Notes: Odd how the format keeps changing nowadays... :random: Anyway, updated another chapter! I lied when I said the story's almost over, heh. I still have a lot of loose ends to tie up, so, I don't think I'll be finishing too quickly now. I promise I'll update more frequently this time!! :)

Chapter 12 : Duality

Peon's archery lessons were interrupted by disgruntled noises near the archery field. The noble lady of Fahren, with her bow and arrows still in hand, walked towards the noise, wary. The voice she heard first sent her running towards the front, where she knew the queen of Fahren could only be found. "Kairi! What is this? Why do you commit taboo and kidnap the ruler of Fahren here?"

The eldest Fahren sister smiled icily. "On the contrary, she voluntarily let us bring her here. Though, her adviser wouldn't give up without a fight."

"You hurt Sang Yung!" Aska shrieked, angered. "I told you not to!! I told you I'd come here if you didn't hurt anyone! Where's Chang Ang?!"

Riruka, the second sister, raised a hand as if to slap Aska, but Solon held her back. His eyes were still the same cold and icy nature, but he told the princess solemnly, "The princess has more trials to face. Don't inflict any more pain on her, we need all her power for the sacrifice."

Peon's eyes remained blank. Kairi, however, watched her cousin, and she clapped her fingers in a succession of three times. A few soldiers poured in, encircling Solon's sister. "I'm sorry to do this to you, Peon, but your motives are highly suspected. I'll have to place you under charge until after we're done."

"This is insanity, Kairi," Peon told her cousin in a dangerous voice, "You will anger the gods for your actions. This is not how the Fahren legacy should continue as."

"The Fahren legacy should have been mine to control!" Kairi shouted back, "Father and Mother were fools to have appointed Aska as first princess! As customary, the eldest should have received the title! I'm merely bringing tradition back!"

"By spilling your own sister's blood?!"

Aska had been looking back and forth from Peon to Kairi, now subdued and thoughtful. Who knew one of her relatives in Kairi's circle would actually defend her? And Peon wasn't such a bad person, either. She had always been the kindest of the whole gang. But then why did Aska's cousin side with Kairi and Riruka? Was it because of Solon?

The princess's thoughts were interrupted by a cry from further ahead. It was Fuu, and she had gotten past through the guards with her magic. Following behind her were Ferio and Sang Yung, fending off attacking parties. Breaking from the guards, Aska's cousin darted towards the Magic Knight of wind. Behind her, she could hear Kairi barking orders, and the soldiers were gaining speed. However, she reached the Magic Knight in time.

"Midori no Shippu!" Fuu cried, the palm of her hand facing towards the soldiers. Whirlwinds blew forth and wrapped around the men chasing after Peon. Kairi and Riruka, however, had their defensive spells tightly around Aska that the princess was unable to escape.

Kairi moved quickly, taking Aska and dragging her inside the palace. Solon had also reacted after Fuu's wind spell and placed himself in front of Riruka, protecting her and hurriedly leading her inside. Fuu and the others escaped the guards and walked quickly out of the area. Ferio cursed when they reached the outskirts of town. "Come on, we've got to get inside that castle."

"No, you just can't barge in there," Peon replied, gasping for breath, and gazing at the dark palace. "It's Kairi and Riruka's lair. They have made sure to put the strongest spells in there. Only those of the Fahren royal line can hope to navigate in it without getting lost. By law, the servants stay in the same room, only leaving for their bedchambers right next door."

Fuu looked at the castle in wonder. "Isn't this where the power source is found?"

Peon nodded. "Hence Kairi and Riruka building their palace on top of the power source. If I'm to guess correctly, you want to reach Kairi's throne. That's where all the power is held, and where you'd need to put the stone..."

"But we don't have a stone," Ferio spoke up. "All we were told was to get ourselves to the power source."

"Yes, but in order for you to unleash the power source, you're going to need the sacred stone of Fahren," Peon frowned. "You were unable to find it, then?"

Sang Yung scratched his head. "Truth to tell, Aska probably knows where the stone is. Or...well, Chang Ang. Around the town, though, they keep saying that it's not with Fahren royalty..."

"I am not with royalty alone, two steps back, and you'll find the stone," Fuu repeated the old man's saying. Her eyes became thoughtful. Two steps back? That didn't make any sense. "Would the cousins count as one step back from the throne?"

Peon shook her head. "We're still Fahren royalty. However, if you look at it this way, one step back would be the Fahren sisters' husbands. And the second step down would be..."

Aska's cousin fell silent. She frowned. That would mean that the stone could be found with...

"Chang Ang!" Ferio exclaimed. "The second step must be those who have loyally served the Fahren royal family for years. He's been around ever since the last rulers, hasn't he? He must have been entrusted with the stone."

Fuu considered the thought through. It sounds so plausible, and yet... "Perhaps they're not talking about rank and hierarchy, Ferio. 'Two steps back and you'll find the stone.' If I'm to guess correctly, Fahren is sort of like the ancient Chinese culture, where duality had first developed. Good and evil, matter and antimatter, love and hatred, autonomy and democracy, it's all in pairs of two. But it seems the poem wants us to take steps back from the innumerable pairs of two."

Peon's eyes sparkled with excitement as she understood where the Magic Knight was going with her theory. "So you're saying we need to find a neutral balance. Where there is no specific good or evil."

"Yes," Fuu smiled sadly. The lines of good and evil crossing reminded her of Emeraude-hime, the former Pillar of Cephiro. Emeraude hadn't necessarily been evil, she was only following her heart, and her heart made herself destructive. "Someone serving Kairi-san and Riruka-san have other motives in mind, and that someone has the stone."

"Or, it could be the other way around," Peon whispered, looking down.

Ferio whistled, amazed at the conclusion his Magic Knight of Wind came up with. "Fuu, did I ever tell you that I love it when you're thoughtful? Makes you more beautiful that way."

The Magic Knight turned crimson. "Ferio..."

Sang Yung became restless as the skies became darker. "We need to get in there. There's no telling when they will spill her blood..."

"Spilling royal Fahren blood is completely against the rules that govern the family," Peon declared angrily. "Kairi knows this, but she refuses to heed them. She will meet her end by disregarding the laws of the country!"

"We need to get Aska-sama back!" Sang Yung cried out, clenching his fist. "If anything happens to her..."

Fuu placed a hand on Sang Yung's shoulder. "We'll find a way to get her back."

Ferio turned to Peon. "You said the blood of Fahren enables you to navigate through the maze in the castle. So you could navigate for us?"

"And if I get separated from you?" Peon smiled grimly. "You will not be able to find your way. And if my face is found inside, servants and soldiers alike will take immediate action."

"Trust me, Peon-san," Fuu said with determination, conjuring up the sword from her emerald gauntlet. "We won't get separated from you."

Aska's cousin looked up at Fuu, trying to find a sign of weakness in the Magic Knight's resolve. Relieved to find none, she nodded. "I shall take you in, but please, I beg of you not to hurt Riruka and Kairi. And...Solon. Please don't let him come to harm."

Sang Yung grabbed Peon by the wrist and lightly pulled her to the direction of the palace. "Come on, then, time is against us."

Clef collapsed, frantically reaching for his staff. They came back again, those shadows, reaching for his throat, tearing at his flesh, trying to drag the Master Mage down to the abyss...

"NO! BEGONE!" Clef yelled out hoarsely, grabbing his wand and dispelling the shadows. He was being tested, he knew. Tested to see if he was magically spent out already. The Master Mage knew that the shadows will attack when he no longer has any power left to fend for himself. He wondered when that would happen...

Aska's hands and feet were tied together by magic-proof rope, keeping her in that jail cell she was unceremoniously dumped into. The queen of Fahren scanned the area. The cell was comfortable enough, there was a bed on the side and a chair right next to it. There were no windows, however, and Aska felt trapped. There was nowhere to go, she needed to get the ropes out of her hands, so at least she can create her own kind of magic.

In a room adjacent to Aska's, Kairi was storming back and forth through her bedchambers. Riruka and Solon were both there, watching the eldest Fahren sister rage violently about. "That stupid Magic Knight! She has no right to interfere with our affairs! And what's worse!! Peon!! What gives her the idea to betray me like this?!"

Solon remained silent. Riruka had looked at him suspiciously when she asked him if he knew about Peon's betrayal beforehand, but he had angrily pushed the question away and told her he knew nothing. Now, he was sure if Kairi asked him about it, he was sure she wouldn't believe him.

Kairi turned to Riruka. "How long until dawn?"

"It's only gotten dark outside, sister," Riruka replied. "We have many hours until dawn comes."

The eldest Fahren princess paced again, agitated. "We need to get the preparations done quickly. And...the stone, I need the stone. Solon, do you have it?"

Peon's brother hesitated for a moment then nodded. He pulled up an emerald stone no bigger than the palm of his hand, and tossed it once in the air to show his cousin. "Those legends gave me some trouble in locating it, but eventually I found it."

"Where was the stone all these centuries?" Riruka asked, curious.

Solon smiled and shook his head. He knew where, but he wouldn't tell Riruka now. Not yet.

"Good," Kairi said, finally stopping her rampant. "At least most of our plans have not been disrupted yet. Peon, that Magic Knight, and her friends might prove to be nuisances. Solon, Riruka, I want both of you to take care of them. I'll finish the rest of the preparations myself. Solon, if you would give me the stone?"

"I'm sorry, cousin," Solon watched Kairi tentatively. "But I think it wiser to hold the jewel until the right time. Chances are the Magic Knight already knows about the stone, Peon may have told her about it. In any case, the first people they will look for to have the stone's possession are you and Riruka-hime. I would rather have it safe in my hands than in yours, if you would please."

Kairi bristled at that comment, but she let it pass. Solon was a well trusted man, and as long as he doted upon her sister, he could be expected to remain loyal. "So be it. Now go. I have a feeling that Sang Yung will be coming to retrieve his beloved queen back."