Oh..look at this. The author isn't dead...this is awkward. Okay, let me start off by saying I am very sorry for the terribly long hiatus. Though, as you probably will be able to tell, my writing has gotten better which means longer chapters! YAY! Please review so I know there are still people out ther who want to know the story of the (pause for dramatic effect) Black Kingdom. Any type of review would do. A review where you put your random thoughts down as you read, a review that just says, "Good job ol' chum," even a review with just a smile would be nice. Sorry again and enjoy reading!
"Every child has been told the story of the mighty Black Kingdom. Considering it was the most powerful kingdom in the Middle Ages, it's not very surprising. Its walls were said to be so impenetrable, that even a million catapults wouldn't even leave a dent.
Though I don't think the fact that it was so powerful is the reason children dream of redheaded Bookmen and beautiful servant girls. No, it's very improbable. If you do not believe me then were you familiar with the Ottoman Empire as a child? What about the Roman Empire, or what about something a little closer to our century, Prussia?
No. In all my years of studying history, and teaching in my past time, I have been most frequently asked about the story of the Black Kingdom. Students, teachers, and fellow historians alike find this tale to be captivating, ageless, and above all, mysterious.
This enigma of a legend starts with a simple little girl" (A Book of Tales 15)
She had found a way out. At the moment it was a blessing, but all to soon would it become a curse.
She dug at the foot long hole and her hands bled when small, sharp bits of stone cut them. Though she paid no attention to trivial matters like that; her one and only thought was to get out. With the force of a six year-old's hands, the dirt and rock slowly opened up for the girl to climb into.
It was dark in the tunnel. Too dark to find her way without help, so she carefully crawled around until she found the wall. It was cold to the touch and the jagged rocks that stuck out didn't help her ignore the pain from her previous wounds, but she had to move on.
The girl picked herself up. With her knees shaking, she started to walk.
'Just one foot in front of the other,' she thought, wincing at each step. To keep herself from passing out of exhaustion she would purposely dig the cuts in her hand into the walls of the cave. It hurt like Hell, but not like the Hell she had just escaped. She kept that in mind as she slowly made her way through the labyrinth.
She may have continued for days, or hours, or even just a few minutes—keeping track of time is not an easy thing to do when one is on the verged of unconsciousness—but she knew she couldn't go on for much longer. Her body was crying out for something to be put in the empty hole that was her stomach, and her limbs felt drained of energy. All in all, she was starting to give up hope. Hope of staying alive. Hope of seeing her brother again. It was all starting to loose its luster.
Her foot caught on something—most likely another rock—and she fell forward, not having the energy to catch herself with her bleeding hands. She was gone now. Her will to survive was crushed up in that cell, it was a miracle she had found the motivation to dig her way out, but now she knew that it was hopeless. She was going to die.
Maybe it was because she was counting her breaths, or her thoughts clouded her hearing, but only when everything was quiet, did she hear the ever so soft sound of water. Her survival instincts kicked it, causing her to drag herself to her hands and knees. As she crawled on, the noise started to get louder. A slow steady stream became a rushing river in the matter of minutes. A faint glow of light reached her eyes when she turned a corner. Suddenly the walls opened up and the sight that welcomed her was beautiful.
The large cavern had to be twelve feet high and the room inside it could easily fit the whole royal family with room to spare. The underground cavern was split in two by a river going from the right side of the room to the left. The sight of water had her crawling as fast as she could. She collapsed in front of it, pushing herself up so her head was just over the edge. She pushed her hands into the water, gasping at the feels of the icy liquid as it cleaned her wounds. She brought her hands back out and quickly moved her cupped hands to her lips. She drank hungrily and after two gulps she was ready for more. Her hands greedily went back and forth from her mouth and the river; gulping down the sweet, cool water. She only stopped drinking when her belly was full, but after a few seconds she threw-up most of what she drank. Though she was able to think clearly.
She smiled, her eyes half closed. She wasn't going to die. She wasn't going to parish in the dark all alone. She was going to live. The girl rolled over on her back and laughed gleefully, high off the feeling of life that slowly crept into her arms and legs.
Her laugh was cut short by the sound of a deep growl.
Surprised, she crawled onto her hands and knees again. What did that come from? Was it a beast, like the monsters her brother used to tell her about when she was younger?
She quickly looked behind her and all around the room, until her eyes fell upon a dark spot in the corner of the cave. It was a small hole in the wall, big enough for a small human to fit into. She squinted through the spray of the rushing water and gasped when the glow of two eyes caught her own. She stayed still, frozen with fear.
Had she just escape a slow death to be welcomed by another? She looked down at the large river. It was deep, and the current was strong. She doubted any creature small enough to fit inside that hole would be washed away if it tried to attack her. She thanked the river again, for it may have saved her life two times.
Her thoughts were interrupted by another small growl, except a small yowl was added. She looked back up and gazed at the shining eyes. She could almost make out a face, but it was too dark to be sure.
She swallowed any remaining fear she had and spoke. "H-Hello? M-my name is Lenalee. I'm not going to hurt you," she paused and added, "If you don't hurt me, I won't hurt you." She guessed it didn't hurt to act tough.
The creature growled again, but slowly she started to see it move into the poorly lit cavern. She gasped when she saw a human foot appear out of the hole. Could it be that someone had gotten stuck here after escaping like her? How had they gotten over the river?
Only after the creature had moved completely out into the light, did she see that the human was…Well, it wasn't exactly human. It's long white hair was messy and un-kept, and she caught sight of a tail whipping back and forth. Though the tail wasn't even half of it. The unhuman's arm was blood red and the poor thing had a scar over its left eye. It growled again, causing it to pull its lips back in a snarl. Something in its mass of hair twitched.
The girl looked up at its head and saw two fuzzy white ears in the place of human ears. They were round, unlike the house cat the cook kept in the kitchen.
Being a child, and open to the impossible, she took in its appearance quickly. After all, she hadn't even seen outside the city's walls, how could she know what was out there in the world.
The girl slowly smiled to show she didn't mean any harm, but her friendly gesture was thanked with a hiss and a yowl. She pulled her lips back together and stared at the wild human but its gaze was intense, so she quickly dropped hers. She looked back up when she heard the soft sound of skin against rock. Something must have calmed it down, because it was now relaxing against the cave wall, but its eyes still were pinned on her. She held back a smile when the human animal cocked its head in curiosity. It was obvious what it was asking even without it being spoken.
Who are you?
She couldn't help but to giggle, though she was careful to hide her smile behind her hand. "What have I found?" She asked herself in awe, earning another puzzling look from the snow-white creature.
In the amount of time she took to dig that hole, escape, and stumble upon a discovery that would change her life forever, was the amount of time it took for one of the greatest kingdoms in history to take their first baby steps into their best, most dangerous, and last century.
The whole castle was bustling with energy; everyone had somewhere to be, someone to greet, and something to do. The ladies of the court had to dress in their finest dresses and conjure up some new, juicy gossip. The servants had to set the tables and the maids had to sweep the place clean. The cooks had to be about the busiest of them all, with about five pigs to cook and tons of fresh fruits and vegetables to clean up. All these people were preparing for the day that was supposed to be one of the most important days in the royal family's history. It was the youngest prince's eighteenth birthday. The day he would find his princess.
The king had sent invitations out to all the royal families of all the kingdoms he could, which was certainly a lot because only a few kingdoms were stupid enough to make the Black Kingdom an enemy.
In just little over a week the castle would be filled with young ladies of all backgrounds and personalities. Though no one spoke of it, it was unofficially a match making session. The girls would be at the castle for a month, and in the time Prince Kanda would surly be able to find someone of his tastes.
Though only a limited few knew his tastes would definitely not be met if he was only limited to the ladies and princesses of the court. Now, if that was broadened to the lords and princes …well it was a possibility. Though the youngest prince wasn't to keen on social interaction. He would rather spend his time alone with only his sward for company, practicing his skills, and sometimes sparring with knights.
But whether he liked it or not, he would have to endure a month of annoying girls flocking his every step. Kanda would rather go off into war, at least then if someone annoyed him he could just run him through on the spot. It was so much simpler. Though now, as he sat on the windowsill of the highest point in the castle, he knew he was soon going to be put through a month of Hell.
He gazed down into the moat watching as the current slowly carried the water. That was one of the few mysteries of his home. There had always been a current in the moat, ever since he was a child, though there was no record of an underground river, or anything connecting it to another water source.
As a boy he would gaze at the moat for hours on end, wondering where it lead. Of course he would never admit it, but staring at the moat had become one of the few things in life that soothed him when he was sad.
When his mother had died, he didn't cry in the funeral, nor when his father and brothers held him close telling him that everything was going to be all right. He knew that. He had met servants who had lost both their parents and they were living happily in the palace's walls. He wasn't stupid and he wasn't immature. He was a boy who had survived multiple assassination attempts. He was a boy who was constantly gossiped about right behind his back. He had thick skin and he was mature. So he did not cry. He did not shed a tear.
It took two months for the eight year old Kanda to crack. He had just finished sparring and was walking to the kitchen to get a snack when he heard whispering, giggles, and the click of heels against stone. Those three noises Kanda knew well and he did not feel like dealing with any girls. So he quickly ducked into a storage room and waited for them to pass.
As they got closer Kanda recognized their voices. It was Lady Gena, Lady Helena, and Duchess Emma of VanBrussel's kingdom. The Duchess had just stopped by to rest before she continued her journey to a neighboring kingdom where she was to marry the crown prince.
Kanda didn't understand why she was going to marry a man, who was twice her age and someone she had never met before. It didn't make sense to the child. Even when he had tried to ask her over dinner, he was quickly shushed by his brothers and was scolded by his father after she excused herself.
"Now Kanda, you know better than to ask things like that to a woman. She is taking a great sacrifice by doing this for her people!" Kanda heard his father say in his memory.
He furrowed his brow and peaked outside the door. The three women had stopped right by his door, watching the knights spar in the evening breeze. The two ladies were whispering to the duchess, who looked blatantly uncomfortable.
"Don't worry darling. I'm sure being that king's queen will have its perks. I mean think of all the dresses you can get, and the jewels! Oh my, just think of all the jewels you can get!" Lady Gena played with her gold bracelets and looked over at the Duchess's empty wrists. "Oh, you poor thing. I forgot you came from a poor land. Why, don't you worry! I'm sure the king will shower you with everything you desire," she put an emphases on the word everything.
Emma VanBrussel blushed at the lady's words and spoke in her soft voice. "I don't really care for much as long as I am of use to my family and both kingdoms," she lowered her eyes occupying them with something Kanda could not see.
Even to Kanda it was obvious she was deeply sad, but the two ladies continued on without a moment's thought.
"Oh, pish-posh! You have to think of yourself a little honey," Lady Helena had followed her friend's earlier comments and continually degraded the younger women when she was both above their social classed and more attractive in everyway. "All you have to do is please the man when you share a bed, bare his children, and before you know it you will be sleeping with the most beautiful nightdress laced with diamonds. Just don't get tempted by the other fine men of the court. If you have a child that doesn't look like his father then you may end up dead, like our queen."
Kanda's head perked up at this. He pulled his lips down into a frown, and scooted closer so he could hear clearly. What on earth did his mother's death have anything to do with him? He was a prince by blood, but everyone in the court thought otherwise. It didn't matter what they thought though. They could call him a bastard all they wanted to but in the end, they would still follow a prince's orders.
Emma's innocent voice was out of place in the conversation the ladies were trying to make. "What…What do you mean?"
Lady Gena looked Emma in the eyes and shook her head, "Oh, you must know about that little black haired prince running around like he owns the whole kingdom." Kanda didn't have to see her face to know he had just rolled her eyes.
Emma picked her head up sharply and looked around her. "You should not speak like that about your prince!"
Lady Gena scoffed, "I would say that straight to his face if I had the chance. The little bastard has no manors just like his whore of a mother."
Kanda fumed. He was just about to step out of his hiding place, when he heard the sharp noise of skin against skin. The boy looked over and saw the Duchess Emma with her hand still raised and furry in her eyes. Kanda's eyes looked down to see Lady Gena holding her cheek, too surprised to react.
"Now you listen here you aging harlot," Emma's voice was still soft, but it was as hard and stern as a rock, "I personally new Queen Rohesia as a girl, and I will be the first one to say that she is the most honest, beautiful, and fair of all the queens I have ever met, including my own mother. I spent a year here a little before Prince Kanda was born. I saw him in his mother's womb, and I saw the way the king looked at his wife and his growing son, and I saw the look she would give him back. It was pure love. Love that I can only pray and hope I will find in my own king. She would have never done the disgusting and horrid thing you are implying. Though because you are women filled with jealousy and because you believe only material things can bring happiness, I understand why you would try to find such things to degrade your queen. I pity you." She spat next to Lady Gena's shiny heals, and stalked off, holding her head high.
It took several moments before the two ladies and Kanda were able to process what they just witnessed. Though Lady Gena and Helena's reactions were quite different from his own.
While he was in awe and felt a new respect slowly blossom for the young queen-to-be, the two ladies were furious and felt hatred for the young women.
"That bitch! How dare she suddenly mount her high horse! She is going to be an ugly handful for King Gregory when she arrives," Lady Helena practically screeched. She helped her friend recover and they both stalked off in humiliation.
Kanda emerged from his hiding place slowly. He started to walk down the hall in the way Duchess Emma had gone, when he heard a small gasp up ahead. Curious as most boys are in that age, he trotted up and rounded the corner to see the very same women who he had thought pulled off one of the grandest dramatic exits he had ever seen.
She looked at him, her eyes wide and her hands over her mouth. Realizing she must look incredibly suspicious, she moved her hands to her side and cleared her throat. "Did…Did you hear that?" she asked quietly and looked down at the boy hopefully.
When he nodded, a blush quickly traveled up her neck and face.
"I-I didn't mean to insult…I mean, they surly weren't serious when…Don't listen to what they say…" She trailed off looking extremely uncomfortable and worried.
Kanda sighed and crossed his arms. "I don't care what people say," he said as he continued to stare up at the woman.
She fidgeted under his gaze, not knowing what to say. She was the youngest in her immediate family and she never interacted with her younger cousins. She didn't understand the minds of children, what she should say to them, or how to act.
Everything was so new to her. Even the engagement was sudden and new. She had never traveled without her family, and she had never been filled with so much rage in her entire life. Everything was new, unfamiliar, and most of all, it was scary.
She felt tears come to her eyes. She tried to hide them but they wouldn't stop flowing. All the stress from the past months was suddenly coming out in front of a child who's eyes seemed to old for his age.
She slowly slid down the wall, the palms of her hands covering her eyes as she wept. Everything was changing in her life. How was she to cope by herself?
The blonde haired women felt a small hand pat her head. She looked up with her tear stroke face to see the youngest prince of the palace stroking her head. He was trying to hide his face by looking the other way, but Emma could still see the blush on the boy's face. She smiled and sniffed. "Th-Thank you Prince Kanda, I seem to be weary from travel," she grasped his hand from his head and rested her forehead against them. Anyone who saw would say she was praying, with the prince's hand sandwiched between hers.
Startled, he turned his head sharply to look at the woman before him. He stopped himself from ripping his hand back, when he saw the peaceful face of the woman. He had no idea what was going on in her head, but he had a strange feeling of accomplishment in making her feel better. He tried to shake the weird feeling away, but it would not recede. So he stood there, calmly and patiently until the woman stood back up and smiled fondly at the raven-haired boy. He grimaced back.
"How would you like to accompany me to the gardens? I've heard that the apples on the apple trees here are to die for," she asked in her soft, soothing voice.
Kanda was feeling a little hungry, and he bet if he didn't go with the woman then she would just start crying again, plus it had been months since he had been to the gardens and he needed to check to see if his mother's lotus flowers were being taken care of. So he puffed his cheeks out and nodded.
After that day, the two could not be seen apart. Kanda showed Emma around the castle and Emma constantly picked fun at the boy's shyness. They were like two peas in a pod, which was why when Emma had to leave after three weeks of prolonged rest, everyone was surprised to find Kanda had not come to say farewell.
Though Emma new this would happen. She said her goodbyes to the rest of the royal family and took one last glance at the palace doors.
"Are you sure you don't want me to send a guard to find him?" King Tiedoll asked sympathetically.
"No," she said as a sad smile played about her lips, "They will not be able to find him until I am long gone. Just please tell him that I will visit as much as I can." She curtsied and walked down the steps in her simple blue dress, made in a simple farming kingdom.
Emma entered her carriage and sighed. She rested her forehead against the window frame, but she refused to close her eyes. As soon as she was far enough to see, but close enough to be heard if she yelled, she looked up into the highest tower's window. Sure enough, there was a shadow of a boy.
She yelled at the driver to stop, but didn't wait for the horses to come to a complete halt. She jumped out, surprising the boy up in the window and everyone else who was watching. The shadow of the boy disappeared, but she still new he was there.
"I know you're there so don't hide," she yelled at the tower, but didn't wait for the boy to appear again. She knew he wouldn't, he was much too stubborn.
"Just listen to what I have to say, okay? Don't you dare think I'm leaving for good! Don't you dare think that I will never come to visit! I am going to be fucking Queen Emma, and I won't let anyone stop me from going where I want to go. I learned that from you, you know. Not the cussing part, even though I learned that from you too, the part about me being queen and all the shi-stuff I'm going to have to endure.
"You know what I thought when you found me hiding around the corner? After you started to comfort me when I started crying-"
At this, the window burst open to reveal the boy hidden inside, "Shut up you old hag! You were crying like an infant. I didn't know how the hell I was supposed to stop you!"
Emma smiled and continued yelling back, ignoring the profanities that were sprouting from the child's mouth, " I thought: Wow, here is a child that has gone through so much in his life, and he still finds it in his heart to comfort a sheltered, crybaby, noble girl. That's when I realized that I could get through this. I may make mistakes – No – I'm going to make mistakes, but I will be able to get through them. I own it all to you Kanda, so don't think that I'm gone forever okay?" She wiped the tears that were rolling down her cheeks away; this was the last time she would cry, because she wasn't a child anymore. But the boy above her in that tower was, so she had to make sure he knew he was aloud to.
"Just promise me one thing, okay? You have to promise to do it, or I won't ever come back," Emma threatened.
"How the heck are you going to know if I keep my promise? You won't be here," Kanda yelled back.
"Do you want me to come back or not?" Emma asked, but she didn't wait for a response. "Promise me you'll cry when you feel upset, or stressed, or sad, or you feel like you just have to have a good cry. Promise me that one thing and I'll come back as soon as I can!"
Kanda stared dumbfounded at the woman who called herself his friend. The promise was to cry? Cry? It was so dumb that he could even form words to express it, but another yell from Emma brought the words back into his head.
"What the hell? CRY? You want me to cry? That is the important promise I have to keep? Why the hell do you want me to cry?"
"Because you are a child," She said in a voice only her knights could hear, but she raised her voice louder for the prince, "You don't have to know why, just promise me, okay?"
Kanga gripped the windowsill and puffed out his cheeks in a pout. "FINE! Okay! I'll freaking cry when I feel the need to, but just so you know, I never feel the need to cry." With that he slammed the windows back together and pressed his back against the cold stone of the wall.
Hours after she had left, Kanda finally moved from his spot and looked back outside. He felt hollow when he saw the empty grounds, and the darkening sky. He looked down and his eyes rested on the moat. It was a slow and steady stream of water.
It was never disturbed in these days of peace. It just flowed on without a care in the world. That was when Kanda felt something cool and wet on his cheeks. He looked up, expecting to see a hole in the ceiling, or a drip coming from somewhere, but it was nowhere to be found. He touched his cheeks and felt even more drops of water. He looked back up again, surly there was a drip from somewhere, but he didn't see anything. Puzzled he placed both hands on his face and felt where the water was coming from.
He was crying.
Kanda sank down to the floor and chuckled darkly. Damn you Emma, he thought, I'm becoming a crybaby just like you.
He then started to sob. He cried for his lost mother, and he cried for his friend who had acted like an older sister, and he cried for all the days he had to hear the people of the court call him a bastard and his mother a whore. In the light of moon the young Kanda had cried for what felt like the first time in his whole life.
'I was a baby back then,' the seventeen year old thought gruffly. It had been ten years and he hadn't seen the old hag once since then. To this day he made sure to keep track of the news, to make sure she was well.
Emma VanBrussel was now Queen Emma Humphrey. She had two sons and three daughters named Henry, Aaron, Penelope, Genesis, and Haley. Genesis and Henry were his age, Penelope was two years younger, and Haley and Aaron were both about six years old. His father had sent an invitation to them; hopefully Emma would come, so at least something good happened on his birthday.
He sat on the windowsill for hours, until a voice behind him interrupted his thoughts.
"Yu, there are a lot of people who want to meet you right now, and by people I mean very pretty princesses and ladies."
He turned his head to glare at his cousin, Lavi, "You really think I care? And don't call me Yu."
His cousin smiled and held his hands up in a surrendering position, "Hey, I was just ordered by Panda to tell you, so I told you. Whether you go or not it entirely up to you," he paused for a second and scratched the back of his head, laughing awkwardly, "You know Kanda, usually when a close friend or a family member comes back after months of being gone it's customary to at least say hello, how've you been, how was your trip, etcetera." He waved his hand back and froth, nonchalantly.
Kanda didn't answer the redhead, he just gave him a sharp glare that shut the stupid rabbit up, and continued watching the moat.
Lavi was not his cousin by blood. Kanda's uncle, who had inherited the role of Bookman causing him to loose all his rights as a prince and taken to be trained in an unbiased environment, adopted Lavi. It was years before King Tiedoll saw his older brother again, but when he did, the man also had a small redheaded boy who he claimed was his apprentice. Just like many people, Kanda was confused by what exactly the Bookman's role was, but he knew the gist of it.
Bookmen were citizens of no country, arresting them or killing them would result in your own death, and there was a new Bookman taken from a different country each generation. Lavi, it turned out, was chosen to be the next Bookman from his own kingdom, which no one knew.
The stupid rabbit was the definition of an enigma, but Kanda didn't like to think of him that way, he would always be just a stupid rabbit in his eyes.
Lavi had walked up behind him and was looking over his shoulder at the plethora of carriages and people. Of course it was eight days until his birthday, but traveling was a tricky thing, so most royal families would come very early to ensure their family had the best rooms available, and to make sure their daughters had plenty amount of time to get to know Prince Kanda.
Even though he wasn't the crowned prince, marring any royal family member of the Black Kingdom guaranteed a safe life full of riches. That was one reason Kanda hated these girls and their family. They were lazy-asses, lechers who didn't want to work to make their own kingdom better. They just married their children off to people they didn't know and assumed that their life will become better. In Kanda's eyes, they were filthier than the bottom of a slave's shoe.
He grimaced as he saw one particularly dressed out female leave her over-decorated carriage. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was either now, or some other time, he might as well get it over with, Kanda thought begrudgingly.
He picked up his sward, which was lying across his lap, attached it to his belt, and briskly left the room.
"Are you going to go great people?" Lavi asked as he followed him.
"I'm just going to get it over with, stupid rabbit," Kanda growled.
Lavi fell onto his bed, letting the soft mattress sooth his sore muscles. He had been traveling with Bookman for three months, learning the ways of other lands, and reading books with information he thought could never be true. It was all very exhausting, so he was definitely disappointed when his cousin, who was, at least, his best friend, didn't even give him a proper hello.
Even after a day of helping Kanda with the ladies, he didn't get a welcome home. He rolled over and onto his stomach, sighing deeply into the puffy blankets. Why the servants still put the heavy blankets on the bed when it was almost June, Lavi was unable to answer. But he had to admit the blankets sure were comfy to snuggle up in, but only for a short while, because the heat would become too uncomfortable. The young Bookman in training slowly closed his eyes to nap.
A loud clatter awoke him from his sleep. He opened his eyes and quickly got up.
"Are you blind, girl? Look where you are going!" Lavi did not want to hear that voice on his first night back. Who else, other then Lord Levrier, head of the king's counsel, would shout at this time of night?
Lavi ran a hand through his hair and got up. Whoever the poor servant girl was, she must be scared stiff. Maybe he would get lucky and the maid was a beautiful damsel in distress, who would be more then happy to thank Lavi…to the best of her abilities. He walked over to his door and his hand was on the handle, when the voice of the maid answered back.
"I-I'm so sorry Lord Levrier! I'll clean every thing up immediately!" The redhead's eyes widened when he heard his one other best friend's voice answer Levrier. Before he knew it, Lavi was pulling the door open. His worry turned into anger when he saw what was happening.
From what he could gather, Lenalee was hurrying along with a tray of food, when, not paying attention, the girl bumped into the Counsel Head. Who, in turn, was threatening the girl while pulling on her hair.
'What a childlike thing to do, Levrier,' Lavi thought darkly. He glared at the man in front of him. "Lord Levrier. What a pleasure to see you!" Lavi smiled threateningly, not bothering to hold back the venom in his voice.
Levrier released the girl's hair and returned the same fake smile to Lavi. "Bookman Junior, what are you doing at the castle? I thought you were on a trip with your grandfather."
"Yes I was, but now I am back. It's amusing. I thought the Counsel Head would be the first to hear of such things. I guess I was wrong," Lavi said in an innocent voice.
"Yes," Lord Levrier said through clenched teeth, "I guess you were wrong."
Lavi nodded and moved in front of Lenalee, "Well, best be on your way, you must be very busy. I'll make sure this maid cleans up her mess."
Levrier nodded back and barked at his manservant to keep up.
Only once they were far away, did Lavi let out the breath he was holding. He slumped back against the wall and smiled. "God Lenalee, I thought we both were goners."
The girl nodded, her long black pigtails bounced. She wore the normal attire of a maid: a plain white dress, with a dull tan apron. The only thing that did justice to the girl's beauty was two golden hair clips, and her long black hair.
"Yeah, me too," the girl said, her hands still shaking.
Lavi's brow furrowed and a small frown dance upon his mouth. He took the girl's hands into his own and held them gently.
"He's not going to hurt you. King Tiedoll, Kanda, your brother, and I won't let that happen again. I promise," he let go of one of her hands to tilt her face up towards him. " I swear it on my life."
She nodded slowly and let Lavi help her back up.
Lenalee was Komui's younger sister, he was Kanda's tutor. She was brought to the castle to work as a servant, when her family failed to pay their taxes. Being only six at the time, she was constantly messing up, and that earned her a lot of beatings. One of the worst incidents was when she tripped with a tray of glasses, shattering them everywhere. When she left to get a broom, Levrier had just finished with a counsel meeting and walked right over the glass. He slipped and then fell on top of the million shards.
During this time, there had been a few assassination attacks against the counsel, and the rumor that the Noah Clan was behind it, did make many shake in their boots.
The Noah Clan had been the Black Kingdom's enemy for as long as anyone could remember. Though the vast history of attacks and battles, no one has ever gathered much information about them. This is what made them so terrifying, for the worst type of enemy to have, is an invisible one.
Levrier's injuries were not very serious, but that didn't stop the man from punishing the girl, claming that she was also another assassin sent from the Noah clan. After this, she seemed to just disappear. No one knew where she had gone or what had happened. Yet when the King found out, he quickly ordered Levrier to bring the girl back, and so she appeared again.
If she was tortured, or if she was just left alone to rot in prison, not a soul knows, for Lenalee has never talked about it. Of course, King Tiedoll felt horrible for the young girl. So he summoned her brother to work in the castle, hoping the company of family would sooth the child.
Komui started out as Prince Kanda's tutor, but he soon proved to be very helpful. He invented machines to help servants with their work and then became the respected leader of the Science Department. It also became known that the man had a very large, almost unhealthy, sister complex. This, both Lavi and Kanda had learned the hard way.
Lavi shivered at the thought.
"So I'll just be going then," Lenalee said after picking up the bits of food on the floor.
Lavi stared at her suspiciously. He was used to Kanda giving him the cold shoulder, but usually Lenalee would give him a hug, ask about his trip, ask how he was, and above all, make him feel at home again. Though here was the very same girl, who he hadn't seen in months, rushing off with the leftovers of some noble's dinner, and he didn't even get a hello?
Something was up.
"What's the big rush?
Lenalee paused with a very fake smile on her face. Everything about her screamed suspicious. "I'm, uh, well you see…I, um, I'm going the kitchen for…to wash the dishes!" She stumbled through her words, coming to a conclusion with way too much enthusiasm.
'Yup,' Lavi thought, 'little Lenalee is up to something.'
"Want some help with that?" Lavi offered with a friendly smile as he started to roll up his sleeves, "I'm up for some manual labor, and catching up with my best friend."
"NO!" Lenalee shouted, making Lavi pause his actions. "I mean, you just got back and you must be so tired. Plus, you're a noble! What will people think if they see you cleaning dishes with a maid!"
'They'll be thinking that I'm aiming to share a bed with you, like so many other noble men do with the maids,' Lavi thought crudely, though he dared not say it out loud. Instead he just same the same thing he said to anyone who called him a noble, that he wasn't one.
"Lenalee, how many times do I have to say, though I seem hold a high position in the court, I am not officially a noble. I'm not even a citizen of the Black Kingdom. The only reason I spend most of my time here is because the Black Kingdom is the most powerful in all the lands, thus most history happens here." He looked down at the girl seeing the usual stubborn expression she had when he said this.
"You may not be an official citizen, but this palace is your home," her stern expression melted into a smile, "so welcome back." She hugged him, careful to not spill the plate as she did so.
Lavi smiled and hugged her back, he knew his words were true, and that the Black Kingdom wasn't really his home, but it was nice to pretend for as long as he could.
"Now," Lenalee said after their hug, "I have some work to do, and you have some sleep to catch up on." She waved her finger at him and walked past him, saying goodbye over her shoulder.
He smiled at her as she walked away, and turned back to his door when she was gone. His hand was on the handlebar, when he suddenly stopped, glanced back down the hallway Lenalee just left, and then took off in the very same direction.
He was a man of knowledge, so secrets he did not know, didn't sit well with him. Lavi grinned and trotted down the hall. 'What are you hiding Lenalee?'
'Ten drips, twelve drips, thirteen drips… Yes, I don't hear a fourteenth drip! I was getting so-… Erg! Fourteen drips.' A lone boy sat next to a river, in his underground cavern. He was lying on his back with his paws up in the air playing with some fly that had managed to get stuck down with him. The fly finally figured out that the cavern was quite a large place, or it just got bored of the boy, because it flew off across the river.
He growled and changed his position, resting on his stomach. The smooth rock he was lying on was cold, making him suck in his stomach in surprise, but it was about as comfortable as he was going to get, so he slowly rested back down again.
When the boy had woken up, he had first noticed the infuriating sound of drips that seemed to burn his hears every second. He had started to growl at the noise, as if threatening the annoyance would make it stop, but it continued, so the boy just gave up and started to play with his hair.
It was pure white, long, and messy because no one was ever able to take care of it. He glared at the rushing river in front of him. Because of it, the white haired boy was never able to play with his visitor.
The girl had met him a long time ago. From what he could tell, she was a servant. Her black hair had a tinge of green to it, but that may only be because of the lighting in the underground caves. He could never get close enough to observe her more, but he did know she was nice, she brought him more food, and he liked listening to her speak, though he couldn't understand a single word.
The girl was the one thing that he really looked forward to everyday. Sure, it was fun spying on humans through his looking holes, but they never spoke to him like the girl did. The girl would talk to him and him alone when she would visit. It made him feel sad that he could not understand her words, maybe amongst them she sad told him what he was, and why he was different from other humans.
He lightly touched his ears and sighed. 'No use getting all sad, just focus on the happy stuff,' the boy thought for a moment and then smiled. 'It is probably about time for her to come.'
The boy purred and stretched his hand over the edge of the rock to play with the rushing water below him. It wasn't long before he started to growl again. Eighteen drips. Nineteen drips. Twenty drips.
Whew! This is so much better then my old one! I had to look over the old chapter to remind myself what I wanted to happen in this chapter and I think I threw-up a bit when I saw my writing. I wrote for almost the entire day! I'm actually quite proud of it. Every time I made Kanda say "stupid rabbit," I wanted to add on "Tricks are for kids!" This would be a glorious work of art. Does anyone know if they have seen a picture of this?
Again I would like to apologize for the abandonment of this fic. =( I'm sorry for being such a bad mother, Buried Secret, but I promise you that you will be written and filled with long, multiple chapters. Please review! I need to know if people still want to read this!
P.S If you found an error, if you think something is worded awkwardly, or if you think I need to put more explanation into something please tell me so I can fix it. Sometimes my brain adds in what I think I'm reading (for example if I type "to" and it's suposed to be "do," when I read it I read "Dally do (really to) the laundry!")