A/N: hope yyou have fun and next chappie to anyone who guesses whats going to happen!
Chapter 11:
It was me. I killed him. Isilra tried hard to focus on the guard in front of her. She forced herself to explain, but her tongue felt all thick and her surrounding blurred and sharpened alternately. "He tried…assault…self defense…" a part of her wanted to laugh hysterically…Shuichi had just killed someone because of her. She laughed in her head, everything going bright white and then dark.
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The captain of the guard stared at the princess who was looking right through him. He tried…assault…self defense… those five words gave him the whole picture, but he didn't know what he was supposed to do. She was the prince's fiancée so should he arrest her or if Taki had assaulted her was he supposed to escort her back. He looked at the princess almost begging her to give him the answer. His eyes widened as she solved the dilemma, her face rearranging itself into a weird smile with her mouth open before she fell forward in a faint. He should take her to her room and get a doctor he concluded as he ran up to her and saw the blood staining the white sand red.
His guards who had been faster already had made a quick palanquin using their staffs and some sack cloth. They hurried to the palace, leaving a few more guards to watch the body.
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"Yuki!" the prince looked up as the door to his room burst open and slammed shut, before a pink bundle launched itself into his lap. The man was sobbing, blood running down the cut on his leg and staining the cloth he'd tied to it. Yuki felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. "Shuichi, what happened?"
"Taki…Isilra…I killed him, she's still there…" Shuichi babbled, hysterically. Yuki tried to make sense of the garbled version, fear only deepening. He lifted the young man up and slapped him hard. Shuichi's eyes widened.
"Shuichi, I'm sorry I needed to get your attention…now tell me exactly what happened and tell me slowly." He waited as his lover nodded. The pink haired man took a deep breath.
"I went to find Isilra at our usual place, where she teaches me fighting. She wasn't there but I heard something a little further down. So I walked there and I saw Isilra with some kind of bracelet on her wrists, she was tied to a tree stump. Her shoulder was bleeding very badly and there was blood trickling down her mouth. Taki was bending over her, pushing her skirts up and he'd ripped her sleeve. He was trying to rape her Yuki! Then I got so angry…she's like my little sister! I fought him with everything I had and then…then…I saw an opening and k...k...killed him." Shuichi buried his face into his lover's chest. "She said she was ok and pushed me out of the way, when she heard people coming. She threatened to kill me if I didn't get away…I don't know what happened after that. But I'm glad I got there on time, I'm glad he didn't do anything. She'll take the blame for it Yuki; I have to stop her…"
"No." Shuichi's eyes widened as his lover said the word.
"But Yuki, she'll get into trou…" he got cut of as his lover kissed him. the golden eyes were hard, but there was something lurking there, something close to fear.
"She will be much better off than you! She is my fiancée, if we can prove Taki was the one who attacked her, and then she's safe. You on the other hand are an outlander…whatever your intentions, you will most likely be put to death. She acted well, now all we can do is wait for them to inform me and I'll see what I can do." Yuki hugged Shuichi close, trying to hide the emotions that were trying to drive him insane. "I owe her a lot…now Shuichi I think you should go to your rooms." He tended to the cut on the pink haired man's head quickly, before sending him off.
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Yuki paced his room angrily. How dare Taki try that? He shut his trying to shove the memories away. Teacher! No please…please don't! He could still feel the panic and the pain. He collapsed onto his bed; thanking all the gods he could think of that Shuichi had stopped Taki. He was also feeling guilty…if he'd done something about Taki instead of letting Isilra do all the work, this wouldn't have happened. He could have warned Taki to stay away, taught him a lesson or two, but no…he'd watched Isilra humiliate him with amusement, forgetting what kind of a person Taki was. Yuki was angry at himself for not protecting her! Of course he didn't want to marry her, all he'd done was be cold to her and take advantage of the fact that she was covering up for him and Shuichi!
"Your highness!" a soldier barged in. he gave Yuki a summary of the incidents before informing him that the princess was badly hurt and the doctor was in her rooms. Yuki left almost running to her room.
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Tatsuha stared at her pale face resting on the royal blue pillow. He'd seen them bring her in and if Taki wasn't dead already, he would have murdered him. He saw Yuki walk in, but made no move to greet him. His Isilra…what Taki had done was unforgivable, but wasn't his brother to blame here as well? He should have kept an eye on her after everything with Taki!
The doctor patched up her wounds and left a few ointments. He informed them that she would be awake soon. The moment the soldiers and the doctor left Tatsuha rushed to the bedside. He laced his fingers with hers and stroked her arm lightly. He knew his brother very well and knew he was hiding something.
Yuki didn't say anything; he just stood there staring at his fiancée with haunted eyes. But right now Tatsuha didn't care. "Is there something you want to explain to me, Yuki?" his older brother blinked. The look in Tatsuha's eyes told him that he'd have to spill today.
Yuki sat down on one of the cushions and wondered where to start. After making sure no one was around he told Tatsuha about his and Shuichi's relationship, what Taki had done and about Shuichi killing the man. He told him everything Shuichi had seen in detail. When he finished he looked up to meet his brother's eyes. Tatsuha's eyes were harder than he'd ever seen. "Yuki, would you mind telling me how, Taki thought that if he raped Isilra it would hurt you? It make no sense, he knew you didn't love her, he knew you were a cold uncaring bastard who wouldn't get hurt much if it happened. If Taki wanted to break Isilra or hurt her, he could have found a lot of ways to do so…you know Taki. So why brother? Why did he use rape as a tool?" for a few seconds Tatsuha wished he could take back the question. He'd never seen Yuki look like that. His brother looked like he was a ghost.
Yuki hung his head. How was he going to explain to his little brother that he had been raped in Athens? How could he tell his little brother that only Taki and Tohma had known? He started a little shakily. "The time I went to Athens to study, I was…my teacher he raped me." He stared not wanting to see his brother's shocked expression. "I killed the man. Tohma hushed it up, but because Taki was there he new all about it. Tohma also made Taki swear silence. So if Taki raped Isilra, then it would affect me."
He looked up to his see a mix of emotions on Tatsuha's face. There was sympathy, but there was also a lot of anger, shock and pain. For some reason Tatsuha was glaring at him. "I'm sorry if I don't seem sympathetic brother…I am sorry for you and I can connect with your pain, but what I am angry about is you knew that Taki knew. You knew what kind of a person Taki was and you still, let Isilra humiliate him and cover for you? She could really have been raped, if Shuichi hadn't gotten there! And you've never been nice to her, just cold and condescending like you've been to all of us! You just let her do all those nice things for you! You should have seen this coming when she started dealing with Taki! You should have tried to protect her! I didn't know he was so dangerous, or I would have done something! But you didn't care! You never cared!" Tatsuha almost spat the words out.
Yuki moved forward trying to defend himself and comfort Tatsuha. "Tatsuha, I didn't know this was what he was going to try…I did think about protecting her, but it happened to fast. And Tatsuha I do care…" he reached out but his brother stood up, his eyes a little too bright.
"No you don't! You don't care about me or Isilra or anyone! You only care about Shuichi and yourself! You know brother if you'd told me and Mika about this we could have helped you, but you just turned into this cold uncaring person…after you came back you didn't even make an attempt to get to know me! It's your fault! All of this is your fault! You didn't even try to get better! I don't want to talk to you again!" the young prince whirled around and ran out of the room.
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Yuki sank to the floor, trying to hold back tears. A soft and gentle voice reached his ears washing over him. "It's not your fault Prince Yuki." He looked up to see Isilra was awake, looking a little pale and tired. She beckoned him closer and reached out to stroke his hair.
"Tatsuha's just a little too shocked and angry. He's been trying to get your attention all his life since you came back, but you haven't been able to give it to him. I don't blame you for that; it would have been hard enough for you to recover as much as you have now. It's not your fault, don't ever think that. I knew what Taki was and I still chose to cover for you. If it's anyone's fault it's mine for being the reason Shuichi killed him. Please don't blame yourself." She smiled at him. "And anyway, nothing happened and Shuichi is safe."
Yuki for the first time that day smiled back at her, a small genuine smile. Suddenly the hand on his head stopped moving as she slipped back into sleep, breathing softly and evenly. Yuki looked at her for a while trying to fathom out the creature he was engaged to.
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Tatsuha had run into Shuichi on the way and was no in his room. Shuichi was trying to console the depressed young prince. Tatsuha told him the same thing Yuki had; he was not to go confess for any reason whatsoever. They would handle everything when Isilra got better.
It seemed like nightfall came early that day, though no one could go to sleep. Tomorrow was the trial if the princess was fit enough to attend. The three men lay back dreading the next day.
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A/N: it seems shorter than my normal chapter. I'm sorry for not writing about the trial but I really wanted to do that in another chapter. I also wanted Tatsuha to get a few updates about all the information. So that's it for now hope you like it!
Taka