??? POV
“Thomas!”
“Adeline!”
“Darling! Eleanor!”
“Mom! Dad!”
The shadowy figure snickers at the chaos and suffering.
What will you do now, Lamberg?
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ASHA’S POV
“MY LADY!!!!”
Ouch.
“I’m alright.” Instantly the shouting in her ears stop. “Is anyone hurt?”
“My lady...” Why do all of you look so touched...?
Once she’s confirmed all her escorts and their horses are unscathed - the Lamberg battle steeds proving their mettle by not panicking or running off, keeping steady and not endangering their riders - Asha turns her attention to the smoke rising in the east.
Gunpowder.
She remembers it from before, remembers the sounds and smells like it was just yesterday.
It’s here. The pirates, the terrorists...they got their hands on gunpowder from Quan and turned it into weapons.
Pulling Luna’s reins, Asha turns her mare towards the cries in the distance.
“My lady! You mustn’t!”
Monique cares deeply for others, despite her prickly facade, but the one person the quiet mage-maid loves more than anyone is Asha.
I have to do this, Mony. I’m sorry.
She’s not sure if she says it aloud, or if the brunette simply understands her facial expression after all their time together, but Monique’s face fills with resolve as she issues orders to Valora and the knights.
It’s as Asha is racing towards the screams that she wonders just how anyone could have smuggled such a weapon in, and what it looked like prior to exploding.
I remember hearing much later that these weapons could be as small as a fist. But in the beginning they were so large that each filled an entire wagon. We saved most of the Quan ships, and the firecrackers they sold at the festival didn’t have such destructive power. I need to know just how sophisticated these weapons are right now.
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“Grandma!”
“Chris!”
“Lila!”
“Ben!”
“Papa!!!”
The sounds assail Asha’s ears even before reaching Ground Zero, the scent of blood and the sight of destruction forcing her to clench her teeth as she rushes to find the slightest evidence that might provide a clue as to the identity of the empire’s attackers.
This didn’t happen before. I thought I’d helped with what I said to dad, with all the hints I dropped, but I was wrong. This is my fault. I should’ve told dad, he’d have known what to do. I should’ve trusted daddy and just told him the truth.
“Help me!”
Startled out of her self loathing, Asha turns towards the boy with desperate eyes looking straight at her.
You look familiar, somehow.
“Please! Help me! My sister...my sister!”
Luna is an exceptionally intuitive horse, able to understand her master’s heart without a word or gesture, and the white mare turns towards the rubble at the boy’s cries.
Dismounting easily, Asha rushes towards the child.
“Where’s your sister?”
“She’s trapped inside! Help her, please!” His teary eyes remind her of herself when her family had been killed, and Asha grips rough stone and wood immediately, uncaring of the heat and sharp surfaces.
“My lady!”
“Shut up and HELP!”
Her escorts get to work, Luna even biting the boy’s collar and dragging him away gently like the intelligent and compassionate creature she is, as Asha heaves rubble away for a stranger.
Please be alright. Please be safe. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I should’ve said something sooner, I’m so so sorry.
“Asha!”
Shut up and help!
She doesn’t care who it is - even the Emperor himself can’t completely control House Lamberg, a fact that causes tension among all nobles regardless of affiliation - and roars at no one in particular to save the people or go to hell.
“He...help...” It’s a tiny child, a little girl probably no older than four, curled up and bleeding, clearly struggling to breathe, and Asha’s heart breaks at the sight.
“It’s alright, we’re here. You’re going to be fine.” Asha’s small for her age, despite the good food she’s been fed since birth, but she’s also stronger than most thanks to her northern bloodline, so she lifts the injured child gently and easily, turning towards Luna and the boy who breaks free and screams for his little sister.
“MARIE!”
“Monique, she needs healing.” Asha’s maid usually only uses magic for her lady’s sake, but the blue eyed aristocrat knows how much the brunette cares for human life.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Yes, Lady Asha.” At that, the mage begins to call forth her mana, condensing it into a spell, and then sparkles of soothing golden light hit the small body in Asha’s arms before that tiny chest begins to rise and fall evenly.
“She’ll be alright, boy.” Asha hopes her smile is reassuring. “Monique’s a talented mage.”
He sniffles, hands trembling as they reach out to touch his little sister’s cheeks tenderly, and Asha does her best to reassure him as Monique casts another healing spell.
“B...brother?”
“Marie! I’m here!”
Smiling, Asha lays the girl on the ground - her older brother is fretting over her in a heartbeat - before taking off her jacket and laying it over the child.
“Monique’s spells will mean Marie is out of danger, young sir.” He blinks teary brown eyes at her. “Make sure she stays warm and hydrated, and when the Imperial Healers come have them check Marie more comprehensively. Don’t forget to have them check you for your own injuries too.”
“Y...ye...yes, my lady!” You’re going to get sick, nodding at that speed. “I’ll do as you say! Thank you for saving my sister! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
She can’t help patting his tousled, sweaty brown hair, smiling as she rises.
“Lambergs never turn away from those in need.”
Sparkling brown eyes unnerve her enough to spin on her heel, then she regrets her decision when she sees all the worshipful gazes from her escorts.
“What the hell are all of you doing? Save everyone!”
Asha doesn’t like mincing her words, and hasn’t had to practice doing so until recently.
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I should’ve told dad. I should’ve said something. I knew about these weapons, I knew the devastation they’d cause, but I was trying to hide the truth and find a way to bring it up that wouldn’t seem suspicious to dad or anyone else. In the end, I was only thinking about myself, and this is the price everyone has to pay.
> ”Are you even capable of living without harming others?”
Asha had thought she’d never hate herself more than she had when her father and household had been killed, but she was wrong.
I’m a monster. I’m scum. I could’ve prevented this, I could’ve made sure everyone was safe, but I...
“My baby!” Large hands shake her out of her rumination, though Asha has to blink a few times before she can focus on frantic blue eyes. Daddy...? “My angel, you’re hurt! Stop doing this! Stop it!”
I’m...hurt?
Looking down at her hands dazedly, Asha realizes they’re blistered, burned, and bleeding.
> ”Why is everything always about you and what you want?”
It’s just minor injuries. Nothing compared to what others are suffering.
“ASHA!” Did I say all that aloud? “My darling, please PLEASE STOP. You can’t go on, it’s been more than twelve hours since you started rescuing citizens without a break!”
Twelve hours?
It’d felt like twelve seconds.
Somehow, her father’s words call to fore all Asha’s exhaustion and pain, and her body starts to hurt while her eyes get heavy.
Dad...everyone...I’m sorry.
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Asha makes Monique repeat herself three times when she hears it’s been two days since she’d collapsed after frantically trying to dig victims out of rubble.
NO. I can’t believe I wasted that much time sleeping, I have to help, I have to do something!
When Valora tells her that all survivors have been rescued and are currently undergoing treatment, Asha calms slightly, before the weight of her conscience makes her ask for the Count.
He appears in less than hour, sweaty and disheveled - clearly having come straight from the disaster zone and probably not having rested in days - and the sight of her father’s mussed hair and stained clothes make Asha tear up in guilt.
“Asha!” Count Lamberg has always been a fool for his daughter. “My baby, it’s alright. You did your best, you saved so many. Daddy is proud of you.” That last sentence makes Asha bawl like she never has. “My princess, my light, please don’t cry. It breaks daddy’s heart when you cry.”
Instantly Asha bites her lip and forces her sobs back, even as her whole body shakes from the effort.
“My darling.” Has anyone ever looked at her so tenderly? “I’m proud of you, and I’m sorry you had to experience that.”
At that, Asha bursts into tears once more.
Eventually, when they’re alone and she can control her crying enough, Asha tells her father everything.
He believes her, and is on her side, as always.
I love you, dad.
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“My baby...I’m so sorry.” Asha has stopped crying, though her eyes are so swollen she knows she’ll need lots of cold compresses later since healing spells don’t work on inflammations or similar ailments. Fortunately, ice magic is her forte.
When she looks up at her father’s pained face questioningly, Asha wants to cry again.
I never wanted to see that expression in this life.
“Why are you sorry, dad?” Her eyes are probably all cried out, though they burn and prickle from emotion.
His response breaks her heart.
“Because I must be the worst father in the world if my baby girl was too scared to tell me what’s bothering her.”
> ”All you ever do is cause problems for teacher.”
NO! You’re perfect! I’m the one who’s wrong!
She’s apologizing and insisting her father has never done anything wrong in his life, and somehow the conversation makes the two of them cry like babies before Asha falls asleep, exhausted but feeling safer than ever in her father’s arms.
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RAYLEIGH’S POV
“She’s awake?”
Conroy nods. “Yes, your highness. We’ve received confirmation that Lady Asha has woken up. The Count is currently with her.”
Rayleigh isn’t sure why he feels so relieved to hear that his fiancée has finally regained consciousness, so he turns back to the documents in his hand.
Teacher hadn’t rested at all, rescuing survivors and looking for clues as to the weapons used and the perpetrators. Despite the Count’s efforts though, today’s report doesn’t have much to add, other than statements from eyewitnesses and first responders recalling smells similar to when the Quan firecrackers were let off during the festival.
Loredan and Quan are on friendly terms, have been for centuries. Their ambassador has already pledged Quan assistance in any manner we may require, and some of their own citizens were caught in the blasts too. It’s unlikely that eastern empire was behind this, at least officially. So who could have done it and why?
The palace had gone into lockdown immediately after the explosions, barrier magic maintained day and night by an army of mages as knights filled gardens, rooms, and corridors. While Rayleigh is a member of the imperial family, as someone who isn’t a direct descendant of the Emperor he’s usually the representative sent to the front lines in situations like these.
Not that he minds. Rayleigh’s always hated restrictions, and he knows his cousin is also chafing at being locked in his apartments under heavy guard, with nothing to do but wait and wonder.
There’s barely any evidence left at the scene, or maybe there was initially but rescue efforts damaged them.
Thinking back to that day when he’d rushed to the site, he recalls the sight of Asha kneeling on debris and hard ground, frantically digging through the remains of a shop with her small hands.
> ”Save the people or go to hell!”
The memory of her fierce yell, so very Asha, brings a tiny smile to his lips before he smothers it quickly.
What am I thinking? This is ASHA we’re talking about. She’s a spoiled brat who’s nothing but a thorn in everyone’s side and a stain upon her name.
Still, there’s no denying Asha’s courage and compassion, her Lamberg sense of duty that saw her putting others before herself until she’d eventually collapsed since her frail body isn’t used to such exertion.
When so many nobles had hidden themselves in their homes, doubled and tripled their guard in fear for their lives, Asha had run straight to the scene in order to help commoners.
You’re teacher’s daughter, through and through.
She’s always been headstrong and independent, with a foul mouth unbefitting of her noble status, and a fiery temper at odds with her wintry coloring.
Though where before Asha’s stubbornness had caused nothing but trouble for everyone, this time she’d wielded it to resolutely save as many strangers as possible despite the damage to her own body.
I hope she’s alright.
He’d spotted her from afar, being rushed home by her red headed knight as the brunette maid cast healing spell after healing spell despite the obvious exhaustion. Even from a distance, Rayleigh had seen the unmistakable signs of injury to those small hands whose gloves had been burned and ripped, had seen the blood joining dirt and soot on torn clothes thanks to Asha’s kneeling and scrabbling and crawling through wreckage.
“Conroy, have you found out what to get for Asha yet?”
His secretary has never looked this ashamed, Rayleigh is certain.
Interesting.
If even Conroy, the mastermind behind the empire’s largest information network, can’t figure it out, then...
“I’ll pay her a visit tomorrow.”
“I’ll send word to the Count at once, your highness.”
Asha...what happened to you?
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MOONRISE BY LUNASEA: CHAPTER 6 END