A/N: And we're back to Kenny once again.

This is I guess sorta filler, iono. It won't be long though.

Enjoy~

I'm not entirely sure what I had expected to come of this journey, or at least what I had expected the rescue of my dear friend to be like.

Part of me really wanted it to be some sort of glorious, romantic epic. The tale ending with us sailing over into the sunrise to one day wake up, go ashore my home, and begin our days anew side by side in the glowing beams of Helios.

Instead, I find myself surrounded by old, trembling servants as they try to keep our boat on course towards Troy. I look to find Token standing atop a crate and yelling at the men scurrying around that we need to get there as quickly as we can and that there is absolutely no time to waste.

Not exactly the sound of romance if I can recall old folk tales correctly.

I run my fingers through my hair and sigh, staring at the map laid out in front of me. There's still so much ground to cover. There's so much that can happen before we actually get home. Poseidon seems fairly tolerant of us for today but who's to say he'll actually stay as such? I see Demos and Ike sitting on the deck of the ship talking excitedly, no doubt telling stories of what they think their new home will be like, of how wonderful it is to be free of Cartman's rule.

Truth be told, there's only one person on the earth who needs to have that kind of enthusiasm.

I look up towards the front of the ship and see him sitting on a crate, watching the waves carefully with unmoving somberness across his face. He's been like this ever since we left the palace.

He's quiet; unmoving. He still shakes with fear at times and he flinches each time he's so much as touched by another person. I truly don't know what to do for him. I want so much for him to relax if only slightly, to realize that as of now, he's completely safe in my hands...But Kyle is still the same as he was all those years ago. He's calculative. He's in an almost constant state of awareness at anything that could go wrong.

I missed seeing that all the time for so long. But now...now it just breaks my heart to see him as such.

A shadow crosses over me and I turn to watch as Token takes a seat beside me, following my previous gaze towards Kyle.

"He's not going to get better anytime soon," he says quietly. "You do realize this?"

I blink and watch my redheaded friend as he weaves his fingers in and out of one another in nervousness. I sigh, "Yes. But one can hope, right?"

"He needs more than your hope," he states. "He's been through Tartarus and back time after time. Being kidnapped, losing his family and you, becoming Cartman's plaything, being at everyone's mercy when he should be holding the reins..." he stops and lets out a deep breath. "He needs you more now than ever before. He's finally had time to stop and think about all that's happened. I think it's starting to get to him."

I nod slowly, watching the deep and somewhat-forced evenness of Kyle's breathing. "What can I do for him though?" I murmur. "He knows he can come to me about anything."

"Consider the fact that he's been a prisoner for six years, Kenneth," he reminds me gently. "Prisoners don't automatically trust everyone on the outside. He trusted you enough to get him out of that palace but that doesn't mean every part of him doesn't still ache with the feeling that he'll be turned on once again."

"He knows I'd never hurt him," I snap.

"He may know it, but he'll always have that lingering fear and you know it."

I stare at Kyle at bit longer before nodding and taking a deep breath. "Yeah. But...but I don't want him to feel like that."

"It'll take some time, Kenneth. Just be there for him while he battles through this. Cartman has scarred him, but I doubt he's beyond repair. If he lasted that long within his walls without breaking down, he obviously has a great deal of inner strength."

I let this sink in for a moment before rising to my feet and staring at the redhead a bit longer. I feel Token's stare on my back before I start walking over towards the boy, watching him for any sign of anything other than sadness and fear.

I'm not finding any.

I grab a crate nearby and place it beside his, sitting down and clasping my hands together and leaning forward. "Kyle?" I ask.

I see that subtle flinch and my heart lurches. "Yes?" he responds quietly.

"Are you alright?"

He pauses and looks at me, his bright green eyes clouded and surrounded by heavy bags of exhaustion. "I'm not sure," he says honestly. "I...I don't know."

I swallow and look down at my hands thoughtfully, trying to think of the best way to keep the conversation moving. "Can you tell me why?"

He's silent for a bit, his eyes watching a gull as it circles around the boat squawking its heart out. "He's lost," he finally murmurs.

"What?" I raise my brow.

He nods up towards the flying pest. "The gull. He's lost. He's so far from inland."

"He's just looking for food."

"Maybe...," he states tiredly before looking back at the ocean. We stay as such until he finally brings himself to speak again, "Kenny..."

"Yes?" I snap my head over towards him.

"I've damned you." He whispers. "You and everyone on this ship...I...I've ruined everything for everyone..."

My face and stomach drop simultaneously at his words. "No, Kyle, no," I coo, wrapping my arm around his and pulling his head down onto my shoulder, stroking his red hair carefully. I watch as a single tear makes its way down his cheek as he continues staring out towards the sea.

"He'll come for me," he whispers deadly.

"We know," I tell him. "But it'll be okay. I'll protect you," I reassure him. "He will never so much as touch you again."

"Blood...," he shakes his head against my chest. "So much blood of so many innocent people..."

I stare at him for a moment before pulling him closer into my torso. "Kyle," I say firmly, "you're worth it. You're worth the fight."

He sighs, sitting up away from me and staring at me with an unwavering glance. "Ken...I'm Sparta's whore," he states, his face twisting into loathness. "I'm not worth the death of a lamb let alone an army."

I shake my head, cupping his chin and kissing his lips gently. "You're worth everything, Kyle. You're king. Every warrior will fight for you."

"They fight for their families," he recounts miserably. "For their homes, and the people they love. Not for a king or a kingdom," he sighs. He shakes his head and looks at me again. "My father...was so peaceful," he remembers sadly. "He taught me that fighting is never the way to go about things. That men fight only for themselves and their lives. They don't want to go to war for a single person who means so little to them personally. They grow hateful and vengeful towards the person responsible for thrusting them onto the battlefield." He pauses and we gaze at each other for a good deal of time. "I don't want to be that person, Kenny," he finishes in a saddened whisper.

I scoot my crate closer to his and bring his head down onto my shoulder again, teasing his curls with my fingers. "Kyle," I start, "You won't be hated for this. You were taken hostage; we're merely fighting for you to make sure it doesn't happen again. And if we get Cartman out of command, think of how his army will fall. Sparta will no longer be the greedy, innocents-slaying country that it is now. You'll fall back into power and you'll bring it back to the peaceful, loving nation that it was when your mother and father held the throne.

He doesn't respond, just takes more deep, even breaths as we continue to look out at the ocean together. I lean down slightly and kiss his curls before leaning our heads together and merely watching the waves play amongst themselves.

He's so fidgety against me. He's so nervous. He's plighted with so much guilt upon his conscious...I don't know what else to tell him. He's absolutely right, though. Cartman has made his claim upon the redhead. And if what I saw a few weeks ago is any indication, he's not going to give him up without a fight.

I think of my kingdom, I think of Stan, Gary, and Thomas. What will they say once they realize that I've essentially captured a piece of Sparta and willingly thrust ourselves into the front lines of war? All I can truly hope for is that they see it from my point of view. That they see that Kyle is still our friend and needs our help...

But one can only hope for so much. I know our army. I know our leaders. We're not ones to be the first to declare war. But now with Kyle's words echoing through my head, I realize that I've done just that. I've signed the agreement for battle with my own hand; writing in the deep garnet of the blood of my people.

A/N: Told ya it'd be shorter. I'm trying to not let this story drag I guess, iono.

Next chapter...will take a while before it gets up. Not only am I about to move to college next week, but I also have never written this character before so it's going to take me some time to find his character x_o

Until then, thanks for R&Ring!