And here's chapter ten! Thanks again for all the amazing reviews/follows/favs! I'm getting really excited for this next part of the story...
CHAPTER TEN
"What are you doing here?"
Leo looked up from grooming Saki's favorite horse. There was Raph, standing in the stable doorway.
"Grooming." Leo responded, "Did you come to ride? I can saddle your horse for you if you like."
"What? Uh, no." Raph said, stepping inside the stables, "I came ta be alone. There's not supposed ta be anyone in here right now."
"I can leave if you like." Leo offered.
"Nah, I'm good." Raph said, leaning against a stall door. There was a book in his hand. "So. Did Usagi leave already?"
"Early this morning," Leo answered, "Before the sun was up."
"Right." Raph said, "Well, I'm gonna read."
He held the book up and started opening it.
"There's better light outside," Leo said.
"I'd rather not." Raph said, "Mikey and Don will both see me."
"What's wrong with that?"
"You try getting stuck reading in the same room as those two." Raph said, "Mikey'd make fun of the book, and Donnie'd make it boring with charts and stuff."
"Is that the wrestling book from the library?" Leo asked.
"Yup." Raph said, "Now let me read, alright?"
"Of course, your majesty." Leo said, turning back to the horse.
The silence lasted only about ten seconds.
"Hey, wait a minute." Raph frowned, "This ain't about wrestling."
Leo looked at him curiously.
"Whoa, come see this!" Raph said, practically running towards Leo, "Here, look! But don't...don't read it outloud."
Leo put down his brush and took the book from Raph with concern.
Leonardo gave Donatello wood, nails and a hammer today, and the child built a miniature catapult.
"What?" Leo asked, accidentally kicking the horse's stall with his foot as he quickly stood up. He read some more:
I was unaware of this until after the children were asleep. I must have a talk with Leonardo in the morning.
Raphael has lately been attempting to teach Michelangelo how to walk. They played in the gardens today, and presented me with several worms as presents.
Leo turned to Raph.
"High Prince," he said, handing the book back to his Raph, "This is something that your brothers need to see."
"And April," Raph said, taking the book, "She's in on this too."
"Right." Leo said.
"Look, we need ta talk about this right away," Raph said, "Go get Ape from the village, and bring her to the guardhouse right away."
"As you command," Leo said, immediately rushing out of the stables.
Once everyone was assembled in the guardhouse, they went through the secret passage to the Banquet Hall and out into the corridors of the castle. Leo thought that Raph was leading them into his bedroom, but apparently Raph thought this was something that required the utmost secrecy. He led them to Mikey's room. There was no one guarding it, so they walked right on in and Mikey opened the secret passage underneath his bed. A couple minutes later, and they entered the Treasure Room.
"Wow," April said, awestruck, "So this...this is the Treasure Room!"
If it was possible, the gold and jewels had somehow become more magnificent than the last time they were here.
"But why are we here, Raph?" Donnie asked.
"Yeah!" Mikey said, "You didn't tell us or anything."
"It's 'cause of this," Raph said, placing the wrestling book on a solid gold desk, "I found it in the library."
"It's, um, very nice." April said.
"It's the King's diary." Leo said.
"What?" Donnie asked.
"Why would he hide it there? Better yet, why was Raph reading?" Mikey asked. Raph glared at him. "Heh heh, just kidding bro!"
"He must have had a reason to hide it." April thought aloud.
"Agreed." Donnie said, "So, what's the plan Raph? Do we read it now?"
"I guess," Raph said, "Do ya think this will tell us something we don't already know?"
"It might," Leo said, "Should we read it page by page, or skip to the end?"
There was half a beat of silence until-
"Skip to the end." Everyone chorused.
Raph opened the book backwards, so that the last page was the first one they all saw.
"Alright," he said, "Here goes. Michelangelo said his first word today. He was calling for Raphael-"
"Wait, what?" Mikey asked.
"This is a diary, Mikey." Leo said, forgetting to call his brother 'prince'.
"No, I mean, my first word was Raph's name?" Mikey asked, "That's really cool."
"Raph," Donnie asked, "Is there anything on that last page about why Father would have to hide his journal?"
"No," Raph said, looking at the page, "It's all about family stuff."
"Maybe we'll have to look harder." April said, "Although, this is really cute." She pointed to the page, "It says here that you liked to fall asleep in the King's arms, Mikey."
"Good old Dad." Mikey smiled.
"Wait." Leo said, "Everybody, quit. Do you guys hear that?"
Everyone became silent. There was a strange sound-almost like a small wave.
"I hear something all right," Raph said.
Before anyone could stop him, he raced to the Treasure Room door and flung it open, leaving the diary on the table. The sound intensified, like a giant murmur, and just as Leo realized what it was Raph was in the corridor at the peepholes, looking through them down into the hallway below.
"What's going on?" Mikey asked.
Donnie just raced to another set of peepholes and started looking.
"There's a giant commotion in the main hallway," Raph whispered, "Something's happening; the soldiers are gathering arms. We've got to get back to my room before they start looking for us."
"Why would they be looking for us?" Mikey whispered loudly, following Raph as he broke away from the peepholes and started up the stairs.
"Because whatever's going on is important, Mikey." Donnie said, yanking the lever to open the passageway door under Mikey's bed, "And we're the Princes."
"Um, guys? I know this is bad timing, but just so you now, there's another turtle symbol." April said, pointing to the ceiling.
"That's great! We'll check it out later." Leo said, hurrying after Donnie.
"Come on, guys! Hurry it up!" Raph called out, already at the top of the stairs.
The rest of them followed him, and they only waited around in Mikey's room long enough for the passageway trapdoor to fully close. Then they all rushed to Raph's room.
"Alright," Raph said as soon as Leo had closed the bedroom door, "Fearless and April, you two get in the bathroom."
"Why?" April asked, even as Leo headed for the bathroom.
"'Cause you ain't supposed ta be in here and if I'm right we're gonna have company, that's why." Raph said, "Now get going!"
Someone pushed Leo from behind, and the next thing he knew he was on the other side of the bathroom door with April.
"And remember," Leo heard Raph say, "You guys gotta let me do all the talking here. Got it, Mikey?"
There was a knock at the bedroom door.
"You may enter." Raph said, in his 'official' voice.
Although Leo couldn't see who entered, it must have been soldiers based on the sound of their boots.
"Royal Princes," someone said, "I bring grave news. War is imminent on the Kingdom."
"Who is the enemy?" Raph asked.
"They are known as the Purple Dragons," the soldier said, "We just received word that they have encamped within the surrounding woods."
April, who was practically leaning on Leo to listen through the door, gave a startled gasp.
"WHAT?!" Raph cried out, and by the sound of it he jumped to his feet, "How could an enemy get that close without us knowing it?!"
"I do not know," the soldier responded, "But I assure you, you are perfectly safe within the Palace walls."
"What about the villagers?" Raph asked, "Are they being evacuated? Protected?"
"Raphael, calm yourself." This was a new voice. Saki's voice. Leo frowned. "General, you are dismissed."
"Yes sir."
"I am handling it, High Prince. Rest assured, the villagers are being brought onto the Palace grounds as we speak."
"Good," Raph said, "So, what's the plan?"
"Let me discuss that with you privately." Saki said, "Come, Raphael. Donatello and Michelangelo, remain here."
Still in the bathroom, Leo and April waited until the bathroom door opened.
"They're gone," Donnie said, taking April's hand and leading her to a chair, "Don't worry, April. I'm sure your family will be alright."
"I-I hope so," April said, "Do any of you know anything about these Purple Dragons?"
Mikey and Donnie looked at Leo, but he shook his head. "I've never heard of them," he confessed.
"This is bad, this is so bad," Mikey said, pacing the room, "Usagi is out there! What if he runs into those guys? What if he doesn't know they're in the woods?"
"I'm sure he's fine, Mikey." Donnie said, placing a hand on Mikey's shoulder, "He left hours ago, so I'm sure he left before they got here."
"Besides, Usagi is a skilled Warrior." Leo said, "Even if he did run into them, he wouldn't have any trouble getting past them."
"Right," April said, "Don't worry about him, Highness. I'm more worried about the villagers. We have no weapons, and some of us live farther away from the castle-"
"I'm sure they're fine, April." Donnie said, "If the Purple Dragons haven't attacked us yet, that means they're still pulling themselves together. That gives all the villagers the chance to get to safety."
"I'm still worried about Usagi," Mikey said, "What happens when he gets back from the Daimyo, and we're still at war with these guys?"
"We'll worry about that when we come to it," Leo said, "In the meantime, the castle is preparing for war. Raph is going to be pretty busy. April, we'll need to get you back to your family so they aren't worried about you. Prince Donatello and Prince Michelangelo, you're going to have to start preparing to do whatever Raph tell you to do."
"In other words, nothing." Donnie frowned. "Saki's going to take charge of this, and Raph might help a little, but we're just going to have to sit here and wait. At least if we were soldiers, we'd be able to fight."
"That's not true," Leo said, "You're a great strategist and inventor, Prince Donatello. Maybe the best in the kingdom. You're a great asset to your brother, and he knows it."
"That's right!" April said, "You can come up with something no one else could even think of, Prince Don."
Donnie blushed.
"Okay, so here's the plan." Mikey said, surprising everyone with his initiative, "Donnie, you take April to wherever they're keeping the villagers, and then start planning cool attack things and castle defense systems stuff for Raph. And you, you're coming with me."
"Wait, what?" Leo asked.
"I'll explain on the way," Mikey said, taking Leo by the shoulders and starting to push him towards the door, "Don't wait up for us, guys! This might take a while."
"You'd better do as he says, Friend." Donnie sighed, "I hope you're not planning anything stupid, Mikey."
"Who, me?" Mikey asked innocently, already opening the bedroom door, "Whatever gave you that idea?"
"No. No no no no no!" Leo said, taking a giant step back, "This is stupid, Mikey!"
"Come on," Mikey said, "It's not like I'm asking you to go with me. Just saddle this guy up, and I'll be back before you know it!"
'This guy' happened to be one of the fastest horses in the stable.
"Going after Usagi is a bad idea," Leo said, "You're more likely to run into the enemy army than to find him. Because he's long gone."
"I'm not going to run into the enemy!" Mikey said, "Look, I've got my village clothes on. Everyone will think I'm a villager."
"That's not the point!"
"If you won't help me saddle him up," Mikey said, "Then I'll have to assume that you refused a direct order from one of the Royal Princes."
"I'm still not doing it." Leo said, "You're putting yourself in danger, Prince, and I can't let you do that."
"I'll tell my uncle on you." Mikey said.
"You can't do that!" Leo said, "Do you know how badly I'd get punished just for speaking to you?"
"Look, the point is that I'm the Prince here," Mikey said, "So you have to do as I say, right?"
"Right." Leo said grudgingly.
"So saddle the horse already!" Mikey said.
"Fine." Leo grumbled, "But if I can't stop you, I'm coming with you."
"What?" Mikey asked.
"That's right." Leo said, placing the saddle on the horse, "And you can't change my mind about it."
Mikey grinned. "Got it."
Within a few minutes the horse was correctly saddled, and Mikey hopped up.
"Come on!" He said, reaching an arm towards Leo.
"I think I'd better get on after we leave the Palace grounds, in case anyone sees me." Leo said.
"Psh. Why bother? They're all so busy inside, they're not going to look out in this direction at all." Mikey said, "Not one guard bowed to me as I came out here, remember? So no one's paying attention."
"Not yet," Leo shook his head, "Let's go over to the front grounds. That's a wide open area, so it's probably where they're setting up all the villagers. We should be able to leave out the front gate while everyone else is coming in. Once we're out, then I'll get on."
"Sounds like a plan!" Mikey said, bouncing in his saddle. "Come on, let's get going!"
Mikey rode his horse from the stall to outside the stables, and waited while Leo closed the stable doors.
And all the while, Leo knew that this was a really, really bad idea.
