Chapter 2

[It was a beautiful spring day at the Dragon Castle. The lands of Dusis were peaceful, there was actually no work to be done and...

"Kaistern!! Damn it where is he?" Alfeegi exclaimed while rounding the corner with a handful of papers. Only Alfeegi could find work to do on a day like this. He's such a workaholic...he needs to calm down once in a while.

"What is it this time Alfeegi?" I called out to him.

He briskly walked forward and shoved the papers in my face. "Kaistern's expense reports! His numbers don't match up with mine. According to this, Kaistern went over his budget by four hundred seventy five dollars and sixty eight cents."

I felt my face begin to grow hot. Oh-no. Not this again. I let out a small worried moan causing Alfeegi to harden his gaze towards me. "You didn't give him extra money again, did you Ruwalk?"

"Oh-no! Of course not!"

"You did, didn't you?!" Alfeegi yelled at me. "This messes everything up! Now I have to run your budget numbers again..." he sighed in an annoyed fashion.

"Well it was nice talking with you Alfeegi but I have to go umm...help Rath study! Bye!"

"When I get my hands on you Ruwalk!" he cursed and shook his fist as I ran off. Quickly I made my way outside to the gardens. Once I was sure that Alfeegi wasn't chasing me I stopped running to catch my breath. Jeez Alfeegi, it's not that big of a deal. This happens every time. Boy do I feel bad for Kaistern when Alfeegi finds him. I smiled silently to myself. Alfeegi was always hassling Kaistern when he returned from his work abroad. It was a sort of welcome home tradition. Not a pleasant one, but something that could always be counted on.

"Hey Ruwalk! Wha'cha up to?" a young boy's voice called out to me. It was Rath accompanied by Crewger and his dragon, Fire. He was still quite small, but our only Dragon Knight at the time.

"Oh hello Rath. Ah it's nothing really...just Alfeegi griping about Kaistern's expense reports again. He found out that I gave him extra money," I sighed. "And he is probably going to kill me after he runs the budget numbers again."

Fire held up a small sign. ::Poor you...::

"Thanks for your concern Fire..." I rolled my eyes.

Rath's face became excited. "Does this mean Kaistern's back? Huh? Does it Ruwalk?"

I nodded. "Yes, he's here somewhere but I haven't seen him yet."

"Oh goodie! Maybe he brought me back a demon carcass! I'm gonna go find him, bye Ruwalk!"

"Keep him away from Alfeegi if you find him!" I called after him with a grin upon my face.

"I will!"

I laughed as Rath ran off with Crewger and Fire close behind. They are quite the threesome. Later I would have to sit Rath down and hopefully get him to study a bit. He was too energetic and always seemed to get away from me though. Alfeegi had no problem containing him. Rath's probably too scared to even try getting away from Alfeegi. He has a horrible temper. Since I had nothing else to do, I laid down on the soft, green grass and gazed at the fluffy white clouds above me. It was such a peaceful feeling that I just about fell asleep, until I heard someone approaching me.

"Nice day isn't it?"

I lazily opened one eye, knowing very well who it was. "It wont be once Alfeegi finds us. Welcome back Kaistern."

He sat down next to me with his legs outstretched and his arms holding up the upper half of his body. His white hair danced in the breeze and the sun reflected itself in Kaistern's beautiful golden eyes. He was wearing a loose white shirt, unbuttoned, that ruffled as the wind caressed it. I could feel a slight blush rising to my cheeks, and something else too. Before Kaistern could notice I sat up and crossed my arms over my lap. Damn...

"So Alfeegi found out about the extra money you loaned me huh? I really should stop asking you to do that Ruwalk."

I shook my head. "Its no problem really. I don't use much for myself anyways."

"You should treat yourself Ruwalk. Or you could always find a pretty girl to spend the money on. I'm sure she wouldn't mind!" he laughed.

"Well I would but..." I paused. What was I supposed to say? Kaistern I don't need a girl. You're the one I want and have wanted for so long.

"But what?"

"Oh nothing..."

Kaistern shrugged and laid down in the grass. His shirt gently rested on the ground around him, leaving his muscular chest revealed. My cheeks grew hot again. I hung my head so that my hair fell around my face, hiding the fact that I was blushing madly.]

It was the gentle rays of dawn that awoke me. Yawning and stretching I sat up in bed, unaware of how I had gotten back in my room. I remembered little from the night before, but the deaths of Alfeegi and Kaistern were bright and vivid in my mind like a beacon of light shining in the darkness. My face was still stained by the trails of the tears shed the previous night. I can't believe that he's gone. We've been through so much together... A soft knock came at my door. Sitting up in the bed I called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Rune," he answered from the other side of the door.

Rune. Faintly I recalled hearing that something had happened to him and that Lord Lykouleon had helped save him. The other Dragon Knights would always tease Rune, mainly because he was so uptight, and call him "Mini- Alfeegi". Truth be told, Rune was always the sensible knight and probably the gentlest too. His gentle nature came from his previous life as an elf. I rose and opened the door for him. "Come in Rune," I gestured to a nearby chair where he could sit. Grabbing my robe, I put it on and tied the sash around my waist.

"Thank you Ruwalk. I wasn't sure that you would be up so early," he replied while sitting down. His long elfin hair cascaded over the arms of the chair, turning them a pale blond color.

I looked out the window. "What time is it anyways?"

"About six. Everyone else is still asleep. They're exhausted from the chaos that yesterday brought. Rath is still in his room, thank God he hasn't tried to run off yet, as is the Dragon Lord." Rune lowered his head. "His majesty isn't doing well though. He is suffering from the curse that Rath...well actually Nadil, placed upon him."

I gasped in shock. "A curse?"

Rune nodded gravely. "Apparently Nadil has been living within Rath's body ever since he got back to the castle and a little while before. The whole time he was wearing Rath down until he eventually took over. Nadil cursed Lykouleon. It is a curse that saps the life of its victim, making them slowly bleed to death. After the curse was complete Nadil forced Rath to cut off his own head so that the Demon Lord of Dusis would reign again. Knowing Rath I was afraid he had run off by now," he sighed deeply.

"I had no idea...that must have happened when I was tending to Alfeegi. Things have taken a turn for the worse, haven't they?"

"Yes...they have..."

I stared at the young elfin warrior for some time. There was something else that seemed to be on his mind and it was deeply troubling him. That would make sense. Why else would he be up at this hour? I rose and knelt beside the chair where he sat, placing an arm around his shoulders. "Are you sure nothing else is bothering you Rune? There must be a reason that you came to see me."

He sat there with his head hung low for quite some time, as if he was contemplating about what he wanted to say. Whatever it was, he was obviously uncomfortable about saying it. "Well..."

"It's ok. You can say it."

He mumbled through the veil of blond hair covering his face. "You see, I almost killed the Dragon Lord. I wasn't strong enough to stand up to Rath. He was able to summon Varawoo from within my body. Varawoo fought the Lord and almost killed him. It was all my fault..."

I wrapped both my arms around him. "Its not your fault Rune. Lykouleon's alright now. Well despite the curse that is."

"I can't believe that he actually tried to save me though. I mean, why me? I'm not that good of a knight. The only reason I'm alive is because of the Lord and Alfeegi's White Dragon Crystal. He should have let me die..."

"Rune," I looked sternly into his eyes. "Don't ever talk like that again."

"But..."

"But what?"

Rune sighed. "I'm just afraid that I'll never be good enough for Lykouleon. I wasn't good enough before all this and that will continue in the future."

Upon hearing what Rune had said I became slightly confused. To me it seemed as though Rune was only telling part of the truth. It's like he's talking about something completely different all of a sudden. Something had definitely changed in Rune's voice and in his body language. He was hiding something from me. "You aren't telling me something Rune."

He stood up and turned his back to me. "I can't tell you Ruwalk. It is something that shouldn't be told. Actually it shouldn't have even happened."

"Hey don't be like that! You can't tell half the story and expect me to be satisfied with it. Besides, who am I going to tell? Just tell me Rune," I practically begged him.

"Promise?" he asked. After I nodded my head he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His cheeks were a subtle pink. "I fell in love with Lykouleon. It's wrong, I know but I couldn't help myself! Despite all the pain I went through I couldn't stop loving him. Even now nothing will come of it."

What happened next was utterly shocking and I almost couldn't believe it. So much for Rune being the sensible, calm and gentle one.

"I'm glad you died Alfeegi! All these years of pain and suffering I went through...I hope your death was as painful as my heart has been ever since I laid eyes on the two of you!"

My eyes widened in shock. "Lykouleon...and Alfeegi?"

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A/N: Another chapter done. The yaoi-ness is starting to emerge. Bet you can't wait for the next chapter! Ja!