Part Thirty-Five:

"So what did the king want to talk to you about?" Tanya asked her nephew when he joined her in the library. But she stopped and got concerned when she saw blood under Zellen's nose; he also looked pretty dazed. "Your nose, what's wrong?"

"Hun?" He felt under his nose and then quickly got out a handkerchief. He pinched his nose and his eyes grew clear again. "I don't know. Dry air, I guess."

"Let me," she said and traced some yellow runes in the air. She pointed at Zellen's nose and the bleeding stopped.

"Thank you, Auntie. The king just wanted to let me know that Yuui was enjoying himself and asked to stay in Nihongo until Fai could come back."

"I'm not surprised. I hope Yuui is having a good time."

"Where's Drysi?"

Tanya's face grew grim. "She's telling her grandmother she wants nothing more to do with her."

"Her outrageous lies almost cost me my freedom," Drysi said, walking up to them. She gasped. "Zellen, your nose?"

"It's fine. Dry air," he explained before tucking his handkerchief away. He gave her a smile.

"Well, you both look absolutely exhausted. When we get home you should get some rest and then pack for your honeymoon," Tanya said.

"Thank you," Zellen said.

"Well, at least you aren't arguing any more," she said. She lofted her staff and traced the proper runes that would drag them across the ley lines to Kella.


***
Kurogane looked behind him. His father's men had finished off the last demon. It lay on the beach, now, turning into a pile of goo. "Good work," he said, in approval. His father only chose the best to serve him.

He joined the men and started looking around for blond hair; none could be seen. He had been separated from Fai during the fight. He looked over and saw Sedji, Kentaro's wakashudo apprentice. "Have you seen my mage?"

"Yes, sir. He shot a demon that was by the coast. I was going to go back him up, but something caught his eye and he ran off that a way. He didn't say anything, just ran," the young man explained.

"Damn it," Kurogane swore. "Kentaro!" The man showed up and gave a slight bow. "You and the men looked for any more demons or anything suspicious. We'll set up camp here."

"As you wish, young master."

"Fai ran down the beach. I'm going to see what he found," Kurogane said.

"Just make sure he doesn't bite you," Kentaro joked. Kurogane smirked and shook his head before jogging off, following Fai's footprints on the damp, sandy beach.

He rounded the base of a cliff in time to see Fai launch a rune set at the very man they were looking for: Fei-Wang. The man was levitating in a reddish, hazy bubble, smirking. The pink runes fell away, but made the bubble ripple. Kurogane got out his sword and stood by Fai's side.

"Fei-Wang! Surrender now! You must answer for yourself," Kurogane demanded.

"I don't have to do a thing, Suwa whelp, except bring more demons across the boarder."

"So you admit it!"

"Of course, on behalf of the Takatoris. You think your little vixen is so special? Ha... He's a ridiculous joke," Fei-Wang laid down the heavy insult. "I think I just proved his magic is weak."

"If you think so, why not let down your shield and fight me, one-on-one?" Fai asked, putting on a fake smile.

Fei-Wang laughed. "You can't even break my shield, so you ask me to lower it. Pathetic."

"What makes you think I can't?" Fai called out brightly. Lightening quick, he traced runes and sent them flying into the red orb. The red orb dissolved into so many puffs of smoke that drifted off into the dusk air.

Fei-Wang's feet hit the ground; he pointed clawed fingers at Fai. Red tentacles shot out from the fingertips, but Fai held up his right palm. A pink disk with runes around the edge appeared between them and the attacking sorcerer. Kurogane recognized the one-way shield; it meant Kurogane and Fai could press ranged attacks toward Fei-Wang, but the man couldn't do likewise. The red tentacles fell aside, useless, when they hit the pink disk.

"What the...?" Shock was on Fei-Wang's face.

"It seems mine is better than yours," Fai said in a tone somewhere between gloating and coquettish.

Kurogane lofted Ginryuu, gathered the spiritual energy around him, and swung the blade, concentrating on his one of his father's ranged technique. He called out, "Magic Wave of the Dragon King!"

The energy burst forth and surged through Fai's shield. The sly, old sorcerer was barely able to deflect it with another red, hazy bubble. "Fine! I'll ensure you have more than you can handle!"

With that, the man dissipated in a swirl of red. Kurogane turned to Fai when he dropped the pink disk with runes on the edge. "You shouldn't have gone after him alone! What were you thinking?"

"That," Fai said and pointed into the distance. There were ten demons swooping around in the dusk sky over the ocean. They weren't able to cross the liminal with out Fei-Wang's assistance. "That was a rather tough fight we had with just eight demons. Ten more, after we're all tired, wouldn't be ideal."

Kurogane smirked and nodded. "You'd think I'd trust your judgment by now."

"Aww... Kuro-rin, it's only 'cause you care," Fai said, getting coy.

"Not now, mage," Kurogane said, with a disgruntled sigh as he tried to rub his headache away from his brow. His lover always picked the strangest times to flirt. "Do you know where he went?"

"Not right away, but I can track him a little better now. You should have let me fight him more, so I could sense more of his magic."

"Oh. Now it's my fault?" Kurogane asked, getting a little irritable that Fei-Wang had escaped. Rather than Fai flinging his arms around him in gratitude, now Kurogane was getting castigation.

"Young master," Sedji called out and knelt on the sand. "We've set up camp."

"Good. Let's get some rest. Fai, try however you can to find that man."

"Leave it to me! I'll find that jerk for my Kuro-tan," Fai said, trotting off after Sedji towards the camp.

"You... silly... mage..." Kurogane griped as he followed them at a distance.


"Oh good goddess... Auntie, I should kill you, and if I knew a good hex, I would," Zellen mumbled in mind numbed terror at the top of the expert ski slope. His wife was already at the bottom, having handled the steep slope with skill and grace. He thought shy Drysi would want to stay on the 'bunny slopes' with him; to his dismay, that wasn't on her mind.

He, on the other hand, only did intermediate slopes when forced to, at most. That's how Fai and he had become mortal pranking enemies when they were small children. Fai had hexed his skis in a fit of jealousy over Yuui's attention, and, well, skiing had never been the same, in spite of him being a Celian native.

Drysi waved at him with her pole. His stomach turned, but he just wasn't willing to look unmanly in front of her and wuss out. He took a deep breath, cursed Fai in his head while vowing revenge, and launched himself down the slope. It was dreadful as he went careening down the mountain.

It felt like an eternity until he turned his skis to the side and halted in front of Drysi. He was shocked he made it without making a fool of himself, or worse, get a broken bone. He was thankful he was born a healer at that very moment.

"How about some hot chocolate?" Zellen asked in desperate hopes she'd go for it. "They have this awesome fireplace. We could sit by it and play cards."

"Oh... but I haven't skied in such a long time."

"But you're from the south."

"And this is one of my hobbies," she said with a delightful smile. "After all, who in Celes doesn't ski?"

Before he could say 'me, thanks to that hex-casting jerk, Fai' she had him up the slope again; he was amazed at what a little dare devil she really was. Eventually, he got more confident and started to have more fun. Eventually, they both felt too exhausted, and so she took him up on the hot chocolate.


"This is very serious, Lord Suwa," Princess Tomoyo said after she convened court. He knelt in front her dais, alongside him to his left was Mamoru Takatori, kneeling as well: plaintiff and defendant.

"I hated to bring Lord Takatori into it, but the facts are evident," Lord Suwa said, looking over at the young man who was five years younger than his son, yet had the same weight of power as a full province lord. He was willing to chalk somethings up to youthful mistakes, but this was more than a youthful mistake.

Shingo, Mamoru's grandfather, on the other hand, never did know better. Most of the other province lords thought it was a blessing when the trouble maker broke his back in a horse accident years ago, but his son Reiji turned out worse to deal with.

"Please let us know what happened, Lord Suwa."

"It's suspected that Fei-Wang has the unmitigated gall to bring demons into the Suwa region across Fai's wards. I suspect it was Shingo Takatori that ordered this from his sick bed, because he wrote me a letter making demands I give up some of my northern territory to be incorporated into Tsukiyono."

"I've only become aware of this recently," Mamoru said. Lord Suwa could tell he seemed very disturbed. "I came right away to make things right with you, Lord Suwa."

"Did you talk to your grandfather, Lord Takatori?" Tomoyo asked.

He shook his head. "He refused an audience with me and has locked himself away in our mountain fortress. I'm afraid he's become very unreasonable in recent years. It's became worse when my father, uncle, and two older brothers were killed by those foreign mages."

"You are now lord of the province. He has no right to refuse an audience," Lord Suwa pointed out.

"But he is my grandfather. I owe him filial piety and can't break that. It'd be a huge disgrace," Mamoru said with defeated slumped shoulders.

"That is true," Lord Suwa said. That would be a horrible situation to be in; he would have never dreamed of confronting his own grandfathers when the men were alive.

"However, you can confront Fei-Wang. You're in charge of him. He's now your court sorcerer," Tomoyo reminded him. "You need to order him to stop. The mage of Celes put up those wards to protect our land from demons that have been plaguing it."

"I know. I promise I'll order Fei-Wang to stop doing this, but he's been missing for days now," Mamoru said.

"He's in Suwa. My son and his mage are killing off the demons he just unleashed."

"I'll come and fetch him," Mamoru offered.

"No, that's okay. I'll find him and send him to you," Lord Suwa said. "You need time to deal with your grandfather."

"Yes, this won't continue. Lord Suwa is being very generous. He could ask Empress Ameterasu for permission to wage war against Tsukiyono," Tomoyo reminded.

"I know and I thank you, Lord Suwa, for being so generous. I'll work on getting to the bottom of why my grandfather decided to do this."

"Write me when you find out what his grievance is. Even though, if it's the same as my father dealt with, it all boils down to greed," Lord Suwa said.


"And five and sixes," Zellen said, laying down his three cards.

"Well, that trumps anything I have. You win," she said.

Zellen chuckled. "It's about time. You're tough." He stretched and looked around the large den. After a nice dinner, they'd come here to play cards by the massive fireplace and get warm. They'd received a few strange looks. After all, they were young honeymooners playing cards rather than trying to fool around in the hamam. Now the people had thinned out, and he realized it was rather late.

"I think I should walk you to your bedroom."

"That would be nice. I'd like to go skiing early in the morning."

"Great," he murmured. Yes, he couldn't wait for Fai to get back. He knew exactly what he was going to do. It would involve a wild otter, hopefully rabid, and Fai's closet as a homecoming gift.

"You did really great," she said, giving him a warm smile. He stood up and took her gloved hands, helping her up from the hearth. They walked down the hallways until they got to their side-by-side room. They heard another couple down the hallway giggling. Zellen watched them with envy as they started kissing before retreating to their room.

He turned to Drysi and saw her bite her bottom lip. "What's the matter?"

"I want you to kiss me," she said, sadly.

Zellen felt down for a moment and then cheered up. "Actually, there is a way. Hold on." He went to his room and dug around in his black healer's bag. He lofted the brightly wrapped gift he had brought along everywhere to grant his wife something precious and rare when the time was right. He couldn't believe he was getting this chance to offer it. He reemerged and said, "Let's go to your room. I have a gift for you. I guess you could consider it a belated birthday gift." After all, her birthday had fallen when she was in the dungeon, so other things were on their minds.

She let him into the room and turned to him, baffled. "What is that?"

"Something special I found out about a while ago. I made for you, but I didn't want to give it to you until I was sure you wouldn't take the offer the wrong way. I didn't want you to get the wrong impression about this present."

He offered her the package. His excitement was at a high as he watched her take the slender vial from the box after the wrapping was off. She stared at the translucent, crimson liquid for a moment.

"What is it? A potion?"

"Yes. I found this one in an obscure book; it suppresses psychometry for a couple hours. I figured... if you wanted a kiss, you could try it. Just one small swallow. There are four doses in there."

She uncorked the glass stopper and carefully sipped the potion. She set aside the vial and he said, "Just give it another minute."

She did and then removed her gloves from her scarred hands. She gingerly reached out and touch a vase on the desk in her room. She flinched back, surprised. "Not a thing. I didn't feel a thing."

"Yes! It worked!" Zellen said. His major success started his mind down a different track. "I should use this as the practical for my D title!" Then he looked over to Drysi who grew suddenly reserved. "You still want to? You know... kiss...?" he asked, refocused.

All she could do was nod. He approached her slowly, put his hands on her waist, and pressed his lips to hers. It was a little awkward, at first, but the sincere affection he had for her melted that away. She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned in closer to him, letting him hold her properly.

He parted from the kiss and asked, "So, would you like another one?" She nodded, being too shy to speak. He lowered his head and accommodate her, firmly this time. He paused. "We have to be aware of the time. A little over two hours is what we have."

"Well I want to spend that time wisely."

He took her by the hand and looked around the room. There was a small sitting area in front of a fireplace, or there was the bed with a nightstand. Yeah, he was tempted to take her to the bed and make out with her like crazy, but he really didn't want to destroy things after making progress. He tugged her to the settee in front of the unlit fireplace. He pulled her beside him and resumed kissing her.

Eventually, he leaned her against the settee's arm and moved his kisses to her neck. She gasped and shivered. He paused. "Still okay?"

"Yes, I want more. Please, Zellen. I really want to make you happy and return every kindness you've given me."

"More? I want more, too. A lot more, but I don't want to push you into doing something uncomfortable."

"I've never had anyone really touch me before, but I want it so much. To feel a human touch is something I really wanted, but never hoped for. I'm naive about all this, but I'm willing to try making you happy."

"I'm not experienced, either, but we'll try if you want." Zellen took a deep breath and calmed himself. "Would you like us to move to the bed? We could be more comfortable and I promise, we'd only go as far as you wanted to. I want you to trust me."

She looked a little nervous, but nodded. He gave her a fond kiss on her forehead before he picked her up and carried her to the bed. He laid her down carefully and stood beside the bed. She lay before him, innocent and nervous; what worried him: the time structure they had. He certainly didn't want to rush things. He took off his shirt and watched for her expression.

"You have a scar, too." She pointed to his left pectoral and ran her fingertips over it. It made him quiver in delight and he smiled.

He shook his head. "That was from a stupid prank that Fai played on me. I was justified when Yuui took my side and made the jerk apologize."

She smiled. "It's really handsome."

Okay, Zellen canceled the rabid otter prank since Drysi like the scar. He locked his lips on hers as he fumbled with the rest of her clothing, now that the nuisance of a corset was gone. Too much clothing in his opinion, but she'd been raised in a very formal way. She was finally down to her lacy shift. He kissed her again and felt her silky left breast under it. He halted with his hand over it when she froze. She whispered, "Please more."

Piece by piece, their clothing was ultimately discard beside the bed. Zellen could barely stop himself, but he did pause what he was doing to her and said, "I've got to go do something real quick." She looked baffled, but he was embarrassed to tell her what he was going to do, even though she was entitled to know.

He leaped up and went the bathroom shared between their rooms. He sighed and traced five, yellow runes and pointed at himself. Until he could properly support a child, he didn't want to father one. He rejoined Drysi after that and snuggled under the covers with her.

"What did you do?"

"I figured we didn't want a child until after I became an official healer. Besides, I know my aunt. As nice as she's been, she wouldn't go for us having a baby at this moment. She'd skin me alive if I got you pregnant without a job."

"I want to wait to be parents until we're a bit more able. If you cast a contraception spell on yourself, I'm not upset," she said with a bashful grin.

"Good, we'll have some more newlywed time. It might not be great the first few times, you know, but I hope you'll sick with me."

"I will. I have this far. I've trusted you with my safety. Why wouldn't I stick with you through this?" Her flushed face turned to the pillow, tears in her eyes. It struck Zellen how much this girl had sacrificed for him: her family, her home, her friends.

Her flushed face told him everything; he understood. She was offering him her body at this moment. He felt so humbled. "I doubt I'm worthy of this gift. Seeing as how I lied to get you."

"I don't care, Zellen," she murmured, her face buried deeper in the pillow. "All I want is you. You've been by my side, and I want to... make that connection real, now that you created a way for that to be reality... before it's too late."

When he found his breath he embraced her and they made love for the first time. It wasn't elegant, but it was tender and sincere.


Kurogane watched Fai in the warm dawn light. He stood on the beach with closed eyes, his palms faced each other and there was a glowing pink ball in between them. He was searching for Fei-Wang. Kurogane wasn't sure how it worked.

The men were milling around back at the camp, getting ready to move out whenever Fai figured out which direction. Finally, when the sun finished drifting above the horizon, there was a ripple in the pink bubble between Fai's palms. It vanished and Fai opened his eyes.

He turned to Kurogane, actually looking dour. Kurogane didn't like that one bit. If Fai was looking this troubled and not hiding it, Kurogane had a feeling he was about to hear something dreadful.

"I know where he is, but we're going to have big problems when we get there, Kuro-lu. I sensed he just brought over thirty demons."

"Damn it!" Kurogane stood from the sandy beach. "Let's go. No sense in wasting time."

To be continued.