Ashe and the Glass Sword

by KuroKoneko Kamen

  “Yes, I heard about that,” Ashe admitted, thinking about the rumors surrounding Prince Snow’s inability to cast even the simplest of spells. “Although, apparently his ‘charm ability’ works just fine.”

  Julie giggled. Prince Snow Flurris was renowned for being quite the philanderer. “All the ladies who work at the palace can’t stop talking about how they wish they could meet Prince Snow and how he’ll fall in love with them at first sight and marry them.”

  “What about you?” Ashe asked Julie casually.

  Julie blinked beneath her mask. “Oh…I’ve met Prince Snow.” She tapped the bottom of her mask thoughtfully. “He’s a little too…sparkly for my taste.”

  “Sparkly, huh?” Ashe said dryly before a sobering thought occurred to him. “If Snow is unable to do magic…is he really safe in Apple Kingdom?”

  Julie shrugged. “Well, regardless of his magical ability he is a prince. And as you said he does appear to have a strange charm ability that works not only on women, but also on female monsters. I heard a dragon tried to eat Snow once, but it turns out the dragon was female, and decided to let him live instead.”

  Ashe chuckled at the visual image that formed within his mind of a giant dragon going heart-eyed as it looked down at Prince Snow.

  “My point is that Prince Snow probably knows where Blacksmith Rapunzel’s Tower is located,” Julie said. “Snow is very friendly. Even to dullards. Perhaps, you could ask him for help, and whether or not he knows where Blacksmith Rapunzel lives.”

  Ashe let out a skeptical snort. “You think I can just walk up to Prince Snow Flurris and ask for his help, and he’d help me? I’d never make it past the front gate of Apple Castle.”

  Julie giggled and waved her hand at Ashe in amusement. “The castle? Oh no, you wouldn’t try to meet him there. You would try to meet him in Apple City. The girls at the palace told me that he frequents a Gentleman’s Club there called Forbidden Fruit almost every night!”

  “Right. Womanizer.” Ashe nodded in understanding. “Let’s say I go to Apple City, find Snow Flurris, and ask for his help. Why would he help me? He doesn’t even know me.”

  “He’s a good person,” Julie argued. “Trust me. I happen to be an excellent judge of character.”

  “So out of the goodness of his heart he’ll help me? Ha…” Ashe scoffed.

  Julie shrugged. “It was just a suggestion. Perhaps, there is another way for you to get your hands on an enchanted weapon. I could-”

  “No. You’re right,” Ashe interrupted. “What do I have to lose by at least asking Prince Snow Flurris for his help? Maybe I could offer him a deal.” Ashe stroked his chin. What would a spoiled prince who has everything even want? Ashe wondered. “It’s my dream,” he murmured aloud.

  “What is?” Julie asked.

  Ashe startled. He hadn’t realized he’d spoken those last words aloud. He coughed awkwardly into his hand. “It’s my dream to one day participate in a match here and to win a whole lot of money.”

  Julie smiled beneath her mask. “I’m sure you’ll make your dream a reality someday, hero.”

  “Ugh,” Ashe moaned. “Don’t call me a ‘hero’.” The clopping sound of a horse approaching the tower reached their ears. Ashe frowned since the horse’s steps sounded heavier and slower than a normal horse’s. “What’s that odd sound?”

  “Ah, my ride’s here,” Julie said simply. “The Queen must have sent it for me.”

  “It?” Ashe asked.

  “You’ll see.” Julie made her way out of the tower with Ashe following close behind. Parked in front of the tower was a spooky, black and gold, pumpkin-shaped carriage with four legs. No horses were attached to the carriage.

  Ashe had heard of enchanted carriages that were carried along by their own legs before, but had never seen one in person. They were rumored to be incredibly expensive. The carriage reminded Ashe of a fat, four-legged spider, and he decided that the carriage was officially creepy.

  The door of the carriage opened on its own as if ushering Julie inside. Julie approached the carriage, and just as she was stepping inside glanced over her shoulder at Ashe. “Thanks again for saving me, my brave hero. I hope to see you fighting in the coliseum soon. Farewell.”

  “What did I tell you about calling me a ‘hero’?” Ashe complained, watching Julie enter the carriage. The door shut behind her of its own accord and he smirked. “Farewell, Julie.” The carriage started to run down the street and Ashe shuddered. “Yes. Definitely a monster spider.”

  That girl was so strange…but surprisingly smart. Ashe thought. Because of her I learned Prince Snow has an enchanted sword forged by Blacksmith Rapunzel himself. A sword he can’t even use. Snow is a rake who frequents the Forbidden Fruit. In other words…Princes Snow Flurris is easy prey. A sly smile curled Ashe’s lips.

  Ashe didn’t intend to ask Prince Snow for his help. “Ha!” He’d never get it. People weren’t nice for no reason. A plan was already taking form in his keen mind. “I’ll just have to think of a way to steal, er, relieve Snow of the burden of that sword. Julie was wrong about me. I’m no hero. I’m a jaded scumbag. A gigolo, who only cares about money, and getting revenge. Poor girl. She’s an awful judge of character. I fear for her marriage prospects.”

  ***

  Ashe made sure the knight and the casino guards were nowhere to be seen before leaving the dilapidated tower and heading home. Home wasn’t really ‘home’ for Ashe - it was more like a prison. The château came with a couple of acres of farmland. It was a large property that should have housed multiple servants to take care of it. But there was only one servant at Lord Christian Tremaine’s château.

  When Ashe arrived he made his way to the backdoor of the château and entered the kitchen. He immediately stripped off his fine suit, folded it, and shoved it into a burlap sack along with his dress shoes.

  Ashe redressed in a dirty, tattered cotton shirt, pair of brown pants, and scuffed, brown leather shoes. The clothes he was wearing now were only fit for a slave. But that’s what Ashe really was - a slave. This was his true identity.

  Ashe stalked over to the fireplace, crouched before it, and stuck his hands into the ashes before wiping some ash onto his face and into his hair. Being covered in ash served as a disguise of sorts. Lord Tremaine and his two sons would never recognize Ashe if they saw him at one of the casinos in Glass City by chance.

  They must never discover that I sneak out at night in order to seduce rich, mature ladies for their money. It’s my only chance to gain my freedom. Ashe thought as he belatedly remembered to remove the beautiful, gold silk ribbon that had been keeping his hair tied back. He stuffed the ribbon into his burlap sack along with his fine suit.

  Ashe stared at his reflection in one of the copper pans that was hanging from the ceiling over the kitchen counter. A dirty, pathetic slave greeted him in his reflection. That’s what he was now.

  Ashe hadn’t always been a slave though. As he’d told Julie he’d been a lord once upon a time until his mother Seraphine had sold him to Lord Tremaine to pay off her gambling debts. She’d betrayed him.

  As for Ashe’s father…Ashe barely remembered him since he’d died when Ashe was only seven-years-old. He didn’t even know his father’s first name, only that his last name had been Smoldris. Ashe had only addressed his father as ‘Daddy’, after all. Ashe had questioned Lord Tremaine about his father, of course, but never received an answer as to his father’s identity.

  Ashe did remember that his father had been incredibly handsome with long, silvery hair that cascaded down past his waist, and intelligent golden eyes. In comparison Ashe’s mother with her brown hair and brown eyes had been plain and homely.

  Ashe didn’t know how his father died exactly, just that one day his mother said he was dead. When his mother got very drunk she’d sometimes slip up and complain that Ashe’s father had been killed. Seraphine’s sadness over her husband’s death turned into crippling depression. The only thing that seemed to cheer Se
raphine up was gambling at the glittering casinos in Glass City, and she became addicted to it.

  It didn’t take long for Seraphine to gamble away all her money. That’s when she decided to borrow money from a handsome loan shark named Lord Christian Tremaine. When Seraphine lost all of the money that had been loaned to her she had no choice but to give her chateau to Lord Christian Tremaine to cover her debt. The fact that she was now homeless didn’t stop her gambling addiction, however. Seraphine begged Lord Tremaine to loan her more money, and that’s when he offered her a proposition - marriage.

  Seraphine knew that ever since her husband’s death she’d been an awful parental figure to her son Ashe and figured that providing her son with a new father figure and gaining the money to continue her gambling habit was a win-win situation, and so she agreed to marry the benevolent Lord Tremaine.

  Lord Tremaine lent his wife money and she gambled it away until she owed him 50,000 Gold Apples. That’s when Lord Tremaine declared that enough was enough, and that his wife needed to pay him back somehow. When she had no idea how she could do that Lord Tremaine suggested that she sell her son Ashe to him as a slave to cover her new debt. Seraphine had become mentally unstable at this point, and agreed.

  Lord Christian Tremaine and his two sons, Knuckles and Picasso, had never been very nice to Ashe. But after he became Lord Tremaine’s slave they treated him even worse.

  Ashe became a slave in his own home. He cooked, cleaned, did the laundry, mended clothes, cleaned the chimneys, and took care of the few farm animals they had on the property, including the horses.

  Ashe didn’t think his situation could get any worse, but it did when his mother committed suicide. After his mother’s death Lord Tremaine started to beat Ashe for certain imagined slights. If Ashe did something wrong in Lord Tremaine’s eyes, Ashe was punished accordingly.

  Sometimes Knuckles would be the one to carry out his punishment. The ham-fisted bastard would deliver blows to Ashe’s restrained body until he cracked a few ribs.

  When Picasso was in charge of punishing Ashe he had fun with a stainless steel blade he called a ‘scalpel’. Apparently, Ashe’s flesh was a canvas, and as Picasso cut slashes into Ashe’s body he was creating ‘a work of art’.

  What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. Ashe would think to himself anytime they tortured him. At least, the Tremaines didn’t abuse him sexually. Small mercies. Lord Tremaine and his sons were only interested in the fairer sex. Thank God.

  One day, Ashe bravely confronted Lord Tremaine, and asked if he could buy back his freedom. Christian had merely smiled at Ashe, and said that if Ashe could come up with the sum of 50,000 Gold Apples - his mother’s gambling debt - that Ashe could buy back his freedom.

  This is why Ashe was obsessed with money. He needed it. He would do anything to get more of it. His deal with Lord Tremaine was why Ashe visited the casinos in Glass City, and seduced women into giving him gold or jewelry for one night with him. That’s how Ashe ended up turning into a gigolo. He was definitely no hero, like Julie had assumed.

  Seraphine’s betrayal was why Ashe hated women. They weren’t to be trusted. Women were selfish, insincere and duplicitous. He loved gold instead. Gold never betrayed you. And it was gold that could one day get Ashe his freedom back. One day, I’ll be free. Ashe vowed to himself.

  Ashe’s bedroom was up in the attic, but that night it was to cold to go up there and sleep since he’d probably freeze to death. Ashe thought morbidly about how no one would mourn him. He lay down on the floor by the fire, closed his eyes, and fell into a fitful sleep. He dreamed about gold, diamonds, enchanted swords, and unicorns.

  To be continued in…Chapter 2:

  Chapter 2:

  The following morning Ashe awoke to a stinging pain in his ear. “Ow! Fuck!” Ashe’s eyes snapped open and he sat up. He glared down at his temperamental pet mouse who’d just bitten his ear, and who was looking up at him with an innocent look on her furry face.

  Ashe brought a hand up to his throbbing ear, and when he looked at the palm of his hand he saw tha there was blood on it. “Morning already, Gustava? Guess you’re hungry. For a lady mouse you’re such a pig.” Ashe let out a defeated sigh as he pushed himself up off the floor.

  Gustava would wake Ashe up at exactly sunrise, which was when she liked to have breakfast. It was as convenient as it was a pain in the ass that the mouse waked him up the same time each morning.

  Ashe walked over to the larder, went inside, and fetched some cheese for his spoiled mouse. He cut a generous piece off a cheese round and set the piece of cheese down in front of Gustava. “Here you go, you spoiled princess.”

  Gustava picked up the piece of cheese with her front paws, looking almost human for a moment, before she began to gobble up the piece of cheese in a greedy fashion.

  Lord Tremaine and his sons would be up in about an hour and would be expecting breakfast to be ready for them. Ashe made scrambled eggs, bacon and toast for Lord Tremaine and Picasso. For Knuckles he made a stack of pancakes drizzled with maple syrup.

  The first time Knuckles had requested that Ashe make him ‘pancakes’ he had no idea what pancakes even were. No one in Fantasia ate ‘pancakes’. Lord Tremaine had graciously taught Ashe how to make them, and he discovered ‘pancakes’ were similar to ‘crepes’, but just thicker and fluffier.

  Pancakes weren’t the only strange food that the Tremaines liked to consume. Ashe had also needed to learn how to make ‘hamburgers’, ‘French fries’ and ‘pizza’. These were also strange dishes that were unknown in Fantasia. This made Ashe wonder if Lord Tremaine and his sons were from another realm. Or maybe they were just odd because they were wizards and their magic confused Ashe.

  As soon as Ashe finished making breakfast, he set the three plates of food onto a silver tray and carried it to the parlor where the Tremaines liked to have breakfast. The dining room was only used for dinner.

  By the time Ashe arrived Lord Tremaine and his sons were already seated in the sitting room waiting for him. Lord Tremaine was seated on a tapestry upholstered wingback chair. He was currently reading the latest issue of Glass Kingdom’s weekly newspaper: The Glass Gazette, and smoking a cigar.

  Knuckles and Picasso were both seated on a giltwood settee that was upholstered in blue and gold silk. The delicate settee was groaning ominously at the combined weight of the two brothers. Knuckles alone weighed more than two hundred pounds, and his lanky brother Picasso weighed 130. Ashe had the sinking feeling that if they broke the settee that he would be blamed for it, and punished later.

  Knuckles was busy cleaning a strange magical weapon which he’d called a ‘Tommy gun’ before. Ashe had seen Knuckles use the weapon only once as he’d shot at a tree and pretty much obliterated it with the tiny, metal projectiles the weapon would spit out.

  Picasso was flipping through the pages of an odd looking book with color photographs that were too accurate to be paintings or ink drawings, and which he’d called a ‘magazine’. Those items must be from the world they came from. Ashe thought.

  The Tremaines also dressed strangely in comparison to the current popular fashion of Glass Kingdom. Lord Tremaine was currently dressed in a white, button-down shirt, black vest, red tie, black silk pants, and a white fur coat that had a red lining. Christian’s short black hair was slicked back over his head and had a single white stripe running through it. Lord Tremaine’s facial features were harsh and brutal, and his cold, gray eyes reminded Ashe of steel.

  Neither of Lord Tremaine’s sons appeared to have inherited his handsomeness. Knuckles had a round, pudgy face and though he looked obese, he was in fact powerfully muscular. Picasso was pale and gaunt, giving him an appearance that reminded Ashe of a skeleton.

  Knuckles was wearing a gaudy purple suit with a matching fedora on his head. The tie Knuckles was wearing was purple with the pattern of black polka dots. Ashe knew that the suit had to be custom-made since it was impossible that a suit like that had existed in Knuckles�
��s size. Picasso was wearing a blue suit that had black pinstripes on it, and a black fedora.

  The Tremaines all bore the same strange tattoo that Ashe had only caught a glimpse of on different occasions. The tattoo was of a golden snake with red eyes coiled around a juicy looking red apple that had a bite taken out of it.

  In a futile effort not to draw any attention Ashe kept his head lowered as he set the tray down on the small round dining table that was in the parlor. Just as Ashe turned and started to head for the door Lord Tremaine called out to him: “A moment, Ashe.”

  Ashe stopped, stiffened, and turned around. “Yes, Lord Tremaine?”

  “After you’ve finished your usual daily chores…I need you to clean my motorcycle. It started to rain while I was on the road last night and it’s covered in mud,” Lord Tremaine complained with an irritated look on his face. He took a drag on his cigar and blew out a circular ring of smoke.

  “I’ll get right on that, Lord Tremaine,” Ashe said.

  Lord Tremaine nodded, looking pleased. “Here. Get rid of this newspaper for me. I’ve finished reading it.” He handed Ashe the newspaper.

  Ashe took it and nodded. “Yes, Lord Tremaine.” Ashe exited the parlor and let out a sigh of relief. “Phew.” It was best when those sadistic bastards ignored him. He’d made their breakfasts perfectly, so there should be no complaints, but you never knew with them. Heaven forbid their toast was burned or something. Ashe shuddered.

  Ashe went about performing his daily chores. He fed the cows, horses, and chickens their breakfast. After that he milked the cows and gathered the chicken eggs from the coop. Once he was finished taking care of the animals he did the Tremaines’ laundry, and hung it outside on a line to dry. He swept and mopped the marble floors of the château until they gleamed. Thankfully he’d already cleaned the chimney and didn’t have to do that onerous task again for a while.

  When noon rolled around he began to make lunch for Lord Tremaine and his sons. After he’d served the Tremaines lunch and had returned to the kitchen to eat his own, Ashe finally had some spare time to read the Glass Gazette. There was an article about a ball, which had been held at Apple Castle in honor of Prince Snow Flurris, who had been celebrating his 25th birthday.