Lost in the Dark

By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl

Chapter 3 – Returning Worries

Hanaru was worried. Horribly, terribly worried. And all she could do was sit in the Narian dungeon and hope that her friends had left Ronera before the scouts got there. It would save her life if they were there, but it would save all of them if they were gone already, leaving only the transport barrier.

After Kyoya had introduced himself he'd left her, ordering the guards to keep her healthy. It was true that they'd kept her well fed, but worry gnawed at her stomach so much that she could hardly eat. The Prince noticed when he returned. "Something wrong, Hanaru?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"You haven't eaten much," he murmured, picking up the half-eaten loaf of bread as if to make a point. "Are you sick?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled, "I just don't have much of an appetite."

He stared at her curiously before letting out a soft sigh. "Well, you'll be glad to know that we found the magical barrier you were talking about in Ronera."

She feigned relief. "That's great. I guess that means you trust me."

He nodded once. "You'll be moved into a guest room in the palace so you can heal before you're sent back to Kira on a spying mission," he stated. "I suppose we're lucky that we captured the one Kiran soldier who absolutely despises his country."

"Even luckier that you actually listened," she muttered under her breath. He smirked wistfully.

"Yes, I suppose that's correct too," he murmured. As she heard the tone of his voice, she had to ask herself, as she had with every other male she'd ever come in contact with, would this be the man that would turn her into a murderer? He couldn't know that she was a female though could he?

Quickly, she did a mental check of herself. She'd acted like a soldier. She was covered. There wasn't a single thing that would signal to him that she was a girl. And he hadn't shown any sign of knowing. No, she assured herself, Prince Kyoya did not know of her identity.

She gripped her side subconsciously. His eyes shot to where she was moving. "Still hurt?"

She nodded though it didn't really hurt all that much anymore. Her witch half had taken care of that. "An arrow wound hardly heals quickly, Your Highness," she said softly, holding his gaze with hers steadily. He smiled.

"I'm quite surprised that it didn't kill you. Normally Narian archers shoot to kill. Do you happen to possess healing abilities?"

She did. But she wasn't going to tell him that she did. It would only give him more clues to her identity. "I don't," she muttered the lie with ease, "I've always been a quick healer though." He narrowed his eyes slightly. Had she given something away?

Eventually, he nodded in thought and offered his hand. She took it. "Come. I'll take you to your chambers." He pulled her to her feet. Hanaru wobbled slightly, almost falling back to the ground before he caught her.

"Still dizzy," she grumbled as he looped an arm around her waist to keep her upright. He just smirked in reply.

–

Somehow, after traveling up more stairs than she could count and through numerous halls, they came to a stop in front of a guest chamber. Hanaru was thoroughly confused as to where she was. It seemed like they'd turned around and backtracked more than once. She thought they were in the third floor. It was slightly amusing to her how huge this place was – how many people it could potentially hold – when there were people lying homeless on the streets just outside the palace walls.

Kyoya, noticing her smile, rose an inquiring eyebrow. She shook her head. "I think I lost count of how many turns we made somewhere around 20," she muttered under her breath, "Where, may I ask, are we?"

He actually had to think for a moment before replying, calculating in his head quickly. "Third floor corridor in the west wing," he replied swiftly. Hanaru shook her head in amazement.

"I won't be able to find a single place," she grumbled to herself.

"You won't need to. A servant will bring food at meal times and there's a bathroom adjoined to this particular room."

She blanched. Did prisoners – No, she corrected herself, soldiers – always get this kind of special treatment by the Third Prince? Maybe her initial judgment of Narians had been a bit harsh. He made a noise that was half-way between a snort and a laugh. "Soldiers," he answered her unspoken question, "are only treated specially when they're special cases. Such as yourself."

What the hell was he? A mind-reader? A wizard? Were there half-witch-wizard-whatever royalty out there other than herself?

She could do nothing but stare at him with her mouth slightly ajar.

"No, I'm not a wizard or a mind-reader," he added with amusement clear in his voice. He pushed open the door they'd been standing in front of for a good minute or two and helped her inside. "Of course," he said as an afterthought, "Special cases are only special when I deem them to be."

That should have set off some sort of alarm in her mind. There shouldn't be anything special about her in his mind other than the fact that she was a Kiran soldier that had, for all extensive purpose turned Narian. But for some reason, it calmed her.

"What is it that makes me so special?" she inquired suspiciously as she sat herself down on the rather luxurious bed.

"Originally a Kiran soldier who spilled the plans of an entire team's plot with only the slightest threat of torture? A Kiran soldier who readily admitted to being a traitor to his country and in fact offered his help to those that should be his enemy? That is a special case, Hanaru. So special of a case that I've never seen one like it," he explained thoroughly enough. In his mind he also added the fact that she was a girl in disguise as a male spy to the list but kept it to himself. It would probably only put her on her further onto her already skittish guard.

Why was she so incredibly skittish though? Maybe it was because if Kira ever found out about her treachery she'd be executed without trial. And, on the opposing side, if she ever betrayed Nari she would meet the same fate here.

Hanaru, however, was thinking much different things. As to how the hell Kyoya had managed to read her so easily. Here, she'd thought that she had a very carefully placed mask up on her face. One that was difficult to see through. But he'd dissected it in 5 seconds flat. It was unnerving to her. At that rate he'd probably know she was a girl by the time she left for Kira, and that she was the lost Moradian Princess by the time she came back.

Oh fuck that was such a scary thought.

She didn't reply to his explanation, seeing it better to keep her stupid mouth shut.

–

"Kai sha so thra et nut soipa sha meir sark martla lut," she whispered the old Moradian prayer that her father had taught her under her breath as she settled into her bed for the night. She'd kept her chest bound, just in case.

Kyoya had excused himself saying that he had other prisoners to interrogate. She shuddered at the word, knowing full well that, that could definitely mean torture in another language. He'd also promised to return the next day to check on her.

Was he always so adamant about prisoners, special case or not?

She sighed. The Narian Prince confused her. He always put her on edge. Made her self-conscious. Maybe it was just because his father would kill her if he ever found out who she was. She had no clue, but it made her skittish all the same.

Hell, just being in the damn castle made her skittish.

She had heard some servants talking about how The Witch was coming for another visit in a few days. It seemed that she frequented in her visits to King Yoshio and his royal court. This alone made her even more skittish. Her father's words from when she was six still rang clearly in her ears, "You look just like your mother. Which is also why, you must avoid The Witch as well. She'll know right off the bat that you're her granddaughter."

The Witch, though she may be her grandmother, could not see her at all. Such event occurring would most certainly bring upon her ultimate doom.

Anxiety clogged Hanaru's throat the more she thought about it. She pushed all thoughts of her possible doom out of her mind and tried to get to sleep. A slight burning started in her side when she turned onto it.

She ignored it, pushing the pain to the back of her mind as well as her former thoughts.

–

"What do you mean that she's missing?!" Ranka yelled, getting the news via Hikaru, who had come to visit him on a short leave from the army. "Do you have any clue what the hell they'll do to her?!"

Hikaru, though struggling with his own worry over his charge, tried to console the older man. "I'm sure she's fine. She's probably already escaped from those bastards clutches and is on her way home right now." His voice, much to his irritation trembled a little.

"How?" Haruhi's father asked, anxiety lacing in his voice, "How did this happen?" His poor little girl! All alone in unfamiliar territory!

The older of the Hitachiin twins swallowed. It would probably be better to tell him the truth than some lie that he wouldn't be able to back up later. "We were... ambushed in the Wajima woods. She took an arrow to the side, telling us to run. I placed a protection charm on her before running. I regret leaving her side, Your Highness," he murmured, hanging his head in the face of his King. Ranka's eyes softened slightly, his heart heavy.

"She was injured then. That just liquidizes her chances of survival." His shoulders started shaking with the effort of holding in his misery. His only child. His little girl, given up to the cruel hands of fate.

"She's a strong girl. Not to mention the witch in her will heal the wound right up. Plus, she's quite good at thinking her way out of things. There's a good chance that she'll still come home," Hikaru said quietly, trying to lift the spirits of King Ranka.

"Sha shrikal hat lai hao gac. Hikaru! Why did I let her go?"

"Ishe ie ter fiel Ter Harlen. No one could of predicted that this would happened," he consoled, patting the older man's back and hoping, just hoping that his Princess was alive and safe at that moment. That, perhaps, the protection charm had taken hold even though it's caster was so far away now.

–

Prince Kyoya had decided against confronting Hanaru about her true gender yet. He certainly didn't want to alarm her further. And he was slightly doubtful of the supposed truth she was telling him. He smirked with amusement when he thought about how utterly on edge she was all the time. It was probably just soldiers' instinct but it was still vastly entertaining.

And then she tried to hide it by pretending like she was easy-going.

There was definitely some secret that she was hiding, he mused, and he was going to find out what it was.

If only he knew the trouble it would potentially get him into.

–

When she woke, Hanaru had absolutely no idea where she was. Thus, she reverted to the basic survival skills of assessing her injuries and her surroundings.

Her side and head both ached weakly. Other than that it seemed like she hadn't pertained any other injuries. Perhaps some minor cuts and bruises, but those were to be expected.

The confusing part was that she was in a bed. A bed. Not a dungeon. Not a tree in the woods. A bed. In a rather luxurious bedroom that definitely wasn't the one that she inhabited in the Kiran castle. Wait, this was the Narian palace, she realized.

Things all came back to her in a rush. Right. She was a Kiran traitor staying in a guest room on the third floor corridor of the west wing of the Narian royal castle. She lifted her head up and dropped in back down on her pillow before groaning and putting a hand over her eyes. She was screwed. So very screwed. "Sha cirtsay et dir pa sha kartor sha luit garnarbi," she muttered under her breath.

She reluctantly, pulled herself out of bed, feeling the slight burning of a witch's healing taking place in her side. She lifted up her shirt slightly and touched where she'd been wounded. It was an angry red and it stung where she brushed her fingers. She pulled them back, noticing the red of blood on them. "Damn," she mumbled, picking up a clean rag off her bedside table and wiping off her fingers before pushing it into her injury.

She bit her lip against the pain and concentrated to send her built-in-magic-painkillers to the source of it. It ceased almost immediately, making her sigh softly. A knock sounded on her door a moment later. She looked herself over to make sure everything was covered before calling, "Come in!"

The door opened to reveal Prince Kyoya in all his shining glory. "Ah," she murmured, "Good morning, Your Highness."

He nodded, frowning as he noticed her tending to her newly opened wound and strode over to sit on the bed next to her, taking the cloth and pulling it away. She let out a hiss even though it didn't hurt. "Nnda sowar," he muttered. "I'll get a nurse."

He stood intending on leaving but was stopped when she caught his arm. "It's alright. I wouldn't want to be a burden." He rose an eyebrow at her but agreed. She was protective of this secret of hers, it seemed.

He sat once more, pressing the cloth in his hand back into her side with complete disregard to the pain it may be causing her. "How long till you think you can head back to Kira?" he asked intently.

She glanced at him then back at her injury. "Three days. Five tops. How long have I been here?"

"Well," he muttered, "you were in the dungeon for a day before I got to you. Then two after that. This is your fourth."

Hanaru bit her lip. She needed to ask about The Witch. How many days would it be until she got here? Surely, she had to be gone before her grandmother got to the Narian palace. If she happened to run into her here she would be dead before she could utter a single word. "Your Highness," she faltered for a moment, the question still forming on her lips, "I've heard that The Witch is coming to visit."

Kyoya nodded. "She is. It would seem that she has business to attend to with my father."

She frowned. "How long until she arrives?"

His eyes narrowed slightly. She really hope she didn't sound too curious or guilty. "Three days. Why?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I just have a bit of... bad blood with her," she muttered, turning her eyes away from him and back to the hand that was tending to her wound. His hand. She really shouldn't be letting him do that. Carefully, she pushed his hand away. "I think it's stopped bleeding."

It had. And the burning had started again, much to her displeasure. Weren't witches supposed to go through minimum amounts of pain? Why the hell did a healing process have to hurt so damn much? Kyoya nodded, regarding her curiously. She made her face blank.

Regardless of whether she was a special case or not, he seemed to be acting a bit too kind for her liking.

–

"What's this 'bad blood' that you have with The Witch?" Kyoya asked the very next day. Hanaru froze mid stretch. God. Snoopy bastard. Sure it was his responsibility to keep track of special cases but, why did he even care? Was it part of the job description to nose his way into her business?

She sighed with annoyance and continued in her stretch, wincing when her wound protested against the strain. "Is that really any of your business, Your Highness?" she shot the question down with one of her own.

He smirked. "You're my business. Therefore, yes, it is my business."

She scoffed and reached for her toes, sitting on the floor with her legs in front of her. "And if I refuse?"

"I can easily have you arrested, Hanaru," he replied with a wry smile. She shuddered inwardly. Being arrested wasn't on her agenda. She had to be out of this blasted castle before The Witch arrived.

"Well," she muttered, frowning. She opened her mouth again but she was interrupted by a guard scuttling into the room.

"Vyro Inesshig!" Kyoya's smirk fell from his face as he turned around.

"Betwh?" he snapped coldly. Obviously, the Narian Prince didn't like being interrupted when he was questioning someone. His glare made her shiver, and it wasn't even pointed at her.

The guard faltered at her gaze. "Fw vghtca ba Sanki tidein iet btlec mlswa."

Hanaru stared at the guard, eyes wide for a moment. Kaoru? Oh dear God. Please don't let it be Kaoru they caught inside the walls. "Tch," Kyoya growled, "Mli feb jightr yndo." Hanaru quickly composed herself as he turned back to her. He pointed at her. "We aren't finished here, Hanaru. I'll be back."

She nodded, anxiety eating away at her insides. 'Please don't let it be Kaoru,' she thought as the Prince turned on his heel and followed the guard back out.

She hoped that he wouldn't remember anything about their conversation.

–

"Damn Kirans," Kyoya muttered.

"Who was it?" she asked, resting her chin on the knees that were held tightly to her chest.

He snorted. "Says his name is Mana Hitoro. He'll be executed tomorrow as a spy." He said it so casually that it made her frown. She didn't recognize the name, codename or real, but his casualty on the subject of execution unnerved her. That could have been her if she hadn't thought up her story so quickly. "Did you know him?" he asked, seeing her frown.

Hanaru shook her head quickly. "I don't recognize the name, no," she murmured. "He's most likely in a different unit than me." He seemed to have forgotten his earlier question of what her business with The Witch was. Thank God.

He nodded and thankfully, didn't bring up The Witch again.

–

Two days later...

"You're sure you're ready for this Hanaru?" Kyoya asked intensely as he walked next to her, leading her down to the main gates of the palace.

"Your Highness, please," she murmured, "I've been trained. I'm completely healed. Otdo srywo."

"They may be suspicious once you return," he pointed out.

"I can easily come up with an explanation," she replied, waving her hand. She was dressed in a Narian uniform so she wouldn't be shot at if fellow soldiers spotted her on her way to the border. She'd have to change in a city or in the Wajima forest before she got there.

He snorted. "You seem quite full of yourself."

"I've been a supposedly loyal Kiran for 20 years, Your Highness. I'm about as likely to become a traitor as the Kiran Prince himself for them."

He let out a sigh, nodding absently. "Yes, yes, I suppose you're right," he muttered, "Once you're across the border, I'll expect that you'll go back to your regular routine as a soldier. In two weeks or so you'll return, hopefully with information on enemy plans..."

"Your Highness," she interrupted, "I know what I'm supposed to do."

He ignored her. "Report any findings directly back to me. If you don't return in three weeks I'll assume you've been compromised."

"Prince Kyoya," she stated, stopping in her tracks which brought him to a halt as well. "I know and I'll be fine. Voy srywo pot dhmu." They had reached the gates. "I'll see you in two weeks." She stood at attention and saluted him.

"Come back uninjured this time," he replied with a smirk, returning her salute.

"Desy Vryo Inesshig," she murmured, turning on her heel and heading out the gates.

–

It seemed that exiting forests would always be bad luck for Namahi.

She was just about to stop for lunch and to change into her Kiran uniform when an arrow shot out of nowhere and lodged itself in the tree near her head. She stared at it a moment before jumping to her feet and rolling behind a tree.

"Narian!" someone hissed right before she was tackled and pinned down. An arm was on her neck. She stared up at the man in Kiran uniform. She didn't recognize him. That definitely didn't help her.

"Stop!" she gasped, "I'm Kiran!"

"Yeah, right!" he spat. She heard other yells. "Trying to sneak in to spy are you?" Other men surrounded them. Bright red hair flashed in her vision.

"Hikaru, Kaoru!" she choked out, staring at the twins. They narrowed their eyes at her while the guy that had her pinned down started shaking her and asking questions.

"Who are you?" he hissed.

Hikaru gasped. "Yora! Get off him!" Kaoru glanced at him and then looked back at her. His eyes widened too. "Namahi!"

"Are you crazy?" Yora asked incredulously.

"Get. Off. Him," they growled in unison. Yora begrudgingly obeyed this time. Namahi gasped and sat up. Hikaru took her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Namahi! Your father's going to be relieved! He thinks you're dead!"

"Who the hell is this?" Yora asked angrily.

Namahi snorted and turned to him. "Private Namahi Marioka. Kiran spy," she introduced, saluting.

"Damn, Namahi," Hikaru muttered with a grin.

"You're lucky Hikaru and I were here!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"Or Yora would've turned you into toast."

Namahi rolled her eyes. "You have no clue how happy I am to see you two," she stated, smiling at them. "Now, take me to General Fusawa."

"Yessir!" they mock saluted with identical smirks.

–

A/N: "Kai sha so thra et nut soipa sha meir sark martla lut" means "Keep me safe through the night so that I may see morning light." It's something that I was taught as part of a bedtime prayer when I was little. Figured I'd just translate it to Moradian for Haruhi's use.

"Sha cirtsay et dir pa sha kartor sha luit garnarbi" means "I curse the day that I kissed my life goodbye." Haruhi's not very optimistic is she?

The language/dialect/thing is completely made up. As I've stated before. If you can guess my code, I'll give you a lifetime amount of Kudos since I don't really have one myself. At least not for Moradian. Narian has a code, sort of.

I'm disappointed. I don't get to give out any Kudos this time. Drop me a review this time will you? Make me happy!