Authors: Xan and Vallen
Rating: PG-13 (R later on)
Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this.
Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.
Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)
Notes:
Xan: Ack, sorry this one took so long. I've just been reeeeeeeeeally busy, but here it is! And I may start working on the next one today too 'cause I really like that one. A lot of Marth in this one, so all you Marth fans should be happy. And naturally a new twist! Dum dum dum…
Vallen: *grins* And those of you who are Roy fans should be patient and wait for what's coming.
Thanks To: rex16 (Just be patient! Good things come to those who wait.), Sake Girl Duelist (Hehe, Marth is going to get in a lot of trouble with Rowen for that.), Moonlitmonk (*blink* Say what? Well... Moral of the story is that you shouldn't throw bricks at people.), Ged (Um... Maybe if you paid attention to the story, you would know... I can't explain everything. Maybe if you asked a certain question about a certain part...), Shaggs2dope (Yes, we are two girls. They are *gay* because we want them to be. So there. ^^V); Slifer (Glad you understand! Don't worry, I like Roy better too. Hence, there will be Roy torture. Meh.), Nataku Mino (An awesome chapter? Thanks! Don't worry, they'll get back together. If there's a will, there's a way.); YoshiMars (wow, it took 4 chapters to begin everything? Is that a bad thing? Heh.), Persian Kittie (I never realized that there's mystery in this story... Excellent!), LilFilipinoGurl (*snorts* Yeah, Jorn is a very funny name... But thank you! It's so fun to write zombies! I've never played Resident Evil..), Pichu*Star (We aim to please! Making our readers crazy would be a very bad thing.. Bwahah, Roy is being interrogated! *cough* You were right. The Necromancer is behind this.), Sinnatious (Another fun, fun, fun review! I'm glad you liked the ending, 'cause it was my favorite part... Thank you thanks you!), Spryte Andoloni (5 in the morning? Ack! Get some sleep! But we are the masters of evil cliffhangers, so we've been told.), Syaix_Rafael (eeek! *runs away* No, don't kill us before we finish the fic!), chiby fairy (*throws confetti too* I have reason to believe that this is a very draining story. ^^;;), MintyDreams7 (Bwahaha, Roy is "home"... I wonder what they'll do to him.), Moiras (Don't worry, that's the last bad one for a while... ^^ I'm sure Xan was happy that you liked her Marth description), MysticalWoodElf (Confusion gone poof! But what are you talking about?! They deserve everything that they get! Bwahah.), RavenGhost (You're welcome! Now here's the next chapter!), Dark Comet (*cough* I just had to add that "minimal clothing"... We all love Roy with "minimal clothing" on.), Shea (This is all for the Torture Marth and Roy cause! Please give donations... ^^V); tikimoof (Yeee-hah! Go texans! I hate it when people spell y'all wrong, even though I don't say it.), Jennie (*grin* We have a little something for everyone.. The torture-lovers and the romantic-lovers..), Escuro de la Lus (*rocks out with Xan* We live to rock. But *gasp* what?! You hate reading about him getting tortured?! O.o Sorry about the next hundred pages, then.. ^^), bladegryphon (You're welcome! We can't leave you in the dark for too long, ne?); Kevin C (Well.. Marth only took a few minutes to notice... But I guess the Necromancer created a pretty good dummy-Roy. ^^ It all comes together!); Jonathan (Your review was so cute! I think you go in the category of romantic-fans. Thanks and we'll continue to work!); Crockgirl13 (*waves hand too* Wake up, its time to read!), sylvanon the wolf gurl (Yes, Roy was born in Pharae, according to his trophy description.); Curious Dream Weaver (Ah, it's great to see that both of them are alive and well.. Sort of. Thanks.. We try to write as best we can!); Rayestar Ikina (Oh yes, we love plot twists... Bwahah. We must keep the fic alive! Glad you got over it so fast.), and LiL PriNCeSs Me (Hey, he's my baby too! Sorry it's getting weird, but it has very dark themes... Now that the Necromancer has taken over.)
Marth knew that he was dreaming when he saw himself as a young child sitting in his mother's lap beside a small fountain within a beautiful, peaceful garden. It was serene and quiet and even though he knew full well that it wasn't real, he allowed himself to sink slowly into it, aware that he could do nothing to banish the illusion.
'After all,' he thought, somehow simultaneously within the child's body and looking at it from the outside. 'It's no sin to dream.'
And then the illusion changed. He was no longer with his mother in the deceptive beauty of the garden, but instead with Roy. He was watching his auburn-haired partner tend to Onyx, admiring the silky pearl-white coat. Suddenly the foal's fur became dull, his flesh sunken in so that every bone of his small skeleton showed with horrifying clarity. In seconds, the foal had become but the animated corpse of a horse. Onyx whirled around, sinking his fangs – fangs? Horses didn't have fangs – into Roy's arm. Roy let out a yell and fought, but the horse would not let go. Marth tried to move to help Roy, but he found that he was paralyzed, absolutely frozen in place. Always frozen… He watched as Roy hacked at Onyx with his sword until the horse's flesh was like ribbons of white silk and blood, but the zombie animal would not relent. Finally the two of them fell to the ground.
The young king stared in horror at the carnage, but could not go to Roy. He was frozen – frozen like he always was. He was useless. Then Roy rose again, encased in a thin layer of ice. He glowed momentarily, then the glow died, just like the fire-in-ice had. Marth screamed, reaching for him, only to discover that he was burning.
The Mage-King awoke with a gasp, his body covered in a cold sweat. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, trying to forget the ghastly details of the dream.
'Rowen?'
He could feel the mage waking up and blinking though a sleepy haze.
'Yes Marth? Are you alright? I felt something, but I wasn't sure… Were you having a dream?'
'I did… I had a gods-damned nightmare…' Marth shook his head. 'Sorry for waking you up… Did you find out anything more about the stone?'
'Not much, but it's got some sort of spell on it. Not sure what kind of spell, but I can only guess that our enemy knew that it was a connection between you two. It was only logical for him to tamper with it.'
'It figures. I'm beginning to think that it was a bad idea to create such an obviously powerfully magical talisman in the first place.' He sighed. 'Rowen, can a person be stripped of their magical power completely, once the power has been discovered and nurtured?'
There was a very long pause and apprehension filled their mental link before Rowen finally responded,
'Yes. But it is a very intricate, painful procedure which takes a great deal of power to perform. It was done to my mother and to every other mage and magic-user who stood in the Necromancer's way all those years ago. Needless to say, they all died after great suffering. Why do you ask?'
'Because I think that the Necromancer may do that to Roy and I'm worried.' There was a pause. 'How are the refugees handling being in the city? Will we be able to feed and house all of them? I was concerned about that.' Marth changed the subject.
'They keep on coming in by the day, so I'm sure that we'll run out of room fairly soon. You might have to order some sort of temporary housing to be built.' Rowen responded quickly to Marth's question. 'But Marth… I wouldn't be too worried about Roy right now. You need to get your country in order first… What you said is not entirely impossible, but if your power is enough for the Necromancer to turn his head, don't you think that he'd need a bit more information? And who better to ask than your lover? Yes, he probably knows about that too.'
Marth ran a hand through his hair, nervous and on edge.
'I know, but I can't not worry about Roy, but you're right. The country is more important right now. I'll order some housing and rations to be distributed. There is plenty of food in the royal storehouses… The palace can't possibly eat that much food and it will be enough to support them… for a while anyways. Rowen, the Necromancer has reached Altea before and he's been defeated. How?'
'That's where you're wrong,' Rowen replied. 'Had he been defeated, he wouldn't be alive today – At least, that's what I think. Perhaps he was weakened by another enemy or sealed up until magic reawakened in this land. I'm going to try to save up my strength and make a connection with him. I want to find out what he wants.'
'Go back to bed first, old man. You need the rest.' Marth got out of his bed and grabbed his silver coronet to keep his blue tresses out of the way. 'I'm going to deal with the most immediate problem first, which happens to be the refugees. You try to contact the Necromancer, but ask me for help if you need it. My mindspeech is stronger than yours anyways.'
'I know… But I've still got power, boy. Don't underestimate me.' The weather mage said, obviously tired. 'I'm going to get some sleep, but I can't help feeling that I should be doing something to help…'
'You're helping. Don't worry about it, Rowen.' Marth severed the connection to let Rowen rest and went to find Gwen.
The girl must have sensed that he was looking for her because she was found sitting in a corner in one of the halls, looking like she was taking a light nap. She dedicated her life to Marth, so it was natural that she should sleep when he did. Gwen looked up when she heard him coming.
The weight on Marth's shoulders could not hide his fondness for the young woman. He had formed an intense of affection for Gwen in the past few years, which only continued to grow. He had freed her from Trave and then elevated her status from lowly servant to his own personal attendant to thank her and also to protect her from further mistreatment and harm, but she had risen to the occasion beautifully. Marth had never met a more loyal or gentle person than she.
"I'm beginning to think that you're the one with the magical powers," he said, crouching down beside her with a small smile. "I feel guilty about running you ragged all the time Gwen, but you always come through. Can you tell me what needs to be done now?"
Gwen looked up, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"There are a few letters from Jorn and Pharae that you need to answer, but other than the obvious, n-nothing has come up, Sir." She answered. "Your advisors would like to have a meeting with you as well… They're starting to… get impatient."
"Advisors, advisors…" Marth muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I'll read the letters first and then meet with them since they probably just want to fuss at me anyways. I would also like to go into the city and see how the people are doing for myself if I have time."
The girl nodded, then did not say anything for a long time as she stood up and brushed herself off.
"Is Sir Roy coming back? I don't know what's going on now, but it is bad… You're acting strange and I… don't want you to be sad."
Gwen's innocent question caused Marth to lean against the wall, staring off into space a little. He wasn't angry with the girl for asking – indeed, she had a right to know.
"He's not dead, I know that much for certain. He's been captured by the enemy and I have no idea what's happening to him or where he is. And I can't go to him because I'm a king and I have to stay and do what's best for my country and my people. I don't have a choice, so I'm torn, Gwen."
Gwen looked down at the marble floor and clasped her hands together tightly, her slim fingers trembling.
"I don't know what to do… I can't help you, Sir Roy or Sir Rowen. You should make me do something – Give me orders…"
"Gwen, you help me more than anybody else. Just keep doing exactly as you have been." Marth wrapped an arm around her shoulders briefly. "Where are the letters?"
She looked surprised to be embraced by the king, but cheered up a bit.
"In your study… Come with me, alright?" The girl led Marth all the way to his study and showed him where the letters were on his desk.
The first one was from Pharae and was written in Roy's distinct hand:
To Whom It May Concern,
We have noticed suspicious activity going on along the Pharae/Altean border and would like to know what is happening specifically from the King of Altea. Our general is conversing with your general, but the situation has not changed. We, as a country, are concerned about this new development and would like to ensure peace and safety between our lands.
The High King of Pharae
The next, from Jorn:
Hello Marth,
This is the first time I have contacted you, and yet I have caused you so much pain already. I give you a simple ultimatum: Meet with me and surrender your powers unto me or else I will kill your lover and destroy Altea. I wait eagerly for your response – send it to the Principality of Pharae.
The letter was unsigned.
Marth read the letters with a grim expression on his pale face, quiet and contemplating.
"Gwen, you are dismissed for the time being." He said softly, but not unkindly. He waited until the girl had left before locking the door and settling into his chair, picking up the letter from the 'King of Pharae' written in Roy's script. Marth touched the familiar letters, narrowing his cobalt blue eyes.
'What are they doing to you, Roy?' He thought, wishing that he could connect to Roy's mind through the letter. He didn't trust this at all – why would Roy write him a letter addressed from the King of Pharae? Especially when Roy was supposedly dead. It made no sense, but…
Marth got a clean sheet of parchment and a feather quill. He wrote four words:
Where is my general?
Marth put it aside and picked up the other letter, the unsigned one. This one made him shiver, him the Ice Mage. He didn't want to touch it.
"He wants me. I don't know why, but he wants my power." He closed his eyes momentarily, knowing that he couldn't let Rowen know what he was about to do. The mage would try to stop him and he would not be stopped. He closed his mind to Rowan's mental gaze and crept out of the castle, avoiding everyone.
Marth rode east, seated on a tall, rangy chestnut gelding. Cloud was tied to the saddle, trotting behind them. He had intended to leave his grey stallion behind, thinking that Cloud deserved the rest after such a harrowing ride only a few days ago, but the horse had made such a fuss that Marth had been forced to bring him along so that his neighing wouldn't give him away.
When he had gotten far enough away from the castle, Marth stopped, dismounted and untied Cloud. He took a letter out of his pocket and tucked it into the chestnut's saddle blanket. It was addressed to Rowen and explained what he was doing, along with an apology. He slapped the gelding's rump and watched as the horse galloped back towards the castle. He hoped that Rowen and Gwen wouldn't worry too much.
'Please forgive me if I don't come back alive… I'm just trying to do what's right.' He thought, the words echoing in his head. He had said these words before, years ago when he was about to storm his own castle to overthrow Gaimen.
"I hope this isn't our last ride, boy." He said to his faithful steed. Cloud nickered and began off at a canter.
The ride to the east was fairly uneventful for Marth and Cloud. The terrain was bare, aside from the occasional plume of black smoke rising from a demolished village on the horizon. Marth was more confident than ever that his decision to evacuate all the border towns had been the right one.
Cloud reared abruptly in the middle of the field they were riding through, jarring Marth. The horse's ears were perked and his nostrils were flared and he was looking around.
"What is it?" Marth asked, unsheathing Falcion warily.
There was a high keening sound from somewhere in the brush around them and Cloud pranced anxiously. Marth felt the temperature drop suddenly, as it always did when he was on edge.
The arrow came out of nowhere, piercing Marth's upper left arm. A few zombies popped up, attacking Marth and Cloud on some signal. Marth hacked at them with his sword whenever they approached, trying to ignore the stench and their cadaverous appearance.
"Stop it!" He shouted, making Cloud back away. "I've come to surrender to your master!"
The living dead soldiers pulled back, eyeing Marth through decaying sockets. They didn't understand much of the speech of the living now, but had obviously heeded Marth's words. The king dismounted and placed Falcion on the ground between them as a sign that he was willing to be peaceful.
"I come willingly."
One of the zombies picked Falcion up, daring Marth to make a move to reclaim it. The king did not. Satisfied, they gestured for him to follow. He reached for Cloud's reins, but they indicated sharply that the horse was to stay. Regretfully, Marth slapped Cloud's rump and the stallion slowly walked away, glancing back at Marth often. The soldiers made a guttural growl and began to walk, leading Marth into Pharae.
To be continued…
Xan: Sorry Roy wasn't in this chapter much (okay, at all) but the next one is all about Marth and Roy, so just be patient okay? Hope ya liked! (^^ My birthday is next week… Yay for Xan!)
Vallen: *blink* It is? Oh, right! ^^;; Well anyways, I hope this is a good gift to the start of a new week… Only two weeks till Thanksgiving!