Arc awakens the next morning to the first rays of sunlight making their way over the horizon. He sits up and sighs as he looks at the empty pillow next to him.
“It’s so lonely without Cherry in my head or someone lying next to me.”
He stands up and heads for the Bathroom to shower. As the water glides over his skin Arc rests his head on the tile wall.
“Why… why do I feel this way?”
Arc sighs again as he ponders the question.
“It was one night alone. Have I really grown that accustomed to having someone in my bed?”
He shakes his head sadly.
“I’ll have to give this more thought later. Right now I have to check on Lady Ashe.”
Arc scoffs.
“Lady… HA! If Lord Gestal only knew half of what his daughter was up to. But I guess it’s kinda for the best he doesn’t.”
He shakes his head.
“Not sure what I should do about this. Do I tell him the truth? Nah. He’d never believe me! But if the rebels continue, more of them will die! To say nothing for the rest of the citizens.”
Arc steps out of the shower and dries himself off.
“This is a tough one. But I guess I don’t really have much of a choice in the matter.”
He dresses and leaves the room. Heading for Ashe’s suite Arc sees Rose standing across the hall from the door. She looks over to him happily as he approaches.
“Good morning, sleepyhead!”
“Hi Rose. Where are the other guards?”
“I took over for them after you went to bed. Remember?”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense. Did Lady Ashe give you any trouble?”
Rose rolls her eyes. “She called out for something every fifteen minutes.”
Arc sighs. “Somehow I’m not surprised.”
“I took care of her as best I could.”
“What did she want anyways?”
Rose thinks for a moment. “Mostly to complain. The bed was too hard. Her pillow was too soft. She wanted a drink of water. Things like that.”
“You could have just ignored her. After all, she’s not in any condition to really do anything to you.”
“The thought did cross my memory banks. But I realized it would have caused you quite a bit of trouble.”
“Oh?”
“She could have told her father about what really happened.”
“I’m not too worried about that. Even if she did, I doubt they really want to go to war with us anyways.”
“Are you certain of that, Arc?”
“No. But I do appreciate your concern for Equestria and I.”
Rose grins. “Your words of praise made this night of guard duty worthwhile!”
“In any case, let’s see how Lady Ashe is doing this morning.”
“She didn’t quiet down until a few hours ago, so I doubt she’s awake. Perhaps it would be best to let her sleep.”
Arc shakes his head. “While that is tempting, I want Nurse Redheart to give her a final examination before we arrive at the Griffon Kingdom.”
“One question. Must we?”
“Truthfully, I’d rather just throw her down the gangplank as soon as we land.”
Rose giggles. “Why land? She can fly, right? Just push her off!”
Arc chuckles. “That would be a sight to see. But somehow I don’t believe that would be too good from my heroic image.”
Rose nods as Arc puts a hand on the doorknob. “I understand. Let me know if you change your mind though.”
Arc opens the door and steps inside. Ashe is lying on the bed asleep. He mutters to himself.
“I hate my job right now.”
Rose silently nods as they approach the bed. Arc sighs and gently nudges Ashe.
“Lady Ashe? It’s time to wake up.”
Ashe opens one eye slightly. However she is still able to glare at him.
“Go… away…”
“We’ll be landing at the Aviary in a couple hours.”
“So? Wake me up then you imbecile!”
“I’d like you to have another checkup before we land. That and there’s still the matter of breakfast.”
“I’ll eat later! GO AWAY!”
“Is that your final answer?”
“YES!”
“Alright then.”
Ashe turns away from them. “And see to it I’m not disturbed again!”
“Very well.”
He and Rose leave the room. Rose frowns as Arc closes the door behind them. “So much for that. What now?”
“We wait.”
Rose appears confused. “What for?”
“You’ll see.”
A short time later Ashe can be heard calling out. There is pain in her voice.
“I… I need… something!”
Rose moves toward the door, but Arc holds out an arm.
“She doesn’t wish to be disturbed, remember?”
“But, she sounds to be in pain!”
Arc smiles. “And?”
“Shouldn’t we help her?!”
“Yes. Just not right this second.”
Rose frowns. “Isn’t that taking things a bit too far?”
“No. We’re just following directions.”
Ashe continues calling out. Her voice getting more strained by the minute. Arc raises his voice from the corridor in response.
“I’d love to help, Lady Ashe! But you said not to disturb you!”
“Get in here!”
Arc chuckles. “Sorry! But that would be disturbing you!”
“But I’m in PAIN!”
“We’ll try to help you from out here!”
A few moments of silence ensue. Ashe frowns.
“What are you DOING out there?!”
“Nothing!”
Rose sighs. “Arc, isn’t that enough?”
He chuckles. “As cruel as this is, I’m enjoying it.”
“ARC!”
“Okay, okay.”
They enter the room, Ashe glares at them as she lies on her back.
“If you two are done screwing around, I’m in pain here!!!”
Rose turns to him. “You didn’t turn off the IV again, did you Arc?!”
“No. It just ran out.”
Looking they see the bottle is empty. Ashe winces in pain.
“So get me another one!”
Arc shrugs. “Sorry. More pain meds require approval from the Chief Medical Officer.”
“GET HER!!!”
“I can take you to see her in the Infirmary. After all, it would be easier to examine you there. How about that?”
“Whatever! Just HELP ME!”
Arc moves to pick her up. Again she slaps his hands away.
“DON’T TOUCH ME!!!”
“This again?!”
Frowning he picks Ashe up with his magic and sets her in the nearby wheelchair. Arc sighs as he slowly wheels her toward the door.
“Must you be so difficult?”
Ashe glares at him as she takes short breaths. “I… could say the same… for you!”
Arc shrugs. “You started it.”
They enter the Infirmary. Redheart walks over to them. She immediately sees the empty IV bottle.
“Here for more painkillers?”
“YES!!!”
Arc nods. “But only if she agrees to an examination.”
Ashe nods as she squeezes her eyes shut. “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!”
Redheart levitates a fresh IV bottle over and quickly hooks it up Ashe’s composure returns as the valve is opened.
“Much better!”
“Good. Nurse Redheart, can you give Lady Ashe a follow-up examination please?”
“Certainly.”
Ashe looks toward the door. “No need. I feel fine! Besides, isn’t it time for breakfast?”
Rose frowns. “I thought you were too tired to eat.”
Ashe rolls her eyes. “Well, I’m up NOW!”
She turns to Arc.
“Push me to the Dining Room.”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “Sure. AFTER your examination!”
Ashe narrows her eyes. “I don’t believe I like your tone!”
“Well if you don’t like it, you REALLY won’t like THIS!
Arc reaches over and grabs the bottle over Ashe’s head
“What are you DOING?!”
“I can always dump this down the drain.”
He turns toward the sink. Ashe sighs.
“Fine!”
Arc smiles as he hangs the bottle back up. “See? You CAN be reasonable.”
Ashe mutters indignations as Redheart looks her over. A few minutes later she looks up.
“It appears you’re on the road to recovery. All your vital signs are normal and your stitches are holding up nicely.”
Ashe nods. “Naturally.”
“You still need to rest and let your body heal though. Don’t think just because it feels better it IS better!”
“Yes, yes! I’ll have my servants wait on me talon and paw!”
“Thank you, Nurse Redheart. We’ll let you get back to work now.”
Arc pushes the wheelchair out of the Infirmary and toward the Cafeteria. Ashe’s stomach growls.
“Time to eat now?”
“Yes. And by the smell of things, pancakes are on the menu.”
Rose giggles. “I think that’s your favorite breakfast food, isn’t it Arc?”
“I’d rather have a Shelly Burger. But somehow I don’t think whoever is cooking could handle that particular meal request.”
They enter the Cafeteria. Arc pushes Ashe up to a table as Rose heads for the Kitchen.
“I’ll get you two something.”
Thanks, Rose.”
She disappears into the Kitchen. Ashe looks out the window anxiously.
“I’ll certainly be glad to be off this tub!”
Arc nods. “Me too.”
Ashe turns to him. “I’m sure you’re anxious to see the Griffon Kingdom again, but…”
“No. I’ll be happy to get you off my ship!”
Ashe looks down her beak at him. “Oh really? Is my presence too much for you?”
“Actually, yes.”
Ashe smiles smugly. “I can understand that.”
“No you can’t!”
“What IS your problem?!”
Arc points a finger in Ashe’s face. “YOU! Since the moment you showed up, everyone’s been nothing but nice to you!”
“As they should.”
“But you’ve been nothing but stuck-up and rude!”
Ashe shrugs. “Can I help it that I’m just a higher class of griffon than everyone is used to?!”
“Actually, you can!”
“Oh?”
“BY SHUTTING UP!”
Ashe looks at him irately as Rose walks over with their food. “Now see here…!”
“Here you are.”
Rose sets the plate down in front of Ashe. The young griffon glares at her.
“Where’s the whipped cream?!”
“I couldn’t carry everything.”
Ashe knocks the plate off the table. “Now clean up this mess and get me some fresh food, you walking garbage can!”
Arc takes his plate from Rose. “You don’t have to do that, Rose. I’ll handle it.”
He looks over his plate for a moment before dumping its contents on Ashe’s head. Her face is red with fury.
“How… DARE YOU!!! I…!”
Arc stands up. “Sorry. I forgot something”
Arc picks up the bottle of syrup and pours its contents on Ashe’s head.
“Much better.”
Ashe appears too angry to speak as Arc walks toward the door. Rose calls out after him.
“Wait, Arc! I’ll bring you another plate!”
Arc shakes his head, not looking back. Forget it. I’ve lost my appetite.”
Rose turns to Ashe.
“Shall I help you back to your quarters?”
“Y-yes…”
Ashe is silent as Rose pushes the wheelchair back to her room. She turns on the shower and adjusts the water temperature before looking over to Ashe.
“Shall I help you?”
“No. I’ll do it myself.”
Ashe slowly rises and steps into the shower.
“I’ll wait for you out here.”
Ashe nods as Rose steps out of the Bathroom. She mutters to herself.
“Impressive. No one has ever had the courage to lift a talon against me before. Perhaps there is more to Lord Arc than meets the eye.”
A short time later Ashe calls for Rose. She enters the Bathroom, turns off the water, and helps Ashe dry herself.
“I’m sorry.”
Ashe looks over genuinely surprised. You are?!
Rose nods as she works. “Yes. For Arc’s behavior back there.”
“Is he always like that?”
Rose shakes her head as she carefully dries around Ashe’s wound. “No. But he’s very… protective of certain individuals.”
“A common guard?”
“I’m… special to him.”
Ashe raises an eyebrow. “I see. So you’re his personal concubine then?”
Rose shakes her head. “No. I’m his friend.”
“Lord Arc is a very… interesting individual. I’d like to get to know him better.”
“Why?! So you can try to kill him again?!”
Ashe shakes her head. “I tried that once, remember? Somehow I don’t believe another attempt would be fruitful.”
Rose breathes a sigh of relief. “Good. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to him.”
Ashe scoffs. “Are you trying to tell me a machine like you can have feelings?!”
Rose sighs. “Not really. They’re just lines of code in my memory banks.”
“Yes. You and I are VERY different.”
Rose helps Ashe slowly lie down on the bed. She steps back as Ashe makes herself comfortable.
“That may be. But if you try to hurt Arc again, I’ll make you regret it!”
Ashe chuckles. “A beast protecting its master. How droll.”
“I’m not helpless you know!”
“Oh yes. I saw you with that magnificent spear the other day. Tell me, where is it now?”
“I gave it back to Arc. After all, it IS his weapon.”
“So you’re unarmed now? How would you stop me?”
Rose calls forth her R-Cannon. She smirks as she aim it at Ashe’s face.
“To be honest, I AM a weapon!”
Ashe looks at her nervously. “You… you wouldn’t!”
Rose frowns. “I will if I believe you intend to hurt Arc.”
Ashe sighs. “Very well.”
Rose recalls her weapon. “Thank you.”
She walks over to the door.
“I’ll get Nurse Redheart to rebandage you now.”
“Very well.”
Rose leaves, but returns in a few minutes with the nurse who is levitating a small black bag with her magic.
“Had a bit of a mishap?”
Ashe looks away nervously. “Something like that.”
Redheart walks over to the bedside. “I’ll have you bandaged back up in just a few minutes.”
She gets to work. True to her word fresh linens are applied in a short time.
“Try to be more careful in the meantime.”
Ashe looks at the nurse huffily. “Why?! Is this not your job?!”
Redheart narrows her eyes as he repacks her bag. “You wouldn’t want your wounds to get infected, now would you?”
“I… suppose not.”
Rose nods as the nurse heads for the door. “Thank you, Nurse Redheart.”
“Just doing my job.”
As she opens the door, Redheart sees Arc raising his hand to knock.
“Oh! Hello there, sir.”
“Hi, Nurse Redheart. Um… everything okay in here?”
“Yes sir. I was just tending to Lady Ashe’s wounds.”
“I see. Thank you for taking such good care of her. I’ll let you get back to it then.”
Redheart shakes her head. “I just finished.”
Arc steps aside to allow Redheart to leave. He then enters the room himself and closes the door behind him as he turns to Rose.
“How is she?”
“Much better after a shower.”
Ashe frowns at him. “You could have just asked ME, you know?!”
Arc does not look over to her. “I’m not really interested in talking to YOU!”
“How DARE YOU!!! Don’t you know who you’re dealing with?!”
“A better question would be… do I CARE?!”
“You SHOULD!”
“Well, I don’t! But we’ll be landing shortly.”
Ashe turns up her beak. “Good! I don’t want to be aboard this ship any longer than I have to!”
Arc frowns. “We agree on that much!”
Rose steps between them. “She probably just wants to go home, Arc.”
“Yes. Back to her cushy couch and innumerable servants to be at her beck and call.
Ashe glares at him as he walks toward her.
“Let’s get you to the main hatch. Your father will meet us as soon as we land.”
“Good! It will be nice to put some distance between the two of us!”
Rose helps Ashe into the wheelchair as Arc removes the Spear of Righteousness from his ring and hands it to Rose.
“Ready to guard me again?”
Rose takes the spear happily. “Always!”
Arc pushes Ashe out of the room and toward the Main Hatch. They stop in front of the door as the ship slowly descends.
“You remember our deal?”
Ashe frowns. “I’m trying very hard to forget it, but yes.”
Arc nods. “Good.”
Ashe shoots him a withering look.
“I know what to do.”
The ship touches down. As Arc pushes Ashe onto the deck Lord Gestal along with several guards and a doctor fly aboard. As he sees his daughter a look of pure joy spreads across his face.
“ASHE!!!”
He hurries over to his daughter and embraces her.
“Oh my sweet daughter! I’ve been so worried about you!”
Ashe winces. “F-father! My side!”
Gestal steps back quickly. “My apologies!”
He turns to the doctor.
“Get her to the Infirmary at once!”
“Yes, Lord Gestal.”
He motions for medics to approach. They transfer Ashe to a stretcher and rush away with her. The others follow quickly behind them as they rush into an examination room. The doctor turns to Gestal.
“I’ll examine your daughter right away, Lord Gestal.”
“See to it you do your best, doctor!”
“Yes sir.”
The door closes and Gestal immediately begins pacing. He turns to Arc.
“What did your doctor say about Ashe’s condition?”
“She was in very bad shape when we found her. But according to our ship’s Chief Medical Officer, she should recover with proper rest.”
Gestal looks nervously at the door. “I mean no offense, but I won’t be satisfied until our own doctor gives his report.”
“I understand, sir.”
A short time later the doctor emerges from the room.
“Please come in, Lord Gestal.”
Arc and Gestal hurry inside the room as Rose and the other Honor Guards remain outside. Gestal rushes to his daughter’s side and takes her talon.
“How is she?!”
“My initial examination shows she’s taken quite the beating, sir.”
“Oh dear! Will she be alright?!”
“Yes sir. With rest and proper monitoring, Lady Ashe will make a full recovery.”
“Thank goodness!”
Gestal looks at his daughter.
“What happened, Ashe?!”
Ashe looks up at her father and speaks in a frightened tone. “After the rebels kidnapped me I was blindfolded and taken to their base. They wanted me to give them information about what you’ve been up to. When I refused…”
She begins to cry.
“…when I refused, they… they started beating me!”
Gestal puts a talon around her. “There, there my dear. It’s over now.”
He looks to the doctor.
“How badly did they hurt her?!”
The doctor looks over his notes. “There were quite a few bumps, bruises and lacerations. However, two of them are quite severe.”
“Where?!”
He walks over and points to her side. “There is a deep knife wound here. However, it appears Lord Arc’s medical staff has already treated it.”
Arc nods. “Yes. Our Chief Medical Officer already took care of the worst of it.”
“The other injury of note is here.”
He points a talon at Ashe’s neck.
“I took an x-ray of that area. It appears there are many small lacerations.”
“But why?!”
“My professional opinion is that it was meant to inflict great amounts of physical pain.”
Gestal appears horrified. “She was TORTURED?!”
The doctor nods. “I believe so, yes. These lacerations are quite deep, sadly indicating a prolonged session.”
Gestal carefully hugs his daughter. “Oh, Ashe! I’m so sorry this happened!”
Ashe winces through the tears. “I’ll be alright, father.”
He smiles at Ashe and turns back to Arc”
“How did you find her, Lord Arc?!”
“Lady Ashe was discovered shortly after our ship landed back in Canterlot by our ground crews. She was in very bad shape at the time!”
“Why… why would they DO this?!”
“I believe it was to sabotage our new alliance, Lord Gestal.”
“What? How?”
“It’s my opinion that the rebels, upon failing to gain any information from Lady Ashe, decided to smuggle her aboard my ship. They probably figured she would bleed out and die aboard our vessel. Then when her body was discovered, it would look like Equestria was responsible for her death.”
Gestal frowns. “Monstrous!”
Ashe nods sadly. “Yes, father. War between our nations would have soon followed!”
Gestal walks over to Arc and extends a talon. “Thank you, Lord Arc. Thank you for bringing my daughter home safely. And so quickly!”
“It was my… pleasure, Lord Gestal.”
“This show of Generosity will further cement our partnership with Equestria!”
Arc nods. “Yes. I believe this is the beginning of a prosperous relationship.”
A Griffon Guard quickly enters the room and approaches Lord Gestal.
“Forgive the intrusion, sir, but there is a situation that requires your attention.”
Gestal turns to the guard, angrily. “Don’t you see I’m busy?!”
Ashe smiles up at him. “I’ll be alright, father. Go! Duty calls.”
“You’re right. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I’ll stay with her until you get back, sir.”
“Thank you, Lord Arc.”
Gestal turns to the guard.
“Lead the way.”
The pair leave the room together. Ashe turns to the doctor.
“Leave us.”
“Yes, Lady Ashe.”
He leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Ashe turns to Arc and glares at him.
“I hope you’re happy!”
Arc nods. “Very. But remember that this deal is beneficial to both of us.”
“That much I understand, peasant! Equestria gets to avoid war, and my secret stays under wraps.”
“See? We both win.”
Ashe narrows her eyes. “I don’t see this as anything remotely resembling a win! That and I still don’t see how I owe you a favor.”
“That tumor would have killed you.”
Ashe sighs. “Fine. I’ll speak to my father when he returns.”