A/N: This is my first post as a married woman! Yay! Enjoy.

CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED

Chapter 8

Umi brushed away the fingers that were tickling her face. They returned, and she batted at them again. Can't even get a single moment's rest in this place, honestly.

The heat source that had been keeping her warm for some time shifted slightly. She jabbed at it with her elbow. Frigid castles with their nasty drafts…

"Wake up, Umi," Clef said.

No, she thought, and returned to her dream. She had been facing her classmates, telling them all about the latest gossip she'd heard about the girls from the neighboring school. Yes, apparently they'd had a dance over the weekend; a dance which boys had been invited to, wouldn't you believe it, and most of the girls had snuck off with their dates!

"Oh Umi," they said, "How do you know these things?"

"Well, it's my boyfriend, you see, he—"

"Boyfriend!" they all squealed in unison. Hands slapped playfully at her legs. Girls with shadowy faces hid giggles behind their hands. "You never told us you had a boyfriend, Umi!"

"Well, it's complicated, you see… I actually rather hate him."

More squealing and giggling. More fingers tickling her face. They traced the curve of her mouth and she blew at them distractedly. "How can you hate your boyfriend? Oh, is he cute?"

"I suppose he's handsome enough, but—"

"Don't let that distract you from the fencing tournament next month," they all warned.

Umi felt only a slight chill at the words. Yes, she had the tournament. But she had not practiced. In fact, she was lost.

"I can't seem to find my way back to that place," she told them. "My boyfriend, he—"

"He's a diviner," she said.

"Some wicked sorcerer who's going to ensure our loss against the other school!" they chorused. "Umi, you should be ashamed of yourself for being so selfish and wanton!"

"No, you don't understand, it's not my fault."

"Of course it's your fault, who else's could it be?"

"It's not my fault."

"No matter what he shows you or how he takes care of you, you know he doesn't love you. He said so himself."

"He didn't say it in exactly those words. Get your hands off my face, please. No really, take your hands from my face. And I don't love him ether, so it doesn't matter."

"It does matter," he said.

"No, no, it's immaterial. He's made me become lost. I don't know where I am." Again, she turned her face from the roaming fingers. But, they found her mouth once more and, reluctantly, she closed her lips around them.

Well, Clef had had enough of watching her dream. He wanted her to experience the pools.

Leaning down, he replaced his fingers with his own lips against her mouth. Umi turned and groaned.

"Leemelone…"

"No, I won't do that."

"Mmph…"

Clef sat up and looked around. No one was within earshot. No one could see them. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to actually be sweet for a change. Although, it would probably be best to draw the curtains, just in case…

Clef grabbed the edges of the massive curtains that stretched up to infinity towards the ceiling and walked with them, pulling them closed. The holders and rods clicked loudly, too loud and abrasive to his sensitive ears. Umi would awaken, surely…

But he wanted to show her the pools. If what he saw last night resulted in what he thought it would, then they wouldn't have much time. And, rather than sit idly and be tormented with thoughts that he had neither the energy nor the capacity to tolerate, he wanted to entertain his slave with idle things.

It was now quite dark in the room. He could barely see her silhouette, rising from the immaculate sheets of his bed. He crawled in next to her. She would awaken and protest, but he'd soothe her into submission. Or try to, anyway.

"Umi." He traced the line of her jaw with a small, pale hand. "I want you to accompany me today."

"Mmm…"

He stared at her and thought, I am trespassing even now. Just by this small action. The Gods will punish me.

Or, perhaps they already have. Yes, I do believe that they have. If his long, long years of training were right, and they should be really, he was already thoroughly damned. So… no matter. He slipped out of his cotton pants. "Umi."

"Yes?" she whispered hoarsely. "Why are you waking me up? It's still dark out…" Her words were thick and slurred with sleep. He did not believe her to be truly awake yet.

"It is still night, yes. The time of the spirits. They've come alive while you slept. I want you to see them."

"Go away," she muttered.

He bit back a nasty retort; the idea of sin displeased him. "Wake up, lover. Come away with me.'

Finally, he caught the slight spark of her consciousness. "What?" she said.

"Are you hungry?" he smiled. "Would you like breakfast?"

"What—no, what do you mean? It's the middle of the night."

It is nearly midday, he thought irritably, but refrained from reminding her. "This is the bewitching hour. Come."

Umi threw out her hand, smacking Clef across the chest. "What gives? I was sleeping well, too…"

Clef took her hand in his. "You know, I have yet to claim what is rightfully mine."

He could barely see her face in the dim light. He saw her mouth contorting in displeasure; saw her hair falling in her face. "What are you talking about?"

He laughed softly. "Your maidenhead. It is mine, you know."

This seemed to jar Umi awake. Her eyes opened and she cast her eyes about for some purchase in the dark room. She looked over at him with eyes that were wide and frightened.

"I wonder why you look at me that way."

She said nothing.

"Am I really so bad?"

"I suppose not…"

"And if I were to take what I wanted right now, right in this very bed as we speak, would you continue to give me that frightened animal look?"

"Um." She bit her lip. "Well, maybe if you gave me a drink or something first…"

Clef wasn't sure whether or not to take offense to that statement. She was a nervous virgin, after all. Ultimately, he ignored it. "I think, when it was over, that you would most certainly look at me with different eyes."

"Think so?"

"Yes. You see, unlike Ferio, that feckless reprobate, I cater to the needs of my women before my own." He sighed and shifted closer to her. "It's the years of experience, you see."

"So," she began tentatively, "You've been with many women?"

He shrugged. "Who can say? So much has been lost to the years. I am centuries old, little girl."

Umi's mouth took on a curiously arousing pout. "And I'm no little girl, old man."

"The way you quiver, when I place the curve of my hand here," he said while his hands roamed the bare expanse of her stomach. She blushed. "…Would suggest otherwise."

Clef was having hell's own time disguising his trepidation. After what he'd seen last night, well… Things were different now. His new relationship had been brought onto an entirely new plane, one on which he would be condemned for the gravest sin just for touching her.

He placed his hands on either side of her waist, shaking all the while. Gods, why was her body so burning hot? He couldn't quite get a grip on her. "I—" He reached over to taste her neckline. It had been years. So many years. When had he even last had a woman? He could not recall. But that wasn't really the issue. He could go another hundred years without one. He couldn't recall when he'd last enjoyed himself with a woman. Perhaps when he was young and his seed was yet vital. It had never mattered before. And she was only a young, impetuous thing, like all the others.

"Forgive me," he said with his mouth against her throat. "I feel as if I'm not myself today…"

Umi merely trembled. She had rather gotten used to Clef's touch, but now it seemed different. He seemed vulnerable; changed.

"I," she said, "I—oh!"

"There, then? Is that where you like it?" His teeth found her earlobe.

"Well," she began. I can hardly say. I really wouldn't know.

"I think I've always prided myself in being experienced in this sort of thing," he said. He scooped her hair away from her neck and kissed the bare places there. "Having knowledge in the bodies of women, that is. I know our young Prince Ferio thinks himself quite the lover of the ages, but…" He smiled, almost sardonically. "I've got many more years under my belt, you understand." On impulse, Clef grabbed her wrists and pulled her forward, pushing her up and forcing her to sit on top of him. She gave a surprised squeak.

"Ah, that hurts—"she protested. Her hands writhed in his grasp which, though small, was surprisingly strong.

"Relax." He shifted her weight on him so that her legs would evenly distribute her in his lap. He then took her hands and flattened them out over his chest, with his own hands pressed firmly on top. He wouldn't let her move. Not for now, at least.

Umi trembled, tried to gently pull herself away from him, and could not. It was too dark for him to see the shameful, dark color creeping beneath her skin, but he could feel the heat of her embarrassment. It excited him.

He relaxed back into the pillows, looking cool and uncompromised. Umi continued to shake. "So," he said. "Here it is. You are ashamed of your nudity, even now."

Umi grimaced. "I am when I'm… spread out over you like this."

He looked down at his lap. "A sight I've grown accustomed to. Why be ashamed now?"

"Clef, you embarrass me," she muttered.

He simply smirked again. His face had taken on that cold complacency that she hated; that look of his that said I am a predator, and you are my prey.

She shifted uncomfortably over him, wishing that her more sensitive parts weren't pressed so forcefully against his. And then the thought of his manhood entered her mind and she shook harder. Maleness and the parts that accompanied it were completely unknown to her. Textbooks of biology and anatomy surfaced in her mind. Long, wordy terms fitted in little boxes with pointing arrows, cross-sections of skin and blood and bodily parts, grooves, nooks, crannies… "Urgh," she said, finally. "And you're a boy. You're such a kid."

"In body," he reminded her. "And… not so much like a child. I function as an adult. I perform as a man, as it were." The color had risen to his face. It seemed that even the gentle motion of the rising and falling of his chest turned her stomach. She would be ill.

Clef sighed and rubbed her hands with his thumbs. "I am a powerful man, Umi. I can look whatever way I want. This is my chosen form, and I'm sorry it repulses you."

"I just don't understand that…"

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. And it wouldn't matter, even if you did." He took a moment to rake her bodily lazily with his eyes, pulling her ever so slightly forward. Her hair fell loosely over her shoulders, covering the better part of her chest. She went with him, allowed his advance. When she leaned forward too, he reacted strangely. He arched his back with her, pulling his head back into the pillows. Maintaining their distance.

"I think this is for your own sick pleasure," she said.

"Of course it is."

But he made no move to touch her. His hands remained firmly planted atop her own. He held them there against his chest, alternately loosening and tightening his grip. He seemed to be indecisive. His eyes stared through her hers, like those of a hungry wolf, and suddenly they widened. His hands dropped away from hers. He splayed out over the sheets, lifted his chin and stared at her as if afraid.

"I—" he breathed.

Umi's brow furrowed. "What is it?" To her great surprise, she found him to be trembling as well. It almost made her laugh. "What is it this time?" How strange. He wouldn't reply. He just lay there, looking as if he were afraid she'd strike him. His… oh, his lip was quivering. What on Earth…? "Clef, what are you…" She placed her hands on his stomach and he inhaled sharply, almost defensively. His eyes were still wide.

You have the upper hand, his body seemed to say. I am defenseless now. But why?

She bit her lip and looked down at her hands. Should she continue from here? He seemed to be giving her permission. But why was he allowing her to take him? "I don't know… what to do…" So, she did what she assumed she would like. She let her hands travel across his chest.

"Umi," he said distractedly. He tried to look away, but couldn't. She could almost see him fighting with his own body. "It's, ah…"

"What?"

His eyes squeezed shut. "Nothing."

"It's something, obviously. What's wrong with you, anyway?" She sighed and rested her torso against his. With her chin in her hand, she peered into his face. "Am I exciting you?" He said nothing. "Why won't you look at me?" He covered his eyes with the palms of his hands and still did not reply. "Clef… Tell me what you want. I'll do it." I might as well. No time like the present, since it's what I'm damned to do…

She kissed him. It was gentle, very light, and just on the jaw. He exhaled the breath he'd been holding. "Mmf…"

Umi couldn't blame him for shaking like a leaf. She was shaking just as hard. Her breath came in tiny, hitched little puffs. Her lips trembled but finally closed on his cheek. Still, he said nothing. He did nothing. His fists were clenched very tightly over his eyes. Even his legs had gone rigid. But they were moving. He was slowly stretching out, lengthening himself beneath her, accommodating her weight against his lap and chest. It was an oddly sensual feeling, like the smooth stretching of a cat. Every muscle in his body was drawn and taut, tight with anticipation? Fear? Loathing? She couldn't tell.

"You brought this on yourself," she said quietly. "You're fighting your own battle, you know."

He released another withheld breath, this time in hissing scoff.

Strange that she was beginning to feel warm. Perhaps it was her newly gained domination over him and his apparent struggle. It… well, it excited her. She was excited. So she kissed him again. And again. Each feather-light peck of the lips traveled closer to his own mouth. Her lips graced his...

"Enough."

He moved from beneath her and she said, "No, only a bit longer..."

But he'd ended the moment. He's broken her spell. He stepped tentatively out of the bed. Umi watched him stand there for a moment with his hands by his sides. He still seemed indecisive. He scratched his belly and glanced at her over his shoulder. "Right, then. Follow me."

She glared at him. Of all the insufferable... And just when I was starting to feel better about things... His eyes told her that he was not the type to be dominated. Well, that was fine. She'd have her time. So, she followed him, very reluctantly. It seemed foolish to bother with the robe at that point, so she left it laying on the bed. Clef didn't bother to dress himself either, though he did grab his staff from its resting place against the fireplace. The room was warm and, in any case, Umi was still so fevered that she barely noticed her nakedness. They were alone, so…

She followed him through the innumerable sitting rooms, drawing rooms and parlors that filled his suite. She stared at his back, thinking all the while, I don't really think I'm attracted to him, but... when he surrenders to me, he's so much more beautiful. She clapped a hand over her mouth. No way would she let his infernal magic play so on her mind!

In the last room, there was a large, carved mahogany door leading to the next. Clef paused before it. "I allow no one in this room, save for myself. However, I do believe you'd be an exception."

Umi, slightly annoyed that he seemed to be talking to himself more than to her, frowned. "And why's that?"

He glanced at her, but he still looked afraid to meet her eyes. "You shall see once we go in."

She continued to glare at his back. When he pushed the doors open, all she could see was darkness. Then again, her eyes were still having trouble adjusting the light. She rubbed them, following him inside, fearful she'd trip over something and fall flat on her face. Wouldn't that just be the sexiest?

She'd lost sight of Clef for a moment. The room seemed to be smaller than the rest, though the ceilings were tall. Her voice echoed off of the walls. She reached out to touch them and felt mossy stone.

"Close the door, please," his voice echoed from the corner. Umi obliged, wrinkling her nose against the musty smell of the room.

"Where are we? What do you keep in here, dead bodies? This is totally the kind of room a psychopath hides dead bodies in."

Clef lit a small candle. It illuminated the withering look he was giving her. Umi blinked, rubbed her eyes again, and saw that she and Clef were separated by what appeared to be a large, above-ground pool. Its sides were constructed of thick stone. Its water seemed murky and menacing in the darkness.

"Place your hands on the side," he said, "But do not touch the water."

"All right…"

He watched her warily as he plucked a small jar off of the side of the basin. He lifted the top and brought out a pinch of its contents. He then sprinkled them over the water.

"What is that?"

"Herbs." He dusted of his hands, ran them nervously through his hair and steeled himself. "All right. Stand back a bit, if you wouldn't mind. Just for a moment. I'm not…" He wiped his lips. "Well, I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen now."

Umi snatched her hand away and said, "Clef! Are you serious?" He motioned for silence. "I can't believe this…" She rubbed her bare arms, looking warily down into the black water.

Clef took up his staff and held it in front of him. He gave the water a nervous look before touching its glass-like surface with the tip of the staff. Water rippled out slowly, almost too slowly. That was no ordinary water.

Umi rubbed her hands. They'd turned icy. She looked down at her fingers and realized they were glowing a bit. Or, rather, light was reflecting from them, and not the candlelight. In fact, when she raised her eyes, Clef had blown out the flickering flame. The glow was coming from the water. Each ripple spread to the edges of the basin and splashed gently against the stones. They were rippling of their own accord; Clef had long since cast away his staff.

He whispered something and Umi said, "What was that?" His whispers continued and, when she was about to question, she paused. He was staring into the water with round eyes. The light, now a faint blue color, was reflecting from his them in an odd manner. Or perhaps the light was coming from his eyes. His lips moved and she could hear his whispers, but couldn't make them out. They were chants; fervent prayers.

Oh, this is creepy, she thought, hugging herself and backing into the corner. She didn't like the way the tendons in his neck stood out against his nearly-ivory skin, or the way his hands gripped the stone basin. His fingers looked like white claws.

"Clef?" she whispered. She was watching the water. It had taken on a pale, silvery sheen. His eyes traced movements in the water. He was studying what he found there. Whatever he saw, she could not see it.

His eyes quickly shifted onto hers and she jumped, slightly startled. "This is one of my divining pools," he said quietly. "This particular pool shows me the past. Things that were. And, sometimes, things that are." He looked back down into the water. "This is how the Gods communicate with me. I am their conduit. That is what was bestowed upon me as I was appointed the Madoshi." He moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue. "Allow me to show you… my realm of Cephiro."

His eyes frightened her. They swam and rippled, like the surface of the silvery water. Magic pulsed through him. She could feel it emanating through the musty air of the room. It was cold and made her feel ill.

"What if I don't want to see?"

He chuckled and held out his hand. "Come, you may stand beside me. Look into the water, and I shall show you my secrets.

Umi didn't move from her spot. She looked at Clef's outstretched hand and then back at the water. It was still rippling slowly. "It won't… hurt me, will it?"

"You think I would lead you into danger?"

She frowned at him. "I don't know. Would you?"

He smiled and beckoned to her. Was it just her, or did she see vague, shapeless mists swirling around his fingers? She blinked and saw only his hand. Finally, she took it.

"Ah!" she cried. He pulled her over to him so that their bodies were pressed closely together. She clung to his arm and cried out again. "What is it?" His skin hummed against hers. It was like clutching a high-voltage power line. It made her teeth chatter. "Ah, Clef, stop, it feels so strange—"

"That is my power flooding into you. You must tap into it to see into the pool." His eyes were closed and he swayed slightly, as if dizzy. "Forgive me," he said, licking his lips again. "You could say that I'm 'drunk with power.'"

Umi could forgive him because it made her feel pleasantly dizzy, too. She tingled and thrummed from her toes to the tip of her tongue. She stared at her splayed fingers and feared that if she'd touch them together, she'd give herself an almighty shock. Or, she'd see a great arc of lightening between them, like you see in those special, glowing lamps in museums.

Clef moved forward with her, pressing her between himself and the stone basin. He didn't speak to her, but he rested his chin on his shoulder. His arms went round her, palms in. He placed them on her elbows, slid them down her forearms, and…

"No," she moaned.

"Yes."

He clapped her hands together with his.

To lift her spirits, Emeraude thought it would be a lovely idea to bring Hikaru on a ride through the vast Cephran fields. The morning after her interesting night with the Queen, Hikaru had woken rested, but still looking sullen and gloomy. Emeraude would have none of that. "No sadness shall show itself on this lovely little face!" she'd exclaimed. So, after a quiet breakfast in the Queen's rooms, Hikaru was ushered into the bathroom to be prepared for her outing. The room itself awed her. It was immense! The bathtub alone, sunken deep into the floor, looked like it would have easily accommodated ten people. Of course, Emeraude insisted on bathing Hikaru herself.

I don't think I'll ever really understand her strange devotion to me, the redhead thought. Her Page was also attending her, standing aside to offer towels, soaps and other toiletries. To Hikaru's delight, he also produced a dress.

"Oh thank God," she nearly gasped. "I get to wear clothes!"

Emeraude only laughed her tinkling laugh. "Yes, my darling, but only for this day. Once indoors again, I'm afraid it's back to au natural for you."

Once she was dressed and slippers were placed on her feet, Hikaru was swept from the palace with a small army of escorts.

My, but it was nice to be outside again. She hadn't been out since her day with Eagle. And even then, she'd still been so distraught that she couldn't properly enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, both of which did not exist in the dark, stuffy rooms of the Palace, lavish though it was.

"Ah," Hikaru said aloud. She admired the landscape. Cephiro really was quite pretty. The palace had been situated in the middle of vast, rolling fields. Green grass grew as tall as their knees for miles around. Near one wing of the castle, she could see the familiar forest. It spread out into the distance as well. Perhaps… to the sea? Was that the sea she saw?

Her Page drew up beside her. "Beyond these great fields lie the villages," he said. "This country is very large, with many thousand inhabitants. You may not see them, though. At least, not the commonfolk. They have little business here."

"Why is that?" Hikaru asked, genuinely interested. She really knew so little about this land.

Her Page nodded to the East. "The closest village is twenty miles away. Few have a desire to make that journey. And political affairs are not taken care of here, at least not town ones. The lords of all the different provinces take care of that. They come here, not the people they rule."

"And what do people do around here? I'm guessing they farm, or do simple things like that. You guys don't seem very technologically advanced. Not like… oh, what did Eagle say the name of his country was?"

He gave her a slightly stern look. "Master Eagle comes from the neighboring country of Autozam. They are indeed very advanced. But their ways are of cold metal and electricity. We love the earth and all she can provide.

"Hm." Hikaru squinted into the sun. Across the field, she saw another smattering of horses. And men, too. There was a small group of men huddled near the edge of the trees, right at the top of the farthest hill. She could see Lantis among them.

"The soldiers?" she asked aloud.

Their presence spooked the horses of the other party. She could see Lantis turn round to squint at them. His eyes fell on Emeraude, on their crew, and then on Hikaru. He straightened visibly.

"Shall I leave you with your Master today, my pet?" asked Emeraude with a sly smirk on her face.

Hikaru smoothed the folds of her dress. Oh, Lantis was looking their way, all right. Her Master seemed to be quite interested in her proximity.

"Well," Emeraude simpered, "You'll have to wait on that, I'm afraid. I still have to bring you through the apple orchards and, if we have time, the coast! It's so lovely, especially in this morning light." She reached across and took Hikaru's hand. "You'll go to him soon. Is that excitement I see in your eyes?"

Hikaru frowned. "I'm not sure. I think you'd better ask him that. He looks… well, he's staring at us."

"Naturally." Emeraude winked. "Well then, let's be off. So much to see!"

"Yes ma'am." Hikaru followed silently, her head swimming with thoughts. She wasn't sure whether or not she was looking forward to a meeting with her Master later that day. But she was very content to be in this sunshine. The smell of grass cheered her. Yes, she longed to see the rest of this beautiful country. Lantis could wait.

"Look into the water," Clef whispered into her ear. "Tell me what you see."

But Umi could hardly open her eyes. Clef's hands clasped tightly over hers were rendering her immobile. She felt as if she had her finger in an electrical socket. She didn't think she'd be able to speak either; her teeth chattered noisily, making her whole head vibrate.

Clef's mouth closed over the tip of her earlobe. "Go on."

With tremendous force, she forced open one eye. The water looked much the same as it had before; silvery and full of ripples. Actually, the water almost looked… clouded. No, they were clouds. Both eyes opened and the giant pool spread through her whole field of vision. Ah, yes, they were storm clouds. Great, billowing, black monsters with curtains of lightning crackling as far as she could see. Shapes moved in and out of the clouds. Black shapes.

Clef's fingers pried her hands apart and interlocked with hers, lacing together firmly, closing the circuit once again. "Look deeper."

"Is it… the world?" she asked. When the clouds withdrew and the lightning ceased to break the sky, she could see only blackness. Vast, deep, impenetrable blackness. Soon, points of light appeared; perhaps two or three. They grew and swelled as she watched. It actually seemed familiar to her. Once, in Tokyo, she'd gone to a planetarium and watched one of those 3D movies with her parents. They all had to wear those boxy, paper glasses that blurred their vision and eventually made Umi's head ache. The movie was about the formation of the universe and, with those glasses on, glowing globs of gasses swirled together and rebounded off of one another, forming planets and stars. Yes, this was very much like that.

"The world," she whispered.

And before her eyes, the gleaming balls of light condensed and glowed brighter. They became spherical. More little points of light formed around them. Clef tightened his grip on her hands and whoosh! The Sphere jumped into larger view and she… oh, she could see rivers of magma. She saw volcanoes thrust from the earth, vomiting their contents out onto the scorched rocks around them. When Umi squinted, she could see hands. Hands! Huge pairs of hands squeezing those mountains, forcing their contents out, flattening and shaping them and creating cliffs, rock, shorelines, mountain ranges.

"Who?"

She could see long, white…things stretching across the landscape. They came from the ground, rained from the sky, crawled from the broiling oceans. Umi could see them forming more things. She could see their hands again, pulling trees and grass from the ground.

"Ohhh," she breathed. They were spirits. They were creating the world before her eyes! While their rocks and plants and wildlife grew, so did they. They ceased to be shapeless beings and formed into giants, all with different characteristics. Some looked like animals, others like humans.

Most of the beings became what they made. Or, they appeared to join them. The trees shook with life, spreading their limbs that looked alternately like leaves and fingers. Even the very rocked hummed with life, filled with spirits even to their solid cores. Everything was alive. Everything had a soul. Everything!

So this is what Clef communes with, she thought, staring around in awe. This is what he is Master of.

"Yes," he whispered to her. "This is my realm."

Umi continued to watch the spirits dance about on the Earth they'd newly created. They spread over the landscape and fanned out in great trellises, bringing life with them. It seemed as if they sowed seeds along their way. She could see bright points of light trailing behind them. And as she watched the points of light, they grew into… people?

"Our race was spawned from the very Gods," he whispered again. "What you see is holy, my love."

"Your love," Umi repeated, eyes wide and watery. "You say that now…" His breath ghosted her ear in quiet laughter, and she paused. His chin rested on her shoulder, and yet she was standing on her tiptoes. She looked at her arms and saw that his fingers stretched out far past her own. "Clef—"

"Do not turn," he warned her. "It will break the spell. Look into the water and see."

"But you're…"

"A man? A point I've pressed since I've come into your acquaintance."

And while her eyes were locked on the swelling, bloating Earth before her, she did feel the lean hardness of a man behind her; a man only slightly taller than herself and with lean, fine limbs. He was very unlike most men that she knew.

"Clef," she said softly. But there was nothing to say. Everything had been brought into sharper focus as he took her hands and splayed them out over the water. Her fingertips would brush the surface if he would but lower them slightly… She felt as if she had been enveloped now. She was among the spirits and the gods and the little scurrying creatures that had been birthed from them. She looked round and saw a lone creature sitting curled on a rock. They were in a valley—a green, wide valley, hedged on both sides by dark trees and dancing lights. The creature's eyes bored into hers. They were a bright gold.

"Don't be afraid." He clutched her hands tightly and said, "I am with you, so you need not fear. I absorb most of this energy. However, I've never done this before, so I have no idea what will happen after I do this."

"Do what?"

"This." He pushed her hands down in one swift motion and, before she knew it, Umi was elbows-deep in the pool.

She screamed, but Clef held her steady. Her wide, terrified eyes saw the water swirling around her arms. She could also see the thin, milky essence of the spirits rise from their little Earth model and swirl to meet her fingertips. She picked up a steady rumbling and thought that it must be the little Earth that she could finally hear. She cried out to Clef but he was deeply entranced in prayer again. To her horror, the little spirits deformed themselves. They turned black and spiky. They clutched at her fingertips and burned themselves into her flesh, spiraling round and round, all the way up her arms.

"No!" she cried. "What is this?" Serpents, she thought. They're like serpents

Clef opened his eyes. He squinted into the far side of the room. He, too, heard the rumbling.

And they did feel like serpents. She could feel their little tongues flicking out across her skin as they burned their way across her flesh … they didn't hurt her. In fact, they were pulling her down. Soon, she felt engulfed by water.

"Clef?" she asked. But he was gone. She was beneath the ocean. She looked up, down, to her left and right… she was alone! Where had Clef gone?

Ah, the rumbling was definitely louder now. It came from below. There was a great underwater mountain. And an opening in its side. Was that light coming from its open mouth? It was pulling her down, down into its dark depths.

"The Sea Shrine!" she heard Clef call from a distance. "As I thought!"

Hands yanked her roughly from the depths. The rumbling below ceased its pull on her soul. "Clef!" she cried again. The water began to suffocate her. She would surely drown! Right as she broke the surface, something snaked around her ankle. It was one of the snakelike creatures. No, it was the serpent. A great dragon.

Clef yanked her away from the pool before she could be taken by the beast. When the dragon lost its grip on Umi, they broke apart in a terrific blast of blue light. Clef was thrown back against the wall.

Umi lost her grip on the stones and collapsed to her knees. She was shaking all over. All she could do was stare in horror at her hands. They were clean and bare as if nothing in that horrid water had ever touched her. She moaned and thrust her hands into her hair. "Why?"

Clef lay crumpled against the far wall. She heard him give a groan as he tried to sit up.

"I feared that," he choked. "I feared it… All this time…" He pushed himself into a sitting position and stared at his open hand. He clenched and unclenched his fist, hissing in pain.

"Clef, take me out of here," Umi moaned. She rested her forehead against the stones, remarking at the way his powers still lingered in her flesh… like she'd stuck her tongue to the tip of a battery. Her nerves sang like wires. "Please. Put me in our bed."

He seemed to be ignoring her. He struggled to get to his feet, muttering darkly and wincing.

"Forgive me," he said after a time. "I didn't know… Well, I didn't know that would happen."

"Just let me lie down," she gasped. "I feel like I'll be ill." He staggered over to her and fell on a knee. He was peering into her face. "What?" she snapped.

He reached out to touch her face, but stopped short; something he'd been doing all day, really. "I dare not," he muttered. She stared at him and realized he looked unchanged. He was still small and boyish.

"Your body," she said.

Clef stared fiercely into her face. He grabbed her shaking hands and pressed fevered kisses to her cheeks. "I'm already damned!" he said. "Unforgivable, these transgressions of mine. But I didn't know. Pillar, I didn't know!"

She relaxed into his kisses. "Didn't know what? Clef, please, just take me to bed, I want to lie down."

"I will carry you."

Oh, her head pounded. She thought, with an amused giggle, how ridiculous she'd look being carried by a man who was half her size. He more or less had to drape her over his shoulders to give her proper purchase but he carried her swiftly, with that strength that never ceased to surprise her.

She wanted him to lay with her, but he put her in the bed and took to pacing nervously around the room. He reminded her of a nervous colt. "Clef, please."

"I must go," he told her, looking not quite into her eyes, but perhaps at a spot on the wall very near to them. "I will return shortly. Have no fear."

"Where are you going?"

He rubbed his mouth, pacing. "They will be out of doors. Yes. The sun is bright and the weather is fine. They will be abroad, seeking dangerous creatures and bits of adventure, here and there..."

Umi slung her arm over her eyes. When she bent her mind upon it, she could still feel his power humming through her veins. She could still taste it on her tongue. "After all of this... all you have shown me... Why do you have to leave me now?"

He shook his head violently. "Wait here for me. Please—I feel I can ask no more of you without... trespassing but, I shall return."

She heard him exit the room and thought, I have been trespassed upon since I first entered this land. What difference does it make now?

Outside, Lantis watched the palace group turn and head back towards the castle. He followed the red curve of Hikaru's head until it was out of sight. Even then, he stared at the gates through which she had passed. Finally, as if coming out of a daze, he blinked and turned back to Lafarga.

"I'm sorry, Captain. What were you saying?"

The young, blond captain chuckled heartily into his hand.

"What?"

Lafarga never replied. He only continued to laugh in a jovial manner, giving his commander a slap on the back before joining the other group of soldiers. Lantis sighed. Young cullions, all of them. He made to follow them but was stopped by a sudden change in the wind.

"Kailu," said a familiar voice.

Lantis turned. "Madoshi?"

"Where is your brother?" Clef asked. He stood very stoically a few feet away from Lantis. The Kailu could see dark shadows beneath the smaller man's eyes, joined by the red circles that ringed them.

"My brother?" he asked.

"Step-brother, I should say." Clef sounded curt and pompous, as usual. "We must find him, and then you two must come with me."

"Why?"

Clef looked towards the castle. "You shall see. We must see the King and Queen."