Sorry for the delay...I hope the chapter length is enough to compensate! ...Huh...that didnt quite come out right...
CHAPTER 11 - Setbacks
Danny heaved a sigh of relief when Fright held up a hand to indicate today's training session was over. Yeah, he had gotten much better with a sword, and he had a much higher endurance level, but Fright was still levels above him, and from the hour-and-a-half hour increments spent training, Fright was a slave driver.
He slung the sword over his shoulder and made his way over to the space in the back courtyard that served as a makeshift locker room, and put his sword in the scabbard. He couldnt help but think with a slight smile about how he was able to go for a full hour and a half without collapsing with exhaustion. Fright had commented on it, sounding snide, but Danny could tell the former Knight was impressed with his work ethic.
It had taken almost three months of hard work to reach where he was now, and he knew it would take years to work his way up to Fright's level.
As Danny headed inside for a bath, he reflected on the past few months; other than training with Fright and exploring the castle and its grounds, he hadnt done very much else. Pariah Dark rarely spoke to him, even at shared dinners, but Danny did catch the Ghost King watching him from a turret window while he and Fright trained, or staring at him as they passed each other in the halls.
It was quite frankly a little awkward, but Danny really didnt know what to say about it.
At least, to the Ghost King's face.
He voiced his observations to Dora, who really didnt know what to tell him.
"I cannot say I know what goes through Our King's mind," she told him as she selected out more clothing for him to wear. "Perhaps he is simply giving you space. He knows how...difficult this situation must be for you." She turned her head as Danny dressed himself. "...Perhaps...he believes he is giving you a kindness in keeping his distance."
"Right," Danny replied, quickly pulling on the underclothing and tugging on his tunic (black, of course). "It's just...creepy, the way he just stares at me without talking to me all the time...like he's planning something."
"Is that necessarily a bad thing?" Dora asked, handing Danny a belt. Danny quickly buckled it and sat down to tug on his boots.
"When it comes to Pariah? Totally," he replied. "I dont know if he's planning something bad, or good. It's a little..." He trailed off, shrugging.
"...Unsettling?" Dora offered.
"Yeah, that." He stood up and pulled his gloves on. "...It's almost dinnertime, isnt it?"
"Correct, Sir Danny," Dora said, brushing a little bit of lint off of his clothes. "...If you...want my advice, Sir Danny," she said hesitantly, looking at him. He nodded. "...Talk to him. Just...talk to him."
"About what?"
"Anything. Just talk." She turned him around and nudged him for the door. "Now. Smarten up and go enjoy your dinner."
"...Thanks, Dora," Danny muttered, walking out of his wing and downstairs to the dining hall. "...Mother hen..."
"I heard that!"
Danny blushed and walked faster away from the sound of Dora laughing.
He walked into the dining hall and noted that Pariah Dark was already there and sitting down. Danny quietly went to his side of the table and sat down, trying hard not to fidget from the palpable awkwardness that enveloped the room. It was getting to the point where he was beginning to dread dinners with Pariah Dark; they rarely spoke, and even more awkward, he would catch Pariah Dark STARING at him. Just STARING, and not saying ANYTHING.
More than once, Danny wanted to toss his plate into the air and demand what the hell Pariah Dark wanted, if he was staring like that. Luckily for him, he had a better sense of self-preservation than most gave him credit for. Instead, he took the more polite, but still direct, approach.
"...Yes?" he asked, making eye contact with the Ghost King. Pariah Dark blinked, then looked down at his own place setting and continued eating.
After a few silent minutes, he spoke. "You will accompany me in the courtyard after the meal," he said, a tone of finality in his voice. Danny sighed, annoyed at Pariah Dark's authoritative tone, but he nodded, not wanting to start anything he wasnt keen on finishing.
"...Fine."
After the meal was eaten and the dishes were cleared, Danny followed the Ghost King into the courtyard.
Unlike other areas of the Ghost Zone, Pariah Dark's domain seemed to actually possess a sense of day and night; the usual Ghost Zone atmosphere was evident, but at nighttime, a dark haze covered the atmosphere above, and ethereal stars covered the sky. There was even a moon, though it shone with a vibrant green glow, and it came and went in phases, like the moon back in the human world.
Tonight, it was completely full, casting a bright, vibrant glow across the courtyard, illuminating the spectral flowers even more than usual. Danny would have found it romantic, if he didnt find the very thought disturbing to begin with. Still, he leaned against the railing of the stairs that led to the courtyard, and glanced at Pariah Dark. "...So...we're here," he initiated lamely. He poked at a vine of spectral ivy on the railing, making it writhe slightly around his finger before going back to its resting place.
On the other railing where he had decreased to his 6" 6 height and was standing stiffly, Pariah Dark nodded, looking out across his courtyard. "That we are," he replied, folding his hands behind his back. Awkward silence ensued, broken only by the small, delicate sounds of ghostly night birds that loitered around the courtyard.
Danny traced small patterns on his railing, thinking of something to say. "...It's December," he commented. "...I was hoping to see my family this month...before the portals are closed." He dared another glance at the Ghost King.
Pariah Dark glanced back, his face void of emotion, but most certainly not hostile. "I told you that you may pick the time of your visit, and I meant it," he replied. "If you wish to see your family this month, you may. Have you chosen the seven days?"
"Yeah," Danny said, relaxing a bit against his railing. "I was thinking the week counting up to Christmas...then you can make the announcement to the Ghost Zone, when all the ghosts are here, and under truce for peace." He smiled to himself slightly. "...Maybe turn it into a big engagement-slash-Christmas party..."
He was surprised to hear Pariah Dark make a contemplative sound. "Perhaps," the Ghost King replied. "...It would certainly make things all the more easier for the transition."
"...You mean, get the ghosts to trust you," Danny said pointedly. Pariah Dark shot Danny an annoyed look, but didnt correct Danny's insinuation, telling Danny that he'd just won a small private tally on the DANNY VS PARIAH DARK PWNAGE board. He kept his little victory to himself and continued. "...Any chance I can make a guest list?"
"...It is not only my engagement, Phantom," Pariah Dark replied. Danny took that as a 'yes'. "How many?"
Danny shrugged. "A good few," he replied after a moment's thought. "I have a lot of friends, allies...and acquaintances that would benefit from coming."
"How so?"
Danny sighed. "Not to get them in trouble, or you all fired up...a lot of my friends and enemies are powerful. I mean, REALLy powerful. If you were to...I dunno, make some peace with them that extended beyond Christmas...then maybe you could all work TOGETHER, instead of fighting." He shrugged to himself again and ran a hand through his hair, which was currently just below shoulder-length. "...I'm tired of having enemies, Pariah...I'd like to shoot for some peace with all the ghosts for once..."
"...Did you just refer to me by my given name?"
...Out of all the things for Pariah Dark to get from what Danny just said, that was NOT what Danny'd expected. "...Um...yeah?" he replied, confused. "It's your name. Why shouldnt I use it?"
Pariah Dark just stared at Danny incredulously for a long time, until Danny got uncomfortable and looked back out over the courtyard. "...Nevermind," Danny said, poking at the ivy again. "...Was there anything you...actually wanted to talk about?" Silence. Awkward silence that Danny never liked. He sighed and turned to face the Ghost King. "I said - !"
He was cut off - with a shock like none he'd ever felt before - when Pariah Dark KISSED HIM.
It took a few seconds for Danny to register exactly what the FUCK Pariah Dark was doing, but once he got a grip on the situation, he let out a very unmanly 'MEEP' and shoved the Ghost King away. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" he shouted, feeling his blood pressure skyrocket as he backed away from Pariah Dark, only find the railing inhibiting his getaway. "WHAT DID - WHAT WAS - !"
Pariah Dark scowled, annoyed. "I am sure that you are not so simple-minded to not recognize a kiss," he replied, an edge to his voice.
Danny only hyperventilated in response, looking around wildly for a way to escape. "I KNEW WHAT IT WAS!" he shrieked. "I WAS WONDERING WHY YOU DID IT!"
Pariah Dark blinked. "...We are betrothed," he said slowly, as though speaking to a child. "As far as I can remember, it is something betrothed do."
"But...but...!" More hyperventilating; this was getting out of hand, Pariah Dark decided. He held Danny's arms firmly in his hands, jostling him a little.
"Stop that infernal racket!" he commanded. "I only kissed you! That CANNOT be your first kiss!"
"It WASNT, but - !"
"Then WHY are you panicking?" Pariah Dark demanded. "It was ONLY a kiss! This ISNT the consummation of our marriage!"
"...Our WHAT?"
Oh for - ! The boy could NOT be THIS dense! "Our consummation! When we consummate our marriage!"
"You mean SEX!"
"YES!"
Pariah Dark could have said he was raising Satan to slaughter unborn children, and Danny couldnt have panicked more. "OH FUCK NO!" Danny screamed, shoving Pariah Dark away, actually throwing the Ghost King back to the other railing. He turned to run, but Pariah Dark growled and snatched Danny's arm tightly in an iron-tight hold. "LET GO!"
"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" Pariah Dark shouted, giving Danny one more chance before resorting to The King's Command. "What in the world did you expect?"
"NO! I WONT DO IT! I WONT - !"
"ENOUGH!"
The King's Command did it's work, and Danny's outbursts came to an abrupt, screeching halt. Danny coughed, his words feeling literally stuck fast in his throat, and all of the panic-induced adrenaline in his system vanishing. He managed a few feeble attempts to jerk away, to no avail.
"Listen to me," Pariah Dark growled, loosening his grip slightly.
"No," Danny managed to choke out, tears running down his face. "Let me go..."
"Not until you listen to m - ."
"Let GO!" Danny managed to wrench his arm away, and ran away from Pariah Dark in a blind haze, managing to collide head-on with a pillar and crumple to the stone floor, that last hit draining the rest of his energy and making his ghostly glow flicker before his form changed back to human.
Pariah Dark clenched his fists and swore under his breath on one long string of curses in various languages as he walked up to Danny and picked the sobbing heap up.
"...let...m' go...!" Danny choked out between sobs. Pariah Dark ignored him and walked up to Danny's rooms, depositing the boy on his bed. Danny immediately drew away from Pariah Dark, looking like a frightened animal. Pariah Dark stared at Danny for a moment before withdrawing from the room, stalking toward his own wing.
What in the WORLD was the boy so...panicked about? All he had done was KISS him! And then all Tartarus broke loose at the mention of consummating the marriage. ...Well, THAT Pariah Dark could sort of understand, but the way Phantom had reacted was just plain ridiculous!
He sat down in his chair and stared at the fire, clenching and unclenching his hands to prevent himself from misusing them. It took him a full hour to calm down completely enough to replay the time in the courtyard in his mind.
...Things had gone fine, until he kissed Phantom. Why...WHY had he done that? It was...a bit out of character, granted, but it was still no reason for the full-blown panic attack Phantom threw. He knew that wasnt the boy's first kiss, so he wondered what the problem was. Was it him? He didnt like to think it was. After all, he'd been giving his fiance his own space, and he hadnt pushed him into anything. He'd watched his temper, given Phantom full reign of the castle, and even allowed the boy the use of his given name.
He absently wondered if THAT had been why he kissed Phantom. No one had called him by his given name in...well. He didnt like to think about it, but STILL.
But that kiss had set Pariah Dark back three precious months of peace and comfort between him and Phantom. And he didnt think it was going to be easy getting that peace and comfort back.