Chapter Three----------

"I'm back, Mother, Father," Ranma was on one knee, his left palm on the cold, marble floor. "You called for me?"

His father sat on a huge brown chair with gold edges and strange wordings inscribed into th diamoned shaped gem at the top of the chair. His mother was beside Genma. Her hair was softer than usual; this normally happened when she was relaxed or pleased with something. Her eyes weren't as tense as usual.

Ranma was in the Throne Room, the room which his parents used in the morning to listen to current business affairs. The Throne Room was very huge; there were four pillars in the centre, which added to the extravagant feeling it emitted. There were paintings of famous people and paintings painted by famous people hung all over the walls; his mother's favourite hobby was collecting paintings and putting them around the house.

His mother cleared her throat. "Yes, I was told that you've got the girl," she stated firmly. Ranma's father frowned, "Her name is Akane, yes?"

Ranma nodded obediently and kept still and silent. He knew that if he made any noise, his father would send for the guards to whip him. Ever since he was young, there was always a particular punishment for a specific 'crime'. Once, his father had hung him over a pit of starving cats with cat food wrapped all over his body. The cats had looked as if they were going to swallow him whole. Ranma gulped nervously at the memory.

"I've discussed with your father...we've decided what to do with her."

"And what are we going to do with her?" Ranma queried, raising his head slightly to look into his mother's stern eyes. His mother hardly showed her emotions in public, but when she was alone with Ranma, she would treat him nicely and even laugh at his funny antics. Genma, however, had thought that discipline was important for a martial artist, and even if they were together and alone, he would lash out at his son for every single mistake he made, no matter how small it was.

"You will obey our order, will you not?" Genma placed his hands on the arms of the chair and crossed his legs. When Ranma kept his answer to himself, Genma persisted. "Your answer, Ranma-kun, leader of the Dragon Society?"

Ranma knew that if he didn't follow the order, he would be in hot soup. He answered coldly, "Yes, I will. You are both my parents, after all."

"Good, then you'll both be married before dusk tomorrow, you're engaged to her," Genma said cheerfully, dropping the bomb on Ranma at the last minute. "You're dismissed, now, son."

---)(---

Ranma strode faintly to his room, where his friends were waiting for him. He pushed open the door. There, on his bed, lay the girl who would be his wife. Sitting on chairs beside his bed were Ukyo-san and Shampoo. Kodachi was sewing some patchwork in a corner, her eyes focused, her posture daring anybody to disturb her. Ryouga and Mousse were both busy trying to tickle the other while Shampoo and Ukyo-san kept commenting on how childish both men were. When he closed the doors, everybody looked at him expectantly. Ukyo-san was the first to speak up, "Why did they call for you, Ranma?"

Ranma gave a sigh and scratched his head; he didn't know how to convey the message to them. Somehow, he'd always known secretly that both Shampoo and Ukyo-san fancied him. He stole furtive glances at his friends and stammered. "Uh...they s-sent for me."

Ranma's buddies were getting suspicious, especially Ryouga and Ukyo- san, who both knew him very well. "Ranma...and?"

"And..."

Ranma took a deep breath and became callous before announcing his wedding. "Akane's my fiancée. We're going to be married tomorrow."

He noticed that their eyes widened and Shampoo's hardened.

Nobody spok for a long time; there was a delayed response when Ryouga finally reacted. He shook Ranma's hand and firmly said, "Congratulations."

---)(---

Akane snuggled deeper into the warm blankets. This bed was so unlike the one she had back home. Come to think of it, the peasants in the Tendou Household had beds harder than this. When she woke up, she'd recommend the bed to everyone. That is...if she ever got back home.

She was in some foreign place she never knew; alone and lost and tired, she was shunned away and despised by the strangers who captured her. Except for one, her mind subconsciously added. Except for one?

She couldn't remember the past day's events, when Ranma used his energy to keep her warm. She was too tired to recall them.

She blinked her eyes and opened them slowly.

Turning her head to her left, she could see the leader, the right- hand man, the man who despised her, the spatula lady, the bon bons lady and the ribbon maniac. They were all looking intently at their leader, Ranma. Akane screwed up her eyes and tried to listen to their conversation.

Ranma was quietly stealing glances at his henchmen.
He was trying to drag time, she knew.

"And..." he paused. And what? Akane wondered.

"The hostage will become my wife before night tomorrow."

Akane froze on the spot. Wife? She was going to marry him? Wait; maybe he was talking about some other hostage. Maybe they'd taken somebody else hostage. They might not be referring to her after all.

"Congratulations, Lady Akane will make a fine wife."

Or maybe they were.

Akane swung her feet off the bed so fast that she knocked an antique looking vase of a mahogany table. The vase would have dropped onto the floor had she not used her feet to kick it back up into the air and into her hands. She caught it and put it onto the table.

"I am your fiancée?" she asked incredulously.

Ranma put one hand on his hip, a habit he had since young, and replied indifferently. "Yes."

This was all too fast! She was supposed to get married but got taken away...now she's going to get married to somebody else...but...she would not without...

"You must have my father's consent first," she said firmly. Her father had all rights to choosing the man who would marry her.

"Look," Ranma shot back, "it's not like I want to marry a tomboy like you, this was my parents' decision."

Akane's eyes fired up at the word 'tomboy' but then she returned to her impassive state (she'd been like this when her marriage was declared to all) and rounded her palms, one above the other, forming a ball of ice in her hands. When it was powerful enough for her, she threw it at him unsuspectingly.

Ranma's eyes shot up when he saw the ice headed toward him. He retaliated with his fire and melted the ice.

"Too late," she murmured and a long stream of water shot out of her hands.

Ranma wanted to use electricity to counterattack but decided against it; he would electrocute her if he'd done that. Instead, he jumped above the jet of water and behind her. She turned around hastily and tried to freeze him with her cold energy but Ranma had already filled his body to the brim with hot energy.

He ducked under her and caught hold of her ankle; he pulled her down and she was caught unaware. She fell down and landed on her back painfully but did not show any sign of pain on her features. He pressed a pressure point on her neck, another on her shoulder then her ribs, thigh and stomach. She could not move, paralysed from head to toe. All she could move was her eyelids and her eyes.

"Let's not fight, my dear fiancée," he smirked and kissed her on the forehead.

The rest were standing at the side, witnesses to the fight. They were rooted to the spot and Ryouga could be heard muttering "lover's spat" over and over again, as if he was trying to convince himself that it was nothing more than a quarrel.

"Your dinner will be brought to you soon," he carried her back onto the bed. "Rest well, I'll be here later."

Author's notes: I received some reviews on how Akane should be strong to cold weathr but I have a perfect explanation for that (or so I think). Well, at first I thought the same about how Akane should be strong in cold weather, but later I decided to...twist it and make it different. I'm not sure how to say this so I hope this helps: a warrior is powerful with a sword in his (or her) hand, but a warrior is greatly weakened with a sword thrust through him.

Oh, and for information's sake, you know when they use energy to fight? It's just energy (you can try to visualize colours for energy. Eg. Cold energy would usually be related to the colour white and hot energy, red). It's not ice or fire or anything. And did I mention that Akane can control the temperature of her attacks? .)

I know I haven't added a new chapter for a looooong time. It's cause I couldn't sign in...dunno why.