Mind, Body and Soul

chapter 5

by: Nova

Hey all! I'm getting through these rewrites faster than I thought I would. All of them in one night! Yea! Okay, you probably want the story, not my ramblings. But just remember, be nice and give me your comments. Although, I can settle for the flames too.

Nova =^-^=

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming... who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause... who, at best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory or defeat. - The Critic: Theodore Roosevelt

The young girl from before, whom had brought the sphere, was now walking five paces in front of Rowen. The younger children had parted at her request. Usually she was strong and did not shy away, but she was timid now, not saying more then the necessary words in a low, quiet speech. She was not sure what to make of him. A human from a different dimension. Although she had been told of such things, she had never seen any one like him. He held no powers, nor did he have fangs, pointed ears or normal clothes like any one here. He spoke oddly too. He must not have been brought up correctly, because he insisted upon speaking rudely to the lord. She liked him. No one she had come into contact with was able to talk that way to Lord Tadeous. Interesting. She would speak with him later.

She knew the castle passages well and knew that the young man wanted to go to the Lady Keiko's room. Lord Tadeous had told her to take Rowen to his suite after, but Rowen refused and said he would wait until Lady Keiko awoke. She did not mind a bit. She had been brought up to respect all of her elders and to do, without question, what she was requested of.

"May I ask what your name is?" Rowen spoke up.

"I am called Dehl'ia. We are almost to the Lady's suite of rooms too. It is up this corridor," She answered.

"Thank you Dehl'ia," Rowen commented. The girl had her long dark hair braided in one plate down her back. It was tied with a piece of thin cord. She had a light complexion and dark eyes. She was rather small. Her clothes were a simpler, not as nice, miniature copy of Tadeous'. Just a dark blue shirt and black pants, the shirt synched at the waist with a black rope. She wore simple black boots on her diminutive feet. She wore no jewelry except for a small silver ring with a blue stone, cut like a square, on her right thumb. The simple ring would catch a ray of the torches light and sparkle once in a while. Dehl'ia could not have been more then twelve years old, at the very most.

"It is nothing. If you need anything, I will be around to take you to your room," Dehl'ia told him. As she talked, she became more sure of herself and Rowen heard her more clearly. Like Tadeous, she spoke formally.

"Sounds good. See ya later," Rowen said and Dehl'ia left him and Keiko at the door. Rowen pushed it open and entered slowly. It was huge and beautifully decorated. The cold stone floor and walls were covered with thick rugs and colored, intricate tapestries, and fancy wall sconces light the otherwise dark room. Two open door ways were on the far wall. The main colors of the room were teal, green, and blue; with silver, gold, black and white accents. A large bed was centered between the doors, and Rowen walked over to it, laying Keiko upon the soft bed. Keiko seemed lost within it, the surrounding bed sucking her in. Rowen tested the pillows and mattress. To him it felt like feathers. A quilt, looking to be hand-made, sat folded on the end of the bed, it too, must have been filled with feathers. Rowen studied Keiko.

She was in sad shape. So much blood loss. At least the gashes were nearly healed. Just scratches now. Her shirt was a mess and her jeans were a bit ripped. Keiko had not been wearing shoes, so Rowen unfolded the quilt at the bed's end and lay it over Keiko's body.

He pulled over a soft cushioned chair and watched Keiko sleep. Her chest moved up and down with her light breathing and her eyes jerked lightly under her eye-lids, perchance she was dreaming.

* * * *

Keiko was walking through dark halls of some castle. She was waist deep in water. Not much air moved around here, making it stuffy and humid. She knew that every turn she made would get her either closer or farther from the monster she had been running from. So many twists and turns. Left, Right, Left again and again and another Right. Every now and then, Keiko heard foot steps, splashes around her, but she had not passed by anyone. Maybe she was hearing things, or maybe it was just her dream trying to confuse her. She also saw shadows on the walls. The inky black, man-shaped shadows moved and swayed, walking past her, along side her or walking the opposite direction. It was a bit disconcerting that she could see the shadows, but no object belonged to them. She noticed suddenly, that she herself had no shadow. This place was becoming more cheery every minute.

Keiko was not in control, or at least she did not think so. Some one, or something, was controlling it all. Keiko saw light and slowly crept towards it. At first, it moved away from her, then closer and then away. The light was playing games, teasing her every move. Finally, it stopped, just became closer and closer. The murky, dank, dark and water-logged passage ended into a well lit, rectangular room. Upon a throne, sitting high and dry, was her father. He was not the first nor second dream-father she had seen in her past dreams. Now he had small fangs, pointed ears and odd clothes. He was smiling at her, his eyes gleaming. He motioned to her to move closer to him. Keiko did not oblige. She stayed put and crossed her arms below her chest. She frowned. He just continued to smile.

Keiko's heart began to pound, and it echoed in her ears. The air in her lungs caught in her throat. She felt like she was choking. Keiko's vision blurred and her father smirked. She felt a weight pushing her into the water. It was holding her down. Drowning her. He was killing her slowly. She tried to scream, but nothing happened, just water, pouring into her open mouth, going down her throat, filling her lungs.

* * * *

Rowen must have been dozing. He woke to a choking sound. He looked up and jumped. Keiko was twisting and wrestling around. He saw her gag and knew something was blocking her from taking in air. Keiko's movement slowed and she stopped gasping. Rowen checked and she was not breathing. Rowen quickly straightened her out and pinched her nose. Rowen started CPR. He did each breathe, compression and check, when it did not work, he kept going.

"God DAMN-IT! Start breathing! Come on Keiko, don't leave me now!" tears came to the corners or Rowen's eyes and he continued with the cycles, forcing air into her oxygen starved lungs.

One more time Rowen pushed air into her lungs and Keiko coughed. A ragged wheeze escaped. Keiko opened her eyes and turned on her side. She started to cough up dirty water. And lots of it. It poured and then trickled from the corner of her mouth. She hacked and then dry heaved. Her lungs must have finally expelled the water.

Rowen knew something was definitely wrong now. Keiko must have been drowning in her dream for her to have this much water in her lungs. How could you live your dream so real that the water you drowned in could actually fill your lungs when you were dry, sleeping on a bed?

Keiko stopped heaving and Rowen wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "I thought I lost you."

Keiko's voice was wraspy and scratchy. "It was horrible. He tried to kill me again. If you hadn't been here.." And she left it at that. She noticed that she was no longer in the cave. Some weird fancy room. "Where are we?"

"In Tadeous' castle. He brought us here after we were pulled out of our dimension. Mordecai or someone else was trying to take you, but he saved us and healed your gashes. This is your suite of rooms," Rowen explained. Keiko pulled away from Rowen slowly, looking at him with raised eyebrow.

"My suite?" Keiko asked. Had she heard him right, did he really mean what she thought she heard?

"Yea, your suite. I think Tadeous will explain later. I'm just so glad you're OK," Rowen said, hugging Keiko a second time. Keiko pushed him back and stood upon shaky legs. She crumpled and fell to her knees. "You should rest, or at least sit." Rowen helped Keiko up and she sat in the chair Rowen had vacated.

Rowen watched as Keiko had finally noticed her odd, elf-like ears and her small fangs. She put her hands on her ears and touched the tips of them. She used her tongue on her teeth. She shrugged. She must not feel any different, because this is her true self. As Tadeous had described it earlier, she was whole with these changes. If she was part of this world, why had she been in his dimension at all? Another question among many.

"Are you okay? I mean..." Keiko's voice stumbled, and Rowen answered.

"Yea, I'm fine. I was worried about you. You lost quite a bit of blood. You need too rest and ta heal. If you could find a way to quicken it... Does your armor heal?" Rowen was more worried about how she would react to the new information that Tadeous had briefly touched upon earlier in the throne room. Rowen did not want to lose her for real. He needed her to be able to stand though, because they needed to get back.

"I'm gonna see if I can put my subarmor on, maybe it'll help, if it heals it all. I actually tried it the night I woke up from the nightmare, to heal the gashes, but it didn't work. Could of been another blocker of some sort, not the full power of my subarmor. It was damn uncomfortable too, to sleep in, kinda odd. To have to figure out that it might not work at all didn't make it any better, " Keiko stated.

"Well, give it another college try then. Besides, your clothes are ruined, so it might look weird to go any where covered in blood an dirt," Rowen smiled and sat back to watch it up close.

Keiko put her hands, palms together, under her chin. She closed her eyes and concentrated. A bright blue burst from Keiko's amulet and it grew to encompass her body. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the light dissipated. Keiko stood in her subarmor.

It was simple and hugged her body. More like a body suit then subarmor. Not clunky looking like the Ronins' subarmors. It looked heavy, but Keiko felt like she was covered in feathers, making movement easy. Made to fight in, no to sleep in though. The energy she had increased and she stood. She could stand; the many wonders she had not yet discovered from her armor; so it was possible to heal one's self with it after all.

Okay, so it was not the big involved throwing and jumping and shredding of clothes that Rowen and the others went through, but it served its purpose. Rowen smiled.

"Feels better. Do you have any idea why I couldn't do this earlier?" Keiko asked.

"I believe some kind of blocker, like you suggested, that was being used, but now inside the castle, it can't act upon you." Rowen suggested.

"Can I talk to this Tadeous person some time?" Keiko asked.

"Yea, and he said he would let us contact the others again and bring them here. Although, I would rather just go home," Rowen said.

"Yea, I'd rather go home too. If we can't, at least we can see if they could bring some extra clothes with 'em. Yours don't look so hot either," Keiko said, pointing out the torn right sleeve.

"True, but I think we have bigger worries then 'fashion do's and don'ts'. Such as Mordecai, your dreams and what your father is up to," Rowen told her.

Keiko frowned a little. Her father. Great. Now she would have to spill the beans on what all he had done to her. She still was not comfortable about the idea of telling him. She trusted Rowen with her life, but this was quite a bit different. She was not ready to open this can of worms yet.

"Why don't you put your subarmor on?" Keiko asked. Rowen shrugged, jumped into the air ripped his clothes off and landed in a burst of petals, wearing his blue and white subarmor.

"That was kinda interesting. I don't think I've ever seen a guy tear off his clothes like that before." Keiko winked.

Rowen blushed. "Do you want ta talk to Tadeous or not? Let's get moving."

"Pushy aren't ya?" Keiko smiled, her eyes sparkling in the torch-light. "Do you know where we're goin'?"

"Yup." Rowen watched her as she looked about the halls as they walked. She must be looking for a way to remember the way. Different stones or marks in the walls to remind her of her direction. Rowen kept on watching. Keiko sensed it and paused.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"Your ears make you look sorta like an elf. It's cool," Rowen stated.

"Um, thanks I guess. I don't feel any different then I used to. It's weird," Keiko mused as the stepped into the throne room from earlier.

A voice chuckled. "That is because this is the real you, my dear."

"And you must be Tadeous. Now tell me, what the HELL is going on!?" Keiko put her hands on her hips and Rowen rested his hands on Keiko's shoulders.

Tadeous was a bit taken back. Keiko had grown up around such rudeness. He did not like the swearing, the rude way she had addressed him, the stance she had taken and still, the young man insisted upon being so close to her. Keiko's father had done a number on her. What would the people think of her? So outspoken, so un-lady-like, and not gentle, in-tune with the ways of the-lady-of-the-court. Something more to work on.

He sighed. "If you would watch your mouth, I would gladly tell you. I have already spoken to your friend about the situation."

"What exactly did you tell him?" Keiko was now unsure. What did Tadeous reveal to Rowen, how much did they both know?

"I told him about this dimension and how you are part of this world, not his. I had hoped we would not meet in such a fashion, but I might as well tell you that you will have to get used to being here," Tadeous said.

"And what else and why do I have to stay here? What if I want to be with my friends?" Keiko's voice rang with annoyance. Tadeous was beating around the bush. Keiko just wanted straight answers.

"Your friend knows about the traitor Mordecai and what he and your father did to you, just the basics, you may fill him in, if you wish. And as to why you will stay here?" Keiko gave Tadeous a look of confusion.

Tadeous smiled, moved forward and took Keiko's hands in his. "You are to be by my side. My Lady Keiko." Tadeous kneeled and looked up into her eyes. The astonishment was clear, as were fear, anger and confusion.

"Huh!?" Keiko growled lightly. She pulled her hands out of his gloved grip. He had the right to say she was to be married to him? Her secrets had been taken from her, she did not have a clue who he was and had just meet him. And he had the guts to say that they were made for each other?

So she could live with Rowen knowing her past. Keiko was going to tell him sometime anyway. She nearly trusted him more then Ari. She knew he cared for her and would do anything for her. Rowen knowing what her traitor father had done to her was not the big deal here. What the problem was, was that Tadeous claimed her as his bride.

"My Lady Keiko, you were promised to me before you were born. You cannot break this promise. It is sealed. Your father, before I became King, promised his unborn daughter to me. My father accepted. You have no power in this matter," Tadeous explained. He stood and stepped back. He stood straight and rigid.

"I don't give a damn about any promises that were made by my father. Anything made by him is fit to be broken," Keiko countered.

"How can you honor anything from a traitor, Tadeous. Keiko has made up her mind and I will stand by her decision. We'll be leaving here. Either you help, or we find our own way out." Rowen explained, and turned and started walking. Keiko glanced at Tadeous. He never moved. Keiko followed Rowen. They never looked back.

* * * *

"So, what do we do now?" Kento asked. He sat hunched over, his chin resting upon a hand, his elbow on his knee.

"I guess we wait 'til we get another message," Ryo answered.

All of them were there now. Ari and Sage listened to the speculations and assumptions being made. After the strange sphere had appeared and then the transmission, each person was trying to come up with a reasonable explanation to why this was happening.

"Exactly how bad of shape was Keiko in any way?" Ari chimed in.

"Well, she had blood, lots of it on her shirt, so I don't know.." Cye was not able to finish, when Kento broke in.

"That wasn't the weird part though. She looked like an elf, with long, pointed ears. Man, I'm telling you, I knew there was somethin' odd about her. She had small fangs too. Rowen didn't seem different, but this other weird guy with elf ears and stuff looked like he dressed from the Dark Ages or somethin'. Looked like they were in some castle place too," Kento gave his description. Sage and Ari looked at each other.

"I don't think we should jump to conclusions. If Rowen was okay, I really don't think that they were being held prisoner," Ari concluded.

A bright light once again burst in the room. It shimmered and grew, once again showing a view inside the other dimension. This time, the background looked to be a sitting area. Three figures sat in it's view.

* * * *

While walking back to Keiko's rooms, she and Rowen met up with Dehl'ia once again. She quickly curtseyed.

"My Lady Keiko, Mister Rowen. Is there anything I can do for you?" She looked a little frightened. She must have heard some of the yelling. Voices echoed, carrying far down the halls of stone.

"First, call me Keiko and him Rowen. No need for the formalities. Next, we need to contact our friends," Keiko explained.

"Can you get that sphere from earlier that I used?" Rowen added.

"Yes, sure I can. Is there anything more?" Dehl'ia asked.

"No, but you can follow us, we might have a few more questions," Rowen said.

"Okay, then follow me. We can pick up the sphere and go where ever you wish to speak to your friends from," Dehl'ia smiled and turned. Keiko and Rowen glanced at each other and walked slowly behind the young servant girl.

They took a small detour to retrieve the sphere and then went back to Keiko's suite. Keiko tried to watch for where they walked, but all the corridors looked alike. Dehl'ia must have grown up here to know her way around. Any one could easily get lost if they had not been used to all the stone.

Once seated, Dehl'ia helped Rowen create the link again to contact the others. Again, the sphere grew and spread out, creating an oval shaped mirror, with Rowen, Keiko and Dehl'ia's images on it's surface. Rowen concentrated and images other then their own appeared on the mirror's face.

* * * *

On the other side, five pairs of eyes blinked. Ryo spoke first. "Okay, what's going on over there?"

Rowen sighed. "It's complicated right now. We'll get you over here now, with some help, and then we'll explain what we know. Which unfortunately, isn't much."

The little elf-like girl settled between Keiko and Rowen spoke up. "If you want to bring your friends here, I have to get someone. He is my friend and he will be a bigger help then Tadeous. Besides, I think you might like him more."

"Sounds good, Dehl'ia. Go get him." Dehl'ia exited and Keiko continued. "Ari, did you happen to bring Black Gold over with you?"

"Yea, Sage and I stopped by our place after we left the theater. You gave me a great headache too." Ari sneered.

"Thanks for picking her up. She'll come with you all. And don't you headache me! It's not like I wanted to be taken here!" Keiko told her. She crossed her arms and frowned.

"Why do ya have pointed ears and fangs?" Kento asked out of the blue.

"Rowen already said that we'd explain when you get here," Keiko remarked.

The door creaked open and Dehl'ia entered. A taller boy with dark green hair and black eyes followed her in. He grinned and spoke. "So who am I bringing over here and where do you want them to be brought to? Oh, and if Dehl'ia here did not tell you, my name is Quin." His voice made him sound sure of himself and he continued to smile brightly. He crossed the room and gazed at the images.

"We want to bring them, a tiger and a black panther here, to this room. I think there's enough room in here to do that," Rowen explained.

"Okay, sounds good. Just close your eyes and I will do the rest!" Quin smiled enthusiastically and cracked his knuckles. The boy grinned even more and closed his eyes after studying the seven figures on the opposite side of the plane.

To Keiko it seemed like a few hours before the light exploded within her suite. The light dimmed and left scattered about the room, seven very confused new-comers. Her eyes readjusted and she smiled and stood.

Keiko and Ari hugged and the guys slapped each others' backs. Keiko turned and Black Gold put her large paws on Keiko's shoulders. Keiko hugged her pet and kissed the top of her head. White Blaze nuzzled Keiko's hip and Keiko hugged him too.

"Now can ya tell me what's going on?" Kento grumbled.

Keiko was about to explain when the door opened. "Well, it looks like you took it upon yourselves to bring them here. Dehl'ia, Quin, I am disappointed in you both, I will speak to you later. Go to your quarters. As for the rest of us, let us go to the main room and we can clear up the misunderstandings." Keiko frowned at Tadeous. She was not keen on how he had taken it upon himself to be invited into the conversation.

"I'm perfectly all right with doing this on my own. Leave!" Keiko yelled. Since Ryo and the others had not been around earlier, they were more confused then ever.

"As long as someone tells me what the HELL is going on here, I really don't give a damn who, I just want to know what's going on!" Kento was not glaring at any one in particular, but his gaze seemed to settle mostly on Keiko and then the man who had just entered.

"I see your friends are about as eloquent as slime, my dear. I see where you get it from. To our visitors, as much as I can, I say welcome and please call me Lord Tadeous. Just follow me, like I had said earlier, and we can clear this all up," Tadeous announced.

"No one, least of all you, gets away with calling us slime." Ryo moved forward, looking ready to punch Tadeous into the ground. Tadeous stood still, Ryo was not bothering him in the least.

A loud shattering noise and a burst of energy pushed nearly all those standing in the room into the stone walls. They lay in bruised heaps before slowly rising to their knees or helping to pick others up. They grumbled and growled and complained, but quieted down soon enough.

In the center of the room, a newcomer held Keiko off her feet. His hands curled around her throat. Rowen was attempting to pry the outsider's hands away from Keiko, but soon the three disappeared into a black portal.

"NOOOOO!" Tadeous screamed.

"What happened? Who was that?" Ari yelled.

"That was Lord Lohrie. In this dimension, the Earth is much smaller then the one you all know. It also has a twin planet. Lord Lohrie rules over the twin planet, as I rule this Earth." Tadeous sighed and continued. "Keiko is not like you, but is from this dimension. There was a promise made when I was very young, by Keiko's father, before she was born, and before her father became a traitor. That promise was Keiko. She is to be my Queen. I had a feeling that Lohrie would be after her. He broke down the shielding on the castle and abducted her. I suppose it is a good thing that Rowen was accidentally taken too. He will bring her back to me." Tadeous had not wanted to have Keiko's friends finding out like this, but there were more urgent things to attend to now.

The remaining Ronin and Ari were stunned. No one could break the cold silence as each wondered what was happening to Keiko and Rowen.

* * * *

Good cliffhanger, bad cliffhanger? I just want to know what you all think. Just tell me what you think. Feedback is always welcome, whether it be in the form of flames or compliments. Although, I would rather have the compliments. Any way, just tell me what you think. Hopefully, I'll get the next chapter up faster then this one. And I do mean hopefully. It doesn't guarantee anything, but well, I'm trying. Even my revisions of all the chapters together is going faster than the actual writing of my chapters. That is sad.

Nova =^-^=