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Fearful
Moon Kitty 2005
Chapter Eight (Begging & Pleading)
April 16th, 2008
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Retasu didn't know where she was being pulled, but all she knew was that her heart was pounding in excitement. Never before had something like this happened to her. She wondered if it was because of the aspect that she didn't know what was happening, or because the most handsome boy she had ever seen was holding her hand. And not only that, the Prince.
That wasn't her main concern right now, however, she had to remind herself. This was about finding help for the three of them. Luckily, they hid around the corner of an abandoned house, the golden-haired boy peeking around the corner until the castle guards had passed them up.
"Where did you get that pendant from?" he demanded harshly, turning so his aquamarine eyes pierced into her emerald ones.
"I-I found it on the bank of a small lake in the middle of the forest. You see, me and my friends are traveling-"
He cut her off. "I command you as Prince of this kingdom to give it back to me. Not only is it thievery, but it's a family heirloom. This could be considered treason in our kingdom."
Retasu shook her head, clasping the pendant even tighter against her body. "You need to let me explain. I'm not giving this back until you hear what I have to say. My friends & I escaped from another castle. We're servants, but we were treated extremely harsh. My friend got bitten by a wild wolf, and her bite is infected. She has a very high fever and she might die. Not to mention that my other friend & I are exhausted from starvation and our feet are tired and blistered. We need help. Please help us. If you do, I'll give this back."
He stared at her for a few moments, his eyes boring into hers. Slowly, a small cocky smirk made its way onto his face. "You do know that as the heir of the throne of this kingdom, I could easily have you arrested and thrown into the dungeons."
Retasu looked down at her knees as tears began to rise to her eyes. "Yes, I'm quite aware of that. But I hope that you'll help us from the goodness of your heart. I have nothing left to offer. And if you don't help us, it's very likely that all three of us will die."
Ryou didn't know what it was, but something about this girl was tugging at his heartstrings. When he saw the tiny tears gather in the corner of her eyes, he felt like doing something to erase their presence. He normally wasn't a very gentle person, and was known to be a rather cold and callous person.
But he couldn't place his finger on it. There was something…
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Ryou ran into his bedroom, crossing his arms indignantly as he tried valiantly to ignore the presence of his mother. She smiled slightly and placed herself on the edge of the bed, and even Ryou could see from the corner of his small eye that her lip was quivering. She was trying so hard from letting him see the tears that were threatening to come out.
"Ryou, I don't know where you got this temperament from. Neither your father nor I have it… maybe one day you'll grow out of it. But if you don't, I assure you, there will be someone who comes along and melts the ice from around your heart. And when that special somebody does, you'll finally know the true meaning of being alive."
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He vaguely wondered why something like that had popped into his memory at a time like this. Unless… his mom was right, and this was the person who was supposed to do something about the "ice around his heart"?
At the time, Ryou had had no idea what his mom had meant, and he hadn't wanted to understand. But now, looking at this girl with her head in her knees, small sobs racking her body, all he knew was that he wanted to comfort her… and the feeling was extremely foreign to him.
His first instinct was to push it away and act as if nothing had happened, as if he had never seen the pendant, as if he had never exchanged words with her. But he had to get it back. It was an heirloom that had been in the family for generations.
With a prolonged sigh, he rose to his feet, wiping his brow. "All right, all right. Shut up already. I'll have the castle's doctor take a look at her. Where is she?"
Retasu rose to her feet as a small smile made its way to her face. Of course, she was still scared of this Prince. He didn't seem to have a temperament too much different from the Princess. But it was very likely that he was much more compassionate.
She nodded and began the trek back to the location of her two friends, hoping that their conditions hadn't changed for the worse.
When they arrived at the site of their friends, Keiichiro was conscious, but barely. Apparently the lack of food, sleep, and water had gotten to him. "Retasu? Did you manage to find someone?"
"Yeah, I did. Don't worry. He's going to help us."
He smiled, shaking before passing into unconsciousness.
Ryou leaned down to look at the two. "Well, you're right. Your friends are in pretty bad shape. Give me the pendant and I'll go back to the castle to get help." He extended his hand and looked up at the emerald-haired girl.
She clutched the jewelry to her chest. "I'm sorry, but I told you, I'm not going to give you this back until they're treated. If it's so important to you, bring your soldiers here and have them take us to the castle." She was determined to have him help them. She knew how people were about their word, that most were just take, take, take. It was using up all the remaining strength she had to keep from fainting. She had reached her breaking point, as well.
She noticed the look in his eyes, and knew that he knew she was about to give in to her tiredness.
He sighed and ran a hand over his eyes. "I know you're exhausted. Just… lay down and go to sleep. I'll go get my men and come back to get you three. Then I'll take you to the castle."
"How do I know that you're not just going to wait until I'm asleep, take the pendant, and leave us here to die?"
He smirked. "Usually, a prince keeps his word to a damsel in distress."
She blushed slightly and looked down quickly to avoid his laughing eyes. "Fine. I do need to sit down…" Lowering herself slowly to the ground, she reached over and felt Minto's forehead. "Hang on. Help's coming." With a frown, she slowly slumped forward into unconsciousness herself.
Noting the way she had felt her feverish friend's forehead and the care and loving that had been in her voice, Ryou knew that he couldn't just leave them there to die. With a shrug and a sigh, he began the walk back to the kingdom gates to fetch a few guards.
This is going to be interesting, he thought.
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Authoress Notes
I hope it's not too boring. I feel like I'm starting to lose my pizzazz as a writer. I'm trying to finish this story as soon as possible, but work and school keep me so busy. Hope you enjoyed. Review!
