The young woman paused on the trail as she gained the summit of a
particularly nasty hill. A short distance away she could make out the
start of a trail that led to the top of a high mountain. Upon seeing this
the bulk of her weariness left her, as she knew this to be her destination.
Near the top of the mountain, where her gaze finally came to rest, sat a
large, impossibly old castle, inside of which she knew that she would find
the man she loved with all her heart. The young woman took one last drink
from her canteen, picked up her pack, and started along the trail with
somewhat more of a bounce in her step.
---------------------------
"Open the gates," the Phoenix Lord's voice boomed across the courtyard.
"She comes."
"My Lord," Kiima addressed her King tentatively, "are you sure you want to do this? This has never been done before. Never have the Phoenix people allowed an outsider to join our tribe."
Tenma, as the Lord of Phoenix Mountain had renamed himself, shook his head softly. "Kiima, I understand where you are coming from, but what I do is for love. Haven't you ever loved someone so much that nothing could stop you from being with that person?"
"No, my Lord. Never. I live only to serve you," Kiima replied, straining to contain the fit of giggles threatening to spill out.
"Well, uh, umm..." Tenma stumbled, causing Kiima to lose control. "Ahhh, you!" Tenma growled, taking a playful swing at her that missed by no less than two feet. "Just open the gate!" he called to the guards.
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The young lady spent most of the trek up Phoenix Mountain trying to figure
out what she was going to say to gain entry into the castle, and had only
managed to come up with a lame, half-baked excuse about the King owing her
some money by the time she came to the castle gate. To her surprise, though,
the gate swung open before she could even open her mouth to call out.
"I knew the minute I saw you at that clearing that you'd come for me"
Tenma's rich voice came as soon as the view was clear.
"I- well- uh- yeah," she stammered, kicking herself mentally for getting so flustered. She took a deep breath, looked into his smiling face, and finally managed to get out what she really wanted to say. "I love you, Ranchan, I always have and I always will."
"And I love you, too, Ucchan."