Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I no own, so you no sue!
Author's Note: Notice the dramatic leap in time for this chapter. Please review if you like the story! Or even if you didn't! I will be your slave forever!!!
The Four Points Part 2
Four Years After the Four Points Treaty:
A flood of grief fell over him, like a choking shroud, cutting off his breath. He grabbed his throat and sank to his knees at the servant's feet, panting in panic, clutching at the man's robes.
"When did she go missing? When?"
"King Isaac, are you all right?"
"Tell me! When did she go missing?"
"She was playing out in the courtyard this morning. Since then no one has seen her. All the servants thought she was just playing hide-and-seek, waiting in some small place for people to find her," the servant replied quickly, trying to help the frantic king of Zaibach stand up while still showing the proper amount of revelry.
"Hide-and-seek." the king said blankly, beyond reason, or even worry, having exhausted himself already.
"We searched the whole fortress and we could find no sign of her. The dogs are trying to sniff her out now," the servant's voice fell on dull ears. The king managed to pull himself into a chair before he passed out altogether. His daughter was gone. How could he live? Without her he couldn't.
Unknown to King Isaac of Zaibach, his wife Queen Fortuna entered the room. She sneered down at her husband. The stupid weak man didn't deserve control. He was hardly as intelligent as she. I am much more qualified to rule. Why did I come down here? Ah, yes. My daughter.
"What is going on?"
"We believe your daughter may have been kidnapped."
"Have you searched the fortress?"
"Yes Milady, but we found nothing. The dogs are sniffing her out now."
"That's it? Nothing definite? No other information or clues besides that?"
"-"
She brought up her hand in a jerky motion for silence.
"Summon me when you shit heads know something definite. And attend to him," she threw the last comment over her shoulder as an afterthought. Thank god she didn't have to deal with him.
* * *
Van leaned back in his chair in a relaxed fashion. Nothing gave away the fact that he was anything but relaxed, Hitomi knew him so well his feelings were always obvious to her. Besides their minds were linked; she could feel what he felt all the time. Hitomi glanced at the letter in his hand. What does it say? Why was it so important that you brought it to bed with you? You only do that when something important is happening that could affect Fanelia in a very grave way. Tell me. She pleaded with him silently but Van sent no reply. He was completely ignoring her. Hitomi suddenly became very angry. VAN! LISTEN TO ME!!! I'M NOT A COMPLETE IDIOT!!! I MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP DID YOU EVER THINK OF THAT? Hitomi blasted the thought with all the force she could muster. If he wouldn't respond to quiet pleas then she wouldn't plead anymore, she would order!
Van's back snapped rigid as if some one had poured ice water down his shirt, his eyes wide and his face twisted into an expression of complete shock. After the initial shock had passed Van sighed deeply and plopped back onto the pillows.
"I liked you a lot better before your political training started," Van said with a crooked smile. "You never ordered anybody, you just suggested or asked politely."
"You weren't responding to that," Hitomi said dryly, but with a slight trace of amusement in her voice.
"This letter that I hold in my hand pertains to the kidnapping of the only child of Zaibach, Princess Suzuki," Van said in a voice that sounded suddenly weary. "The Emperor of Zaibach calls on me to help him find his daughter. I don't know how to reply to this. I'm not specifically obligated by the Four Points Treaty to help him with personal matters but the problem could be construed as a matter of the political stability of Zaibach, and I am obligated to help Zaibach in events of political instability."
Hitomi looked away for a moment thinking hard, weighing the possibilities as she had been taught to do. If Van didn't help then the Emperor could go back on the treaty and attack any one of the other three countries involved in the treaty. If Van did help then the Emperor could possibly accuse Fanelia of tampering with the investigation, which would also leave Zaibach free to terminate the treaty. Then again who was to say it was a plot to trap Van and Fanelia? Maybe the Emperor was terribly distraught and was simply in need of help. Fanelia was a militarily strong country now she and Van had a four-year-old child of their own, which made her sympathetic. In her personal opinion as well as her political opinion it would be best to help Zaibach.
"Those were my general thoughts on the subject. So I will send the Emperor of Zaibach my affirmative reply," Van said putting the letter on a bedside table and snuffing the candle.
All in all it had been a good night's work and Van now had a new appreciation of his wife's abilities to be a political leader. However, he had a nagging feeling that this kidnapping was more than it appeared to be.
* * *
Suzuki woke from a dreamless sleep. She opened her eyes to find herself lying facedown on the cold stone floor. Thinking that she had fallen out of bed she tried to raise herself but stopped suddenly with a small squeal of surprise as pain stabbed at her arms and sides. Her chin hit the ground hard as her arms fell out from under her.
Suzuki began to take inventory. She slowly lifted her left arm. There was pain there, a subtle ache; it was probably bruised, nothing more. Then she lifted her right arm and once again she felt sharp and terrible pain. She set her right arm down again and breathed slowly for several minutes, to calm down as one of her nurses had taught her to. It must be broken, Suzuki concluded. She pressed her side with her left arm and felt a sharp pain and some wetness. She lifted her hand in front of her face and saw red. She felt her side again and felt along it to find the source of the blood. A sudden pang and yellow and reddish bursts of light forming before her eyes told her she had found the wound. Judging by the pain it was relatively deep. If she didn't get something for it there was no doubt that it would soon be infected in this diseased place.
That thought brought her attention away from her body for a brief moment and to her surroundings. She did not have the strength or the inclination to lift her head so she just rolled her eyes to the left and right to get a general idea of where she was being held.
The floor was covered in old straw. To her left she could see the corner of what she assumed was a bed. In front of her was a large wooden door. At least it looked large from her vantage point on the floor. The floor was made out of stones placed together, like they were in a palace or mansion of another country, like Fanelia. She had been to Fanelia when her father was negotiating with the other Kings. This place didn't feel like Fanelia though. It felt like someplace she'd never been before.
Suzuki heard footsteps and the sound of a large key rattling in a lock. She closed her eyes, hoping no one would hurt her if she were unconscious.
The door swung open, she was so close to the door that it almost hit her. For a moment nothing happened, then she was unable to help herself, she opened one eye just a little. She saw a lady's red shoes directly in front of her face.
"Don't try to fool me like that. I can see that you are not unconscious, though you were recently, due to these fools manhandling," it was the lady with the red shoes speaking, her voice soft and imposing. Suzuki half- expected her to spit venom at the soldiers, whose feet she could see at the limit of her vision, standing behind Red-Shoes. "Don't worry about anything, I am your caretaker and I have no intention of hurting you."
Red-Shoes stepped to the left of Suzuki, out of her field of vision and she felt a pain in her side as the woman examined her wound. Several soldiers stepped forward then turned and left without a word. Suzuki assumed Red- Shoes had gestured for a doctor.
Suzuki felt herself being lifted carefully. Her head lolled toward the floor. She saw herself rise away from the stone jigsaw of the floor and then she started to go down toward it again. Her back met soft fabric and the woman placed her head at a more comfortable angle. For the first time Suzuki could see Red-Shoes' face.
Author's Note: Notice the dramatic leap in time for this chapter. Please review if you like the story! Or even if you didn't! I will be your slave forever!!!
The Four Points Part 2
Four Years After the Four Points Treaty:
A flood of grief fell over him, like a choking shroud, cutting off his breath. He grabbed his throat and sank to his knees at the servant's feet, panting in panic, clutching at the man's robes.
"When did she go missing? When?"
"King Isaac, are you all right?"
"Tell me! When did she go missing?"
"She was playing out in the courtyard this morning. Since then no one has seen her. All the servants thought she was just playing hide-and-seek, waiting in some small place for people to find her," the servant replied quickly, trying to help the frantic king of Zaibach stand up while still showing the proper amount of revelry.
"Hide-and-seek." the king said blankly, beyond reason, or even worry, having exhausted himself already.
"We searched the whole fortress and we could find no sign of her. The dogs are trying to sniff her out now," the servant's voice fell on dull ears. The king managed to pull himself into a chair before he passed out altogether. His daughter was gone. How could he live? Without her he couldn't.
Unknown to King Isaac of Zaibach, his wife Queen Fortuna entered the room. She sneered down at her husband. The stupid weak man didn't deserve control. He was hardly as intelligent as she. I am much more qualified to rule. Why did I come down here? Ah, yes. My daughter.
"What is going on?"
"We believe your daughter may have been kidnapped."
"Have you searched the fortress?"
"Yes Milady, but we found nothing. The dogs are sniffing her out now."
"That's it? Nothing definite? No other information or clues besides that?"
"-"
She brought up her hand in a jerky motion for silence.
"Summon me when you shit heads know something definite. And attend to him," she threw the last comment over her shoulder as an afterthought. Thank god she didn't have to deal with him.
* * *
Van leaned back in his chair in a relaxed fashion. Nothing gave away the fact that he was anything but relaxed, Hitomi knew him so well his feelings were always obvious to her. Besides their minds were linked; she could feel what he felt all the time. Hitomi glanced at the letter in his hand. What does it say? Why was it so important that you brought it to bed with you? You only do that when something important is happening that could affect Fanelia in a very grave way. Tell me. She pleaded with him silently but Van sent no reply. He was completely ignoring her. Hitomi suddenly became very angry. VAN! LISTEN TO ME!!! I'M NOT A COMPLETE IDIOT!!! I MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP DID YOU EVER THINK OF THAT? Hitomi blasted the thought with all the force she could muster. If he wouldn't respond to quiet pleas then she wouldn't plead anymore, she would order!
Van's back snapped rigid as if some one had poured ice water down his shirt, his eyes wide and his face twisted into an expression of complete shock. After the initial shock had passed Van sighed deeply and plopped back onto the pillows.
"I liked you a lot better before your political training started," Van said with a crooked smile. "You never ordered anybody, you just suggested or asked politely."
"You weren't responding to that," Hitomi said dryly, but with a slight trace of amusement in her voice.
"This letter that I hold in my hand pertains to the kidnapping of the only child of Zaibach, Princess Suzuki," Van said in a voice that sounded suddenly weary. "The Emperor of Zaibach calls on me to help him find his daughter. I don't know how to reply to this. I'm not specifically obligated by the Four Points Treaty to help him with personal matters but the problem could be construed as a matter of the political stability of Zaibach, and I am obligated to help Zaibach in events of political instability."
Hitomi looked away for a moment thinking hard, weighing the possibilities as she had been taught to do. If Van didn't help then the Emperor could go back on the treaty and attack any one of the other three countries involved in the treaty. If Van did help then the Emperor could possibly accuse Fanelia of tampering with the investigation, which would also leave Zaibach free to terminate the treaty. Then again who was to say it was a plot to trap Van and Fanelia? Maybe the Emperor was terribly distraught and was simply in need of help. Fanelia was a militarily strong country now she and Van had a four-year-old child of their own, which made her sympathetic. In her personal opinion as well as her political opinion it would be best to help Zaibach.
"Those were my general thoughts on the subject. So I will send the Emperor of Zaibach my affirmative reply," Van said putting the letter on a bedside table and snuffing the candle.
All in all it had been a good night's work and Van now had a new appreciation of his wife's abilities to be a political leader. However, he had a nagging feeling that this kidnapping was more than it appeared to be.
* * *
Suzuki woke from a dreamless sleep. She opened her eyes to find herself lying facedown on the cold stone floor. Thinking that she had fallen out of bed she tried to raise herself but stopped suddenly with a small squeal of surprise as pain stabbed at her arms and sides. Her chin hit the ground hard as her arms fell out from under her.
Suzuki began to take inventory. She slowly lifted her left arm. There was pain there, a subtle ache; it was probably bruised, nothing more. Then she lifted her right arm and once again she felt sharp and terrible pain. She set her right arm down again and breathed slowly for several minutes, to calm down as one of her nurses had taught her to. It must be broken, Suzuki concluded. She pressed her side with her left arm and felt a sharp pain and some wetness. She lifted her hand in front of her face and saw red. She felt her side again and felt along it to find the source of the blood. A sudden pang and yellow and reddish bursts of light forming before her eyes told her she had found the wound. Judging by the pain it was relatively deep. If she didn't get something for it there was no doubt that it would soon be infected in this diseased place.
That thought brought her attention away from her body for a brief moment and to her surroundings. She did not have the strength or the inclination to lift her head so she just rolled her eyes to the left and right to get a general idea of where she was being held.
The floor was covered in old straw. To her left she could see the corner of what she assumed was a bed. In front of her was a large wooden door. At least it looked large from her vantage point on the floor. The floor was made out of stones placed together, like they were in a palace or mansion of another country, like Fanelia. She had been to Fanelia when her father was negotiating with the other Kings. This place didn't feel like Fanelia though. It felt like someplace she'd never been before.
Suzuki heard footsteps and the sound of a large key rattling in a lock. She closed her eyes, hoping no one would hurt her if she were unconscious.
The door swung open, she was so close to the door that it almost hit her. For a moment nothing happened, then she was unable to help herself, she opened one eye just a little. She saw a lady's red shoes directly in front of her face.
"Don't try to fool me like that. I can see that you are not unconscious, though you were recently, due to these fools manhandling," it was the lady with the red shoes speaking, her voice soft and imposing. Suzuki half- expected her to spit venom at the soldiers, whose feet she could see at the limit of her vision, standing behind Red-Shoes. "Don't worry about anything, I am your caretaker and I have no intention of hurting you."
Red-Shoes stepped to the left of Suzuki, out of her field of vision and she felt a pain in her side as the woman examined her wound. Several soldiers stepped forward then turned and left without a word. Suzuki assumed Red- Shoes had gestured for a doctor.
Suzuki felt herself being lifted carefully. Her head lolled toward the floor. She saw herself rise away from the stone jigsaw of the floor and then she started to go down toward it again. Her back met soft fabric and the woman placed her head at a more comfortable angle. For the first time Suzuki could see Red-Shoes' face.