Into The Underground

Author: This fic didn't quite cover as much time I wanted it to but I think it finishes off Ryann's story nicely. Ty Crystal-Wolf
& Nosedivefan for the reviews & to everyone else who read this fic. One more story to go before Ryann's past is a closed book.
I just also finished watching MD again so that helped keep me on track alot. Thought I'd put in a bit of history for the 'Hood too.
I own: Ryann, Daggerite, Zenath, Kit, Micheal, the council & the 'Hood's history. Disney could have done so much with it but didn't.

"Duke found you?" Nosedive asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"He got me out of the snow and took me to the Underground. To my knowledge the Brotherhood's never turned anyway anyone, especially not if someone high ranking brings them in." Ryann told him.

"When was this?" he asked.

"About eight years ago. I was around thirteen." she muttered. He nodded and stretched out on the couch. She crawled on top of him and rested her head on his chest. For a few minutes she lay there listening to his heartbeat in an otherwise silent room.

"I woke up in one of the beds in the Brotherhood's medical wing about two days after Duke found me. The Healers had managed to heal my injuries in a couple of day when they would have taken a few weeks normally. Once I was released from the medical wing Duke took me to the council. They were unwilling to let me in at first unless Duke reminded them that I was exactly the kind of duck that the Brotherhood was originally formed to give sanctuary to." Ryann said.

"Wait... the Brotherhood wasn't originally a group of jewel thieves?" he asked, staring down at her.

"Not according to the books where our history is recorded. It started centuries ago as a safe haven for outcast and eventually turned into a society without any kind of ranking system. As the Underground grew it was discovered that everyone had different talents so they began to put those talents to good use. It had blacksmiths, artists, writers, tanners, leather workers and just about everything else but most of all they had to steal and hunt to survive. About two centuries the Underground established trade routes with people on the surface to get supplies down through the caves. Around that time someone figured out that not only was learning to use a sword a great way to stay in shape but also a good way to learn to defend yourself. So everyone started to use some sort of sword or saber." she said.

Nosedive shifted position slightly and asked "When did the Brotherhood form?"

"About a century and a half ago. After the relations with surfaces were well established and everyone started learning how to use swords, everyone got bored so being the thieves that they were, they went to the surface and started stealing from the surface ducks. It was a bit of a game for the most part until a few of them got caught. About five years later they began to form a military like group and the thieves began to form their own group within the Underground." she told him.

"The Brotherhood?" he guessed.

"Yeah." she said.

"Nice to know the history and all but back to your story." Dive told her.

"After the council agreed to let me stay Duke settled me in and started my training the next day. Which you know all about." she muttered, glancing over at the table where his throwing knives sat.

"Yeah Kit and Duke busted my tail feathers." he chuckled.

"Believe me I got mine busted too. It took three years for me to finish my training with Duke and afterward I became his personal spy and occasionally... his lover." she whispered.

Nosedive stiffened under her and whispered, "He cheated on Kit with you?"

"They were in and out of love for a few years. When they're weren't together was when I was his lover." she said.

"I'm guessing you were willing." he sighed.

"He's one of those drakes that get turned off if their lovers aren't willing." she assured him. He ground his teeth together. "You really didn't expect my story to be a nice one did you?" she asked.

"No but I didn't expect you to have slept with Duke." Dive told her.

"He was trying to show me that not all drakes were out to hurt me and he was the only one I trusted so..." Ryann muttered.

"I get it." he said sharply.

"When I was in the Brotherhood I found out that while the fire I set had killed Daggerite and Zenath but it hadn't killed their son. He had run away from home that same night, before I set the house ablaze. We meet in the Brotherhood about a month after I finished my training. Micheal wanted my blood for the blood of his parents but Duke stopped him and told him that if anything he owed me his blood and flesh for what his father had done to me as a child. He refused, took off and was never seen in the Underground again." she told him.

"When did Duke loose his eye?" Nosedive wondered softly.

"Not too long after he forced the council to accept me. Falcone had always had a problem with Duke being in charge but letting me into the Brotherhood royally pissed him off. He lured us out into one of the lesser used tunnels and tried to fight me. Duke wouldn't allow it and insisted that Falcone fight him. We should have known that Falcone wouldn't fight clean and he didn't. He got Duke riled up and made him drop his guard for a second, then used his saber to cut that chip out of Duke's beak." Ryann said.

"With that electrified blade of his? That had to hurt like hell." Dive winced.

She nodded and continued, "If Falcone hadn't cut the chip from his beak then he would have never had a chance to hit him with whatever he did that destroyed his eye. It took him two months to recover."

"No wonder Duke wants to fry his tail feathers so damn bad." he muttered.

"And when Falcone hurt me, he just added fuel to that fire." she chuckled darkly.

"I'd sooner get shrunk down to six inches and have another concussion than piss off Duke to a point that he wants to kill me." Nosedive said.

"If it comes down to my Master killing Falcone, I won't stop him." she told him, preening the feathers around his throat gently.

His eyes fluttered shut contently and whispered, "Keep doing that and we'll need to get off the couch."

"The bed?" she asked.

"Yeah. Except..." he began as his face started to warm.

She smiled, ran her claws through his hair and whispered, "My little virgin thief."