find it a bit hard to make light of the current situation, especially after all the previous years you’ve spent worrying about him. You don’t know where to start, so you settle on the most basic emotion that you’re feeling right now.
>“I’m just happy to see you again, Ashe.” Even in the dingy lighting of the cell, you can see surprise cross his youthful face. He smiles back at you. “I’m happy to see you as well, Blair. I’d…heard some things about you. Back in Arianrhod. Of course, I didn’t believe most of it. You look like you’ve really matured. I-in a good way, that is…”
>“You heard about me? Well, that makes one of us. I have so many questions for you, I’m not sure I even know where to start. What in the Goddess’ name have you been up to? You disappeared the night the monastery was attacked. Not even those from the Blue Lions knew what fate had befallen you. We feared you were dead.” “I’m…sorry for leaving without saying anything. The truth of the matter is, I refused to fight for the Church of Seiros. The way I’d saw it, the Archbishop and the Church were the ones responsible for driving Lonato to his death. It was because of them that I was…forced to kill him. So, when I’d learned that the Empire was attacking, I fled. I had been exchanging letters for some time now with Count Rowe. He had absorbed Lonato’s former territory into his own following his death. The two had always been close, and he had offered me a position in his service as a knight after I graduated. I was able to use the money to support my siblings. They’re living in Arianrhod now, receiving an education.” He leans back against the wall of his cell, looking uncertain. “Of course, I never knew that Count Rowe would betray Prince Dimitri and plunge the Kingdom into chaos. But by then, I’d already made my choice. I was a knight now, in service to Rowe. And I would see my duties through to the end. I’d finish what Lord Lonato had started.”
>“What’s gotten into you?” You ask, holding onto the bars of his cell. “I know that you were upset with how the Church had treated Lonato and his son, but this is nothing like the Ashe I remember. You were supposed to become a knight for honor! For your siblings. Not…vengeance!”“I learned the truth.” Ashe says. He reaches into his coat, and produces what looks like a worn, weathered book. “Do you remember our battle against Bishop Santiago? From the Western Church? After we killed him, I thought that was the end of it. That I’d killed the man who’d manipulated Lonato into rebelling against the Church. But as the battle was ending, one of his aides approached me. He told me he’d heard what I said about wishing to avenge Lonato, and he handed over this book. It was Lord Lonato’s diary. The man said he’d managed to retrieve it after Lonato’s death.”
