Complete summary: Princess Naoko knows her father is a horrible ruler, but no one suspected his selfish ways would end in her being kidnapped. Now traveling through her Kingdom Aralon, across wilderness into the enemy country Honrako, Naoko and her servant friend Suki soon learn that their kidnappers, the four bandits of Quentia, might not be so bad after all.
A/N: Wow what a fast update! I've got summer school exams this up coming week, so I'm posting this now because I won't be able to post anything more until next weekend.
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Arigatou
Chapter Four
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"And that should last us up to another fortnight." Shinji commented, bringing out another sack of food.
"I know, just think of all the foods to eat." Mikitao's eyes started glowing.
"It would last us a fortnight, if the warrior wasn't with us." Yukio shook his head. "Food is oxygen to you."
Both Mikitao and Shinji laughed, and then went back to get more.
"That is a lot of sacks of food." Suki whispered to Naoko.
It had been the first time Suki had said a word since they had been kidnapped. They had ridden a couple of hours north, and now had reached the nearest village. The bandits had just finished purchasing food from the market. Naoko and Suki were obliged to dismount the horses and wait by them, as Shinji, Mikitao, and Ryo went to purchase all the supplies. Yukio stayed by the women as to make sure they didn't run off. They were too petit to mount the horses by themselves, and they couldn't run off far without Yukio using his magic on them. So in the end Naoko decided just to stick to her plan of waiting it out till Honrako where she and Suki could be traded back.
"Um, Yu-Yukio," Suki spoke in her tiniest voice. This was her first attempt to talk to the bandits who had frightened her most excessively not hours before.
"Oh, what? Yes?" He was taken aback by Suki saying his name. He was sure that she was deaf, seeing how see hadn't said a word till then.
"I was, just…just wondering." Her voice still quiet and timid.
"Yes, go on." He nodded encouragingly, realizing she was more frightened then anything else.
"Well, that's a lot of food…how will we manage to bring it with only four horses?" She finally got out her question.
"Oh, the food? Oh yes, well you see this little sack I carry around myself?" He said, gesturing to the one that hung from his right shoulder. "Well, its enchanted. You see, I can put as much things as I want in this sack because it's bottomless. It's also very light, like a pillow, no matter how much I have in it. One can never judge a thing as how its exterior appears after all."
"Yukio, can I ask you something?" Naoko now enquired.
"Since it's the popular thing to do at present." He chuckled.
"Do you always make quotes after explaining things?"
"Oh, how many have I given you so far?" He laughed again.
"Three or four I think, since I've met you. You seem to like saying quotes."
"Yes, I can not help it. It is in my nature, just as leaves change their colours in fall when the season changes, it is nature's natural way." He answered.
"I find your quotes comforting. For a bandit, you do not act like one." Suki cheery countenance slowly crept back.
"That is because you have never met a bandit before. We are all mostly friendly people. We take care of our kidnapped victims and show them a good time usually. It's our job to do rich people's dirty work, but we always try and make the best out of it. You'll find us four bandits to be decent fellows."
"You four do seem friendly, sort of." Naoko said, though she wasn't so sure.
"We are good people. The warrior, that's Mikitao, loves two things, sleep and food. The musician, Shinji, is the lady charmer. He's always calm about everything, and has one real love in life, his flute. The commander, Ryo, who is our leader on account of his cunning and good sense of plans, is the hardest worker of us all, and he always blames himself if something goes wrong. And then there's me, the magician, though no one else calls me that. It was my grandmother who taught me what she knew, and I am the useful one who is good at three things. Conjuring up supplies for our plans, making herbal remedies when one of us is injured, and making up quotes when I feel like it."
"You all sound like a great group of men, but maybe if you all didn't set the carriage on fire and kidnap us, then I would have liked to have you all as friends." Naoko said with a touch of bitterness.
"Please don't take it personally. We are all young and poor, and as bandits, we get the money needed to survive."
"But you come from Quentia, I heard. The Four Bandits of Quentia, didn't you call yourselves? Quentia Island has very poor people, I have heard. So it is no wonder you all took to this kind of work."
"It is because of Aralon and Honrako, that Quentia is so poor. Neither of your countries own us, but we do not have a King ruling us, so of course both Aralon and Honrako have sent warriors many times over to our island to steal our lands, and food, and try and gain control. We are all in poverty, because of your kingdoms here."
"I had no idea it was that bad over there!" Naoko exclaimed. "I am sorry, my father is not fit to be King, I know."
"Anyway, here come the bandits with the rest of the food."
Shinji and Mikitao finished bringing all the sacks of food. Yukio took off his sack and opened it up. Both Suki and Princess Naoko were amazed to see them put one giant sack of food into Yukio's sack, and then another, and another, till it was all done. Moments later Ryo came back holding an extremely long rope, two small leg knifes, and a scabbard with a sword in it.
"Here," he said tossing Mikitao and Shinji the leg knifes. "Now you have the extra safety. And Yukio, put this rope in your bag." Yukio took the rope from Ryo.
"Here, I also got you a sword, seeing how your old one got devoured by that boar." He laughed, handing Yukio the sword. "Now once again we all have the right protection, just make sure no beasts eat it again."
Naoko noticed for the first time that Shinji, Ryo and Mikitao all swords by their sides, but Yukio did not.
"Alright my fair ladies, are you all ready to begin the real journey to Honrako?" Mikitao asked excitedly.
"Ecstatic." Naoko answered sarcastically, trying to mount Ryo's horse.
"He is too tall for you, you will need assistance." Ryo told her, coming by.
"I'll manage." She said refusing his help.
"Independent as you might think yourself Princess, I believe this is one thing someone of your size and disposition can not possibly do without assistance."
"I'll said I'll manage." She answered determined not to seek his help, "and I told you my name is Saikuya, not Princess!" Naoko tried another big heave up but failed in the attempted.
"So be it." Ryo gave up and mounted himself.
"Really Saikuya, I'm sure at the palace you may have a lovely royal mare which you mount all the time," Mikitao said, walking over to her and lifting her up in the air, "but Ryo's horse is to big for you to try. So let me help."
"Put me down at once." Naoko ordered.
But instead, Mikitao lifted her up higher and placed her in front of Ryo on the horse.
Naoko rolled her eyes, as Ryo grinned and said, "Well, maybe next time you can try again."
Mikitao helped Suki onto his horse, and both Shinji and Yukio mounted too. Once all of them were ready, they set off, at a fast pace that was usual for everyone but Suki, who had never owned or ridden a horse in her life.
"Must—we—go—so—fast!" Suki cried, saying each word as she bounced up and down from the horse.
"Oh, you speak then?" Mikitao laughed, looking down at the women in front of him.
"Yes, this is the first I've heard of your voice." Shinji's charming low voice was heard from her left side.
Instead of wearing a smiling expression as her usual way, she lowered her face in shyness and said no more.
"I'm sorry if the pace is not to your liking," Ryo didn't sound sorry at all, "but in a few hours your companions along with the two servant drivers will have reached the palace. After explaining the whole story, it will only take the king above an hour or two to assemble all the knights and send them out to catch us. By then, we will be crossing right by the palace, which is why we must go a faster pace as so to pass the palace before the King sends out his knights."
"But it is a ten hour ride there from where we are. By the time your horses get near my palace wood, they'll be exhausted. You expect them to keep a pace like this all the way through?" Naoko asked doubtfully.
"It amazing me how sensible you are to think of all these things." Mikitao laughed.
"Yes, you would be a good help in finding flaws in our plans." Shinji laughed.
"Only, the commander makes our plans so there never are any flaws." Yukio pointed out.
"Prin—I mean Saikuya," Ryo mock apologized, "all of our horses are enchanted, or should I say, we feed them enchanted food that Yukio conjures up. They never tire, and are faster then the average horse. The more we gallop along; you will notice we will increase pace. There for we will not need to worry about your father and his knights."
Princess Naoko didn't even bother this time to tell him it wasn't her father.
"So how long is this journey going to take? From here to Prince Takuya's palace?" She asked instead.
"It will take us over the course of the next few days, around four I would say, to reach Aralon's boarder, and enter into Honrako. Then from there, it's about another five day journey."
"Nine days. Nine days with you bandits in the wilderness." Naoko lowered her head in despair.
"Yes nine days, but not including this one, or that would be ten." Ryo added, taking pleasure in her misery.
"Ten!" She sulked even more.
"We could always lose the fast horses, and walk. Then it would take you a course of three months."
"Don't torment me anymore then you already have, bandit." Naoko sighed with melancholy.
"You might get lucky, maybe your father's knights will catch up to us." Ryo jested.
"Is it really possible?" Naoko lifted her head, with little hope.
"Princess, we are the Four Bandits of Quentia. Ryo was only teasing you." Shinji told her.
"I should of known. Never trust a bandit!" The Princess fell silent after that.
- - -
"Stolen the Princess!"
"Ye-yes, your highness."
"So you two were sent as messengers, were you? Should of known. Such like a bandit, to want someone to try and stop them, just to make it more challenging and fun. Well, when my knights catch them, they'll wish they never took that Honrako Prince's money." The King swore to himself. "You there, servant! Go fetch me Kanitsu!"
Moments later, a knight came hurrying into the room and to King Satoshi's side.
"My lord." Kanitsu bent down on one leg and bowed before the king.
"Assemble all the knights. Have them all spilt up into search parties, groups of three—no four, and have them searching all the land from here to Honrako palace. My daughter has been kidnapped by four bandits!"
"At once my lord." Kanitsu bowed once again, and left the room.
It wasn't half an hour later when Hiromi entered it.
"Father," he said with a quick bow. "I have heard from one of the knights that Naoko has been kidnapped."
"Yes, by four bandits hired by Prince Takuya. It seems his father the King had taken ill and now Prince Takuya runs things. He has decided to use less humane tactics to win this war. His demands are simple; I give up the war and forfeit my title as ruler of the land to him, and then I receive my daughter back."
"Oh father, I am sorry you have to give up your crown for this-"
"Who says I am?" The King looked startled at the idea.
"But Naoko-" Hiromi in turn was horrified at his father's words.
"She will be rescued of course. Her servants who came back told me that the four bandits did not take the same road they did, which must mean they went another way, and we all know the fastest way to our palace from Renalia is through that road, which means the bandits still must be heading this way, or passes us as we speak. It will not take much longer for the knights to get organized into search parties. We will find these bandits and destroy them. No point is giving up the kingdom before Prince Takuya has possession of our dear Naoko, my son. We still have a chance."
"But father, don't you see, if you never started this war, none of this would have ever happened."
"What I do see Prince, is that if you did as I told you and joined your sister to Renalia, the ambush wouldn't of been successful. You are entirely to blame as far as I see, and hope this now leaves you a reason to fight. True most of our warriors are off battling, which is why we don't have a huge number of knights to go searching through the woods. You must join them in the search of your sister and correct your mistake."
Hiromi at this point wanted to tell his father more then anything that he had made no mistake but instead the King was to blame. But the Prince did feel a little guilty for not accompanying his sister, so he kept silent and decided to take his father's advice and join the search.
- - -
Ryo was right when guessing it would take the knights over two hours to sort themselves out. In fact it had taken closer to three, and by now it was getting dark. The knights had spilt off into groups of four just as the King said, thought they were short of knights due to the war going on, so there wasn't above a dozen groups of men going off on horseback. Hiromi decided to join with his father's best three knights. Kanitsu, the leader of all the knights, along with Takashi and Harue, both who had not been long on the force, but proven their skills and qualities to be the best.
In the meantime, the four bandits along with their loot, had made it past the palace woods safely, and were ahead of everyone else. The King and knights had not, after all, counted on the bandits having enchanted horses that could gallop forever and feel fine just the same.
"Commander, are we to stop for the night?" Yukio said, looking up at the stars and moon full in the sky.
"The knights might plan on us doing so, and catch up much ground on us. What do you think Shinji?"
"I'm not too sure. It would be wise of them to continue on, seeing how we are ahead and likely to rest after a full day of riding. But though we are on a dusty clear path cutting through the wilderness surrounding us, it is still too dark to make out much. We may end up losing the trail."
"Yes, and if we continue, we are not like the horses. We need rest, otherwise tomorrow we will be half asleep and falling off our steeds." Mikitao added.
"Good points," Ryo decided, "I agree, we must stop for the night. We'll find a nice spot, start a fire going, and rest under the stars. Sound good Saikuya?"
"Tremendously so." Naoko mumbled, but still in her sarcastic way.
"Glad you approve." He answered in the same tone. "But I think that is only because you have never slept under the stars. It is something even you Princess, are not too good for. You'll see its beauty sure enough."
Everyone dismounted, but once Mikitao helped Suki done, she was so tired she stumbled to the ground.
"Don't worry, I've got her." Mikitao answered picking her up, when he heard Naoko gasped.
Ryo dismounted and then offered to help Naoko down.
"No thank you, I will do it myself." She assured him, though as she looked down, it was so dark she could see where the sternum was to put her foot on.
"Come on Saikuya, you'll miss the sternum and end up falling to the ground in this darkness." Ryo was thinking along to same lines.
"I can see it just fine." She lied, trying to feel it, but her feet where to short to reach unless she tipped forward, but she didn't want to do that while not able to see anything.
"Mikitao is helping your friend right now, so he won't be able to assist you if you fall. Let me help you already."
"Yes Saikuya, get off your high horse already and let him help you." Yukio laughed, realizing that through his cliché he had made a pun.
"Alright already." Naoko was too tired to argue anymore.
"Just slip off the horse and I'll catch you." Ryo told her.
The Princess let both her feet dangle off the one side of the horse, and then slipped down. Ryo caught her by the waist and let her down.
"There. Now no more of this 'I-can-do-it-myself'. You have to learn that there are just some things you are going to be physically unable to do. Such as mounting and dismounting a large horse."
"Alright, now go away. You've become a constant bother throughout the day." Naoko yawned.
"As you wish Princess." He laughed.
Shinji took all four horses by the reigns and led them along with the others to a little open space off to the side of the wilderness. Yukio conjured up a great fire that burned in one spot, and then opened his sack. From it, he produced four big blankets and four pillows.
"Alright," Ryo said as Yukio spread the blankets and pillows out. "Both ladies get a blanket and pillow, and then the three of you can decided which two get the remaining one. I'll just sleep against a tree tonight."
"I do not wish for a blanket or pillow." Naoko said.
"Don't be ridiculous-" Ryo began but Naoko interrupted him.
"I am your victim remember, not your friend." She smiled slyly. "Don't do me any favours, let Suki keep the blanket and pillow though, since she is already sleeping with it."
Mikitao had put Suki done with her head on the pillow and Yukio had covered her with a blanket seconds earlier.
"Saikuya," Ryo protested, "I may not be a gentleman, but I'm not going let you not use the pillow or-"
"You're right, you're not a gentleman, so forget it. By the way, the name's Naoko, Princess Naoko, and I have a very determined disposition as a princess, so you won't convince me otherwise." She tried to suppress a yawn, but failed.
"But Princess, you are tired. Please take the comfort." Shinji pressed.
"I will not." She said with a stubborn look at Ryo.
"Very well Naoko," Ryo gave up, "If you wish to forgo a comfortable sleep, just to prove you are as durable as the rest of us, so be it."
"What is that suppose to mean? I do not care about proving myself to the likes of you! I only wish not to inconvenience Shinji, Mikitao and Yukio who unlike yourself, have been most helpful and kind to me."
At these words Shinji, Mikitao and Yukio who were watching Ryo and Naoko have a row, all darted their gaze now to Ryo who had a very contrary look on his face.
"Really? I didn't help you dismount your horse? I never offered to help you mount as well? I have not let you ride on my horse all day?" The three other bandits now looked back at the Princess.
"You made me ride with you, afraid I'd escape otherwise. And I never asked for your help with getting on and off the horse! No, you were quite rude and insisted on helping where is wasn't wanted!"
"How will he counteract that one?" Shinji whispered to Mikitao, as they turned their gazes back to him.
Ryo looked stunned, thinking of something to say.
"No idea, but this is most entertaining. Don't see Ryo getting incoherent much, do we?" Mikitao whispered back.
"You seem to forget," Ryo finally shot back, "That you are not our guest. True that the bandits are usually obliging to the one's they kidnap, true they like to make them feel more comfortable about current events, but as it stands, you are still our hostage, and we will be delivering you to the enemy. Do you know what that means? It means that by the end of the day, no matter what we do for you, we don't care about you what so ever. So you can forget trying to get what you want, and being a grumpy rude princess, because you're stuck with us, for nine more days."
"Well for a bunch of bandits that don't care, it's odd you should all want me to have the most comfortable sleep I can, even though it puts you at a disadvantage." Her eyes narrowed now.
"We say it to be gentlemen, and nothing more." Ryo said indifferently.
"Really? Interesting considering you just told me moments before that you are no gentleman and don't pretend to be." Princess Naoko knew she hit home there. There was nothing Ryo could say in response to that.
"I am too tired to continue this. I only hope in the morning you're no longer this temperamental. It's funny though, that you wear a witch's outfit and have now shown us that you have the nature and temper of one." He said smoothly, and walked away from her.
Princess Naoko spun around in rage at being called a wicked witch, and went to the tree Suki was sleeping under and seated herself in front of it, resting her eyes.
"It's difficult to tell who won that one." Yukio whispered to Mikitao and Shinji.
"Yes, I mean, the Princess was able to debate him and win. I've never thought anyone had enough wit to do that to Ryo, but here we stand seeing that the Princess made her point and he lost."
"Yes but, Ryo got the last word. He insulted her, and she was on the temperamental side so the insult was very affective which leaves me wondering who really won that?" Mikitao laughed.
"Whichever one did win, it was one entertaining argument. Now let's get to sleep before Ryo asks us what we're discussing."
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End of ch.o4
A/N: Yay, a review for chapter three from Necia, thanks! I'm glad you like long chapters; I hope this one was okay.
Anyway, I bet you can tell from as early a chapter as this who's gonna end up with who…well, of course there'll be more than one couple ;)
Will Naoko fall for the handsome flute playing Shinji and his charming personality? Or will Yukio's magical ability appeal to her like her grandmother's magic had when she was young?
Will the cheerful Suki be impressed with Mikitao's bravado and big stature? Surely a strong guy like that could protect her? Or will opposites attract and will the tough, intelligent and determined Ryo catch her eye?
More importantly, will there even be a chance for romance as these bandits are planning to hand them over to the evil Prince of Honrako? Only time will tell…
I'm afraid at fourteen I wasn't that great at masking the obvious (and maybe I'm still not). Oh well, enjoy anyway!
-rayko.