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: In this chapter you get to see an unexpected side of Ryo, though he only shows it for a mere few moments. Still, it's good knowing that it's there somewhere inside of him.
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Arigatou
Chapter eight
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"Come on! Only four days to go! Wake up Naoko." These were the first words Naoko heard as she began to stir.
"What? Suki?" She blinked a couple of times before she was able to keep her eyes open.
It was now morning, and Suki was standing over her. "Morning." She said.
"Did I sleep in?" Naoko stretched out her arms and then got up.
"No, Yukio says you usually awake around this time." Suki handed her a roll of rice and salmon.
"But why are you up so early Suki? You're usually the last one to do so." Naoko looked at her in wonder.
"Oh, well you see, Mikitao was complaining last night about how we don't really have any meat for breakfast. He says for once he wanted some. So Yukio and me decided to do something nice for him. We woke up really early to go catch some fish in the lake beyond those trees there." Suki's cheeks had a bright glow to them as she spoke. "So now you're eating the product of my early morning hard work. Catching salmon is no easy task."
"Wow, you woke up early to catch fish for breakfast? I never thought I would see the day when you would wake up early for anything. But I suppose the fact that Yukio was going gave some encouragement." Naoko slyly laughed.
"I do not know what you mean." Suki turned away, though her cheery smile remained.
"Well, arigatou Suki, this is quite delicious." Naoko took a bite out of the salmon roll and beamed.
The Princess looked around to see the usual morning site. Mikitao was still snoozing off, Shinji and Yukio were sitting down by the fire, which was still full of life, and Ryo was nowhere to be found.
"Lovely weather to start the day, is it not?" Naoko said in good humour, approaching the men by the fire with Suki moments later.
"Oh, the weather is fine, though the nights have begun to grow colder. I noticed the last one was more chilly then usual. Oh, how seasons can slip through one's fingers when one does not look, and warm weather can be devoured by the frost." Yukio noted.
"Though I agree last night was noticeably cooler compared to the first night we slept outside, I am sure we will be able to make it to Honrako before it is too cold."
"All the same Princess, it might be time for you to start considering an alternative to sleeping in such coldness with no protection-" Shinji began but Naoko interrupted him.
"Yukio I was wondering. If you have the power to create things like horses and fires, how come you cannot create extra supplies such as blankets and pillows? I know that you can't use magic for everyday things, but just to conjure up a couple more provisions, would it hurt?"
"If I could, I would have already. My grandmother always feared I'd end up becoming lazy and using magic for everything, so she only taught me selected things. To conjure a horse in case I need transportation, and a fire in case I need heat when I am stuck somewhere cold. Besides that, there are only a few other things I am able to do, but as for everything else, I never learned the incantations for it. C'est la vie, ce n'est pas?"
"Oui monsieur." Naoko nodded.
"Seeing how fall is on its way and it is starting to be cool, you will of course start allowing us to offer you a blanket so that you won't be cold." Shinji stated more as a fact instead of a question.
"It is noble of you to offer, but I decline. Please don't insist because I have my reasons."
"Ah yes, the competition of endurance against our unyielding commander." Yukio laughed.
"I will stick through the coldest weather that comes the next four days." Naoko took another salmon roll and bit into it determinedly.
"There will be no need though. If it gets too cold, Ryo will give up just so that you won't get frostbite. He may not be a gentleman, but Ryo is no heartless savage either." Shinji informed her.
"I beg to disagree with you. His resolution is to put me in my place, and so I think he will let me suffer through cold nights just to ware me down."
"That I also doubt. The commander would not want you to suffer, though you may think it." Yukio pressed on.
"Anyway, I do not wish to continue this quarrel, I believe we should go wake Mikitao up. Wherever your commander is, he'll be soon back, complaining we aren't ready to leave yet."
And no one doubted it.
- - -
"My Prince! Look at those tracks on the ground."
"Yes Harue, you are quite correct. Good spotting." Prince Hiromi nodded.
"But this must mean we are finally on their trail." Kanitsu acknowledged.
"Either that, or these are the tracks of other knights from other search parties." Hiromi suggested. "Harue, look at the tracks, are the imprints horseshoes from King's horses, or are they another."
"Even from up here, I can see the markings of a strange horseshoe. These are not horses that our allies could be riding. It must be the trail of the bandits." Harue confirmed.
"Alright men, this means we have finally found the right trial, but these tracks look old and fading. We have a lot of ground to cover, which mean no breaks today. Now let's ride."
- - -
"More rice for lunch, yum. And to think, we have this at all meals." Mikitao grumbled, taking his bowl from Yukio.
"You surprise me. You love food so much, I thought anything was good to you." Yukio laughed.
"Oh, anything is, but all we ever have is rice with this, or rice with that. I'd like a meal entirely made of meats."
"Mikitao, please desist your complaining. You should be grateful that Yukio goes through the trouble of carrying rice sacs in his bag and then cooks it with his magic fire for you." Suki scolded, but only as she could in her merry tone, while helping Yukio pass rice bowls to Naoko and Shinji and Ryo.
"Yukio, your lady defends you well, but I still say next time we buy food, rice is not one of them."
"Then if that happens to be the outcome the next time we buy our rations, you will of course be cooking the meats and taking the extra time and care that they need to be prepared, as opposed to rice." Ryo stated dryly.
"Well once we are done with our latest job, then we'll have more free time to do as such." Mikitao spoke.
Naoko gave Shinji a troubled look. It would seem that unlike Shinji and Yukio, Mikitao still wanted to give Naoko and Suki to Prince Takuya as soon as possible. Naoko wondered if it would be so easy to win his regard, as Shinji seemed to think.
"You know Mikitao, if you're that hungry, it would be an honour for you to have my portion." Naoko offered, determined to win his good graces.
"Naoko, you should eat up. The next meal is not until supper." Suki urged.
"No, no, I am fine till then and I grow deary of Mikitao's dilemma. Have my food, and indeed I think I shall go for a little walk around the woods. Not too far off of course, since we leave in but minutes."
"Are you sure that is wise Princess? These woods aren't familiar grounds for you."
"Oh, I won't get lost, that is for sure. And besides, there are no evils around here, otherwise they would of presented themselves by now."
"Believe me Princess, enemies are abundant in these parts. The only reason you haven't seen any is because the creatures of these woods are wise enough to sense that all of us men are armed. Now you are another story." Ryo remarked gruffly.
"I will be fine, don't bother yourselves over it. Only a moment or two around the woods of course."
"As you wish, but remember not to run away, after all," Ryo's glance fell upon Suki, "you'd only be leaving your friend behind."
"Ha-ha, very amusing bandit. But I assure you, I had no idea of the kind." Naoko maintained, and then took a turn around the woods.
"Hateful bandit," Naoko mumbled to herself as she began her walk.
The tree's all around reached high peeks and towered over the observer. Thin beams of light came through the lush branches as the rest gazed the top of the trees. Naoko had always known nature to have its delights, but the wilderness around her domain was kept neat and in perfect symmetrical structure. The girth now surrounding her was wild and flourishing, not restricted and placed into any special order or pattern. Above from the tops of the trees she heard birds busily chatting the day away in sweet melodic tunes.
"This is true bliss." Naoko thought to herself, as she took another deep breath of fresh air.
It was some minutes later that she heard Shinji's voice echo far in the distance. "Princess, we leave now. Come back."
"Coming," Naoko called, though she knew it wasn't loud enough for him to hear.
Turning around, she became still for a moment and looked around. It took her a bit of time before she could remember which way she had come from. The forest was indeed a labyrinth of deep wilderness to the foreigner's eye.
"This is the way, I believe," Naoko concluded, walking in the opposite direction and somewhat hoping that Shinji should call again so then she could follow his voice. "It seems I have strayed off a little to far." She scolded herself.
Seconds later, as she attempted to navigate through the woodland, she did indeed hear a sound. But it was not that of Shinji, nor anything resembling human. A low maleficent sound that could only come from a creature was heard steady and clear, and yet quite low and surprisingly subtle, and Naoko recognized it as heavy breathing.
"I hear someone beyond those bushes, and yet no human can breath so deep and loud." Her thoughts trailed on. "With such heavy breathing one wonders what sort of creature lays not too far off. The others are too distant to hear it. I must get back to them before this animal realizes I am here. That is to hope it does not already sense my presence and only watches me, waiting for the opportune moment."
Naoko began to scare herself with such thoughts and now searched franticly with her eyes for a familiar looking trial.
"Past those tree's, it has to be." She thought at once and walked hastily past them.
But then the low breathing she heard from the bushes behind came to a sudden halt, and she stopped and looked over her shoulder in wonder.
Seconds later, Naoko's reflexes were just fast enough that she was able to jump out of the way as a five hundred pound mass of beast came pouncing wildly from the bushes. Naoko tumbled to the side and looked up in horror at the magnificently gigantic creature. The creature in turn opened its mouth and let out a roar that scared all the birds out of the trees. It was now Naoko's time to scream as she tried to slowly get back up, and back away. The animal advanced towards her, leisurely lifting one paw at a time.
"Princess!" Shinji called in the distance.
"Naoko! Where are you!" Mikitao's voice followed a second later.
"Hold on, we're coming!" Ryo shouted through the forest.
They spilt up and began anxiously searching through the woods for her.
The beast looked up and sniffed the air. Lower it's head back at her, Naoko could read the expression in the creature's eyes. It wasn't going to waste anytime in battle with armed man, no it was going to eat and run. The animal bent back on its hind legs and sprung in the air right at Naoko. The Princess tired to jump out of the way again but this time stumbled over a tree root sticking out of the dirt and fell back onto the ground. Her eyes closed automatically in fright because she knew she was about to get eaten.
Only a moment later, she looked up realizing her hadn't been eaten yet. What she saw was a bandit, Ryo to be exact, on top of the beast, and riding it like a man would try and ride a bull. Only, like a bull, this beast was trying to buck him off. Ryo, who looked like he was having more fun then battling, hung on and then when he finally figured it was time to move on, took his sword out of his scabbard to slay the creature. The animal toppled over to its side seconds later and Ryo got off. Wiping his sword clean on the grass of the ground, he put it back to his side and walked over to the Princess.
"Are you alright?" He asked, offering his hand.
Naoko took it and he helped her up from the ground, but she didn't speak a word.
"Princess? What's the matter?" He asked as she just stared at him with an empty expression.
Seconds later, her body began to shake and her expression turned frightened.
"Naoko, are you alright?" He repeated. "Be still, the beast's dead."
But Naoko was in total shock and she still didn't speak.
"I understand that was a little terrifying for you, but it's over, clam down." He assured.
"Ryo?" Shinji called from a distance.
"It's okay, I found her. We're over here, if you can follow my voice." Ryo called back.
"Princess, you're a strong one, remember? Don't forget you hate being weak in front of a horrible bandit like me, so go ahead and prove you're strong. Desist being so morbid." Ryo grabbed her by the shoulders and stilled her trembling body.
Naoko sniffed and a couple tears formed in her eyes. She looked away in despair.
"Naoko, don't do this. Be tough, don't cry because over some creature." Ryo wiped a tear that came down her cheek while he said so.
"I'm sorry." Naoko finally said, gathering her composure, and turning away to dash away the rest of the tears in her eyes.
"Hey, what happened here?" Mikitao asked, as he and Shinji entered the scene. They were both looking down at the deceased animal sprawled on the ground.
"This animal tried to eat her." Ryo explained. "But it was just a baby, not even full grown. Not that smart, I was able to ride it without getting bucked. A new record, three minutes without being knocked off."
"Wow, that beats my best record." Shinji laughed. "Two minutes and a half, and the animal flung he towards a tree afterwards."
"I've been able to hold on over five minutes." Mikitao said proudly. "But then the creature got exhausted from carrying me and just keeled over."
"These man are mad!" Naoko thought for a second. "They ride horrendous beasts for fun."
"I could of held on longer, but the Princess looked terrified so I just ended it quickly." Ryo continued.
"And how are you Naoko?" Mikitao asked looking at her worriedly.
"She's a little jumpy, and in shock. You won't be getting much word out of her for a bit." Ryo informed in a careless tone. "But we have to get a move on, we won't be waiting for her to revive. It's her own fault for wondering off when we told her there were animals in this forest that would attack her. She should have listened to reason, and now she has to face the consequences. She's proven herself most weak today."
Ryo walked off and Shinji and Mikitao went to her side and helped her walk back.
"Don't mind him Princess, he mean's well." Mikitao assured.
"Yes, we'll walk back slowly, and you take all the time you need till you're ready to ride on."
"He's right." Naoko mumbled, moments later. "No, he's right. I am weak."
"No, never think that Naoko. You've led a sheltered life and are not accustom to such creatures as we are. It's most natural for you to be frightened by them. Being stunned afterwards is quite expected of you." Mikitao nodded.
"No, no, I am weak. I swore I'd never cry and lose face in front of any man." She sniffed.
"You are a lady, there is nothing wrong with it. Even as a man, I have wept before." Shinji confessed.
"As have I, when I heard my older brother died in that jail." Mikitao added.
"But that was the cause of beautiful passion or feeling. I have shamefully cried before fear."
"Think nothing more of it. No one thinks you any weaker then before. We indeed think you stronger then ever because you survived such a beast by yourself for so long, and did not go into hysterics." They smiled.
"Arigatou, but I am quite fine now. A moments anxiety is long gone and I am ready to continue."
- - -
End of ch.o8
A/N: So thinking back to when I wrote this story, I realized I was inspired by a show called "Eternal Happiness" which used to give on TVB, this Chinese channel we got here in Toronto. I'm not Chinese and I only know how to say a few of things in the language thanks to a couple of friends, but the funny thing is I watched the show and I understood what was happening anyway. And it was a great show too.
like I'd tell you , yes, the truth is out but she won't believe it. As for my cousin, yeah the search doesn't work for her, but I know she posted chapter three to her story yesterday, so it's should show up on the first page for Fairy Tales section.
Necia, hahaha, yes Shinji couldn't take it any longer and had to spill the beans. Too bad she won't listen. I told my cousin you liked her story and she says "thank you very much!".
Gina, hey, thanks for reviewing, I think you'll find the outcome to your liking…or maybe not, it all depends really. Mwhahahaha.
ObessedReader, I'm glad you do, I hope that never changes.
-rayko.