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:
Vallen: Erm… I won't even try to apologize for how long it's been since we've updated… We've just had a lot of problems lately and hopefully we're back on track.
Xan: (Not available).
Announcement: The Necromancer is NOT Link. No, no, and no.
Thanks to (sorry if we forgot anyone):
I mAy Be InSaNe (Well, looks-wise he is based off Adult Link, yes. But the characters are not the same!), Nataku (Hm... Well, if I had to place a bet on whether Roy got out of the N-mancer's spell... I would say yes. You have so many things you want to know!), BlakJak (^__^ Wow, that's so cool that you get so worked up about this! Maybe that's a sign that we're doing something right. But also, there aren't any other mages because they were all wiped out when the N-mancer was in power decades ago.), MintyDreams7 (Heh. That part was one of our favorite parts too... But... The N-mancer IS NOT LINK! T_T), Demon Cat Fury (Don't worry, we have a very twisted sense of humor as well.), Sinnatious (As always, you compliment us WAY too much! FNOK+2 could use a little fixing, so it is nowhere near Bible status. ^^ You're the only person who noticed that we used Rowen's full name for the first time! Yay! But you are correct, the N-mancer will not let off his hold on Roy so easily...), Persian Kittie (We didn't say he was short... He's just not the typical, tall bad guy. ^^ Marth's a pretty talented guy, tho.), Saikyou Kirei262 (I like long fanfics too! The good ones keep you entertained for the whole ride! Have we done that?), Kevin C (^^ You've just highlighted our favorite scene of the chapter! *gets back to work on another fun chapter for you*), tikimoof (. Yes... We adore Trave... But... We... can't.. say... anything...), Sprytie-whitie (O.O Whoa, that is a LONG review. Wow. We're glad you like the plot! And okay, the idea of a Necromancer isn't exactly the most original, but we liked it, soo… ^^ there ya go!), Ryuke-Naoe (^^ seriously, fanfiction of fanfiction is funny! ^^ Yesh, read it all!), PikaPower (^^;; heh… okay, so we've gotten really bad about updating… sowee!), Rayestar Ikina (Well… it's not Link EXACTLY, but it's based on him. Just 'cause Link's pretty. ^^;; ), Sword Master Jeff (Awww… Thank you so much! You're one of the few guys who reads this, which makes you extra special! Nope! Ganondorf isn't special enough to be in this.), Dark Comet (Yes, the pretty ones are always just a little evil! ^^), , YoshiMars (Yay, N-mancer fanart! Whee!! We'd love you forever! Er, more than we already do! ^^;; )), Curious DreamWeaver (Yes, Marth's very mature and confident for someone his age. I love writing him. Roy… ^^;; Roy's got a temper, which gets him in a lot of trouble. So glad that you like it!), MysticalWoodElf (lurve! ^^ Xan's mommy says lurve, so it's a special word. ^^ Writing yaoi isn't THAT hard… but it is addicting, so beware!), bladegryphon (T_T I feel so bad that this is so late…), RavenGhost (Whee, Soul Calibur II! I love it! *coughs*Nightmare*cough* but not as much as Bloody Roar. And SSBM of course! Aww… nobody can write an FNOK fanfic, but that's okay. It was kind of vain challenging people anyways. ^^;; ), Morias (T_T And of course, the wait between that chapter and this was even longer… My deepest apologies! Heh, no, no worries about butchering FNOK… it's basically us butchering FE and SSBM), Crockgirl13 (Yay, everybody's getting it right!), Jennie (Sorry it took so long, but maybe it was sort of worth it?).
"You're a prisoner. You can't leave," Roy growled, rubbing his temples as he tried to stand up on trembling legs. There was a mark upon his forehead where the circlet had been. "And who are you to order me around? Unhand me and step away!"
"Do as I say or I'll turn your blood to ice and your bones to snow," Marth snarled, holding Falcion to Roy's throat. "I'm your king and sovereign, your true master. Now show me the way."
The general's eyes had returned to their normal cobalt blue color, but they shone with anger and embarrassment burned upon his cheeks. He, still threatened by Marth's sword, led him down the maze of halls. It was strange; there were no guards inside the ghost castle. Once the pair had reached the majestic marble stairs, Roy tried to break away again.
"Okay, we're out. Now what are you going to do with me?" He snarled.
"Bring you with me. Now shut up and stand there." Marth placed a mental "hook" in Roy's mind, and then placed a shield over the two of them that would shield them from the Necromancer's gaze until they were a fair distance away.
"I've put a
barb in your mind. If you try to run away or harm me, it will kill you," he
told Roy with a snarl. It wasn't true of course. He would never do anything to
kill Roy intentionally, but it would make him feel quite unpleasant, and
hopefully Roy wouldn't be able to tell he was bluffing.
"Come on."
He jerked Roy's arm and began to walk away from the castle out into the wilderness. They were lucky, and didn't run into any of the zombie-soldiers, or anything else, for that matter. The land was dead, dry and barren as a result of the Necromancer's nefarious power.
They had been walking for quite some time when Marth stopped abruptly and placed two fingers to his mouth, producing a piercing whistle.
A few minutes later, Cloud cantered up, seeming none the worse for the wear after foraging for a day and a night. He seemed glad to see the two humans, and snuffled Marth affectionately. He moved towards Roy, then stopped, looking as if he couldn't quite figure out what Roy was. Marth patted his neck, giving him a word of praise, and climbed up onto his broad back. He turned his eyes to Roy.
"Get on behind me."
"I'd rather walk." Roy said plainly, refusing to get up on the horse with him. He was embarrassed enough from being taken from his own castle, but he definitely was not going to be a willing hostage. This Roy may be different, but the teen's bad qualities were coming through like sunshine on a cloudless day.
"Either you get up on the horse or you get dragged behind it. It makes no difference to me," Marth replied. "I'm in a bit of a hurry and I can't afford to have you slowing me down."
Roy looked down at the ground, but a smirk formed on his lips,
"I know you're in a hurry, so you might have guessed it was the reason why I'm stalling. Just forget about it – you've lost already. You are only taking me closer and closer to my troops, where one snap from my fingers will send them all over you. Do with me what you wish, but I am not cooperating with you." The rudeness and sarcasm oozing from his voice was enough to choke even the most rotten of souls. But during that moment, the strangest thing was that he sounded quite pleased with himself. The teen looked up at the sun to get his bearings, and then began to walk south, the direction to Altea.
Marth waited, watching Roy walk away from him. Then with a loud "HA!" he kicked Cloud into a gallop, driving him towards the retreating general. Marth seized Roy by the back of his tunic and hauled him up, tossing him crossways in the saddle in front of him.
"Insufferable little bastard," he growled.
Roy heard that and chuckled, looking up at Marth with his smirk. He did not move from his spot there, but merely clung onto the horse's mane.
"Good. You're just riding to your death…" He threatened in a sing-song voice, albeit strained from the awkward position he was in.
Marth ignored Roy for a long time, riding in silence towards Altea, and convincing himself that this was not the real Roy. Soon, he discovered that night was approaching and they needed to stop soon. He looked down at Roy and slowed Cloud. He wanted him back so badly… wanted his lover back. He couldn't help himself. Marth touched Roy's face lightly, giving it a small caress.
The teen had seemingly fallen asleep – now his eyes shot open and stared up at Marth with confusion in his eyes, but not disgust.
"Why do you touch me like that? Do you like men or something?"
Marth averted his eyes, looking back up at the dark horizon, picking up the reins in both hands again.
"I touch you like that because I love you." He replied quietly.
"That's impossible. You've only seen me for a day, at most. You're really strange, for a king who's going to die," Roy answered quickly.
"Roy, I've known you for years. We're lovers. You're my High General, the Fire Mage Roy. The Necromancer stole you from me."
Roy coughed loudly,
"Now you're just taking advantage of the fact that I have no memory of the past. Plus, all that magic talk is untrue – my magic was taken from me a long time ago. Are we stopping yet?"
Marth reigned in Cloud and looked down at Roy. His fist connected with Roy's face with a loud smack, knocking him off the horse. Marth followed him, pinning Roy to the ground, staring into his eyes. Roy's mouth was bleeding. The King kissed the general, praying to every god he knew to let Roy remember their first blood-tainted kiss.... And unlock the rest of his memories as well.
At first Roy struggled wildly, trying to shove Marth off of him, but then… he relaxed suddenly and tilted his face upward, welcoming Marth's lips on his own. His eyes were closed, of course, but his body gave a little shudder as it began to respond to the urgings of Marth's. The teen's hands began to move on their own, creeping up and under Marth's tunic and caressing his skin.
Closing his eyes, Marth fell deeper and deeper into the kiss, the long-absent feeling of arousal rising within him again. He reached up and snapped the chain from which the fire-in-ice stone hung around his neck and pressed in into Roy's palm, the heat from their bodies making the gem unusually warm.
'Please remember,' he begged his partner.
There was the hiss of burning flesh as the stone came into contact with Roy's skin, and he cried out in pain, dropping it immediately. It fell to the ground, discarded and forgotten once again.
"I enjoy this…" Roy whispered in a low voice, rubbing his firm body up against the young king. He sounded… surprised, but thrust a hand into Marth's hair, grabbing a handful roughly. Marth kissed Roy again, clutching his shoulders hard enough to bruise as their bodies brushed against one another. He needed this so much… Craved the touch that he hadn't felt since this entire ordeal had begun…
'I can make it better for you, but you have to say my name.' Marth breathed into Roy's mind, his mouth too occupied with exploring Roy's own to speak aloud.
"Marth…" Roy tilted his head back, exposing his neck and allowing Marth to kiss his throat. The teen repeated the name over and over again till his throat went dry, and he could say it no more.
Marth's hands trembled slightly as he fingered the fastenings to Roy's clothing. One part of him protested this - Roy was not in his right mind, but… the General was not resisting, quite the opposite, in fact. And some part of Roy still had to love him... or at least lust for him.
"Roy..." He said, pulling Roy's tunic off to reveal his slim, muscled torso. His hands seemed to move by themselves over the general's soft skin, and he lowered his face to kiss Roy's chest. "Roy, tell me what you feel."
A strange light in the general's eyes gleamed eerily as they kept flicking back and forth between Marth's hands and face.
"This... This isn't right, is it?" He whispered hesitantly, and then raised a hand to touch one of Marth's own, then trailed down his torso. Roy shook his head, his breaths coming in short pants from his parted lips.
Marth pressed his lips to Roy's, touching his mind to his lover's tentatively.
'Roy, this is right... Everything else has been wrong...'
Roy drew back with a cry of pain, his brows furrowing.
"My head... It hurts... I don't know what's happening! This seems so familiar but I can't remember!"
Marth grabbed Roy's shoulders and pressed his lips to the general's again.
'Roy, you're my lover! You're my partner, the only one who I love! You have to remember that! Come back to me! Break the Necromancer's spell on you and come back to me! I love you, Roy!'
"... Love? ... Me?" The teen shook his head and rubbed his temples, glancing up at Marth with a determined look in his eyes. "I… just... need..." He slipped out of his breeches and lay there, fully naked, his hands aching to touch Marth.
The young King took Roy's hands in his own so that they encircled Marth's waist and moved closer to his general, claiming Roy's lips with his own.
"You need me." Marth breathed, slipping out of his own clothes and running cool fingers down Roy's warm body.
Roy shivered violently at the temperature of his companion's hands, his body aroused and his eyes full of pure need.
"C-Cold... Oh Gods, I need you so badly... I remember feeling like this." He pushed up so that their naked bodies were touching and sighed.
Marth felt a tiny shiver run though his body as Roy's warm flesh pressed up against his. He and Roy were the perfect match to one another - hot and cold, red and blue, Prince and commoner. They were two halves that had been disconnected for too long… they needed to be whole once again…
"You remember this... You remember me..." He felt Roy's need, felt his own need rising in his body. He couldn't fight it any longer, and found that he didn't want to.
A certain auburn-haired general opened his eyes slowly, taking a moment to check his surroundings. He could feel that his arms were wrapped tightly around the torso of another man, that they were in very close proximity to one another under a saddle blanket, and that he was naked. Roy freed one of his hands and lifted his head a little, staring into Marth's face. He remembered waking up like this before, in the King's bed back home.
Home... Where was home? He couldn't quite get a picture of it in his head, unable to remember his room, the training grounds, or the castle. Marth was his home now. Roy reached over and smoothed out Marth's fine blue hair and gave him a deep kiss, remembering the taste of his lips from earlier. But now it was dawn.
The young King of Altea made a small noise of surprise and pleasure in his throat as he woke, welcoming Roy's kiss and returning the general's favor. It was a most delightful way to be roused from sleep he decided, definitely the one that he preferred over all.
"Good morning," he said softly when he was completely awake. He almost regretted having to speak and break the tranquility. Dawn was blooming on the horizon, a pale yellow flower extending its petals over the harsh landscape around them. The light was watery and feeble, and yet cut like a knife through the air. Dew sparkled on the surrounding ground and he could hear the quiet clip-clop of Cloud's hooves as the animal grazed on the sparse grass.
His lover was lying beside him, his auburn hair mussed from the previous night's activities, and his eyes, his wonderfully clear, beautiful blue eyes, no longer tainted by the Necromancer's evil, were staring right into his.
"You've come back to me, Roy." Marth spoke quietly, touching his face. "And now it's time to go home."
"I am with you... But I still feel his presence inside me. He knows where I am, Marth," Roy said with a hint of darkness in his tone. He looked away, then off to the side to scan the area for his clothes. "I have another plan, if you'd care to hear it."
Marth's eyes saddened for a moment. Of course... no sense of joy would last long under these circumstances, not even the ecstasy of what they had shared last night... He sighed and reached behind him to grab Roy's clothes and hand them to his general. His eyes spotted the fire-in-ice on the ground and picked it up, once again fastening it around his neck.
"Here... What is the plan?"
"I'm sorry... I know you won't like this, but we'll have to split up. Once we get to the capital, there will be thousands of armed soldiers waiting for us there, waiting for me to command them. I bring you to them as our hostage for my... our enemy while I work things out with the troops. I'll help you escape to the castle... I obviously have no idea whether it will all work out, but at least it will get you back to the castle where you are needed." Roy pulled on his pants and shirt quickly and efficiently, rubbing his eyes. Marth reached for his own clothes, standing slowly. He was a bit sore – the ground was not nearly as soft as his beloved bed back at the castle.
"Well, you're right... I don't like it. There are too many risks... What are you going to do if the zombie army discovers that their general has turned traitor? What if the escape doesn't work?" He pulled on his shirt and swept his hair back into a horsetail, looking at Roy intently.
"They won't find out, I'll make sure of it. By the time those un-dead zombies find out, I'll be long gone. I realize there are a lot of holes in this plan, but it's the only one that I thought was somewhat plausible," Roy answered. "I apologize for... letting myself be captured, your Highness."
With that, he began to tack up Cloud.
Cloud reached over his shoulder
to snuffle Roy's hair, giving Marth a reproachful look over the general's
head. Marth frowned at the horse, feeling that even his noble steed was
against him. No, what was he thinking? Roy's plan was a sensible
one... It had more holes than Trave's sanity, but they could pull it
off. They had to pull it off.
"You're
forgiven, Roy."
He
walked over to the two of them, patting Cloud's neck fondly.
"I
have faith in you. If you think this plan will work, then I have no
reason to doubt you. But we need to hurry before the Necromancer decides
to try something new and even more vicious. He'll be angry now that
you've defected."
Roy bowed his head and motioned for Marth to go ahead and mount his horse.
"There's no sense in worrying about that... I already know he's angry. But I'm getting a strange feeling of déja vu – we're on the outside, trying to get into the castle again. I have a feeling that it's going to be trickier than last time... Have you contacted Rowen lately?"
"No, not since before we left the castle. The Necromancer cut off my mindspeech, but I think we're far enough away so that it'll work now... Rowen probably thinks I've gone off the deep end. I'll contact him and let him know what we're up to."
Marth closed his eyes.
'Rowen, can you hear me?'
Many miles away, a castle was in danger of falling apart without its ruler. But it seemed that neither side could make a move without their commanding officers, never minding that their generals were one and the same.
'This had better be good, Marth.'
Marth winced. This was not
good... He could tell from Rowen's tone that he was in serious, serious
trouble with Rowen. ...Not that he blamed Rowen for being angry.
'Rowen,
please listen to me... The Necromancer took away my mindspeech, so I
could not contact you sooner. I have Roy back. He's all right.'
Silence.
'I'll be the judge of that... Just get back here. Now.' There was a certain shakiness to the older mage's voice that wasn't very reassuring.
Marth felt ice creep into his veins, but not the comforting ice that he appreciated and welcomed. He knew his face had paled.
'Rowen, we can't come back right away, but we're trying... What's happened, Rowen?'
'I can't talk right now. Later.' With that said, the connection was abruptly cut off, leaving Marth in silence.
Roy
watched Marth's face as he talked with his mind. Something didn't look good.
"Is
something wrong?"
"...Something is definitely wrong."
Marth's hands tightened on Cloud's reins, but he didn't really feel them. He bit his lower lip, but he couldn't feel that either. Something in Rowen's voice, something in the old man's tone had told Marth that he needed to get back to his castle as quickly as possible, no matter what the consequences.
"Something's wrong with Rowen... Or something horrible has happened, I don't know which. We have to get back now, Roy. People are going to die, I can feel it."
Inwardly, Marth was racked with guilt. Had he abandoned his country right when it needed it most? What kind of king was he...?
To be continued…Vallen: If you want to be bad and read more of the lime part that didn't quite make it in this chapter, follow the link at the bottom.
Xan: (Not available).