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Vacation Leave	By : Eristia Category: +S through Z > Tales of the Abyss Views: 3902 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss. It belongs to Bandai-Namco Games and I do not make money from writing this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Day 1
- 2-Day 2
- 3-Day 3
- 4-Day 4
- 5-Day 5
- 3
- 4
- 5
So, so sorry for the late update. orz I lost my
inspiration for this. Hopefully, I�ll get everything back by the 5^th,
6^th and 7^th chapter so� *crosses fingers*
No lemons for this chapter. This is a
Luke-centric chapter, though I promise to make everything intense on the
remaining three.
I personally like this chapter, though I think I
failed on some parts. OTL *sighs* Anyways, on with it!
Special thanks to my otouto and significant
other for their help on the editing~
-----
Vacation Leave

Day 4

�... I cannot begin to comprehend as to why you need me to accompany you.�
A short laugh had followed the above statement immediately as a young
woman wearing the trademark House Fabre maid uniform of red and black was
standing by the deck of the ship, frowning as she stared at the coastline
before her. Behind her was Luke fon Fabre, sitting on a deck bench, wearing an
outfit similar to his twin, resting as he stared at the body of water. The rays
of the sun were not so strong as of now, which made him go out to the deck to
enjoy the view. Of course, when he had done such, the maid had to follow him,
despite wanting to simply stay inside the ship.
�Why, I need a personal maid, of course.� He told her.
�Oh please.� She placed a hand at her hip and glared at him with her left
sapphire eye. �You might as well spit out the fact that you want to humiliate
me.�
He shrugged, smiling. �You said that, not me.�
She was seething in fury and he laughed at her once more. From the point
of view of the crew, it was a friendly banter between a master and a servant,
though they had to admit, they admired the woman because she was not afraid to
tell him off.
Truth to be told, however, it was their way of battling out their wits. Each
word she would say was always filled with so much sarcasm, in contrast to his
sweetened words that were filled with so much light-hearted tones in it that
she always felt so frustrated afterwards.
But then again, no one was usually surprised whenever Luke was with a
girl, be it a servant or a noble. All girls were instantly attracted to him,
for he was more kind and accommodating between him and Asch. His happy-go-lucky
nature made everyone feel at ease, and despite his supposed lacking of a brain
and some common sense, the red head was accepted by all.
The maid thought otherwise.
Beyond that facade he had effortlessly put on to make everyone like him,
there was a manipulative and cunning person behind it. She had experienced it
beforehand, and was shocked to find out that no one could ever get passed the mask he had put on. No one, not even his
family, knew of his true personality. Somehow, she wondered if they were really
his family and not just some bunch of people who adopted him and made him their
son. The household treated him with indifference, but he did not seem to mind
it at all. In fact, he welcomed it all the more.
�They wouldn�t need to bother me. They can take care of Asch.�
She had not detected sarcasm when he said that, and she found it unusual that he did not harbor any grudge for the
older twin, who was always being praised by everyone around him. She did not
dare ask him why, of course.
�Mystearica...�
�Please stop calling me by that name. It�s Tear.�
�Whatever. Mystearica, come with me to the cabin.� The young lord stood
up from the deck bench and headed off to the cabin that had been reserved
especially for him. Grudgingly, she followed him back to the cabin.
-----
As soon as she had entered, he spoke up once more. �Lock the door.�
She obeyed at once.
He sat on one of the chairs of the dining area and motioned for her to
sit on the chair before him so they could meet face to face. As soon as she had
sat down, Luke spoke up. �Mission briefing.�
This was serious.
She straightened in her seat.
�As soon as we dock in Kaitzur, we will head off immediately to Choral
Castle. Under in any circumstance, please
do not do anything stupid. Failure to comply will result in you getting
indicted as soon as we reach Kimlascan territory again.� He reached out for the
papers on the table and held it up. �You do
understand the implications, right?�
She nodded stiffly. �As you love to repeat it over and over again.�
His emerald green eyes narrowed. �Do
not ever make the mistake of mocking me, Tear Grants, while I am talking to you
in this manner.� The tone of his voice sounded so cold and so threatening,
the maid actually felt goose bumps surfacing
on her arms and legs.
�Duly noted, my lord.� She said, her voice faltering.
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes heavenward. �Moving on, you are to
keep your eyes open and your ears sharp when I have my chat with my informant.�
He told her. �Again, if something ever happened to the heir, I shall hold you
responsible, regardless whenever it had been planned by you or some outside
source.�
�Understood.�
�Dismissed.�
She blinked. �Huh?�

�Go outside and explore. I don�t care where the hell you go to. Just stay away
from the engine room and we�re good.� At this, he placed the bunch of papers he
was holding on his lap and began reading them one by one. �Just get back to
this cabin to inform me if we have arrived.�
She bowed. �As you wish.� With that, she headed for the door and left to
explore the ship.
When she had exited the cabin, Luke rolled
his eyes heavenward and let out a sigh in relief. In his rare moment of
privacy, he would be allowed to let his guard down even for a moment. It was
not good to be at ease during peacetimes or even while in your homeland. In his
line of work, he had enemies everywhere, and spies were abundant. For the life
of him, he did not want his blow to be
covered by silly amateurs and the best thing to make sure that they would never
suspect him was to act dumb.
It was degrading for any other man, but it was no problem for him. It
was easy enough; all it took was some sacrifice on the part of his dignity and
image. He did not mind it at all, as long as his twin would be safe. To hell
with the comments, those were just words.
Besides, those who were unfortunate enough to see past his mask had been
dealt with. They were either dead or incapacitated, with no way of ever telling
the truth who really is behind the mask.
Mystearica Aura Grants, however, was the sole exception to the rule.
With her milk tea-colored hair and sapphire blue eyes, no one would ever
dare suspect her of assassinating anyone. Despite her cold demeanor and strictness,
she treated people with respect and was occasionally warm and friendly.
But one day, she suddenly pointed a knife at his throat while he was
taking his afternoon nap, ready to stab him. He was fortunate enough not to get
killed and it was also fortunate that she had the wrong target. Had she managed
to do what she had planned...
Well, she would pay for it beyond the grave, he was sure of that.
When he had her detained, she had refused to give him information thrice
and had survived the pressure he had been exerting while he interrogated her.
She only faltered and nearly broke down when he told her casually that she was
to be dumped along with the other criminals in a cell.
He also had let it slip that
the cell was filled with rapists and murderers who are male.
Try as she might to keep a straight face while she told him off, he knew
he had succeeded in making her do what he wanted.
Tear Grants was now a puppet of his, dancing to his tune. No longer did
she defy him, she was almost obedient to a fault. Her only outlet was that she was cold
towards him, being sarcastic in her replies when no one was looking. If there
was any, her words were filled so much underlying implications that she was
pissed with what he had done to her.
And of course, if given the chance, she wanted
to bury him six feet under.
If Tear Grants was serious with her threats, no
worries for him.
He couldn�t care less about dying.
Three hours after, Tear had knocked on his door
to inform him that they have just arrived at Kaitzur. Straightening his coat
and pants, he exited his room as he pocketed his glasses. �Had a nice trip of
the ship?� he asked Tear as he made his way to the deck.
�Yes, sir.� She replied in that proper tone of
hers, since six White Knights surrounded them.
�Good.� Flashed a lazy grin at her, he went down
to the docks where a carriage awaited him. �What did you find?�
�Nothing very interesting.� She said in her
bored tone as she followed him inside the carriage.� When the doors were shut, the brown-haired
maid glared at him.
�Glare at me all you want.� He said bluntly,
turning to the window to check out the view. �It won�t kill me anyway.�
She found no comeback for his remark and
grumbled all the way to Choral Castle.
-----
They reached House Fabre�s summer home in no
time, and when Luke disembarked, he straightened his coat once again and tied
his long, waist-length hair into a low ponytail. This did not escape Tear�s
notice, who suddenly straightened the collar. �The collar hasn�t been buttoned.�
She said and fixed it for him. After which, she grabbed the tailcoats and tried
to straighten it out as to flatten the wrinkles that had formed while he was
sitting down.
Luke raised an eyebrow at this, but did not
comment on her sudden change of behavior.
After she had straightened out almost every
aspect of his clothes, he walked inside the castle, Tear behind him and headed
for the dining room. It was past lunchtime, but he knew that if he wanted to
see Meryl, she would be in the dining room or in the kitchen.
Just his luck.
As soon as he went inside the dining room, his
twin was having lunch.
Meryl Oakland, the person he was looking for,
was the one serving his brother.
Perfect.
�Meryl.�
At once, she looked up from the table and
stifled a gasp. As soon as she had laid down the bowl, she excused herself and
literally ran towards the younger twin and bobbed a curtsy. �Sir Luke, good
day.� she kept her eyes downcast as she stood in front of him.

�What the hell are you doing here?� the angry
voice came from his older brother, who was now glaring at him from the table.
�I just wanted to have a lovely chat with Meryl Oakland, of course.� he said silkily. From
behind him, Tear stiffened, wondering if it was a good idea to bait the very
angry viscount. The way Asch said it was filled with murderous intent and if
looks and words could kill, Luke fon Fabre would have already dropped down and
died on the floor.
�I�m eating. She�s serving me.�
�What? There are other maids in the household. They
can serve you for the meantime. If they are not to your liking, maybe the maid
I brought along with me would suffice.� He gestured from behind. �Mystearica
Aura Grants, if you would.�
As much as she wanted to yell at him for calling
her by her full name, she bit her tongue and stepped forward. Keeping her eyes
down, she curtsied at the angry viscount. �Well?� he raised an eyebrow at Asch.
�� Fine. Only ten minutes.�
�No need, Asch. I can keep track of the time,
thank you very much.� Grinning cheekily at his sibling, he took the blonde maid�s
arm and pulled her over to the veranda.
-----
�Natalia, I should know you better than most.
Where the hell were your reports?�
When Meryl heard Luke fon Fabre call her by her other
name, she knew she was in hot water. Not only did she not follow his
instructions, but also she was not doing her job! �I� I forgot.�
�You forgot.� Luke surely was a totally
different person when it came to his job. His once friendly tone suddenly
became deadpan. �What the fuck happened to you?�
The blonde girl shook her head. �I apologize. I
have no excuse to give other than it slipped my mind.�
�So you admit that you�re actually enjoying my
brother�s company in more than one ways.�
�� Yes.�
The red head raised an eyebrow at this but said
nothing. �If that is the case, then can you please
balance both? I do not certainly want to waste your efforts, mine included.� Both
knew the reason for the sudden vacation of the future heir to the throne of
Kimlasca, and it was not entirely connected to him being stressed.
It had been easy enough to convince the Duke and
the Madam to allow Asch to have his vacation leave.
All it took was Luke telling them that Asch
looked like he was going to die soon if he wasn�t going to take a breather, and
his parents have easily sent him to Choral Castle. As a necessary precaution,
Luke had also sent Meryl along with Asch, just in case something was to happen.
He did not volunteer himself because Asch could never stand his presence and it
would arouse too much suspicion if he volunteered for the job.
What he did not expect was that his brother
became smitten with Meryl Oakland.
More like
obsessed.
�Definitely. I apologize for my shortcomings,
sir.� She bowed at him. �It will never happen again.�
�Good enough.� He walked over to the railings and
leaned back casually against it. �Status report, Natalia. I want the full
details.�
�Certainly.�
-----
While the two of them continued with their chat,
Tear stood beside the fuming viscount, wondering what to do. She was saved from
the hassle when he suddenly spoke up. �� You�re the new maid. Where did my
stupid brother pick you up from?�
She blinked at this. �I-I applied, my lord.�
�� Is that so�� clearly, he was thinking that
she was a stray dog that had been simply picked up by Luke and had been transformed
into a maid. �In that case, let�s see what you can do. Serve my meals. My
idiotic brother may have chosen you based on your physical aspect, but I�m not
stupid as he is.�
Somehow, the comment had irked her, and as much
as she had wanted to tell him off (she was under Luke�s employment, after all,
and she was not entitled to answer to the Viscount�s whims), the young woman
kept her mouth shut. Suddenly, she found it funny that even the twin was
belittling the supposed �idiot�, all the while knowing that it was far from the
truth. It was not that she was defending him, but it was because she saw with
her own eyes as to how extreme his sides were.
�Ah,
well. You don�t even know how smart and cunning the two-faced bastard is.�
She found it funny that despite looking exactly
alike, though with some minor differences, like the way they parted their hair
and the difference with their handedness, Asch did not know his brother all too
well.
And I
thought twins had a special connection between them... guess I was wrong.
As she did her best to make no mistakes in
serving his food to him (though she was hating the fact that he was barking
orders rather than saying it in a gentle way, like what he did with Meryl
earlier), �Tear Grants had survived the
ordeal, though barely. He complained just about everything with her service, and just when he was about to blow her
ears off with the way she was dressed, Luke had entered the dining room again.
�Mystearica.�
She looked up immediately.
�Iced tea please, for two. Serve me after you�re
done serving Asch.� With that, he went back to the veranda to continue on with
his chat, leaving a confused Tear and a fuming Asch behind.
Inwardly, she sighed in relief.
Asch fon Fabre was one mean bastard to interact
with if your name isn�t Meryl Oakland.
�� Please excuse me, my lord.� She rushed off to
the kitchen, glad that she had an excuse to get away from him. As soon as she
had entered the said area, another maid had gone out to take her place. This
time, however, as Tear peeked from the small window of the kitchen door, Asch
had already put on a poker face expression.
Ugh. Did
he just use me as an emotional punching bag?!
By the time Tear was done mixing the iced tea
and it was ready to be served, Luke went inside, along with Meryl Oakland and
he said to her, �Tear Grants, perfect timing. Bring the iced tea here.�
She nodded her head and bobbed a curtsy as she
held the tray. �Understood, sir.�
�Meryl Oakland.�
It was Asch who bellowed all of a sudden, his
intense gaze directed at the girl in question. Tear wondered if the blonde
woman was going to falter, but to her surprise, she talked to him casually, no
fear evident in her posture. �Yes, my lord?�
�� What is keeping you so long?�
�My apologies. Please wait for just a little
while� Master Luke wants me to listen to him regarding his� new hobby.� the
statement, obviously a blatant lie, had gone unnoticed by the viscount.
Somehow, Tear wondered if he was dim-witted to have not noticed it or he simply
had the same excuse as everyone else regarding his twin.
Asch nodded. �Fine. Twenty minutes.�
Luke flashed a grin. �We�ll keep it quick. I�ll
return her when I am done having my way with her.�
And just before the viscount could stand up to
hit his brother for the innuendo in his statement, Luke had lazily strutted
back to the veranda, Tear behind him, balancing the tray perfecting in her
hands.
-----
�� Keep an eye out on my brother please.� Luke
commanded the brown-haired maid in a stern voice as soon as she had set down
the tray on the low table. �I do not want him snooping around by the door.� A
jealous Asch was one thing he would not rather deal with at the moment, for
precious time was wasting. Meryl needed to be briefed in the shortest amount of
time possible so it would not be looked upon with suspicion by his brother. An
angry twin was something he could withstand; a jealous one, however, would
prove to be difficult.
As Tear nodded and stood by his side, alert for
any snooping noble, Luke glanced at Meryl, who was sitting across. �As I�ve
said before we had to intervene on those two, do not lose your focus this time
around. I do not want to particularly blame you if, Lorelei forbid, something
happens to the heir.� he snapped. �And, if you decide to indulge yourself with him, do not, even for a damn moment,
forget your objectives.�
He knows.
�If you learn how to balance both, good. If not,
tell me and I will send Tear in your stead.�
Sighing, she nodded. �Understood.� Somehow, even
after years of working with Luke, she still couldn�t get used to his �other
self�. That side of his could seriously scare those who knew him; they would
never expect that beneath the clumsy, happy-go-lucky fa�ade of his was a
ruthless tactician who placed duty above all else. �I shall not let myself be
distracted anymore. I will do the task myself.�
Meryl knew her limits. She could never concern
herself with so much matters. Her duties as a temporary maid to House Fabre, as
well as her duties to being Asch�s personal maid for this vacation are
stressful as it is. To add to her stress, the forbidden affair that they both
started was unnerving. It was hard to act normal around him, after all they
have done in his room. She had to be careful not to let the whole world knew
that she was his�
Frankly, she�d rather forget about it all
together.
Thankfully, the younger twin reminded once more
of her nearly forgotten duty.
That, at least, she could use as an excuse to
stay away from Asch.
She was a coward, but she paid no heed to it.
As long as he was safe�
He gave her a look.
�I promise.� She reassured him.
With that, Luke took a huge gulp of his iced
tea, as if the weight on his shoulders has been lifted suddenly. A small smile
emerged from his lips, though it disappeared just as quickly as it came. �I�m
counting on you, Natalia.�
�Yes, sir.�
Finishing the beverage on his glass, he stood up
at once. �Do whatever it takes.�
-----
�Were you serious about sending her back and I
taking her place instead?�
As soon as they had boarded the carriage, it was
Tear Grants who had initiated the conversation. They could not talk about what
they had planned at the veranda earlier, for as soon as they had gone back
inside, Asch wouldn�t let Meryl out of his sight anymore. Just to spite him
more, Luke had stayed for another hour, thankful that he could use the
afternoon snack that the staff had prepared as an excuse. Immediately after,
the younger twin removed himself from Choral Castle at once, bidding both of
them a rather happy farewell, to which both did not return for one reason or
another.
�Dead serious.� He said casually. �Was there any
problem with that?�
�� To send me to protect your brother��
�That�s easy enough to explain.� Luke smirked. �If
you fail, all will be blamed on you. If Meryl fails as well, the blame is still
on you. It is a lose-lose situation for you, Tear Grants.�
So he
still cannot trust me�
It wasn�t as if she wanted his trust on her, but
she simply wanted to know her status in his eyes. Apparently, it hadn�t changed
ever since they have met.
�Don�t flatter yourself.� His emerald green eyes
were fixed on her. �If you think I fully give you my trust, think again. You
are already aware of the reason behind it. I do not need to repeat it.�
Unable to speak, she simply nodded in agreement.
Tear couldn�t blame him for being so guarded
around her. She had nearly killed him by mistake. Her target should have been
the viscount but�
�By the way, I thank you for not poisoning the
iced tea.� He glanced up at her. �Compliments to you. It was delicious.�
�Thank you.� She said automatically.
To her surprise, he quickly flashed a smile
before turning his sights on the plains outside the window of the carriage.
Tear followed suit, wondering why he was looking out instead of reading the day
old newspaper on his hands.
The sun was setting.
�Sir, did we just stay THAT long?�
�I believe we did�� turning to look at her, he
added, �That way, we managed to keep an eye on him for as long as we could.
Now, it is up to Meryl to do so in our stead. I can simply hope that she will
do her duty this time around.�
�If I may be so bold as to ask� did she fail to
do her duty?�
�More like she preferred to romp around in bed
with the viscount.�
The brown-haired girl, unused to such bluntness
and unable to imagine that such a thing was possible, suddenly blushed. �E-Excuse
me�?�

At this, Luke raised an eyebrow. �What? I just
said that she preferred romping around in bed with my twin rather than doing
her duty.� Tear blushed harder after the statement, something that he found odd.
�Your face is turning red.�
�Y-you said it so casually, sir��
�Nothing wrong with that.� He shrugged. �Besides,
it was very obvious��
�Obvious�?�
He chuckled. �� It�s nothing you should concern
yourself about.�
-----
�What did he tell you?�
Meryl tilted her head sideways as she began to
clear the dining table. The household staff, noting that the twin had arrived,
had prepared a light meal for him just as soon as Asch was done with his lunch.
Luke ate with much gusto, obviously hungry. Tear had told her earlier that he
had rushed out to Choral Castle as soon as he could, skipping both breakfast
and lunch.
�Nothing much. He simply wanted a chat. He said
that the manor was boring that he suddenly set off to Choral Castle to talk to
me.�
�� That idiot. Acting on a whim again. He should
seriously straighten up and act like a proper noble.� He huffed. �I�ll have to
advise father on what to do with Luke� seriously... �he is wasting his life doing nothing
worthwhile.�
Meryl wanted him to stop with his ranting, but
held her tongue for the meantime.
She was a mere servant, after all.
Better
block out his rantings.
While she cleaned up the table, the red head
continued on with his ranting until�
�� useless person he is� I can�t believe that
idiot is my other half, my flesh and blood� must�ve absorbed all of his
intelligence in those nine months��
Meryl looked up from the table. �Luke is not an
idiot.�
�Stop defending him. You and I both know that he
does nothing productive in society.�
In your
knowledge, that�s true. But not in mine. Out loud, she said, �Then please continue your
ranting somewhere else. I cannot stand it when you badmouth your brother in my
presence.�
�What the hell is wrong with you all of a
sudden?� suddenly, he whirled her around from the table so she would look at
him. �You didn�t make a fuss over this before. What did that idiot tell you
this time?�
�Nothing.�
�Tell me.� He demanded.
�� Forget it. Do as you please.� She pushed him
as gently as she could. �Please let go of me, Master Asch.�
�� What�s wrong with you?� he asked in a softer
tone.
She shook her head. �� Let go of me, Master
Asch, please. I need to do my job.�
�Meryl�� before he could continue on, she shook
her head.
�Let�s just� end it.�
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