Snow Puff: Thanks! I think Salazar's going to hate Leon for a little while longer, insane doggy or not. We must sit (or strap) them down to work out their differences…

Akura loves Sanzo: Thank you! It's nice to know other people do stuff they're not supposed to in IT lessons. Mine suck…they're so boring!

Parslie: (Looks at poster on wall) My most humble apologies. His hair does seem to be kinda sandy-brown…like my brother's. Sandy brown it is! Thanks for pointing out, and for reviewing.

Ashley walked a few metres behind Saddler and Leon. What the hell was he doing, lying like a star-struck lover in that bastard's arms? Well, she would follow Leon wherever he went, even if it meant she had to trot after Saddler.

She shivered, the rain cold and the wind pitiless. Her hair was plastered to her face, and her clothes were soaking. Wrapping her arms tightly around herself, she hurried to catch up with the priest. He seemed unfazed by the weather, and kept glancing back at her. Whenever he did this, she caught a look of embarrassment on his face. Well, he bloody well should be embarrassed! Fucking her bodyguard on the very bed she was hiding under, she felt physically sick when she thought about it.

Well, at least she had learned something they definitely did not teach her in school.

She deserved to have Leon, not this weird, evil zealot guy. She was the one who had faithfully followed him, and had stuck beside him during everything.

She grimaced as a particularly strong blast of wind whipped her soaking hair into her eyes. The journey seemed to take longer than last time they had come this way.

"Hey! Wait up! How much more further is it?" Was this guy deliberately leading her round the long way?

He stopped so she could catch up, and shifted Leon in his arms. She stood to his side, not wanting to go much closer, despite him holding Leon.

"We're almost at the drawbridge."

With a shock, Ashley saw that they were indeed nearer than she thought. They were on the track leading to the castle. She hoped that the insane cultists were to be nice to her this time, and maybe give her some food. She was starving.

She was also very worried about Leon, if Saddler decided to have him chained up or killed when they got back, there would be little he could do stop them. But could she really trust him now? Saddler had obviously re-infected him; did this mean that he was going to help Saddler with his plans for America? Would he be the one holding her down whilst some cloaked guy injected her?

These questions whizzed around her head as she stumbled up the slope, slipping every few seconds. Would she ever get home and see her father again? She was glad, for once, that it was raining. She didn't want Saddler to see the evidence of her grieving.

They reached the drawbridge, and Saddler let out a piercing whistle. There was a pause, and then the bridge was lowered. They walked across it in silence, Ganado rushing up to meet their master to offer him dry clothes. He waved them away, and pointed at Ashley. She tensed, expecting an attack from them, ready to run. Instead, Saddler spoke to them in Spanish, his orders hard to make out to her. A Ganado approached Ashley, and tried to grab her arm. She elbowed it in the chest and slapped it in the face. It screamed at her in Spanish, and tried to seize her again.

Saddler seemed to smile tiredly at the little drama scene. He spoke again to the Ganado, who nodded obediently and stood down.

"I suggest you go with them. They will not hurt you, and if it occurs to them, they will feed you and find some more clothes."

Saddler turned his back, but Ashley held her ground.

"So what? You can go and fuck him again?" She spat. "I'm not leaving him, especially not with you!" Saddler took a threatening step forward, but Ashley didn't care. "You don't deserve him after what you've done!"

"Child, if you knew what I've done, you would not be as quick to judge me." His voice was quiet, a warning.

"I know what you've done! Why don't you just fuck off and die? You were going to! Go and finish what you started!" Ashley was breathing hard, her hands clenched into fists. Saddler's merely smiled, and spoke again in Spanish, his voice containing a violent undertone. The Ganado roughly grabbed Ashley, and began to drag her in the opposite direction to Leon and Saddler.

"No! Leon!"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Leon awoke in the same bed as before, the only difference was that Saddler wasn't trying to tongue wrestle him. There was a polite cough from the corner, and Leon turned to see Ramon Salazar standing with his arms folded. Leon gave him a sheepish grin that said: 'Hey, don't you just hate those days when you wake up naked after changing into a wolf then making love to a guy you're supposed to hate, while the girl you're meant to protect is hiding nearby?'

Salazar's look said: 'Get the hell out of my bed.'

There was an awkward silence as both men tried to stare each other down. The Plaga in Leon forced him to submit to his superior, and he reluctantly dropped his gaze to the floor. Sneering at Leon, Salazar stalked round the bed. When he reached the side Leon was sitting on, he grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, blue eyes meeting dangerous amber ones.

"You may not be a Ganado, American, but you will still acknowledge my authority. My lord's lover or not, I will expect nothing less. Understand?"

Leon frantically nodded, trying to break contact with this psychopath. Salazar's voice was low and cold as he said:

"I still haven't forgotten that you tried to kill me with those silly little toys of yours. And now our lord has rewarded you with a great gift that I am told you have already tried out a little, hmm?" His voice lightened a little, and his eyes gleamed with an almost childish excitement. "A Colmillo, one type of experiment very close to my heart. I will have to get our lord to create some more, as most of mine were…eradicated. By you, Mr. Kennedy." Salazar turned his back to Leon, his hands clasped behind his back.

"But let us not dwell on the past, as it seems we will have to put up with each other for a while. Unless…you are planning to leave?" Salazar turned his head hopefully.

Leon hadn't really thought about leaving. He considered that going after he had begged Saddler not to, would be somewhat hypocritical. On the other hand, he had to make sure Ashley got home safe.

"I-I don't know. Someone has to take Ashley back, but I don't want to leave Saddler."

"Lord Saddler."

"I called him Osmund, but he didn't seem to mind."

"Yes, but when was this?"

"When we were…"

"Exactly. You should call him 'my lord' in his presence."

Leon rolled his eyes, doubting that Saddler would care. He watched the shorter man as he went to the closet beside the bed, and pulled out a mirror lined with rubies and pearls.

"Hmmm…" He mused, examining himself, and adjusting his hat. "I used to have two of these… I don't know where the other's gone." Leon gulped. He knew precisely where the other was. He also remembered how many pesetas he got off the merchant for it.

Looking out of the window, he saw that the rain had cleared up, and the sky was back to its usual dismal grey colour.

"Shit…what time is it? How long have I been asleep? Where's Ashley?"

Salazar frowned, and took out a brass pocket watch.

"Half past four, two hours, and she was acting hostile towards our lord and the Ganado so we took her away to get some food."

Next chapter: Ashley eats. :D