Ashe and the Glass Sword

by KuroKoneko Kamen

  Snow met Ashe’s tortured gaze and shook his head. “No, Ashe. This is my fault. The League of Villains did this. They’re still after me. I put everyone in danger by coming here. I knew that, but I thought I could handle it. As long as the attack was directed at me…I didn’t care. I let my guard down because of my charm ability. A girl should have never been able to harm me, but she loved her brother Linden more than me, so…”

  The blood started to drain out of Ashe’s face, and his stomach twisted into knots as he realized something. Was this his fault? Snow’s weakness had been discovered, but how? Had Picasso told someone in the League of Villains about how Snow’s charm ability didn’t work on a girl if she loved someone more? And if so, who had Picasso told that information to? For some reason, Ashe wanted to suspect Snow’s stepfather Reginald.

  “I’m so fucking weak,” Snow lamented, scrubbing a hand down his face. Ashe shot him a surprised look because Snow rarely swore. “I couldn’t even protect the life of one little girl! I can’t let them get away with this. With killing an innocent child. They’ve gone too far this time. I won’t forgive them. I will get stronger, and then I will defeat the League of Villains once and for all! I will kill the old man who gave Blossom that poisoned apple!”

  Ashe placed a hand on Snow’s shoulder and nodded. “We’ll get stronger. Together. And take out the League of Villains. And of course, Aurelion and Punzie will want in on this. They’ll help us. You’re not alone.”

  Snow sniffled and lowered his head to hide his tears. “Thank you, Ashe. I really appreciate your support. I fear I shall need it in the nearby future.”

  Ashe looked down at the dead girl in Snow’s arms and clenched his hands into fists. “The League of Villains,” he growled lowly. “They’ll pay for this.”

  To be continued in…Chapter 10:

  Chapter 10:

  After having received a note delivered by a fairy saying the Aurelion was completely healed, Ashe and Snow set out for Rapunzel’s Tower so that they could resume their training.

  “While I was stuck in bed…” Aurelion shot Rapunzel a grumpy look and the blacksmith merely raised an eyebrow in return. “I was able to do a little research on mirror magic, Ashe. I discovered some interesting facts about your Glass Sword and its abilities. Due to the fact that you’re not a wizard the source of magic for your sword has to come from somewhere else to power its abilities. In the case of the Glass Sword it is able to absorb magical energy from moonlight.”

  Ashe unsheathed the Glass Sword and looked at its blue-tinged, reflective surface curiously. “Moonlight, huh?”

  Aurelion nodded sagely. “Indeed. You should set your sword out in the moonlight every night. It will absorb the moonbeams and convert that energy into magic. You will be able to use this power to unleash a magical attack. To activate the attack all you have to do is say: Reflectunt Lunae Lumen. Have you been outside at night while in the possession of the Glass Sword?”

  “Yes,” Ashe said.

  “Good. Then I want you to go ahead and try using the attack. Aim for that boulder over there.” Aurelion pointed towards a large boulder that probably used to be a part of the castle that at one time used to stand in the clearing where Rapunzel’s Tower now stood.

  Ashe moved into a sword-fighting stance, swung his sword in the direction of the boulder, and pointed the tip of his sword at it. “Reflectunt Lunae Lumen! Reflect Moonbeam!”

  A beam of silvery, white light shot out of the tip of Ashe’s sword like a lazer, and hit the boulder causing it to explode, and send pieces of rock flying through the air. Ashe gaped down at his sword in astonishment.

  “Snow,” Aurelion called out to the playboy. “I want you to try and use a water shield to block Ashe’s Reflect Moonbeam attack.”

  Snow was already feeling queasy, and it was showing due to his green-tinged complexion. He gulped, and looked at the boulder that had been blown to bits by Ashe’s attack. “You want me to…alright. Fine. I’ll…try.” Snow unsheathed his sword, and held it in front of him in a two-handed grip. He summoned his magic and concentrated on conjuring a shield made of water in front of him. Water gushed out of the sword like a geyser, and an oval-shaped shield as tall as Snow was formed.

  A pleased expression settled over Aurelion’s face. “Well done, Snow. Go ahead and attack him, Ashe.”

  Ashe’s lips curled into a cocky smirk. “It was nice knowing you, Flashy Playboy.”

  “Ha, ha. Very funny,” Snow drawled dryly.

  Ashe pointed his sword at Snow and said: “Reflectunt Lunae Lumen!” A white beam of light shot through the air towards Snow in an instant.

  Snow gulped as the energy beam hit his water shield and was blocked. “Phew,” he let out a sigh of relief, and watched as ripples formed on his water shield.

  “Break his shield, Ashe!” Aurelion ordered, folding his brawny arms over his massive chest.

  Ashe furrowed his brow. “But, how?”

  “Just imagine more power flowing into your attack and breaking Snow’s shield,” Aurelion instructed, giving Ashe an expectant look.

  “Okay,” Ashe said.

  “Snow, get ready to dodge out of the way,” Aurelion warned with a twinkle in his blue eyes.

  “You two are trying to kill me!” Snow complained as sweat started to bead on his brow.

  Ashe visualized more power flowing into his attack, and the size of the beam of light increased. Snow’s shield rippled violently, and seconds later exploded into water droplets. Snow dove out of the way and hit the ground. The energy beam soared over Snow’s body and hit a tree. The energy attack set the tree on fire, and it burst into flames.

  “Hit that tree with a water blast attack, and put out those flames, Snow!” Aurelion ordered, and when Snow remained on the ground, he snapped: “Now!”

  Snow scrambled to his feet, pointed his sword at the flaming tree, summoned his magic, and conjured a ball of water that started to form at the tip of his sword. Snow unleashed the water blast attack, and it zoomed through the air towards the tree. The water blast hit the tree with a tremendous splash, and the flames were quenched in seconds.

  “Well done, boys!” Aurelion grinned widely at his two apprentices. “I read about a very interesting ability unique to the Glass Sword, Ashe. It’s called Mirror Double. This ability enables you to create an illusory clone of yourself that can be used to confuse your opponent during battle. When your opponent’s attention is focused on your Mirror Double that’s when you strike and catch them unawares.”

  “How the hell do I do that?” Ashe asked.

  “Just look at your reflection on your sword’s blade and say: Speculo Geminus! This summons your reflection from the Mirror World.”

  Ashe stared down at his reflection on the sword’s blade and said: “Speculo Geminus! Mirror Double!”

  A black substance that looked like smoke began to pour out of the sword, and onto the ground. The smoke rose off the ground, and started to mold itself into a humanoid form. The shadowy figure began to solidify, and then transformed into a clone of Ashe.

  “Wicked!” Snow complimented as he looked at the two Ashes standing side by side. The clone was so realistic the playboy really couldn’t tell the difference between the two.

  “In order to control your clone’s movements all you have to do is picture what you want it to do in your mind,” Aurelion explained to Ashe. “Attack Snow again. And Snow, try and figure out which Ashe is the real one before you get killed.” The Monster Hunter’s blue eyes twinkled with amusement.

  “Hey!” Snow objected. “I’m going to make a formal complaint about this particular training exercise.”

  Ashe and his clone attacked Snow simultaneously with their Glass Swords. Snow let out an unmanly squeak as he dodged, ducked and sidestepped sword attacks. He narrowed his eyes at the two Ashes attacking him, and tried to figure out which one was the real Ashe, and which one was just a harmless illusion.

  Snow decided to attack the Ashe he thought wa
s the real one, and swung his sword horizontally. Instead of Snow’s sword clashing against the blade of the Glass Sword it passed right through the clone whose image dissipated like a mirage.

  “Oh, shit.” Snow was about to turn around to face the real Ashe when he felt the tip of a sword poking into his behind. Snow’s cheeks flamed in embarrassment. “Hey!” The playboy prince spun around and attacked the real Ashe. Ashe smirked, raised his sword, and blocked Snow’s ensuing attack.

  Ashe and Snow both skillfully blocked and parried each other’s attacks until with a graceful twist of his wrist Ashe managed to disarm Snow. Snow’s sword went flying up into the air, and Ashe caught the playboy’s sword in his left hand.

  But Ashe wasn’t through yet, and lunged forward so that both swords were suddenly crossed in front of Snow’s throat and ready to cut his head off like a pair of pruning sheers about to cut the bud off a rose.

  Snow gulped and his Adam’s apple brushed against the two sword blades. Ashe had a triumphant look on his face. “You’re one hell of a scary guy, Ashe,” Snow said, panting for breath.

  “I try,” Ashe said, uncrossing the swords and stepping away from Snow.

  Snow let out a relieved breath, and his shoulders sagged once the swords weren’t dangerously poised at his neck any longer. The playboy took out a blue silk handkerchief, and started to dab at his brow with it.

  “Well done, Ashe,” Aurelion said, a mischievous glint in his blue eyes. “Although, defeating a novice swordsman isn’t that great a feat. Defeating me, on the other hand, will be much more difficult. And until you manage to defeat me…I won’t allow you to participate in the duels held at the Glass Coliseum.”

  Ashe got into a fighting stance and pointed his sword at Aurelion. “Is that so? You’re going down, old man!”

  Aurelion let out a low chuckle. “Old man? I’m not that much older than you! I’m only thirty!” The Monster Hunter reached over his shoulder, wrapped his hand around the hilt of his massive great sword, and brought the sword down before him.

  Ashe’s confident expression fell. “Whoa, hold up. You’re going to fight me using that behemoth sword? You’ll shatter the blade of the Glass Sword with that thing!”

  “The Glass Sword is not a normal sword, Ashe,” Aurelion reminded him. “It is magical and enchanted. Don’t underestimate Rapunzel’s work. That sword is harder than steel. It is unbreakable. Well, for the most part…” Aurelion stroked the stubble on his chin as he recalled something.

  Ashe frowned. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘for the most part’?”

  “The original Glass Sword, which belonged to the hero Cinderelron was apparently broken by means of a weapon that was ‘not of this world’,” Aurelion revealed with a grim expression on his face. “That’s why your father had another sword…the cane sword that you inherited from him.”

  “A weapon not of this world,” Ashe muttered darkly to himself. That is this sword’s only weakness. He thought.

  Aurelion decided to take advantage of Ashe’s distracted state, and attacked. He rushed forward and swung his sword at Ashe. Ashe was barely able to bring up his sword in time to block the swift attack. “Whoa, how about a little warning next time. You could have killed me!”

  Aurelion wore a strangely serious expression on his usually carefree face. “Your opponent won’t wait for you to be ready in the arena, Ashe. They will show you no mercy. If you can’t survive me - you won’t last two seconds in the arena.”

  “Fair enough,” Ashe agreed grudgingly. “I’ll try to remain on guard.”

  “Good,” Aurelion said.

  As Ashe fought against Aurelion he was amazed by how the other man’s speed seemed to be increasing despite the crazy size of his sword. Ashe had expected Aurelion to grow fatigued quickly due to the sword’s tremendous weight, but that wasn’t the case.

  It should be impossible for him to move so fast while wielding that massive sword. He must be really fucking strong to pull this crazy shit off. Ashe thought.

  In just a few minutes, Ashe started to struggle to block Aurelion’s fierce and lightning fast attacks. Sweat started to bead on Ashe’s brow, and his hands started to ache as he blocked blow after blow.

  Then Aurelion’s arm muscles flexed visibly, and he swung his sword horizontally towards Ashe. It was obvious that Aurelion was putting more force and power behind this attack, but Ashe instinctively raised his sword to block the attack anyways.

  Unfortunately, as soon as Aurelion’s sword collided against Ashe’s it was with enough force to send Ashe flying backwards through the air. As Ashe flipped head over heels he thought to himself: I should have dodged that. He hit the ground hard and rolled across it for a couple of yards.

  Ashe coughed up a glob of blood. His head was throbbing, and he felt dizzy. So much for Aurelion going easy on him. No wonder this man is called Fantasia’s Number One Hero, Monster Hunter Aurelion. Ashe started to push himself up off the ground, but felt a sword blade at his throat. He looked up to see Aurelion glaring down at him with a fierce look on his face.

  “Do you yield?” Aurelion asked, keeping his sword at Ashe’s throat.

  Ashe gulped, and his Adam’s apple brushed against the blade of Aurelion’s sword. “Of course, I yield! Stop staring at me like that. You’re freaking me out, man.”

  Aurelion swiftly pulled his sword back. “Good.” His fearsome expression changed to his usual carefree one. “In the arena…if you are defeated you may be killed. But if you’re lucky your opponent will show mercy, and ask you if you yield. Remember killing is allowed in the coliseum. Whether or not the victor will show mercy is also something that is bet on along with the outcome of the match. By fighting in the coliseum you are risking your life for money. Be sure that what you’re fighting for is worth the risk, Ashe.”

  Ashe was fighting for his freedom, and the chance to have his revenge against Lord Tremaine. “Oh, it’s worth it alright.”

  “Then let’s continue with your training,” Aurelion said, offering Ashe a hand up. Ashe took the Monster Hunter’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. “There is still much you must learn before I let you fight in the arena. Some of the most deadly opponents you may be facing in the arena are the elves. They are expert archers and sometimes imbue their arrows with magical energy. Since your sword is capable of Magic Reflection you won’t need to worry about being able to block magic arrows, only normal ones.”

  Ashe gave Aurelion a skeptical look. “You want me to practice blocking arrows with a sword? Is something like that even possible?”

  “Oh, it’s possible. We just need to sharpen your reflexes with lots of practice. Unfortunately, I’m not a very good archer…” Aurelion gave Snow a hopeful look.

  Snow put his hands up before him in a helpless gesture, and shook his head. “Sorry. I suck at archery, man.”

  Aurelion frowned. “This is a conundrum. Where can we find a good archer out here in the middle of nowhere?”

  “I happen to be an excellent archer, Prince Aurelion,” a familiar female voice declared. Aurelion and Snow both startled at the sudden appearance of Juleka in their midst as she stepped out of her invisible carriage in order to reveal herself.

  Ashe wasn’t too surprised to see Julie there since at this point he’d gotten used to her following him around. He gave the girl a curious look. “You know how to use a bow, Julie?”

  Juleka walked over to Rapunzel’s Tower, and stood directly below the only window. She then held her hand out expectantly. A few seconds later, a bow was tossed out of the window, presumably by Rapunzel. A single arrow quickly followed the bow.

  Juleka caught the bow, and just a few seconds later, grabbed the arrow right out of the air. She nocked the arrow to the bow, aimed at Snow’s flamboyant new hat, and fired. Juleka’s arrow pierced the center of a wax apple that decorated the base of the hat. “A little,” Juleka said.

  Ashe was suitably impressed by Julie’s archery skills, but also confused. “Is archer
y a common pursuit for a handmaiden?”

  Juleka stiffened for a moment before she forced her shoulders to relax. She had to remind herself that Ashe was under the impression she was Princess Juleka Glass’s handmaiden. “Oh, yes…in the event that I may end up having to protect the princess it should come in handy,” Juleka lied smoothly.

  A quiver of arrows was tossed out the window and Juleka caught it before slinging the strap over her shoulder. Juleka reached into the quiver, grabbed an arrow, nocked it to her bow, and aimed at Ashe. “So, I just have to try and kill him. Right, Prince Aurelion?”

  “Hey! I thought you loved me!” Ashe said pointedly.

  “Indeed, Milady,” Aurelion said, a wide smile spreading across his face at this unusual turn of events. “Don’t hold back. If you injure him we’ll just have Punzie heal his wounds.”

  Ashe grew appalled by Aurelion’s words. “How can you say something like that with a smile on your face, asshole!” Juleka pulled back on the arrow and released it at Ashe. Shit! Ashe dodged her first attack. It was fucking fast. How can I possibly do this? It’s impossible!

  Juleka continued to loose arrows at Ashe, who’d taken off running as he did his best to dodge the arrows. Now I know how a hunted stag feels. Ashe thought bleakly. I may just have to become a vegetarian after this. Even when an arrow grazed Ashe’s upper arm Juleka didn’t stop her barrage of arrows.

  Aurelion folded his arms over his chest and let out a sigh. “Stop running away, Ashe. Face them!”

  “No way!” Ashe shot back.

  “If you get hit Punzie will heal you. All you have to fear is pain. Are you so afraid of a little pain, coward?” Aurelion challenged, and raised his eyebrows at Ashe.

  Pain? Ashe echoed in his thoughts. And I can’t believe that big oaf just called me a coward! “Pain is one of the few things I’m not afraid of. Fuck pain!” Ashe turned to face Juleka with his sword raised before him. “Come on! Bring it!”

  Juleka aimed at Ashe’s left shoulder and fired. Ashe tried to block the arrow, but it pierced his shoulder. Juleka aimed at Ashe’s right thigh next, and loosed her arrow. Ashe brought his sword low and tried to block the arrow, but it hit his thigh. Ashe flinched, but did not cry out.