Secrets of Avalon
Authors' Note: Thanks for the reviews. We hope that you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 9
Hinata was amazed that somehow she was walking back to her chambers without stumbling. "That went better than expected." Neji was escorting her back to her room after the feast. The feast where King Hiashi had informed everyone that he had accepted Hinata as his daughter and she was now a princess!
"You withstood your introduction admirably, Princess." Neji watches her carefully to be sure that her balance does not fail her. "I could see that the king was most pleased by your grace." The girls had managed not to faint, not that Neji would have blame her, she was rather young to be suddenly introduced to the court without growing up within its confines.
"I hope so." She smiles. "I'm fortunate to have the both of you in my life." Though there had been one pair of eyes that she hadn't seen at the introduction. Eyes that she missed. "I don't know what I would have done without you and father." Dark ones. Darker than a starless sky. Eyes that a certain elf would do well to hide within the walls of Aelithya.
"I'm sure that you would have tried your best." Neji had rarely seen a woman as dedicated to succeeding as Hinata. Most women just…expected that they would succeed, and took steps in order to make that happen. But Hinata…she had so much life, and she threw herself into everything she did. She was a breath of fresh air within the palace.
She nods and pauses. "Is there really no way to advert this war?" Hinata knew that Sasuke was likely to wind up in the middle of it and many of her people were bound to die needlessly.
Neji's expression darkens. "I do not know. Perhaps now that the king has both you and I close to him, he might calm somewhat. But that does not change the fact that Thiral and the Uchiha are a power to be feared. Their alliances with the wild tribes run deep. Their queen came from the wilds, as did a member of the second prince's personal guard. That same prince has friends among the wild elves, and his elder brother carried their blood. It is…a tenuous situation."
"They've had ties with the wild tribes for years and never used them to attack us before?" Why was her father so anxious about an attack now then? "Maybe, we can talk him out of it." It was a long shot, but their best hope.
Neji smiles sadly. "You are young, and there is much for you to learn of politics and war. I fear that any reasons you could give have already been given and debated in the war council." He himself had once tried to dissuade the king, but to no avail, and he had not tried again since.
Hinata sighs and looks at him. "Well we still should try. People are going to die." A lot of them most likely.
"Yes…many people are going to die…" Neji knew that there would be many casualties when the army marched to Sindaron. The plan was, apparently, to raze the city to the ground and have the Uchiha executed. "With any luck, our own troops won't suffer too heavily."
"I'll try. I might not convince him, but I have to at least try." She shakes her head. "It's a beautiful world. It doesn't need to be torn asunder over an unnecessary conflict."
Not that Neji disagreed, but he wondered where Hinata had had time to formulate that opinion. "…Why do you believe it is unnecessary?"
"They've had all the time in the world to attack us and they haven't. Surely, we would have seen signs of them preparing to march on us, if they were going to." Maybe, Neji could be persuaded.
"Perhaps, but we would never see them coming in any case. They know the forests best, they could hide an entire army until it was right on our doorstep. And they're more than capable of it." He knew that through the reports on their mages, what their own spies could gather. "What we do know is that their army IS preparing for war. We sent out several spies…only one returned alive."
"That doesn't necessarily mean they are preparing for war though." Hinata pauses as if trying to figure out how to word this properly. "We'd probably kill any spies we found too?"
"Yes, we would. But we do know for a fact that their warriors are on the move, and they have scouting parties coming and going regularly through the forests. Their mages are also practicing powerful magic, our spies can feel it in the air whenever they cross the border." Neji had felt it himself, once, and whoever's magic he felt…it was far stronger than his own.
Oh well that didn't sound good. "Is it possible they saw the wild tribes outside our city and are gearing up because of that?" An arms race might have been started and Hinata didn't know how to end it.
…Gearing up? Neji shakes his head. "Perhaps, but things are only growing more tense. One wrong move, and this situation will erupt at a moment's notice. We must measure out every move very carefully. If their mages sense anything amiss, they could rally and march on us, and if they recruit wild tribes of their own, our city could be in imminent danger of destruction." At least, that is what their king believed.
"I see. Well you have given me much to think on." Hinata sighs heavily. "Good night, cousin."
"Yes…I'm sure." Neji hadn't wanted to trouble Hinata with such things, but the girl was bright and inquisitive. She would likely find things out one way or another. "Should violence erupt, I ask you that if you see any warriors of Thiral, or gods forbid their mages, that you run as fast as you can in any direction away from them."
She nods in understanding. "Don't worry, I don't plan on fighting." Hinata pauses and smiles at him. "If it comes down to it though, you taught me how to use a knife."
"Then remember that if you must fight, aim for the heart, the throat, or the eyes." They were quick ways to kill someone, if rather bloody. But now was not the time for softness. Neji touches her shoulder lightly, before retreating from her bedroom door.
She sighs as she shuts the door behind her. "And I thought high school was brutal." Her cousin had just given her advice on how to kill people. That was disturbing. "I'll wait a few moments and then head off to see him." To see Sasuke.
Dark eyes look towards the orchard. This was the third time he'd snuck out around the full moon. His parents were starting to accept that he liked hunting at this time of the month. Even if it wasn't hunting that he was most interested in. No, he was anxious to see Hinata again.
This time, though, he was a little more cautious. He had his hair and eye color concealed with a spell, his hair a dark brown, and his eyes a light, icy blue. No one should recognize him in passing. It had even surprised Itachi when he showed it to him. He did need a second opinion, after all.
Hinata soon makes her way back to the orchard. "Konoha High?" She knew that saying his name was a risk. No one else would understand the significance behind her high school's name though. Only Sasuke. And it was only him who appeared on a branch above her, a spell of concealment lifting in an instant. "Is it really you?" What a difference color made, she muses. This elf had icy blue eyes and brown hair. Dark brown, but it was still quite the stunning transformation.
"Hinata." Sasuke drops from his tree, smiling as he lands next to her. "How are you?" She was safe, that was good. And she looked well looked after. Though he wished so much that he could just spirit her away to his home.
"It is you." She sighs in relief. "I'm personally doing wonderfully, but this war is coming and closer." Hinata glances at him warily. "And I don't know how to stop it."
"I know…" Sasuke sighs sadly. "If I could stop it, I would. But what is one 'kid' supposed to do to get a king to listen to him?" He couldn't imagine Hiashi ever granting him an audience so that he could explain things. His only consolation was that their mages were active and ready after recovering from the songs of spring that wove magic into the forest to help it grow. They would be protected, at least for a while.
Hinata nods in understanding. "I feel the same way." The bluenette decides to focus on something positive. "I know how to handle knives now."
"Is that so?" Sasuke's mood lightens in an instant as he smiles. "Good. I'm sure that you'll be as fierce a warrior as Mother in no time."
"Mhm." Hinata nods again as if to confirm her sincerity. "My cousin seems to think that I am making great progress in handling them." She tilts her head to the side as if considering something. "Apparently, being 'houseless' is almost unthinkable. I was adopted."
"I see, that's good." Well, not really, but as long as someone was taking care of her, that was fine with Sasuke. "Your cousin? Are they treating you well, or are they treating you like a child to be humored?" Sasuke had been through that enough, and he didn't wish it on her.
She smiles at him. "Well a bit of both really." Hinata laughs as she remembers Neji telling her that he was over fifty. "My cousin looks the same age as us, but he's been studying magic for almost fifty years." Hinata smiles fondly. "So I guess I am a bit of a child to them, but they are very dedicated into seeing that I'm properly educated about this new world. So I'm rather lucky. They could have just as easily killed me or to let me live on the streets or in the woods."
"So he's of age…" Just like Itachi. Sasuke didn't like the sound of that. "In any case, it would reflect badly on their house if they left you out in the cold, with how much you look like them. Whoever took you in must be worried about looking bad in front of the king. Maybe sucking up or something."
"I never knew you were such a pessimist." Hinata giggles at the thought. "Though that might have something to do with it." She'd just leave out the fact that she had been adopted by the King himself. Sasuke might not admit it, but he was from Thiral. She knew it. "I'd rather prefer to believe they did it with less cynical intentions." Telling him that her father was the king would only endanger him.
Sasuke rolls his eyes. "I'm a realist. At least my adoption was a lot simpler. They just…liked me. Well, and I look startlingly like Mother, but that's just a coincidence." He pauses, then leans his forehead against Hinata's. "You should know…I told my family about you. I told them that someone else was tossed into this world like me. If you get caught up in the fighting…our warriors and our servants will know who you are, and to get you to safety."
She smiles at him. "Well I suppose that does help. Looking like her, I mean." She leans her forehead against his. "And…that's good to know." Servants and warriors. He must have been adopted by nobility.
"Yeah…" He just wanted her to be safe, no matter what happened. "Though you should have seen Father's face when he first saw me, it was priceless. I mean, I know I look like I belong in his family, but my resemblance to Mother is so strong that my brother says that all that tells us apart is gender and my shorter hair."
"She must be beautiful then." Hinata smiles at the thought. "And strong." He had said that his mother was some kind of warrior. "Though I'm certain your father was quite shocked when he first saw you."
"Yeah, he just…kind of gaped at first. It was really funny." Sasuke chuckles at the memory. "And she's strong…really strong. I've never met a woman stronger than she is. It makes sense that her breaking tradition to pursue Father would alarm him. It's actually quite funny to hear about their courting days, when Mother was courting Father."
Hinata laughs as a few rather inappropriate scenarios run through her mind. "She sounds rather bold." It made her wonder if maybe handcuffs hadn't been involved somehow. "What'd she do to get his his attention?"
"Well, I try not to ask for specifics, but it's very clear that she pursued him very aggressively. Enough that when Father described it, his face was even funnier than when he first saw me." Sasuke remembered that expression well, looking so embarrassed and sheepish. "It's usually the man who makes the first move, but she…had her own traditions to follow. I imagine that some kind of magical restraints were used, since she agreed that half of what she did would traumatize me if she told me about it."
"Well now we know how you have a brother." Hinata giggles at the image. "I'm glad most elfish women are a bit shyer than your mother though." She'd never been good at that sort of thing. "Aggressive isn't really something that I'm good at." Flirting.
"Well, the ones in the cities, at least." Sasuke could see that in the trees easily. "It seems that it's quite the norm in the wild tribes. The women are not shy about voicing their desires." It certainly explained not only his mother, but also Naruto's mother, and Karin, the blond's cousin.
Hinata didn't know what came over her, but she regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth. "What about you? Are you shy about voicing your desires?" Why had she asked that?!
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. "No, but I know when to keep my mouth shut." What an odd question. "Not that it matters, I'm still too young to even be considered by any of the women. Pressing the issue with any of them would get me nowhere. At least not for another few decades. By then, I'm sure there are plenty who would be amenable to the idea." He shrugs softly. "Besides, I'm picky."
"I suppose that's true." She smiles and laughs softly. "I remember Valentine's Day in middle school." Poor Sasuke had almost gotten suffocated from all the chocolates, stuffed animals, cards, and sweets.
"Don't remind me…" Sasuke groans quietly. "That's something I definitely don't miss. A spring festival is the closest we get to THAT chaos."
Hinata smiles and shakes her head. " You're cute when you're sulking." Though she wondered what the spring festival was, she decides there were more important things to worry about at the moment.
Well, that didn't make Sasuke feel any better. "I'm not sulking, and I'm not cute either." It was bad enough to hear it from his mother, he didn't need to hear it from Hinata as well.
"You're right." She smiles and looks at him a bit apologetically as she leans her forehead against him. "That's a bit of an understatement." Hinata smiles at him. "You weren't sulking. You were silently fuming and you aren't cute." Her lips brush against his. "You're very handsome." In a gentle kiss.
Sasuke had a retort on the tip of his tongue, but it died with the kiss. Honestly, kissing her had been the furthest thing from his mind, maybe…he didn't know. Right now, though, it was the only thing on his mind as he kisses back, pressing no further than her comfort zone. Even if all of this was a VERY bad idea. Not that he would expect her to know that.
Hinata smiles into the kiss and wraps her arms around his neck, deepening it. It was still a fairly innocent kiss. More an invitation or a promise. A subtle coaxing.
All focus on his concealment charms forgotten, Sasuke wraps his arms around her waist, pulling Hinata against him as his tongue pokes shallowly into her mouth. He was testing out the field before trying anything remotely serious. After all, she did say that she was rather shy about making her interest known.
Hinata liked it when he pulled her closer to him and held her like this. "Mmm." She sighs in contentment into the kiss and gently glides her tongue back against his. Sadly, she didn't have much experience in kissing and she didn't want to make a fool of herself, but Hinata couldn't quite bring herself to stop either.
Sasuke allows the kiss to go on far longer than he should, his conscious mind knows that. And that's the reason that the dance of their tongues ends after only a few agonizingly short minutes. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have done that to you…"
She blushes and shakes her head. "No. It wasn't your fault." Her blush grows. "I was the one who kissed you. I shouldn't have. Not with the war coming." It wasn't fair to him. He might not know that she knew he wasn't from Aladel, but she did. "It was a mistake, but a nice one. I"m sorry."
He blinks. "What…does the war have to do with anything?" That made him a little wary. "I was only going to say that I doubt the king would approve of me as a match for a member of his clan…"
"Your disguise wore off." Hinata figures it was important to warn him about that. "Well I mean it's just really dangerous. It wouldn't be fair to get attached without knowing, if we'll both survive or not."
Sasuke nods slightly. That made sense. "I see, I suppose that's true. But as long as you find a safe place, you'll be fine, I promise." He smiles softly, muttering a few words under his breath as raven hair lightens, and onyx eyes brighten to icy blue.
She smiles at the magic. "Do you know how many girls back home would have killed to be able to do that?" So Sasuke did have magic after all. His training must be paying off.
"Probably a lot of them, but my brother has been pretty thorough in my training, I doubt any of those girls could handle his training methods. He stops me whenever it looks like I'm going to pass out, though." It annoyed Sasuke, but he could understand why Itachi did it. "I doubt I'll ever be as powerful as him, but I should be able to use it decently enough in a few months for more than just sneaking around."
"I think you underestimate yourself." Hinata looks at him and against her better judgment, she caresses his cheek. "Your brother had the benefit of being born in this world." Hinata pauses. "So he had a head start not only in years, but it is really a question of nature vs nurture. You're nature and he's nurture."
Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Trust me, he's got the nature in spades. He'll probably live to be well over a thousand years old. He'll outlive me, that's for sure." Mostly because HE was the reckless one, not Itachi. That, and he would protect Itachi to his last breath.
She shakes her head. "Even if you only live to an "average" lifespan as an elf, that's still around five hundred years." Hinata pauses as she does the math. "Which is generously about five times longer than you would have lived as a human. So that's still a pretty good deal."
Well, that was assuming that Aladel didn't attack. If they did…Sasuke didn't know what would happen, apart from maybe the forest burning down, and the ground covered in bodies and blood. "Hopefully…"
"I should probably go." She couldn't believe that she had kissed him like that! "I'll try to meet you next month."
"Okay, I will come again." He pokes her forehead gently, just underneath the sparkling diadem. "You look beautiful tonight, Lady. May the stars watch over you always…" He smiles softly, before a few unintelligible words hide him completely from sight as he disappears back into the darkness.
"Damn it." She probably should have taken off the diadem. "Well at least he thought nobility instead of royalty." Hinata sighs in relief. "He probably wouldn't react well to the princess thing…"
Crossing the border just before dawn, Sasuke had opted to take a nap high up in the trees for a few hours before continuing on. He did, after all, need to hunt again, though preferably later, tomorrow, maybe, before he made it back to Sindaron. Otherwise he would have to spend extra time lugging his kill home.
But around midday, he hears a great flapping above him, too much to be an eagle or falcon. And that shadow… He looks up to see a mass of black. The pegasus. "Adrian?"
*Ah good. You remember my name.* The horse flies down towards him. *Not that you can understand me at the moment, but still. It's the thought that counts.* He neighs happily as he flies down and lands on the ground, nuzzling him affectionately.
Sasuke blinks. "Did you just…" No way, there's no way that the horse could possibly… He shakes his head. "I'm going crazy. For a second, I thought you said something." He runs his fingers through the soft mane, working up towards the winged horse's ears and scratching there.
*Your magical reserves must be increasing, if you can hear me.* Adrian flaps his wings as if pleased by this knowledge. *Your mother will be very proud of you.*
Sasuke's fingers freeze. "…You can talk?" But the horse hadn't moved its mouth at all, so how…? "…Are you speaking into my mind, or am I just going crazy?" If it was the latter…well, then he was going to have to ask Itachi to take a serious look at his head.
*I'm speaking into your mind.* Adrian seems to be laughing. *My kind can do that, but only if the other being has reached a certain level of magical development. It seems you must have passed that threshold recently.*
So…he wasn't going crazy. "…Then when Mother said that you were sort of her pegasus…well, not really, but…that. Then she meant that you talk to her?" It was a little hard for Sasuke to wrap his head around, and he'd seen a lot of crazy things since arriving here.
*I'm quite fond of Mikoto.* He nods his head and paws at the earth with his hooves, stretching a bit. *I still let her ride me on occasion, but these days well she's a Queen. The woman is quite busy.*
"Oh." Sasuke's fingers go back to scratching gently, finding a few unpleasant bumps there, likely from angry insects. "Yes, Mother is certainly busy these days…" What with the war, and ruling, and making sure that none of the people went hungry or went without medicine. It couldn't be said that the royal family didn't take care of its people. Even if his father was busy, he knew of the philanthropy the clan engaged in, mostly outside of the immediate royal family, though.
*It's the way of the world. Once mares have foals, well they tend to get rather busy.* He flaps his wings a bit. *I don't hold it against her. Some stallions are also that way. It surprises me you didn't actually come from her womb though. You bear such a strong resemblance to her.*
"Yes, so I've been told…" Sasuke sighs sadly. "I wish I had…I still feel like an outsider sometimes." Though those moments were few and far between, and often very fleeting. "But some days I forget entirely that I wasn't born here. It's strange…"
*I'm certain that you'll adjust completely soon.* Adrian licks his face and seems to smile. *And your mare will as well.*
"My…mare?" Sasuke couldn't see what his mother had to do with adjusting. Though to be honest, he couldn't see much past the Brillo-pad tongue. "What does Mother have to do with this?"
*Not that mare.* Adrian looks at him like he was wondering if Sasuke was being dense on purpose. *Your other mare. The pretty princess.* He pauses and adds as an afterthought. *The one that smells like lavender that you were nuzzling up to last night.*
Sasuke freezes, his eyes going wide. "…You saw that?" He thought that he'd been careful enough to not attract anyone into following him. Apparently, that didnt include magical flying horses. "She's not my 'mare' or 'pretty princess'! She's-" What…was she, really? "She's an old classmate, someone I learned with as a child. We didn't really talk much until she got thrown into this world. I'm just…trying to help her go back to her home."
*Oh.* Adrian pauses and looks incredibly uncomfortable. *You don't know. I thought you did. I thought it was rather romantic that you were both willing to take such a risk to be with your intended, but you didn't know.* The horse had never felt so guilty. *She is a pretty princess. King Hiashi adopted her.*
His blood runs ice cold. "She's…" …He could smack himself for not realizing it earlier. "I thought…she'd been adopted by one of the lesser nobles…not…" Not the king himself. She'd been taken in by the man trying to slaughter Sasuke's people, burn his kingdom to the ground.
He groans as he drops to the ground, gripping his raven hair. "Why me? Why did I have to get thrown into some weird-ass elven version of Romeo and Juliet?" This was NOT what he signed up for!
The poor foal was panicking. *I'm sorry. I thought you knew.* He nuzzles the frightened elf, trying calm him down. *Well this isn't necessarily something that has to end in tragedy. Were you a bit older, it would be an ideal solution really.*
"How would this be IDEAL!?" It was nothing short of a nightmare to Sasuke. He'd been opening his heart to the daughter of his ENEMY!
*Well nothing would stop two Kingdoms from warring faster than a marriage between one's princess and the other's prince.* He nods as if it was obvious.
Sasuke looks up at the horse blankly. "Hiashi would sooner EXECUTE me than let me marry his daughter, even if I felt inclined to. HE is the one who wants this war, not us. Thiral would be perfectly content to just stay home instead of fighting Hiashi over gods know what."
Adrian pauses as he considers this. *I don't normally offer this service as it is dishonorable, but I could kick him until he agrees to cease this war?* Another pause. *In uncomfortable places?*
Well, that was certainly an attractive offer, but Sasuke wasn't so sure that kicking Hiashi in the royal jewels would bring an end to the war so quickly. "Hiashi despises us…he always has. I don't even know why! We've never threatened him, we're perfectly happy just staying in the forest, growing it, and practicing our magic and arts. There's just no reason for him to want to attack us unless he's just so insecure in his power that he feels threatened by our very presence…" It was the only thing that made sense. "But again, I don't know WHY."
Adrian paws at the ground nervously. *It's generally not spoken of, but there is a reason why Hiashi had no heirs of his own blood.* He looked like he was ready to bolt. *Many years ago, his Mare was killed during a war with the orcs. In that war, your two kingdoms fought side by side. I think he believes that Thiral could have saved her, but chose to let her die to weaken his Kingdom.*
…Now THAT made sense to Sasuke. "So it's revenge. He's angry and hurt, and he wants revenge." In that case, Hiashi certainly wouldn't be dissuaded. "He won't listen to reason, then. And there's nothing that can be done for anyone to make up for that, even if it was no one's fault" There was just nothing that could relieve the kind of pain that came with that kind of heartache. "A blood feud…" No wonder his father didn't talk about it.
*Not revenge.* The horse paces nervously. *Not exactly. If it was just revenge, he would have attacked sooner before you had a chance to grow in power. I suspect that, combined with someone whispering in his ear, and your kingdom's growing power just converged.* The stallion neighs nervously. *He is not an evil man. Just one who is deeply wounded and perhaps, someone is taking advantage of that.*
"You know, you're not making this sound any better." Sasuke could only see more and more problems cropping up. Well, as much as he could see anything with his vision starting to blur. "Damn it…" He used magic most of the night, and didn't get much sleep. He was exhausted, to put it mildly.
*I'm sorry. Would you prefer not to know?* He could cease his talking. *You're exhausted. Come with me, I know a place where you can sleep.*
Sasuke stumbles to his feet, leaning lightly on Adrian. "It's not your fault…you have nothing to be sorry for." Sasuke hated being ignorant, but he hated this whole situation just as much. "Nothing good comes from keeping secrets."
He walks him for awhile, until they came upon a spot in the forest that was filled with pine trees and something else that Sasuke almost missed at first glance. 'You can rest in the house. It's very well hidden. Few people come out this far and the ones that do almost never notice it.' Adrian nods as if to confirm this.
It looked to Sasuke like a hunting shack. A blurry one, but still. "That works." He may be a prince, but he's slept in much worse than that. Much, much worse, considering the rather cozy sight as Sasuke opens the door. There was a bed inside, a bit dusty, but clean. And as long as he didn't light a fire, unneeded in the midst of summer, he probably wouldn't be found. "Thank you."
He nods as he turns to head off. *You're welcome. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find a way to talk some sense into Hiashi and mount your mare.* He smiles and his tails swishes happily. *I'm sure the foals will be beautiful.* And before Sasuke could protest, he takes to the sky.
Sasuke wasn't so sure about that, but he really wasn't in any shape to raise his voice in protest. On the contrary, even before his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light.
