A/N So, I know that it's been a while since my previous update. Sorry for making you wait for so long, guys. I'm very honored to introduce this chapter to you and I hope you will like it as much as I do ^o^
Read and Enjoy…and ofcourse…Review!
Destined
Chapter 7
part 1
It was a terrible feeling of emptiness and despair. She was out of his view and he didn't know where she was. A creepy feeling of fear attacked his heart as he realized that he was all alone in that dark and soundless corridor. Cold sweat covered the young man's forehead when he remembered that he had already been in a similar situation. He was wandering through a dark and long corridor and couldn't find the way out from that awful place, but then he would see a little source of light and her outstretched hand as if it was insuring him that everything would be alright.
But now he didn't see anything, just an unbearable darkness that was suffocating him and driving him insane slowly. He didn't know how long he had been here. It seemed that it had been ages now. He tried to find her but all his attempts failed. Oh, how he wished to see her again, to make sure that she was alright and far away from this horrible place. If only he could see her just one more time and say that he loved her purely and dearly, then it wouldn't be so scary dying like this. Most importantly was to make sure that she was safe.
No, he didn't want to die; he had so many things to be done in his life. But if he had to disappear from this world, he wanted to look at the beloved face again…just for a brief moment…for the last time….
"Princess, where are you?!" he cried as loud as his lungs could let him. "Please, give me a sign! I have to see you! I beg you, answer me!"
There was no echo as if everything he had just said was devoured by the darkness.
The young man fell on his knees helplessly.
"Sakuno… don't leave me here…"
OooooO
King Nanjirou sprang to his heir's side immediately when he heard someone's weak mumbling in the room. The ruler was so relieved to see that his son showed some signs of life for the first time during all that time. It had been almost 3 weeks since that tragic day when Prince Ryoma just lost his conscious and fell into a deep and unawakening slumber. The King didn't know what was in his power to help the Prince. He was absolutely helpless. His father's heart was tearing apart every time he looked at a pale and exhausted face that belonged to his only heir. Queen Rinko forgot about her sleep. She was there, sitting by her son's side and pressing his cool hand to her cheek.
And it finally happened. They heard him mumbling something in his sleep, like he was calling for someone. King Nanjirou bent closer to Ryoma's face and heard the boy's weak moaning.
"Princess,…don't leave me…just let me see you for the last time. I need you so much, Sakuno… where are you?"
Queen Rinko looked up at her husband with teary eyes.
"Anata, he calls for her."
The man nodded thoughtfully. After hearing those Ryoma's words, King Nanjirou got scared, so scared like he had never been before in his whole life. His son was asking Princess Sakuno to let him see her again…for the last time. The last words caused the ruler's chest tightened in fear. What did his son mean by saying that? Did he just say that he was going to die?
The ruler clenched his hair in a fist powerlessly and growled.
"What should I do, Rinko? Our child is on the edge of dying and we can't do anything to prevent this tragedy!"
The mahogany-haired woman laid her gaze on her son's sleeping face and placed her warm motherly hand on his forehead.
"The only thing we can do for him now is to do what he is asking for," she said softly.
The man's eyes widened in a total surprise.
"But how? That old hag will kill us if we show up in her Kingdom!"
"Nanjirou," Queen Rinko said firmly looking in her husband's eyes with determination "if something terrible happens to Ryoma, you will never forgive yourself for not granting his last wish. How can't you understand?! We are losing him. I refuse to think that he may pass away, but look at him now. Every breath my son takes brings him closer to the end." The royal woman began crying uncontrollably while saying those words. "At least I want him to get what he wishes for with all his heart and soul, even if it means to risk our lives while doing so."
The King sat on the edge of his heir's bed and took him by the hand. It was cool and unresponsive. The man sighed heavily and uttered:
"You are right, my dear Rinko. This is the only thing I can offer him in this situation. I hope it will help soothing his poor soul."
OooooO
And the royal girl of Ryuuzaki Kingdom had similar dreams. She couldn't find her beloved Prince and it made her lose any hope. She was crying, sitting in a cold corridor and surrounded by a total darkness. She was calling for him but never got a reply.
"Please, Ryoma Ouji-sama, save me from this loneliness! I can't bear it anymore. I need you so much! Where are you?"
But it was useless; there was nobody to come and take her out of that horrifying place.
Queen Sumire heard her granddaughter's incoherent mumblings. The girl was calling for that scion of Echizen's. No, she would never let her beloved granddaughter see that brat again. If not for his interference into their wonderful and happy lives, everything would have been alright by now. But no, he just had to show up and mess everything, not mentioning, made the poor girl fall in love with him.
"I, Sumire, will never let him come into your life again, Sakuno. It's his entire fault you are like this!" she hissed through gritted teeth. Then she took a tiny hand in hers and placed a soft kiss on the heiress's forehead. "I will protect you from everything, my dear child."
But Sakuno was still waiting for her Prince and kept on calling his name in her deep slumber.
OooooO
2 days later a royal carriage approached the Ryuuzaki Kingdom. There were no soldiers with it, only a few personal guards. When Queen Sumire recognized the newcomer, she cried in fury.
"If you are not bored of living, Nanjirou, I advise you to leave my lands, or else I will punish you for intruding!"
King Nanjirou stepped forward with a serious expression.
"I have no time for you, baba. I came with peace. My son needs to see your granddaughter."
The old woman smirked indifferently.
"Better tell your ill-behaved scion to stay away from Princess Sakuno. I'm warning you, Echizen, I will not consider that it's your son we're talking about. He brought so many troubles to my granddaughter and I will never forgive him for what he had done! I knew from the very beginning, that nothing will be alright if they meet. So, tell your son to forget about Sakuno and leave her alone!"
The ruler of the Echizen Kingdom sighed helplessly. He was sure that there wouldn't be any result talking to that stubborn old woman.
"My son is on the edge of dying, Ryuuzaki. He lost his conscious 3 weeks ago and never opened his eyes since then. But a couple of days ago he started talking in his sleep and he kept on asking to see your granddaughter. I'm not a kamikaze, baba, I know that you hate me for some stupid reason, and I would have never come to you on my own will, but I did it because this is the only thing I can do for my son now. I brought him here so that he could have a chance to feel the girl's presence and sooth his tired heart."
The elder ruler threw a suspicious glance at the man. Oh yes, she hated him and his irresponsibility! Many years ago his great-grandfather stole a good part of the lands that belonged to Ryuuzaki Kingdom by winning a card game against her grandfather. They put a dark stain on the Ryuuzakis' history and that's why Queen Sumire couldn't forgive the Echizens' dynasty. So she didn't care what happened to that sly brat, a so called heir of Nanjiro's. Though, she had to admit that those symptoms were very similar to those that Sakuno had.
The auburn-haired ruler shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked at an unexpected guest with arrogance.
"I'm not touched by your fairytales, Nanjirou. I'm sure you are planning to do something foolish again. I will never allow you or your son to come near Sakuno! If you don't leave my lands in 5 minutes, I will attack you!"
The King's eyes sparkled with willpower. He made several confident steps towards the Queen and said fearlessly:
"I will not move from this spot until you let Ryoma see Princess Sakuno. I'm not kidding, baba. I have nothing to lose. I've promised my child to take him to his beloved and I will grant his wish no matter what!"
"Then," hissed the Queen wrathfully, "I have nothing left but to execute you right here!"
"Try," answered King Nanjirou calmly, taking the sword in his left hand, ready to defend himself. "Yukimura, Sanada, Kirihara, you three protect Prince Ryoma!" he ordered to his elite personal guards.
"Till the last drop of our blood, Your Majesty!" they cried in union and covered the carriage with their chests, long swords already in their hands.
A wry insincere smirk crossed the old woman's lips as she raised her hand and proclaimed:
"Eliminate them!"
After hearing that last, a huge crowd of armored soldiers, led by 8 generals, rushed forward to attack the enemy. And when King Nanjirou was about to block the first blow of Syuusuke's sword, the place glowed with a bright golden light. It was so bright that everyone had to shut their eyes in order to save their eyesight.
A second later people heard a maiden's melodic voice.
"Stop immediately!"
The ruler of the Echizen Kingdom was the first one who opened his eyes and looked at the newcomer. It was the fairy, the one who told him that his son would find his happiness after meeting his destined soul mate.
"Lady Fairy!" he uttered and bowed to her, showing his deep respect.
"Queen Sumire, I'm very disappointed with your attitude towards your own granddaughter and her beloved," said the fairy in a lecturing tone. "I could never think that you would prefer your only heiress's death to her happiness."
"Lady Fairy, how can you say that!" cried the old ruler putting her hand on her heart. "I did it because I want Sakuno to be happy! I have never wished for the tragedy that happened to her because of Echzen's scion!"
The fairy's eyes flamed with disapproval.
"The place where she will be happy is by Prince Ryoma's side, Queen Sumire. I believe I told you this 17 years ago. They belong to each other. It's their fate. They would have never fall in love with each other if it wasn't like that. But you," the maiden's light eyebrows knotted, "you decided to break their connection with your irresponsible actions."
The Queen winced when she was compared with an irresponsible person. She had always thought of such about the Echizens, but now, when she was called the same word she had always called Nanjirou, she understood how painful it was.
"Your stubbornness caused these two young people to suffer from misery. They missed each other so much that it reflected on their health condition. Poor children are on the edge of dying, and it's all because you prohibited them to meet each other and declared a war between your Kingdoms!"
Kings Nanjirou's eyes widened in surprise.
"Does it mean that Princess Sakuno is dying too?"
The fairy nodded sadly.
"Yes, unfortunately, she is as bad as your heir, King Nanjirou."
"Please, dear Fairy, tell me, what I can do to save my Sakuno!?" the auburn-haired woman begged the young maiden with teary eyes.
"You have done enough already by starting this battle," and the fairy threw a glance at the present scene.
"But I did it only to protect Sakuno's happiness!" the ruler started to cry uncontrollably. "I've never wished it would turn out like this!"
"And when I came to you not as a King, but a s a parent with a request to help my son, you just ignored it and attacked us, though there are only 5 of us against your army," added Echizen. He was suffering too, but tried not to show it to the others. He was a man after all.
"I have already told you, baka Nanjirou, that I was doing it to protect my granddaughter from any harm!" growled the elder woman through her sobbing, sending the man an irritated gaze.
"Enough!" ordered the golden-haired maiden.
"Please, Lady Fairy, tell us, is there a chance to save our children?" the King turned and looked at her with hope, though there was a hurt expression in his dark eyes.
"I don't know," she answered vulnerably. "I can't tell for sure if they will make it or not. They haven't eaten for 3 weeks and their souls are still divided. Poor children are in such a weakened state right now."
"Just tell us, what we have to do to help them?" demanded Nanjirou.
"Alright. Do what I'm telling you and don't try to spoil everything again, Queen Sumire."
The older ruler nodded obediently.
"You have to lay both heirs on one bed and make them hold their hands. If we don't receive the result in three days, you should prepare for the worst. So, during these three days you have to prepare everything for the wedding ceremony and for the funeral. I hope you both understand the seriousness of the situation. If Prince Ryoma and Princess Sakuno wake up, you must make them walk down the aisle instantly. They are soul mates and are destined to be together. You have no rights to destroy their feelings to each other. But if they never open their eyes again after these three days, you have to bury them together at the same tomb."
"I will do everything you said, Lady Fairy," the King bowed with gratitude and looked at the mean Queen Sumire.
She sent him a faithless gaze and nodded.
"I'm ready to accept it if it brings my granddaughter back to life."
"Then, we can't lose a minute! Take Prince Ryoma to Princess Sakuno's bedroom immediately!"
And everyone rushed to fulfill that order.
OooooO
A/N Yes, this is the end of the 1st part of the 7th chapter ^^ Yes, I'm a very smart and sly person ^o^ I divided the last chapter into two parts.
I hope you liked this part. I will try to finish the fic asap. I'm planning to start writing the last episode today, so if everything will be alright, I will update the end of the story in few days. Believe in me, guys! And don't forget to push that green button below the text!
With love,
Kit2000