Hello again. I hope you enjoy chapter 2. Disclaimer still in place. I dont own Wolfs-Rain.

Chapter Two: Away from the Festival

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The moon was high in the sky again, shining with a brilliance that limited the amount of candles one would need. And there would have had to have been a lot of candles….

Laughter filled the air of a small ballroom, jokes and jests thrown around quite freely as noblemen and common folk alike talked in mild ease about days past and days to come. The warnings of a young noble man seemed to have gone unchecked, and unheeded, as the king was now on his 10th glass of wine, and talking happily with the counts and earls about him.

But, deep with in the castle, two where not attending this happy festival. One of them was standing in his chambers, arms folded over his chest and piercing eyes glaring out at the night through a large window. The second, a woman in a sweeping dress, who had escaped the festival and was heading to wards the other non-partier. Her violet eyes searching the corridors for any guards who may question her absence at the party, but there was no one, and nothing in her way.

The man was startled out of his brooding when a soft knock came on his door; he moved to answer it, before he remembered why he was in his room. "No one will believe me about what I over heard… and the ones who said it, deny it… I know more then one of them would want my head for trying to warn the king…" He edged away from the door, stepping into the shadows of a tall bookcase, where the light of the moon could not reach.
He was surprised to here a jingle of keys, and to see the door pushed open; his hand slid to his belt, silently pulling a dagger from its sheath as he edged deeper into the shadows, ready to strike the person down. When the person moved beyond the protection of the door way, and stepped into his chambers, he waited as they looked around, startled when piercing purple eyes locked onto his, and then drifted away, searching the room. He caught sight of light on metal in the persons hand, the jingle of keys forgotten in his stressed mind. He lunged from the shadows as the person turned around…

He was first startled when his dagger was shielded off by a large ring of keys, second was when his momentum caused both of them to collide into a book shelf. The third when a gasp of air exhaled from full lips, which owned the piercing purple eyes that stared at him with slight shock. He only then noticed with the help of the moon light, the ribbons and folds of a dress that covered the body of a woman. He blinked down at her when her fingers dropped the now dinted ring of keys, and a hand lifted, placing itself above her breast, calming her beating heart. "I am glad… that I did not allow my sister to go in my place…"

He let his dagger slip from his fingers, eyes locked to her purples ones if in a trance; he had nearly killed one of the king's daughters. He knew their names, and was almost positive this one was the renowned 'darker' of the two. "m'lady…" He snapped from his trance, head lowering. "My deepest apologies… I did not think it would be you…" His ears where greeted by a soft laughter. "Oh my…" He heard, and felt her words against his neck, only then noticing how his body was still flush against hers from pinning her to the bookcase. He felt the laughter that rumbled from her chest as it vibrated against his own. Not one to blush, but feeling awkward none the less, the young lord slowly relaxed his body and inched it away before the lady took notice.

"I must thank you." He lord raised his head, staring into those piercing purple eyes once more, feeling a slight trance slip over him once more. "Thank me... I nearly ran you through…." Darcia could not see the logic. "Yes, I thank you… I was thinking that my training might have gotten rust since the past years… I am glad to know I can still protect my self." The lord wasn't quite sure if he had heard these words right. "Training?" He was unable to imagine the princess before him, wielding a sword and slewing the throat of attackers. "Yes…" the woman said a little quieter. "But, don't you go spreading that about… My sister would never forgive me, and my father would be disgraced…"

Darcia has just started to gather, that this woman was more than met the eyes when something flashed in the still open door way, his eyes lifting from the lady and catching sight of a guard; who was narrowing his eyes at there 'position'. Despite Darcia's attempts to edge away from the princess, his body was still touching against hers, a hand against the bookshelf above the princess shoulder, and his other hand was innocently placed on her waist; where in mid attack he was going to try disabling her… The position of Jagara did not help matters, with a hand still on her heart, and a hand against his chest. It made the scene look quite 'against' the lord… Until Jagara's eyes flickered over to the guard and he felt her lean slowly closer to his body, he felt the hand on his chest tighten on his shirt and before he knew what had happened she had fallen into his arms; and moaned softly. He only briefly heard her whispered softly 'go with me on this…'

He jerked his head around to the guard, making it appear like he just seen him. "You there, make yourself useful and fetch me some water!" He easily picked up her lithe from and carried her to a chair not to far away, placing her in it gently, and brushing her hair from her forehead as he placed his palm against her skin. Relief flooded his brain when he heard the guard voicing his affirmative and heard the rattle of metal as he ran off to retrieve the required item.

He watched as the woman slowly opened one eye, and then the other. A grin on her lips speaking her amusement voicelessly. "My, that would have been quite the scandal if it where my sister in my place, I am ever more thankful I offered to come in her place. Here, he might come back with assistance, need to warm my skin". He felt her take his other hand and place it on her cheek, watching with wonder as she rubbed his palms against her skin. It dawned on him, she was using friction to create warmth. But again he found himself uncomfortable to be touching her in such away. "You're quick… Acting, I bless it. But, again you have my apologies…." He lowered his head, but against a soft laughter reached his ears. "When you're the dark twin, you learn something's to keep your lighter safe.…Here." He felt something pushed in to his hand as her voice dropped to a soft whisper, unable to question as he heard the metal clang of a guard approaching. He kept his smirk in check when he found the object to be a wooden fan, this woman was always prepared. He opened it with a click of his wrist and fanned her gently, attempting to look like he was worried. He didn't have to act very hard, when her head found itself rolling to a side and her eye lashes fluttered several times.

The guard came into the room, followed by a maid who he picked up in the kitchen. The guard at the sight of seeing the lord fanning the princess washed all the thoughts from his head. He had of course suspected the worse, he however still wondered why they where alone in Lord Darcia's chambers, but he brushed it away; the door had been open after all. He stood at that very door as the maid gasped and hurried into the room.

Darcia moved back to the side as the main dipped a cloth in the bowl of water she had taken from the kitchen and dapped the princess forehead. A hand placed on Jagara's cheek finding it warm, but the maid was reassured the woman would be okay when her eyes slid open slowly. The maid, was unable to tell who she was fretting over as she dapped the woman's cheeks with the cool cloth. "ah, Joan. I thank you." The maid blushed at being thanked; and was forced to remove the cloth when the princess waved her hand away. "Its nothing, just a bit too much wine on an empty stomach." The maid nodded, accepting the answer, surprised to find her speaker was the darker twin.

The maid stood and backed away, watching the woman carefully for any signs of relapse. The maid had suddenly wondered why the princess was in lords chambers to begin with… As if reading the girls mind, Jagara stood slowly from her seat and turned her attention to Darcia who was attempting to keep a chuckle down, and managed it when her eyes locked onto his. "M'lord… I must apologize for having fainted on you… I had come to see if you where okay since you where not at the festival…" she moved close to him, whispered softly, but loud enough for the maid to here. "Festivals.. They bore me so… people acting like idiots…" She pulled back slightly. "I had come to see if you would join me for a walk in the gardens, since every once else was busy making fools of them selves… " She smiled softly,. "Normally I would have asked my sister to go… but she was being passed around from noble to noble so each dance, that I hadn't the time to catch her for a word. She was having too much fun to disturb anyways." She glanced down at her dress, dusting it off slightly before she glanced back up. "I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak…" The maid, taking the hint that she was now no longer needed, exited quickly, taking the guard away by the arm when he looked like he was going to stand. "Don't you dare but in… you could get demoted to a stable boy Rupert" the maid warned as she yanked him away.

Darcia extended his arm bowing slightly; his lips pulled into a smirk at the princess before him. "It would be my pleasure." With a playful slap, Jagara punished his wide grin that might give them away if the maid or guard popped back. She moved back to the book case for a moment, picking up the fallen dagger and ring of keys that had been hidden in the shadows. She hid the keys with in a fold on her dress, and stepped back over to Darcia, encircling his waist for a moment that made the young lord hold his breath as she slipped his dagger into its sheath. "Lucky they didn't notice them…" Jagara whispered as she toke his still offered arm, she let herself be lead from the room. "Quite the actress." Darcia whispered into her ear when he had recomposed himself from the princess close contact. He spoke so the maid and guard would not hear as they turned down a different corridor and made way for the gardens like their ruse had implied. "Oh, I'm not taking all the credit…" Jagara whispered back to him as she looked up at him with her piercing eyes. "You're quite able-bodied at keeping out of trouble as well… "

A chuckle met her ears as they stepped out into the gardens. "Madame, I have a feeling you are better then me at any day." He met her eyes with his own bright eyes, a silent moment passing between them, a pause that would have made any other woman blush and look away. Jagara blushed, but she didn't look away. "Come, I need to get out of view for a while… My sister maybe looking for me…" Jagara took him by the hand, pulling him through the garden, taking darts around bushes and shrubs that made the young lord doubt if he could find his way back to the start with ease.

Darcia could only watch as Jagara stopped in front of an old oak, he stared in wonder as she grasped a hold of one of the lower branches and in a blink of his eyes, she was gone, vanished up into the trees with an ease one would not except because of her dress. He approached the tree slowly, raising an eye brow as he attempted to locate the princess. "Hurry up would you? Unless, you're scarred to climb a tree…" With a snort, he quickly climbed up the tree, careful not to walk on branches that where two small.

He suddenly found himself yanked into the middle of the tree and sprawled rather indecently into a warm body and a hand over his lips. "Hush, I see her now." Jagara's words had just left her lips and where whispered into his ear, and the soft foot steps of Harmona could be heard as she stood on the center of the garden. She glanced around slowly, a pout on her lips as she quickly left the garden, the night air cool on her skin.

Darcia waited a moment before speaking softly. "May I ask?" He slowly attempted to edge out of her lap, from where she had pulled him. "Well… If she found me here with you, it might crush her… She's terribly fragile you know…" She relaxed against the branch behind her, allowing the lord slid in next to her. There was just enough room in the small hollow, formed by the branches spreading out in all directions; it was rather cozy; if one looked past the dried leafs.

"I gathered as so" he commented as he glanced over at her. "Tell me, you mentioned a while ago that you had come to do something, something about you coming to me instead of your sister?" He found his eyes subject to her purple gaze once again. "Yes… Both of us had noticed that you where being shunned by the other nobles, or rather… that you aren't bothering with them…" She shifted slightly, so she was laying on her side, an arm holding up her head as she gazed at him, her other arm lain over her waist. "There's always something going on that father keeps us unaware of; ever since our mother died." Her face grew solemn as she seemed to stare past him now.

"I shouldn't tell you what I know; you'd only be endangered then too…" he commented as his gaze left her and went to the sky above. "Are you in danger?" His attention was drawn back when he felt her hand on his arm, her eyes studying him. "Not to worry you… But yes..." He hesitated, still not wanting to speak his mind. "Come now, I'm a grown woman. Besides, if you where that edgy you tried to kill me, you need to tell someone…" He found her eyes on his again, and with a quite sigh he opened his lips, and told her. He spoke of how the other nobles had approached him in an alliance to go against the king, claiming the out come would benefits everyone. He told her of his near escape… and then riding across the country side to attempt to warn the king… Only for everyone to act as if nothing had happened… The king not even mentioning it again.

"You see… I'm starting to wonder if I didn't dream it all…Something's going on, but yet, I have no clue what…" Darcia sighed, eyes closed as he rested his head against a tree branch. He opened one eye when he felt her hand run down his cheek slowly. "I believe you… I remember watching you ride into town… Things have been slightly off balance ever since a few weeks…even since before you came; my father had been spending more and more time reading through old legends…"

"Old legends?" He raised an eye brow, both eyes opened; while he attempted not to mind her stroking the side of his face slowly. "Yes… stories about a paradise… created by wolfs… I'm not quite sure how it's all related. Oh… Do the other nobles even know you're here..?" She watched him from under slowly drooping eye brows. "I don't believe they do… I haven't made my presence known to them, and they might just think me dead… Since your father doesn't even seem to recall what I told him… In fact I haven't seen him since he suggest I stay in my chambers till he got things settled out…"

He sighed, staring out at the night as an odd silence drifted over them. He was only aware then, of the cold wind that swirled up from the depths of the night, and danced around them, he glanced down at the princess who was snuggling closer into his side for warmth, her eyes sliding closed. "Madame… Do you wish to return to your chambers?" He grew uneasy when she had to force her eyes open and gazed at him- "hmm. I don't really wish to go back and be questioned by my sister so soon… In fact, I don't wish to go back to royalty so soon… I can't even act this free around my sister." She murmured into his shirt. "If you feel awkward…and you would like to leave, go right ahead… but I'm going to stay." She yawned then, shivering as the wind blew over her bare shoulders.

Darcia opened his lips to reply, but at seeing her stubborn- most likely not easily changed attitude, and knowing she'd catch some kind of flu if she was left with out heat… He relaxed into the tree, very slowly, and hesitantly pressing against her; warmth was about all he could offer to her. Hearing and feeling her breathing slow, he grew curious about the woman beside him. At first glance, she seemed like most princess; quite, polite and presentable… While she was all those things, he realized that there was something inside that made her different. He wasn't able to place a word on her behavior. She obviously loved her sister; clear that she would allow no harm to come to her twin.

The young lord closed his eyes slowly, shifting his body so his chest was flush against the princess. In his mind, he only planned on closing his eyes, waiting till the woman was deep a sleep so he could return her to her chambers with out her waking up. But, apparently his own body had other plans that they did not confirm with him. He joined her in sleep, her body curled up against his as they slept, him blocking her from the worst of the chilly night. Quite amusing that awake he did everything in his power to keep from touching her; like a gentlemen would, accusations where harmful to high ranked people such as themselves. But in sleep his body had wrapped around the princess, shielding her smaller form easily. His arms slipped around her waist, while she snuggled into the warmth around her…