Diss-my-rights: I have no rights to Rurouni Kenshin of the Princess Bride.
Author's note: The good news is, I am, despite various conjectures to the contrary, alive, and have finally got the next chapter for you: the bad news is, it's a depressing chapter… _
Despite that, I hope you enjoy it. Man, I can't believe how busy the past few weeks have been- but then, that's a very hackneyed excuse, so I'll just shut up and wait for various readers' boots to hit me in the face.
*gazes in wonder at her writer's block, who sits nearby with an aloof look, as if pretending it doesn't even exist to torment her* Buh.
Read on, if you will!
The Princess Bride: Kenshin StyleTwenty-Three
"We'll come out near the coast- there's a small ship waiting for us. Once we get that far, we're safe: the Prince won't catch us."
Kenshin decided to leave out the fact that he'd seen the Prince's fleet hours before, when he and Kaoru had stood on the hill near the Fire Swamp. He knew that telling Kaoru would not make the danger go away, and it would only make the precious time they had left anxious and fear-laden. He didn't want that.
For, you see, Kenshin had already realised that they had barely even a one-in-a-thousand chance of escaping now. The Prince had caught on sooner than Kenshin had counted on, the going had been slower than he'd hoped, and he could feel the Prince's reach overtaking them, the trap only waiting to spring and take Kaoru away from him.
Fear was not something Kenshin was used to feeling, but he felt it now. He did not fear pain, humiliation or death: no, he feared only the fast-approaching inevitability that would separate him from the woman he loved more than his own flesh and blood, the woman he could not bear to be without for another moment of his life.
Yet everything ran on ahead of him, spilling his pathway out beneath his feet and giving him nowhere else to go.
With every step he took, he moved closer to failure, yet he could not stop walking, and he could not change direction.
Kenshin was out of options. He had no choice but to keep smiling at Kaoru, keep leading her by the hand with the warmest touch he could bestow, keep the tiny flame of hope between them burning, lest it snuff out before their journey's end.
Kaoru smiled back at Kenshin as she walked bravely on beside him, but the anticipation in her heart was weighed down with growing anxiety.
Kaoru was not stupid. And she'd known the Prince longer and better than Kenshin.
She realised, given the distance her 'rescuers' had been at before she and Kenshin had entered the Fire Swamp, that Prince Shishio would almost certainly be waiting on the other side when she emerged. She knew the Prince would blame Kenshin for it all, regardless of the other kidnappers whom Kenshin had saved her from. She knew the Prince would desire nothing from Kenshin but his death, before sweeping Kaoru away, back to the castle, back to her life of imprisonment, loneliness and grieving emptiness.
I will. Not. Go. Kaoru refused to let anything but a smile show on her face as her mind worked furiously, battling against what was soon to come. I have Kenshin back at last: I won't let him go, I won't go back with the Prince! I won't! I can't! Not after everything- not after… Kaoru blinked hard as her mind shied away from the memory of her life after Kenshin's 'death': if you could call it a life. She'd never felt so hopelessly empty, so lacking in any desire for life or love. She'd felt so tired then…
I have to think of something, I have to think of a way to stay with Kenshin, no matter what. Or… Kaoru's thoughts came up against a brick wall as a harsh realisation dawned on her. She was suddenly faced with what she would have to do.
She was still trying to reconcile herself to it when the horrible, inevitable future came crashing down on her.
"We're out."
Kenshin's voice was easy and confident, but Kaoru could hear an underlying tone of pain as he spoke.
He knew as well as she did, then, what was to become of them.
But they still smiled at each other; still let a glimmer of hope burn between them.
Even though it was all a lie…
Kenshin traced gentle fingers up Kaoru's arm to her shoulder, his eyes gazing intently, softly, into hers. Their smiles faded a little as Kenshin leaned forwards to kiss Kaoru's forehead gently, as if bestowing a blessing. Kaoru squeezed her eyes shut as she bent her head to the touch of Kenshin's lips against her skin.
When their eyes met again, the lie between them became the only thing that kept Kaoru standing, and Kenshin from shouting with frustration and anger.
The quiet control they each exerted over themselves was a mark of their own strength, and the courage they lent to each other in their dark hour.
They walked on, and all the time, Kenshin's senses insisted on informing him of the Prince's approach. He didn't want to know… He didn't want to know…
The couple reached a clearing as the greying horizon gave way to the appearance of the sun, pale and weak in the dawn's misty air. The night was over, but the new day was not a joyful one.
The birds would not stop singing, the sun would not stop rising, and time would not halt for them, no matter how much love they felt for each other.
They both knew. Kaoru gazed about the clearing, before her eyes met Kenshin's. Without a word, she threw out her arms and pulled him suddenly close, holding him as tightly as she could against her, clinging to him, hiding her face in his shoulder and hair. She felt Kenshin's hands stroke her back comfortingly, and fought back tears.
They pulled away enough to allow one last kiss. It was a brief, chaste kiss, a final token of all they had shared, and all they felt.
Kaoru kept her eyes closed as she moved her lips gently against Kenshin's, willing herself to be lost in the moment. He tasted so sweet…
"Would you please step away from my fiancé."
With eyes full of regret, Kenshin met a bright blue gaze that brimmed with tears. He'd let Kaoru down again, he realised numbly.
Time for one last battle, if he could fight at all.
"Prince Shishio," he said coldly, turning to face the man who stared him down from atop a giant white horse, some metres away. Kenshin already knew of the other soldiers that had them surrounded from behind the trees all around, though his eyes did not move from Shishio's face.
The Prince inclined his head ever so slightly. He did not mince his words. "You stole something of mine. For that you will die. I suggest you surrender now." The Prince's voice was devoid of any emotion but a razor edge of satisfied vengeance, which made Kaoru's heart go tight and cold.
"Don't be so hasty, Prince. We have survived the dangers of the Fire Swamp- we can stay there quite safely from you for some time," Kenshin said, feeling out the area for some escape route. There was none.
The Prince looked far from impressed. "Do not insult me. You will die before you have moved even a pace from where you now stand."
Kenshin's anger and defiance burned high within him. His eyes flashed amber briefly as his hand gripped Kaoru's possessively. His emotions became too much for him to hold in.
"You won't take Kaoru from me!" he burst out with a deadly anger.
"Give her over now."
"Death first!"
"Will you promise not to hurt him?"
The Prince and Kenshin turned in surprise to look at Kaoru, who stood with blazing blue eyes, no trace of tears, and spots of colour high on her cheeks. Her loud question had effectively ended the dangerous exchange between the two men before her.
Kenshin, however, in turning to Kaoru, caught sight of a pair of the soldiers surrounding them: they had crossbows aimed at Kaoru. Some part of Kenshin was not surprised: Shishio would kill his 'possession' before he let anyone else have her. However, it took away Kenshin's final, desperate option of fighting their way out of this. If he attacked, Kaoru would certainly be the first to fall victim to the battle.
Kaoru was still standing tall, strong and angry at his side. He searched her face anxiously. He was out of options- he could only rely on her, despite his nagging fear of what he already suspected she was doing.
"What?"
The Prince chose to voice the question hanging in the air.
Kaoru glared up at him. "If I go with you, will you promise not to hurt this man, and to see him safely to his ship?" she said again, very clearly, moving to stand in front of Kenshin, who stared wide-eyed at her back.
Shishio's lips stretched in what was unmistakably a smirk. "Indeed… I agree," he said in an amused tone.
The deal was made.
Kenshin was well-nigh thunderstruck. Kaoru turned to him, her eyes emptied of the courageous fire that had filled them moments before, now shining with some emotion Kenshin could not define.
"I'm so sorry, Kenshin," she murmured quickly. "You died to me once, and it almost destroyed me: I couldn't bear it if you died again, not when I can prevent it."
Her voice was carried away as the Prince grabbed her about the waist, swept her up onto his horse and bore her away at a canter.
Kenshin did not miss the glance Shishio gave a pale-haired man who remained with the soldiers.
Yet, even as the man approached him, Kenshin could not wrench his gaze from the place where Kaoru had disappeared into the trees. She's gone… She gave it all to save me… She sold herself for me…
"Come, we must get you to your ship," spoke a voice by Kenshin's shoulder.
He turned to see the white-haired man stood near him.
Kenshin shifted back a little closer to reality, and settled his gaze on the man with a strangely calm expression, ignoring the soldiers who had approached to surround him closely.
"We are men of action. Lies do not become us," Kenshin said simply.
The pale-haired man smiled almost approvingly. "Well spoken."
Kenshin knew no more: one of the soldiers had knocked him unconscious.
She was back in her old room.
She was back in her old life.
Kaoru crossed the wide floor with a falsely steady step, her slow-blinking eyes seeing only the window; her last symbol of freedom.
Outside, it was high noon, slowly becoming early afternoon: the sun was at the very top of the heavens, there were but a few clouds in the bright blue sky, and birds sang sweetly in the trees of the garden outside Kaoru's window.
The girl barely noticed any of it. As she reached the window, she absently reached out to rest her palms on the wooden sill, leaning forwards slightly to gaze outside with a look of utter desolation on her face.
Gone was the hope that lent brightness to her shimmering blue eyes; gone, the fierce courage that led her to kill to protect that which she loved.
There was left only a stolid, numbed kind of acceptance, which took all animation and light from Kaoru's face.
With unseeing eyes looking to the wide, open sky, she found herself gripping the windowsill harder and harder, until her knuckles were white and her fingers hurt.
"It's okay… He's alive… That's all that matters… It's okay…" Kaoru kept murmuring the words to herself, hoping she could truly believe them just long enough to see her to sleep, when she could forget…
Suddenly, she dropped to the floor, pressing her forehead against the wall beneath the window. Her hands slowly released their grip on the sill, and slid hopelessly down the wall to rest, fingers curled as if in agony, on the floor by her knees.
Kaoru's shoulders began to shake as the weight of reality fell back onto them.
Author's note: Though I'm quite happy with this chapter, it's still a bit depressing… *sigh* But then, our young hero and heroine have been through trials before, haven't they? ^_^
This writer's block must have got bad if the block has actually become a being… *watches block, who is still ignoring her, and ponders this*
Anyhoo, time is short and my parents will *actually* kill me if they catch me doing this, ie something that isn't cleaning or packing. So I have literally no time for my thanks to reviewers, so massive apologies for not replying to everyone: I'm still very grateful to all of you for your encouragement and thoughts, and of course your patience.
Off to Spain tomorrow, at last! I'll be back in a couple of weeks. xxx
Notes to reviewers:
Thank you to ElvenRanger, Sango, Claryssa, Mistress of time, star0704, WIERDkittyw/wingz, Mary, Sakura Joy ::Neko Neko, Midnight Star, ZetaBee, Corran Nackatori, Kitty Katana, kamiya kaoru, Lil summoner yuna, elyssalyn, CurlsofSerenity, faerie-chan, Ela, Mewberries, Strawberry Gum, Elf Fanatic Lark, Queen of Shadows, Zeh Wulf, Yuhi, NightRain, flyinangel777, genocide ex-sync*in, Johanna Gen and the rest of her crew, Ell da Mongoose of Reviewy DOOM, Tevrah, Lady E, EvilNekoEatsYourSoul, Vash-chan AKA Makoto Almasy, Kikiki, Kaoru, LSR-7, boomerang-chan, Little Yahiko, Kittymui, EvilPrincessMelphis, DarkElf, Jellybob 15, Shadowfax, Wolf, thundersister, Alec Ikiiki (Rest assured I love you as much as ever, please forgive me for being gone so long! *kisses Alec's toes*), Momentum, Lossefalme2995, Redhead Samurai, dunkmoonX, imaninz, Kenshin-Kaoru-Forever, pretty Luthien, Gurl (thanks for taking the time to review each chapter!), monkeysme, Setine, Silver Eyes Bright, Azura Dea, Li-Chan (Thanks for reviewing despite the lack of time ^_^), SulliMike23 and Kenshin fan!