Yeah, this chapter explains a bit more of Dark and Daisuke's predicament.
Random musings: something tells me I should give up. I don't know why, but no one cares and it seems to tell me I should stop now. But I can't and I won't. Why? Because I plan to finish this, even is no one read it. Yeah, I'm a bit on the self-thinking something side.
Disclaimers: I OWN NOTHING.
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Chapter 7: Do You Trust Me?
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"Okay, so now do you understand what I was trying to say?" Dark asked, while wondering how long it would take his former host to understand their situation. The redhead seemed to be refusing to take the obvious into account, it would seem.
"Are you absolutely sure that this is really a world other than the artworks!" he asked for the twelfth time that night.
Dark rolled his eyes, "Yes, definitely. Now, can you ask something more original now?"
"I'm just making sure," muttered Daisuke, looking hurt, "How can you tell, anyway?"
"To put it simply, it's the aura of the magic that one; sent us here, and two; the fact that that one single painting doesn't actually have the power to send us here," explained the Thief, "That and the fact that it was sealed away, what power was left in it."
"Oh..."
There was a moment of silence as the redhead tried to make head and tail of the explanation. Although it had been discussed and explained for a number of times, it still seemed a bit too out of it to be true. He, of course, took the idea to his alter ego. "I know the last time something like this happened, it was because someone – or something else – activated it, right? Like Towa-chan and the Sage of Sleep, and my painting and the Second Hand of Time..."
"Yeah, I'm guessing that someone was tampering with it as well," agreed Dark, "But, like I said before, this isn't the work of the Hikari. So... how could anyone else send us somewhere else with that as the main focus?" He was thoughtful for but a moment, and then brushed himself off and stood up, "Anyway, enough chatter. Let's get going."
"Huh?" Daisuke looked confused, "Get going where?" Dark began to fiddle with the lock.
"Where else? Out of here."
"Eh! But... where are we supposed to go after that?" stuttered the boy, looking worried, "I mean, we don't even know where we are, and then we might get lost, and then"
"You know, you're better when you're actually thinking straight, rather than saying junk that I don't care about," snorted Dark. "Come on, out is better than here."
"Yeah, but..."
The Thief ignored him and went back to messing around with the lock. It wasn't that hard, seeing as the design was rather old, and he was just about to open the door when voices reached his ears and he motioned for Daisuke to listen as well.
"So the King is going to execute them?"
"Yeah, that's what I heard. They are strange beings though. No doubt about it."
"Very weird. They deserve to die."
"..."
"See?" hissed Dark, seeing that the boy was too shocked to do anything, "That's why we need to get out of here now."
"..."
Once the footsteps and voices faded to nothing, Dark tugged the door open and fell back when he noticed that he was face-to-face with a surprised Kara. Daisuke was forced to place a hand over the Thief's mouth while the maid just blinked.
"You..." she started, pointing at them, "You... opened that lock... wow... so I didn't need to..."
"Uh, Kara-san. What are you doing here?" asked Daisuke. When she had finally recovered, the maid just shrugged, tossing the keys next to an unconscious guard that lay next to her.
"I guess you heard that they're going to execute you," she explained simply, "So I thought I'd help you guys out." She began to walk off and waved for them to follow. "Come on, there isn't much time."
Dark seemed fairly suspicious as he pulled Daisuke back, who had just begun to move to follow the maid. "What are you trying to pull?" he asked.
Kara raised an eyebrow at the question, "I'm not pulling anything. Why do you ask?"
"I haven't met a person yet who would help without wanting something in return," the Thief said. The redhead next to him seemed surprised, "Wow, this is the first time I've seen you so serious. And to suspect a girl, of all people." It was rather ironic.
"Hey, you're the one who was scared to leave," Dark retorted, before turning his attention back to Kara, "Well?"
"Well, now that you mention it, I do want something for this," she said slowly, thinking, "I mean... you don't have to accept, and I will still let you go, but..."
"But?"
"I want to join up with you guys to travel around." She burst out.
There was silence and Dark looked like he didn't understand. Daisuke waved a hand in front of the Thief's face for a moment. "Dark?"
"Wha?"
Kara placed her hands on her hips, "So, how's that for an answer. This palace is completely crawling with guards, but I know the way out of here without too much trouble. Until we get your names cleared from... whatever you're being accused of, I think it's best that we lie low. Besides," she added brightly, "I've always wanted to travel around without the whole 'you're a maid here so you can't go' thing. Princess Nina was allowed to go, but that was an exception..." she trailed off at that and then looked over at the two boys expectantly.
"Well..." Daisuke started, while Dark was still trying to comprehend the one sentence. "It's okay with me. How about you, Dark?"
"Hm..."
She almost smiled, "So then, let's get a move on."
000
Ever since the fall of Deathevn, I keep on thinking that something is amiss. I don't even know what it is, but it isn't a good feeling, but there is nothing that can be done about it. Even when I try to forget about it, it just keeps coming back unbidden to my mind. It's strange, and I know it can't be good.
Maybe it's because of the two prisoners.
Yes, that would be the case. They really do look different from the people here, or in the other towns, although I have to put that against the Woren clans. Kat was a nice girl, though, so I shouldn't be complaining.
And yet, my own father is going to execute these people before even confronting them. That isn't like him at all; my father was always a just person, so even if they came from a strange flash of light, I really do think that they should have a chance to speak.
Maybe it's because it reminds them of Deathevn. That might be why I'm so worried now, so restless. We destroyed it, and yet, there it is, hovering around us.
Or is it because we lost Mina, because of Deathevn? My own sister, she did it for us... I know that I can always see her, but it isn't the same. I want Mina back.
I think I should talk to father about this. He has to remember that he is still controlling a country. I just hope that he listens to me. He always has, but...
He's changed.
000
Kara led the way, weaving past a variety of staircases and strange rooms full of ornamented and priceless decorations. Cold stone bricks graced as the walls and tall tapestries and the like hung over them, as well as the candle interval.
And the place was silent. And not just the 'no one's talking silent'; it was strangely... eerie. Daisuke shuddered slightly as he kept behind Dark, who was following Kara, who was still leading them down the forbidding looking area.
"Are you sure this is safe?" he finally decided to ask, if not just to break the silence.
"Yes, because how many people do you think would want to walk around here in the dead of night?" She turned her head slightly to give them both a good look, "Because of this, most maids and servants won't be hanging around to sound off the alarm."
"How about the guards?" Daisuke pointed out.
A shrug, "You just stay in the shadows and if we run into any, I'll deal with them."
"Right, and I'm supposed to trust you with that," muttered Dark. "Ah well, that's a Thief's job." At this, the redhead behind him blinked at that and instantly wondered if his alter ego was going to start stealing pieces of artwork again.
Their words seemed to echo and bounce around them, leaving a trail of faded voices around them. After a moment of walking and hostile thinking as such, footsteps from the other end of the incredibly long hallway made the three stop and Dark and Daisuke had to flatten themselves against the shadowed areas, since there were candles every few meters. Kara was holding a candle and looked unabashed as she came face to face with one of the guards, who looked through his huge helmet thing.
"What are you doing here?" he finally decided to ask. "You know that this is just a dead end."
"But I have to dump this rubbish for Madam," replied the maid, holding up a sack that looked as shabby as... well, it was shabby. "And she doesn't want me to come back until I've done that."
"I... see..." there was an awkward silence. "Well, carry on then." Then he tramped away with the loud resounding footsteps behind him, nearly walking into Daisuke and failed to notice them and continued on his rounds.
"Okay, that was lame," Dark commented. "Now can we just get going already?"
"Right. I think he was drunk," Kara scratched the back of her head, thinking it over, "Booze gets passed around from guard to guard, so you can never tell."
"..." Daisuke sweat dropped and they continued on their way.
000
The sound of someone entering his room made the king of Windia look up expectantly, if not warily, since it was the middle of the night. He relaxed when he noticed that it was only his daughter. "Nina, is something the matter?"
"Your Majesty," began the black-winged princess, bowing slightly, "I wish to speak to you about the prisoners that are currently held within the dungeons." The looked up in time to see his father frown at this and wondered if it was a good idea anymore.
"And why is it that you wish to ask about them?" he said slowly.
"Well, you are going to execute them tomorrow morning, correct?" Nina replied, "And I was wondering as to why they do not even get a chance to speak for themselves."
"Ah... daughter, you must know that thieves and wanderers are ones to lie from time to time."
"Then how come they don't even get a chance"
"Enough, Nina. You must remember your place. It is the only way to keep our country safe," he sighed in defeat, "And I must continue to trust others. And... Mina."
Silence.
"Yes, Nina. There may be a way to help her."
000
"Okay, so from here I press..." began Kara, muttering more to herself than anything else. Dark had his arms crossed and was frowning while he waited for something to actually happen. It wasn't like HE was worried about what was wrong, but there was that one nagging feeling that just wouldn't leave him alone, no matter what.
And that alone was enough to annoy him.
Kara was currently fiddling with a strange looking mechanism and was too preoccupied to say much else on the matter, and it was at least three minutes before the wall seemed to slide open and she turned. "Ta-da! And there you have it!"
"Uh... where does this lead to?" asked Daisuke, seeing as it was night and you really couldn't see much in the first place.
"To the town, that's all," she answered, hitching the sack over her shoulder, "We can get some items there and then we'll move off. That way no one will notice that you're gone until it's too late to do anything."
"But won't they notice that we're not there?"
"No. Since you two were insanely... let's just say placid, the guards won't think about actually checking inside, so it should be fine."
"And what about YOUR absence," Dark pointed out.
"Oh, no one likes me for some reason and they won't point out my absence in hope of getting me in trouble," she said, shrugging. "So first, we need to go to the item shop."
"Huh? But it's the dead of night. How are we supposed to buy stuff?"
"Shops tend to be open 24 hours a day."
"How... very convenient."
"That's what I always thought."
When they finally got out, they were met with the inky-black sky before them with dim lights that filled the house just a few meters away from where they just stood. It really was a serene place, but there wasn't any time to think about that.
"Let's move move move!"
((She really is a psychopath. No wonder they don't like her.))
(Huh? I can hear your thoughts...)
((Eh, what difference does it make. If something really bad happens, just ignore it.))
(... Right, I would rather not ask what you were hinting back there.)
The two boys exchanged looks before moving on behind Kara, who seemed a bit too enthusiastic for her own good.
((I don't trust her.))
((Just keep your guard up, no matter what Daisuke.))
(Okay...)
The town itself seemed homely enough, although there was the odd guard here and there in case of sudden and for no reason brawls. It was clear that most of the people who lived here were definitely asleep and would pay no attention to what happened outside unless they were involved.
Stone pavements and the odd sign directing the people and travelers where they wanted to go seemed essential and Kara soon entered a shop with a really large sign over it. Dark and Daisuke hurried after her.
000
"What are you trying to say?" whispered Nina, caught by surprise by the sudden change of conversation. "Are you saying that there is a way to get Mina back to normal?"
A slow nod was received, "Yes. You see, it's an ancient spell, but it requires blood. A lot of it."
"..."
"That is, if it came from the townspeople. Others that don't even come from this land is a different story, as I am told."
"But... that's wrong!" cried the princess, "Your Majesty, you just can't kill people like that! Who told you this!"
"Princess Nina, it may be the only way to get the younger princess back," said a reedy voice behind her. She spun around in shock and gazed at the person draped from head to foot in robes. The person continued to talk, "It is the only way. If you wish for your sister to be back, please stop interrupting your father's wishes."
The black-winged princess bit back a comment and left without another word, suspicion haunting her thoughts.
She had never seen that person before... where had they come from?
000
Dark had a look of pure boredom plastered on his face once Kara had finished the required rounds. "Are you done yet? I want to get some sleep." If he'd still been in Daisuke, he would have been snoring away, but no, that wasn't the case.
"Oh? I see," she eyes both boys, who were equipped with weapons and cloaks, as well as a simple supply of requirements each and nodded. "Okay, you're both ready. Finally, we can get out of here."
((Don't tell me we're really going with this maniac. Something tells me we're going to get in a lot of trouble.))
(Dark, with you, nothing is a lot of trouble.)
((Hey! What are you trying to say!))
(Oh, nothing, nothing.)
It was a cool night anyway, as the three made their first steps out of town, only for someone to shout out a warning behind them. "OI! You there!"
Daisuke immediately stiffened, "We're busted, aren't we?"
"Over my dead body," growled Dark, one hand on the cross-hilt of his sword.
"Wait," Kara cut in, before turning to the guard on watch, "Is something the matter, sir?"
"I thought it would be best to warn you three that there're monsters about, you know." Came back the called reply.
"Don't worry! We'll be fine!"
There was a number of mumbles with that reply and the redhead inclined his head as they left into the open plains, where only a scattering of trees and the vast sky above them stretched out.
"Monsters?" he asked.
"Yup. You know, evil things that kill and eat you. Don't worry, it's not like we're going to die."
"You just said kill though," Dark pointed out.
"Oh, but we'll be FINE."
Just then they heard growling that was definitely un-animal like and Dark hit his forehead.
"This is just... great."
000
Yeah. Next chapter might be up soon. Might be up never. I'm just working on other fics at the moment, so that's my reasoning.
Well, hope you enjoyed it if you read it. All in all, I don't think it's that bad. Although I do have to get Akane to speak up a but more. (hahahaha…) Satoshi confronts her next chapter...