Chapter 3 - Your Eyes Hold No Secrets
************************************************************************************************************
At the top of the hill, Terrance gave his brother a questioning look. Endymion nodded mutely. Powering up into full knight attire (sword, armor, etc. . .) both men grabbed hold of their swords and withdrew them from their cases. Terrance gestured in the direction he had heard the sounds, and they quietly moved towards the strangers.
*************************************************************************************************************
As they neared one of the more secluded areas near the far corner of the garden, Terrance went ahead of his older brother toward an old statue of a young woman with hair that flowed in ripples down her back. This was his favorite place to come when he was upset or just needed to be alone as the young woman was his mother in her early 20s. As he looked up admiring the statue, Terrance dropped his guard. His foot caught on something solid causing him to trip, dropping his sword on the ground a few feet away. "Oft."
"Uhn." Something underneath him groaned painfully.
"What the?" Pulling himself quickly to his feet, Terrance wondered what it was he had landed on. He was in for a shock when he got his first good look at the stranger. He seemed to he in his late teens - or maybe early 20s. His hair was jet black and his features mocked those of the Queen of Earth.
"Endymion, over here. I found one of them!!" Quickly pulled himself to his feet, Terrance reached down to pick up his sword. Resting the blade at the throat of the boy, he relaxed waiting for his brother to arrive on the scene.
Hurrying over to his brother's aid, Endymion approaching with his sword stiffly out in front of him ready to attack at the first sign of danger. Upon reaching Terrance's side, he relaxed seeing that everything seemed to be under control. "He's uncontious? What'd he do - Klutz out?"
"Seems so." Terrance replied with a grim smile. "Not the brightest crayon in the box, is he?"
"Obviously not."
"So, now what?" Terrance inquired still staring at the newcomer. "He can't answer questions if he's uncontious."
"Hmm." King Endymion ran the problem through his head studying the stranger as he did. He stopped when he was standing opposite his brother. Kneeling down, he shook the boy roughly. Again, he only groaned shifting in his sleep. "Errr." The king growled angrilly. Standing up, he pointed his sword at the boy pausing only a moment to find his target. Drawing back, he brought it down quickly to strike him on the shoulder.
Terrance snorted. "Hmph. That's one way to wake him up."
********************************************************************************************************
After falling, Mamoru had slipped into a world that was all black. He didn't exactly where he was or how long he'd been here. Suddenly, a sharp pain pulled him out of the black world and back to reality. The pain started at his shoulder, radiated through the rest of his body, and then settled back into his shoulder.
With a low moan, he opened his eyes wanting to throttle the jackass that had the nerve to attack him when he was unable to fight back. The world quickly came back into focus and Mamoru found himself face-to-face with two very angry looking men. He gulped. He tried to push himself to his feet only to find the sharp end of a blade pointed in the direction of his throat. At that moment only one thought came into his mind. 'Oh, shit.'
With a wave of his hand, King Endymion told his brother to remove the sword. Terrance reluctantly took the silent command replacing the sword back in it's case. "Get up." The king demanded his voice becoming harsh and threatening. 'No one threatens my family without facing the consequences.'
Considering his position and the fact he currently had no idea where he was, Mamoru decided this wouldn't be the best time to argue. Unfortunately, however, his body had no intention of obeying the angry man's orders. As soon as Mamoru was able to find his feet, dizziness overtook him and he found himself on the ground again.
Terrance snorted. Leaning over, he grabbed the stranger by the shoulder - "accidently" cluching the same place where his brother had just let down his sword - and dragged him onto his feet.
Mamoru gritted his teeth as another sharp pain radiated through his body. "Hey, watch it!"
Terrance simply squeezed even harder making him feel weak in the knees. "I don't take orders from trespassers."
"Who are you?!" Mamoru demanded to know.
"That's enough!!" King Endymion barked causing the stranger to jump. Putting the sword up against the strangers throat, he leaned in where he was about a foot from Mamoru's face. Taking advantage of the distraction, Terrance got a grip on the stranger's arm pulling it behind his back. Mamoru took in a sharp breath as yet another pain shoot through him.
"Let's get one thing straight shall we?" the King replied. "First, we'll be the one's asking the questions. Second, you don't have the authority to DEMAND me or my brother to do ANYTHING. Do I make myself perfectly clear!!"
Mamoru nodded mutely, but again that turned out to be the wrong thing to do. "Anwser your king, boy." Terrance growled annoyed. "You're in enough trouble as it is. I'd advise you to show the KING of Earth the proper respect!"
'KING OF EARTH!!' His mind raced but there was no time to process the thought. He knew he had better do or say something before he made things even worse. "Yes." The King glarred at him. "Ah, I mean yes, um . . . majesty."
"That's better." Terrance reply relaxing the killer grip he had on Mamoru's sore arm. Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief. This was not going to be easy.
"What's your name, boy?" King Endymion barked at him.
"Ma . . . Mamoru, uh . . . majesty."
Terrance grinned his lighter side getting the best of him. "You don't have to say majesty after every sentence, moron."
"Oh." Mamoru blushed. King Endymion simply rolled his eyes. Why couldn't his brother stay serious for more than fifteen minutes at a time?
"Anyway." He gave his brother a dirty look and Terrance quickly regained his composure. "Mamoru . . . how did you find your way into the Royal Garden?"
"Well, I. . ." Mamoru started. How HAD he gotten here exactly? He'd fallened into a golden , well, light, and then . . . fell out of the sky. Ok. That definately wasn't going to blow over very well. "I'm not exactly sure, majesty." Mamoru answered
nervously.
Terrance increased the pressure on his arm. The King growled. "You don't know, or you don't want to tell me?"
"I . . . I don't know, majesty." His voice started to squeek as his arm started to hurt again.
"So, you're going to claim you don't remember?" The King replied threateningly. 'I've heard this before, but he did hit his head pretty hard.'
"Ye . . . yes, majesty."
'Better make sure he's not trying to fool his way out of this.' Holding up his sword, he pointed it back at Mamoru's throat. "I WILL find out who you are and how you got here." King Endymion replied, his voice low and threatening. "and if you're lying to me . . ."
"I . . . I'm not lying." Mamoru replied with a gulp. "I don't know, majesty."
King Endymion nodded mutely his fury slowly reducing to a mild anger and annoyance. "Take him to the dungeon, Otooto-chan. They can fix up that wound. I'll have to deal with MAMORU later."
Terrance nodded. He pulled Mamoru in the direction of the door, while King Endymion left to calm his family.
As Terrance and Mamoru walked into the more open area of the garden, Mamoru got his first memorable look at his family: his past self standing next to an eight year old girl and a four year old boy. His father comforting a two-year-old who was
frightened by the commotion, and his mother tightly clutching a tiny baby in her arms.
As the stranger walked past her and her family, Queen Terra looked up. Midnight-blue eyes met midnight-blue eyes. The fear in his mother's eyes cut into Mamoru's heart because it was directed at him.
Starring deeply into the strangers eyes, Queen Terra read every emotion that was running through his mind: fear (because he'd never been on the other side of a dungeon before); sadness (at the fear in the eyes of a woman he barely remembered); and longing (to trade places with his past self who was being held tight in the arms of his father who had a look of complete
admiration for his eldest child.)
Slowly, the fear in Terra's eyes changed to curiousity and then to motherly concern. She didn't know why shewas concern for the strange trespasser who possed an immediately threat to her family. Maybe it was because he was currently holding the same look that her eldest son did when he woke up from a bad dream: fearful, sad, and longing for his parents to comfort him.
Don't worry. She spoke silently through her eyes. Though her eyes didn't recognize him at such an advanced age, her heart would always know its children. I'll always love you, no matter how far apart we are.
Pulling her eyes off the stranger, Terra shook her head, clearing her mind. She wasn't exactly sure what had come over her. She took one last look at the stranger as her brother-in-law pulled him out of the garden. 'If I didn't know better, I'd say he could pass for one of my own children.' Hmmm. . . I wonder where THAT thought came from??
*************************************************************************************************************
************************************************************************************************************
At the top of the hill, Terrance gave his brother a questioning look. Endymion nodded mutely. Powering up into full knight attire (sword, armor, etc. . .) both men grabbed hold of their swords and withdrew them from their cases. Terrance gestured in the direction he had heard the sounds, and they quietly moved towards the strangers.
*************************************************************************************************************
As they neared one of the more secluded areas near the far corner of the garden, Terrance went ahead of his older brother toward an old statue of a young woman with hair that flowed in ripples down her back. This was his favorite place to come when he was upset or just needed to be alone as the young woman was his mother in her early 20s. As he looked up admiring the statue, Terrance dropped his guard. His foot caught on something solid causing him to trip, dropping his sword on the ground a few feet away. "Oft."
"Uhn." Something underneath him groaned painfully.
"What the?" Pulling himself quickly to his feet, Terrance wondered what it was he had landed on. He was in for a shock when he got his first good look at the stranger. He seemed to he in his late teens - or maybe early 20s. His hair was jet black and his features mocked those of the Queen of Earth.
"Endymion, over here. I found one of them!!" Quickly pulled himself to his feet, Terrance reached down to pick up his sword. Resting the blade at the throat of the boy, he relaxed waiting for his brother to arrive on the scene.
Hurrying over to his brother's aid, Endymion approaching with his sword stiffly out in front of him ready to attack at the first sign of danger. Upon reaching Terrance's side, he relaxed seeing that everything seemed to be under control. "He's uncontious? What'd he do - Klutz out?"
"Seems so." Terrance replied with a grim smile. "Not the brightest crayon in the box, is he?"
"Obviously not."
"So, now what?" Terrance inquired still staring at the newcomer. "He can't answer questions if he's uncontious."
"Hmm." King Endymion ran the problem through his head studying the stranger as he did. He stopped when he was standing opposite his brother. Kneeling down, he shook the boy roughly. Again, he only groaned shifting in his sleep. "Errr." The king growled angrilly. Standing up, he pointed his sword at the boy pausing only a moment to find his target. Drawing back, he brought it down quickly to strike him on the shoulder.
Terrance snorted. "Hmph. That's one way to wake him up."
********************************************************************************************************
After falling, Mamoru had slipped into a world that was all black. He didn't exactly where he was or how long he'd been here. Suddenly, a sharp pain pulled him out of the black world and back to reality. The pain started at his shoulder, radiated through the rest of his body, and then settled back into his shoulder.
With a low moan, he opened his eyes wanting to throttle the jackass that had the nerve to attack him when he was unable to fight back. The world quickly came back into focus and Mamoru found himself face-to-face with two very angry looking men. He gulped. He tried to push himself to his feet only to find the sharp end of a blade pointed in the direction of his throat. At that moment only one thought came into his mind. 'Oh, shit.'
With a wave of his hand, King Endymion told his brother to remove the sword. Terrance reluctantly took the silent command replacing the sword back in it's case. "Get up." The king demanded his voice becoming harsh and threatening. 'No one threatens my family without facing the consequences.'
Considering his position and the fact he currently had no idea where he was, Mamoru decided this wouldn't be the best time to argue. Unfortunately, however, his body had no intention of obeying the angry man's orders. As soon as Mamoru was able to find his feet, dizziness overtook him and he found himself on the ground again.
Terrance snorted. Leaning over, he grabbed the stranger by the shoulder - "accidently" cluching the same place where his brother had just let down his sword - and dragged him onto his feet.
Mamoru gritted his teeth as another sharp pain radiated through his body. "Hey, watch it!"
Terrance simply squeezed even harder making him feel weak in the knees. "I don't take orders from trespassers."
"Who are you?!" Mamoru demanded to know.
"That's enough!!" King Endymion barked causing the stranger to jump. Putting the sword up against the strangers throat, he leaned in where he was about a foot from Mamoru's face. Taking advantage of the distraction, Terrance got a grip on the stranger's arm pulling it behind his back. Mamoru took in a sharp breath as yet another pain shoot through him.
"Let's get one thing straight shall we?" the King replied. "First, we'll be the one's asking the questions. Second, you don't have the authority to DEMAND me or my brother to do ANYTHING. Do I make myself perfectly clear!!"
Mamoru nodded mutely, but again that turned out to be the wrong thing to do. "Anwser your king, boy." Terrance growled annoyed. "You're in enough trouble as it is. I'd advise you to show the KING of Earth the proper respect!"
'KING OF EARTH!!' His mind raced but there was no time to process the thought. He knew he had better do or say something before he made things even worse. "Yes." The King glarred at him. "Ah, I mean yes, um . . . majesty."
"That's better." Terrance reply relaxing the killer grip he had on Mamoru's sore arm. Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief. This was not going to be easy.
"What's your name, boy?" King Endymion barked at him.
"Ma . . . Mamoru, uh . . . majesty."
Terrance grinned his lighter side getting the best of him. "You don't have to say majesty after every sentence, moron."
"Oh." Mamoru blushed. King Endymion simply rolled his eyes. Why couldn't his brother stay serious for more than fifteen minutes at a time?
"Anyway." He gave his brother a dirty look and Terrance quickly regained his composure. "Mamoru . . . how did you find your way into the Royal Garden?"
"Well, I. . ." Mamoru started. How HAD he gotten here exactly? He'd fallened into a golden , well, light, and then . . . fell out of the sky. Ok. That definately wasn't going to blow over very well. "I'm not exactly sure, majesty." Mamoru answered
nervously.
Terrance increased the pressure on his arm. The King growled. "You don't know, or you don't want to tell me?"
"I . . . I don't know, majesty." His voice started to squeek as his arm started to hurt again.
"So, you're going to claim you don't remember?" The King replied threateningly. 'I've heard this before, but he did hit his head pretty hard.'
"Ye . . . yes, majesty."
'Better make sure he's not trying to fool his way out of this.' Holding up his sword, he pointed it back at Mamoru's throat. "I WILL find out who you are and how you got here." King Endymion replied, his voice low and threatening. "and if you're lying to me . . ."
"I . . . I'm not lying." Mamoru replied with a gulp. "I don't know, majesty."
King Endymion nodded mutely his fury slowly reducing to a mild anger and annoyance. "Take him to the dungeon, Otooto-chan. They can fix up that wound. I'll have to deal with MAMORU later."
Terrance nodded. He pulled Mamoru in the direction of the door, while King Endymion left to calm his family.
As Terrance and Mamoru walked into the more open area of the garden, Mamoru got his first memorable look at his family: his past self standing next to an eight year old girl and a four year old boy. His father comforting a two-year-old who was
frightened by the commotion, and his mother tightly clutching a tiny baby in her arms.
As the stranger walked past her and her family, Queen Terra looked up. Midnight-blue eyes met midnight-blue eyes. The fear in his mother's eyes cut into Mamoru's heart because it was directed at him.
Starring deeply into the strangers eyes, Queen Terra read every emotion that was running through his mind: fear (because he'd never been on the other side of a dungeon before); sadness (at the fear in the eyes of a woman he barely remembered); and longing (to trade places with his past self who was being held tight in the arms of his father who had a look of complete
admiration for his eldest child.)
Slowly, the fear in Terra's eyes changed to curiousity and then to motherly concern. She didn't know why shewas concern for the strange trespasser who possed an immediately threat to her family. Maybe it was because he was currently holding the same look that her eldest son did when he woke up from a bad dream: fearful, sad, and longing for his parents to comfort him.
Don't worry. She spoke silently through her eyes. Though her eyes didn't recognize him at such an advanced age, her heart would always know its children. I'll always love you, no matter how far apart we are.
Pulling her eyes off the stranger, Terra shook her head, clearing her mind. She wasn't exactly sure what had come over her. She took one last look at the stranger as her brother-in-law pulled him out of the garden. 'If I didn't know better, I'd say he could pass for one of my own children.' Hmmm. . . I wonder where THAT thought came from??
*************************************************************************************************************