Dragon Lady: Okay, I'm moving fast again. Barely a whole day between chapters on the weekend. ^^;;;

Ken: That's all right. That last one was an awful cliffhanger.

Dragon Lady: Sorry. ^^;;;

Ken: Of course this chapter doesn't end much better. -_-;

Dragon Lady: ^^;;; I told my friend that I had this enormously strong urge to end the last chapter with the words, "Ken was alive but taken by the enemy." *laughs* For any Lord of the Rings fans out there. ^_~ Wouldn't that have been just too cruel? Lol.

Ken: That's just great dl. No one cares.

Dragon Lady: =P You're a mean muse, Ken-chan, ya know that?

Ken: Most definitely. ^^;;;

Dragon Lady: ^^;;

Ken: Anyway, they want to read the next chapter.

Dragon Lady: Oh, right. As if anyone reads these rants anyway…^^;;; I know all you people skip them completely and go straight to the story.

Ken: Yeah. Most people aren't you and don't often read the author's rants. Why do you think there are so many flamers out there?

Dragon Lady: ^^;;;;; Good point.

Ken: Yeah. Well. Dl's gonna let you go read the story now. If you even bothered to read this that is. And if you didn't you're already reading the story. But you shouldn't have without my permission anyway. =P

Dragon Lady: Ken. You are one strange muse…^^;;;;

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The 10th Kingdom

Adapted By: DigimonDragonLady

The Huntsman was dragging Ken along by his hair. His back hurt and he twisted around, desperately trying to gain purchase on the ground. He couldn't. This was, without a doubt, the most painful thing he had ever experienced.

"Stop it!" Ken shouted. "You're hurting me.'

The Huntsman, however, didn't seem to hear him. Finally he stopped, though, and yanked Ken to his feet.

They stood in front of a massive oak tree covered in ivy. Ken watched him reach out a hand and press the side of it. The ivy rose with a rustling sound, and then a door opened inward.

The scent of fresh wood mixed with old blood wafted out. Ken's heart beat even faster. The Huntsman pulled him inside, and then the door closed. Ken couldn't even see the outlines of where it had been.

The man let go of his hair. Ken reached to the nape of his neck and rubbed. The area throbbed. He lit a small lantern, and Ken could see where he was, though he immediately wished that he couldn't.

It was a small room, filled with a butchers block -- blood stained of course -- with many knives, obviously used, and a wooden floor covered with feathers and skin and dark dried blood. There were animal carcasses stretched out on various boards. Some hung upside down. There were bloodstains around the necks.

Ken could hear his own shallow breathing. He was terrified, and he couldn't help it. Somehow he knew that this man knew of his terror too, and probably enjoyed every minute of it.

"Why is your hair so long?" His voice startled Ken. It was soft and deep and cultured, not at all what he had been expecting.

"I think I upset the Gypsies," Ken said in a whispered voice.

He nodded, as if this were not unexpected news. "They will not trouble you again," he told him.

Ken did not find this reassuring. He looked at the Huntsman's hands. They had something dark, probably blood, crusted under the nails. Had he killed the Gypsies for trespassing in his woods? Or did he mean, by that cryptic statement, that Ken would die soon?

He picked up a knife. Ken felt himself shiver. "Where is the dog?" he asked Ken quite calmly.

"I don't know what --"

The knife glinted in the dim light of the room. "Don't," he said, "make me ask again."

Ken swallowed. "I think he's dead."

The Huntsman's pale eyes met his. "You're lying, but you're not lying. Is he hurt? You were dragging something on wheels, yet the tracks were too deep for the weight of just a dog."

Suddenly grabbed Ken and pulled him forward until they were mere inches apart. Ken tried not to gag. He stank of fresh blood.

"The others," he said. "Will they come for you?"

"Me?" Ken squeaked. "They don't give a damn about me." He tried to make his lie sound convincing.

"So they will come." Apparently that hadn't worked well. Somehow he saw through Ken. "Do they have weapons?"

"Yes," Ken said firmly.

"No weapons," he said, releasing Ken. He staggered backwards.

Ken leaned heavily against the wooden wall, wondering how he was ever going to escape.

* * *

Osamu was hiding behind a tree, peering back into the darkness. He had no idea how far he'd run. All he knew was that after a time, he couldn't hear Ken behind him. He'd stopped and called for him and he hadn't answered.

He wasn't sure if he should go back for his brother or try to find Daisuke. If only he was still in New York. There, at least, he might stand a chance of making the right decision. Here, all bets were off.

There was a noise behind him. Osamu whirled but saw nothing.

"It's me," Daisuke whispered in his ear.

Osamu turned, hand over his mouth to stifle a scream. Daisuke was standing in front of him, hair slightly mussed, looking winded. "What happened?" he asked.

"He's got Ken. That's what happened." The words came out sounding angry than Osamu had planned, but he couldn't help it. He had always looked after his little brother through everything. And now he was gone. Again.

Daisuke suddenly looked very panicked. "Oh, no! We'll never find them."

"We've got to find him," Osamu said.

Daisuke tried to swallow his fear. After a moment, he nodded. Together, they went back to the hiding place. And then they started to search. As they walked, Daisuke was looking more and more upset with every passing second in which they did not turn up any clue.

He kept muttering and whimpering. "I've lost my one true love," he whined softly in the back of his throat.

"Would you know off that "true-love" nonsense?!" Osamu snapped. "You're just some sneaky, underhanded ex-con, and you've brought us nothing but trouble."

"Don't you talk to me like that," Daisuke growled at him. "I'll bite you in a minute, just see if I don't!"

"Oh is that so?" Osamu asked. "All right then, come on." Osamu was tense and ready for a fight, he hadn't lived in New York all his life and learned nothing. And it was this man's stupid idea that might have cost his brother's life.

"I'd like to see you try," he sneered in a challenge.

Daisuke snarled at him deep in his throat, and for a moment it looked like he was actually going to take Osamu up on that. Then, suddenly, he relaxed and put a finger to his lips. "Listen," he instructed Osamu.

Osamu relaxed too, frowning, but doing as he had been told. He heard the faint sound of chopping. He glanced at Daisuke, who looked just as surprised as Osamu did. They walked toward the sound. It only took them a moment to reach a clearing.

In the middle of it, a tall, blond haired man was standing next to a pile of wood. On a tree stump was a single piece of timber. The man had an axe in his hand and was obviously using the might stump as his chopping block.

"Halt!" The Woodsman commanded. "Who approaches?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He brought his axe down on a bit of wood and cut in clean in half with a single powerful blow. Some of the wood chips hit his hat, which was upside down beside the chopping block.

"Forgive us, noble Woodsman," Daisuke said, "but have you happened to have seen a gorgeous young man with very long hair?"

"I haven't seen anything," the Woodsman replied. "I'm blind."

"A blind Woodsman?" Osamu asked skeptically.

"Have you ever seen a tree move?" the man asked. His eyes were clouded over and he wasn't really looking at either Osamu or Daisuke.

Osamu raised an eyebrow and glanced at Daisuke, but the wolf merely shrugged. They were about to leave, when Daisuke grabbed hold of Osamu's arm, stopping him.

"Look at his axe, Osamu," Daisuke murmured. He spoke up, directing his question to the Woodsman. "That wouldn't happen to be the magical axe that can cut through anything, would it?"

"It could be," the Woodsman replied.

"How much do you want for it?" Osamu inquired.

"You may have my magic axe if you can guess my name."

He split another log as he spoke.

"But your friend must kneel down on this block, and if you have not guessed my name by the time I have chopped all these logs into firewood, I will cut off his head."

Osamu stared at him in disbelief. "What is it with you people?!" he demanded. "What kind of twisted upbringing did you have? Why can't you just say it's a hundred gold coins or something?!"

"Do you want the axe or not?" The Woodsman asked.

"Why don't we just carry on looking for Ken?" Daisuke suggested, and made to walk away, but this time it was Osamu who stopped him.

"No, wait a minute." They would need the axe for when they found Ken, and the Woodsman might be long gone if they searched for his brother first, and then tried to come back for the axe.

"It's all right, I know this one," Osamu said. "We accept."

Daisuke looked worried and nervous. "Well don't accept on my behalf," he said quickly.

"I know it," Osamu insisted.

"Very well," replied the Woodsman. "Put your head on the block while your friend guesses."

Daisuke shot Osamu a dark look, but crouched down obediently beside the chopping block. Slowly Daisuke lowered his head to it on the far end, as far from the axe as he could get. He seriously hoped that Osamu knew what he was doing, but something told him that the other man didn't have a clue.

The Woodsman flipped over another hinged block of wood attached to the chopping block, trapping Daisuke's head in a crude version of a stock with a loud slam.
Or, Osamu thought, the thing that held the neck in place for the guillotine.

Daisuke swallowed, looking at Osamu and making a small whining sound in the back of his throat.

Osamu's heart was pounding. "Hey, don't worry," he said. He didn't sound as reassuring as he'd hoped to. Osamu took a deep breath and said, "All right, Mr. Woodsman, your name is Rumpelstiltskin."

"Nope."

Osamu frowned. "I said Rumpelstiltskin," he spoke louder the second time, just in case the guy hadn't heard him correctly.

"Guess again," the Woodsman replied.

"Rumpelstiltskin Junior? Rumpelstiltskin the Fourth!"

The Woodsman shattered another log. "No."

"Does it have a Rumple in it?"

"Osamu, please tell me this wasn't your big idea," Daisuke moaned.

Osamu looked at him and tried not to let his fear show. But he had this funny, sinking feeling that he had failed.

* * *

This time, the Huntsman held Ken's arm as he dragged him up a winding circular staircase cut into the center of the enormous tree. His hair, getting with each passing minute, dragged behind him. They climbed for what seemed like forever, and then finally emerged into a small tower room. The room had light, though, Ken was relieved to see a small hole cut into the wall.

A window large enough for him to escape from.

The Huntsman dragged him over to it, and Ken's momentary hope disappeared instantly.

They were at least fifty feet above the forest floor.

"I was born in this forest," the Huntsman told Ken softly, "a hundred miles north of here."

Ken looked out. There were trees everywhere. He could actually see the extent of the forest. It seemed to go on forever. The view was breathtaking and depressing at the same time.

"When I saw the Queen for the first time, I was still a Forester. She came to my village. It was a cruel winter and everyone was starving, children grubbing in the snow for roots to eat. She stopped her hunting party to water the horses. The Queen called me forward. She saw something in me. And she showed me this."

He took out his crossbow. Ken had seen it before, but not up close. It was made of wood and silver. In its leather harness, were many razor-sharp silver bolts. Ken had never seen a crossbow up close before. He had no idea how terrifying they really were.

"When this crossbow is fired," the Huntsman told him, "the bolt will not fall until it has found the heart of a living creature. It cannot miss. In one day I could kill enough food to keep the whole village alive all winter. I said, 'What must I do to win this magic crossbow?' And she said, 'Just close your eyes and fire it wherever you wish, and it shall be yours.'"

He plucked a bolt and placed it in position. Now the crossbow looked even more fearsome. Ken was trembling but staring at it and listening in morbid fascination.

"I turned away from the village and all the people and fired deep into the thick of the forest. The bolt left the bow like gossamer. It sped a mile through the trees and killed a child playing in the forest."

He stared at Ken. It seemed as if his eyes were even more intense than they had been before.

"I remember the Queen's face as I pulled the bolt from my son's heart. She looked at me and said, 'You will be my Huntsman.'"

Ken held his breath in horror.

"So you understand," the Huntsman told him softly. "I have no interest in mercy. The hunt is the only thing that interests me. Life and death are simply manners of sport."

* * *

The blind Woodsman had cut through more wood than Osamu cared to think about. And Daisuke was beginning to look panicked.

"Bill?" Osamu asked.

"No," the Woodsman said and split another log.

"Ben, Jerry?"

"Cold," the Woodsman said, continuing to chop the wood.

"Elvis? Sammy? Frank? John? Paul? George? Ringo?"

"Ringo?" Daisuke asked, looking at Osamu.

"Colder," the Woodsman said. "Way off."

"Does it begin with an A?"

"I'm not playing that game."

"Osamu," Daisuke said. "I'm starting to loose faith in you."

"Ray? Mike?"

"Nope."

"Give me a clue," Osamu said. He was beginning to hyperventilate. Everything he did in this place turned out wrong. "What fun would it be just to kill him?"

"A lot of fun, actually," the Woodsman said. "You could almost say it was the reason for my existence." He grinned as he brought the axe down on another innocent piece of wood.

"How do we know you won't lie about your name?" Daisuke demanded.

Osamu nodded. Maybe he could get them out of this. "Yeah, maybe I've already said it."

"You haven't guessed my name," the Woodsman said. "You are nowhere near. My name is written in my cap."

"You've done this before, haven't you?" Osamu scowled.

"Hundreds of times," the Woodsman agreed.

"And exactly what was the percentage of correct guesses?" Daisuke asked.

"No one, has ever guessed my name."

Daisuke groaned.

Osamu leaned over and peered at the cap. There was a white strip on it that clearly had the Woodsman's name written on it. Daisuke strained to see it, but shook his head. Osamu inched closer.

"I may be blind," the Woodsman told him, "but my hearing is excellent. Move any closer to it and I'll chop your friends head off now."

* * *

Ken was very cold. The Huntsman still had his crossbow in his hands, bolt pointed out the window.

"Who is this Queen?" Ken asked. "How could you serve someone who made you kill your own son?"

"It was my destiny to kill my son. And hers to ask me."

He spoke so calmly. Then slowly, he turned the crossbow towards Ken.

"You're crazy," Ken said. "Everyone in this whole entire place is crazy."

"Everything that is meant to happen will always happen, no matter what we do," the Huntsman said. "Just as it is my destiny to kill you now."

He put a hand on Ken's shoulder and pushed him until he bent his legs. He kept pushing until he knelt before him. He pressed the crossbow against his forehead. Ken could feel the coldness of the wood, and shivered.

"Who are you?" the Huntsman asked.

"I am nobody," Ken answered. "I swear I'm nobody."

"Then I will kill you."

He had drawn back the string when suddenly a tiny bell went off. The Huntsman looked up with a frown and brought the crossbow down.

"I have business to attend to," the Huntsman said. "I will finish your interrogation later."

Then he left.

Ken had no idea how things in this place always went from bad to worse.

* * *

There were only two pieces of wood left, and Osamu was out of ideas. Daisuke had his eyes closed, apparently so that he wouldn't see the final blow when it came.

"Is it the Mad Axeman?" Osamu asked.

"I told you you'd never guess," the Woodsman replied.

Suddenly Osamu noticed one of the magic birds fly onto the chopping block and look down at the Woodsman's cap. Then the bird flew off again. Was the thing just being perverse? Or was it actually going to help?

Osamu had to stall somehow. "Is it…hold on a minute, a name's forming in my mind."

The Woodsman split the second log. "Running out of logs," he said. "Better hurry up."

"No, wait," Osamu said. "Wait just a minute. It's coming to me."

The Woodsman split the final log. "Too late," he said. "Now I will have your friends head."

Daisuke's eyes and in them Osamu could see a horrible look of hurt and betrayal.

The magic bird landed on Osamu's shoulder and whispered in his ear. The Woodsman raised his axe over Daisuke's head.

"I said hold on just a minute," Osamu said. "Juliet."

The Woodsman froze, and for the first time Osamu felt as if the man were actually looking straight at him.

Daisuke was looking at him as if he were crazy.

And Osamu started to smile.

* * *

"Damn." Ken tugged on the heavy iron manacles that the Huntsman had put him in when he had at first been brought to this room.

He didn't know what to do. His brother and Daisuke were out there somewhere. Probably looking for him. But he didn't think they'd ever find him before the Huntsman returned. He was going to die. The Huntsman's "business" had only allowed him a short time longer.

Then he saw a movement at the window. The magic bird he had saved last from the Gypsies was standing on the sill.

"Because you helped save us, we will help you again," said the magic bird. "But this really has to be the last time. You're such an awful lot of trouble."

"Go and find my brother and Daisuke," Ken said. "Tell them where I am. Tell them to come and get me, please."

The bird nodded once and flew off. Ken watched it go until he could no longer see its movements through the trees. He jerked on the chains again and stared desperately out the window. He only hoped that they would get there in time.

* * *

Daisuke was carrying the magic axe over his shoulder and heading back toward the place where they had buried Prince Yamato once again. He still had no idea where Ken was, nor how to find him.

Still, he was very relieved to have his head.

"Who would have thought it?" Daisuke said to Osamu. "Juliet the Axeman."

"No wonder he turned into such a sick sadist," Osamu said, and then he stopped walking. Daisuke almost ran into him. Osamu was looking up into a tree.

"Look," Osamu told him. "Its another one of those magic birds."

Actually it was the same magic bird that had told them about the Woodsman, but Daisuke didn't bother to correct him.

"I know where Ken is," the magic bird said. "He is in a tree that is not a tree, in a place that is not a place."

Osamu thought about that for a moment, muttering about trees, and then he scowled. "That doesn't make any sense to me," he growled in annoyance. "Can you just take us there?!"

For a moment, Daisuke thought the bird was going to fly away. Then it sighed, lifted its wings and flew at Daisuke's eye level.

They followed the bird for some time. Then the bird stopped in front of a mighty oak. "He's inside the tree," the magic bird said. "'Bye!"

"Wait!" Osamu called after it. "How can he be in a tree?!"

"Ken!" Daisuke shouted at the tree. "Ken, are you in there?"

"Daisuke?" Ken shouted back.

His voice was very far away. It also came from above them. Daisuke looked up. Ken was looking down from a great height.

"How do we get in?" Osamu shouted up at him.

"There's a door," Ken said.

A door. Daisuke went around the tree. Neither of them so a door.

"There's no door," Osamu muttered. "There's definitely no door, Ken!"

"Oh, if he's concealed it with magic it could take weeks to find!" Daisuke said.

"Why don't you come down and open it from the inside?" Osamu asked Ken.

They heard the sound of rattling metal. "I think that would have been the first thing I would have done if I weren't chained up, Osamu!" Ken snapped at him. "Can't you climb up the tree?"

Daisuke looked at the ivy covered tree trunk. "There's no footholds."

"Well, I don't know, get a ladder or something. Just…whatever you do, hurry!"

"A ladder?" Osamu said sarcastically. "We're in the middle of a forest for crying out loud."

Daisuke looked around, hoping to see something, anything that he might be able to climb. "If this axe really cuts through anything," Osamu said, "I could try chopping down that tree."

"Chop down the tree?!" Ken shouted. "With me in it?! I don't think so!"

Daisuke frowned thoughtfully as an idea came to him. "Ken," he said casually, "just how long would you say your hair is now?"

"I don't know. Long. It's longer than ever," Ken moaned. "It's…"

He paused, and then Daisuke knew that he understood.

"No." Ken said. "No!"

"That's a great idea!" Osamu said.

"NO!" Ken shouted. "You are NOT climbing up this tree with my hair…"

"I've always wanted to say this," Daisuke grinned and winked at Osamu. Then he called up to Ken, "Love of my life, let down your lustrous locks."

A moment of silence, and then, ten pounds of hair landed in his face. He brushed it off and held it in his hands for a moment. He'd have to use it like a rope and climb the tree as if it were a mountain.

He started at the base, then climbed as rapidly as he could. Ken's cries of pain were heartbreaking. Daisuke was only slightly offended. He wasn't that heavy.

"Look out below," Daisuke shouted down to Osamu.

"What is it?" Osamu asked.

"Dandruff," Daisuke said.

"Ow," Ken said. "I don't have --"

"Some people just can't take a joke," Daisuke muttered.

"Yeah, Ken," Osamu laughed. "Keep your hair on."

Ken growled at them. And then shouted out in pain again.

Daisuke tried to put as much weight as possible on his feet, so as to spare Ken as much agony as possible, but he still knew that he was pulling awfully hard on his head. At least he knew the hair was tougher than steel right now, and wouldn't pull out.

Ken was still yelling in pain.

Daisuke tried to say something to take his mind off of it. "What a moment in my life." He knew he was babbling, and he didn't care. "My second opportunity to save you. My story will be immortalized in song, there's no question of that."

Ken didn't respond. Even his "ows" had stopped. Daisuke had to get some kind of reaction out of him.

"Uh, oh," Daisuke said. "Another gray one."

More silence. Daisuke hurried the last few feet, then climbed over the windowsill and pulled himself in.

"Ta-da!" Daisuke said, standing in front of Ken. "Your Prince has arrived."

He swept Ken off of his feet. He was pale from the pain. Daisuke pulled Ken close and kissed him. He was pleasantly surprised when Ken kissed back for a brief second. Then he was shoved away.

"Do you think you can get me out of these?" Ken asked him.

"Of course," Daisuke said. "You get the full rescue service with me. And when I'm done, I will carry you off into the sunset and we'll be married immediately and have beautiful children and live happily ever after."

Ken rolled his eyes. "I'll just settle for getting out of the chains, thank you."

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Dragon Lady: Awwwwww. More Daiken moments. ^_^ *giggles* Ken's weakening, I just know it. ^^;;;

Ken: If you say so. I know what happens later though. Why do you make me so darn mean to Daisuke? =P

Dragon Lady: ^^;;;; Because it makes for a sweet forgiveness scene.

Ken: *rolls eyes*

Dragon Lady: I'm seriously going to hate writing the sad chapters though. ;_; And I'm approaching them pretty fast now. Noooo!

Ken: I told you there were down sides to putting this out. One is me wearing that --

Dragon Lady: *puts hand over Ken's mouth* Shush. ^^;;; Don't spoil it.

Ken: *rolls eyes*

Dragon Lady: I seriously disliked Virginia (the character who Ken plays for any non 10th Kingdom fans) at one point in the movie/mini-series/whatever, for hurting Wolf (Daisuke's character of course).

Ken: ^^;;;;

Dragon Lady: Anyway. I'll go work on the next chapter and leave you people to your reviewing, yes? ^^;;;

Ken: See…now they're not gonna review. Because we put the review request in our rant and nobody reads these things, remember?

Dragon Lady: Ken…you're on sugar or something right now, aren't you?

Ken: ^^;;;; Review!