Chapter 2

Dismissed from their audience with the king, Tauriel led Fai and Kurogane from the throne room. She gave a brief series of commands to the guards who had accompanied them and each left to see to their assigned tasks. At Fai's insistence, she then brought him and Kurogane to the place where Syaoran and Mokona were being treated. Much to their relief, they found their companions' conditions had already begun to improve. Syaoran was conscious again, though still groggy from the spider's venom. The wound on his shoulder had been bound with fresh cloth, and he had been given a clean set of clothes. Mokona slept peacefully on a pillow beside the young man. Syaoran explained that the elves had bathed the small creature in a solution of healing herbs, including one he had not heard of before called "athelas." Its soothing effects seemed to have negated the "icky" feeling that had troubled Mokona earlier.

When the healers had pronounced their patients well enough to leave, Tauriel led the four travelers to the suite of rooms that had been prepared for them. The chambers they now saw were less grand than those they had first passed through when entering Thranduil's palace earlier that morning. More functional and less decorative, their living quarters consisted of a sparsely furnished sitting room, a small washroom, and two bedrooms. Being part of the same cavern system as the rest of the palace, the rooms had no windows to the outside, but were lit by lamps and candles.

As she prepared to leave, Tauriel informed the group that guards would be posted in the corridor outside. "If you have need of anything," she said, "simply ask, and it shall be provided. Rest now, for the long night has surely have left you weary. The king will likely summon you again this evening." She turned and walked toward the door, booted feet strangely silent upon the stone floor.

"Thank you again," Fai said as her hand touched the handle. His voice was sincere. "For everything, Tauriel."

"I am a captain of the guard," she replied without turning to look back at them. "All I have done was to fulfill the duties set for me by my king. You need not thank me for that." She left, closing the door behind her. The travelers heard the click of a lock.

"Hmph." Kurogane scowled. "Guests and prisoners seem to amount to about the same thing in this land."

"Still," said Fai, "it's better than being stuck out in that forest. At least now we have a safe place to rest and recover. A magical barrier surrounds this place; likely it was set up by their king. It seems the dark enchantments we encountered earlier are unable to pass through it."

"That's good news for Mokona," Syaoran said. The small creature lay cuddled in a blanket on his lap, still asleep.

Fai nodded. "Anyway, now that the two of you are feeling better, we have a decision that we need to make."

"What is it?" the young man asked.

"The king wants to know the reason for our journey," Kurogane replied. "He wasn't satisfied when Fai said we were traveling for the sake of traveling."

"I told him that because the reason we were traveling belonged to you, Syaoran, it would be wrong of me to reveal it to him without your permission," Fai added. "No one should have their past exposed without their consent, after all." The mage was still smiling, but Kurogane saw a different emotion in his eyes. He knew the wizard must be thinking of when his own past had been painfully revealed in Celes. Fai would not want any of his friends betrayed in the same way.

"Thank you, Fai." It seemed Syaoran had understood as well. "I appreciate it. I think we should tell the king our story. There's no telling how long we're going to be staying here, and life will probably be a lot easier if we can gain the king's trust."

"I agree," Kurogane said. "The elves still have our swords. If the king trusts us, we can convince him to give them back. Then we won't have to rush to find them when the time comes to leave."

"Kuro-puu's always worrying about his sword," Fai laughed at him.

Mokona began to stir. "What's so funny, guys?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"Oh, Kuro-daddy was just being silly again," Fai answered as Kurogane scowled at him. "Sorry to wake you, Mokona. Are you feeling any better?"

"Mokona had a nice nap. The icky feeling is all gone now." She hopped off of Syaoran's lap and onto the low table that sat between them in the small sitting room. "Mokona doesn't remember being here before. What is this place?"

"We're inside the palace of an elven king named Thranduil," Fai supplied. "He's the one who rules over the forest we landed in. The king has asked us to tell him the story of how we've ended up in his kingdom."

"Ooh, Mokona wants to help! Mokona loves telling stories!" the small creature exclaimed.

"Well, that's settled then. Looks like we're all in agreement," Kurogane observed.

Fai shook his head. "Not quite yet, Kuro-rin."

"Eh?" Kurogane raised an eyebrow at him.

"We've decided we'll tell the king our story, but we haven't decided how much of it we're going to share," the wizard explained. "I do not think it would be wise to tell Thranduil everything." He kept his voice low, as though concerned the elves outside would hear.

"What do you mean?" questioned Syaoran.

"Well, we want the king to trust us, don't we?" Fai continued. "Unfortunately, our journey has had some rather dark chapters. This culture is completely foreign to us, so we need to be careful. I just think we should leave out a few of the more questionable details. Some of the events that took place in Tokyo, for example."

Now Kurogane understood what the mage was getting at. "You don't want him to find out what you are." Fai gave him a smile that told him he was correct.

"Vampires are feared by many cultures," Syaoran admitted. "Fai may have a point. We'll be safer if the elves don't find out."

"Fine," said Kurogane. "Anything else we need to keep hidden?"

A sharp knock at the door interrupted their conversation. "Come in," Fai called out cheerily. They heard the latch turn, and the door swung open to reveal an elf maiden with long brown hair, pushing a wheeled cart. The travelers watched her carefully for a moment, but she gave no indication that she had heard any of what they had been discussing.

"Good morning," she greeted them, bringing the cart into the room. On it sat a wide metal tray containing an assortment of foods, as well as a pitcher of water and a carafe of what appeared to be wine. "I'm sorry to disturb you. It is early yet for breakfast, but I thought you might be hungry. To battle the spiders that have invaded our land is no easy task."

"That was very thoughtful of you," Syaoran thanked her as she began unloading the cart onto their table.

"Yes, we do appreciate it," said Fai. "Please, allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Fai, this is Kuro-buro–"

"It's Kurogane."

"And that's Syaoran, and Mokona." Fai pointed to each in turn.

"My name is Melanna," the maiden replied, smiling. "I'm very pleased to meet all of you. I've never met anyone from outside the Woodland Realm before." She looked at each of them with interest, her eyes taking in clothing and features that must have been completely foreign to her. "Oh, but I cannot stay," she said, blushing as she realized she had been staring at them. "Tauriel has said we are to leave you to rest, and there is still bread to be baked and other preparations to be made before breakfast. So I must bid you farewell for now. I do hope I shall get to talk to you again soon, though."

"We would like that too," Syaoran said, smiling back at her. Giving the travelers a short bow, Melanna took her cart and left them. The lock clicked back into place.

Mokona had already begun stuffing food into her mouth. "Hey, save some for the rest of us, meat-bun," Kurogane complained, snatching up the last apple before she could swallow it whole.

"Now, where were we?" Fai muttered as he spread honey onto a small oatcake. "Ah yes, our meeting with Thranduil." He nibbled the edge of the bread thoughtfully. "A king might be made uneasy by talk of other kings' deaths. It may be best not to mention King Ashura, nor any of my past before joining up with you. Other than that, I believe as long as we focus more on the happy stories and downplay some of the more unpleasant ones, we should get by just fine."

The others nodded in agreement. That settled, the travelers allowed themselves to relax and enjoy the food Melanna had brought them. After they had finished eating, Fai sent Syaoran and Mokona to sleep in one of the bedrooms. Kurogane sipped at a glass of wine as he watched the mage return. Pouring another glass for himself, Fai settled down on the couch beside him. They sat in silence for a few moments.

"It's your turn," the warrior finally said, setting his glass down on the table.

"I'm sorry?"

Kurogane began rolling up his right sleeve. "The kid and the creampuff have both eaten, now it's your turn. You used a lot of energy fighting those spiders, so don't try to tell me you don't need it." He picked up a small knife from the table and held it in his left hand.

"Kuro-rin, stop." Fai took hold of his wrist. The smile had fallen away from his face. "It's not worth the risk. What if we were caught? An elf could walk in here at any moment. We just agreed that we needed to keep this a secret, for all our sakes."

Kurogane frowned at him. But Fai's expression softened. "I'll be fine, Kuro," he said. "I'm not going to starve just yet. Once we've told the king what he wants to hear we may be less guarded, but for now we must be careful."

The ninja held his gaze for another few seconds before giving up with a sigh. "Fine." He was too tired to argue with the magician right now. Kurogane placed the knife back on the table and rolled back his shoulders. He winced as a sharp pain snapped over his left shoulder blade.

"What's wrong?" Fai had seen him flinch.

"It's nothing," Kurogane answered irritably. "I'm fine."

The blond clucked his tongue. Smiling knowingly, he shook his head. "No, you're not. Take off your shirt."

Grumbling, Kurogane did as requested, turning his back to the mage. He felt Fai press his long, slender fingers along his shoulder, feeling for the connections between prosthetic and flesh. "You remember what the doctors in Piffle World told you," the wizard admonished. "You need to stretch these muscles between battles. Overuse causes them to bunch up and pull away from the prosthesis."

"I know that," Kurogane mumbled. "But it's not like those spiders left me much time for stretching, nor the elves for that matter."

"No," Fai admitted. "And I don't suppose having your hands bound for that long helped matters either." The wizard had begun to gently press against the tensed muscles, smoothing them back into position.

During their last visit to Piffle World, Kurogane had gotten a new prosthetic arm. Unlike the previous one, this arm was covered in synthetic skin, which saved them the trouble of explaining a mechanical limb to the less technologically advanced peoples they encountered. But though it was the latest model, the arm still tended to leave Kurogane sore after extended use. The swordsman sucked in a sharp breath as Fai pressed his thumb into a particularly stubborn knot.

As the mage finished with the muscles surrounding Kurogane's left arm, he moved outward, massaging the rest of the warrior's back and neck. Kurogane closed his eyes, enjoying the touch that seemed to melt away the weary stiffness. Fai's slender hands were surprisingly strong. So relaxed was the ninja that he almost didn't notice when the massage ended and Fai stood up from the couch.

Stretching his arms above his head, the thin mage yawned. "It's time we got some sleep as well, Kuro. We'll need our wits about us when the king decides to send for us again."

"Mm." Kurogane acknowledged him with a tired nod. Picking up his shirt, he followed Fai into the second bedroom. Lying down on the large bed, the two fell asleep without even bothering to turn down the covers.

When Kurogane awoke, he found Fai had already left the bedroom. Getting up himself, he put his shirt back on and walked out into the common room. There he found the mage, along with the Mokona and Syaoran. They were sitting around the small table where several new dishes of food had been placed.

"Breakfast?" Kurogane asked, sitting down on the couch next to Syaoran.

Fai shook his head. "Lunch," he answered. "You've been sleeping for a while, Kuro."

"Melanna brought this over for us just a little while ago," Syaoran told him.

"And Tauriel paid us a visit just before that," added Fai.

Kurogane began ladling a savory smelling stew of mushrooms and roasted vegetables into a bowl. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"There was no need," Fai answered him. "We thought it better to let you sleep, seeing as you were awake all of last night."

"Kuro-puu gets grumpy when he doesn't have enough sleep," teased Mokona.

"Oh yeah? I'll show you grumpy." Kurogane grabbed the white furball off of his head and gently tossed her to the wizard.

"Anyway," Fai said, catching Mokona, "we told her that we had agreed to share the story of our journey with King Thranduil, and she promised to relay the message. Seeing as Syaoran and Mokona are feeling well again, she thought it likely he would call for our presence this evening. That leaves us only a short amount of time now to prepare or our audience with His Majesty."

"Prepare?" Kurogane asked between spoonfuls of stew. "I thought we were prepared."

"Oh, nonsense, Kuro-puu!" the mage exclaimed. "You can't expect to entertain a king looking and smelling like that. You need a bath."

Kurogane scowled. Although Syaoran had cleaned up during his time with the healers, both Kurogane and Fai were still wearing their traveling clothes, which were none too clean after their night battling spiders in the forest. They had cleaned up as best they could in the small washroom of their cavern apartment, but the room did not include bathing facilities.

"Fortunately, Melanna informed us that there is a large bath not too distant from our own rooms," Fai continued. "I've arranged for one of the guards to take us there as soon you're done eating. There will also be a clean set of clothing available for each of us to borrow."

Kurogane looked over at Syaoran, assessing the clothing the young man had been given. It consisted of a belted tunic, leggings, and a knee-length overrobe, all in soft shades of brown. Nothing there that would impede his movements, should they have to fight. Not that Kurogane was really anticipating a battle, but it was always good to be prepared. "All right," he said, setting down his empty bowl. "Let's get this over with."

At their knock, one of the two elves standing guard opened the front door and allowed Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona to exit. Syaoran, being already clean and not yet back up to full strength, had decided to remain behind and rest. The guard led the three through the hallway and down two short sets of stairs to the entrance of the bath chambers. Ushering them inside, he turned them over to the care of the bath's attendant.

The cavernous room the three now found themselves in was at least seven times the size of their apartment. Pools of steaming water in varying sizes indented the floor in a seemingly random arrangement. Small streams connected one to another, with several bubbling fountains feeding those at the highest point. At the other end of the room, which was several meters lower than where the three now stood, the system drained out into an ornately gated culvert. The warm, humid air carried an aroma of scented soaps and lotions.

As Kurogane surveyed the room, he noticed several elves already bathing in one of the larger pools. To his surprise, they appeared to be female. Quickly averting his eyes, Kurogane turned to Fai. "We can't bathe here," he stated.

The wizard, who had already begun removing his clothes, stopped and looked up at him. "What are you talking about, Kuro-sama? That's why we're here."

"Well, there must be some kind of mistake." Kurogane pointed back over his shoulder with his thumb toward the other bathers.

Fai looked in the direction indicated, but then simply returned his eyes to Kurogane's with a shrug. "It's not as though we've never used a public bath before, Kurgy. I don't see what the problem is."

"You idiot, they're women."

"Yes, and you and I are men, and Mokona is Mokona. Really, Kuro-silly, if this were a problem, I'm sure that elf who gave us the towels would have turned us away already."

"But…"

"Come on," Fai interrupted, pulling off the rest of his clothing and dropping it into a large wicker basket the attendant had left for them. "You ought to have realized by now that social norms vary. But if it makes you feel better, Kuro-shy, we'll go to one of those lower pools where they can't see you. Now hurry up and get ready. Or do I have to undress you myself?"

"C'mon, Kuro-puu, it's bath time!" Mokona exclaimed, jumping onto Kurogane's shoulder and tugging at his shirt collar as if she had taken the magician's last comment seriously.

Frowning, the ninja finally acquiesced. Stripping off his shirt, he tossed it, along with the small creature, to Fai. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure the elf women weren't watching, he quickly pulled off the rest of his clothing and wrapped a towel around his waist. He chose to ignore the irritatingly amused smile the wizard was aiming at him. Snatching up a basket of soaps and extra towels, Kurogane turned and marched down toward the lower pools. Fai and Mokona followed, giggling, behind him.

The bath Kurogane selected featured a high wall at one side, over which water from the previous pool fell in a miniature waterfall. A step had been carved along one side at a height that would allow the average bather to sit comfortably with his head above the water. It was wide enough to easily accommodate half a dozen adults. Setting the basket down by the water's edge, Kurogane saw Fai approach the bath and dip his foot in to check the temperature. Apparently, the wizard found it to his liking, for the next moment he had plunged himself into the deeper section near the rear wall. Kurogane held up his arm to ward off a splash while Mokona clapped enthusiastically.

Popping up out of the water, Fai shook his head to clear the hair from his face. "Woo, this is nice! Come on in, you two," he called, treading water.

Letting out a cry of glee, Mokona immediately jumped in after him and swam out toward the mage. The way her long back feet kicked at the water made her look to Kurogane like a very fat, fuzzy frog. Laughing quietly to himself at the thought, the ninja set aside his towel and joined the others in the bath.

Stepping down onto the submerged ledge, Kurogane eased himself down into the hot water. He sat down on the underwater bench and leaned back against the pool's outer wall. Small ripples lapped against his neck as the gentle current slowly brushed across his skin. Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the sensation of heat soaking into his muscles. It had been some time since they'd gotten a proper bath.

A few minutes later Kurogane felt the water swirl around him as Fai swam over and settled himself on the ledge next to him. Lazily opening one eye, he saw the mage untying the ribbon that held back his hair and shaking it loose. The blond's hair had grown considerably over the years of their journeying together. Freed from its bonds, it fell in loose waves nearly to the center of the wizard's back. Unlike Kurogane, who kept his own hair trimmed to a manageable length, Fai refused to cut his, aside from the wayward bangs when they began to impede his vision. Mokona had hopped out onto the edge of the pool, and she and Fai were now pawing through the basket, sorting through the various soaps, shampoos, and lotions it offered.

After opening half a dozen bottles and holding them under his nose, Fai finally made a selection. He quickly dipped his head underwater to thoroughly wet his hair. Then, taking a palm full of the shampoo, he lathered it onto his head. Kurogane caught the heavy scent of lavender as the mage carefully combed through the tangling locks with his long fingers. It didn't much surprise the ninja that Fai had chosen something floral. After rinsing once more in the deeper water, the wizard popped up beside the other two again.

"Mm, Fai smells good," Mokona noted. "Now let's pick one for Kurgy."

"Fine," said Kurogane, knowing that arguing was unlikely to stop them anyway. "But nothing flowery."

Fai and Mokona laughed, but agreed to his terms. After debating the merits of several different scented shampoos, during which time Kurogane mostly ignored them, they came to a decision. "Alright, Kuro, we're ready," Fai told him.

Taking a deep breath, Kurogane ducked down into the water. Coming up again, he ran a quick hand back through his hair to push away the dripping spikes that had fallen in front of his face. Fai motioned to him with a twirl of his finger, indicating that he was to turn around. The warrior did as he was bid, slouching a little to allow the other man easier access to his head. Kneeling on the ledge behind him, the wizard poured out a dollop of shampoo and began working it through Kurogane's thick black hair, his fingertips moving in gentle circles along his scalp.

Kurogane wondered whether Fai noticed that he seemed to be coming up with more and more excuses to lay hands on him lately: the massage last night, running his hands through his hair here at the bath. There had been other instances in recent months as well when the mage had seemed to need to touch him without purpose, insisting on helping when the warrior did not actually require assistance. He briefly considered asking Fai for the reasons behind these actions, but decided against it. It was possible that the wizard was not even conscious of this habit. For now, at least, there was no use in over-thinking it, and Kurogane pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

Fai and Mokona had kept their promise: the shampoo they had chosen was not heavily perfumed and smelled of herb and spice, rather than blossoms. Once Fai had finished, Kurogane submerged himself again to wash away the suds. "Hey, meat-bun," he called to Mokona when he resurfaced, "toss me some soap."

Mokona hopped into the basket, pulled out an ivory colored oval bar, and threw it to Kurogane. He dipped the soap into the water and began rubbing it over his arm. The scent reminded him of an herbal tea the travelers had encountered in a previous world. It left his skin with a slight tingling sensation, possibly due to containing some sort of mint extract. After Kurogane had scrubbed the rest of his body, he tossed the bar to Fai, who did likewise.

Thoroughly clean and rinsed free of soap, Kurogane exited the bath and began drying himself. A minute later, Fai joined him. The wizard lifted himself out of the pool, rivulets of water running down his pale skin. Sighing contentedly, he lay down beside where Kurogane was sitting, his back flat against the smooth stone floor, and smiled up at him.

Kurogane dropped a towel over Fai's face. "You're the one who said we don't have much time before the king summons us. Quit lying around and dry off."

"Aw, Kuro-meanie's so abrupt," Fai whined as he sat up and allowed the towel to fall over his lap. "But, I guess he's right. We've got to make ourselves presentable. It won't do to show up in the throne room dressed in nothing but towels."

Once the three of them were dry and had gathered up all the items from their basket, they left their pool in search of the bath attendant. The elf women they had seen earlier were still bathing, and Fai and Mokona waved to them as they passed by, while Kurogane avoided making eye contact. He heard one of the women whisper something to the others that set them all giggling. Re-checking that the towel around his waist was held firmly in place, Kurogane quickened his pace.

The bath attendant led them into a separate changing room where clothes had been laid out for them. The garments appeared more formal than the ones Syaoran had been given. Intricate embroidery adorned the sleeves and hem of the mahogany robe Kurogane pulled on. Copper thread and tiny shards of amber glimmered as they caught the light, forming patterns reminiscent of autumn leaves. The fabric was lightweight, but felt soft and warm against his skin. Fai's robes were of a misty grey-green, decorated with trailing vines of silver and jade. Each outfit was completed with loose fitting pants of a darker matching color and soft leather shoes.

Now clothed, Fai picked up Mokona, and the three were escorted back to their rooms by the guard who had brought them. Upon entering, they found Syaoran dressed in new robes similar to Fai and Kurogane's. The young man was fascinated to hear about the baths. "Do you suppose they're naturally occurring hot springs?" he asked as the group sat in the common room, awaiting the king's summons. "Or have the elves altered it to seem that way? The water in our own room isn't hot." He gestured toward the washroom wherein a small fountain continually dropped cool water into a stone basin. "Although, they could be from two different sources…"

Kurogane leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes as the other three continued their conversation. Elvish plumbing did not particularly interest him. Syaoran, however, seemed eager to learn about every aspect of the new cultures they encountered. Kurogane supposed that was a good attitude for someone destined to travel indefinitely. If nothing else, it kept his mind occupied. Only on rare occasions did the ninja catch Syaoran with a sad, wistful look in his eyes as he thought of the princess who waited for him. That he was able to remain so positive even after all of the hardships he had faced showed how strong Syaoran truly was. Of course, Kurogane thought, opening his eyes and looking over his companions one by one, perhaps the same could be said of all of them.