\\2\\Sorrowless Departure [Tales of the Abyss]\\2\\ (Part 1)

"C'mon, up 'n at 'em, Kuki!"

You groaned in your now half dreaming state. "S'not my name..."

Guy sighed from your side, resting his hands against your bed. "Okay, Fuyuko. Come on, if you don't hurry and get up, we'll be late!"

The upper half of your body quickly flung up so you were in a sitting position. Guy yelped a bit and jumped backwards. You looked over at him and rubbed at your eyes a little, and then started laughing.

Guy raised an eyebrow, "Uh, what? Usually when you're laughing, it doesn't mean anything good."

"It's nothing; nothing at all. Just get ready or we'll be late."

You quickly stood up and walked past Guy, grabbing some extra clothes and putting them in a small bag. Guy shook his head, now behind you, and began to do the same. "I wonder how this is gonna work out," he mused.

"The thing I'm most worried about is Luke; what are we going to do if he recognizes us?"

Guy tilted his head once he was done packing, and zipped up his bag, placing it over his shoulder. He grabbed a sheathed sword, specially made by the blacksmith in Hod, and casually wrapped the strap around his waist.

"What are you talking about, Futchan?" Guy wondered. "We've never even met his Majesty, let alone seen him. The Duke always keeps him hidden inside the manor."

You cringed irritably at the pet name Guy gave you.

"Please don't make a habit out of calling me that," you said, smiling falsely. "And my apologies. I must have dreamt it."

Guy sighed, "You're so hard to read sometimes, Yuko..."

Your smile became more real this time. "Well," you started, "Let's go."

"Right," Guy nodded.

"You have requested my presence?" King Ingobert asked from his throne. You and Guy bowed without reluctance. "Yes, your Majesty," you nodded, standing once again. Guy did the same, following your lead.

"We would like to become servants of Duke Fabre in the manor," you suggested.

"Of course," Guy added. "That is, if you would let us. We don't require pay or anything; we've got jobs down in Baticul."

King Ingobert nodded, "Ah, I see. Is there any particular reason you are interested in serving my brother-in-law?"

"Yes," a young woman's voice spoke. "There must be some reason you wish to serve us."

You bowed with an arm over your chest. "I understand your mistrust, Princess Natalia."

You didn't look the princess in her eyes, because if you did, she would surely recognize you. It isn't every day that you see someone with eyes so icy blue they look white. Guy nodded from his position next to you, bowing as well.

"Please forgive us," he said. "We wish to serve you as long as Kimlasca is alive and well. We take much pride in serving for our home."

"Then perhaps you would do well as a knight," the King proposed.

"Your Majesty, we promise we will do our best in protecting Luke Fon Fabre, son of Duke Fabre..." you paused, looking up at King Ingobert so he saw your eyes, "...until our lives have passed," you finished.

The King seemed to look at you in surprise. He glanced back and forth between you and Guy, suspiciously. "What are your names?" he asked.

"My name is Guy Cecil, and this is Fuyuko Shizuyo. Your Majesty, even if you do not accept our offer, we will still serve under you, no matter the case."

You nodded, "Yes, please give us this position. Luke Fon Fabre will not be leaving the manor as long as we are in charge."

"Pardon...?" the King questioned.

"It seems the tides have changed," you mused. "Duke Fabre, according to the civilians, does not want his son, Luke Fon Fabre, to leave the manor due to an unknown cause."

King Ingobert seemed a bit startled, but then calmed himself. Princess Natalia questioned his behavior, but he insists that it was nothing.

You and Guy bowed one last time.

"If you don't accept us right away, please think of our offer," Guy suggested.

You nodded in agreement, "Yes, please do, Your Majesty."

The King stood suddenly and stopped you from leaving. "Please, you have my deepest apologies for being skeptical. You will always be welcome within the house of Fabre. Please consider yourselves servants of Kimlasca."

"Father, are you sure about this?" Natalia objected. King Ingobert nodded, "Yes. These two will be able to serve us well. Please, Guy, Fuyuko, go speak to Duke Fabre. He will tell you what you are to do."

"You have my deepest thanks, your Majesty. And you too, Princess."

You were tempted to spit 'Princess' out as if the word itself were vile. You did not particularly like Princess Natalia. She was a bit too headstrong and arrogant for your liking.

Guy grinned uncontrollably, "Thank you very much, your Majesty! You won't be disappointed."

King Ingobert nodded, "Yes, you are quite welcome. Here is the seal of approval; take that to my brother-in-law and he will take you in immediately."

Guy took it and studied it before looking back to the King and bowing, "Please excuse us, your Majesty, Princess."

You walked out, almost running, as Guy walked behind you. Once you were out of the castle, Natalia turned to her father and sighed.

"Father... I do not know about this," she noted.

King Ingobert smiled and patted her on the head, "Do not fret, my child. They seemed trust worthy to me. Besides, Guy Cecil seemed to have charmed you, has he not?"

Natalia gasped, "F-Father! You know I only have eyes for Luke Fon Fabre."

"Yes, but..." the King sighed. "It seems that Luke did not propose to you as a child like the Duke said. Perhaps he is not fit to be your husband?"

"How can you say such a thing?" Natalia questioned.

"My brother-in-law told me that a girl named 'Kukiko' had been on his mind the day after Luke told him he would propose to you. A childhood friend of yours, maybe?"

Natalia frowned, "Luke picked that normal, average girl over royalty like me... even after ten years? No, I will not accept this! I will win Luke for myself; that is a promise!"

King Ingobert chuckled, "Do your best, my child."

"I can't believe this! He actually let us in!" Guy shouted, jumping around like a little kid two seconds away from a roller coaster.

You sighed and held your leg out, tripping him.

Guy pushed himself up so he was sitting on his hands and knees, glaring at you. "What was that for?!" he demanded. You shrugged and grinned, "Oh, my apologies. I didn't seem to notice where I was walking; I'll be more careful next time."

Guy stood up and brushed himself off, still glaring at you in anger. "Tell me what you really did that for, and be honest."

You wiped the playful grin from your face and looked over to Guy, "If you are too loud about this, someone will suspect something. We'll be on the road to death, if you catch my drift. I mean I'm just about as excited as you are about finally infiltrating the manor."

"For some reason, I highly doubt that..." Guy mused.

You chuckled darkly, "Oh, what ever do you mean, Guy?"

Guy sighed, "That's exactly what I'm talkin' about..."

"May I help you two?"

"Ah, yes, my apologies," you mumbled, facing the knight guarding the manor. You couldn't help but allow his voice to burn holes in your memories. It sounded so familiar it was almost painful. Guy stepped up, "Yeah, we were asked to meet with the Duke by King Ingobert. Mind leading us there?"

The knight nodded and saluted, giving a 'yes sir' before turning around so you could follow. Guy happily crossed his arms behind his head, walking behind the knight with you at his side. You couldn't help but think something was wrong; out of place.

The knight came to a stop in front of a door and turned around. "Please wait here. I will go inform the Duke of your presence," he suggested. He then walked through the door, following the path and turning a corner through another door, stalking all the way down to the bedroom of Duke Fabre.

Guy laughed uncontrollably. You turned to him and smirked, "You're having a bit of trouble holding this in, aren't you?"

Guy faltered a bit, but then grinned darkly. "Yeah," he said. "I can't believe we're going to finally be able to get revenge. It seems almost too good to be true. I wonder what Mary would say if she were here right now..."

You looked down and didn't say anything responsive, letting him delve deep within his own thoughts for the time being. The mentioning of his sister brought up a lot of sore subjects and memories. Though he didn't remember how she died, Guy never liked talking about her. It was an especially bad thing when he brought Mary up. This only made your sense of chaos grow even stronger.

Something was definitely wrong, but you couldn't place a finger on it at the moment to save your life.

After a few moments, the knight reentered the room and saluted you and Guy.

"Duke Fabre is ready for you. Please enter."

You and Guy nodded, walking past the knight before entering the large dinner room. The all too familiar room, with the 'dining table that looked as if it could hold all the food in the world on its top', gave you a sensual feeling of uneasiness; the cause of which was unknown.

You faltered a bit, unwanted feelings of anger and self pity rising within you, and then bowed to the tall standing Duke Fabre. Susanne, his wife, stood solemnly next to him. Guy followed your example without hesitance, though he disliked it.

The Duke arched a slightly gray eyebrow at the two of you for not giving him a proper greeting like, 'Hello, your majesty'. It wasn't unforgivable, of course, so he didn't dwell on it. His confused expression was replaced with a smile.

"Please," he said. "Sit."

You smiled as warmly as you possibly could, which turned out to be more of a malice filled smile. The spiteful feeling within you only rose as the Duke did not make any gestures or tones of hostility. Did he actually trust you?

You refused to sit, despite the feeling of uneasiness that constantly rose within you.

Guy stepped forward a bit, "If you would, sir, please read this."

He handed the letter to Duke Fabre in which had the seal of approval upon its wrinkly cover. He opened it slowly and read through it, indeed recognizing it as the work of his brother-in-law. The Duke smiled and looked up from the paper, "Welcome to the House of Fabre."

You grinned darkly and collectively while Guy smiled and almost bounced in anticipation. You bowed a bit, "Thank you very much. How shall we work, your grace?"

The Duke looked to Susanne, who nodded.

You glanced over at Guy as he did the same; eyeing each other as if he also got the feeling something was wrong as well. You abruptly turned back to the Duke as he smiled at you and Guy. "You two will be the babysitters for my..."

He seemed to falter a bit, but then continued despite himself. "...for my son. Luke Fon Fabre. Please treat him with utmost care. He is not to leave the manor for any reason whatsoever, neither is he allowed to speak to the gardener, Pere. Understood?"

You and Guy nodded and then bowed.

"Gray!" the Duke called. This name perked your interest as the knight from before came in. "Yes, sir?" the knight addressed as Gray saluted. Duke Fabre sighed silently as if hiding a highly confidential secret. "Escort these two to Luke Fon Fabre's room," he ordered.

Gray nodded and saluted him once again, "Yes sir. Please, follow me if you will."

You nodded suspiciously and followed with a bit of a lengthy space between you and him. Guy leaned in from his walking position next to you. "What's wrong? You're acting normal," Guy whispered into your ear, slightly joking.

You grinned and shrugged with your arms up in the air, "My, what are you talking about Guy? Sometimes I don't understand what goes on within that thick skull of yours."

"I'm thick skulled...? Speak for yourself..." Guy mumbled.

Gray abruptly turned around before you could notice you were outside and in front of Luke's room. "Please do not be frightened by Young Master Luke's childish tendencies. You see, he was kidnapped by Malkuth forces a short while ago and it has taken a traumatic effect on his brain. He remembers nothing of his childhood, nor does he remember how to walk or speak properly. Please be patient with him."

You nodded at him suspiciously, "And I am supposed to assume that The Duke told you this nonsense?"

Guy looked at you in surprise, "Yuko, what are you talking about?"

Gray was utterly shocked, though it was well masked by his helmet. "May I ask why you consider it nonsense, Young Miss?"

You shrugged a bit, "What would Malkuth want with the prince of Kimlasca? If I am to remind you, Kimlasca is the half of Auldrant in which is trying to start a war, not Malkuth. I believe Emperor Peony is doing a good job of creating a formal peace treaty. Wouldn't you agree? You couldn't have possibly believed that pathetic excuse for memory loss... A Malkuth kidnapping, tch. So like the Duke..."

There was a long bit of silence that followed. Gray hesitantly saluted you and Guy, excusing himself from your presence. Guy turned to you and placed a hand on his hip, "What was that all about?"

You shrugged, "Out of all the people in Kimlasca, you should know the most, Guy. Remember that year we spent in Malkuth? We're clearly Malkuth civilians, yet people mistake us as Kimlascans. Emperor Peony was writing a peace treaty while we were there, remember?"

"Oh, yeah..." Guy nodded, placing a finger over his chin. "Man, this situation is getting really weird."

You shook your head and looked at the door that had the immature Luke Fon Fabre inside. "That's one hell of an understatement."