Disclaimer: Don't own it.
A/N: Lots of thanks to my reviewers. I appreciate it greatly. More Inane babbling at the end
The King's audience chamber never ceased to amaze him. It was a long room with a high, vaulted ceiling. White swirled marble pillars were carved into the walls. On one side of the room, floor to ceiling windows let in light making the need for torches during the day obsolete. A red carpet edged in gold ran from the huge double doors to a dais at the far end of the room. At the top of the dais was the King's throne.
It was a monstrous thing carved of black marble. A huge dragon was carved on the back, with two glittering sapphires as eyes. A plush, crimson cushion rested on the seat. The arms were carved to resemble smaller dragons, each holding a large diamond in their open mouths. A smaller throne was to one side. It had been the late Queen's throne and now it belonged to the young Prince.
The King was on his throne looking out of the windows, boredom written on his face. He was in his late twenties. His once black hair was shot through with grey, silent testaments to the rigors of ruling the country. A number of wrinkles marred his once handsome face. His body had gone from the body of a fighter to the body of a man who spent almost no time doing any kind of exercise.
Kai had never liked the man. He may have been king but he continuously showed how inept he was at it. The main thing that had lowered the King in Kai's eyes was the death of the Queen. After the Queen's death the King had announced a three-month mourning period. During that time the country had all but stopped functioning.
Kai forced himself to bow. The only reason he was even here was because his grandfather insisted he serve the kingdom. Luckily his grandfather had died in the winter. Kai was now the sole heir of the Hiwatari lands.
The King finally pulled his attention away from the windows and down onto the knight in front of him. "Nice to see you. When was the last time we had the opportunity to speak to each other." He eyed the young man with a fox- like look in his eyes.
*Not long enough* "I believe it was about three weeks ago, Your Majesty." Kai stood still, none of his hate for the king leaking through his mask. The King slowly got to his feet and walked down the three steps to come face to chest with the knight. He looked up at Kai before turning to the windows.
"First off, I must say that I'm thrilled with the progress you've made with my knights. They have improved greatly. Now I have a little favor to ask of you."
*Oh this'll be good. The last time he asked me for a favor, I was stuck playing nursemaid for the Prince. Not an experience I want to relive. *
Kai remained where he was standing, wondering what the king was going to ask him for. The king turned back, black eyes focused on the young knight standing in front of the dais. He ran his eyes up and down the knight, paying particular attention to his lean form.
"Far to the west of here there lies a great forest. In the center of this forest a tower stands. Inside this tower, is a treasure. It was stolen from my family years ago. It is of the utmost importance that you retrieve it for me. I will warn you however, there is a very powerful warding spell on the tower. How to get in, I leave it to you."
*I've been wanting to get out of here for awhile now. Why all of a sudden do I have feeling this is going to turn into a huge mess? *
"Sire, if I may ask why are you sending me?" It's not that he really cared. Unfortunately the feeling that something was going on hadn't gone away. He would have shrugged it off, but Dranzer seemed to share his feelings. Not much could disturb his spirit, but when something did it was usually something extremely important.
The king shook his head before sitting back down on his throne. "Nothing. I just trust you the most. I suggest you get someone to take your place while your gone. You leave in the morning. You're dismissed."
Kai bowed stiffly and turning he left the room. He avoided the main staircases, instead taking the servants staircases. He arrived in his room and stripped his armor tossing it onto the chest at the foot of his bed with a clink. Pulling off his sweat soaked shirt he started digging around in his wardrobe for another shirt, and a clean pair of pants.
There was a timid knocking on the door and the sound of somebody shuffling from foot to foot. "If you don't have something important to say, then get out of here!" He finally found what he was looking for and pulled his head from the wardrobe. Unlike most people Kai refused to wear shirts with sleeves. He found them too constricting. The only time he wore them was when he had is armor on.
Pulling on the sleeveless, black silk shirt he glared at the page. "What part of if you don't have anything important to say then leave, did you not get?"
The page jumped and looked at the ground. He fidgeted with his tabard before meeting Kai's eyes again. "Sorry Sir. The Duke wanted to know if you would be joining him and his daughters for lunch."
"Unfortunately yes. I mustn't upset my king." The last statement was made with such sarcasm that the page wasn't sure what to say. It was the first time he had heard anyone talk about the king that way.
The page turned to leave but the sound of the knight's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Send the Knight Tala, up here. Tell him it's important." The page bowed and scurried out of the room, eager to be away from the cold knight.
By the time Tala, arrived Kai was just buckling his belt. He glanced up from pulling on his boots when he saw Tala's feet stop outside of his door.
"You wanted something Sir?" Tala's voice broke the sudden silence. Kai stood up, grabbing his dagger from the bedside stand. Ice blue eyes met mahogany and sparks flared between.
"Cut the crap Tala. You have never once called me Sir. I'm leaving in the morning and you're in charge of training until I get back. And don't go easy on Tyson."
Kai slipped the dagger into his boot and locked the door, slipping the key into his belt pouch. The two knights walked in silence, the only sound in the corridor the clicking of their boots against the stone.
Tala once again broke the silence. "So, what are you doing on this journey? Helping our king out with something?"
Luckily before he was forced to answer the Duke came into view, followed by his three daughters. The moment they saw him they turned bright red before hiding their giggles behind the feather fans hanging from their wrists. The youngest of the girls turned to Tala and gave him a shy smile, eyes dancing. Tala's eyes took on a glimmer of madness and after a hasty bow to the Duke and an amused look for Kai, the shorter knight made good his escape.
Kai bowed over the girls' hands. This caused even more fits of giggling between the girls. The Duke seemed oblivious to the flirting. He turned, leaving the grey-haired knight at the mercy of his daughters.
Lunch was served in the castles expansive gardens, amid the first blooms of spring. The Duke was continuously chattering like a sparrow about inconsequential things and his daughters couldn't seem to stop giggling and looking at Kai.
*Never will I marry. I really could care less of my lands don't get passed on. Besides, I think its time the Hiwatari name came to an end. *
Dranzer seemed pleased at this comment and the place where he always resided in Kai's head tingled with the spirit's laughter. Kai closed his eyes and by some miracle managed to block out the incessant giggling. The sound of somebody coming up was what finally caught Kai's attention. He opened one mahogany orb and looked at the person standing over him.
Max looked down with a sheepish grin, his blue eyes dancing with mirth. He fidgeted and the sword at his side glowed with a purple color. He looked down at it and shook his head.
"Sorry to interrupt you Kai, but we have a problem. Draciel, it's not funny!" Kai stood and looked down at the blonde knight, waiting for an explanation. Max looked up at him with a huge smile spread across his face. "Um. well you see, Tyson somehow got stuck in his armor and we can't get him out. I was wondering if you could help."
Kai bowed to the Duke and his daughters, all too glad to be away from all four of them. He had just started to walk away, with Max in tow when the Duke's oldest daughter spoke up. "Oh Sir Kai, will you be joining us for the ball tomorrow night?"
"Unfortunately no. I'm leaving in the morning and I have no idea when I'll be back." They entered the armory to find Tyson standing there a bewildered look on his face. His sword, which was leaning against the wall, was glowing with a blue light and the two could here Tyson's muffled complaints. "Dragoon it's not funny! I don't even know how I got stuck."
Kai looked at the younger knight, a smirk appearing. "Well Tyson. You have managed the impossible. You got stuck in your armor. That takes talent." Tyson's eyes opened wide and he glared at his best friend. "You got him! Of all people you got Captain Sourpuss! I'm never going to live this down."
Kai walked over and looked at Tyson's armor before glaring at the blonde. "Obviously the thought of loosening this strap never occurred to either of your pathetic minds." Max's face turned red and the small amount of Tyson's face visible turned the same color. Kai turned and left leaving the two younger knights to stew in their embarrassment.
Once back in his room, he dug his saddlebags out of his wardrobe and started packing. He packed several shirts, pants, soap, whetstone, leather oil and a small pouch of money and some simple first aid supplies. Placing some small coinage in his belt pouch he took his belt off and placed it on his desk chair. He placed his dagger on the desk and grabbed his armor from its place on his chest. Slowly and methodically he checked each link, looking for broken spots or holes where a weapon could slip through.
Once he had finished checking his armor he pulled Dranzer from its scabbard. The pommel of the sword was shaped like the head of a phoenix. The crosstrees were functional with no ornamentation. The blade was a metal closely related to steel, but was harder and less prone to problems. Dranzer was a hand and a half sword, making it so that he could use it as a two handed sword or with a shield. He replaced Dranzer in the scabbard and set the sword to one side. Grabbing one of his steward's letters, he settled on his bed and started to read it through. Just as he had finished writing a reply to the letter, a knock sounded on his door.
"Its open." He sealed the letter with his signet before replacing the ring in his desk drawer and locking it. He turned to find a runner from his lands standing in the door, looking like he was about to fall over. Getting to his feet he led the man to a chair and got him to sit down. The man took several deep breaths before looking up at his liege. "Sorry to interrupt My Lord but something came up that Steward Vernados can't handle."
Kai poured himself a glass of wine and sat in the chair across from the messenger. "Continue." The man fidgeted and finally spoke up. "Well you see, a band of travelers have settled on some of the best farmland. They refuse to get off and claim that they have the true heir to the Hiwatari lands. They insist on seeing the true Lord, refusing to believe that you are now Lord Hiwatari. They also refuse to listen to us in the fact that you are here."
Kai set his empty goblet to one side, before going to his desk to pull out a piece of parchment and a quill. He hastily wrote a quick note before digging his signet out of his desk and sealing the missive with a drop of wax. He handed it to the man, who was back on his feet, looking significantly better then when he'd first arrived. "I can't come right now. Tell Vernados that this letter will explain it. Take one of the castle's horses." The man bowed before leaving the room.
Kai pulled his boots off and stripped his shirt off before closing the curtains on his windows and putting out the candles. He climbed into bed and pulled the blankets over his head, sleep pulling him into a void.
*********
Pulling himself back to the world of the waking, Kai swung his legs out of his bed and sat there for several seconds before getting to his feet. He quickly made his way to his wardrobe and quickly changed his clothes before pulling his cloak on. Slipping Dranzer underneath his cloak, he dropped the sword belt over his head, settling the blade's belt comfortably across his chest. After grabbing his saddlebags he closed the door behind him and locked it.
Once in the stables he made his way to a stall at the far end. Inside stood a huge, ebony horse. Standing over sixteen hands tall the horse had brown eyes that seemed to take in everything at once. Kai dumped his saddlebags on the floor and opened the stall door. The horse opened his eyes but calmed down when he saw who it was. As he started brushing his horse he let his mind wander. The feeling that something terrible was going to happen hadn't left. In fact if anything, it was growing stronger. Trying to put the pieces together he mechanically saddled his horse and attached the bags to the back of the saddle. The feeling of a warm breath in his hair finally snapped him out of his thoughts.
He scratched the horse's nose before swinging into the saddle. He grabbed the reins and lightly tapped his heels to the horse's flank. Once outside of the castle he turned on the west road and leaned down. "Come Altair, we have a quest." Altair sprang into a trot at the sound of his rider's voice.
*********
Far to the west, in the middle of a forest a tower stands. And in that tower something, stirs.
Glossary
Pommel: the base of the handle of a knife or sword.
Crosstrees: a piece of horizontal metal between the handle and blade.
A/N 2: I figured an extra long chapter was in order. I'm going on a weeklong journey that has a computer but no Internet. I will however work on the story by hand and hopefully upload two chapters when I get back. Sorry if the going is slow but the first two chapters are basically to set up the plot. I promise Rei will soon make his appearance.
Until Next time
Sarcasmcat
A/N: Lots of thanks to my reviewers. I appreciate it greatly. More Inane babbling at the end
The King's audience chamber never ceased to amaze him. It was a long room with a high, vaulted ceiling. White swirled marble pillars were carved into the walls. On one side of the room, floor to ceiling windows let in light making the need for torches during the day obsolete. A red carpet edged in gold ran from the huge double doors to a dais at the far end of the room. At the top of the dais was the King's throne.
It was a monstrous thing carved of black marble. A huge dragon was carved on the back, with two glittering sapphires as eyes. A plush, crimson cushion rested on the seat. The arms were carved to resemble smaller dragons, each holding a large diamond in their open mouths. A smaller throne was to one side. It had been the late Queen's throne and now it belonged to the young Prince.
The King was on his throne looking out of the windows, boredom written on his face. He was in his late twenties. His once black hair was shot through with grey, silent testaments to the rigors of ruling the country. A number of wrinkles marred his once handsome face. His body had gone from the body of a fighter to the body of a man who spent almost no time doing any kind of exercise.
Kai had never liked the man. He may have been king but he continuously showed how inept he was at it. The main thing that had lowered the King in Kai's eyes was the death of the Queen. After the Queen's death the King had announced a three-month mourning period. During that time the country had all but stopped functioning.
Kai forced himself to bow. The only reason he was even here was because his grandfather insisted he serve the kingdom. Luckily his grandfather had died in the winter. Kai was now the sole heir of the Hiwatari lands.
The King finally pulled his attention away from the windows and down onto the knight in front of him. "Nice to see you. When was the last time we had the opportunity to speak to each other." He eyed the young man with a fox- like look in his eyes.
*Not long enough* "I believe it was about three weeks ago, Your Majesty." Kai stood still, none of his hate for the king leaking through his mask. The King slowly got to his feet and walked down the three steps to come face to chest with the knight. He looked up at Kai before turning to the windows.
"First off, I must say that I'm thrilled with the progress you've made with my knights. They have improved greatly. Now I have a little favor to ask of you."
*Oh this'll be good. The last time he asked me for a favor, I was stuck playing nursemaid for the Prince. Not an experience I want to relive. *
Kai remained where he was standing, wondering what the king was going to ask him for. The king turned back, black eyes focused on the young knight standing in front of the dais. He ran his eyes up and down the knight, paying particular attention to his lean form.
"Far to the west of here there lies a great forest. In the center of this forest a tower stands. Inside this tower, is a treasure. It was stolen from my family years ago. It is of the utmost importance that you retrieve it for me. I will warn you however, there is a very powerful warding spell on the tower. How to get in, I leave it to you."
*I've been wanting to get out of here for awhile now. Why all of a sudden do I have feeling this is going to turn into a huge mess? *
"Sire, if I may ask why are you sending me?" It's not that he really cared. Unfortunately the feeling that something was going on hadn't gone away. He would have shrugged it off, but Dranzer seemed to share his feelings. Not much could disturb his spirit, but when something did it was usually something extremely important.
The king shook his head before sitting back down on his throne. "Nothing. I just trust you the most. I suggest you get someone to take your place while your gone. You leave in the morning. You're dismissed."
Kai bowed stiffly and turning he left the room. He avoided the main staircases, instead taking the servants staircases. He arrived in his room and stripped his armor tossing it onto the chest at the foot of his bed with a clink. Pulling off his sweat soaked shirt he started digging around in his wardrobe for another shirt, and a clean pair of pants.
There was a timid knocking on the door and the sound of somebody shuffling from foot to foot. "If you don't have something important to say, then get out of here!" He finally found what he was looking for and pulled his head from the wardrobe. Unlike most people Kai refused to wear shirts with sleeves. He found them too constricting. The only time he wore them was when he had is armor on.
Pulling on the sleeveless, black silk shirt he glared at the page. "What part of if you don't have anything important to say then leave, did you not get?"
The page jumped and looked at the ground. He fidgeted with his tabard before meeting Kai's eyes again. "Sorry Sir. The Duke wanted to know if you would be joining him and his daughters for lunch."
"Unfortunately yes. I mustn't upset my king." The last statement was made with such sarcasm that the page wasn't sure what to say. It was the first time he had heard anyone talk about the king that way.
The page turned to leave but the sound of the knight's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Send the Knight Tala, up here. Tell him it's important." The page bowed and scurried out of the room, eager to be away from the cold knight.
By the time Tala, arrived Kai was just buckling his belt. He glanced up from pulling on his boots when he saw Tala's feet stop outside of his door.
"You wanted something Sir?" Tala's voice broke the sudden silence. Kai stood up, grabbing his dagger from the bedside stand. Ice blue eyes met mahogany and sparks flared between.
"Cut the crap Tala. You have never once called me Sir. I'm leaving in the morning and you're in charge of training until I get back. And don't go easy on Tyson."
Kai slipped the dagger into his boot and locked the door, slipping the key into his belt pouch. The two knights walked in silence, the only sound in the corridor the clicking of their boots against the stone.
Tala once again broke the silence. "So, what are you doing on this journey? Helping our king out with something?"
Luckily before he was forced to answer the Duke came into view, followed by his three daughters. The moment they saw him they turned bright red before hiding their giggles behind the feather fans hanging from their wrists. The youngest of the girls turned to Tala and gave him a shy smile, eyes dancing. Tala's eyes took on a glimmer of madness and after a hasty bow to the Duke and an amused look for Kai, the shorter knight made good his escape.
Kai bowed over the girls' hands. This caused even more fits of giggling between the girls. The Duke seemed oblivious to the flirting. He turned, leaving the grey-haired knight at the mercy of his daughters.
Lunch was served in the castles expansive gardens, amid the first blooms of spring. The Duke was continuously chattering like a sparrow about inconsequential things and his daughters couldn't seem to stop giggling and looking at Kai.
*Never will I marry. I really could care less of my lands don't get passed on. Besides, I think its time the Hiwatari name came to an end. *
Dranzer seemed pleased at this comment and the place where he always resided in Kai's head tingled with the spirit's laughter. Kai closed his eyes and by some miracle managed to block out the incessant giggling. The sound of somebody coming up was what finally caught Kai's attention. He opened one mahogany orb and looked at the person standing over him.
Max looked down with a sheepish grin, his blue eyes dancing with mirth. He fidgeted and the sword at his side glowed with a purple color. He looked down at it and shook his head.
"Sorry to interrupt you Kai, but we have a problem. Draciel, it's not funny!" Kai stood and looked down at the blonde knight, waiting for an explanation. Max looked up at him with a huge smile spread across his face. "Um. well you see, Tyson somehow got stuck in his armor and we can't get him out. I was wondering if you could help."
Kai bowed to the Duke and his daughters, all too glad to be away from all four of them. He had just started to walk away, with Max in tow when the Duke's oldest daughter spoke up. "Oh Sir Kai, will you be joining us for the ball tomorrow night?"
"Unfortunately no. I'm leaving in the morning and I have no idea when I'll be back." They entered the armory to find Tyson standing there a bewildered look on his face. His sword, which was leaning against the wall, was glowing with a blue light and the two could here Tyson's muffled complaints. "Dragoon it's not funny! I don't even know how I got stuck."
Kai looked at the younger knight, a smirk appearing. "Well Tyson. You have managed the impossible. You got stuck in your armor. That takes talent." Tyson's eyes opened wide and he glared at his best friend. "You got him! Of all people you got Captain Sourpuss! I'm never going to live this down."
Kai walked over and looked at Tyson's armor before glaring at the blonde. "Obviously the thought of loosening this strap never occurred to either of your pathetic minds." Max's face turned red and the small amount of Tyson's face visible turned the same color. Kai turned and left leaving the two younger knights to stew in their embarrassment.
Once back in his room, he dug his saddlebags out of his wardrobe and started packing. He packed several shirts, pants, soap, whetstone, leather oil and a small pouch of money and some simple first aid supplies. Placing some small coinage in his belt pouch he took his belt off and placed it on his desk chair. He placed his dagger on the desk and grabbed his armor from its place on his chest. Slowly and methodically he checked each link, looking for broken spots or holes where a weapon could slip through.
Once he had finished checking his armor he pulled Dranzer from its scabbard. The pommel of the sword was shaped like the head of a phoenix. The crosstrees were functional with no ornamentation. The blade was a metal closely related to steel, but was harder and less prone to problems. Dranzer was a hand and a half sword, making it so that he could use it as a two handed sword or with a shield. He replaced Dranzer in the scabbard and set the sword to one side. Grabbing one of his steward's letters, he settled on his bed and started to read it through. Just as he had finished writing a reply to the letter, a knock sounded on his door.
"Its open." He sealed the letter with his signet before replacing the ring in his desk drawer and locking it. He turned to find a runner from his lands standing in the door, looking like he was about to fall over. Getting to his feet he led the man to a chair and got him to sit down. The man took several deep breaths before looking up at his liege. "Sorry to interrupt My Lord but something came up that Steward Vernados can't handle."
Kai poured himself a glass of wine and sat in the chair across from the messenger. "Continue." The man fidgeted and finally spoke up. "Well you see, a band of travelers have settled on some of the best farmland. They refuse to get off and claim that they have the true heir to the Hiwatari lands. They insist on seeing the true Lord, refusing to believe that you are now Lord Hiwatari. They also refuse to listen to us in the fact that you are here."
Kai set his empty goblet to one side, before going to his desk to pull out a piece of parchment and a quill. He hastily wrote a quick note before digging his signet out of his desk and sealing the missive with a drop of wax. He handed it to the man, who was back on his feet, looking significantly better then when he'd first arrived. "I can't come right now. Tell Vernados that this letter will explain it. Take one of the castle's horses." The man bowed before leaving the room.
Kai pulled his boots off and stripped his shirt off before closing the curtains on his windows and putting out the candles. He climbed into bed and pulled the blankets over his head, sleep pulling him into a void.
*********
Pulling himself back to the world of the waking, Kai swung his legs out of his bed and sat there for several seconds before getting to his feet. He quickly made his way to his wardrobe and quickly changed his clothes before pulling his cloak on. Slipping Dranzer underneath his cloak, he dropped the sword belt over his head, settling the blade's belt comfortably across his chest. After grabbing his saddlebags he closed the door behind him and locked it.
Once in the stables he made his way to a stall at the far end. Inside stood a huge, ebony horse. Standing over sixteen hands tall the horse had brown eyes that seemed to take in everything at once. Kai dumped his saddlebags on the floor and opened the stall door. The horse opened his eyes but calmed down when he saw who it was. As he started brushing his horse he let his mind wander. The feeling that something terrible was going to happen hadn't left. In fact if anything, it was growing stronger. Trying to put the pieces together he mechanically saddled his horse and attached the bags to the back of the saddle. The feeling of a warm breath in his hair finally snapped him out of his thoughts.
He scratched the horse's nose before swinging into the saddle. He grabbed the reins and lightly tapped his heels to the horse's flank. Once outside of the castle he turned on the west road and leaned down. "Come Altair, we have a quest." Altair sprang into a trot at the sound of his rider's voice.
*********
Far to the west, in the middle of a forest a tower stands. And in that tower something, stirs.
Glossary
Pommel: the base of the handle of a knife or sword.
Crosstrees: a piece of horizontal metal between the handle and blade.
A/N 2: I figured an extra long chapter was in order. I'm going on a weeklong journey that has a computer but no Internet. I will however work on the story by hand and hopefully upload two chapters when I get back. Sorry if the going is slow but the first two chapters are basically to set up the plot. I promise Rei will soon make his appearance.
Until Next time
Sarcasmcat