A/N: Here it is! The second chapter! Enjoy, yo!

Disclaimer: Don't own Beauty and the Beast nor do I own D N Angel. I do own my name, though. O.o

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Ever Just As Sure As the Sun Will Rise

Stage 2

There shall be no doubt that Daisuke was shocked once Lord Hikari turned himself around to face the redhead. For such a silky voice, why did the lord have to be so... hideous? The boy began to back away once Lord Hikari limped his way over to him, Eventually, Daisuke found himself against a wall, unable to continue shrinking away from the lord.

"You aren't afraid of me, are you?" The lord said, his strange smile widening.

"N-no!" Daisuke squeaked like a mouse.

"Really?" Satoshi said, obviously not believing the younger man. He cupped the redhead's chin with a gnarled and knobby hand that should have belonged to someone of the age of, say 140. The boy whimpered in response. The lord seemed to lose his patience and he raised his other hand and backhanded Daisuke to the floor. The boy slumped over on the floor, too shocked and terrified to pull himself back up. Satoshi, meanwhile, had turned around again and started for the fire on the other side of the room.

"No matter what they say, they're always afraid... Always wanting to get away..." the lord said more to himself than to anyone. This cause the simpering Daisuke to stop his noise and look up at the saddened lord, a hand on his cheek that now sported a burning hot red mark from Satoshi's violence.

"Wh-who?" Daisuke piped up.

"Everybody!" Satoshi said, having reached a table. He shoved everything off of it violently and books clunked to the floor while sheets of loose paper fluttered like feathers down onto the royally embroidered rug on the floor. Daisuke winced as Satoshi turned over his should to look at the boy. His eyes were full of hate... and something else as well... Was it hurt?

"I... I'm sorry," Daisuke replied softly, his voice only a little high pitched and shaky.

"You shall stay here," Satoshi said, voice low and grumble-y, his hands on the table while he hunched over it.

"But, my gran-"

"You shall stay here!" Satoshi asserted, nearly yelling into the tabletop. Daisuke just whimpered. "Krad!" Satoshi snapped. Immediately the door creaked open and the blond haired servant walked 5 feet into the room.

"Yes, Master Hikari?" Krad asked, voice full of fake geniality.

"Take this boy to a guest's room," Satoshi said, voice cooling off. "He shall stay here for a while."

"As you wish, my lord," Krad said, yet again bowing to a Satoshi with his back turned. He stood straight and walked to Daisuke, pulled him up off of the floor, and half carried him out of the room. The boy was in such shock, and Krad didn't do anything to help. The mere presence of the servant was enough to put chills down your spine. That was very odd, because servants are usually marked on how good they are by their invisibility...

"So, Daisuke, is it?" Daisuke nodded. Krad had been listening through the door, then. "I warned you that getting out of here wouldn't be easy." Krad laughed. Daisuke shivered. "But I'm so happy we have a guest... The first one in twenty years..."

"Twenty? But you can't be past twenty yourself!" Daisuke exclaimed, accidentally giving a twisted complement.

"Ah! Yes, you don't know about the curse, then?"

"What curse?"

"The curse that reigns over Castle Eiree. The curse that has trapped me here and has given me immortality, only to waste it on that fool who calls himself 'Lord'," Krad said bitterly. "I have been at this castle for 120 years..." Krad trailed off, the look of memories replaying themselves upon his face. Daisuke thought it best not to interrupt... After all, he might lose a limb if he tried...

They tower in the east wing of the castle. His room was at the top of the tower- an extremely cold place. Daisuke swore he could feel the tower shift with the wind as they climbed up the stairs, and once they reached his room, the redhead's lips were tinted blue and he was shivering uncontrollably. Krad just snickered. He was perfectly fine, after all.

"This is your room. You shall stay here until sent for," Krad said, opening the door and leading the 16 year old into the room. He looked out the window to judge the time. "It is late for dinner, so I suppose you shall have to wait until morning to eat," Krad finished with a little snicker as a parting gift. He wheeled around and sauntered right out of the room, giving Daisuke a rather unpleasant look.

Daisuke stood there as the door slammed, still slightly stunned. 'What the hell happened today?' was his only thought. He staggered over to the bed in the north curve of the wall that was right next to the window. Daisuke didn't even have the strength to start up a fire in the fireplace at the south curve of the room, even though his window, though it had actual glass panes, was old, and the iron casings seemed to have shrunk a little, letting a little draft cool the room with aid from the small gaps in between the stones that made the circular wall.

Daisuke flung himself onto the bed, finding it quite soft indeed. There was no doubt that the Lord of this large castle had enough to afford actual down mattresses. Still, Daisuke was surprised to find soft linen and an even softer land than the scratchy sackcloth filled with hard, prickly straw that he was accustomed to for a bed.

The redhead burrowed under the down comforters, musing about their warmth and softness, and within a minute he fell asleep. His dreams were filled of a certain old man wandering the forest, shivering and sick, the fear of wolves and other creatures of the night evident on his face. Daisuke woke up jut before dawn, beads of sweat running down his neck and face, breathing heavily. How had he forgotten about his grandfather?

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The old man fell to the ground, shivering. He had reached an iron gate, but he hadn't seen it. Not yet. In fact, he had been unable to see clearly for the past hour. He had been fighting onward in search for his grandson, and that- only that- had made him able to reach this point. It was a good five hours from his hut on the edge of the village, and for an ill man nearing the end of his days, that was a considerable distance.

"I'm sorry Daisuke," the man said as he lost consciousness. His breath came slowly, making streams of mist float up into the air and dissipate into the fog that was rolling over from the castle.

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The sun rose and Daisuke was still in his bed, clutching the covers to him. Soon enough, there came a couple of knocks on the door before it creaked open to reveal a man with violet hair and eyes.

"Mornin' Sunshine," the man said, seeing Daisuke was awake. Violet Hair cracked a mischievous smile as he entered the room fully.

"Who are you?" Daisuke asked, having clambered to the head of the bed, unable to scoot back any further.

"Dark. I'm a 'servant' here at Castle Eiree. Though, most what I do is walk around bored out of my mind. Ever since the curse settled on the castle, not more'n 20 people have visited! All of them dead or frightened away. And the castle? All but forgotten," Dark said, smiling ironically.

"What is this curse?" Daisuke said, rather exasperated. After all, he had been wondering about it ever since Krad had said something about it.

"You don't know? I thought maybe someone had told you!" Dark exclaimed, somewhat shocked. "Well, have you met Hikari?" Dark asked. Daisuke nodded. "Okay, well then you've probably seen his temper. Albeit most of that has come from the curse, but before the curse, he was something as well. Always cold. Never welcoming. It was a pity, 'cause 120 years ago, a sorceress decided to camp here for the night, but Hikari turned her away. All she had to give was a rose, after all. He had a bunch of rose bushes anyways. Why would he want a single rose that was probably from his bushes? This was before he knew she was a sorceress, by the way. Anyways, she kind of snapped and told him she was staying. That rubbed Hikari the wrong way and he ordered his guards to take her away. They started to, but once they dragged her to the door, they stopped, paralyzed. She said something like 'How dare you treat a sorceress as myself like this? I shall curse you and all in your castle until you can show true kindness.' Some died instantaneously, and some, like Krad and I, were fated to longevity with nothing to do, and Hikari was cursed to become a monster so that it would be that much harder for him to be nice to anyone. Usually, no one would accept kindness from one so hideous. It has made him so much more bitter than before. He thinks that he can force his 'kindness' on people. Take you for example. He's forcing you to accept his 'hospitality' by trapping you up in this room," Dark finished, shaking his head. "But I didn't come to tell you about the curse. I came to tell you that breakfast should be ready and waiting. Better hurry, or it'll be cold." Daisuke nodded and got out of bed, confusion replacing alarm.

"Are those your clothes?" Dark asked, now that Daisuke's comforter was not covering everything up to his chin.

"Y-yeah..." Daisuke said, looking down at them. A brown tunic with brown pants... Nothing rich. It was what most from the village wore, after all. Fine clothes were for rich people.

"Yeah. You're going to have to change," Dark said, amusement in his voice.

"Why?"

"'Cause you're eating with the Lord himself."

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A/N: Yey! Second chapter up, and I'm really happy to see where it's going. Both directions, actually.

You see, I have a dilemma. I'm not sure whether or not to do something, and this something will determine the course of the story. Both are fine with me, I think... So I'm asking you- would you rather have Daisuke thrown into a depression and actually kind of want to stay at the castle? Or do you want him to rebel against Satoshi all the way? Well, not all the way, but you know what I mean.

Please review. It makes Chiisai Hito happy. -nod, nod-