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When I awoke it was warm and comfortable, nothing like it was out in the wind and icy ground. I began to wonder where I was, and I shifted in half-

consciousness to try and understand my surroundings better before I would have to open up my eyes.

There was no light that would have stained the backs of my eyelids red, so it was probably night. The comfort I felt was surrounding me even now, so I must've been in bed, nestled under the covers and almost buried in the pillows. I shifted again, but this time to find a more relaxed position to fall bck asleep in. It was warm… warm like those hands that had held mine before. How much time had passed? An hour? Two minutes? I would have to ask him…

"Oi, Mage! Don't go falling back asleep, I know you're awake."

My eyes popped open, staring into red ones not four inches away. I jumped away with a strangled sound deep in my throat—I was trying hard not to scream—but found moving immediately difficult while being cocooned in blankets. I fell back against the pillows about a foot from where I had been before.

Kurogane-san raised an eyebrow at this, but shrugged. He was lying on his stomach; his chin propped in his hand, and was looking quite relaxed. Not sleepy, just content. His eyes never wavered from me.

I tried to form a coherent question. "W-W-What a-are you…?"

The boy snorted once he understood. "That damned king of yours locked me in here while I was putting you in bed, and wouldn't let me out. Why'd you have to go and pass out like that? It was weird; you kept talking to the horses, and you looked pretty scared about it, too. And naming them…what was it…Ginryu and Chi?"

I licked my lips and sat up, looking around. "We're in my room?"

"Well, yeah," Kurogane-san sighed impatiently. "Your king led me straight here after you fainted. He didn't look the slightest bit surprised that you'd passed out, either. Seriously, mage, what is wrong with that guy?" His ruby eyes glinted with anger.

I ignored that last part. I didn't want to go through the same conversation as earlier in the day. "Anything else you want to ask? Besides my king, that is."

He scowled over at me, but his eyes took on a serious look. My attention sharpened. "What gave you the incentive to naming my horse Ginryu?"

"Incentive?" I gave him an odd look. "How do you know I named your horse that?"

"Ginryu is a male's name, obviously. And Chi is a girl's."

Fair enough.

I gave him a small helpless shrug. "I was on the urge to passing out, remember? I just named him what first came to my head."

Kurogane-san's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You named the horse after my family's prized sword."

"Did I?"

"Had you heard the name before, before you named the stallion?" his eyes got even more serious, and it was starting to tire me. I wanted him to stop. I wanted to go back to sleep.

I gave him a sleepy look. "No, Kurgs, I named him on a whim. Now can we stop talking about this? I'm tired."

He burst out laughing, but stopped talking at once. Confused but slightly relieved that the conversation had closed, I fell against the bed and burrowed my face into the pillows. Kurogane-san did the same on his side. Despite the fog sleepiness caused, I blushed lightly. He was in my bed. I tried my best to ignore this fact, but it was true.

"…Hey…"

"Mm?" I shifted and looked at Kurogane-san from the corner of my eye.

"When you were…" Kurogane-san cleared his throat, though I couldn't see whether it was an amused sound or a nervous one. "…talking to the horses, what did they say?"

"Not much, actually. Your stallion seemed surprised that you couldn't hear them also, and the mare said it was because you weren't a "child of magic". Then they went on and mentioned having something important to do, something that involved us and two others," I paused, "And something about having a moon?"

"A moon is another term for a month," Kurogane-san offered.

"…So they have a month at most to do something… I wonder what it is, exactly." I kept it to myself that it had to do with people precious to us. I didn't want to give any more information on my twin brother, or to bring up something awkward about his precious ones. I dropped my face back into the pillows.

"So two horses have something important to do, huh?"

I felt a shift in the bed beside me—Kurogane-san was rolling over on to his back. Consequently, this only brought him closer to me. I hid my blush in the pillows.

I heard him sigh. "Man… my mother was a priestess, and I'm still surprised over these magic things? I should have been used to this kind of thing by now." His voice took on a harsh tone.

"'Was'?" I wondered, my voice muffled by the pillows. Kurogane-san grunted to show that he'd heard. I was amazed by how well he was hearing me. Hearing wasn't an easy thing to do with cold wind blasting the side of the castle continuously, and to add on to it my face was stuffed against fluffy fabrics.

"My mother and father are dead," he whispered quietly, which I myself barely heard. I lifted my head to get a look at his face. It was agonizingly close again, with those ruby eyes of his boring holes in my face. His face was taut, but they softened slightly at my face. "Mage," he said.

"Hm? Is there something on my face?" I asked him, but didn't reach up to wipe at my cheeks. My eyes were locked on his, unmoving.

He leaned closer, his warm breath fanning my face. "What about you?"

"Mm?"

"Your name is Fai, right?"

"Of course. Why do you ask, Kuro?" It was getting hard to think. My mind was foggy, but I couldn't seem to care. I watched him curiously through half-lidded eyes.

He leaned even closer, his breath warming my ear. I shivered delicately.

"K…Kuro-san?"

"Who was that boy?" he whispered, and I was jolted back into reality. Of course he was asking about that! I squirmed away, sitting up.

Except that I couldn't move away or get upright. Kurogane-san had latched his arms around my torso, holding me in an unbreakable hold against his chest. I struggled against his arms, my cheeks heating at his closeness. His ruby eyes glared down at me.

"Don't make me do something I shouldn't," he growled, throwing me down on the pillows and towering over me. He sat on my legs, and held down my arms with his hands.

I growled at him. "Leave me alone Kurogane!"

Kurogane tsked. "So no nicknames this time, magician?"

"Let me go!"

I threw myself against him with as much power as I could muster without using magic and hurting him. He wasn't even jostled. The boy just shifted and held me down harder.

"Kurogane," I hissed.

His eyes narrowed. "Tell me what I want and I'll let you go!"

"NO!" I blasted him with magic, throwing him off me just enough for me to scramble away and leap off the bed. I ran to the door, trying to open it. He was right—it was locked. I rattled the doorknob with a colorful sting of curses. I heard Kurogane-san coughing behind me.

I spun around and backed up against the door defensively. I wasn't going to let him jump me again. He groaned and turned to face me, hunched down. Red dripped from his nose, spattering the blue and white blankets, and his eyes were full of anger.

"Mage," he said, venom leaking from that one word. I shrank back against the door, wishing it were open with the entirety of my soul. My eyes were wide, and I was sure my face was as white as bone.

I watched silently as he slowly rose from the bed, his hand holding his nose so the blood didn't drip too much, and stalked over to where I cowered. A whimper slid from my lips before I could help it. He stopped just a couple feet from me.

My arms rose to cover my face. I was sure he was going to punch me.

But, instead, he didn't move. He just stood there motionless with a hand covering his dripping nose, watching me with unmoving eyes. I couldn't tell what expression he wore.

"Kurgy?" I whispered, looking up at him through my eyelashes.

The boy sighed, and then spoke in a muffled voice; "Fai… if anything, I know what it feels like to lose someone I love. I lost my parents only a short while before I met you. So is that what happened to you? Was that boy your brother?"

Torn, I lowered my arms, staring down at the floor. "My twin," I answered helplessly.

Kurogane-san nodded like it made sense. "And you took his name?"

"I…" I swallowed. "I want t-to return it to him someday. I t-took it as a reminder."

He nodded again. "So… you want him back? I understand that. I want my parents back, too. But no one can bring the dead back to life, can they?"

"YES I CAN!" I screamed, holding my ears and trying to block out his voice. "I want him back! Nothing's going to stop me from getting Fai back! Not even you!"

Kurogane grabbed my face and forced me to look him in the eye. "If he's dead and you want him back you're only making him suffer!" he shouted, startling me. Tears flooded my eyes. "Let him go! Hanging on to the past will only make things worse for you and for him! Think about it! Would he—"

"SHUT UP!"

He covered my mouth with his hand, and I bit on it hard. I heard a small hiss from him, but otherwise I got no reaction. "Stop making him suffer!" he continued loudly. "Let him rest! Do you think he'd want you to focus on bringing him back, and therefore forget that you, yourself, have a life to live?! Do you think he's happy that you're miserable? Wake up, mage. You're only lying to yourself, just as I did when I thought I could avenge my parents by unleashing my anger on the beasts that had killed my father. Let him rest and live your own life! He's in a better place."

By the end of his little speech, Kurogane had gone from shouting to a calmer, but more serious tone. His hand uncovered my mouth, where little bite marks covered it from where I had attempted to get him off. I tasted something bitter on the tip of my tongue.

I stared up at him, cheeks stained with dried tears and eyes puffy and red from crying. He watched me try and collect my emotions silently, his form still towering over mine. I, slowly, slid down and sat on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest.

"Is it… really okay to let him rest?" I croaked, choking on sobs.

Kurogane-san kneeled down in front of me, watching my face calmly. "Always," he murmured, reaching forward and stroking my hair. His hand was warmer than ever, and those usually harsh ruby eyes were surprisingly soft and so, so unbearably close. I sobbed, letting my go of my knees just to grab the boy and pull him roughly into a hug. Kurogane's arms held me tightly, and I wanted them to never ever let me go.

I sniffled, holding him close enough to feel his heartbeat thump loudly against my chest. My tears stained into his wool shirt, but I didn't care. I just wanted him close. I wanted to feel his warmth.

The night passed without either of us budging an inch.

I ask of you—no, I beg of you… please, just take one minute of your life to write a review for me. Not much—just enough to keep me going. Sure, this story is just getting started, and it's getting good, but that doesn't mean anything if I have no incentive to write it. Every review counts…and it counts towards keeping me writing a story I love.

Remember—I don't need to be writing this. I write this because I want people to hear my story, to understand my views, and to enjoy it with me. I'm not going to write a story that no one reads or comments on.

Thank you for your continuous support.