Here you go, a little late for the month, but "better late than never" some wiseperson once said.

This chapteris quite long, so I hope it makes up for the wait (and for missing out on January... did I spell that correctly?)

Well, since I have no more to say please enjoy the chapter.

Trust is what is torn

Yuniko was alone that night, Malin having been ordered to not sleep in her room until after the wedding. She stood in the window watching the heavy rain and darkness outside. Her reflection looked perfect. Nowhere in Scotland or anywhere else a woman had skin as smooth as hers. The queen's hair was washed, dried and combed and gleamed with health. Her body was a man's dream come true, perfectly shaped, curved and toned. She looked respectable and proud, calm and safe. But all these things did not mirror the queen's insides.

Yuniko's heart was breaking apart. She wanted to cry, to scream, to throw a fit, to be angry. She knew she needed it. She knew she could not keep it bottled up inside forever. But she also knew she had to. She had to win this war, even if she had to sacrifice her own happiness. She simply could not leave Scotland.

But she had never felt so lonely.

There was a knocking on the door, and Yuniko, though having never heard the knocks, knew who it was. And at the same time she felt them enter the barrier.

"Come in," she called calmly.

Gabriel stepped inside timidly. Outside Yuniko could see Joey glare coldly at him, but he never sent Yuniko a glance. He was still angry with her.

"What leads you to my chambers, my guest?" Normally the queen would call any of her guests for friend, but tonight she felt her anger choose her words for her.

"I… my queen… I simply wished to say… I ask you to forgive my father's earlier behaviour. His judgement has fallen with the years he have been alive."

Yuniko threw a glance out the window. They were not far from the castle now. "I wish to hear those words from his own mouth, my guest," she said flatly. "But you could request him to not test my patience. It is already very thin."

The man bowed clumsily. "I-I will, my queen. I shall…"

"And do not mention I have requested it," Yuniko demanded almost harshly, making Gabriel flinch.

"No, of cause not, your majesty," he said quickly.

"I will notice if you do," the queen warned. She could feel them nearby now. But it was not for her they aimed. It was for… "You should go to your father. He will soon be visited by… nightly visitors. And I have to say I can not protect him. He has yet to earn my trust."

Gabriel gave her a strange look. "Um, if your majesty accepts, I would like to talk to you a little… less formal."

"If you give me a reason," the queen answered calmly. "And I can already tell that your reasons are not enough."

Gabriel frowned slightly, but quickly stopped. "I simply wish to be your friend. I know… father is not the best anymore. But since you will have to give birth to…" what Gabriel was about to say never left his lips. The queen silenced him by slapping him across the face so hard he fell over. The man hadn't even registered she had moved.

Joey, who had obviously heard, threw the door open with his hand on his sword… and stopped at the sight of the scene.

"Never… ever again talk about such in my presence," Yuniko warned and venom dripped from her words.

Gabriel looked up at her with fear and surprise. It was not legal for a monarch to slap anybody, but the subject was something Yuniko thought she would never accept. Not with a man whose heart was not in his body, but on the ground in the shape of a stone.

"They are here," Yuniko said suddenly, and only Joey knew what she meant. Therefore he stepped inside and glared at the window.

"Not here, Joey," the queen smiled, and before she could mention where the vampires were at, a loud, unfamiliar scream echoed through the hallways.

"Father!" Gabriel realized and was up and out of the room in a flash. But Yuniko and Joey stood still. The guard glanced at the queen.

"Well? What shall you do?"

Yuniko gave him a sly smile, but her eyes were cold. It made Joey shiver. "Come with me. This should be a sight enough to make God himself laugh."

Joey didn't know what to think. This was a whole new side of the otherwise always caring and worrying Yuniko who was his friend. But then again… she probably had good reasons. She always had.

As Yuniko and Joey walked down the corridors they met a few guards on their way to bring their queen so she could solve the problem. The screams were demanding now. It threw orders to left and right and the corridor was becoming crowded. But as the queen neared, they parted to make room for her and Joey. Everything silenced at once. Yuniko's fiancé was sitting in a disorganized heap on the floor and stared at her.

"Are you having any trouble?" she asked sweetly.

"There was a monster in my room. It was huge with black wings and eyes like the devil himself…"

"Blue?" the queen asked. She knew it was either Aku or her brother. The one-eyed Crow would have killed him, and he was not hunting much in Scotland since she put up the barrier. Last time Yuniko had seen him was when the former king, her father,had been taken away.

The lord opened his mouth, but what he was meant to say was not what fell over his lips. "You knew of this!"

Yuniko raised an elegant eyebrow, not responding.

"Everybody does."

Thomas spun around and was met by the coldest eyes he had ever seen. Malin stood with her arms crossed and with a serious and blaming face. Though dressed in nightgown she looked like an angry mother who waited for her child to explain himself.

"Everyone knows about your nightly guest. Your scream was heard to the other side of the great wall."

Yuniko flashed her nurse a quick smile. She had picked up the hint and was ridiculing the lord.

"I MEANT THAT MONSTER!" Thomas yelled with his eyes wide with fury.

"Now, now," Yuniko said calmly as she walked to the lord's room and stepped into the overly decoded chamber Thomas had been given. He had taken quite some freedom, indeed. But the queen was not interested in any of these things. She walked straight to the closed window. "Since you were welcomed by Sir Ken, I believed you knew everything there is to know about my kingdom." She opened the window wide. They were already leaving. "But by your reaction I can say that is not the case. And therefore I guess your offer to join forces with Scotland was for other reasons but the one which visited you tonight." She was silent for a moment. "Or you are simply afraid of the dark," she added as an afterthought.

Joey and Mokuba made chocked sounds and Honda coughed to cover his laugher caused by Lord Thomas's face.

"WOMAN! I WILL NOT STAND HERE AND TAKE ALL OF YOUR BULLSHIT. TELL ME RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, WHAT IS GOING ON, WHAT THAT MONSTER WAS AND WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE DEVIL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!"

When Thomas was done yelling Yuniko did something she had never done before in her life. She turned around and glared harshly at the lord.

"Lord Thomas," she said lowly, but the silence her voice caused made the words echo throughout the room and the corridor outside. "I admit I do not know how you are used to live and talk, but now your language is taking way too much freedom, as are you. You do not stand above me, but below. You are a lord, and I am queen. And as queen I await you to address me as such. Nothing in the world will change that fact. In other words; you have no right to yell orders at me. I can easily have you killed for it. It is my soldiers who are standing behind you, not your own."

Lord Thomas looked around and realized his own guards were not present. The ones around him were all unfamiliar and dressed in Scotland's colours.

"Now you are very lucky," the queen continued. "I will give you another chance. One. Other. Chance… If you keep acting like you are the one giving orders around here you will be in trouble. Not only are you without my protection, which you need once they become hungry, but you are also completely without my trust."

Joey felt how the corners of his lips moved upwards no matter how hard he tried to fight it. There was a reason Yuniko had accepted this perverted man's offer. Throwing a glance at Malin he noticed she too had a problem controlling her features.

"With this I bid you good night," the queen stated flatly. "It is late and I am tired. We have plenty of time to discuss tonight's events tomorrow."

Yuniko swiftly walked out of the room and the crowd parted quickly to clear the way for her. "Malin. Joey," she called over her shoulder as an order for them to follow her. Malin took Mokuba's hand and took him with her. Yuniko said nothing, but she felt so much better now than before. It had been fun to make a fool of Lord Thomas.

"Queen!" lord Thomas yelled after them. Yuniko looked over her shoulder. "What do I do if that monster returns?"

"Well, how did you get rid of it last time?" The queen gave him a meaning look before she turned around again. She could actually feel the burning glare she received. But she only smirked to herself.

In the safety of the queen's room, Malin, Joey and Mokuba all burst into quiet laugher. Not even Yuniko could hold back a giggle.

"That was…" Malin gasped. "That was the f-funniest thi-hi-hi-hi-hing I have seen since Rebe-he-he-he-cca chased M-Mokuba through the entire castle with a towel."

"She-he-he-he was so mad at me," Mokuba giggled.

"Di-id you se-he-he his face? Priceless." Joey was using the bed for support as he held his arching stomach.

Yuniko seriously tried to calm down, but as she looked at her friends it was impossible for her to keep her mask up. "Yes. It was… it was fun to blow some steam. I-I needed that."

"Can we…" Malin started, but then took a very deep breath to calm down. "Can we bully him from now on?"

Yuniko sat down heavily in a chair. "I can not let you do that. He will force me to get rid of his troubles. And I can not do that."

"Can we sleep in here tonight?" Mokuba suddenly asked eagerly, making the queen blink. "Please," the errand boy added.

Yuniko just smiled that warm, wonderful smile she was known for. "How can I ever say no when you are the one asking?"

Mokuba, now fifteen years old, smiled broadly, showing his perfect lines of white teeth. "Joey too?"

Malin was about to scold the errand boy, when Yuniko answered: "Boys in Malin's bed, and girls in mine."

Playfully Joey snapped his fingers in a pretended disappointed action, which made Mokuba and the two girls fall over in laugher.

When the queen entered the meeting room that morning, dressed in a beautiful dress in a strong blue colour that made her eyes seem brighter, she was met by a furious, red eyed Lord Thomas and his son.

"Good morning. Have you slept well?" the queen asked politely. Joey choked his snort of amusement by biting his lip to the point of pain.

The lord looked like he very much wanted to yell and scream at the woman, but she had warned him to do so last night, so he seriously tried to keep his high temper in check.

"I have hardly slept at all… my queen." He sent a murderous glance at Ken, whose face could have been carved from stone.

"How come? Did your nightly guest scare you so much?"

Lord Thomas trembled from rage. "No one will answer my questions about what that monster was."

The queen nodded in understanding. "It has a logical explanation, my lord of Ireland. There is no one in my kingdom who knows what exactly those creatures are."

Malin was breathing heavier, but all in silence and Joey was trying hard to not puncture his lip and keeping from making a sound at the same time. But other from them, the air was serious as death.

"But you… you can tell me what you believe that creature to be?" Lord Thomas asked, not being able to keep the edges of anger from his voice. "Three of my men went missing this night, and there is no single track of them. The witnesses say that two winged creatures grabbed them and flew away."

Malin and Joey immediately became serious. But not silent. "Where did your men disappear from? They can not have been inside the castle," Malin stated.

The lord was about to spit at her, when Yuniko spoke up, with a sharpness no one had heard in her voice before. "Answer the question!"

"…On the great wall, queen."

"Then it is not surprising you have lost your men," Joey said as a matter of fact. "I guess they were untold of the dangers, and therefore went to the wall with no protection. Did they not ask why there stood no Scottish guards on the wall?"

The lord took a deep breath, looking like it was deep under his dignity to talk to a guard. But once again Yuniko spoke up before him. "You should not judge from the outside, my dear. Joey is the son of a lord on your own level."

All Irish men stared at the blond soldier with gaping mouths. The queen had no reasons to lie, not in a moment like this. Joey was dressed like every other soldier since he did not care much about his title, but he could be as proud and confident as the queen herself if he wanted.

"They call themselves 'vampires'," the queen said suddenly, coming back to the actual subject. "They are creatures of the night that has tormented Scotland for ten years. They live on human blood, but they run from the power of God. We believe they are beings from Hell. There are very few things we have found that we can protect ourselves with, but the first thing, the standard protection, is a crucifix. There should be no human of my kingdom that does not carry a crucifix around. Forgive me for not telling you this earlier, but I believed Ken had already told you everything, and that was why you asked for my hand."

It was quiet like a grave when the queen's voice rang out. "But obviously we were wrong," Malin said lowly.

"So let me ask you now, why did you ask for Lady Yuniko's hand?" Joey asked, and his voice left no room for either protests or lies.

Lord Thomas threw a glance at Ken, who stood at the queen's side, for support. "I meant what I said about joining forces, beloved queen of Scotland," he started. "But I admit it was not for the reasons you have mentioned. I have heard strange rumours, but I must say I did not listen too closely. All I picked up was you searching for a suitable husband to rule the kingdom by your side."

Malin was about so speak up, but before she had opened her mouth the queen held up a finger to silence her.

"I also picked up something between the lines of 'need of help', so I came to ask for your hand. Sir Ken and I are friends from old, so it was him I sent my letter to about my arrival. But still, my solders are all strong, well trained and very loyal. You may test them all if you wish."

Joey was about to snort something insulting, but the queen's finger stopped him.

"Very well," she said and stood. "I shall bring some of my men and test yours on the courtyard. I hope you do not have anything against an audience?"

Lord Thomas smirked, and Ken with him. "Not at all, my beloved."

"Let me take them," Joey demanded once they had left the meeting for the training halls to pick a few soldiers that could take on the challenge.

"He said his men are loyal," the queen said instead.

"So what?"

"So very much. They are loyal to him. This, in return, means that he can order them to have me killed, tell on one of my own men whom they have managed to bribe, and get his hands on the throne. You of all should know what would happen next."

" Scotland will fall!" Joey breathed.

"True. And therefore I need to let Lord Thomas underestimate me."

"Your majesty!"

The queen stopped and turned around to face her friend, to whom she had promised her hand. "No buts, Joey. It is a direct order."

Joey swallowed hard and glared at the queen, but then let his gaze fall. "As you command, my queen."

The words cut deep into Yuniko's heart. She could not tell the whole story. Not yet. It was too early. She hoped that Ken would soon realize his mistake. If not… she was not sure of what to do, but knew what she had to do in order to keep her kingdom safe.

Once they reached the training hall, they were met by the head guard Adam. "My queen. The little errand boy has already informed me about your decision. Therefore I have prepared my best soldiers to…"

"No," the queen cut him off. "Not your best. And not your lowest. I need a few men with experience, but not your best men. I have to test the strength of Lord Thomas, and that I can do only with good soldiers who are used to fight and can hold out for some time. But they do not have to be your best fighters."

Adam looked at her strangely, before he suddenly understood what she meant, and nodded in agreement. "As you command, my queen," he said and bowed deeply. "You have never made a mistake before, and I doubt you will start making them now."

"Thank you, my friend," Yuniko said with a grateful smile. "And I certainly hope you are right."

On the courtyard Lord Thomas waited with his soldiers. "You know what to do, right?" he mumbled discreetly, almost without moving his lips, to his head guard.

"From the beginning to the very end, my lord," the man stated.

'She is said to have brave and skilful soldiers,' Thomas thought to himself. 'But they have no chance against my brain. She is, and will always be, a simple woman. They are born only to be faithful servants in bed.'

The queen stalked out of the castle with such long strides her men almost seemed to be jogging behind her. They all took their known places, the soldiers at their queen's side and the queen herself on the moveable throne that had been taken outside. She and Lord Thomas sat under a shelter to protect them both from both sun and rain. Malin was already there, having been ordered to keep an eye on the Irish lord and Ken.

Lord Thomas smirked cruelly to himself and waved one of his soldiers forward. A tall, slender man with green eyes and a baby face stepped forward. He bowed deeply to his lord and just as deep for the queen, but with less respect. Malin's eyes narrowed.

Yuniko studied the soldier with sharp eyes. This man did not know his place, that was for sure. His eyes moved up and down her body, but there was slyness in his eyes. She would have to look out for this one.

With a wave of her finger, a short, but well built, man stepped forward. Instead of a sword he wore a double-edged axe with a short, steady handle made of what looked like black wood. The man had deep scars over both his arms and his face was bitten by weather and wind. He was strong and persistent, but slow.

The queen nodded.

Joey narrowed his eyes from where he stood, close behind the queen's throne, at the fight. The dwarf, as he was called, had fought tough battles before, but his opponent wasn't fair. Dwarf took full use his size and strength, but the Irish soldier, long and fast, aimed for Dwarf's body and eyes, not to disarm his opponent.

"Enough!" the queen suddenly yelled. All eyes turned to her. She had raised from her seat and glared harshly at the fighters. "This is not a battle of life or death. All you shall do is disarm your opponent, not killing each other. Is that understood?" she locked eyes with the Irish soldier, who immediately brought his eyes down at the power of the queen's gaze. "Y-yes ma'am," he mumbled.

"You are dismissed, both of you. Return to the lines."

Lord Thomas gave Ken a bewildered look. He had thought the Scottish queen knew nothing of battles and would look away at first best chance. Obviously she was sharper than he had believed.

He locked gazes with his head guard and shook his head at him. They had known each other long enough to read each other's eyes.

The next hours passed by without much fuss. As Yuniko had wanted it, none of her soldiers could match the ability of the Irish ones. Then again, her middle class guards lasted for about fifteen to thirty minutes each. Now she knew the strength and reach of abilities of the Irish soldiers, and they were lower than she had expected. But when the captain of Lord Thomas's soldiers stepped forward the queen stopped Hermes, who was moving forward to meet his opponent. "Adam, step in for Hermes," the queen ordered.

The head guard of the Scottish soldiers bowed in agreement and moved forward. Rikel, the Irish captain, was a muscular man with black eyes and dark skin. Adam, with his stern face, silvery hair and lithe body, looked very kind compared to his opponent's cruel appearance.

Thomas turned to the queen. "This far your guards have failed to impress me, my beloved," he said silkily. Malin took a deep breath to not claw at his face in anger.

"As have yours on me," the queen said calmly. "But I shall keep my observations to myself, for the good of everyone."

Thomas almost growled under his breath. Why did his men not succeed in impressing the queen? He had heard she was innocent. But this far he had only gotten the image of her being stone-hearted.

The queen waved her hand as a sign to the fighters to begin.

Adam was not surprised or taken off-guard by Rikel's instant attack. He had rather awaited it. From watching the Irish soldiers fight he had figured out his entire strategy. After all, they had all learnt from this man.

Yuniko watched with satisfaction how Adam blocked every move and swing of Rikel's all too long sword. Adam's 3 feet 5 inches blade allowed faster swings and easier movements. He didn't attack, though Rikel's defense was wide open. He waited for his opponent to tire himself out, and for Yuniko's sign.

Adam was only beginning to sweat when he heard the clear snap of the queen's fingers. He smirked at his much more outworked opponent, and with one single, powerful swing from underneath, sent Rikel's sword flying through the air. The crowd screamed and moved out of the way as the heavy blade came back down to earth and was buried deep in the dirt. Not that Rikel noticed. He was busy staring up along the blade of Adam's, who had knocked him to the ground the moment he lost focus when his weapon was hit out of his tired hands.

The Scottish crowd cheered loudly.

"Impressive, Adam," the queen praised with a proud smile. "Very impressive."

Thomas was at a loss of words. Rikel had never lost a battle before. Not once in his life. How could this be possible?

"You," the queen's voice ripped him from his shock. She was looking at her soldiers. "Go to Marie and let her treat your wounds. Take our Irish guests with you as well." Yuniko then turned to Joey, whispering quickly. "Watch Adam's back."

Joey nodded, bowed and hurried after the newly announced champion of the battles.

"Why did you not let him fight, my queen?" Lord Thomas asked with back held rage.

Scotland's ruler gave him a look of innocence. "I can not have my bodyguard wounded in a friendly battle, now can I?"

Malin mock-smirked at the Irish lord before she followed her queen back inside.

"Your majesty?"

The queen turned to Kyoko, who was standing shyly looking at the hem of the queen's dress. "Yes?"

"I… I just… are you… are you really going to m-marry that man?"

It was noon the eighth day after the little tournament in the courtyard. Ryouko and Kyoko were kept busy with Marie, the one who had taken over after old Lisa. The elderly lady had returned to whence she came, wishing to spend the rest of her life where she had once lived with her late husband. Marie was a much sterner and stricter teacher than old Lisa had been, and therefore the two girls were not left alone as much as before. "The queen is always busy taking care of her kingdom," she said at least twice every day. "To disturb her is a crime punished with death, if I had a word in the matter that is."

The queen had to admit she had never talked more than a few greeting phrases with Lisa's apprentice. But it couldn't be helped.

But today Kyoko had slipped away from her teacher. She just had to talk to her half sister.

"Come with me, Kyoko. I believe you wish to talk about it."

The young brunette nodded and her blue eyes widened a little, in fear or worry Yuniko didn't know. Malin took Kyoko by the hand and smiled encouraging.

Servants that passed them bowed their heads in respect for their queen and nodded kindly to Kyoko. Still no one knew the truth about Kyoko and Ryouko, or why they were allowed to dress in full length dresses. Yuniko believed it was the best for everyone, her sisters most of it.

At the door to her room they met with a frowning Mokuba.

"Are everything at place, Mokuba?"

"Everything but his highness, Milady," Mokuba said, his frown deepening. "He is… I can not tell in the corridor, your majesty."

"Very well, come in and let me hear about it."

Mokuba nodded and followed the three girls inside. Malin locked and barricaded the door after them, just in case.

"Now, my young ones," Yuniko said as she sat down in a comfortable chair. She locked eyes with Kyoko. "You were first."

Kyoko nodded. "I… I am only worried. That man… he is causing nothing but trouble. He does nothing but give orders, plays with the servants to raise his own comfort and…"

"And what?" Yuniko asked worriedly.

"T-the… the m-maidens… he-he picks one… n-no one dares t-to say a word… he frights them… tell them… h-he says that… he w-will hu-hurt them…"

Yuniko stood harshly, startling both of her young friends.

"What is he doing?" Malin asked lowly, anger fuelling her system. Since she always was around the queen Malin did not know what was happening, and the other servants did not dare to tell her either. It was wide known Malin totally exposed herself for the queen. There were no secrets going on between them.

Kyoko shook so violently she could not speak.

"He is… forcing them down… into his… bed... Milady," Mokuba said quietly.

Yuniko stood as petrified. Angry would be an understatement, rage would not come much closer to the truth, furious was perhaps the best way to describe her mood, but not even that was enough. Yuniko was purely, truthfully outraged in its full pronounced nature.

Malin was not in any better state, but instead of staring at the two poor teenagers, she reached out for something, anything, and lunched it against the wall. It just happened to be a small bottle of perfume, and the liquid spread a heavy, somewhat relaxing smell of fairy roses.

At least it made Yuniko calm enough to sit back down. "How many?" she asked, forcing herself to sound calm, though a thin sting of the anger she felt leaked into her voice anyway.

Kyoko shook her head. "Three," she answered. "And… the next… he is aiming for."

Malin went up to the violently shaking girl and lifted her head, making the terrified girl look into her compassionate eyes. "No one will hurt you for telling us. If anything, you will be protected and comforted," the nurse said softly.

Kyoko had tears in her eyes. "He is aiming for Ryouko and me."

Before Malin could react, Kyoko rushed straight into Yuniko's open arms. "Stop him. You must stop him, Yuniko."

"Hush, little one," Yuniko said with the softest voice Kyoko had ever heard. "Nothing will hurt you. Nothing will hurt Ryouko. You do not need to be afraid. I will never stop protecting you."

Kyoko cried loudly into her half-sister's arms for a long time, not noticing Mokuba and Malin embraced them from the sides.

By the time Kyoko stopped crying she had fallen asleep.

"She must have kept it bottled up inside ever since his arrival," Yuniko said as she caressed her little sister's hair where she lay in the queen's bed. Kyoko still had wet traces down her cheeks, but the frown was gone, replaced by the quiet face of sleep.

"That man's arrival has caused nothing but trouble, Yuni. You know that too."

Yuniko didn't look at her nurse. "I guess."

"So why are you not doing anything?"

"Because this is all connected to Ken," Yuni answered lowly. "I am waiting for them. And when they come I have pulled them all to the wall. No one wishes to have the throne of Scotland if they only know the truth. That is why I fight so hard to keep it."

"But you have to do something about his ways with the maidens," Mokuba said quietly.

"I know, and I will. But for that I need Ryouko's help. I need to be there without a specific reason. Mokuba, take this," the queen said and unhooked the pendant she had gotten from her brother on her sixteenth birthday, placing it in the errand boy's hands. "Most of my councilmen know how precious this is to me, why it is the perfect reason. Tell the council I need the day off, I give sir Honda full permission to lead the kingdom for one day, and make sure he writes a full and complete report to me about everything done and said during my time away."

"Yes, ma'am. You can trust me."

"I have never done anything else, little brother," Yuniko smiled. "Keep the pendant hidden on you just in case. If you see Ryouko on the way to the council, tell her to go to my room. When you have informed sir Honda and the council about the lost pendant you must spy on Ryouko for me. If she and Kyoko is the ones the lord is aiming for, and Kyoko is nowhere to be found, it is Ryouko who will catch his eyes. When you notice the lord is about to make his move, tell me instantly. Malin, will you be a part in this play as well?"

"Your wish is my command, Milady," Malin smirked and bowed gracefully.

"Sister Ryouko!"

The pale haired girl turned at the sound of the errand boy's voice. She was in search for Kyoko, afraid to know where she was.

"Yes… Mokuba, right?"

"Right. Milady wishes to talk to you."

Ryouko looked down at her feet before she looked back up, nodding her head slightly.

"By the way, have you seen sir Honda recently?"

"Sir… no I have not."

"Okay, then I knows where he is. You can find her majesty's room on your own, right? I think she is still there."

Ryouko just nodded again.

"Good. I will see you later."

"Yes."

Ryouko looked after Mokuba as he ran down the corridor with light steps, his feet knowing every stone in the castle. She felt afraid to go to her half-sister's room. They had not talked since that monster had arrived.

"Little Ryouko, there you are," she suddenly heard Malin's voice. "Her majesty is looking for you. I believe she needs your help as well."

"As well?" Ryouko asked surprised.

"Yes, her majesty has dropped something of high personal value. And of all people she knows in this castle, she will only entrust this little mission to those she really trust. But you have to ask her for yourself what she is looking for. I am not supposed to spread the queen's secrets in a corridor filled with curious eyes and ears. Please go and see her now. She is really worried and need as much help as we can give right now."

Ryouko, the worrying kind as she was, nodded and set off towards the queen's room. Inwardly Malin prayed God to forgive her lying. 'It is for a good reason,' she thought.

Ryouko knocked on the hard wood that was the entrance of the queen's chambers. She heard ruffles of cloths before she heard her half-sister's allowance to enter.

"Your majesty, Malin asked me to…"

Ryouko stopped right there. She had never even imagined the princess… the queen, to look like this. Yuniko's hair and cloths were completely disorganized and covered with dust. She made half-hearted tries to dust herself off, but she still looked like she had been crawling on the floor for some time. She didn't see Kyoko since Yuniko had made sure to keep Ryouko's back to the bed where the young brunette slept.

"Y-your majesty…"

"I-I am sorry, Ryouko. I have lost something… please close the door."

The pale-haired girl was ripped out of her shock and closed her mouth before she registered the older girl's words and obeyed.

"Have you seen this?" Yuniko asked as soon as the door was closed and locked. She held up the empty chain in front of Ryouko's eyes. The younger one narrowed her eyes.

"That… oh, that golden pendant is gone?"

"I got it from my brother right before he died. It has a picture of him and me inside it. He told me to always wear it, so that he would always be near, even if he was far away."

Ryouko immediately felt pity for the queen. She may be the ruler of Scotland, but even she had at least one thing she valued as dearly as the kingdom itself. "I will help you look. When was the last time you remember having it?"

Yuniko thought about it. Lies were a completely new experience for her, and she didn't know if she would be able to tell one straight into Ryouko's face without giving herself away. She already felt guilty to make her little sister an oblivious part of her plan. "I… I never take it off… but I have been looking under the bed and all around the room, so I must have dropped it somewhere else in the castle." That was at least mostly true. The only lie was that she knew she had never dropped it.

"Then where have you been today?" Ryouko pressed on.

Yuniko put her thumb to her lips, concentrating. Not having the pendant's light weight was actually making her uneasy for real. "In the small dining room for breakfast, and then I had the morning meeting… I was down in the training hall, checking over the soldiers' training. Everyone is as good as ever. Adam really is the best trainer in Scotland. But… I remember still having it when I left. You know, I train down there myself a little, and I felt it hit my collarbones quite a few times, so I know I had it when I was there. Then was… Lilana took my measures for the wedding dress, and last I was in a meeting with the council and my advisors, this one too to prepare for the wedding."

"You have not eaten dinner yet?"

"I realized it was gone as I was on my way," Yuniko said quietly, looking anywhere but at Ryouko.

"Then it must be somewhere between the training hall, Lilana's sewing room and the meeting room," Ryouko said calmly. "Do not worry. I will find that pendant for you. Before sunset you will have it hanging around your neck again, your majesty."

Yuniko sighed and smiled brightly. "Thank you, Ryouko. You are an angel."

With a bright blush on her face Ryouko curtsied and rushed out of the room, ready to keep her promise.

"Do not hate me, Ryouko," Yuni whispered. "But if you know, he will notice it as well, and I will be forced to abdicate, leaving the throne free for Thomas to succeed. And that is a price I can not afford to pay."

Thomas saw the beautiful youth walk slightly bent forward spying on the ground. It was no use confronting her in the middle of the corridor where he knew for sure the queen must have one or two spies. She couldn't be so trusting as to leave her palace completely exposed for anyone living inside the walls. Therefore he settled down in watching the girl's back as she seemed to search for something.

"Little Ryouko!"

The lord quickly withdrew into the shadows as the queen's nurse approached.

"What is it, miss Malin? Have you found it?"

"No. I was hoping you had. But I have been away from her majesty for quite some time now, and I am getting worried for her. I will go see her right away to see if she is fine. She must be on the edge of losing it by now."

"I understand. I will keep searching."

Malin smiled thankfully and nodded. "Thank you. I really owe you one," she said and rushed off. 'Please God, forgive us,' the nurse prayed as she ran towards the queen's chambers. She felt really guilty for lying and using Ryouko like this.

As Malin's steps echoed out into nothingness Ryouko restarted her searching. The meeting room was just around the corner now, and that was the last place she had to look in before she had carefully gone through all the way from the training hall, to Lilana's sewing room and through the corridor towards the meeting room. But before she rounded the corner she heard a pair of very light, but fast, feet rush off from somewhere. Confused, the pale-haired girl looked around the corner. When she saw nothing, she shrugged it off as her imagination.

Thomas saw the girl enter the meeting room. It should be empty by this hour, since the evening meetings was always held in the dining room. He smirked to himself in victory.

The lord was silent as he entered the room, only to see the girl standing on all four with her back to him. She was looking under the queen's chair. She jumped when he closed the door with a soft bang.

"Good evening, young one," the lord said silkily.

Ryouko was quickly on her feet, ready to confront this lame excuse for a monster in disguise. "What do you want?" she asked straight on, very rudely.

"You are a young flower. As such you can not speak to me in that tone," Thomas said and took a leisure step forward. Ryouko backed away from him.

"To you I can talk in any tone I wish. Do not believe I am an empty-headed little… whore, like the ones back where you belong. You are only here for the Scottish throne."

"Hard words," Thomas said silkily, not letting her words get to him. She was a woman, and he was a man. And a man is way higher in Gods creation than a woman. She was created out of the man, and was bound to obey his every move. He kept walking towards her with slow steps. "Too bad the queen is not in the position to tell me such things."

"Just you wait. She will uncover you one of these days. And when she does you will be out on your ass before you have the time to think what happened. And when you are out there, alone in the darkness, they will take you. Just like they took…"

"The king?" the lord asked, very uninterested. She could cast hard words and insults at him. He already had her where he wanted her. Ryouko didn't answer.

"Do you even know who they are?" she asked, her voice not as steady now when he was so close. He had backed her up in a corner.

"No," the lord said floatingly. "And for your information, I do not care. When I become king of this country, I will lead it into war. I will take over England and Wales, then Ireland. These two islands will be my playground where everything I want will happen, where I will have everything I lay my eyes at."

"What are you going to do with the pr… with the queen?"

Thomas chuckled, playing with the girl as a cat with the mouse. He could as well tell her of his plans. It wasn't like she would ever tell on him. He would see to that. A young girl was easy to scare.

"She is only a woman," he said as he put his hands on each side of Ryouko's head. "Once I have taught her where she is supposed to stand, she will follow my every wish with heart and soul. I guess she will be good with bearing children, with that curvy body of hers. She is nothing but a simple woman. Those are supposed to be the servants of the man."

"I suppose the word 'independent' does not exist in your vocabulary."

Thomas jumped away from Ryouko, who stared at the queen who stood calmly in the door, dressed in a white (or was it blue?) dress with bright blue sleeves and a midnight blue ribbon at the back. She was as beautiful as ever. However, Malin, Mokuba and Joey, who stood right behind their queen, did not look very happy. To be honest, all of them looked like they wanted to strangle and kill the lord the worst way possible.

"Y-your majesty," the Irish lord said, a hint of surprise in his voice. "What brings you…?"

"You found it!" Ryouko said, pointing at the queen, before she realized how rude it was and withdrew her hand.

"Mokuba found it a moment ago, in here. I guessed he had come before you since he said he had not met you. Therefore I thought you would be here to look for it, so I came to tell you it has returned to its place."

"T-that is great," Ryouko said, less exited than she should have, had Thomas not done what he had a moment ago. She silently wondered where the queen had entered.

"What I did not expect to find here, was you, your highness," the queen continued, looking at the lord with eyes that demanded him to explain himself.

"Where in the conversation did you come in… your majesty?" the Irish man said, trying hard to keep his pose.

"When little Ryouko asked what you were going to do with me after our marriage," Scotland's ruler said calmly, but Thomas's face paled.

"I will kill you, right now, your noble…"

Yuniko's hand on her bodyguard's stopped the blond from drawing his sword and go straight for the lord's head.

"It is very interesting plans you have, Lord Thomas," she said calmly. "Too bad I must make you disappointed. Because… I actually have not told this anyone else before, alive that is, but Scotland needs me, in more ways than only a monarch. And once again I ask you to remember: the soldiers and servants in this castle are loyal towards me. Not you. I am not convinced they will share your picture of my place beneath your feet. And while I am still at the subject of loyalty, I will even tell you why it is this way." The queen stepped closer to her fiancé. "I have grown up in this castle. You are a foreigner. It actually is that simple."

Malin walked up to Ryouko and took her hand, prepared to leave with the girl unharmed.

"Besides," Joey spoke, warning clear in his voice. "You have forgotten about the animals. Or you simply have not noticed it yet."

"The animals?"

"There are many things you have not noticed when it comes to the ruler of Scotland," Mokuba spoke. Thomas looked like someone had insulted him deeply when the errand boy opened his mouth and spoke to him. "I will leave this kingdom forever are you able to defeat our queen."

"Let us leave, my friends," the queen said calmly. She still stood as rooted on the spot only a few feet in front of Thomas. "But first, my dear fiancé, are you so needy you can not wait for the wedding night?"

Thomas's eyes widened in shock.

"Dearest, I am far from ignorant. I know more of what is going on within my own walls than you yourself know is going on inside your own skull. I suggest you to calm down and leave the maidens alone. Take this as a first step to gain my trust. Because if you do not gain it, you will be the only one, beside your son, who is left completely exposed without my protection. When the time comes I am sure you will know what I am talking about."

Thomas was so angry he was shaking when the queen turned her back towards him and was about to leave. But as the queen of Scotland reached the door she seemed to be hit by another thought. She turned back to her fiancé.

"En garde, my dear."