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CHAPTER EIGHT
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The three travelers stopped above a field of sunflowers before an old windmill. The field stretched out below them for a few miles and beyond it lay Lord Darien's fortress city, A-kon. Goku felt his heart clench a bit as he looked upon it.
"There it is princess.. Your future awaits you," He said softly.
Rei was suddenly unsure of whether she really wanted to go there or not. "That's A-kon?" She breathed
Artemis poked his head up in-between Rei and Goku.
"Yeah I know... You know, Goku thinks Lord Darien is compensating for something, which I think means he has some really small-- ah!" He yelped as Goku kicked him hard in the rear, knocking him to the ground. "Ow," He groaned.
Rei was a little confused, but she smiled as Goku looked over at her.
"I uh, I guess we better move on," He mumbled to the princess.
Rei bit her lip as she watched Goku start to walk away. "Sure, but, um, I'm worried about Artemis!" She suddenly yelled.
Goku turned back in confusion. "What?" He asked.
Rei thought fast. "I mean, look at him! He doesn't look so good," She gave Goku a sly smile as the saiya-jin walked back.
Artemis snorted. "What are you talking about? I'm fine," He huffed.
Rei grabbed the dense feline by the chin and looked into his eyes. "Well.. that's what they always say, and then, then the next thing you know, you're on your back," She said.
Artemis raised an eyebrow at her. Goku stifled a snicker at that; he knew what the princess was thinking.
Rei narrowed her eyes at the cat. "Dead," She said flatly.
Goku decided to have a little fun with this as well, and knelt down next to Artemis. "You know, she's right. You look awful. Do you want to sit down?" He asked in mock concern.
Rei gave the now wide-eyed cat a small smile. "Oh, you know, I'll make you some tea," She patted Artemis's shoulder as she stood up.
Artemis sniffled. "Well, I didn't want to say nothing, but I got this twinge in my neck, and when I turn my head like this, look--" He whimpered out at them while turning his head at an odd angle until it made a sickening crack. "Ow! See?" He said with a sniffle.
Goku smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Well then, who's hungry?" He questioned. "I'll find us some dinner." He turned and headed off as Rei went the other way.
"And I'll get some firewood!" She called as she went.
Artemis watched them walk away from him. "Hey where you going?" He yelled in a panicked voice. "Oh man, I can't feel my fingers," He whimpered while glancing below him to see nothing but his white paws. "I don't have any fingers!" He shrieked.
He slumped to the ground with a sad sob. "I think I need a hug," He sniffled.
Rei and Goku sat before a warm fire, eating the catch that the saiya-jin had been roasting as the sun slowly began to set behind them.
"Mmm, this is good... this is really good. What is this?" Rei asked in-between bites.
Goku smiled as he pulled his dinner off of the spit over the fire and sat down beside the princess.
"Weed Rat, rotisserie style," He replied.
Rei raised her eyebrows. "No kidding. Well, this is delicious," She took another bite.
Goku swallowed his mouthful before speaking. "Well, they're also great in stews. Now, I don't mean to brag, but I make a mean weed rat stew," He and Rei chuckled.
The princess glanced at the castle and let out a soft sigh. "I guess I'll be dinning a little differently tomorrow night," She whispered.
Goku looked down at his meal. "Maybe... you can come visit me in the swamp sometime. I'll cook all kinds of things for you; swamp frog soup, fish eye tar-tar, you name it," He said with a grin.
Rei smiled warmly at him. "I'd like that," She nodded.
Goku gazed into the princess's dark eyes. "Um, princess?" He asked in a hushed voice.
"Yes, Goku?" Rei returned in the same tone.
"I um, I was wondering...." Goku felt his heart beating faster as he gazed into Rei's eyes. "Are you, uh.....are you gonna eat that?" He faltered, and pointed weakly down at her remaining food.
Rei continued to smile as she removed the rest of the rat from her stick and handed it over, unaware that Goku was scowling at himself for his fear. Goku put his hand over Rei's as he started to take the rat. Then somehow, the two of them got closer and closer, till their lips were less than an inch apart; and then a head of white fur popped up next to them, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Man isn't this romantic? Just look at that sunset!" he said dreamily, spoiling the moment completely.
Rei's eyes widened. "Sunset! Oh no! I, uh, it's late, it's very late...," She stuttered as she backed away from them.
Goku blinked. "What?" He asked.
Artemis grinned slyly at the princess. "Wait a minute, I see what's going on here... you're afraid of the dark, aren't you?" He asked, totally off.
Rei smiled in relief. "Uh, yes, yes that's it. That's---I'm terrified. I, you know I better go inside," She said quickly as she headed for the old windmill.
Artemis called out to her. "Well, don't feel bad princess, I used to be afraid of the dark too, until... hey, no, wait, I'm still afraid of the dark!" he cried out, beginning to panic again.
Goku sighed. Rei smiled at them as she closed the door. "Goodnight," She called.
Goku shared a last, lingering look with the princess while he mumbled out. "Goodnight."
Artemis glanced between them before Rei closed the door. "Oh, now I see what's really going on here," He grinned devilishly at Goku.
The taller saiya-jin snorted. "Oh, what're ya talking about?" He poked a stick into the fire while Artemis smirked.
"Oh, I don't even want to hear it. Look, I'm a cat, I got instincts, and I know you two was digging on each other. I can feel it!" He snickered.
Goku huffed indignantly. "Oh, you're crazy. I'm just taking her back to Darien!" He said in his defense.
Artemis shook his head. "Oh, come on, Goku, wake up and smell the pheromones! Just go in there and tell her how you feel," He encouraged.
Goku glared at him. "There's nothing to tell. Besides even if I did tell her that I do---and I'm not saying I do, 'cause I don't---she's a princess and I'm--" He trailed off as he stared at the door.
"A saiya-jin?" Artemis finished.
Goku sighed. "Yeah, a saiya-jin." He threw his stick into the fire and stood up, walking towards the forest.
Artemis stared at him. "Hey where are you going?" He called out.
Goku trudged onward. "To get more firewood!" He yelled back.
Artemis glanced over at the large pile of wood that Rei had all ready gathered. He sighed as Goku walked down the hill and sat down to think.
While Goku was thinking, Artemis decided to take matters into his own hands and went inside the windmill.
"Princess... princess Rei? Princess, where are you?" He said in a hushed voice as he crept through the old, spider- infested windmill. "Princess... ah! It's very spooky in here, I ain't playing no games," He called out after stepping into a large web.
He glanced around the dark room while the princess slowly climbed up a ladder and tried to creep along the second floor without notice. But she took a misstep on an old plank, and fell straight through the floor, throwing up dust and shadowing her features as he stood up. Artemis paled as he looked at the shadow.
"Ah! Help! Goku!" He screamed. The figure ran toward him.
"No! No, no, shh!" It hissed.
"Goku!" Artemis yelled. A saiya-jin reached out for him. It had wild hair dark as ebony that trailed just below her rear at the bottom. Her eyes were very much like Goku's, and she had red fur on the majority of her body. Artemis suddenly realized that he was looking at another level four super saiya- jin.
"No, it's ok, Artemis, it's ok." The saiya-jin said in a whisper.
Artemis glared at her. "What did you do with the princess?" he demanded.
The saiya-jin shushed him again. "I'm the princess, Artemis. It's me, in this body," She said calmly.
Artemis's eyes widened as he heard the voice of the princess come out of the saiya-jin's mouth. "Ah! Oh my god! You ate the princess!" He cried. He leaned his head down and yelled at the saiya-jin's stomach. "Can you hear me?" He said desperately.
The saiya-jin, which was indeed Rei, glared at him. "Artemis!" She growled.
Artemis ignored her though and kept yelling. "Listen! Keep breathing! I'll get you out of there! Goku! Goku!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.
Rei grabbed the cat's head and covered his mouth. "Shh! This is me! Ok?" She smiled as she looked into his eyes.
Artemis paled. "Princess? What happened to you? You're uh, duh, different," He said in bewilderment.
Rei sighed. "I'm ugly, ok?" She sniffled as she turned away in shame.
Artemis blinked. "Well... yeah, but was it something you ate? 'Cause I told Goku those rats was a bad idea. You are what you eat, I said, and…" He was stopped by Rei's groan.
"No. I've been this way as long as I can remember," She sighed again.
Artemis gave her an odd look. "What do you mean? Look, I ain't never seen you like this before," He exclaimed.
Rei glared into room. "It only happens when the sun goes down."
She turned her gaze to a barrel of water and looked at her reflection. "By night one way, by day another, this shall be the norm. Until you find true love's first kiss, then take love's true from." She recited softly.
Artemis smiled. "Aw, that's beautiful, I didn't know you wrote poetry," He blinked as the princess snapped at him.
"It's a spell! When I was a little girl, a witch cast a spell on me. Every night I become-- this! This horrible, ugly beast!" She growled, and slapped the reflection of herself in the water, splashing it on the floor "I was placed in a tower to await the day my true love would rescue me. That's why I have to marry Lord Darien tomorrow, before the sun sets, and he sees me... like this." She sniffled as she sat down on the mill and tried to hold back a tear.
Artemis hopped up next to her. "All right, all right, calm down... Look, it's not that bad, you not that ugly-- well, well you are, I ain't gonna lie, you are ugly, but you only look like this at night. Goku is ugly twenty-four-seven," He said in an attempt to ease Rei's grief.
The saiya-jin looked up at him and sobbed again. "But, Artemis, I'm a princess, and this is not how a princess is meant to look!" She wailed.
Artemis licked his lips. "Princess, how about if you don't marry Darien?" He asked.
Rei shook her head. "I have to. Only my true loves kiss can break the spell," She said resolutely.
Artemis watched her from the corner of his eyes as he spoke. "But, you know, uh, you're kind of a level four super saiya-jin, and Goku---well, you've got a lot in common," He hinted.
Rei blinked. "Goku?"
At that moment, Goku was walking towards the windmill with a sunflower in his hand.
"Princess, I, uh--- how's it going, first of all. Good? Uh, good for me too, I'm ok. I saw this flower, and thought of you because....it's pretty. Well, I don't really like it, but I thought you might like it, 'cause, you're pretty; but I like you anyway! I, uh, ah....... I'm in trouble," He mumbled as he gave up on his rehearsed conversation.
He walked up the steps of the windmill, bracing himself. "Ok, here we go." He was about to knock on the door when he heard voices inside.
"You don't get it Artemis. I mean really, who could ever love a beast so hideous and ugly?" She explained sadly, talking about herself. "Princesses and ugly don't go together. That's why I can't stay here with Goku... My only chance to live happily ever after is to marry my true love. Don't you see, Artemis, that's just how it has to be."
Rei's words cut Goku's heart into pieces. He dropped the flower and stomped back down the stairs in a pained rage.
Back inside the windmill, Rei looked down at her hands. "It's the only way to break the spell," She sighed.
Artemis shook his head. "Well, you at least gotta tell Goku the truth," He said.
Rei nearly made him yelp as she jumped at him. "Artemis, no! You can't breathe a word, no one must ever know!" She cried.
Artemis frowned at her. "What's the point of being able to talk if you gotta keep secrets?" He stated.
Rei gave him a nervous look. "Promise you won't tell. Promise!" She pushed.
Artemis sighed. "All right, all right, I won't tell him, but you should!" He shook his head as he stepped outside and stomped down the stairs. "I just know before this is over I'm gonna need a whole lot of serious therapy. Just look at my eye twitching!" He muttered to himself while forcing the muscles in his left eye to wiggle and convulse.
Rei leaned out to watch him go, and looked down to see a pretty flower on the doorstep. She picked it up and smiled at it, then looked around to see who might have put it there, inwardly wishing it was Goku.
When she saw no one around, she went back inside and shut the door tightly.