Hey guys, i´m so sorry the first chapter was so short, i hope it won´t happen again.

I don´t own Saiunkoku Monogatari! What i own are my Ocs.

Please enjoy this story and let me know how i can improve it. Maybe you have suggestions regarding the storyline which is still in progress. Would love some comments and reviews.

Thanks a lot for reading.

Now on with the story :D

Sakujun POV:

I died! At least I thought I did. I did drink the poisonous water poured by... I don´t remember. But I´m sure it was a girl. A beautiful girl that meant a lot to me. Why else would I drink poison for her sake? Knowing me it was to crave myself into her memories. I know she didn´t love me back. But somehow she did. It is a strange twist of things, of that I´m quite sure.

I died. But if that is the case then why do I still feel the pain of that poison in my veins? If this is hell, than that pain is hardly everything I deserve. Either I would be in much greater pain or I would become a devil myself. I am not being tortured, but I am also no devil. I can´t move. From time to time I can hear some footsteps coming near, pain in my arm, later in my whole body, then the steps lead away again. These steps are delicate, it has to be a girl or a woman.

The door opened and the steps were coming near me. This time I felt a touch on my arm, no pain, not yet.

Her fingers stroke my arm. Such tiny hands. It could have been a child, but then I smelled her. She smelled of flowers, of some kind of powder and something else. Somehting entirely else that I didn´t recognize. She didn´t wear any parfume but still had the scent of a adult. And her touch was too experienced to be that of a girl.

She found the spot she was searching for and gave me something that enhenced my pain. I couln´t detain a groan from deep within. She either didn´t notice or didn´t mind. Did I do that before? Would seem like it, given her forcefully holding down my arm. Then I heard a whisper.

-Please, Sir, wake up soon.

I don´t know wheather it was that voice or the refreshed pain in my body that gave me the strength to lift a single finger. There was no sign of her noticing it. She stroke my arm once more, then left me alone again. The pain began to deepen with every second and I knew I wasn´t far from losing conciousness.

Time went by, but I couldn´t decide wheather it was fast or slow. I just existed until that woman came back. She never stayed longer than a few minutes. She always said a few sentences but never enough for me to really recignize her voice.

The days went by, everytime the pain returned, I regained some more power over my body. I could finally open my eyes, but I saw nothing but darkness. I could move my hands but I couldn´t feel anything. My legs couldn´t move at all.

The next time that woman came back I opened my eyes to meet the now familiar darkness. I felt her stiffen next to me. There was her whisper again.

-Are you awake, Sir?

I opened my mouth and tried to say something. Surprisingly my voice was steady.

-Yes.

-Do you know who you are?

-Yes.

-Can you tell me your name?

-Yes.

…

-Well then, would you please tell me your name?

-Senya.

I smiled a little bit. That was the name I always used when I didn´t want to reveal my true identity. It was the name I told … that unknown woman in the woods.

-Ok, that will do. Do you know what happened to you?

My little smile disappeared at the thought of my fate. How could I tell an unknown woman that I drank Poison of my own free will. That was not a good idea. A little lie wouldn´t hurt.

-I don´t know.

My body tensed as if I was trying to remember what happened but actually I wasn´t sure wheather my lying skills were back, too, so I didn´t know if she would buy it.

-Alright, don´t overexcert yourself. Are you in pain?

-Who are you, woman?

She was asking me all kind of questions and I wasn´t sure where I was or how I even got here. I had to start a counterattack.

-I am a servant here at the mansion. The princess wanted me to take care of you after she found you in the woods. She had some things to do, so she isn´t here yet. She sent me with you so she knew you would be taken care of properly. You know, when she found you,... you were dying. Maybe you don´t remember, but you were poisoned. It was a deadly poison that has only one antidote. I know, because I helped Hime-sama create it. You got that everyday now. That means just over two weeks. But because it is a prototype, we don´t know how it works or if there are any sideeffects. So I will ask you again. Are you in pain?

Now I got some answers. Did she sense my uncertainty? Is that why she was so willing to give me answers? Or did she just have a plain personality? She was so difficult to read with the way things were. But what was that about a prototype? The antidote to that poison was known since ages. I even put some into that Gan Lu tea in my old room. But I couldn´t tell her that. It would throw over my lies.

-Yes.

-Can you tell me about it?

-It is a dull pain that turns sharp everytime I get something in my veins. Then it spreads and burns through my body, stays some time and returns to that dull pain again.

-What would you say, does the pain travel through your veins, your muscles? Or does it focus in a certain spot?

-I don´t know, it is all around.

-Maybe the pain is just still too strong. It will get better, I promise.

-Then distract me! You know my name, but what is yours?

-Please call me Deina. I will be at your service, Senya-sama. Right now, I will have to leave you. I will return shortly with some water and some food.

With that she left. I remembered my first rule: Always believe your lies to convince others but never forget about the thin line between your lies and reality. With my mind as fuzzy as it was right now, even this simple task took a lot out of me. My body was still tense. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh.

Deina POV:

He lied! More than once. Of course he knew about him being poisoned. I even had reason to believe he drank it himself, out of his free will. Senya was not his real name, of course, but he did right to tell me a fake name. I would act the same if I was in his position. He tried to read me. He didn´t even move once, I was pinned by his eyes, but he didn´t see me. He was just good at covering his weaknesses. So the man from the woods was a good player, too. And possibly a bad boy.

After waiting for two weeks he was finally ready to fight back. Yes, that was promising.

End of chapter. What do you think, in what direction should this story go? Any ideas? Englisch is not my native language, so my spelling is not great, i know that, but please bare with me and try to enjoy. I would appreciate some Comments and Reviews, please. Thanks a lot for reading.