Title: A Fractured Fairytale
Title: A Fractured Fairytale
Authors: Butterfly (Cyanide) and Sandy-sama (Mai)
Summary: When you're a devious, somewhat odd slave for your slightly evil stepmother, there's only one solution. Crossdressing. BoyxBoy happiness and other strange settings. A twist on the fairytale 'Cinderella'. Because not all endings are happy ones.
WARNING! This is a work of fiction; all characters and plot belong to Cyanide and Sandy-sama, who aren't making any money out of it. Do not plagiarize or claim anything found here as your own work in any way, or we'll be forced to use Sandy-sama's uberly amazing cacti suppression techniques against you. That or the moo-things.
Short note: Re-read the last two chapters before editing this one, and they were absolutely awful So to try and recap a lot of the storyline/plot lines (for future plotting I'm outlining), I re-ead the entire story.
Why did no one tell me how awful the editing was? :o
I don't know if it's because I've gotten better as a writer or if I was just terribly lazy then (it had been about two years since I first started putting it all together for Sandy and I), but hopefully I'll be able to go through and re-edit everything and tidy a fair bit up at some stage. As an extra point, I'm still looking for a Beta to help me with the new chapters. Let me know if you're interested :
So I've pretty much decided that, yes, I will be continuing with 'A Fractured Fairytale' for as long as I can. We're up to chapter ten! That's something for me, who's never actually stuck with anything for this long. It hasn't turned out how I'd originally planned, but I like this storyline a fair amount. It's interesting, though it doesn't keep to the original fairytale. I'm sorry to anyone who got annoyed about that. I was expecting to lose a few readers by this point.
You know what's weird though? Chapter ten, and still now sex.
:o
Crazy stuff :P
As another little note, I got a request from someone the other day to roleplay the story with me, using minor character's from the plot. If anyone's interested, I'm always happy to roleplay anything from 'A Fractured Fairytale', or any other type of fairytale actually : So If you're in the mood, let me know. My Email's
Anyway, review :D It gets the chapter's up quicker.
Cyan was listening to 'Good Times Gonna Come', by Aqualung, Watching 'Skins' and obsessively playing 'The Con' by Tegan and Sara while he was piecing chapter ten together.
-- – Change in Point of view
'Thoughts'
"Spoken"
Dedicated to Tsuki.
-heart-
--.A Fractured Fairytale.--
Chapter Ten - God is a Sadist
The small, warm body pressed close to his would be something to linger in Yuan's mind much later for long periods of time. As it was, the moment did not fully capture his attention and he merely nodded. When he thought back to the touch sometime after, he cursed himself for not having paid more mind.
He turned his back upon the small party the second Mezz, James, Syuu and Kian began to move off, striding off toward the trees to find some acceptable funeral flowers. Fynn stumbled along behind, and Yuan cursed himself as he heard the stable boy wheezing in pain and exertion. On having reached the edge of the forest, Yuan steadied the red head with his back carefully against the broad trunk of a tree. "Brace yourself," the blonde instructed, placing snapping the arrow shaft in half. Fynn nodded, trying not to let his fear obvious through the cracks of his expression. He didn't quite succeed, and Yuan was cautious to keep his eyes on the wound rather then the victim.
The arrowhead was not barbed, and slid out of the flesh far cleaner than Yuan had expected, although Fynn was probably too busy biting through his lip to be thankful for it. They bound the wound with some of the raggedy linen roll given to Fynn by Kian. Yuan took the tortured expression on Fynn's face to be one of pure pain, though it became obvious that other things were on the boy's mind. "Let me go back for Zuki, please Sir. Please, I-" Yuan interrupted with a curt "No." Fynn began to plead once more, but the Prince shook his head, agitated with another firm refusal, clinging to function by a thread. Though distraught and torn by the knowledge that his friend could be in pain or worse, Fynn didn't care disobey. Not only would it be defying the Crown Prince, but also Syuu, who would kill him if he knew Fynn had left Yuan alone.
Breathing quickly but steadily, Syuu kept up a steady pace with Kian and the two mounts without much difficulty. They traveled without talking; the horses' hooves made enough noise to jar their nerves without voices adding to it.
Kian was not discontented by the silence in any way. He ached all over. His legs, arms and ribs cried out with every movement the creature beneath him made, despite how smooth Mezz's stride was.
Despite Syuu's fears, they did not cross paths with a single person along the way, let alone an enemy. Just under twenty minutes later, they arrived in one piece at the chalk caves Yuan had mentioned. Syuu, wordless and panting slightly, took hold of Mezz and guided the three further into the caves until they'd reached the cave he knew Yuan would be able to find them in; Syuu had dragged Yuan here several times to try and teach him to swim in the large, clear pool in the centre of the cave. He'd never succeeded, but he'd persisted nonetheless.
"We'll wait here," he said between gasps, offering Kian a hand to dismount. "Are you alright?"
Kian dismounted somewhat slowly, this time declining Syuu's help.
"I'm well enough." Came the soft reply. "Though I do feel cheated. This was not the kind of day I had planned."
Standing solidly upon the ground once more, the pale boy looped Mezz's reins over the calm gelding's head and gave him a grateful pat on the shoulder. Once having surveyed the cave, Kian became rather horribly aware of the great pool of water in the center of the chamber. It was shallow around the edges, and the water was clear and still all the way through. It made him realize just how much thirsty he was just then, and dirty. A wash would be nice. But the bottom of the pool sloped down so that the center would have been deep enough to be almost as much as an arm's length above his head. The youth's fear of deep water crushed any thoughts of approaching the water instantly, leaving him shuddering.
Syuu sat back on a cold rock and watched Kian with half-lidded eyes, thoughtful.
"Prince Yuan won't thank me for saying this," he said abruptly. "I just need to know. What's the connection between you and this... state of affairs? I'm sorry, but I can't just call it off as coincidence. You arrive into Prince Yuan's life from nowhere. You're not who you say you are; I did some research this morning. And besides; forgive me for saying so, but you don't have the manners or the mannerisms of a Lady. In fact, you don't seem quite so different to the stable boys. Who are you, really? Did you arrange this? This invasion, assassination? What are your plans regarding Prince Yuan?"
"Here lay the vessel that carried the soul of Lady L'Erselle," Yuan's voice was low and respectful, but the urgency of finishing the ceremony swiftly could not be kept out of his words. "May her soul move on and find peace. May the pain she felt in life be forgotten. Holy Spirit, guide her to rest."
It was short; purely what was required and no more. They had no time, and those present had not known the girl enough to go past the customary prayers. Once all was over, they left without a backwards glance towards the chalk caves.
Or at least, Yuan did not look back.
Fynn's eyes did not stop to rest in one place for more then a moment as they set a hasty jog along the trail. He watched for the enemies that had attacked him less then an hour earlier, but more then that he was hopeful for a glimpse of Zuki's serious face. Desperate to believe that his friend was not… Fynn promised over and over again in his head that he'd come back and rescue him as soon as the Prince would allow it.
That, or retrieve his body for burial.
--
By now, James had become calm once more, and his shoulder had stopped bleeding long ago. All in all, it barely seemed to hinder the great bay horse. Making a note to wash the wound later on, Kian seated himself upon the cool stone ground with his back to the wall, knees pulled up to his chest.
Eyes upon the floor, he trailed his fingertips along the rough ground, skipping over the ripped and dirtied hem of his dress. The garment was now far from the royal gown it had been that morning, caked in blood and dirt. The boy himself was not all that much better, in comparison. His lips felt dry and cracked, skin paler then it had been and hair windswept from riding. The only thing that seemed to remain of the elegant lady was his eyes, icy and clear blue as always.
"Do you honestly believe that someone like myself could organize such a thing?"
A humorless laugh passed his lips and his fingertips continued to trail over the uneven rock.
"You take me for a fool, Syuu. I am all too well aware of this Kingdom's defenses, and even if I wished to, I wouldn't be quite insane enough to attempt to such a thing as invade your Prince's homeland." His eyes moved back to the older male's face, not surprised by the mistrust there. Carefully, he avoided the subject of his mannerisms.
Suddenly, his eyes flickered away to the pool of water, troubled and hidden by long strands of dark hair.
"As for Prince Yuan…"
Hesitation.
"You have no need to worry. What I'm hoping to achieve won't hurt him in the slightest. I'll be gone soon enough, in a few months' time I won't even be remembered here."
It was obvious that Syuu didn't believe a word of it. He wasn't inclined to assume the best of people as Yuan was, although he wouldn't describe himself as pessimistic either. But right now, he was more worried for Yuan than he had ever been before. Although Syuu would rather die than admit as much, he wasn't all that bothered about what happened to the rest of the Royal family or the Noble houses. But he considered Yuan something of a best friend or a brother that needed protecting even though the Prince was both older and much higher in status than himself.
"If Prince Yuan can come out of this unhurt by you," he said finally, "then do what you please. I don't think I can call you Lady - not that you want me to, I think - but I suppose I can be civil." He suddenly flashed Kian a very brief smile. "And no, I don't think you're a fool at all, Kian. Just a tad too enigmatic for my liking."
The corner of Kian's mouth tugged up into a small smile to mirror Syuu's. He'd wondered how long the forever pleasant-faced stable boy could go without smiling.
"Then I thank you for that."
A moment more of silence passed between the pair before Kian glanced back at the stable boy once more, stretching out oddly long legs (in relation to his size, anyway) and shifting about in his seat on the ground.
"Will you be alright? It's rather obvious you knew L'Erselle, your reaction to her…demise warranted more then simply having 'met her once or twice'."
Syuu chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "I knew her... of a sort," he said slowly. His gaze fell on the pool of still water, and he was quiet for a few moments, wondering how much to say. Then he suddenly huffed, almost a chuckle, and said, "Well, we're a pair and a half. We both have a roomful of secrets behind us." He shook his head, amused. He had a strange sense of humor.
"I was born into slavery in the West," he began, voice holding no bitterness, only a sort of 'what can you do' attitude. "It wasn't so bad, as slavery goes. My mother died giving birth to me, and I was raised by my father for the first seven years of my life. He was a good man. Then one day in winter our 'master'," Syuu's dry tone was enough to convey just how he'd felt about the man. "Lost all his land in some bad business or another; I don't know what exactly. All of us - the slaves, I mean - were taken to other families, and my father and I were separated. I haven't seen him since.
Then, when I was ten, the Jevoign family came to visit the family I waited upon. There were only three of them, all female; the men must've been away somewhere. Lady L'Erselle was... fourteen, I think, at the time. I was out exercising the horses in the woods, and she saw me. She gave me a huge fright; she literally just jumped on me, screaming and crying. I nearly panicked, I can tell you." He smiled at the memory. "It turned out that she'd thought I was her little cousin, who'd gone missing three years before. She wouldn't listen when I told her I wasn't, and she only believed me after her mother had paid a good sum of money to buy me, and she discovered I didn't have her cousin's birthmark. But I became her personal servant for about two years, and she treated me like I was part of the family.
I left after that to go and work in the Carliss Royal stables." Syuu didn't give a reason. "I've been there ever since. I missed her quite a lot; she was the…female family I'd never known." There was a moment of silence, then Syuu shrugged it off with a light laugh. "Just goes to show that Death and Fate don't discriminate," he said ruefully. "They fuck with... Oh, begging your pardon." Syuu came as close as he ever came to a blush. "They destroy anyone and everyone, good or bad."
Kian blinked at the short, but to the point retelling of the stable boy's past.
He hadn't expected to hear anything of the sort, but it did explain a lot, mainly the L'Erselle side of things. Slavery. It seemed all too much like his own situation with his stepmother, in some aspects. With a jolt, Kian realized he'd all but forgotten the three women, his 'family', for a few moments. That in its self was surprising, as they had never managed to stray far from his mind before. Whether he was wondering just what they wanted now or imagining their bloody deaths, Kian rarely could completely forget his step sisters' and mother. Now, the thought of death at his hands was…disconcerting. It held little of the original satisfaction.
Suddenly, the youth recalled how happy Syuu had constantly seemed to be when they had first met (barely a few hours ago, long as the day had seemed. Kian could hardly believe it had only been 48 hours since he had been retrieving the laundry from his step sister's rooms and preparing their evening meal). How strange it was, knowing what he did now about the other male and realizing he could smile through it all.
Fate.
A wry smile ghosted over Kian's lips.
"Don't bother," He began, barely registering the curse. He'd heard far more colored expression working with the other staff in his home, the kitchens especially. "And you're right. They seem to enjoy taking away what little people have."
Syuu chuckled a little, still slightly embarrassed at his slip of tongue, but disregarding it, reminding himself that Kian wasn't, as such, a 'Lady'. "From the day I first met him, I used to pray that Prince Yuan would never know that kind of pain," he said, sadness flashing across his face before vanishing back into the calm expression. Kian's expression became puzzled by the words, but it went unnoticed. "I suppose I went unheard. I wish..." he shook his head. "Well, never mind that now. I'll take care of him and Fynn. I think you're more than capable of taking care of yourself, hmm?" he asked dryly, grinning a little at Kian. "But if you need it, I'm here."
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard echoing round the cave walls. Startled, Syuu tensed, but relaxed when he heard Fynn's voice call his name. "Prince Yuan?" He was rewarded by a gruff noise of acknowledgement. Syuu stood and hurried to greet them.
"The surrounding lands are being scoured for Jace and I," Yuan's voice was expressionless, as he came to a halt before the relieved stable boy. "We must be quiet; sound carries in here. Silence until nightfall, then we'll start moving towards Dybre. Is that understood?"
Syuu's brow furrowed at their destination. Dybre? Whatever for?
Kian had remained seated, vaguely surprised by the man that stood before him.
Yuan appeared older since having left them only half an hour earlier, his face dark and worried. It was hard to believe this was the same boy who had showed Kian the palace garden's the night before. But then, he concluded, death changed people.
Simply nodding in agreement, the boy got to his feet and straightened his dress. James and Mezz, who had remained silent to one side of the cave, both appeared calm, though tired. Remembering his promise to clean out the wound now caked with dark blood upon the bay gelding's shoulder, Kian decided to do so then. Gathering some of the remaining bandages brought with him from the stables earlier on, he dipped the soft cloth in the cool water of the central pool (ever cautious of its dark depths) and cautiously inched his way towards the horses. Taking James by his head, Kian smoothed the damp skin around the wound before gently beginning to wipe away the congealing blood. The act soothed him, to have something to keep his hands and at least part of his mind busy.
They sat in silence for the rest of the day, save for the gentle dripping of the clear water that ran along the ceiling before falling into the pool. Syuu had managed to light a little fire, reassuring Yuan that it wouldn't be visible from outside the cave, which provided a very welcome warmth and light.
Yuan spent the entire five, nearly six hours with a completely blank mind. He'd desperately needed the time to just rest both body and mind and recuperate his sanity. It must have worked; by the time Syuu quietly said, "It's getting dark, Prince Yuan," he was able to think far more coherently, far more like the Yuan of yesterday (was it really only that long ago? It had seemed like a lifetime ago that all was well, and the worst thing he'd had to worry about had been his coming of age ball).
"Come on," he ordered, calm and collected. "Fynn, Kian, you two ride James and Mezz. Follow Syuu and I. But Fynn, you'll have to guide us, since neither of us knows how to get to the border from here."
Fynn nodded, still pale and with a tormented look to his eyes.
As the sun set, casting rays of golden light through the cavern opening, Kian glanced quickly over the side saddle James had been carrying for the majority of the day. Though the saddle blanket would come in handy as a slight cushion for riding upon, the saddle it's self was useless. It was uncomfortable, impractical and would generally get in the way. It seemed a shame to leave behind such a well made piece of equipment, but it's craftsmanship did not save the saddle from being left behind in the cavern.
Still so aware of the fact that even the smallest of sounds could carry throughout the area, the boy simply mounted the bay horse (though he was unable to avoid looking somewhat awkward, as the skirts and his general lack of height hindered his movements) and sat himself as any man would, astride James this time.
"Are we ready?"
"Yes," Yuan nodded briefly. Fynn mounted Mezz bareback and nodded a moment later, barely appearing to keep track of what was being said.
"Then let's leave. Fynn, give Syuu directions when we need them. I think it'll be best if you two lead, and I'll bring up the rear." Syuu started to head forward and Fynn followed close behind, letting Mezz have the loosest possible rein, confident that she would quietly follow the stable boy ahead. They departed the caves in silence.
The Prince was concentrating on the path ahead too much to notice, but behind them smoke could be seen rising in thick clouds from the direction of the Carliss capital. Fynn, however, was quick to spot the dark plumes standing out starkly in the gold streaked sky. His sharp little teeth sunk into the flesh of his lower lip, and blood trickled down his chin unnoticed. "I'm so sorry, Zuki," he whispered.
The soft apology was difficult to ignore, especially with the mess over Fynn's face.
"Stop thinking, keep moving." Kian muttered softly to the stable boy.
It was something Kian himself had to do, as he too had left something (in fact, the only thing) important to him behind.
His father's journal.
It was only just recently that the youth had remembered it at all. The mess of events that had occurred between that moment and him having left it tucked safely inside the dress he had worn to the ball just before he went to sleep had been more then enough to distract him. Now that he knew he was without it, though, Kian felt as though he'd gone and physically left a limb behind him.
It hadn't been quite as bad when he'd had to do the same the night before, at the ball. Perhaps because he'd known he would be returning, that it wasn't gone forever. It had been a relief when he'd had it with him once more. Now, though, Kian highly doubted that he would be able to go back for the aged journal. Truthfully, he wasn't even sure what he was doing here, following on with this strange procession. Though he had nothing left in Carliss (aside from the tattered book), there was nothing for him out of it's lands either. He would have no gold, no noble father awaiting him in Dybre, nothing. Eventually, he'd need to slip away. Whether that was before they crossed the borders or after, he did not know.
Fynn glanced up at the girl, startled, before giving a mute nod. "I know," he whispered back, "I'm trying. Do you think...I mean, could he be..." the words choked and died in his throat, and Fynn let the silence blanket them for a moment. "Never mind." He nudged Mezz forward to walk next to Syuu.
Syuu did not look up when the hoof beats drew closer, only murmured, "Can you take point for a while, Fynn? I want to drop back." The red head nodded obligingly and Syuu paused for a few seconds until he was level with Kian and James before starting to walk again.
Kian felt a wave of panic wash over him at the new arrangement.
To be completely honest, the raven haired boy was almost-just-maybe-a-tiny-bit afraid of the perceptive stable boy. This had taken Kian the four or so hours since their conversation in the cave to admit to, which probably could say something about his ego.
"I hope you don't mind me asking," Syuu began, polite out of sheer habit, "but I'd like your opinion on our current situation. Why would Rennac attack us? They're a very powerful nation; I've been thinking about it from every angle I can. Why would we not have heard anything at all? Why attack Carliss first? We're a large nation, and reasonably powerful, but not so much that our lands would be the top of the list for an assault. Did Lady L'Erselle say anything that might explain the Emperor's actions? I'm far from being a military strategist, but I like to think that I'm reasonably intelligent, and this just doesn't make any sense to me."
For Kian, his quick 'mission' had snowballed into a very different situation, and for the moment he had no clue how to handle it. For the time being, both Yuan and Fynn seemed too wrapped up in their own problems to notice much else (and hopefully it would remain that way until Kian figured out just what to do about it all exactly), but Syuu had become something of a threat in the youth's mind. Even with all that had occurred in the last short hours, he was still thinking rationally and in normal focus.
"No, she said nothing about it."
Kian's face was calm, but his knuckles were white as they gripped the reins.
"Past what you've considered I have no idea. Besides, we have don't know whether or not other countries have been attacked in the last few days. We may be the first, or simply part of a chain."
Kian was only a farm boy, after all. Military tactics were not his forte.
Syuu shook his head. "No; if anyone close by had been attacked recently then we'd have known about it. We'd have likely have been asked for help, if the neighboring capitals have been attacked it would have been reported to the King by the people he has stationed in them. Of course, it's possible that the Emperor attacked overseas before us... but that would have taken months, and in that case King Rupei must have heard something... unless the Emperor has been planting soldiers there little by little... but what a ridiculous amount of effort that would take, and for what purpose...?" Syuu's voice had degraded into a mumble, evidently thinking aloud more than talking to Kian. "The Carliss Royal family... I can't think of any special reason that he'd want to assassinate them... although, of course, cut off the head of the snake and all that. It could be that he's trying to take over the continent and he's attacking us, Dybre, Rennac and Kiltch all at once... but imagine the sheer force of the Rennac armies... no, it can't be possible. Oh. Oh. Kiltch was undergoing some sort of crisis recently... I don't suppose... no... well, it's possible, they are ridiculously secretive... but they'd surely have asked for some kind of help if they were being invaded... oh, of course, unless it was hushed up by the Emperor after taking Kiltch over... that should definitely be checked..." Syuu lapsed into silence, blue eyes vague as he thought.
Up ahead, Yuan could hear the sound of Syuu's voice, but he couldn't make out the words. Still, it was soothing to hear his voice rambling on. The stable boy was generally a quiet person, but when he and Yuan were alone he tended to talk a lot more. Especially if he was making another attempt to teach Yuan how to swim.
Grey eyes turned wistful as Yuan's thoughts turned to the past again. Two days. That's all it had been. Shaking his head slightly at himself, Yuan concentrated on not tripping over the small rocks that were starting to litter their way as they walked higher and higher on the path through the mountains.
Having realized the words were no longer directed at him, Kian had tuned out of the now one-sided conversation long ago. After a few minutes of hazy thought while Syuu mumbled away beside him, a shock came to the youth when he suddenly realized what it would all mean.
War.
Oh.
Hmm.
Wait…Oh.
Damn.
Like most people his age, Kian was completely unknown to war and it's effects. There had been no large scale battles directly concerning Carliss in quite a few decades. Of course, he had heard stories and songs of the terrible thing, but the utter destruction of it all could not quite be relayed back to him through the pretty words.
An hour dragged by in silence, each of the four keeping their thoughts to themselves once Syuu's voice died away entirely. Kian's alternated between the obvious; how the future would play out for him, his now in-pieces plan, his father's journal and James' shoulder. The gelding was doing well, but even with having had the rest at the cave, James was tiring rapidly.
They traveled through the rest of the night, getting gradually slower and slower thanks to tiredness and the increasingly steep path. The air grew icy, and Yuan found himself shivering, wishing he'd brought a cloak or a jacket, anything. Syuu seemed perfectly at home, but then he was hardly one to express himself openly. He realized suddenly that if he was cold, then Kian, with her thin dress that was missing a layer or so of cloth thanks to her using it for makeshift bandages, must be frozen to the bones.
Kian was cold. But his bedroom dropped to similar temperatures on winter nights, and on the whole he was able to ignore the worst of it. Riding bareback on James with nothing but a thin saddle blanket between the two of them had turned out to be a brilliant idea. The horse's body heat was wonderful. Other then that, though, he had taken action against the freezing temperature by using some of the strips of material from his dress (ready for both his mount and Fynn) as gloves, wrapping them around and around his hands and up his arms. There was little he could do to keep his actual body and head warm, but he could attempt to distract himself by trying to find those strange shapes in the stars he'd read about in his journal.
For awhile, it was enough to keep him occupied. However, when he turned slightly to see behind him, confident that James would simply follow the horse in front, the reality of the situation once more set in. For while the sky before them was clear and beautiful, the space behind them was thick with smoke that hid the stars, tinged red by the reflection of the fire beneath it. Yuan pointedly ignored the scene left behind as he dropped back to walk beside Kian, having moved up the line to take the lead some time earlier.
"How are you holding up?" he asked, concerned. It felt as though he hadn't spoken to her for hours, and indeed he hadn't. Guilt rose in his throat. "I'm so sorry that you've had to get mixed up in…this. As soon as we get to Dybre, you needn't concern yourself with it any longer. You can go home." It was almost hard for him to say those last words; Kian was a reassuring presence, somehow. But of course, he couldn't let her get any more involved in this than she already was.
"Well enough," he replied quietly.
The mention of Dybre and his 'home' left Kian to wonder how to reply. Could he leave? He had nothing left for him in Carliss, and unless Yuan carried a sack of gold on him at all times (which Kian was pretty sure he did not), there was little point in continuing with his plan at all. This, of course, meant there was no point in staying with the Royal, either.
So Kian did the first this he could think of, he avoided the comment.
"More importantly, how are you?"
"I'm fine," Yuan responded automatically. Kian gave him a blank look, and Yuan gave a sheepish smile and sighed, running a hand absently through his pale hair. "Well, not exactly fine," he conceded, "but well enough." He thought perhaps she rolled her eyes at his use of her own answer, but he couldn't be sure in the darkness.
"Manageable." He rephrased. "I'm just grateful that I'm not alone... I'm worried for Jace. He was out on one of his cross-country rides, but he was meant to be back yesterday. I don't know where he is. I don't know whether he's safe, or captured, or even dead. It... frustrates me."
'Frustrate' was a slight understatement, but Yuan had, of course, grown up under the rule that one should use the mildest words possible to express one's strongest feelings. For the first time in his life, Yuan wished that he was carrying a weapon. His rapier would have done very nicely. Even a dagger would have been good. But no; the only weapons any of them now had were the stable boy's standard penknives, and unless Kian had managed to hide her little knife…wherever she had gotten it from hours before (Yuan really hadn't wanted to consider just where she'd hidden it up until their attack. He'd wondered briefly why she'd had such a weapon on her at all, but not for long), they had nothing that would be particularly useful in a dangerous situation.
"I guessed as much." Kian smiled wryly.
"Though that is not quite the word I'd use for such a situation, if I were in your place."
He kept his gaze down at James' withers. The strong shoulders of the gelding rippled with each step that took them further and further away from the place that had been Kian's home for his entire life. The place he had been born and raised in, however miserably much of that time may have been. It was only now he realized how hard it was to truly leave it all behind.
"You did the right thing. We wouldn't have made it this far if we had have stayed, for anything…or anyone."
"... Yes, I suppose that you're right," Yuan said quietly. "But he's my brother, you see. My little brother. I'm supposed to look after him. Although he's not very easy to look after, what with him going off on all those trips... Still..." Yuan trailed off, but managed to shake himself loose a second later and tried for a lopsided smile, which only came off as a pained grimace. "Well, I can only hope that he's intelligent enough to head for Dybre too, supposing that he's still alright. I don't think they'll have killed him; didn't Lady L'Erselle say that the Emperor wanted myself and Jace alive? And once we get to Dybre then I'll send a message to my mother. She'll find out what's going on."
He smiled warmly at Kian. It was somewhat lacking, but considering the circumstances it was the best he could muster. Kian found it difficult to completely concentrate on what Yuan was actually saying and not the boy himself. He looked…worn out, drained of any energy he had. Even in this tired state, though, he somehow managed to retain the look of…well, a Prince.
Realizing what the hell he was thinking, Kian had to use every bit of his mental power to keep from hitting himself. What a stupid thing to think about, the voice in his mind sneered, which had been oddly quiet for the last few hours. You're going soft for a bloody Royal.
Bitterly, the voice was told to fuck off.
"I'm confident that he'll be fine," He returned the smile, though his face was unused to such an action, rather then his customary smirk. "That is, if he's anything like his brother."
Told you. Soft.
Yuan managed a weak chuckle. "Thank you," he said, reaching up a hand to pat at Kian's arm in thanks. "I'll try not to think about it too much."
The good-natured pat given out so freely was completely unexpected by the dark haired boy, causing Kian to jump with shock when the warm hand made contact with his cold skin. Once he realized exactly what had happened, Kian's cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment.
His mind snickered cruelly.
"Good, then. We need you to remain, ah, calm. You are the one leading us, after all."
"I suppose so," Yuan sighed. He glanced towards the sky and then further up the path and said, "We'll stop when we reach the top of the pass. We all need sleep. And James looks like he could use a rest," he added, gesturing to the slight limp that the horse was developing.
He hadn't noticed Kian's uncomfortable reaction to his friendly touch; his normal reflexes and grasp of things was still far from back to normal. He did notice the blush, but put it down to the coldness of the wind. Or something.
Up ahead, Syuu and Fynn had surreptitiously glanced back and were watching furtively, Syuu out of a tiny niggling worry for Yuan, Fynn out of pure curiosity, finally having something to distract himself for the constant worry over Zuki's life.
"Hey, Syuu?" Fynn whispered. "Looks like his Highness might be straight after all."
"You can call him Prince Yuan too, you know," Syuu murmured back. "You know he hates 'Highness'."
"Stop changing the subject. Seriously, whaddaya think?"
Thoughtfully, Syuu took in the now relaxed posture of the Prince, the rare true smile, and the emotions that looked suspiciously like affection in his grey eyes. He shrugged and said, "Who knows. He might take after his Highness Prince Jace."
"Maybe..." Fynn shrugged too. He turned back to face the front and glanced down at Syuu, a small glimmer of his usual mischief coming back. "Bet you'd be disappointed if he turned out straight, eh?" he grinned. Syuu stiffened. "I don't understand what you mean."
Fynn smirked.
Suddenly, Syuu paused for half a step, then continued again. Fynn glanced down at him once more, puzzled. "Why'd you stop?" he asked.
"Don't look," Syuu said quietly, "but we're being followed."
Alarmed, Fynn almost did look in the direction that Syuu slightly tilted his head, but managed to hold himself in check, barely. "Who?" he hissed.
"Don't know. Stay sharp."
--Chapter Ten--
Author's Note: Ha, Another chapter up. Lemme know if you like it :
Sreia: You're right, it would have been a waste. I like the story, anyway, and I'm glad you do too :D Here's a chapter for you guys who reviewed, thanks so much for taking the time. I love to open my inbox to see them :
Firedraygon: I'd hoped people would pick up on the 'torment' kind of things going on in the background. I think now I can start getting a little more into the relationships and mind sets of the characters, though I want to stick to Sandy's characterizations as much as possible in a few chapters' time when I start to write on my own. I have about twenty or so pages worth of roleplay between the two of us left. Hopefully people will still read and enjoy when I'm on my own :\
But yeah, haha : Good to hear you were interested in it. Let me know if you pick out anything else you enjoy, I like to know what'd worth putting effort into and all that.
Escaped: I think it's one of the only slash/gay fairytales on too o.o I'd love it if there were more. It's great to hear you like it though :D It really does give me a high to hear about people liking our work 3 Hope you get to read the newest chapter, I tried to get it up as quickly as possible.
No Name-M: A new reader!! :D Dude, I love you :P Haha, thanks very much for reviewing, I'm gonna give a go at updating the summary a little eventually, seeing as we sort of spiraled away from the original plot, haha. Hope you get to see the newest chapter :