~Fate & Swordplay~

A Gaia World Fanfic

Note: The following takes place ten years before Escaflowne. It is based off of a the fanfic 'Oracle of Fates' as a prequel to the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own the story of Escaflowne or any of the characters involved with Escaflowne, and while some of the characters may be mentioned in the fanfic, most of the plot is truly based off of the world of Gaia. This is why it is a Gaia World fanfic and not an Escaflowne Fanfic.

Chapter One:

Edge of the Sword

The sun hung low in the red sky, so close to it's planet, so large in it's ways. Half of it just barely reached over the mountains. The sky was a beautiful array of reds and oranges. It was dusk, close to the end of the day. There was a moon rising in the distance, on the other side of the sky, it too was close to the planet it circled, but smaller that the gigantic sun. There was a castle that rose over everything, towering over the small buildings. It was built of a stone, so magnificent that it seemed to be so strong it could withstand any type of wrath. A garden sat in the back of the castle. It's flowers in bloom, giving off a wonderful aura. A young man sat in the garden. His hair was short and brown in color, his eyes were the color of emeralds, green. The young man sat fingering something, a flower. It was a lily, golden in color, giving off it's light to the reddened sky. He played with the lily, watching it slide across his fingers until the wind came and took it from him, tearing it from his grasp. The lily was swept away in the wind. He tried to reach for it, but the flower was too far away from his grasp for him to catch it, so he let it fly away, drifting away from the setting sun. He sat there for moments, looking in the direction the flower had flown to, the moon, or what some on that planet would call the Mystic Moon. The young man sighed, finally getting up from sitting on the ground. He turned back towards the castle walking slowly towards it.

~ ~

"This isn't a matter of what's right or wrong! I want it fixed!" The young man yelled at the commander.

"It'll be one cold day in hell before the enemy will be stopped," the commander replied.

"Then make it a cold day in hell!" he stared at the commander for a few seconds before saying, "Commander Akari, this is not one of those situations where we sit begging mercy at the feet of our enemies. Well either take control or we all get blown to pieces." His dark blue eyes were fitted with rage.

"Yes sire, I understand." Akari said. The man was younger that he was and he was still being ordered around. Well, that's my job, Akari thought to himself. The young man ruled over this land Akari was born in, the land that had once separated the Carnele Empire. The young man was Duke Tren Yamiar, ruler or the land of Melaso. With his looks he could always charm the ladies, but he never seemed to be a manwhore because his most drawn out efforts were spent in bettering the Royal Army. The summer palace grounds had been situated in the capitol, Melaso, named after the city after the separation of the Carnele Empire. But the Empire was plotting plans again, raiding the southern border. The Duke had rage at some times, mostly during war, but was pleasant to be around during times of peace. It would take sure luck to get one good day out of the Duke in this era, seeing that war had plagued over Melaso.

"Good, now about the tactics. It seems that the Carnele Empire has been raiding the southern border," Tren began, scratching his head of short dark blonde hair.

"We've been trying to take charge of this even as we speak," answered Akari. A smile grew upon Tren's face, "No, call back most of your forces, tell them to go to the west side, that is where they will be planning the attack. Make sure they are aware of the situation this time. I don't want my soldiers scrambling for an exit."

"Yes sire." Akari got up from his seat, slowing walking out of the room. "Oh and Akari," the Duke began. Akari turned back around nodding to the Duke. "Make sure Lemei isn't hanging around. If she is bring her to me. I'll have to make it clear that I don't allow any bystanders to get involved."

"But she's your sister," Akari blurted out. "Exactly." The Duke's smile grew even larger as he watched Akari's expression grow more pale. Akari only hoped that Lemei wasn't hanging around. Akari darted out the room.

~ ~

It was tragic indeed. Akari had begun walking out of the palace gates, and found Lemei, saddling a horse.

"Lemei you know the Duke doesn't like to see you like this." Akari could feel the sweat boil up on his forehead. The last time the Duke found out what Lemei was up to was chaos. It had been a disaster, the Duke ending up with a bloody nose and Lemei ending up with lots of bruises.

Lemei had long dark blue hair which she kept in a bun at the back of her head. She always said her hair was so dark that it made her sweat more. It was an unpleasant thing for Akari the here. He never could imagine a Lady of the palace working up a sweat, but Lemei was different, the Duke was different, but both of them were the same. Maybe it has something to do with the blood, thought Akari. Lemei had dark green eyes, so dark that they were almost black in color, but then shimmered with that magnificent green color. She was at the ripe age of sixteen, her brother, the Duke, being nineteen.

"Who says that my brother has to know?" Lemei smiled, but Akari shook it off. "Sometimes I don't understand why you just don't go to living the life of a princess." Akari shook his head.

"'Cause the life of a princess is too boring. No blood, no wounds, no excitement. You just sit on your ass all day sipping tea with morons who talk about that son-of-a-bitch king. You know I hate him. I don't see how they can adore him. I've tried it once and you know what the outcome was. One of those princesses got tea down the front of her dress and ended up having her tongue burnt to death. You wouldn't want that to happen again now would you?" Lemei smiled, looking at Akari. He was young for being the highest ranking commander of the Royal Army, being only eighteen years of age. It was amazing. Lemei had expected an old guy to be the commander, but she was glad when Tren had picked Asu Akari for the commander. Maybe she did have a secret crush on him, but only now and then. Besides, she thought, crushes are for losers.

Akari nodded, looking down at her, him being taller, but he soon wiped the smile off his face. "Why do you bother with all the war crap when you could be far away from it?" he asked.

"Because, my ideal way to die would be in battle. And also, it's forbidden to me. What's the fun of doing something that you can do. It's fun to do the impossible." Lemei smiled, but Akari only shook his head.

"Lemei, Lemei, when will you learn? You know that I, personally, would've stopped you anyway, but in fact I have a message to give you. The Duke said that if I caught you doing something suspicious--"

"The Duke said, the duke said. I don't give what the Duke says. He may be my brother, but I have other things to do at the moment. I'll go and teach those stupid kids a lesson they won't forget." Lemei said, her rage growing.

"You brother wants to see you. And trust me, it won't be good. You know what happened the last time." Akari's mouth turned to a frown, but Lemei laughed. "I have memories to catch up to. It seems that this lesson will have to wait. My brother will be glad to see me." Lemei kept laughing. She turned to walk back into the castle.

"Thanks!" Akari shouted back.

~ ~

""You know you should really knock. It would be more polite." Tren stood at the window with his back facing the door. He knew what he was doing, taunting his sister, but it would keep Lemei from going off into battle, again.

"It would be more polite, but nice girls finish last." Lemei smiled at her response, going over to stand by the Duke. "You know what would be even more pleasant?" Lemei asked. Tren rose his eyebrows at the questions. Lemei continued, "...a nice blood bath." She laughed at this too. Tren did not laugh as heavily though, even thought he could feel a smile arising on his face. Lemei ruffled his hair, "Only playing!" she recoiled off her comment, but Tren wasn't so happy. "So why do you look at that moon so much anyway?" Lemei wondered.

"I'm not sure, it marvels me with it's magnificence. There's something about it, something familiar." Tren answered. He stood for a moment, looking back at the moon. "You know, I don't want you there," he began, turning to face his sister. "It's bad for your health." Tren put away his smile and came back with a serious look. "It's bad for anyone's health, but yours especially. I don't want you in there dying over a stupid mistake."

"Yeah, I know, but that's what makes it more fun, right? Going around, dying all the time." Lemei let out a laugh. "I'm a princess, right, so why don't I act like one? But you already know that answer, I suppose. I was never raised with hopes of chatting over a nice cup of fragrant tea. In fact, I was never raised chatting over a nice cup of tea. I was raised without my mother and all these guys around me learning their own dance of swordplay. So I guess it would be better to blame it on yourself, then?"

"Unfortunately, I do blame it on myself, and I take it in my interest to make sure that nothing happens that will make me take more blame." The Duke stood for a moment, turning to look out the window at the blooming garden. "So, I'll let you off easy this time. Let's see how good you really are." The Duke turned and walked out of the room, leaving his sister in the dust.

~ ~

"So tell me," Lemei started when she arrived after Tren, "what is going on with the Carnele Empire? Scaring you again?" She let out a laugh as she picked her favorite sword. "Sparring, can you think of anything more magnificent. You know it's my favorite sport." Tren drew his sword from the sheath.

"Well? Going to keep talking or are you going to fight yet?" He asked. Lemei spun her sword in her hand before bringing it into her grasp, "Bring it." she taunted laughing hysterically before she jumped at Tren, letting the swords cling. They waited a few seconds, Lemei seeing the rage in Tren's eyes. She smiled again, bring her sword back, spinning around before coming into contact with her brother's once again. She somersaulted over Tren's head, coming down to land at Tren's back, but he had already turned around, fighting Lemei's move.

"You'll ware yourself out this way. All I'm doing is turning and blocking," Tren spoke. He went at Lemei this time, but Lemei, with her graceful skills, had already gotten around his attacks without the swords making a noise. "You know, you were always good at playing hide and seek." Lemei smiled agreeing with him. She spun her sword in her hand once again, taking her footing one step further as they both ran at each other, blocking each other's attack. Lemei, took off again, pushing Tren further and further towards the wall.

"Never seen you this bad." Lemei smiled. "Then look again," Tren replied, pushing Lemei back to the other side of the room. Lemei turned when he was about to strike, dodging a frightful attack. She came down at Tren again, her feet, nipping at his toes. She lost her balance with her being so close to him that she almost fell. She spun horizontally her feet landing securely on the ground. She raised her eyebrows, beckoning Tren further. Tren came at her this time, their swords slashing an inch away from each other's throats, but they kept at it.

Lemei dodged to the side, striking at Tren's side, but he dodged this one too. Lemei took a swipe at Tren's feet, but he jumped, somersaulting of her head, landing on the other side, but Lemei was too quick, she was already blocking Tren's attack, smiling in his face.

"So, what about this Carnele Empire?" Lemei asked, still sparing with her brother. "They're causing trouble again. I can feel. The Empire's conducting a lot of raids along the southern border." He lied partially, bring his sword down at Lemei, but she dodged once more. Lemei could feel the sweat dripping off her forehead. "Then what's this really about? I know you wouldn't keep me from a simple raid?" She asked, dodging another of Tren's attacks.

"No, they're conducting a lot more raids than what's typical. I'm not sure what they're up to, but I believe it has something to do with the western boarder. They're planning an attack. I don't want you in it." Tren said truthfully, coming back at Lemei's attack.

"Ah, I see the "big brother protects little sister" deal." She said, bring her fingers up to "quote" around the 'big brother protects little sister' part. Tren saw this as an advantage, and swiped at her chest, but she lept high into the air.

"Yes, I'll admit it is. Like I said, I don't want you dying over something like this and me take on more of the blame." Tren struck forth, but Lemei blocked again. "You're getting good at this," Lemei said, "Or is it just me?" She laughed, striking at Tren again, but only to find a sword in the way. Tren shrugged off the comment continuing back to the dispute with the Carnele Empire.

"You weren't there when it happened the first time? The first war with Carnele?" Tren asked Lemei. Lemei playfully tossed her sword up in the air, jumping over Tren's attack and catching her sword in mid-leap. She landed back on the ground, her sword had already blocked another attack. "No I wasn't, was I? Oh, yeah, that's right," she recalled, "I went to Palas that year to check up on the country communications."

"You didn't see that they nearly wiped us out of existence." He blocked Lemei. "You know, I never told you how destructive they actually were. You were back in time to only see what you suspected." Lemei came striking again, but he blocked. "You were in Palas two years ago. They killed almost all of our army. They captured and later killed the commander. That's why I had Akari promoted. To take the place of a fallen. They destroyed almost have of the city. They destroyed the winter palace completely." He dodged Lemei's attack again. "I lied to you. I told you that everything was fine when you came back even though you suspected something was wrong, but you never dared to ask. You let me lie. You let me trick you into thinking that everything was all right while I died by my memories each night."

"NO!" Lemei yelled. "It's not true! Tell me, it's not true!" she yelled, her facing becoming quickly confused as she struck at him with all her might, he dodged quickly coming back at her with more force and speed. "I can't. It's true. Every single gory detail. It's all true every detail that went around this town. The ones I told you were only lies. The rumors were all true. All I wanted was to protect you." He said, coming to Lemei with his sword at her neck, her pinned up against the wall.

"I won't believe it. I...I trusted you," her eyes filled up with tears. "It was all...a lie? All of it? How?" She looked up at him, with his sword at her neck, her fears becoming real. "Lemei, listen to me. I needed to lie. It wasn't my fault. I had to stop you. I couldn't let it happen." Tren shook her, rage in his eyes. Lemei turned away from his face. "No, I won't believe it." She pushed the sword away, stepping away from the Duke.

"Lemei. Your my sister, listen to me!" The Duke yelled. Lemei ran out of the room, keeping her grasp on the sword she held. "Shit," Tren said silently under his breath. He sheathed the sword, and walked off after Lemei.

~ ~

Akari wiped sweat off of his forehead and out of his short brown hair. He had ordered his men from the southern border to the western border in a matter of minutes, but when they got to the western border, they saw that the Emperial Army was already waiting for them. They were just sitting there waiting for them to come so that they could slaughter the heads of their enemies. Akari was so enraged about his army getting pulled into a trap that he had ordered them to clean out the Emperial Army. It had been a foolish decision, but what was he to do? Retreat and watch the Emperial Army flood into the country, destroying everything in its path? At least Akari had managed to stay alive during the battle, but it was unfortunate for some of the others. There families would be getting certificates of death anytime soon.

There was a plus to the battle. First of all, they had held off the army from invading the country. It was a very crimson battle, but the Royal Army had won, defeating the Emperial Army. Akari was overjoyed that they hadn't all been captured or died to the wrath of the Carnele Empire. It was the first battle after a long peace. The long peace that the Carnele Empire had been setting up in order to make, check, and proceed with plans of ultimate destruction. It was devastating to find out that the rumors about the Empire were actually true. It was devastating to here that any rumor was true, but this was the worst.

It was late at night when Akari had reached the palace. The Mystic Moon hung high in the sky, and you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. But you could see the castle. It was lit up at night, it shown as a paradise for all who enter, as they had said. He looked up at it, wondering how they could possibly use all the rooms.

Then there was a noise. Akari turned his head towards where it was coming from. It sounded like a person running. He squinted his eyes, slowing dismounting the horse as the sound drew nearer. It drew nearer and nearer and Akari waited and stood until CRASH! The person bumped into Akari with such great force that it pushed them both to the ground. They turned their head towards him and he blushed when he realized who it was laying on top of him.

"Lemei!" he shouted in surprised only to find that her cheeks were stained with tears. "Lemei." he said softer, making sure not to blow out her ear drums. Lemei turned her face away from him, but Akari put his finger on her chin, turning her face back towards him. "Lemei, tell me. It was the Duke wasn't it." She nodded slightly. "You know it's nothing, he just wants to protect you. We all do," Akari admitted.

"I know, but it's more than that. He'd be lucky if I even called him brother." Akari noticed that she was no longer crying, there were just stains on her cheeks from when she was. "Don't say that, Lemei. You know he loves you." Akari looked back at her as she started to cry again. "Lemei," he said again.

"He lied. He lied to me. He, he said it wasn't real. I don't know what to believe now," she blurted out. The pain he had felt in his shoulder blades from getting knocked down had soon disappeared. "But he doesn't know what I know, does he, Lemei." Akari asked. Lemei shook her head. "Well, you lied too, you never told him--" "Lying isn't the same as not telling," Lemei shouted.

"You know, you can see it. You know the fate, I know you can see the future." Akari smiled at Lemei, "Your special, unique whatever you want to call it, but you have to realize that things like these are only minor. You can't run away from you fears, you need to face them."

Lemei noticed that somehow she had lost her blade on the way out. "My sword," she said, slowly trying to get up off of Akari, but he held her, "No, there's no need for your sword. Leave it like the past."

"No, I need my sword." She looked back at Akari. "They're coming. The Empiral Army is coming," she whispered. Akari's eyes widened, letting Lemei get up. She went to go search for her sword and saw that Akari was helping.

"When?" he asked as she saw a glint of metal out of the corner of her eye. She rushed over to it, not answering Akari's question immediately. She bent down to pick it up as they both heard Akari's horse neah. She picked it up and sheathed it saying, "Now."

~ ~

Tren looked out the window towards the western border. He was hoping that nothing would happen tonight after he had heard of the battle on the border. The Duke had given up his search for Lemei and decided to retire to bed. He shook off the events of the night as he looked out the window. He saw the wind blow through the trees. He watched it, blowing ever constantly, shaking the tree limbs and branches. It seemed to happen in only one area, though. Then he noticed that it wasn't the wind that was shaking the branches, but rather something else. One thought came to his mind, the Imperial Army? His dark blue eyes widened at the thought as he rushed out of the room, encountering the first person he could find.

"Gynel! Sound the evac alarm! They." Gynel just stood there. "Gynel! Now!" Tren yelled. Gynel rushed off to go sound the alarm. In a matter of seconds, Tren heard the alarm as he rushed to the stables to get out of the castle.

~ ~

"Lemei! Run!" Akari shouted. They both darted towards Akari's horse, jumping on it in a race to get out of there. The horse got excited as Akari rushed it north.

"Akari! what are you doing!?" Lemei shouted. "They need you. You can't just run from battle. You told me, you have to face your fears, not run away from them!" But Akari had better plans. "Trust me, I'm not running away." A smile grew upon Akari's face as they rushed north. He made a turn and came back down around at the back of the Emperial Army. Akari beckoned for Lemei to be quiet. They dismounted from the horse and came up behind the army, slowly taking them out, one by one from the back. They never knew what hit them.

Lemei came up behind one of them, covering their mouth and pulling them away from the rest of the army. She slit their throat and went to the next, with Akari doing the same from the opposite end of the line.

They had reached the middle of the line in record time, making it to the next line, doing the same as they had done before. Lemei felt her eyelids drooping, like they had lead weights put upon them, but she shook her head, forcing her eyes to stay open for the kills. She let the dead bodies drop silently on the ground before moving on to the next person. Lemei and Akari had gotten about halfway through the army when the alarm sounded.

"Shit," Lemei cursed under her breath. The rest of the started to flee. Lemei and Akari started trying to get the last ones, but rather ran back to the horse after they had found that the Army was retreating, or rather, finding the bodies of their fallen comrades. They shouted to the others, and pointed at the horse riding north, but none of them could follow Akari and Lemei on foot. Some of them tried to run after the horse, but began to fall way behind and decided to draw back once more.

They rode off north again, looping around coming back to the castle. Lemei had guessed the time to be about twelve at night, but he couldn't be quite certain. Akari was only glad that they hadn't gotten captured. He was glad that they had pulled off the act, but he was mad that the alarm had sounded, and they had killed so many for nothing.

"Do you think they'll still go to the castle?" Lemei asked. Her voice was worried. Akari smiled, his only regret was that she couldn't see him. "I doubt it. They now that their forces are cut in half. Maybe we did do some good after all." Akari started to wonder what happened to Lemei's sense of humor after the event with the Duke. "Lemei? What ever happened to your sense of humor? Lose it on the way back?" Lemei smiled. Akari laughed.

"What? Don't you think that a hungry raccoon ate it?" Lemei asked, "You know how stealthily those things are. Their can just come up and steal it from you. Watch us find a dead raccoon on the way to the palace. Then we can say it died from a sense of humor." Lemei laughed. They palace alarm had ended when it became apparent that there was no sense of need for fear.

Akari and Lemei got back to the castle slower that when they came, but there was no need for being quick. Akari dismounted and helped Lemei down. When she got down she looked at him. "Akari, can I ask you a favor?" she said. He nodded. "Can you not tell my brother that I came back? I want to see his face." Lemei laughed. She had been surprised about the events of the night as well as Akari. She sighed with relief after she realized what she had just done, killing all of those people and saving Melaso. She was glad when Akari agreed not to tell Tren about her coming back.

"You know what I like most about you?" Akari asked, "The fact that you're always laughing. It's pleasant to the heart."

Lemei smiled again, "Thanks." She looked back at the palace. The place was still lit up as if nothing had gone wrong. "Probably got scared and ran away," Lemei explained. "Well, that's why it's so quiet isn't it?" She asked. Akari shrugged his shoulders. "Tell me when the chaos starts," Lemei laughed. Akari looked confused, but Lemei laughed again.

~ ~

The Duke rode west, trying to stop the army before it came any closer to the castle. Everything was so still now, everything in the forest was too quiet. Tren suspected that they were making an assault, pulling him into a trap. His blue eyes glistened in the night. Tren looked overhead, to the night sky. He marveled at the moon's magnificence, remembering a tale they told about it.

The people on this planet called the moon the 'Mystic Moon'. They said that it had special properties. The tale went that the people of Atlantis had invented a special machine that made any wish come true. When Atlantis had been struck into chaos, the people wished that their world be split into two, Gaia and Earth.

Gaians thought that the Mystic Moon was this 'Earth' from the legend. They thought that the Mystic Moon could only be seen by people of this world, and that people of the Mystic Moon could not see Gaia. Astronomers had predicted that every ten years, the Mystic Moon would make a perfect alignment with Gaia and the sun. They predicted that every ten years, a person from the Mystic Moon could travel to Gaia. It was only a legend, though, only a prediction. There was no real proof that anyone could travel from the Mystic Moon to Gaia.

Ten years ago, one tried to travel to the Mystic Moon. They had said he was crazy, trying to travel there. He had collected so pieces of the so-called 'wishing machine' that the Atlantians had given Gaia. The wishing machine had been split and scattered to the far ends of the planet, and only the one worthy would find them, as the legend said.

The people had begun to crowd and watch the man try to travel to the Mystic Moon. They said in later writings that there had been a column of light that had swallowed him up, and he had disappeared from the spot on which he stood. Two weeks later, the man's body had been found in the woods, his body slowly decomposing after being eaten alive by wolves. Somehow his body had been tied to a tree, his stomach had been cut open to leave his insides to be devoured by the wildlife.

Some had reason to believe that he had actually traveled to the Mystic Moon and came back, but most doubted it. They said that it was a trick on their minds and that any dark wizard like him deserved his punishment, his death. It had been further said that there was no possible way for anyone to travel in-between planets. They had said it to be a trick that only dark masters of magic could portray.

Tren was one of the people that believed one could travel to the Mystic Moon or they travel here. He always had a wish that he would one day meet one of these people from the Mystic Moon. Hence, his enchanted eyes were always locked upon the moon, always looking at it in awe.

It was ten years passed that event. The anniversary would be soon. Tren hoped, he only hoped, that someone would come to him, and help him save Melaso from the Carnele Empire.

He knew that Melaso had no hope in winning the war against the Empire. It would be a worthless battle, one not worth fighting over, but somehow he had to protect Melaso the best he could. The Royal Army was the fourth best Army in Gaia, after Carnele, Ziabach, and Fanalia. It was good at it's own game, but the Carnele Empire had lots more tricks up their sleeves, ones that were ever growing, even as he rode.

Tren looked back into the forest, slowing letting his gaze drift towards the ground. His eyes widened as he thought he saw something laying an the ground. He stopped and dismounted, slowing walking towards it. Then he realized what it was.

'It' was a body, dead with blood still seeping out of their neck. The carcass's eyes were open, in the last moments of horror before someone slit his throat. Tren looked further at the body, and soon found the Carnele Emperial Army insignia upon the uniform.

Someone came though already, killed them all, Tren thought, kicking the body over. He got back up on his horse, then noticed that the alarm had been off. He noticed that it had been off for a while, too, wondering where his mind had been when the evacuation alarm had stopped. Tren shook it off, riding back towards the castle.

~ ~

The Next Morning:

"Lemei! Lemei!" Tren shouted down the halls. He hadn't seen his sister since she had run off from him the night before, after he'd told her that he had lied in the past. Tren soon became angry after a few minutes of shouting, his throat becoming sore. He had searched the entire castle from top to bottom, but still there was no sign of Lemei. "Lemei! When I get a hold of you, I swear I'll wring your little neck so hard that you..." Tren yelled. He was so angry about the events of the past night and the event of this morning that it had gotten him to a boiling point.

Akari was on his way to the meeting that had been scheduled after the Duke had found the dead bodies of the Emperial Army on the forest ground. It was obvious that Tren had forgotten about the meeting, noticing how he was searching for Lemei as the yelling became recognizable. Akari turned the corner of the hallway where Tren was.

"Akari, it seems that I can't find Lemei anywhere? Have you seen her lately?" Tren asked, scratching his head.

Akari shook his head, "No," he lied, "I haven't seen her since I sent her to you last night." Akari saw the look on Tren's face as he gave up that possibility, Akari slowing taking a deep breath. "You didn't forget about that meeting we're supposed to have, did you?" Akari asked.

"What meeting? Who scheduled a meeting at this time?" the Duke asked. Akari chuckled to himself. "You did," he said smiling. "OK, fine, well, I'll be there in a few minutes." Akari continued his walk to the conference room, one that they called the 'war room' because it was used mostly in times of war. He left the hallway, rounding another corner, coming into contact with Lemei.

Akari was about to speak, when Lemei put her hand over his mouth. He could see her silently laughing, making sure the Duke couldn't hear her. Akari sighed, taking her arm and walking her in the opposite direction on the Duke. When they had gotten far enough away, he spoke. "You idiot," were the first words out of his mouth. Lemei saw his face and saw that he was being sarcastic, watching Akari start laughing.

Lemei shook her head and smiled. "Only doing my job. So what about this special meeting. How come I wasn't invited?" Lemei asked him. Akari shook his head, "You weren't invited because it has to do with the army, something you're not part of. But seeing it's you, you'd probably make a special entrance even though you weren't invited."

"How'd you know my plans?" Lemei laughed again. "Lemei, Lemei," Akari shook his head, "What are we going to do with you?" Lemei laughed at this comment too, "Whatever you want to do with me," she said, but then blushed, realizing what she had just said. Lemei laughed it off.

It would've been awful if Lemei had an annoying laugh. One that made you cover your ears all the time just to protect your eardrums. It would've been awful because Lemei laughed all the time. But Lemei had the sweetest laugh, one that made you smile whenever she laughed, one that livened your spirit.

"How'd you get to be general of the Royal Army? You're only eighteen!" Lemei asked. Akari suddenly remembered the meeting that he was supposed to be at. "I'll tell you some other time Lemei. I have to get to that meeting or I won't be general of anything." He started to walk off to the war room, but turned back around, "And I guess I'll have to expect you to be there as well?"

~ ~

"So I want to put something to your attention," the Duke began at the meeting. "As I rode off into battle, there was nothing, no noise, no people, nothing. Then I came across a body that lay on the ground. It's throat was slit and it was wearing an Emperial Army uniform. I thought this was a bit strange, since I was expecting there to be an entire army that was alive. I came across another, and another. It seemed as though someone had slit the throats of the whole army. So I came across a conclusion," the Duke explained as he paced around the room, everyone's eyes on him pacing. "I came to a conclusion that either this army had stilt the throats of the Emperial Army, way out of their own tactics, or that we must be having help."

Akari gulped saliva down his throat as the Duke said these words. "I knew that everyone in this army had their own way of killing and that it couldn't have been one person that did this, so I ruled out the first suggestion. That must mean that we are getting help from an unknown ally." He stopped pacing, and looked at the bunch. "Well?" he finally spoke.

Akari decided to speak out, "I know who did it," he said. The Duke turned towards him, "You do? Then who was it?" Akari avoided eye contact with the Duke, knowing that this one might cost him his career. "It was I, sire, it was I." he said. There was a whisper among the others, but the Duke remained where he was standing.

"You? That was a brave act, Commander Akari. It has saved us. And I thank you." Akari let out a deep breath in relief, but the Duke kept speaking, "But you couldn't have done this all by yourself?" he asked, confused. "No, I did--"

"No, I helped," Lemei said, standing in the doorway of the war room. The attention of the people soon was upon her. Lemei smiled, "Yes, I helped." She watched Tren's expression become even more angry. Lemei's smile grew.

"Akari? Is this true?" the Duke asked. Akari spoke truthfully, "Yes, it's true. Lemei helped." The Duke became enraged. "This meeting is adjourned. Get on with your business." Akari got out of his seat, but Tren put a hand on his shoulder, "Stay seated. I think it would be wise that I have a talk with both of you.." Akari sat back in his seat, watching the last person leave the room.

"I think you should sit too, Lemei," Tren said, turning his attention to her. "No thank you, I'd rather stand," she responded, still standing in the doorway. "I said sit!" Tren yelled. Lemei recoiled, taking a seat next to Akari. Tren took a deep breath. "I know that you know exactly what I'm going to say, but it must be said for sake of argument," the Duke rolled his head towards Lemei. "So I will start with Lemei first. Lemei, I have noticed that after several attempts of telling you that all I wanted to do was to protect you, you still went off into battle, risking your precious head. I fear that what I have to do may come as surprise to you, as it is not in my best intentions. After father and mother died, I took it upon my duty to watch over you. I watched you, told you what was right and wrong, but it seemed you wanted to decide for yourself. You were always doing things that weren't permitted. This behavior cannot go unnoticed. I will not have a princess of Melasa acting the way you are acting. So I have come to a conclusion." Lemei stared at him, her green eyes large in suspicion. "I have enlisted you in the army. You are no longer part of the royal family by politics, only by blood. If there ever comes a time when I die without producing a heir to the throne, you, if you must, will take over my place. I feel it is the right decision, seeing your attitude towards war." Lemei let out a sigh of relief. It was already in her eyes that she was as happy as ever, her wise come true. "Well? Why are you here? You have a job to do," Tren snapped at Lemei. Lemei strode out of the room to leave Akari with Tren. The Duke looked at him after watching the last glances of Lemei leave.

"Akari," the Duke started, "You made a brave decision when you killed off the Emperial Army. But I would like to know the whole story. Why was Lemei with you?" The Duke asked, looking suspiciously at Commander Akari. He nodded at Akari to begin.

Akari sighed, knowing that he had lied to the Duke. Telling the story would only prove that he had lied. "Well I had come back from the battle on the western border after I had moved my troops up there. I came back to the castle, and Lemei rushed out, nearly pushed me over with her speed. That's when the alarm sounded. I knew what I had to do, seeing my duties. I didn't want to send Lemei back into the castle, so we went off north. It just so happened that we turned around and came at the back of the army. We slit their throats, one by one, but then they fled and we took off back the way we came." Akari looked back at the Duke. The Duke looked confused, as though he was expecting different information.

"I see," was all the Duke could say. He nodded slightly to himself before starting again. "As you have heard, you know that I have inlisted Lemei in the Royal Army. I want to make it certain that she does her best and that the others don't pick on her. It's best, for her own sake, that she stay in the army." Akari stayed seated, looking down at the table. "That is all," the duke finished. Tren left Akari in the room alone.

He sat a few minutes, still looking at the bare table, just sitting, staring at it. Then he noticed a presence behind him. They started to speak. "You know how excited I am," Lemei said, but she wasn't very excited, her tone of voice didn't show it at all. "Lemei, the army isn't a place you want to be. You'll never be able to do anything you want to do, always being pushed around by ranking officers." He sighed, still looking at the table. "Although the sparing program is one of the best, I'm afraid to say that sparing among soldiers isn't practiced as readily as it used to be. It's not the same as how you saw it before."

"You don't understand! It's my dream. It's what I've always wanted," Lemei replied, she still standing behind him. Akari stood up, looking down at her, "You have to trust me in this, you don't want to be there. It's nothing but a cage, and when someone opens the cage, they toss you into a pit with bloodthirsty lions, who kill you instantly because you didn't get enough nutrients to survive."

Lemei looked at him confused. "You're exaggerating. I've couldn't beleive anything more rash.--"

"It's true. You know I wouldn't tell a lie unless I had to. The a few good friends of mine that inlisted in the army would be saying a year after that they wanted out of the place. But they were sworn to the army for life. Life until death. I seen men kill themselves because they wanted out so badly." Akari's eyes were full of sadness. Lemei could see this now more than ever. She could see that he wasn't lying, but only protecting her.

"I'd, I'd want to say that I'd go with my brother's desicion, but," she let out the next words with all the pressure she'd just been put under, "I can't. I saw how you said those words, and I can't go. I feel, I feel afriad now. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know where to go. I can't stay here because I am no longer of royal blood, and I can't go into the army because of how awful it seems." Her eyes were wide, filled with the fear she had expressed.

"I've proposed something, then." Akari sighed, "I knew it would come to this, so I made an offer. I already knew that the Duke had put you on the list to the army, said he couldn't wait to get rid of you. But I took you off the list. I knew that it wasn't were you wanted to be. I have a job offer for you. I'll give you choice you can ei--"

"I don't think I have a choice, just give it to me." Lemei smiled, "Well I guess I would want to know what it is I would be doing." "You're going to be my advisor," Akari said with a smile.

~ ~

"What!" yelled Lemei. She panted for breath, the surprise had overcome her. "What are you talking about? Advisor?" Lemei slowly sat down, catching her breath. This situation was overwhelming. An advisor was supposed to give advice. They were supposed to be wise and always know the correct solution.

"Calm down. It's not like I asked you to rule over all Gaia here." Akari sensed her panic. "No, it's not the posistion, it's the placement. Advisor? Me?" Lemei scrambled for an answer to the question, but could find it no where in her mind. "Adivors are supposed to be old guys that order you around with little proverbs from the Kalian Scriptures. You now I don't even read the Scriptures anymore. They got awfully boring after my tutor tried to make me read out of them. I feel asleep in midsentence! And it was me that was doing the reading!"

"If I wanted an old guy that was about to die from old age, then I would've had one already. You'd think that the old were wiser, but it's a common sterotype. It seems that every person of that age group thinks the same. If I want to fool my enemy I don't want to think like them, although thinking like them would get me to know their strategy." Akari batted away that suggestion from his brain. "Anway, I want to fool my opponent and this is the time I need to do that. I need you to help me."

Lemei had reganed the natural color in her face. She felt like she was burning, though. She took long, deep breaths trying to calm her body. Finally she could stand again, so she did, placing one hand on the chair she had been sitting on for balance. Lemei took the courage to speak. "Ok, then, I'll take your offer. It'll be good for me and I know you're not going to convince yourself otherwise." She smiled. "So when do I start?"

~ ~

"What you fail to recognize is that you have to take everything into account. You're the deadliest assasin on the face of Gaia and you still cannot follow my orders." Emperor Gladov Resime stood face to face with a killer. He had not failed to recognize the anger in the assasin's face, nor had he failed to recognize his own anger.

The assasin slowly nodded and the Emperor continued, holding up a small flask of a dark liquid. Inside the flask was the most deadly poison, K'parne. "I will give you the most deadly poison, K'parne. But of course you already know what this poison is. You were trained to recognize all poisons at first glance. K'parne is, as I shall saw, thirsty for blood these days. Only a small amount has been known to be harvested.

"Only a small amount could be harvested, but it is no longer able to be harvested. The conditions for the growing of the berry which the poison came from are not sutable conditions. The berry has become all but extinct." Emperor Resime spook slowly, not letting any of his words slur. "But of course, there was some of the precious juice from the berry that was saved." He held up the flask, parellel to his eyes.

"This flask is all that is left of the juice. I have come across it and decided to keep it, but the time has come, this time is near for this blood to be used, so that blood can be shed. K'parne is an all but extinct poison as well as the berry. Let me tell you that if you fail, there will be no more second chances. If you fail, there is no more K'parne to be used. So dip the tip of your blade in this poison, let it saturate it for a good kill." Resime took the top off of the flask and held it out. The assasin unsheathed his blade as the Emperor let a drop of the liquid land on the blade. The liquid soon hardened onto the blade, and became one with it. K'parne spread to all corners of the blade, like an infectious disease. It glistened as the assasin turned the blade over and over again.

To an ordinary person, this event would've seemed extrodinary, but both the assasin and the Emperor knew that one drop of the liquid would be enough for a kill. Truely, K'parne wasn't an ordinary poison. If the blade even glazed across the skin, the poison would mmeadiatly infect the body, shuting down all of it's organs. The poison would multiply in the body, quickly consuming it, quickly controling it.

Emperor Resime's face soon had an evil smile on it. "But you must not use the poison right away, save it for the greatest kill, one without flaws."

~ ~