That is right, Kazune was a liar. He wouldn't tell her anything about himself and Karin knew that if she asked he would be angry about it. But then again, she was no better than him when it came to lying. She had told him nothing but the truth about her past, but keeping secrets is also lying. She deeply wanted him to figure out her lie and he was only teasing it. His meaningless acts of kindness and his constant prying at her melting heart made it hard for her to ever gain the courage to let him know that she was falling for his charms.
Did Kazune even realize the spell he had cast over her? She was being drawn by tightly wound strings and the tug she felt burned her as they sank deeper into her skin. This heat, this friction between them would either destroy them both or weld them together. She wanted him to allow her to love him but Kazune chased her advances away.
"If only you paid more attention to me, you'd realize how much it hurts to try to love you!" She thought at him. His warmth was inviting. But he could be so cold.
"I want to know his lies. I want to explore his mind and learn of his hatred. From the darkness to the freshness of his soul, I want to know it all."
Kazune was sadistic in her mind. He had her locked in a box to which he told her to search for the key while jingling the keys just outside the latch.
Karin walked in silence after Kazune mentioned his lie. To Kazune's surprise, she did not get nosy on the subject, which disappointed him. He wanted to tell her, her wanted to make her guess it. He was trying so hard to show her through his actions but she always called them cruel. How frustrating.
"I parallel her actions form before and she is too dense to realize I share her feelings." Kazune grumbled to himself. How long would it take before she realized, or did she hate him for not complying with her first advances? He was doing what she wanted after all, he had fallen for her during this trip and as she predicted, there had been many opportunities to love her.
Kazune's thoughts were interrupted by that bell voice and her sudden stopping in front of him. Kazune ran into Karin, succeeding in bumping his nose on her head hard enough for it to bleed.
"Ah! Goddamnit, Karin! Don't stop so suddenly!"
"Don't space out then!" She replied with an annoyed tone.
"What did you want to tell me?" Kazune asked holding his nose shut while searching for a handkerchief.
"I just wondered, was there such a huge wall on the map you drew up before?"
This made Kazune uneasy. I squinted through the foliage and could see the huge white, guarded wall that blocked their way.
"Oh no..." he trailed off.
The great kingdom has expanded, turning their 3 day trip into a day and a half. The unforeseen obstacle was about to cost them their entrance plans. They had no pelts and no tradable goods.
"Oh no." he said again as he squatted to the ground covering his eyes and shaking his head.
"What do we do?" Karin asked. "We aren't prepared to go in yet."
Kazune looked up at Karin as he thought about how to fix their problem. As he looked up at her, he was charmed by her long hair and large eyes once again, even though this was NOT the time for it. However, during his daydream, he came up with an idea that might get them in. Karin wouldn't like it though.
"Um... well, I have an idea, but you'll have to be willing to do some embarrassing things..."
Karin furrowed her brow and looked at Kazune for a long, hard time.
"What kind of things?" she asked with her hands on her hips now.
Her stare reminded him of the time she turned into an ice woman back when they met.
"How would you feel about me sneaking you in as a...well..."
"What?! Tell me or I'll make you do my idea!"
Bothered by the thought of what she'd make him do Kazune answered.
"I'd sneak you in, but you have to be dressed and under the alias of a sex slave..."
Almost as soon as those last two words left his lips did Karin's fist hit his already bleeding nose. Her hair was frosting over and the icy eyes Kazune had seen once glazed over. In her whispery cool breath Karin shot a sharp icicle under his throat and said:
"What if I ship you in as frozen meat and feed you to the pigs once we enter?"
Kazune was trembling where he stood and started to sweat. Karin was terrifying and he had forgotten that. Her hair danced around and the air grew cold. Off in the distance, he could hear the guards commenting on the sudden change in temperature. The icicle touched his skin and began to freeze to it. He wanted to calm Karin down but had no idea how. He couldn't melt her, the fire would alert the guards and talking wasn't helping him right now.
"Okay, okay, we won't do my idea if you don't want to! Please just calm down."
Karin stared at him with her furious eyes but slowly thawed.
"So, what was your idea?" Kazune asked with a breath of relief.
"I've forgotten." came the curt voice that quite obviously detested him. "I wouldn't mind doing that if you were the slave."
The thought of him being the sex slave made Kazune realize how embarrassed Karin would feel. But he disliked the idea more because she would be acting as his master.
"I refuse. Is there anything else you can think of?"
Karin thought for a moment before coming to her resolve.
"Alright, I will do it, but if I am to be a sex slave, wouldn't it be better if I had had sex with someone?" she smiled her impish smile.
"No, virgins are much better." Kazune shot back with his own smirk.
"So that gets you off, huh? What else, should we do? Dress me in a skimpy outfit and lead me by a leash? Karin joked.
"You read my mind."
Startled by Kazune's statement, Karin was about to protest but there was a collar fastened around her neck before she could blink.
"Where did you get this?!"
"I brought it in case of trapping a wolf companion, but this is a much better use for it." said the blonde warlock."Now, for your clothes, I don't think they need to be skimpy but I will alter them a bit."
Kazune walked over to Karin and proceeded to tug at a torn seam causing the kimono to rip to above her knees. He also took the strings that held her sash together into his custody. He used those to tie her wrists together. All the while Karin stood there too shocked to move or even react. She watched as Kazune moved her clothing around and get so close she could feel his warmth radiating off. By the time he was done, Karin's cleavage was fully exposed, her legs felt bare, her hands were tied up and she was chained to a tree. her hair cascaded over her shoulders and her green eyes were wet with confusion.
Kazune got to work on his own appearance. He couldn't walk in looking as he did now or he wouldn't look professional. He removed his tunic to uncover his skin tight white shirt. He tucked his pants into his boots and removed the pendants from their chains so his magic status would not be known. Kazune walked over to a bush with dark berries and ground a couple baskets full into a paste which he proceeded to dip his hair into. He stood with his head in a basket for a while, which amused Karin to some extent. He looked funny that way. Afterwards, he pulled his hair out and rinsed it off in a nearby stream. His once sunbeam hair was dark as raven feathers. Looking at him like this, Karin almost thought he was even more handsome. The milky skin and sapphire eyes, framed by dark locks of hair made him look mature.
Kazune completed his look by braiding part of his hair and pulling it back into a little ponytail.
"When we reach the gate I will do all the talking. Try not to look angry, give out more of a defeated look. Don't say anything, no matter what is asked and once we get in, I will find somewhere for us to change back to normal, okay with you?
"Yeah, sure." Karin said with downcast eyes. She was blushing madly at the whole thing and now that Kazune looked even more attractive, she caught herself being okay with playing sex slave.
He grasped the leash and lead her towards the wall. Kazune was not sure of this plan but it should work if he chose his words correctly. Even if he had to slip some obedience spells in, they had a good chance of getting unscathed.
"Hold it!" the very beefy guard screeched.
"What?" Kazune asked in his best punk voice.
"What business do you have in the kingdom?" The second guard demanded.
"Ah, that? Well I have some pretty high-end cargo with me, ya know." He smirked and gestured back with his thumb towards Karin who was standing bashfully behind Kazune.
The guards got grossly lustful faces at the sight of Karin.
"Fine indeed, we might have to confiscate this as human trafficking is illegal here."
"Oh please. Ya can't have this one, she's far too pricy for your blood. And I'm sure you wouldn't want the ol governor on your tail for stealing his high-end virgin slave." Kazune whispered into the guard's ear.
The guard shot him an alarmed side glance. "The Governor's?" he asked.
"That's what I said, isn't it. And before ya get any more ideas, he has paid in advance, so ya better let me though if ya don't want taxes goin' up to cover the cost."
Karin stood there and watched as Kazune persuaded the guards to let them in.
"Girly!" shouted the other one, "What's your name? A pretty chit like you ought to have a mighty pretty one."
Karin was about to answer but was quickly interrupted by Kazune's strong voice.
"Ay, I told you she is for the Governor, don't go questioning my merchandise."
"We won't damage her, we'll just do a pat down to make sure she isn't carrying any weapons." They said with a glint in their eyes.
Kazune's heart raced.
"Ya can't touch her!"
"If you don't let us, we won't let you through. It's our job." they smiled.
The guards advanced towards Karin and she began to look panicked. All Kazune could do is look at her with a deeply apologetic look. Karin looked into Kazune's eyes and saw his apology. Resigning herself to her fate, she gritted her teeth as the first guard places his hands over her breasts.
Kazune watched with growing anger as they ran their grotesque hands over her body. They rubbed he thighs with force enough to create dimples in the soft flesh that resided there. The squishing and rise and fall of her breasts in their hands made Kazune jealous beyond compare and when the second guard snaked his hand under Karin's dress, Kazune snapped.
He pulled on the leash and nearly made Karin fall over from the force.
"Are ya done feelin' up my merchandise yet?! If you've left a mark, the ol Governor will be pissed and you'll get the bunt of it!"
"Yeah, yeah fine, go in you bastard. We's just having a little fun." Spat the first guard.
Scowling, Kazune turned and pulled Karin to the gate.
"Thanks for not letting them go that far." she whispered into his ear. Kazune didn't respond, but Karin could see a murderous look in his eyes. He was disgusted and enraged. He thought back to when he found Karin in the snow and remembered that he had been glad he found her instead of creeps like them.
At that thought, the gates opened slowly, letting the first crack of city light through the doors. The scent of the kingdom wafted into their noses and before them lied the largest kingdom in the land.