Hey guys! Sorry I couldn't update sooner. I had an internet fail -.-... anyways... I'm back!

The Keeper of Worlds - Haha well I am glad you loved the build up and that last Takumi scene. Aren't they just the best? Anyways, it's going to get VERY interesting in this next few chapters. So, watch out for it :D

Aquamarine6996 - I know. But Kari's just looking out for Zoe :) haha im glad you liked it though and I know/hope you and Bob will love this one even more!

Idkwhattoputhere - I am glad you love this story! :D I love Takumi moments so you can expect a lot in my stories. As for Hiraki.. well I can't say yet :) You need to stay tuned to find out!

Guest1 - Star crossed lovers make up for a great story, dont you think? :D

SydThatKid - I am glad you absolutely love this! I feel flattered. Don't worry. I update almost every day! :D

Ok, now... without further ado... Chapter 7!

Chapter 7: Love and Duty

[LAMIA]

NORMAL POV:

King Tadao was circling his office while he thought of a new attack plan on Erelaria. Last time, even if Lamia managed to kill two of the most important Erelarian figures, they ended up losing most of their best men. He had taken some time off to gather up more soldiers. Fortunately, Erelaria was in the middle of making some adjustments as well. Kouji had now taken over the throne and he was reassembling his forces. Both kingdoms were taking a break from fighting, but whoever came back first was what mattered.

Tadao's thoughts were interrupted with a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" asked the Lamian ruler.

The door opened slowly and two guards came in, followed by a mysterious figure that was wearing a long, black coat.

"Ah, my dear friend!" said Tadao. "Please, come in."

The mysterious figure entered the room and sat across Tadao's desk. Tadao signaled the two guards to leave them alone, so they bowed their heads and closed the door on their way out.

"Tell me," asked Tadao as he sat in his chair. "What brings you here?"

The figure snorted. "What do you think? I came to update you on the latest Erelarian movements."

"Of course. What is it that you have for me?"

The figure smirked. "What is this information worth to you, friend?"

Tadao's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to get me to bribe you?"

The figure didn't answer, but chuckled in response.

" But, I already compensated you for your help during the last battle!"

"I know. And killing Captain Kanbara was most definitely a bonus in the matter. But, this new information. New information comes with a new price."

Tadao rolled his eyes. "Fine. What do you want?"

"Power. Once you defeat Erelaria and conquer their lands, I want to be the Lord on that side of the sea. And of course… there is one more thing."

"What?"

"Your daughter."

Tadao's eyes widened. "Zoe?"

The figure nodded as the smirk on his face grew wider. "Yes. I will need a female companion to rule the lands on that side. I caught a glimpse of her last time I was here, and was stunned by her beauty."

Tadao said nothing. He closed his eyes as rubbed his temples with his index fingers.

"I am sure your daughter will be a small price to pay… for the head of the enemy."

Tadao's eyes met the mysterious man's gaze, and smiled.

"Very well. You have my word, then. Now tell me what you know."

"Well," said the dark figure. "King Kouji has now claimed the throne and has been thinking of new ways to attack. He was talking about finishing Lamia, once and for all, with all his men."

"Then let him come. We will be ready."

"Are you sure about that?"

Tadao raised an eyebrow inquisitively, noticing the figure's smirk. "Why do you doubt me?"

"Because I know how many soldiers are in Kouji's army. He has about five times more men than you will ever have."

Tadao sighed in frustration as he tightened the grip on his fists. "Then what do you suggest?"

"Well, if we wait for Erelaria to attack, your kingdom will not live to see another light of day. However, I propose a trick. You should pretend to offer a peace treaty to Erelaria. Once that's done, we shall seek for a way to find Kouji alone and murder him. Kouji has no heir and Erelarian laws state that only a king's eldest offspring can take the throne. Without a leader, Erelaria will end in chaos. That's where we take action and you can take over. Of course, you'd be putting me in charge of those lands."

Tadao was listening intently to his ally's proposal. "There are two things I think you have overlooked in this plan of yours. First, how will we get King Kouji alone? The boy is surrounded by thousands of guards all day long. And second of all, why do you think Erelaria will be so eager to take a Lamian ruler as their new leader?"

The mysterious figure laughed. "That is very simple. This is why we will need someone very key to our plan."

"And, who might that be?"

"Your daughter."

Tadao was taken aback by the figure's mention of Zoe. "What do you mean?"

"As a peace offering, you shall offer your daughter to be King Kouji's wife. When that is done, the princess will automatically become Queen and will serve as our little spy. She shall be the one to murder Kouji. And as for your second question, it also has to do with Zoe. The law says that only an offspring can claim the throne. However, Zoe will have been married to Kouji. Her title as Queen cannot be taken by anyone except for the offspring I had previously mentioned. Since there is no heir, then the throne will remain hers. That's when I intent to claim my prize. When Kouji is dead, you shall make Zoe marry me. That way, Erelaria will have no choice but to accept me as their rightful leader. I will become King and we will both be taking down Erelaria once and for all."

Tadao was impressed by the plan he had heard. Using his own daughter for his own purposes was cruel, but necessary. It wasn't like he hadn't done it before. He had promised Akira they would be wed in return for his loyalty. Now, he would be doing it again. He would have to make her marry Kouji and then his ally. Tadao shook his head, shaking off his guilt. Zoe would have to understand that duty comes before anything else and that he is her father. She should obey him in everything because it was her duty.

"I like this plan of yours," said Tadao, sitting straight and leaning forward in his desk. "Out of curiosity, may I ask why is it that you are willing to betray Erelaria in that way?"

The figure smiled and dropped his gaze. "You have your reasons for wanting them dead. So do I."

Tadao paused for a minute, but then nodded. "Very well. We have an agreement."

TAKUYA'S POV:

I didn't want to open my eyes. I was afraid I would open them and the memories from my time with Mae were going to disappear. That they were all going to be in my head. However, I slowly begin to open them and see Mae's sleeping face. We were both covered by the blanket she had given me. She looked so beautiful when she was sleeping. Her hair fell lightly behind her shoulder as she rested her head in my arm. Her other hand was placed in my naked chest. I couldn't help but smile at the image. I took a strand of hair from her face, placed it behind her ear and kissed her forehead. I then pulled her closer into an embrace, where I could smell the mesmerizing aroma that her hair erupted as I buried my face in it. She smelled like strawberries. I couldn't believe how fast I fell for this girl. Never had I ever thought there would be a girl out there who would make me forget about my duty. So long I've been blinded with revenge that I have failed to look past that. Without spilling a single drop of blood, Mae had made me, the strongest of the Erelarian soldiers, surrender into her kindness. I loved her. I never wanted to let her go. I wanted to bring her back with me and marry her. It was crazy, because we hadn't known each other for that long. But, what is time, really? I felt like I had known her for years. I couldn't imagine my life without her now.

Just then, I felt Mae shift in her sleep, slowly beginning to wake up. She opened her eyes sheepishly and I couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Takuya?" She sounded confused but happy at the same time, as she rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times before adjusting to the light.

"I'm here", I said with a smirk, as I leaned in to give her a gentle kiss on the lips. "How did you sleep?"

Mae smiled as she caressed my cheek and began finding their way through my hair. "Amazing."

"Good." I took my hand and placed it on one of her cheeks as I lifted her chin gently. "I am going to kiss you now."

She smiled and our lips met. We were completely taken by the moment. The love I felt for her was addicting. Addicting. That's it. I was addicted to her. It was an unreasonable passion we had for each other. I couldn't help it. The infatuation was just too much. I was carried away by a love that I couldn't explain. Then again, the heart does things for reasons that reason cannot understand.

"I love you, Mae", I said between kisses. "I don't know how I fell for you this fast but I can't help it.

Mae gave me a crooked smile. "I love you too."

Suddenly, there was a strange look ok her face. She sat back down and appeared scared as she covered herself with the blanket.

"What's wrong?" I asked, as I sat next to her and kissed her bare shoulder.

"This is." The look on her face was filled with sadness and guilt. "We shouldn't have done this. What we did was wrong, Takuya."

I raised my eyebrow and tilted her chin for her to look at me. "Do you regret it?"

Thankfully, she let out a fainted smile. "No. Of course not. But it doesn't make it right."

"I thought if two people loved each other as much as we do, nothing wrong could come of it."

Mae stayed silent but then sighed. "Takuya… I am promised to another man."

This made me sick to my stomach. I hated the fact that some other man was waiting for her. It made me furious just to think of another man looking at her…touching her… kissing her… No. Stop it, Takuya. Stop it!

I could feel my jaw tighten and I couldn't help but show a hurt look on my face.

"I'm sorry, Takuya."

"I don't understand. You told me you loved me. Why are you planning on going through with this wedding of yours? To a man you know you will never love?"

Mae dropped her gaze. "It's… It's complicated."

"It's not", I said as I took my hand and caressed her cheeks. I could see tears starting to form in her eyes. "I love you. If you love me, like you said you did, then there shouldn't be any reason why we can't be together."

"It's not that simple!"

"Yes it is! Is it because you are from Lamia and I from Erelaria? We can find a way through that. If you wish to escape this place, come to Erelaria. I will protect you against everyone who wishes to hurt you. They will accept you over there, since you saved my life. No one will hurt you. And you will always have me."

Mae had a line of tears running down her face. I didn't understand why she didn't want to go with me. She was clearly unhappy here. What was holding her back?

"Takuya", she said, her voice a mere whisper. "I love you. I do. But this cannot be. I have a duty here that's beyond you can even imagine. I cannot leave. Besides, if I were to go with you, it would only give Lamia yet another reason to attack your kingdom. More innocent people will die because of me. I don't want to be like Helen of Troy! Helen and Paris's love brought down a kingdom. I can't be responsible for what happens."

I smiled at her and kissed her gently. "I don't think you should worry about that. Helen was the Queen of Sparta. It was a big deal and that's why the war erupted. I doubt this will happen with you, no offense. Tadao is not going to attack Erelaria based on one of his villagers being taken to our side." I pulled her into my arms and whispered in her ear. "But even if you were like her, she was a woman worth fighting for and it goes the same with you."

Mae's gaze had dropped and I could tell she felt uneasy. She was very nervous for some reason.

"Takuya", she said. Her breathing was increasing its pace.

"Yes? What is it?"

Mae hesitated but then turned her gaze to mine. "There's… there's something I need to tell you."

Suddenly, the door banged open and in came Kari. Her eyes widened when she saw our naked bodies sitting next to each other.

"Oh my…" said Kari. She looked as if she were to pass out in any minute. "My lady!"

"Kari, I –" began Mae. I could tell she was terrified of being caught like this.

"I love her."

Both women turned towards me, their eyes as big as they could get.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, my lady. You shouldn't have caught us like this. But I just don't want you to think wrong of me. I love Mae and she loves me back."

I thought Kari would've been angrier. Instead, she sighed. Was that a sigh of relief I just heard?

"I understand."

Mae and I looked at her incredulously. We exchanged glances and turned towards the brunette in front of us.

"You do?" asked Mae.

Kari nodded. "Yes. But I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"What is it?" I asked.

Kari turned her gaze towards Mae. "My lady, your father is searching everywhere for you. He needs to speak to you right away. I came here as fast as I could, but your father has ordered several of his soldiers to go across the kingdom and find you. I spotted several guards not too far from here."

"Oh no!" cried Mae as she turned to face me. "If they find you, they will kill you!"

I snorted. "I doubt they will, Mae. I am stronger than them."

Nevertheless, Mae kept shaking her head. "I can't risk that. You need to go. NOW!"

"I'm not leaving without you!"

"You need to!"

Mae stood up and began to dress quickly. I followed her and did the same thing as Kari kept a look out in the doorway.

"Let's get your raft! Come!"

Mae took my hand and the three of us fled out of the shelter. We pulled the raft from behind the rocks and began to drag it towards the ocean. Kari then gave me a reassuring nod and started heading back to the shore.

"Come with me, Mae", I said as I caressed her cheek.

"I told you, Takuya. I can't."

"Yes you can! I can't go without you!"

Tears were running down her cheeks, as well as mine.

"Takuya," she said as leaned closer to me. "You and I know this cannot be. It doesn't mean that it wasn't real, because it was! I'm always going to remember it. I need to know that you will return safely to Erelaria. I need to know that you are safe, thinking about me from time to time. If they kill you, then I might also be dead as well. I love you, but I have a duty to my kingdom."

"You have a duty to your heart. You know your place is with me."

"Sometimes duty is not in our hearts. We need to make sacrifices in order to be able to fulfill that duty. Just know that I will always… always love you, Takuya."

I pulled her in and gave her another passionate kiss. The hunger of our kiss took over us as we expressed our love through it. After for what I think was too quick, we parted our lips from each other.

"I love you too, Mae" I said, my voice cracking. "But I'm not going to give up on you. On us. I will come back for you, no matter what."

Mae smiled and kissed me one more time.

Finally, I got into the raft and watched her as she returned back to shore. She turned around to watch me as I sailed away. That girl will always be the one that changed my life completely. She showed me there's more to life than simple revenge. I would never give up on us. One day, I would return for her.

Wow. Ok so, who is this mysterious traitor? Will Takuya ever see his beloved again? Will he ever learn the truth of who she really is? Will Kouji accept Tadao's offer? FOLLOW/FAVE to stay tuned!

And as always... keep those REVIEWS coming! :D