This chapter is a bit muddier than the last, I think. The thoughts of each character is intermixed and aren't separated into different sections like last time. Let me know if it's too confusing, and I'll try to not do that again! Oh yes. I expect updates will be more spread out now since I haven't pre-written anything. I did however, just finish my outline and it seems a bit long for me. Like these chapters. Really, really, long.

Rei and Sachiko did not have to walk long before they found a chocolate coloured horse stranded in the middle of the woods. The pair approached carefully making sure not to startle the animal, or to attract the attention of the owner, lest he was an intruder. Sachiko stopped suddenly, letting loose a relieved sigh, she placed her dagger back in its sheath. "Rei, we are safe. That horse bears the Imperial Mark."

Rei turned to the horse, inspecting its haunches. "A knight's horse? But certainly horses as old as this are not still in service... and where is its owner? Something isn't quite-"

Rei broke off mid sentence and began walking determinedly towards a bundle of discarded clothing a short distance away. As she neared, she broke into a trot, realizing the pile of clothing was actually a body. "Sachiko! Over here!"

Sachiko took in the sight before her. On the ground lay a small, fragile looking girl. On a rational level, Sachiko knew that the girl did not possess the classical beauty that she had, but with her satin locks and petit nose, she was pretty in her own right. Had it not been for the blood trickling down a head wound, she would have spent more time staring. Taken by the unconscious girl, Sachiko impulsively moved to stroke her face. Rei stopped her mid reach however, roughly grabbing her hand. "We should not move her. Look at the odd angle in which she is laying. She may have broken something."

Sachiko blinked, startled at her carelessness. She was right. It was the most basic of lessons in rescue missions. How could she have forgotten? Embarrassed, Sachiko withdrew her hand and allowed Rei to perform a quick examination of the girl. Her eyes however, never left the girl's face, she was so mesmerized. Rei's hand swept the air above Yumi's body, trying to find any signs of injury. Satisfied with the result, Rei quickly wrapped her arms around the girl to pick her up. Sachiko felt a sudden, unexplained pang of jealousy. She had wanted to be the one to carry her. Wait. Did I just think that? Sachiko surprised herself. "Rei. Let me." Sachiko held out her arms to receive the girl.

Once in her arms though, Sachiko had no idea what she was going to do. Trying to balance an unconscious girl while riding a horse seemed out of the question, but she gash on the girl's head indicated that she needed the help of a trained healer. "Perhaps it is best if I stay here with her while you call for assistance?" Suggested Sachiko.

Rei nodded, mounting her horse. "It seems there is no choice. Hang on then, I will go to Gigantea Castle. It's the closest."

Sachiko sat with the small girl cradled in her arms. Now free from the observation of others, Sachiko looked at the girl once again. There was something about her that left her breathless, though she did not know what. Sachiko leaned her face lower to the girl and caught the scent of cinnamon. She smiled to herself. She even smells nice. Sachiko thought, allowing herself to savour the scent of the girl. She drew her closer to keep her warm.

Yumi felt the warmth before she felt the pain. She did not know where she was, or what had happened, only that she felt so safe and content. As she began to regain consciousness she became aware of dull pain in her skull, but it was easily overridden by the sensation of being held, and of having a soft hand stroke her hair. Mmm, that feels nice. Yumi thought. She tried turn her head into the palm that caressed her, but a the pain suddenly sharpened and it hit her like a ton of bricks. Wincing, a small moan escaped her lips "Ughnn"

Sachiko stopped stroking the girl's hair instantly, looking down at the girl's angelic face. She watched, worriedly as the girl struggled to awaken.

Yumi slowly opened one eye, and then another. She could not immediately see anything, as her vision was still blurry, but she could discern two bright blue orbs in the muddle of colors which filled her sight. As her focus and her mind became sharper, Yumi realized that the two orbs were actually eyes, and that those eyes belonged to the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. She saw the raven hair beauty's lips move, but for the life of her she could not comprehend what was being said. Am I dead? Yumi tried to ask the angel, but no sound came out of her lips. The angel's face creased in concern, her full lips moving faster. Lips? Why am I noticing her lips? Why does she look so worried? Yumi wondered. She could not stand watching this heavenly being in such distress, so she tried to speak again, but this time a wave of nausea forced her to clamp her mouth shut. Giving up on speaking, she clumsily lifted her hand, placing it on the angel`s lips to silence her. I was right, they are soft. Yumi's mind slurred, as she softly dragged her fingers across the girl's lower lip. The angel finally smiled a gorgeous smile that made her heart flutter.

Sachiko was shocked and relieved at the same time. She had been engaging in a one sided conversation since the girl stirred. The girl still seemed mixed up and Sachiko was beginning to worry about brain injuries when suddenly she felt soft hands against her lips. A small blush adorned Sachiko`s cheeks. She had a very strong sense of personal space, but for some reason the sensation of this girl`s closeness filled her heart with warmth and made her yearn for more. She tried to rouse the girl one more time. "What is your name?" She asked softly.

THUDTHUDTH- Rei's incessant knocking was finally answered as the peep hole to the Gigantea Castle gate was roughly pushed aside, revealing two very angry, tired looking eyes. Rei's face filled the small hole as she looked in. "Noriko? Is that you?"

A gasp. "Rei-sama!" The peep hole slammed shut and moments later the gate flung open, revealing not one, but two figures.

"Shimako. Noriko. I need your help, and some medical supplies."

The three strode towards the supply cabinet while Rei explained the situation. Rei was glad that Shimako was still awake. Recently Shimako had decided to abandon her armour to train as a healer instead. "Noriko.. you better retrieve Sei-sama." Shimako said.

Noriko suddenly looked uncomfortable. "But.."

"Go, Noriko! She will understand." Shimako urged. Then in a quieter voice, she muttered "They're probably done anyway."

Rei gave her a questioning look, before Shimako blushed and hurriedly swept her away. "We will probably need a wagon to transport her." Shimako said, avoiding Rei's eyes.

When Noriko returned, Rei immediately knew why they were so uncomfortable. Close behind Sei was Youko-sama. Both had clearly been awake as there were no signs of sleep on their faces, but confusingly, both were in their night attire. Rei understood immediately, and chose not to ask questions. Instead she merely led the way towards Sachiko.

Sachiko awoke to the sound of voices nearing. I must have dozed off shortly after the girl did, Sachiko thought. Poor Yumi, it seemed she had taken her last ounce of energy to introduce herself before closing her eyes again. Sachiko observed the party walking towards her, and frowned.

"Youko-sama. What are you doing here? Were you at Gigantea Castle? I thought you were at the Imperial Palace for the night.." Sachiko inquired stupidly.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Youko glanced at Sei and then stared back at Sachiko at a loss for words. A blush adorned Rei's cheeks, and suddenly everyone spoke at once:

"Well you see, Youko and I are, and have been for a while now–"

"Dinner just ran a bit late so I decided to stay over–"

"There' no need to explain what you do in your private time –"

"Does Sachiko-sama really not know-?"

And finally, just a moment after the chatter died down:

"Shh-Noriko! Sachiko-sama is very sensitive about- gasp!"

Sachiko tried to work out an answer from the jumbled replies, but decided there were more urgent matters at hand. She made a note to question Youko-sama in detail later, and Shimako too, for that matter. Sensitive to what? Sachiko momentarily put the thought aside. "We found her in the woods, close to the border. She must have fallen off her horse. She doesn't seem to be very seriously injured, minus a bump on her head. Her name is Yumi, but I did not get her family name."

Sei moved closer to the sleeping Yumi. "Cute." She said, with a mischievous grin. "You said you found her close to Gigantea Castle? She doesn't look like anyone I know..."

Sachiko let out an impatient snort. "There are many people in Lilian, Sei-sama. I doubt that even you know every woman in the Kingdom."

"Sachiko!" Youko warned her knight. She had never seen Sachiko act so disrespectfully to another Master before.

Sachiko calmed herself, but did not apologize. "She is from Lilian. Her horse has the Imperial Mark."

Sei scrutinize Sachiko in amusement, un-phased by her remark. "Interesting." Sei smiled.

Once Yumi had been safely transported and placed in the infirmary, a meeting had been called. Sachiko was very reluctant to leave Yumi's side, Youko noticed, but relented once Sei remarked how Sachiko was acting more like a worried lover than a knight doing her duty. The concession however, was that the meeting be held in the infirmary, so that Sachiko could at least be near-by in case Yumi awoke.

"What is on your mind, Sei?" Youko inquired.

"This girl...it just doesn't make sense. Why was she out in the woods so late? And look at her clothing, they are not those of a wealthy family, so what is she doing with a retired Imperial Horse?"Sei's brows furrowed.

"Do you suspect treachery?" Noriko asked, bluntly.

Sei pondered the question, observing Yumi's sleeping form at the other end of the room. "No. Her flavour is... innocent. Very earnest. And sweet." Sei winked at Sachiko and burst out laughing.

Sachiko would have been angry at the jab had she not been relieved of Sei's endorsement of Yumi's character. While Sei was quite a joker, she had an unparallel ability to judge one's spirit simply by looking at them. Whether or not this was a magical ability however, was in question, as Sei proved very insightful and wise under her devil-may-care demeanour. Sei's ability was an interesting one. While most knights could only manipulate the elements, or something tangible, Sei was able to manipulate people and the environment around them. She rarely utilized this power outright however, but sometimes Sachiko found Sei to be very... persuasive.

Yumi was awakened by the sound of angry voices. There was an argument nearby, though she could not understand what it was about. She heard scattered words "...Letter......Lilian...... Border..." Yumi shifted her position. "...trust her.... Miyahara." These words barely registered with Yumi, except for Miyahara. Queen Miyahara. Naomi. Fiance. Deliver the letter to the base camp... near the border. Oh God!"

Yumi bolted up right but immediately regretted her decision. Her head felt as if it were being split in two. Yumi instinctively reached to adjust the band against her head, willing it to work its magic and numb the pain. Her fingers tapped against cloth. Cloth?! Where is my band?? Yumi turned her head in search as quick as she could without upsetting her head further. For the first time she noticed her surroundings. She was sitting in a stone room, lit up by the sunlight flowing through the large windows. She lay in one of many beds in the room. She noticed a pretty girl with long golden hair walking towards her. "How are you feeling, Yumi-san? I'm Shimako." The girl introduced herself. "Is your head hurting? Here -" Shimako reached to towards Yumi's bandaged forehead, but Yumi jerked away.

"M-my band. Where is it?" Yumi's voice came out raspy from disuse.

"I'm sorry." Shimako looked at her apologetically. "We had to take this off to address your cut. We think it may have protected your head somewhat when you fell, but unfortunately... it must have cracked on impact." Shimako deposited two pieces of metal onto Yumi's lap.

"If it was important to you, we could send it to our blacksmith." Shimako quickly added, noticing the miserable look on Yumi's face.

Yumi closed her eyes, wondering how she was going to survive without her band. Her head was already killing her. Yumi shook her head sadly. "It isn't just metal... Monsieur made it especially for me... for my condition" Yumi caught her tongue, so to not trouble Shimako with her medical history.

"Monsieur?"

"You know... the Great Oracle?" Yumi could not believe that Shimako had not heard of Monsieur before. He was the greatest Oracle in all of Miyahara. Everyone knows of Monsieur and the powerful magic he performs, mostly to heal the sick.

"Oracle. Hmm.. Did you mean Madame, Yumi?"

Yumi's eyes widened. She was quite sure that Monsieur was not a Madame. This is getting ridiculous! Yumi thought incredulously. "Eh.." Yumi shook her head, but squeezed her eyes shut when the sudden motion caused a sharp stabbing pain.

Shimako smiled. "I can help you with that." Shimako placed her hands around Yumi's head, and started humming a tune that Yumi did not recognize. But as the moments passed, the song began to sound more alluring, and she could feel her head warming up and the pain ebbing away. Shimako opened her eyes. "Better?"

Yumi nodded her head slowly in disbelief. "Of course it is only temporary, but the pain should go away on its own once your head is properly healed. Oh! Sachiko-sama..."

Yumi turned her attention to the visitor she immediately recognized as the raven haired 'angel' from the night before. Her cheeks flamed red as her bold actions and hazy thoughts regarding this girl, Sachiko, returned to her. "Yumi? How are you feeling?" Sachiko asked with a warm smile.

Yumi's heart skipped a beat, and she felt her spirit perk up. Yumi held the stranger's gaze, forgetting to speak until an unreasonable amount of time had passed. "Thank you for.. for everything." Yumi immediately blurted.

Sachiko's smile widened. "It was my pleasure. But how are you feeling? Does your head hurt?" Sachiko's hand was suddenly pressed against Yumi's cheek. Yumi could feel her face warming up, and it had nothing to do with the heat from Sachiko's hand. "N-no. I-it's fine now. T-thank you." Yumi began to stutter. "Um.. Where am I?"

Sachiko blinked, pleasantly amused by the girl's new found shyness. Quite the contrast from last night, even if she wasn't in her right mind. Sachiko thought. "You're in Gigantea Castle. Are you familiar with this quadrant?"

Yumi looked at her confused. What is Gigantea Castle? I thought Miyahara only had one castle... Yumi shook her head.

Even if the information was not critical, Sachiko's curiosity about the girl was getting the best of her, and she could not help but bombard her with questions. "Where in Lilian did you come from? Hanadera? Foetida? I haven't seen you in Chinesis before..."

Yumi's heart froze. Did she just say 'Lilian'? Yumi quickly gave Sachiko a once over, finally noticing that her saviour donned a knight's uniform. Her smile was suddenly replaced with a look of worry as she realized the direness of her situation . I have to get out of here! I have to get away from these dangerous villains!

Sachiko was surprised at the sudden change in Yumi. Observing Yumi's state, she saw that she was no longer relaxed, but she looked very distressed and closed off. "Yumi, are you all right?" Sachiko moved closer to take her temperature, but Yumi pushed her hand away, shoving herself to the point of the bed furthest from Sachiko. "Y-yes. Thank you for your hospitality, b-but I must be leaving now." Yumi jumped off the bed, but found that she was weak and void of strength. Her legs buckled under her and her body began to crumple. Strong arms suddenly wrapped around her waist, supporting her.

"Yumi!" Sachiko's voice was laced with concern. She tried to guide the frail girl back.

Yumi struggled against Sachiko, though she did not know where to direct her energies first. Should I remove her hands from me, or get try to get closer to the door? Yumi was torn because wrong as it was, it felt so nice to be in Sachiko's arms, and she didn't really want to leave her embrace.

Sachiko was perplexed. Yumi seemed suddenly afraid, trying to get away from her, but she was not strong enough to. She felt Yumi futilely inch towards the door, feebly pulling her behind her, but was quickly out of breath and on her knees. Sachiko knelt beside Yumi, stroking her back as Yumi gasped for air. She was in worse shape than she thought. Yumi made one more break for it, but only managed to get a few steps away before crashing headlong into another set of arms.

"Oh? Are you leaving already? Is Sachiko scaring you?" The voice asked in a jovial manner.

Yumi looked up to see a pair of twinkling blue eyes. Sei scooped up the exhausted Yumi and placed her back on the bed. "What is wrong, Yumi-chan? Why did you suddenly try to leave?"

Sachiko's eyes perked up waiting for a response. When none came, she scanned Yumi's face, but found only that the girl was carefully inspecting the floor, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

Think! Think! Think! Yumi thought frantically. It was bad enough that she had to escape just from Sachiko, but now the entire group was in front of her. Yumi began to quiver. What should I do? If they find out I'm from Miyahara, they will kill me! Wait.. do they already know where I'm from? Am I ... a prisoner? Yumi shrunk under their collective stares.

"Should we call Madame?" Shimako asked.

That name again, Yumi thought. I'm in Lilian. No wonder why she thought I meant to say Madame instead of Monsieur...

Sei looked at Yumi thoughtfully, her expression a mixture of both concern and amusement. "Mm, no. I don't think she's sick. I think it's something else."

Yumi's heart thudded painfully against her chest. She knows!

"Yumi-chan" Sei suddenly interjected. "Are you hungry? Have you eaten?"