Akikee: *pokes Akirina* another update from you, make me soooo ashamed… Seemed like you always got so much time to type! Not to mention efficient…Thanks for readers out there and your reviews! And let's give a big hand to Akirina for her fast updating skills!
Akirina: *pouts at Akikee* well, I spent all night typing and editing this... and anyway, it's the weekends, so why not spend time on com? Akikee also does quite well... anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 5
"Wolfram, take your troops and head into the village to search for Heika." Günter commanded. "Conrad, Gwendal, you will go around searching the surrounding forests and hills for Heika. I shall find the Kotsuhitsuku for more information on Heika."
The three brothers nodded and they separated immediately, each of them turning their attention to finding their missing monarch.
Conrad was easily the most disturbed among his half-siblings. He leaned forward in his horse, urging it to hurry to find Yuuri.
Gwendal was the most guilty. He did not know what had spurred him into making the kid King spend the whole afternoon in the stables. He knew that he had been harsh—overly so—and he had done wrong. But there had been a compulsion that stirred his anger and made him punish Yuuri.
As for Wolfram, he was more concerned about the troubles Yuuri might have met. What if someone had kidnapped Yuuri? That would mean a rescue attempt that would end up horribly disastrous—knowing Yuuri's penchant for trouble—and the more-than-likely emergence of the Maoh—and believe me, the Maoh was not someone you would want to know on a daily basis, nor was he someone you would want to see when you had committed something immorally wrong.
With that, the three brothers rushed on.
Yuuri opened his eyes slowly. A piece of cloth was stuffed in his mouth and he was bound tightly with ropes. For a moment, he could not remember anything. But the memories of the past events rushed into his head and his eyes widened in realization. He started to struggle against his bonds, trying to wiggle his way out of his restraints.
"Captain! The brat's awake!"
Yuuri froze. This was not good. He cried out in pain as someone seized his hair and pulled him up roughly.
"Well now, my pretty." Belire sneered by his ear. "Why didn't you tell me that you were awake? I would have provided better… accommodations if you had said so."
Tears welled up in Yuuri's eyes as he hung limply from Belire's grip. He did not want to move and cause more pain.
How was he going to get away from his kidnappers? Yuuri wondered.
Belire threw him to the ground and Yuuri let out another muffled cry as the rough movement jostled his shoulder. Belire laughed and leaned down to rip the gag out of Yuuri's mouth.
Yuuri blinked, not expected Belire to do that. Just as the thought crossed Yuuri's mind, Belire thrust a cup of foul-smelling liquid to Yuuri's mouth. At the same time, he pinched Yuuri's nose, causing the child to open his mouth—and he poured the liquid down Yuuri's throat.
Yuuri gagged and spluttered, inevitably swallowing some of the substance. Finally, Belire held the cup away from Yuuri.
"What did you do?" Yuuri demanded when he could speak.
Belire smirked. "Just an extra precaution."
Then, Yuuri's eyes started to droop and he slumped to the ground.
"King Saralegui."
"I told you to call me Sara, Belias. You're my uncle, doesn't that give you enough reason to call me by my name?" The aforementioned turned to his body guard and uncle. "Well?"
"My apologies, King- Sara. But there is a group of Big Shimaron soldiers in the forest just ahead…"
Saralegui frowned. "Big Shimaron? I didn't hear that King Ranjeel had any meetings with Yuuri…"
"The King isn't with them. But there's a child…" Belias replied after a moment of intense listening. "His voice sounds strangely familiar…"
"Come, Belias, let us find out what the Big Shimaron soldiers are doing so near to the borders of Shin Makoku. I do not have a good feeling about this." Saralegui ordered as he spurred his horse onward.
"Yes, King Saralegui."
"I told you, it's Sara! Sara," Saralegui emphasized. "You really must learn, Belias! Mother was mortified when she heard you calling me 'King Saralegui'—it's just not proper between family members, don't you know that?"
"My apologies, Sara." Belias replied carefully and the argument was put aside for the moment as the duo neared the clearing the Big Shimaron soldiers were in.
"Captain, is that brat really the Maoh?"
"Of course he is! I'm not so dim-witted to grab the wrong person!"
"But I heard that the Maoh was supposed to be older… Like fifteen years old, or something?"
"Fool! He was turned into a child. We've been planning for this to happen—there's always a chance to kidnap the king as long as that demon who keeps inventing strange machines is around. So all you need to do is make sure he doesn't escape!"
"Yuuri?" Saralegui murmured in shock. "He's been captured? And there's a spy at the castle?"
Belias also shared Saralegui's shock. Wasn't Conrad, Yuuri's body guard supposed to stick by his liege's side? Where had the half-demon gone?
"Belias." Saralegui's sudden, urgent tone broke Belias out of his thoughts. "We have to save Yuuri. We can't let Ranjeel get hold of him."
Belias dipped his head in agreement. And then, he was gone. Saralegui blinked at the spot his uncle had been occupying a few moments ago and he turned to the clearing, intending to march into the campsite behind his uncle when the elder man suddenly appeared in front of him with a small bundle in his arms.
"Belias," Saralegui said, irritated. "You could have waited for me. I can fight, you know."
"My apologies, Ki- Sara." Belias bowed. "Shall we leave now? The soldiers didn't take kindly to my presence and my snatching of Yuuri Heika."
Saralegui took the child from Belias and urged his horse to the direction of Shin Makoku. As the two of them raced down the track, Yuuri stirred slightly.
"Conrad?" he murmured.
"Conrad isn't here, Yuuri." Saralegui told the child in his arms gently. "What happened?"
"Mm…" Yuuri's eyes fluttered and then he sank into black oblivion again.
"I hope we reach Shin Makoku quickly. I want to know why Yuuri is in this state and how he was captured!" Saralegui muttered to Belias, frustrated.
"Don't worry, King Saralegui. We are approaching the border of Shin Makoku. Once we pass through into Shin Makoku, we can go and seek Yuuri Heika's servants." Belias assured his king.
"I told you, it's Sara, Belias." Saralegui retorted, an underlying touch of annoyance to his voice.
But Belias wasn't listening. He had tensed in his saddle, eyes fixed on the road before him. In front of the two kings and the body guard, blocking the way to 'freedom' was a group of soldiers wearing the armor of Big Shimaron. Belias cursed silently as he unsheathed his sword, preparing for battle.
"Saralegui, take Yuuri Heika to Shin Makoku now! I will distract them for the moment-" Belias was cut off as the Big Shimaron soldiers stepped out of the forest behind them. They were trapped.
"If you give us the king, we won't harm you." The Commander of the troops spoke warningly, his eyes fixed on Belias and Saralegui before his gaze slid to the young child in Saralegui's arms. "And if you support our endeavors to overthrow Shin Makoku, we'll give you a third of the land to you and any other allies you wish to include in the war."
Saralegui's brow creased. He had half a mind to bring them under his power and turn them against Big Shimaron. Or better yet, let them fight amongst themselves whilst he, Belias and Yuuri slipped away.
Belias must have guessed what his king was thinking, for he uttered softly, "Don't do, Saralegui."
"Why not?" Saralegui hissed back, equally softly. "We need to get Yuuri away-"
"But not at the risk of your life! You do know that taking on this many people will make you exhausted? And how will I be able to get you to Shin Makoku safely if you are tired? What will happen to Yuuri Heika?" Belias murmured back heatedly.
"Then what do we do?" Saralegui half-whispered and half-hissed. "Are we going to fight back?"
Belias then did something that surprised Saralegui. He grinned fiercely. "No. I am going to fight. You are going to head to Shin Makoku." He instructed his liege.
"No!" Saralegui protested fiercely. "What about you? I can't leave you behind!"
Belias ignored his nephew's protests. "On the count of three." He told Saralegui.
"One…"
"Have you finished discussing?" The Commander asked impatiently.
"Two…"
"I object to your idea, Belias!" Saralegui cried, but he was readying the horse and clutching Yuuri closer to him.
"Three!"
Belias charged forward, unsheathing his swords. The Big Shimaron soldiers barely had time to prepare themselves before Belias was cutting through their ranks as easily as a knife cuts through butter. As for Saralegui, he had disappeared.
It did not take a long time for the Commander to realize that Saralegui and the child king were missing. "Go after the other one! He has the target!" he shouted the command to his men. A portion of them broke off immediately from the fight and raced into the forest after Saralegui and Yuuri. Belias cursed as he fought against the remaining faction of the group. He could only hope that Yuuri Heika and his king—Saralegui, Belias corrected himself—would get away.
Saralegui urged his horse to run faster as they crashed through the under bush. He cast nervous glances behind him now and then, checking the progress of his pursuers. It seemed that he had lost them… But Saralegui knew that they were not safe until they had passed the boundary line of Shin Makoku. And it would be great if he would manage to find the border patrol.
"There they are!"
Saralegui whipped his head to the source of the shout. It seemed that he had had that thought too soon and Saralegui cursed the soldiers. How had they managed to catch up with him? They had not been there a moment ago… Just how…? There was not enough time for him to get to the boundaries… he would have to fight.
He made his horse rear as the soldiers got closer, the flailing hooves taking down two of their pursuers. Saralegui tried to unsheathe his sword while keeping Yuuri and himself on the horse. Then it was a whirl of activities as he tried to defend himself and Yuuri. But his efforts were in vain when a hard object hit his head heavily and he fell unconscious immediately.
"Commander! We have the brat!"
Belias glanced from the fight, momentarily distracted and his eyes widened when he saw the child king in the soldier's arms. He panicked, trying to reach Yuuri when he realized something else.
What had happened to Saralegui?
"What do we do with the king?" one of the two soldiers struggled to carry the heavier teenage Small Shimaron king.
"I suppose we will have to take him along…" the other soldier shrugged. Then he stopped, as if an idea had struck him. He glanced at the first speaker's face, then Saralegui's face. "Unless… we could dispose of him and...?"
"Blame it on him for resisting and getting himself killed?" The first soldier smirked. "Good idea. I like it. Let's kill the brat, then. He sure is a burden."
The second soldier had barely raised his sword to stab Saralegui when he stiffened. He slowly glanced down at the red spreading across his chest and the sharp sword sticking out of his chest before he crumpled to the ground like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
"Well, well, what have we here?" Saralegui's savior said as he examined the king of Small Shimaron after disposing of the second soldier in a similar fashion. "The King of Small Shimaron?"
He glanced in the direction where the other fight was taking place. "I don't suppose…?"
Belias quickly finished off the last of the opposing forces, eager to be searching for his young nephew. He prayed that Saralegui was still alive as he moved in the direction where his king had bolted when the under bush rustled and a muscular blonde man emerged from the forest, leading a horse that was Saralegui's and the owner slumped over the neck of the horse, clearly unconscious.
"Wha- Who are you?" Belias demanded, on the defensive.
"I am Adelbert." The man answered. "Is this young man a companion of yours?" he asked, gesturing to Saralegui.
"Yes." Belias answered shortly and he approached, lifting his king down from the saddle easily.
"Kin- Sara? Sara, wake up." Belias shook his king until his nephew opened his eyes. The younger man blinked blurrily at Belias twice before he remembered the past events.
"Yuuri!" Saralegui cried, bolting upright. "Belias! They have him! We must save-"
"However, King Saralegui, we cannot rescue Yuuri by ourselves. We will need help from Shin Makoku…" Belias argued, seeing the look of frustration settle upon Saralegui's features.
"Excuse me."
The king and his body guard turned to Adelbert, both seeming to have forgotten that he was still standing there.
Adelbert's blue eyes burned brightly. "Did you just say Yuuri?"
"Come, ladies! While the brave men are out searching for our wonderful king, let us defend our country!" Anissina rallied the maids of the castle. Then, when everyone scrabbled to set booby traps and what not within the castle, she headed to her lab to retrieve her latest invention.
Upon opening the door to her lab, Anissina wrinkled her nose as a sweet smell assailed her senses. She pulled an oxygen-supplying device out of her pocket and entered the room. Her eyes searched the room for the source of the smell and she spotted the device that was still working away at a corner of her lab. Anissina turned it off and found the other machine she was looking for. As she left the room, Anissina realized something.
"Hm… Didn't I send Gwendal into my lab to get my spectacles earlier? Before he found out that Yuuri Heika 'destroyed' his knitting?" Anissina mused. "I wonder what effects Emotion-Amplifier-kun had on him… It's supposed to amplify any feelings that he must have had when he entered the lab… I do hope he was feeling angry… Well, seeing as it's Gwendal, he must have been…
"Hm… Interesting."