Rising tensions

"What do you know when you know me?
Don't file me under categories,

You're deceived
You don't know me
I'm not only a surface, a country..."

Double Agent by Amanda Marshall


"Halle, darling," Takada called the brown haired beauty to her.

It was evening at the castle. Light had still not returned, but he was spending more and more time away from his family. Takada smirked. Light didn't enjoy being around his family anymore. That was better for her. If he disliked his family, then maybe, once she had won him back, he would be more willing to make a new family with her.

Takada did not relish the idea of having sex with Light. She was not sexually attracted to him, or any other man. But she did want everything else Light could offer; his intelligence, wealth and prestige.

But for now, she focused her gaze on the former nanny of Sayu.

"Darling, why don't you return to your village?" asked the advisor, her voice drawling with false sympathy.

"I cannot," responded Halle, sounding very morose, "how can I return? It's humiliating. The princess is gone, I did not do my job properly. Please," the nanny grasped Takada's silk robes, "please let me stay a little longer. The Princess may return and I want to be here when she does!"

Takada prised Halle's hands off her expensive clothing, noting how fair the nanny's skin was, before brushing her robes down as if Halle had somehow tainted her. "Of course you can stay a little longer," she smiled in an oily manner, "you have been very good and very loyal to the Royal Family."

Takada leaned forward and pressed a kiss on the pretty brunette's head before sweeping away, her oriental gowns floating slightly.

When the advisor was gone, Halle scowled and allowed herself to shudder as she rubbed away the feeling of the kiss on her head. Halle did not like Takada and she certainly did not trust her.

She leapt up and went immediately to her room, which was in one of the tower attics.

It was very small and exceedingly humble, with a single bed complete with one blanket and one pillow (given to her by Sayu) and a handful of candles to use as warmth and light. She also had, underneath one of her floorboards, some writing equipment. Getting out the parchment and ink and quill, she began to write a detailed summary before calling over her Hawk.

But just as the bird arrived, the door opened of her little room, and in came Takada, all her silks floating about her. "My dear, what is this you are doing?" the advisor swept up to the poor nanny and pulled her from grasp the detailed summary of what had been happening to the kingdom.

"I am relating news of the land in general to my family back home," answered the nanny, her voice not betraying how frightened she felt.

Takada smirked. "I think it will be best for the King to see this. While he is reading, I will have you bathed, special attention being held on your hair." Takada leaned down and began rubbing one of Halle's locks, "it's not really brown is it?" she sneered, "not like mine. Your hair is pale; pale like the northern elvin monsters you have been selling our secrets to."

"That's not true!" gasped the nanny, "I have not been treacherous! I care for Sayu! I do! I want her back! My people did not take her away, it's lies!"

But the nanny was ignored as Takada swept away smirking, leaving the woman behind her to be manhandled out of her room and into a large bath by huge, hulking guards under her command.

xxXXxx

The north was considered a desolate wasteland to all who did not live there. It was cold and constantly covered in snow or frost. Nothing ever grew there. Only the strongest survived in the harsh conditions.

But, to those who did live there, the north was also a land full of magic and of love.

The people worked together. There were few living souls, and little resources, so they had to pull together and work hard to survive.

They were blessed for their goodwill, not with food or an easy life, but with the beautiful sights only they received, the main sight being the Northern Lights, a time when the sky would sing to them and them alone.

That is why the people of the North worshipped the sky; they believed that the goddess lived up there and that she was slim and fair (like them) but had slim wings, like an insect.

Their goddess looked like how the southerners believed the fairies looked.

And from there came the somewhat strange belief that the northern people themselves were fairies or elves, when they weren't. The northern peoples were humans, exactly the same as the southerners. The physical differences between the nations were superficial at best.

But none of the nations on either side were aware of how similar they really were, because no one had bothered to really find out.

The one exception, of course, was Halle, who was raised in the court of the Northern Kings, and had known King Mello growing up. At the age of fourteen she had travelled down to the south to work as a spy. She did nothing malicious, she was not sent to cause trouble or to sell any secrets. She simply was there to report on the happenings on the people so that the northern nations, small tribes, would never be caught unaware should the far more powerful southern tribes decide to attack.

In her time in the south, Halle had become the nursemaid to an infant princess. This princess was the opposite of what Halle had known before. Sayu was dark skinned, with black hair and inky dark eyes and Halle had instantly been entranced by her. Halle had been honest in her dedication of protecting and raising Sayu, and had been genuinely horrified when her darling girl had gone missing. Halle was Sayu's surrogate mother, older sister, best friend and teacher. Even though she had been an outsider, an immigrant to their land, she had cared more about their Princess than anyone else, including those who had been born there.

As they scrubbed away the brown dye and revealed her blonde hair, she wept bitter tears. She had never betrayed them, not really, but now she felt that they had betrayed her. She sent a quiet prayer to her fairy goddess and waited to hear her fate.

xxXXxx

Mello's castle was small and made of rock. He stood on one of his battlements and stared out towards the south. It was not snowing, but raining, meaning some of the snow would melt away (which was good and useful) but eventually the rain would freeze and the land would be covered in ice (which was decidedly not useful).

He could hear quiet tapping on the flagstones behind him, and recognised the steps.

"What is it, Near?" he said, without turning around.

His younger brother sidled up next to him and shivered. Near was prone to illness and did not do well in the cold. It was a weakness that Mello both sneered and at and worried about, the relationship between the brothers being a strange mix of competition, vexation, loyalty and love.

"There has been no word from Halle your informant," Near said in a monotone voice. "There is every reason to be concerned. The prejudice against our people is being whipped up in the south."

Mello narrowed his eyes, "they're all idiots down there. They should not blame us because they cannot keep members of their own house safe. Matt will go down to the southerners, and we shall try and come to an agreement."

"You will not go down also?"

"You know that I cannot," barked the blonde older brother, he glanced at his sibling, "you know that I am not as controlled as Matt. You just like to hear me say my shortcoming out loud."

"And you like to see mine," answered Near quickly.

They stopped bickering and stood close to one another, sharing each other's body heat.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," said Near, after a few minutes of silence. "Matt is a very good man and the southerners have not made war in generations. The family who rule down there are known for being intelligent and kind. The prejudice spreading amongst their people right now may merely be a knee jerk reaction, and when Matt goes down and talks to them, they may settle back down."

After a moment's thought he reached out and tapped his brother's arm with something like fondness before walking back in to the warm safety of the castle.

Matt himself was finishing off writing some records when Near tip tapped quietly into his room.

Matt grinned, he had never really had any feelings of dislike towards near, and really the only reason Mello gave him a hard time was because Near had the audacity to be more intelligent than Mello could ever hope to be.

The small dark eyed boy walked over to Matt's bed and sat down on the end of it without being asked. He twiddled a lock of white hair as he analysed the room he had seen a thousand times already.

"How are you prince Near?" Matt asked jovially enough, not too concerned whether he got an answer or not. Both Near and Mello were extremely weird individuals, sometimes they would both come and sit in his room, not speak at all, and then, in time, leave.

It took a few years but eventually Matt worked out that he seemed to be a calming force on the boys. They would come and sit in his room, listening to him scratching away at a piece of parchment with a quill, and relax in the low ambience and relative quiet.

Matt, for whatever reason, was their rock in a sea of complex emotions and high strung anxiety.

"I am concerned about your trip to the southlands," said the albino child.

Matt rolled up his parchment neatly and settled it into a tube, "I'll be fine," he answered, "King Soichiro has a reputation of being a decent character. I'm sure everything will be alright."

"I told Mello that all would be well, but I lied. The fairies and elves are frightened. They are hidden away. They say they know where the princess is, they say she is safe, that Halle had made sure of it."

Matt turned to face the small prince. "Have you been talking to them again?" he asked, his voice urgent and suddenly serious, "you have to be careful with those creatures, you know what they are like."

"They cannot trick me. They are frightened. They are trying to get the royal family of the south to see sense, but they are failing. They are saying that there is an impending doom."

Matt wanted to hug the boy and to sooth his fears, but he knew that Near was hyper sensitive and would not gain any comfort form a hug. So instead he asked, "what would you have us all do? Mello will go to war, you know he will. You cannot reason for us and neither can he, neither of you have the social graces that put the likes of the Yagami's at ease." He paused but Near did not answer, rather the boy stared obstinately at the wall. Matt sighed, feeling a bit of frustration, "Mello will act too rashly, and you would have us sit here and wait to be attacked. Trust me," he smiled at the white haired boy, "reasoning with them is the best way to go. We may even get Halle back safe and sound. I will leave tomorrow and be back within three days, maximum. I promise."

He gave Near a quick wink and bounded out of the room to go look for his king. Left alone Near quietly complained, "you shouldn't make promises you cannot definitely keep."

xxXXxx

That night Matt stayed in the King's chambers. Mello was fast asleep, face down in the warm furs and wool. The northerners did not have materials like silk and lace. Such materials would have been useless for them anyway there land being as cold as it was and they were not accustomed to comfort. Mello was shirtless, and Matt was trailing his hand up and down the pale man's spine. There had never been a time when they had not known one another. They had been born on the same day, and had been playmates from the start, their parents even allowing them to share the same cot at times.

Matt was a very different person to Mello and even from Near. Matt was calm and reasonable, he was also fond of music, laughter, loud noises, bright colours and excitement. Mello and Near shied away from such things. Matt enjoyed drinking too much and having sex. Near and Mello avoided alcohol at all costs, and Near could barely stand to be touched, never mind being intimate. Near was still a virgin, despite being old enough to be married. Mello was not so against sex, as their coupling tonight had proven, but he rarely wanted it and only did it with Matt.

Matt being Mello's favourite thing in the entire universe.

Matt cared very much for both of the brothers. He was aware that going into the south, when feelings were running high and people were stressed, was naturally dangerous, but he couldn't hang back and wait for them to be slaughtered. The northerners had a reputation of being brutal warriors, but nothing could have been further from the truth. They were only a collective of small tribes, run and organised by a temperamental child king (because Mello was in many senses, still really just a child.)

The southerners outnumbered them a hundred to one and so they could not take the risk of being invaded.

The red head pressed a kiss to the back of Mello's soft neck and pulled the covers up around them before snuggling up to his lover and relishing the precious time they would have left.

xxXXxx

The following dawn of the southlands was a deep shade of red. It's light spilt out on the snowy land, bathing it in the shade of blood.

Halle, nursemaid of the missing Princess Sayu was dragged out of her cell, her shamefully blonde hair left out for all to see, and taken to the place of public execution.

People crowded into the square in horror.

Halle's treachery had been spread like wildfire thanks to the gossip mongering of the guards under Takada's rule and the locals who hadn't enough to do with their lives.

Takada smirked, watching the people of her land gawping stupidly at the weeping fair headed woman. The letter Halle had been trying to send her King was full of nonsense, no better than a dull newspaper report. She had destroyed it in frustration and written her own version, mimicking Halle's handwriting and signature before handing it to the King.

'My Dear Alfar,'

It had read;

'The Princess has finally been disposed off. Our God, The Fairy King Freyr, will be most grateful at the sacrifice of the Princess.

The dark eyed fools will never know what has transpired, especially their foolish King and blind Princes.

I shall see you soon, My Alfar.

Praise to Freyr!'

It had been ridiculous to writer, and Takada had snickered a number of times thinking about the stupid things the northerners supposedly believed in.

Soichiro had been furious and demanded her to be locked up. The letter and her hiding of her blonde hair were proof enough that she was a liar. Soichiro had not granted her execution, but Takada knew that Light was due home any day now, after traversing about with his idiot soldiers (did he consider them friends now, why was he spending so much time with them?) and on arrival would no doubt try and convince everyone that Halle should not be killed.

The people were scared and angry. She had to strike while the iron was hot. So she had ordered the death of Halle to be this morning, she would come up with her excuses to the King later.

The drums began to play as the nursemaid, her face stony and resolute, was made to kneel and her head put on a block. Long blond hair was tied into a bun as to not interfere with the axe.

The crowd were silent.

The rumble of the drums suddenly stopped, and Halle clenched her eyes shut as the axe fell down upon her neck, severing it instantly and sparing her any prolonged pain.

The audience screamed and gasped and fell back as dark red blood spewed across the stage and onto their feet.

Takada smiled and sipped her wine.

As far as she was concerned, the whole nightmare was over. Sayu was gone; someone had been blamed, and now punished. Hopefully everyone now could get over it and move on. The Princes would be married, Mikami to Misa and she to Light (who no doubt would be betrothed to her by a grateful King and Queen) and her place would be secured.

Of course what she did not know was that a messenger from the north would arrive in a couple of hours, and that things were only going to get more complicated.


A/N- Any predictions for the future? What do you all think of Takada and her scheming? And was everyone happy with the way Near was portrayed, there wasn't much Mello is this (I apologise to fans) but I hope I did Near and Matt some justice (I find them difficult to write because Matt is not seen very often in cannon, and it's very hard to get into Nears head.)