Here's the next chapter

Here's the next chapter. A teeny tiny bit of angst in here. I got it out in two weeks and it longer than the last chapter so I guess I not to upset with how long it took. But this story is almost over, 2 to 3 more chapters. I hope everybody's been enjoying this fic as much as I am writing it, and thank you all so much for the fabulous reviews, you guys are the BEST!! I'm done yabbering so on with the fic, don't forget to Review and I'll try even harder to get the next part out. Bye! J 

                                   

Separation (Part 7)

            At first Tsani thought the cell was empty, but then somebody stepped out of the shadows in the far corner. Tsani let out a startled gasp and her hand when to her mouth in shock. In disbelief she whispered, "Syton, oh my god it is you."

            Hitomi had followed Tsani, Van still hanging onto her hand, and she got her first glimpse of the man she had spilled her life's story to. He was tall, a little taller than Van, he was dressed in rags but they looked like they were once beautifully made garments. But as Hitomi looked into his face she felt her body go numb. It was him, the brown hair, and face was unmistakable. But it was the eyes that captivated her, in her vision they had been unclear but in the torchlight flickering through the door she could see them clearly, they were a dark brown but not black like Cryton's, no Syton's eyes were flecked with gold and although they contained both pain and suffering she also saw nobility, kindness and strength. And love as Syton stared down at Tsani.

            Tsani stared at the vision before her, positive that he was going to disappear like a dream. She let out a strangled cry as she took a step towards him; at the same time Syton stepped forward and enveloped her in an embrace. She couldn't stop her tears that rolled down her cheek and she mumbled to Syton, trying vainly not to lose control.

            "I tried to find you, I was so scared. He told me if I didn't do what he said he'd hurt you. Nobody knew where he had hidden you. I missed you so much. He's caused so much trouble." Her words were muffled and the phrases jumbled to gather as she tried to convey the helplessness she had felt at not being able to help her love.

            "Shh," soothed Syton as he ran a gentle hand over her hair. "Come on, we have to go. Don't worry, we're together again."

            Tsani took a couple of deep breaths before she straightened and turned to face the door where Van and Hitomi waited. Her composure regained she nodded, and walked quickly towards the door. However she couldn't stop the soft smile that graced her face as she felt her hand being grasped firmly.

            Hitomi watched Tsani walked out of the cell her hand held tightly by Syton. Hitomi grinned slightly as she walked after them her hand also held tightly by her love. They soon drew even with Tsani and Syton and Hitomi found herself asking a question that had been bothering her.  

            "Hey, why did you tell me your name was Syt?" she asked as they hurried along the little used tunnels of the dungeon, Tsani in the lead.

            Syton looked back at Hitomi and a kind smile graced his face, "Sorry about that, but I wasn't sure if I could trust you and since the suffix 'yton' is a symbol of the royal family I decided to omit it. I hope you'll forgive me for my little falsehood."

            Hitomi found herself smiling in reassurance, even though Syton was in an horrible situation he still remained unfailingly polite. "Don't worry, it's good to be cautious."

            Syton nodded a grim look on his face, "Yes, it is." Tsani frowned and her hand tightened faintly in comfort. Van noticed the gesture, but it wasn't his business to delve into somebody's past.

            Tsani led them to a narrow stairway, but they had barely set their feet on the first step when a loud cry rang out.

            "Prisoners have escape!!! All men report! Escaped prisoners!!"

            Tsani cursed under her breath, "Let's go!" The group bolted up the stairs, Tsani knew it would take a while for the soldiers to gather together but they needed to get out of the castle at least, before Cryton could get a search organized. Her hand tightened around Syton's at the thought of losing him again.

            They reached the top in a short time and paused as Tsani crept forward to make sure nobody was in the hallway. With a wave from her the group moved stealthily down the hallway.

They passed closed doors as they crept down and with whispered words Tsani told them she knew a way to get them outside the palace walls and they could figure out where to go from there. Tsani in lead was rounding a corner when the sound of loud voices coaxed a startled gasp from her that was quickly stifled as Syton covered her mouth and pulled her back from the corner.

"The king says the whole castle is to be searched," a loud male voice said.

A snort was heard and another voice replied, "The prisoners are probably still down in the dungeon. Besides if he wants to find those two prisoners so bad why doesn't he call in more men from the barracks." A loud sound of flesh meeting flesh resounded in the stone hallway and Tsani drew farther back against Syton.

"You idiot!" the first voice said. "Don't you have any idea who's escaped, the king's brother that's who and if His Majesty King Cryton lets word get out that he's free and running about, the soldiers still loyal to him might revolt. Now just do as you're told!"

"Yes sir!" the man grumbled a tinge of pain still in his voice from the slap. The sound of footsteps sounded in the hallway and with shock the group realized that the soldiers were heading straight for them.

Tsani felt her body freeze up, only to hear a clicking sound from behind her. Syton and her whirled around to see Van swing open a door and lunge in with Hitomi close behind. The sorceress and the displaced king glanced at each other, but the sound of boot treads were getting closer so they leapt through the open door and jerked it shut just before the soldiers rounded the corner.

Panting a little at the close call, Tsani stared at the doorway expecting it to be pulled open any minute since the soldier were supposedly searching the entire castle. Instead she heard a muffled conversation out side the door and then the sound of the soldiers moving on.

Tsani let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding, hearing similar expulsions of air from her companions. She turned to face them and felt a shock run through her body as she spotted the room they were in. Her hand rose to cover her mouth and she realized why the soldiers hadn't searched the room. Syton also turned and a haunted look appeared in his face as he spotted what Tsani was staring so intensely. He let out a breath of air and forced a moan down as memories came rushing up.

Van and Hitomi watched as the friends/strangers turned to face them, but the expressions on they faces as they spotted the room behind them forced them into turning to see what had horrified the two people so badly. 

Hitomi gasped as her eyes darted around the room, taking in the sight of sharp bladed instruments hanging from the wall, whips dangled beside them, but the whips came in many different forms and Hitomi shuddered as she spotted on that looked like it was covered in crystals and bits of red that couldn't have been anything other than blood still lingered on the sharp crystals. A table with straps was in the middle of the room and an array of cranks and pulleys indicated that the strap could be used for more than just holding a person down. There were more blades resting beside the table and these too were covered in dried blood, the blades glimmered dully in the dim light, the sharp edges meant to cause extreme pain not death.

A choked sound was heard from Syton and Van turned away from the sight before him, Hitomi however didn't look away, her gaze never leaving the torturous items before her; she stared at them like one might a cobra as they waited for the inevitable strike. Van grasped her arm as pulled her against his chest hiding the objects from her view as he turned to face Syton.

Syton had an indescribable look on his face, and even Tsani was looking like she was staring into a dark hell pit. "What is this room?" Van asked quietly.

Syton vaguely heard the question as he fought against the memories of the whips digging into flesh and the pain those knives could inflict when handled properly. A light shudder ran over his body and for a moment he felt phantom pains from times past, but he was a king and no memories were going to defeat. His hand tightened on Tsani's, and his eyes slowly came into focus as he registered the question.

    His answer was slow and with each word he gripped tighter to Tsani, feeling her tighten her own grip. "This was once the royal armoury, it was a place of honour and respect to both our family and our ancestors," here he passed and his voice quivered in anger, "but Cryton perverted in. Turning it into his little playroom." Syton face reflect his disgust and even Van eyes flamed a little at the emotion used by Syton as he spoke of the defilement of a place that had been sacred to both him and his family, and to have it destroyed by your own brother was just horrible.

Hitomi tensed as well when she heard the words and she felt a bit of her fire return, hearing in Syton more than just the anger she heard the pain and the shame he must have felt as his own brother tortured him. She raised her head from Van's chest and her eyes met Tsani's, she shuddered with what she saw there and suddenly she understood. Cyton's word to Tsani when she had tried to defy him came rushing to Hitomi mind.

Do it or I'll make sure he suffers worse then he ever has before.

"Oh my God, he made you watch didn't he? The bastard!" Hitomi said venomously. Tsani's eyes flickered away from her but it was all the answer she needed.

Even Van understood what Hitomi meant and she felt him tense with anger. Syton stiffened and looked down in shock at Tsani. His memories of those times were a little hazy, covered in a cloud of fog caused by pain, but he could barely believe that she had witnessed it all. But he saw the despair in her whole body and with a moan he wrapped his arms around her and pulled into an embrace.

"Oh my love, don't worry I won't let it ever happen again. I won't let you have to experience that ever again."

Tsani head jerked upwards and her eyes were fierce, "And I won't let you ever experience that again. Never ever."

Van and Hitomi watched in silence their own thought turning to a promise made not that long ago. Hitomi almost felt like she was intruding in this highly personal moment and something glimmering at the corner of her eye made her turn her head. Her eyes fell upon a gloriously jewelled sword hanging on the wall. It looked so out of place in this room of tortures, it shone even in the dim light and seemed to be filled with grace even though it was hanging on the wall. Hitomi found her self reminded of Excalibur, and the tales she had heard about the famous sword.

Almost without realizing it her mouth opened and the words tumbled out, "That sword, it's magnificent."

Everybody turned at her comment, even Van who in all his time he had known Hitomi he had never heard her make any remarks about any type of weapon. But when his eyes landed on the weapon he could easily see why she had noticed it. But it wasn't his reaction that caught everybody's attention it was Syton's.

With a cry he jumped towards the blade and pulled it from the wall, falling to his knees with it still within his arms. He ran a hand tenderly over the jewelled handle and down the tip of the steel blade. Tsani stepped forward as grasped his shoulder, his eyes raised and they glimmered with unshed tears.

Hitomi couldn't keep her curiosity contained, "Syton?' she said softly. His eyes turned to her and a huge smile light up his face.

"It my father's sword, it's been in the family for generations I feared Cryton might have destroyed it out of spite." Before the words even finished leaving his mouth Tsani tensed.

"Oh no," she cried, whirling to face Van and Hitomi, "we have to get out of here! If Cryton knows that Syton has escaped he'll want to be prepared and the only way he would keep this sword is if he planned to use it. He could be here any minute!" she practically screamed the words but her voice was low at the same time and they just barely carried across the room.

As if the words were an omen the door swung open, and hit the outside wall, seeming to toll a death knell. Cryton walked in with flourish, a dark cape draped around his shoulders, two guards flanking him. The door swung shut behind as he stared in stunned amazement at the people before him. The amazement faded quickly though and with a vicious cry his eyes met Syton's, who was still crouched on the floor, sword in his arms, "You!!" he yelled.

Syton stood his eyes locked tightly to Cyton's, his hand slide to the handle of the sword where he grasped it firmly, it fitting perfectly in his hand. "Yes me." 

Yippee!!!!!!! I finished a chapter, time to whip out the party hats and noisemakers. I had fun writing this one even though Tsani and Syton did play a pretty big role. But there's going to be some action in the next part and Van's going to have to just join in. It's battle time, Hiiyyaaaa!!!  * giggle * too much ice-cream and pop, Bye for now!! J

Oh yeah, almost forgot, REVIEW. J