Arms of Darkness
By: Haruka-chan

AN: Long time no see! I know I have been neglecting this story as of late that is because I really wanted to work up a solid plot which I am afraid I feel I don't have, and I think I stressed this much when I say this is my most cherished piece of fan work, I spent much time thinking up ways to make this story enjoyable to the readers of this story. So here I am here with chapter 9. I wanted to thank all of you who reviewed! I love hearing your thought on this story I wish to make more readable work for you in the future, but for now I hope this will be enough for you and I ask that you please excuse my poor grammar, and spelling ; Thank you all again!

NOTE: I think this chapter is sort of a collective chapter where I will basically voice character thoughts and inner conflicts I warn you know that you might be bored and hate me after wards.

Chapter 9: The Discovery of the World and of Man

It was the cool breeze of early morning that woke Riho from her peaceful slumber; she smiled when she felt the heat of the man next to her. Yes the night before was real, and not another dream. Yet there was this feeling within her that haunted her, as if all this happiness, which she felt, was soon to be shattered; her happiness was like glass in the hands of a child who knew no better. Did she simply doubt her choices? No of course not! She loved him, she loved Shido as she loved no man; well the only other man she ever loved was her father but that is different from what she felt for the man that rested beside her.

She turned to her side and looked at the man who made love to her just hours before, the man who showed her a life of freedom that held restrains, and responsibility, he showed her that he was a man who lived by his own rules not that of society. Of course he had the power to do so, he was after all a man, but then she questioned if he was so different from a woman, after all his acquaintances could look down on his life style yet he did not give in; living his life in solitude with this servants whom he treated as friends and painting his imaginations on to white blank canvas, he was an amazing being.

She had to chuckle inwardly at her thoughts, she sounded similar to a real admirer of his, or perhaps she could not compare even to them, it was all thoughts between, they shared their thoughts, yet he believed in actions, motions that showed one how the other truly felt. He was a real lover all right, teaching those who came in contact with him about his world, and indirectly helping them lose their way out of the forest of his world, what a man he was, who painted no one's portrait, yet he painted the nature which surrounded him. His hands creative to touch and tease as he was with a brush…she was truly insane for falling in love with him so very fast, but she did not question the fact that she loved him she knew that she did.

The pressing matter right now was her reoccurring dream, the very dream in which there is so much blood around her that everything paled in comparison to the scarlet liquid, and of course there was Shido with his apprehensive golden eyes, which held so many emotions, not to mention that she herself was there with another figure which remained in the shadows, she was so very frightened of this particular dream. She had learned that memories are short lived, will there be someone who will make her memories of her stay with Lord Shido disappear? Why she thought of this was beyond her, she wanted nothing more then to repeat what had happened for the past two weeks over and over again, she wanted him by her side always and for this love which started to burn like a candle to burn even brighter and over come anything that might hold them apart.

"What is bothering you?"

She turned to see the man she loved and give herself to looking at her, she did not realize she had let her mind wonder of in the questions, doubt, and of course fears of her love for him. "Nothing I was simply wondering of."

"And you will not let me wonder with you?"

"Believe me my Lord it was not intentional."

Shido laughed lightly as he let his fingers brush away the hair that fell on her shoulder. It was amazing the look in her eyes, she had saved him from loneliness, he knew better then anyone that without her he would have gone mad sometime soon, the only thing keeping him sane was his paint brush and the land that surrounded him, the taste of her presence had brought him back to life and now he could not imagine anything without her, she had rescued him. "You will keep calling me with a title?"

Riho blushed and smiled, "I did not realize."

Kissing her shoulder lightly, he smiled and pulled her towards him. "Help me." He whispered into her ears. He needed her help, he needed her always to be at his side, she was the one he wanted to live for now, no he was not deranged or at the verge of going mad or anything of the sort, it was his loneliness that she showed him; before she came into his life he never noticed it but when he felt her absence from her he finally understood why he felt as if a piece of him was missing.

Riho looked down at him with a confused look to her, what would he need help with? What could she help him with? "What ever can I do?"

"Be by my side always…I do not think I could live a day without you."

"Oh! Do you mean that?"

"I have already asked of you to be my wife, but I ask that you to be more then that, I know I must be the most selfish man alive, but I cannot help it my love, I need your heart, soul, body; completely with me I need you to be my friend my dear Lady Riho."

"I shall have to go to church today and give confession and thank the lord for bringing me to you, he has answered my prayers!" exclaimed Riho as she kissed Shido over and over again. "Do you know how truly happy you make me?"

"Do you know how happy you make me?" he asked as he laughed at her antics.

"No, but I shall give you everyday of both of our lives to show each other just how we feel." She laughed as a small blush graced her face.

"I am drunk with your love!" he said as he picked her up of the bed and spanned her around the room with her laughing in his arms. "I will send your father a letter asking him and your mother to come to see me, and we shall make things official after they have arrived. I shall marry you soon my beautiful Maiden."

Riho laughed as he kissed her over and over again, they were the idol of young love, but that didn't push that uneasy feeling boiling in the pit of her stomach away, yes they were planning much but the question was would it come to pass? Would her Mother and Father really approve to her whim and agree? Will what she saw in her dreams come to pass? Suddenly wanting to push all of it away she focused on the man who stood naked with her naked form in his arms smiling and kissing her; that same pull in the center of her being came and she knew now what was to come next, as his lips touched her breast.

II

Lady Cathleen touched the gown that belonged to her daughter whom has been missing for two whole weeks now, and working on the first day of the third. She pushed back her tears and smiled, her husband was right she shall have what she desired for now, but she will return when she finds that there is no life for her out there, that they were the ones that needed her and she needed them as well.

"You are here once again I see."

"Yes I am sorry…I was keeping you waiting, shall we have breakfast?"

"Cathleen, I am sorry for not seeing that she felt trapped, but I…I am a weak man."

"No! Please do not ever say that, you have been a good father and a even better husband, I do not know what I shall do if I were to lose you as well, my life would have no meaning without you." She said as she hugged him, and then did it hit her, that her daughter was lonely just as she would be without her husband. "Oh dear god."

"What is it Cathleen?"

"It was I who made her do this, she had wanted nothing more than a courtship to fallen in love with the man who made her feel full, just as you do for me…but I understood the duties of a woman and what she must teach her daughter, Riho was always so obedient and wonderful to us, never asking for more then we gave her."

"I understand we have done something so gravely stupid, but I pray to god that he will look to me once again and return her to me unharmed and untainted."

"Yes, but I have this strange feeling that she is all right which makes my heart ache at the thought hat she might not want to return if she grows to accustom to her lifestyle now."

"I fear for the same."

II

Guni after making the breakfast and fixing the bath for both, made her way to her mistress' room and knocked on the door lightly. "Lord Shido? Lady Riho? It's already late morning, and I suggest the two of you get up and eat or are you planning on living of each other now?"

The door opened to a glaring Shido who seemed flushed as he had his trousers on very sloppy. "Guni!"

Guni laughed and shook her head lightly as she pushed past him and into the room to look at the flushed Riho was pulling the sheets around herself.

"You two thought I did not know?"

"Guni…umm it is…" Riho tried to explain but Guni laughed even harder.

"You calm down, I knew it was bound to happen."

"What am I to do with you Guni?" asked Shido as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"How about you do something for yourself and take your bathes and eat breakfast, then we will have to talk of what will happen now that you two consummated your "love" without the approval of the church or the world?" Guni stated, she may have not looked it but she was quite religious and believed in god to a sense where she could have been a nun if not that she fallen in love with an young artist whom she came to work for. Yes it was true she did love the man who stood half dressed with another woman in her bed, but she never voiced her love for him, for she already knew the sort of love he felt for her, they were great friends and talked of many things, but she did not fit into the ideals of his lover, but this new young girl whom she went far enough to call a woman did, she brought a glow is his eyes that she could not, she was to be forever his companion but not his lover, she was not the star crossed girl of his dreams whom he burned to paint into his memory instead she was to watch from afar as they fell in love and lived happily ever after. Was she ever hurt? Of course many times but he was just one man and his unconditional love belonged to the one he would pick, she would how ever serve him and love him unconditionally as well. Love was such a thing that could not be fought with like children; she was not Lady Yayoi in the making.

Guni shook herself out of inner thoughts, which haunted her always, and smiled at the two. "Come on you two, I will give you five minutes to be down for your baths, excuse me now."

Shido smiled at the door and then looked at Riho who sat smiling at him, "She always seems to surprise me, and I do not know what I would have done without her at my side always taking care of me and the estate."

"Guni is really amazing, but I feel as if it is she who deserves your love and not me." Said Riho with worried eyes. Guni had admitted to her that she loved the same man she loved but she also knew that Shido knew nothing of it, now anyway.

"Guni and I have been together for a while now, yes I do love her but not the way I love you, you are the one I want to mother my children, whom I will love and you are the one I want to spend the rest of my life, kissing, and feeling next to me." He said as he kissed her again.

Riho giggled and nodded as she looked at those green blue eyes. "I should make my way down to the bath that Guni has waiting for me," she said as she stood of the bed, wrapping the sheets around her.

"What an image you make, if only every waking moment with you could be captured in a painting, my dearest Riho." He said as he watched her make her way towards the door, she smiled at him.

"What will I do when I cannot hear your poetry?" she asked as she stood to look at him, as he sat on her bed. "You are like fine wine my lord, each day you just become more and more valuable to my heart and I dare not think what shall come to pass if there is ever a time I am drink too much that there is only little left, and not nearly enough for me."

Shido stood walking towards the door, smiling as he did, his hand reached out to her cupping her cheek he closed his eyes. "That day shall never come to pass, just always remember that I shall be forever here at your side, not even time can stand in the way of true love."

"I pray that it be true then, my lord and future husband." She whispered, thought these past few weeks have been the prime of her life, she had a sinking feeling within her, and her consistent nightmare about Shido turning into an evil creature. 'I must go to church and pay my penance.'

Shido noticed her quietness, she was once again lost in thought. "What are you thinking of my darling?" he asked as he soothed some hair from her face.

Riho sighed moving closer to his side, "I want to go to church today, I have not been to confession the last few weeks, and I feel after the tainted acts of last night I should pay my penance."

Shido laughed lightly, "though I must say I do not believe too greatly with the church's teaching, if you must go I will not stop you. Anything for you love."

Riho pushed herself to sit up on her elbow and smiled tracing his lips with her long thin finger, "tell me why you do not believe."

Shido sighed, "so many reasons my dear, but the most important one is that he took someone very important to me…or shall I say he could have been important if given the chance."

Riho frowned, "I'm sorry you feel that way, but I have been taught that in god we shall receive salvation."

Shido pushed her back against the pillows and looked down at her, "tell me Riho if I were to take you again and again in any way I want how many time would have to recite 'hail Mary' and the amendments before you are truly sin free?"

Riho for the first time saw a raw passion and truth in his eyes, that gentle playfulness gone, "Shido…"

He said nothing as he claimed her lips almost ruthlessly. Now the question lied in whether or not he will scare her away with his deep and very unusual passion. It was always about acceptance, and he felt she understood him, that she accepted him; after all she gave herself up to him. Kissing her hard, he looked at her again, "I will show you my dark, very dark shade."

Riho parted her lips slightly and licked her lips, watching his beautiful blue greens turn a shade of intense dark be leaned forward his tongue licking her lips, then slowly moving to give her an erotic open mouth kiss that left her shivering. He was a good lover she was sure, she nodded her head, "I trust you."

Those were the words that undid him, and formed a seal of love around them, so very strong, it was unbreakable.