A/N: Hey everyone! :D This update came sooner than expected... well, that's because I was gone last week and had nothing much to do, so I decided to write the next chapter of my fanfics. I finished this one, and chapter four of Fugitives of Royal Blood, but I've only got like... half a page (something like that) of chapter two of Pain and Protection. But I don't think you really care, now do you?

Well, I'd like to thank Arbella Scott, Black Lotus Flower and Lanayru for their review on the last chapter.

Ages: Lucia-13, Geoffrey-12, Elincia11 (If you have quesiton on the age diferences, I wrote a whole explination in my a/n of chapter two)

Now, on with the next chapter!

Chapter Six: The Death of Count Delbray (part one)

"Lucia, Geoffrey!" called the king. He waited a moment, and seeing that he got no response, he turned to one of his servants for help. "Alana," he began, "have you seen Geoffrey and Lucia?"

She stood there before the king, just thinking of the last time she had seen the two. "If I am not mistaken, the last I saw them, they were out training again."

"Again? Haven't the done enough today?" he asked aloud, though to himself. "Anyhow, could you call them here for me? Please tell them it is very important."

"Yes, of course Your Majesty," she replied, bowing before the king as she took her leave.

The young maid exited the throne room and strolled along down the hallway until she had reached the courtyard in search of the two siblings. Finding them would not be a hassle for her, considering that they often spared on the same filed.

"Lucia, Geoffrey," she called from the sidelines.

The brother and sister simultaneously withdrew their weapons and took a few steps to where she stood.

"Yes?" asked Lucia.

"What is it?"

She smiled at the two as she began the speak. "I am sorry to interrupt, but King Ramon has called for you. He says it is very important."

The two looked at each other with wondering eyes, unsure of what the King would need of them. "I wonder what His Majesty wants with us..." they mumbled to themselves as the approached the throne room.

--

"You called for us?" said Lucia, she and Geoffrey both bowing before King Ramon.

"Yes," he replied, leaving pause to let them stand up straight. "I have something which you may want to see." The king motioned to the vassal who stood beside him, silently ordering him to pull out a rolled sheet of paper and place it into his hands.

"Yes?"

King Ramon took a moment to look at the two before rising from where he sat on his throne. He took a step towards them and held out the paper in his hands. "I think you cant find out for yourselves," he said, Geoffrey receiving it from him.

"This is..." he started, closely observing the scroll.

"...a letter from out father..." Lucia said, finishing his sentence for him.

The two stood in surprise at this sudden letter. Their father in Delbray was a very orderly man and never unexpectedly wrote unless it were urgent.

"When did you receive this?" Geoffrey finally asked.

"Just this morning, actually," he replied, looking once again looking at the servant who stood beside the throne, for assurance.

The young boy nodded his head and turned to his sister who took her turn to speak. "If you will excuse us, we will be taking our leave." The two bowed before the king one last time before excusing themselves; from there, they returned to the courtyard where they sat and read their letter.

To my honorable son Geoffrey and my beloved daughter Lucia,

I am very glad to inform you that I will soon be coming for a visit. It has been far too long, and I miss you ever so much. It pains me to miss watching the two of you grow up, but sometimes we have to sacrifice certain things in order to fulfill our duties. If I had a choice, I would stay by your sides and serve the King with you in Melior, but I cannot, for my blood lies here in Delbray.

I wish to ask you two to please continued to loyally serve and protect the king, queen and princess in my place as I continued to serve as Count Delbray. And please, Lucia look out for Geoffrey, and Geoffrey look out for Lucia; while I am not with you, I want you to protect each other when I cannot.

I am sure you two are training hard; and I am certain Lord Renning is teaching you well. Continue to train, and strive to fight alongside the Royal Knights.

I have so much more to say, however I am limited on what I can, so I will tell you in person when I see you. I am greatly looking forward to seeing you two very soon.

Love, Father.

The two looked up from the words which were written on the parchment and turned to the other. The serious look that was written on their faces slowly softened into a smile, but then turned into a large grin, reaching ear to ear.

"Father is coming for a visit!" they exclaimed to each other.

"Hello Lucia, hello Geoffrey," Elincia greeted as she walked towards the two. "You two look happy. What happened? Did you defeat my uncle in another sparing match?"

"Elincia," Lucia began, barely able to contain her happiness. "Our father is coming to visit!"

"Yes he is. He's coming all the way from Delbray!" Geoffrey added.

"That's great!"

"Isn't it?" they replied,both of them grabbing her by the arm and running into the castle.

--

Lucia and Geoffrey impatiently paced back and forth about the castle as they waited for their father to arrive. They both showed signs of anxiety and excite, as Lucia was fiddling with the hilt of her sword and Geoffrey just couldn't stand still for even a second.

"Do you think father has arrived?" Geoffrey asked for the umpteenth time.

"How many time must I tell you? If he had arrived, then King Ramon would have called for us," she told him, with an annoyed tone; but she couldn't blame him, for she too was getting restless.

"Yes... I know that, but when will he call us?"

As if by magic, as the two were wandering around Castle Crimea, the two happened to bump into Alana, the very one who was delivering a call from the king.

"Oh, Geoffrey, Lucia. It's a good thing I found you two here," she said. "I looked everywhere, from top to bottom of the palace, and yet you were no where to be found. Anyways, King Ramon wants you. He is in the courtyard right now," she informed them.

"Oh, really?" Geoffrey asked. He turned to his sister with raised eyebrows and a smile on his face. She returned his look with a cunning grin and a nod, before leading the way down to the courtyard.

"Thanks Alana!" she called as she and her brother disappeared down the hallway.

--

"King Ramon!"

As they called for him, he turned around to face them, his sober expression freezing their content smiles. The brother and sister looked at each other with looks that now expressed concern.

"What has happened, You Majesty? Are you alright? What-"

"Where is our father!?' Geoffrey demanded, cutting Lucia off and going straight to the point. The young girl looked at him, his head held up high and a serious look plastered on his face, making it the smile that he had only moments ago seem like it was all an illusion. Geoffrey would not avert his glance from the king who would not look back; he stood there in the silence, waiting for the king to respond.

"...Geoffrey... Lucia..." he finally said. He gave each a look in the eye and took a long deep breath before continuing. "Your father... He has... He has been murdered... A soldier went out to make a delivery and found his body, just outside of Melior..."

The two were stunned silent. Geoffrey grit his teeth as a fist started to form at his side, while Lucia had fallen to her knees.

"I am sorry something like this had to happen. Especially on a day like this," he said, turning away from the two.

"N-no. Don't' blame yourself for something that isn't you fault. Things like this just...just..just happen," Lucia said, her look completely focused on the ground as she tried hard to hold back the oncoming tears.

"Yes...this is not your fault. It was just... a horrible, horrible coincidence," her brother added.

"Oh..." he said from an awkward position. "Well, I will excuse myself here, then," said King Ramon as he walked off and returned to the palace throne room.

Rain began to fall upon them as the king had left the scene. It had been bright and sunny earlier that day, when things were happy, and they could smile; but now that their father was gone, no smile passed their face, only tears. And as the rain poured down on the two, it seemed as if the sky were mourning with them.

"Blast it! Blast you Ashera!!" the boy yelled out to the heavens, furiously throwing his fist at the tree beside him. Tears of pain fell from his eyes; pain not from his bleeding knuckles, but from the devastating news.

"Geoffrey..." Lucia whimpered through her tears, still crouched down on the ground.

"Lucia," he began, ignoring the tears streaming down his face, and the lump in his throat as he spoke. "Father...he would expect us to stay strong...wouldn't he...?"

"Yes...he would..." she sobbed. "But that is just too high of an expectation..."

-To be continued...

A/N: Yeah... not much Elincia. But I had to somehow find a way to fit her in there. So, sorry about that. And I split the chapter up a lot... heh heh...Well, I decided to split this story into parts, just becuase I feel like it. As always, reviews are appreciated (a lot!). So...

Next time: With their father no longer with them, Lucia and Geoffrey go to the extremes. Training on endless hours without rest, missing out on meals, and even blaming the princess? Chapter Seven: The Death of Count Delbray (part two)

By the way, I'm on fictionpres. I've decided to get an account, just cause a lot of other people are, and because I've wanted to get one for a while now, but I've never really did, so yeah. You can check out my profile if you want to know more (well, there's not much more). It's that little paragrah after I say hello (or it might be the one after... well, you can go see for yourself).