Special Note to TQ57:
If you thought the last chapter was sad, this is sadder. =D
Don't worry, it's not Xing-ke in the shadows, my dear.
Just some cowardly general.
Thank you again for the review. :heart:
Special Note to MaxNight:
I know, I'm too cruel on Yuu sometimes.
But it'll make him a better person in the long run!
I hope.
Annnd, I took your idea into mind.
Can you guess who the voice is? ;D
Having blacked out from the miserable pain, Yuu awoke to a cold steel floor underneath him. His vision was blurry for a moment as he tried to remember what exactly happened. A pathetic smile eased onto his face after his memory returned to him.
"Just great…" Yuu muttered as he forced himself up onto his knees. His arms remained tied behind his back, but at least his legs were free now. Crawling over to the wall, he relaxed up against it with a pitiable sigh.
His sigh was only followed by a useless smile. "Who would of thought it… I actually stood up for something in my cowardly life…" Yuu's laugh was weak as his winced from the pain shuttering throughout his frail body. "A messenger boy standing up for a devil princess…"
"I wonder if this is how it'll end. Dying alone in this vile cell." Surprisingly, he wasn't that concerned. More over, he found his thoughts wandering back to the Empress. "Kallen better not fail… If I die protecting that brat, she better be thankful for it."
Yuu had never felt so alone.
'Are you really giving up that easily?' A voice he couldn't place appeared in his mind.
"Oh lovely... Now I'm hallucinating..." Yuu muttered as he shook his head.
'You're giving yourself too much credit.' Her voice was like a ghost in his mind.
"What are you talking about?" He couldn't believe he was actually talking back to the imaginary voice.
'You won't die. Not yet. You still have many years ahead of you.' The muse gave him a slight hope. Despite his futile feature.
The broken man didn't get a chance to ask anything else. He knew the woman in his mind had gone.
Worse yet, someone was coming for him.
Loud footsteps echoed through the hall as Yuu realized his fate was just moments away. Despite his best efforts, the tears still began to swell up in his eyes. He brought his knees to his chest, burying his forehead in them. "Not fair…" He mumbled weakly.
When they reached him, he didn't bother looking at them. But to his surprise, the words out of their mouth made him speechless. "We're releasing you."
"What?" It felt like the air was escaping his lungs.
"We've reached a compromise with Zero." The man yanked Yuu to his feet, causing him to almost fall back down from his weak knees. He was forced from the cell, stumbling over his tired feet. Yuu's mind was baffled, racing every which way.
Was the woman in his mind actually real?
Zero stood a mere twenty feet away, the familiar figure of the Empress behind him. Her eyes were shocked when she saw the reality of what had happened to Yuu.
"As promised. The Empress for the boy." Zero nodded.
Nothing was making sense.
"How could you?" Yuu burst out, almost in anger. "You went through all that trouble to kidnap her! I went through the beating of protecting her! Now you're just going to give in and hand her over like that?"
"Yes." Was his simple answer.
Yuu found himself disgusted with his so-called leader.
"Please, Yuu…" Her soft voice calmed his raging hate though. "I requested this of lord Zero."
Yuu felt his heart sinking as she approached him. The man holding his arm let him go and he quickly fell to his knees. Her delicate arms reached out around him as his forehead lay on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, my Empress… I couldn't protect you after all…" His voice cracked under the pressure of his failure.
"That's not true…" Tianzi whispered in his ear. "Yuu gave me a chance at a normal life..."
He had never thought he'd cry for the Empress. But the tears stung as they fell from his eyes.
"We'll see each other again someday…" She tried her best to smile, despite her own weeping.
"I'll come for you. I promise… I'll come for you again." He muttered.
"I'll be waiting, Yuu-san." With that, she reluctantly let him go. Leaving his side to be by the place of her solitude.
Self loathing filled his empty heart.
