(A/N: Things start to escalate in this chapter. As the title tells you, discoveries are made in this chapter. What will they be? Read and see.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 10: Discoveries

The people of the Valley of the Wind had begun to believe that just maybe what the Kalvandirs claimed was true. After seeing the way Ved had stopped the Ohmu when their princess failed had made the possibility seem very likely. Even Lord Yupa was considering it as an actual possibility. And though he hated to admit it, so did Asbel. The evidence was apparent. According to his people, Ved had walked down a road of gold, clad in blue, and then he succeeded where the Nausicaä had not. How could he, or anyone, argue with what had taken place.

Nausicaä, on the other hand, was busy with other things. True, she had indeed become more convinced of the possibility of Ved being the prophesized one, but that, as far as she was concerned, that could wait. There was something more important that was demanding her attention.

Something had driven that Ohmu into a frenzy. Whatever it was had upset, confused, and angered it to the point that not even she could calm it. She was afraid that something like that might happen again. And what if next time Ved couldn't even stop it?

Looking down at the fox-squirrel in her lap, Nausicaä scratched behind his ears. "What could have possibly happened to that Ohmu?" she wondered out loud.

Teto squeaked in response, though it was probably just a squeak of affection from her petting. Nausicaä smiled down at him and looked out the window at her sleeping kingdom. She noted that the Kalvandir ship was still lit up, meaning that people were up and about. What could they be doing so late at night?

Her gaze shifted to her door when the sound of someone knocking came from it. Nausicaä cocked her head to the side, wondering who would be bothering her this late at night when she was supposedly asleep.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It is me, child." Came Obaba's voice from the other side.

Nausicaä opened the door, allowing the old blind woman to enter. "Obaba, what are you doing here? You should be asleep."

"As should you, child." Obaba replied. "However it seems that recent events are preventing both of us from getting our shuteye." Nausicaä nodded, realizing that she couldn't argue with that. "Besides, I wished to speak to you without anyone listening."

Nausicaä crossed her arms. "I never knew you were so untrusting."

Obaba shook her head. "No, not untrusting, child, cautious. We must be careful."

"Why?"

Obaba considered her words for a moment. "There may be someone among us that is untrustworthy."

"What do you mean?" Nausicaä had no clue what the old woman was talking about. Who was untrustworthy?

Obaba paused before answering, trying to figure out how to put what she wanted to say into words. "Being blind is indeed a handicap that no one desires, however, there are certain advantages that come with it. Your other senses become much sharper. You begin to realize things that you did not when you relied on your sight."

Nausicaä nodded. "I can believe that."

"I can feel it in my bones, child." Obaba continued. "Something is not right."

"You mean the Ohmu attacking me?"

"More than that!" the old woman insisted. "Something was terribly wrong earlier. It happened during the time the Ohmu attacked. There was something, I cannot say what, but there was indeed something that was not the way it should be. Did you not sense it?"

Nausicaä opened her mouth to say that she didn't, but closed it again as she remembered the emotions the rampaging Ohmu had given off. Something had been wrong. Something unnatural that not even the insects knew about.

"I did. Not myself, but through the Ohmu. Something was driving it into its state of rage."

"Indeed. I am convinced that what was affecting the Ohmu was the same thing I sensed."

"Definitely something worth looking into." Nausicaä decided. "Maybe Ved can help. He does have better technology than we do."

"True." Obaba agreed. "And it was him that stilled the Ohmu. He has a powerful aura about him."

Again, Nausicaä nodded. "Do you think he's the one?"

"Possibly." Obaba admitted. "I would definitely put him on the list of candidates."

Nausicaä raised an eyebrow. "List of candidates?"

Obaba chuckled. "A figure of speech, child. It is indeed possible. However…"

"However?" What was 'however' supposed to mean.

"Yes, however. You see, I have been having thoughts on things."

"Such as?"

Obaba sighed. "Prophecies and predictions are never accurate. They normally happen naturally. If they are meant to be, then they are meant to be."

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Perhaps we should stop trying so hard."

Nausicaä's arms fell to her side. Now she was completely lost. "Stop trying so… I'm sorry, what?"

"We are trying to make the prophecy come true. It is said that by trying to stop a prophecy, that we actually make it happen faster or actually make it occur. We are going about trying to locate the one in the legend. Maybe by trying to make the prophecy come to pass, we are actually delaying it or stopping it."

Nausicaä gulped. She hadn't thought of that. It wasn't irrational either. This could very well be a possibility. If the legend didn't come to pass, would mankind continue down it's path of darkness until it eventually died out. The thought sent a shiver down Nausicaä's spin.

"Then what do you suggest?"

Obaba shook her head. "It's is not my place to make these decisions. You are one of the two in the prophecy. The choice is up to you. I am merely giving you all the possibilities."

Nausicaä sighed. Great, just what she needed, something else to worry about. But perhaps Obaba was right. Maybe they should stop trying so hard. Maybe the answers to all their questions were right under their noses.

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Lord Yupa was always a light sleeper. It came from his training; always on guard. Even the smallest of noises would wake him. He could also feel when someone was watching him, even in the deepest of sleep.

And it just so happened that it was this sensation that stirred him from his slumber. He awoke to the feeling of being watched. That shouldn't have been possible since the only other person in the room was Asbel, who was currently asleep.

No, the watcher, whoever they were, weren't even in the room. Lord Yupa felt them watching him from behind. And his back was to a window. Meaning that whoever was, for lack of a better word, spying on him had climbed up the wall and was peering in through the window.

The sword master's eyes narrowed. Who would be spying on him? Or perhaps it was Asbel they were spying on. Either way, he didn't like it.

His eyes darted across the room, over to the mirror hanging on the wall. He saw a person dressed in black watching him through the window. He couldn't tell who they were, mostly due to the mask they were wearing rather than the darkness. Well, if they wanted to watch him, then he would watch them.

Whoever they were, they didn't stick around long. No more than five minutes passed before they moved on. Lord Yupa's eyes narrowed. He didn't like being spied on. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

After making a few arrangements to his bed that made it look like he was still in it, Lord Yupa snuck out. He too knew how to move about without being detected by others. He just hoped that whoever had been spying on him didn't have as sharp of a sense as he did.

Once outside, and well hidden, Lord Yupa's eyes darted around to locate the trespassers. He was surprised to find quite a few. He counted at least twenty. They were crawling along the walls like the insects crawled up the trees. And they seemed to be looking in all the windows.

'What is this?' Lord Yupa thought. 'Is this some sort of attack? Are these people responsible for the Ohmu's rampage earlier?'

Then he realized that it wasn't just the palace that these strangers were crawling all over, but all the houses. Just what was this? Maybe he could knock one out and interrogate them later.

No, there were too many to pull off something like that without being discovered. He settled for just watching them as they continued to crawl over the houses, occasionally looking back in the window of his and Asbel's room. He had been right to make a decoy.

It was when the first rays of dawn appeared that the intruders retreated. Lord Yupa's eyes narrowed as he saw them heading for the Kalvandir ship. For some reason, this didn't surprise him. He very carefully followed, being as careful as possible to remain in what was left of the darkness the dawn provided.

The intruders lined up as the doors opened and two people exited. The first person looked like the head of Ved's royal guards, based on the way he was dressed. The second person he recognized as the short bald man that had been so eager to please his prince when the Kalvandirs first arrived, Ken, he believed his name was. Only now, instead of the happy helpful look he had worn before, he had a stuck up confidant smirk on his face as he looked at the spies.

"Well, what did you discover?" he asked.

One of the men in black stepped forward, bowing. "Sir, they were all sleeping peacefully. None of them suspect a thing." He hesitated. "Well, almost none of them."

The head guard stepped forward. "Explain!" he demanded.

"The old blind woman suspects something. She knows nothing of our plans, but she knows something is amiss and has informed the Guide."

The head guard glanced at Ken. "Sir?"

Ken just smirked. "The princess is of no threat to us. So some crazy old bat senses that something is wrong. As far as they're concerned, it's just a hunch. They have no knowledge on anything."

The head guard nodded. "Then is everything going according to plan?"

Ken nodded. "Yes, no one but us knows anything. It shouldn't be too hard to manipulate the Guide. And once we get her, I'm sure the prince will come as well, then all his people will follow him, just like the princess' people will follow her."

"Do you think he will go along with this?"

"Of course." Ken insisted. "Love makes people do foolish things."

The head guard nodded and turned to the spies. "That will be all. You may retire for the night."

"Sir!" the spies cried, and headed inside.

Ken snickered. "Phase one is complete. Now we just need the Guide to fall for our prince. Come, Roy."

The head guard nodded and followed Ken inside, the doors closing behind them.

Lord Yupa let out the breath he had been holding. So that's what was going on some sort of conspiracy within the Kalvandir kingdom. From what he could gather, it seemed as if this Ken was the mastermind behind it. It wouldn't be the first story he'd heard of a person of lower statues, but on good terms with royalty, that wanted more power. It looked like he was trying to get Nausicaä and Ved together and then find a way to control them both. Then there would be two kingdoms at his mercy.

"The Guide, huh?" Lord Yupa muttered. "That's one way to refer to Nausicaä. If she and Ved do fall for each other, and if Ken finds some way to control Nausicaä, Ved will follow her since she is the guide for the prophesized one. Assuming that Ved is the prophesized one."

But there were too many things he wasn't aware of. He needed more information on what was going on. He decided to bring this to Asbel's attention and the two of them would get to the bottom of this.

"I knew something like this would happen." he whispered, before taking off while the rising sun still left some darkness behind.

(A/N: It looks like a conspiracy is gong on. Seems like old Ken wants more power than he has and is playing both Ved and Nausicaä. But is there more to the plan than just that? That's what Lord Yupa is going to find out. And what about Obaba's knew theory? Could they actually be delaying the prophecy? Things are really becoming complicated, and I love it. Hope you do too. Let me know.)