When They get into it
By Kloudy Reignfall
Disclaimers and all that: Who needs these stupid things? Really, I mean I think we all know that I don't own Demon Diary, and you should also know by now that this is a shounen-ai story. Disclaimers are such an insult to the intelligence. :sigh: Oh well.
Hey, I've finished another chapter! And this is the longest one so far! I'm so proud of myself! Although I'm incredibly angry at myself for taking so long getting around to it! Anyway, I think I've finally gotten back into the groove of this story, at least more than I had been previously. I apologize to anybody that was waiting for this story. I was in a major slump! I'm so sorry! Anyway, here's the fourth chapter, so have fun.
Chapter the Fourth
Raenef walked silently beside his escort, his mind half filled with excited anticipation for the meeting, but also thinking about something else. A look he might have seen in the eyes of his companions as he left. What was that look? Aggravation? No, that wasn't the word… Arbitration? What was that anyway? Was it apprehension perhaps? Yeah, that could have been it.
Their looks were slightly apprehensive. Almost scared. And Eclipse looked so desperately sad. Raenef didn't think he'd really ever seen the older demon look that way. Hardly ever did he wear a face not calm and collected. Obvious emotion other than anger and maybe the occasional bit of pride never really crossed his face. But this sadness was so obvious.
Seeing Eclipse that way was horrible. It filled Rae with such a sorrow as he never knew. And suddenly he was apprehensive of his journey too. It wasn't anywhere as exciting now as it had been before. He'd much rather be back home, comforting Eclipse and coaxing that cheerless look from his eyes.
Lost in his own thoughts he didn't notice the guide demon stop until he ran into him.
"I'm so sorry!" he apologized. "I wasn't paying attention and I-"
A strong hand came out of nowhere and clamped itself over Raenef's mouth. He gasped and struggled against the body behind him, trying to scream, trying to fight, but his captor held him tightly. In this mess of panic, no coherent thoughts crossed Rae's mind. Frantic emotions and distorted imagines ran rampant until they all blurred together in a haze and he collapsed in a state of semi-conscious shock, unable to speak, see, or hear, only vaguely aware of a tiny voice in the back of his head.
……………………………….
Eclipse shivered suddenly. The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood up, a sign that something was wrong. He wanted so badly to do something about it, but it was little use. He'd been on edge all day and just because he suddenly got a bad feeling didn't give him an excuse to freak out.
He really tried to convince himself that everything was okay, but sitting here just worrying about it was driving Eclipse out of his stressed-out mind.
Luckily, Erutis was being rational. She had explained the whole situation, as far as she knew it, to Chris and now the two humans were trying to devise a plan.
"First of all, we aren't even sure that Rae really was kidnapped," Erutis stated. "Would Aurelied really be that reckless, to just take Rae without any planning?" She looked to Eclipse for any sort of help.
Eclipse sighed in frustration. "Yes, he would be that reckless. But he isn't. The council has been planning; didn't you listen to anything I said?"
Erutis and Chris continued to brainstorm. "So, I guess we should figure out where they took him to first, right? Do you have any idea, Eclipse?" Chris asked.
The demon growled. "Don't you think that if I had any idea where Raenef was that I'd be there searching for him!" He balled his hands into fists and stomped off to pace around somewhere farther from those two. Every word those humans said made him angrier and angrier. He knew that it wasn't their fault, but he was just so irritated. Something was so obviously wrong, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Resting his head in his hands, he sat roughly down on a stone step of the castle. Raenef's castle. But whose castle would it be if Raenef never returned? Raenef had no will that left his belongings to any particular person. He had no wife, or children, or even an announced beloved to whom he could leave his property. Did that mean that it would all go to Eclipse? It was the most logical of decisions if -
No! Why am I thinking this way? Thinking as if Raenef's already dead. This is no good…
He picked his head up out of his hands and jumped about a foot in the air when he saw the person sitting beside him.
"My, my, Eclipse. A little jumpy today, aren't we?"
Eclipse shot a very nasty look at Krayon as he hastily backed away from the other demon. "I would appreciate if you not bother me at this moment," he said, voice dripping with annoyance and hatred, badly disguised as politeness. "If you're looking for the knight, she's in the back gardens with the cleric."
Krayon's eyes flashed quickly, perhaps at Eclipse referring to his dear Erutis as "the knight" or maybe at his mentioning that she and Chris were together. But in an uncharacteristic show of responsibility he put it aside for the moment and addressed Eclipse again.
"Actually, that's not the reason I came here today," he informed Eclipse. "I meant to ask you a question." When he got nothing more than a mildly irritated stare from the other, Krayon continued. "Have you, by chance, lost a little blonde demon lord lately?"
The surprise on the dark demon's face must have been shockingly apparent because suddenly Krayon was wearing a massively manipulative grin. "Oh, you have, haven't you? I'd thought so…"
Eclipse was shaking with both hope and anger. He almost launched himself at the foppish demon lord before him in a frustrated attempt to get some information. Perhaps he could strangle the news out of him. But that would do no good, and he knew it. So Eclipse settled for asking as calmly as he could, though it wasn't very calm at all and Krayon could tell, "What do you know of Raenef!"
Krayon grinned even wider. How he loved making Eclipse squirm. It was nearly impossible, and now that he'd found an easy way, hell if he was going to give in without having a little fun first.
"Why so worried, Eclipse?" he teased. "Are you afraid your little lord can't take care of himself? Or do you just miss him that much?"
He didn't know what had happened, but the next second Krayon was on the ground, his back pressing uncomfortably into one of the hard stone steps. A rather edgy Eclipse was pinning him where he lay, a dangerous look in his eyes. Krayon tried to taunt him, but in this position it didn't seem as if it would work very well. And besides, it didn't sound like a very good idea; Eclipse was pretty strong in his rage, and he wasn't even using his powers. Indeed, it was like he'd forgotten he had them.
Krayon sighed heavily in defeat. "Bloody hell, you're serious about this, aren't you? Fine, I'll help you." With that, Eclipse let go of the demon lord and stood up, looking somewhat perplexed at his own behavior.
Krayon rolled his eyes. "Poor clueless thing, you. Victim to your own emotions." He shook his head as he stood up and brushed himself off. "Ah, but what can be done? I suppose love does that to a person."
Eclipse narrowed his eyes and looked ready to attack again. "Are you going to help, or not?" he asked.
"I said I was going to, didn't I?" Krayon twirled a lock of hair around one finger, contriving to look bored.
"Well then, where is he?" Eclipse asked with as much patience as he could muster.
Krayon drilled his fingers on his side, looking deep in thought. "You know, I'm not quite sure." He caught another Eclipse's glares and explained himself quickly. "Well, I mean I'm not positive. I only felt him in a dream, you know. It seemed that he was far away."
Eclipse thought for a moment. He didn't understand exactly how Krayon's powers worked, but he knew that it had to do with a person's dreams. So, did that mean that Raenef was asleep?
"Find him again," Eclipse commanded, fixing his stony gaze on the demon lord before him.
Krayon almost seemed to hesitate. "I can't," he told Eclipse, tensing. "He's already woken up again."
Closing his eyes, Eclipse folded his arms and put his head down in thought. Krayon watched the other demon warily. But he could see that Eclipse wasn't so much angry as frustrated and worried. It was apparent that he really was afraid for his Raenef. Krayon smiled a slight bit, recalling how it felt to be so madly in love and not realize it. It was interesting to see someone else in that position, although it was worse than hell to be in that situation yourself. And suddenly he felt for Eclipse and wished he could help.
Calling up what he could of Raenef's dream, Krayon sifted through the thoughts and feelings. Yes, he was definitely far away. Somewhere… Was it south? Yes, somewhere south of here.
"South," he said, and it jolted Eclipse out of his thoughtful trance.
"He's in the South?" Eclipse asked hopefully.
"Somewhere south of here," Krayon affirmed. "I'm not sure where though."
Eclipse nodded determinedly and stepped off to find Erutis and Chris. The other demon followed him.
"Chris, use your head for once!" Erutis was shouting. "Why would they take him to East? That's where all the clerics are! God, you're dense."
"Well he went to East once," Chris defended. "So why wouldn't he go again?"
Erutis rolled her eyes. "That was because he was young and stupid then. Not that he's gotten any better, but he's not going by himself this time, and I doubt the other demon lords will be stupid enough to take him someplace like that! Why don't we check the West? Maybe they took him to Kontreo."
Eclipse stood still for a moment, watching the humans bicker senselessly. Neither seemed to notice him, so absorbed they were into their own argument. When he realized that they weren't going to quit fighting any time soon, he said calmly and quietly, "He is in the South."
The two humans stopped talking instantly. They turned too him in surprise, as if they'd forgotten that he was around.
Erutis raised an eyebrow at him. "How do you know that?"
"Lord Krayon kindly informed me," he replied.
Erutis tried to suppress a shudder. "…So, he was here?"
"I still am, my love," he answered from behind Eclipse. "I apologize for not coming to visit with you sooner! I had a bit of business to attend to with Eclipse."
Erutis glared at him. However, he didn't seem to notice. "Right, so let's be going!" he said happily.
Chris frowned. "Does this scenario seem a little familiar to any of you?" he asked.
Erutis nodded. "Yeah, how many times have we had to go searching for Raenef anyway? He sure does have a knack for getting himself lost. Although I suppose it's not really his fault this time, is it?" she added as an afterthought.
Eclipse groaned. "Perhaps I should just go alone."
"Hey now!" Erutis reprimanded. "None of that! We're going with you. I'm going with you anyway."
Chris jumped up to the ready. "You're not leaving me here by myself," he exclaimed. "This castle is boring as hell when it's empty."
"I shall follow you to the ends of the earth, Erutis, my love!" Krayon proclaimed proudly.
Eclipse shook his head, resigned to the stupidity, but wishing nothing more than for it to end quickly. "I am leaving shortly," he informed them, "and if you wish to come along, I suggest you ready yourselves quickly." He turned away from the others as they headed back off to the castle to prepare for what looked to be a rather long journey.
Sighing softly, Eclipse tried to imagine Raenef at the moment, hoping that he was all right. He tried not to think of the possibilities, or of the things Aureleid had told him. Eclipse was determined that it would not come to that; he'd rescue Raenef before anything could happen to him and they'd live together forever, Aureleid be damned.
End Chapter the Fourth
Wasn't that so much fun! Lol sure it was. Hahaha. Anyway, there you have it, the fourth chapter. Yay! I haven't written the fifth chapter or anything yet, but I'll see if I can get around to it pretty quick. You know, reviews certainly help.
Oh yeah, and THANKS to all my reviewers! I love all of your reviews! And some of them are pretty insightful too! I like when people guess what's going to happen. Heh, I don't mean to make the story that predictable, but whatever. :smiles: Thanks a bunch for pestering me to write, and please continue to pester me as much as you see fit!
'Til next time!
-Kloudy Reignfall
