Entwined
Angelica Diablo

Disclaimer: Don't own anyone. This is the sequel to Beloved.




"You are my beloved." I whispered to her as she caressed my cheek. "Always." I had
wanted to say the words for so long. Little did I know we were being watched. Two
sets of eyes were watching us through the window. One pair was blue-green as the sea,
and the other was a pale violet.

I didn't know this as I dipped my head to kiss Mia again. Again she muttered my name,
"Kayura!" Oh how good it felt to hear that word fall from her lips with such emotion
behind it. If I had been paying attention to something outside of my ladylove I would
have heard what was going on on the other side of the window; the drama on the
balcony I had been a part of just fifteen minutes before was still going on without me.

"Mia, Mia wouldn't date me…but she'd date Kayura?" The utter shock was in Sage's
voice as he spoke softly with Cye.

Cye had shrugged. "Apparently…I'm sorry Sage."

"What for?" Sage asked, then looked at Cye, knowledge dawning in Sage's eyes as he
put two and two together. "You knew Kayura was in love with Mia when I came out
here earlier, didn't you? That's what you were talking about, wasn't it?"

Cye nodded. "Yes Sage." Cye never took his eyes off the embracing couple.

Sage managed to pull his eyes away from his number one crush and her lesbian lover to
give Cye a hard look. "And you still gave me advice on how to get Mia, knowing it was
futile." The tone of his voice making it a statement, not a question.

Cye shook his head. "No. I didn't know who Mia liked. I had no idea she'd go for
Kayura." He said.

Sage sighed, unable to stay mad at Cye for long when the redhead talked in that tone of
voice. "Cye, is something wrong with you?"

Cye shook his head again. "No."

"Did you like Mia?"

Cye gave what could have been a chuckle. "No."

"Cye?"

"No. I don't." Cye turned abruptly and walked back into the house, leaving Sage to his
thoughts.

But I did not know that, then. Then I was aware only that Mia had found the back of my
neck with her fingers as I nearly crushed her against me. I had to pull away to breath. I
felt light headed, I felt grounded, I felt like I was going to spontaneously combust, I felt
chills traveling over my body…the only constant was my need for oxygen at that
moment.

Mia was smiling. Before she could say anything I said, "Mia, I wish I'd had the guts to
tell you earlier…"

Mia silenced me with the look in her eyes. "No, don't wish to change the past." She
told me. I smiled as she caressed the side of my face gently.

"Hey guys! Dinner!" Kento shouted as he went through the house. He was being kind
and giving everyone fair warning before he took out the kitchen single-handedly. He
got to Mia's study and opened the door to find Mia and I still in each other's arms.

"Hey Mia? You coming to…" Kento's words died in his throat when he spotted the two
of us as we blushed horribly back at him. Oh great. Kento's mouth was still open, but
for once no sound was coming out of it. Never a good sign.

"What are you lookin' at?" I challenged him openly. Mia shot a look at me out of the
corner of her eye, but she didn't seem to have a better idea of how to handle Kento.

"N-nothing." Kento stuttered.

When he turned to leave Mia put a hand out as if to catch him and said softly, "Wait,
Kento."

Kento paused and turned to look back at us, a strange un-Kento-like look in his eye.
"Yes?"

"Come here, please…" She said softly, dropping her hand back down. Kento regarded
us for a moment, then stepped warily into the room. He shut the door behind him as he
waited to hear what Mia had to say. "Listen, I know what you're thinking…" She
began.

"That you're a dike?" He asked, cutting her off. Ouch. I wanted to pummel him, but
Mia was talking. When Mia talks, I listen.

"Kento…" Mia began.

"No Mia, don't start with me. You and your lesbian lover here are quite obviously
doing something that is completely wrong. Do not get me involved in it, okay?" He
asked. Okay, now I was going to pummel him for the hurt look on Mia's face.

I stepped foreword, but again Mia held me back. I glared into Kento's eyes, daring him
to insult us again. He looked defiantly back at me. "Listen." He said in a dangerous
voice that showed just how much he wanted to get into a fight. "You two do whatever
you want, but don't expect me to cover for you. I want no part in your perverted little
world."

Inside I was practically begging Mia to let me pummel him. Still she held me back.
"Kento, I know…" She had started to say, it was obvious that there were held back tears
in the back of Mia's throat. I wanted to make Kento cry a tear for every one Mia refused
to shed.

"You know I'm right Mia." Kento said. "I'm going to dinner now." He turned and
began to leave when the door was opened into his face as Cye entered the room. Even
angrier from the humiliation of getting smacked by the door, Kento pushed past Cye
and left in a huff.

Damn it! Why didn't Mia let me take him out? I could have easily handled him! Have I
not taken on Dais, Kale, and Sekhmet and come out victorious? I could feel Mia
shuddering beside me from the pent up tears at Kento's harsh words.

She rarely cried, I knew this. Yet the harsh words from one of her close friends had
broken down the walls she kept up. Somehow this injustice enraged me even more then
the words he'd called me.

Cye watched Kento storm down to the kitchen to lose himself in food, then turned to
Mia and I. "Hey." He said. "I heard shouting and figured I'd better come rescue you."
He explained.

Mia was silent for a moment, confused at Cye's words. "He knows how I feel about
you." I told Mia. She heaved a sigh of gratitude for finding a friend in the storm.

"Cye, what's going on out there?" Mia asked. She was slowly bringing herself back
around and no longer sounded like she was talking through choked tears. Good. I
hated the thought of her crying because of what Kento said…especially when Kento said
what he did because of me. Because of my feelings for her.

Cye closed the door as he sighed. "Sage saw you." He told us. "Just to give you fair
warning. He was out on the balcony when you two kissed. Rowen and Ryo will know
within the next fifteen minutes, 'cause if Sage doesn't say something, Kento will." His
face fell slightly. "I'm sorry."

I heard Mia sigh. "Then it's face them now, or…"

I wanted to shout. I knew these people were Mia's friends, they were mine too, but Mia
was closer to them. Still, I hated the way Kento had treated her. Instead of screaming
though, I made my voice calm as I said, "Or we hide. I don't hide."

Mia nodded. "Neither do I."

Cye sighed, then nodded too. "I'll go with you."

Fifteen minutes later found the three of us sitting together on one end of the table, and
the others in various states of shock. Kento seemed to have calmed down from his
initial shock, but still…

"Mia, why didn't you tell us?" Ryo was asking.

"Well, for one I was afraid you'd react like Kento did…and it didn't really seem to be
your business." She explained. "It is rather personal." Ryo seemed to accept that
answer. Still uncomfortable, he shifted his weight in his chair. Yet, at the same time, he
didn't seem to be about to fly off the handle either. I took it as a good sign.

Kento was moping over his empty plate. This discussion had delayed dinner, another
reason for Kento to be annoyed. Not that I cared, his own damn fault for not knocking
before entering a room.

Rowen was looking at the space between Mia and I, and I wasn't sure what was going
on in that brain of his. Not many people ever really did understand Rowen's mind,
though there were enough people who wouldn't mind getting to go through his
thoughts just for the heck of it, or to pick it apart.

Sage however, was the only one who seemed to have as big a problem as Kento had. Or
had as big a problem at concealing his problem with us. He was obviously angry. I
knew Sage wasn't used to being turned down by girls, but I highly doubted anyone had
ever turned him down for another girl before.

Perhaps Mia and I should have waited…then again it wasn't like we'd intentionally
come out. We couldn't have helped it if someone had walked in on us five minutes into
the relationship.

The conversation had come to a standstill. There was no way anyone was going to be
able to talk anymore about it without someone's tempter getting out of control. Cye
took one look around the table, obviously drained from playing mediator, then he stood
and went to get the food. "Let's eat." He said defeated. There was nothing else to be
said.

I joined them for dinner, and blissfully there was no time for conversation between the
bites of food everyone seemed to be shoveling into their mouths at Kento's normal rate.
I didn't eat much; my appetite had been severely damaged by the evening's events.

I volunteered to help Mia with the dishes, and one by one the others cleared out. Kento
went to work out, Rowen said he was going to get on the 'net, Ryo claimed he had to go
check on White Blaze as if the tiger couldn't handle himself, and Sage just went to his
room. I assumed Sage was just going to fill himself with contempt for me and 'my kind.'
Whatever my kind was…

Cye stuck around, and helped clear the table, then went to wherever Cye went to when
he wanted to be alone, and gave Mia and I some privacy. There were a few moments of
silence as I scrubbed at an unruly pot, my hands in the soapy water. Mia finally turned
to me and broke the silence by saying, "Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?" I asked, looking up from my dishcloth to see she was just standing there
and gazing at me with her soft eyes.

"Am I your beloved?" She asked.

How could she doubt me? Yet I understood, I was finding this hard to believe as well. I
shook my hands free of water droplets and soap bubbles as I turned to face her
completely. "Mia," I started, wanting to give her some speech to rival Shakespeare, but
at the last moment decided to not challenge the bard and just say it. "You are my
beloved, don't forget that. I know what the others were saying hurt, but I don't care
what they say as long as…" Oh jeez, I was sounding like such a sap. "As long as you
stick by me I can take the heat."

Mia absorbed this, letting my words find niches in her brain. Finally she just smiled at
me. Apparently she'd decided the dishes could wait, because she pulled me into a
warm hug. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her back, feeling so comforted
by her presence.

When we finally pulled apart we just smiled at each other and finished the kitchen
chores before Mia motioned for me to join her in her bedroom. When I eyed her
suspiciously she added, "It's the only place around here we're going to get any privacy."

I nodded and entered the room. It's soft tones were so, her. She turned to me after
shutting the door and turning on music so it would be harder to overhear our
conversation.

For an hour and a half we talked. We just talked. I didn't know then either, that Sage
had left his room to go for a walk, and come across Cye where he was going for a late
night swim.

Cye had pulled himself up on the shore when he spotted Sage. "Yes?" Cye asked his
pale friend.

"Oh, hey Cye…" Sage said, then sat down on a large boulder next to the Water Ronin.

"You forgiven me for not telling you about Kayura?" Cye asked tentatively.

Sage just nodded his head as he stared out over the water. After several long moments
he spoke, "Cye, is it Kayura that you like?" He asked, knowing that there was
something going on with his friend.

Cye shook his head no. "I don't have a crush on her Sage." The tone of his voice
indicated to Sage that he had touched on something there. Perhaps not a crush on
Kayura, but something that Cye was obviously hiding. Something Sage felt compelled
to find out.

"Cye, who do you love?" Sage asked.

"My family. My friends. Who do you think?" Cye asked in an almost snippish manor.

"You know what I mean Cye." Sage said. When Cye didn't respond Sage sighed and
said, "Alright. I know, it's your business. I'll shut up now if you want."

"No. You don't have to shut up Sage." Cye said, though not really realizing he'd been
about to say it until the words had already escaped his lips. Sage was about to pursue
things further when Cye abruptly changed the subject and the topic was dropped all
together.

Meanwhile, sitting in Mia's room, the two of us had discussed everything from how to
handle the others, to the music that the radio was playing, to Mia's work. Although I
wasn't completely fascinated with every aspect of Mia's job, I was fascinated by her. I
know she couldn't have been completely entranced with life in the dynasty, but she
listened to me as well.

After hours of talking and laughing I noticed her lids hung heavy with sleep. I glanced
at the clock and realized it was well past midnight. "Mia, I'm sure you have some work
to catch up on. I better leave…" I said as I stood to go.

Mia stood as well and smiled at me. "There is no way I'll be getting any work done at
this hour of the night Kayura. I may as well just go to bed." She told me as she moved
closer to me. A smile crossed my lips as she moved into my arms for what I thought
would be our good-bye kiss.

When we pulled apart Mia let her hands slide down my arms to capture my hands
between hers. "Why do you have to go all the way back to the dynasty at this late hour?
I know you're tired, I can see it in your eyes. Just stay the rest of the night here." She
suggested. My heart caught in my throat this time. Sensing my hesitation Mia smiled.
"Just stay here to sleep." She emphasized the word sleep to show she meant actual
sleep.

I smiled warmly at her then. That night I slept in Mia's bed, curled up next to her. At
some time in the night we had gravitated towards each other and our arms had
entwined themselves together, as she rested her head against my shoulder.

Out on the balcony – which I later found myself calling the balcony of fate – Cye had
gone outside to look over the lake before going to bed. He'd caught sight of Mia and I
turning out the lights together. I'm sure he knew then, more so than I, that his story and
mine were as entwined as Mia and I as we slept, or as the threads on one of Dais' webs.
Yet I slept peacefully by Mia's side and I did not know that, then.