Lost in the Dark
By E.M Megs (Meganes Ultimate Fangirl)
Chapter 10 – Rumors of Retaliation
When Namahi woke she found her father sitting by her bed and the twins standing diligently by the door as guards. Mori and Hunny were also in the room, chatting quietly and glancing at her every now and then. She blinked a few times to clear the sleep from her eyes and tried to sit up.
However, she was quickly stopped by her father. "It's better if you stay down at the moment," he murmured gently. He threw a quick look at the two 22-year-old soldiers in the room that looked almost like a glare. That made a slight panic rise in her chest.
"Do they... Do they know something?" she hissed in a low voice.
Ranka paused. "Perhaps," he replied softly. Her eyes widened. Shybrar. That was just great. They knew something.
Hunny seemed to notice that she was awake and bounded over with a surprising amount of energy for a man who probably should have been exhausted. "Feeling better, Nama-kicsi?"
She stared at him for a moment, recognizing the foreign honorific that he had tied to her name but not quite able to pin the country the language belonged to. Finally she asked in her normal blunt tone, "What language is that?"
"Gratweny," he replied with a sweet smile. She narrowed her eyes. The Gratweny language had died when Nari had taken over the country nearly 12 years ago. "Takashi and I are immigrants who fled when Nari invaded," he explained softly, receiving a nod of confirmation from the taller of the two. She blinked. So they were like her and her father. Chased out of their country like rodents while their race was destroyed.
Gratwen was a lesser country like Charton. Like Mora, they had been taken over by the Narians. Most Gratweniens had been killed during the time of the take over. So seeing two of them standing in front of her was just about as rare as having two Moradian families in the same town.
"Nama-kicsi... Are you a girl?"
Her jaw dropped while the twins' – probably eavesdropping as normal – heads swiveled around to stare at them. "H-how did you know?"
"Watching," Mori intoned from next to his cousin.
The smaller of the two nodded in confirmation and sat himself on the edge of her bed. "We noticed from watching how Hika and Kao-kicsi reacted around you. They wouldn't have been so protective of another guy."
Again, she struggled to keep her jaw from dropping. This seemingly oblivious blonde boy had figured out her secret just by watching how the twins acted in her presence. That was a slightly frightening revelation.
But did it scare her more that they had figured it out this way or that it was oddly similar to the way that Kyoya had discovered the same thing?
She heaved a soft sigh and hung her head. "Yes, I'm a girl," she mumbled, ignoring her father's shocked cries trying to deny it. He'd been worried enough when he'd found out that the twins had come across this years before, regardless of whether they were the sons of his trusted guard.
Hunny's face broke out in the biggest grin. Judging by the look on her father's face she could predict what he was thinking as he stared at the face of the Hanizuka male. 'Oh no! That grin is the grin of evil! He's going to turn us in to King Yuzuru! Haruhi will be put to death! I'll be left all alone! Nooooo!'
She shook her head at her insane parental figure while Hunny spoke. "Don't worry Nama-kicsi. We won't tell!"
Her father fainted right on the spot.
–
After recovering for a few days at home, Namahi went to the palace to see how Tamaki and his father were doing. She kicked a pebble down the road merrily, humming softly to herself. All thoughts of anything that might be bad completely empty from her mind.
Romesa was outside the gates, as if the King hadn't been mortally wounded just days before. She greeted him with a gentle nod and a smile. "King Yuzuru's gettin' betta by the day. All thanks to ya."
She continued on her way through the huge front doors all the way up to where Tamaki was sitting at his desk, reading a letter with a frown on his face. "Tamaki...?" she questioned softly with a knock on the door.
He jumped and looked up at her wildly. "Ah... Namahi."
"Something wrong?"
"No," he said, a little too quickly, "Just reading a letter from Mother. Seems that she's ill again." He shuffled around on his desk some more, probably to hide the papers. She scowled.
"That's too bad," she murmured, playing along with him for now, "And your father? How's he?"
His face broke out in a grin. "Come see for yourself! It's great! He'll be able to move around by himself again by the end of the week!"
"That's wonderful!" she replied with relief while her friend led her down the hallway to where his father was resting. "How do you feel, Your Highness?" she asked as she stood next to his bed.
"Better," Yuzuru replied quietly, "Thank you by the way, Namahi."
She smiled and bowed politely. "No need to thank me. I was only doing my duty."
He returned her smile and pointed at his son. "Tamaki. I need to talk to you about your mother and grandmother." Tamaki's cheerful grin decreased a few watts as he nodded and stepped closer to his father's side. Namahi nodded and let herself out, eavesdropping quietly at the door. "You got the letter about your mother being ill I assume?"
"Yes father," her best friend replied stiffly.
"She's sick, Tamaki. Terribly so. The healers magic isn't working any longer on her. They don't know what it is. All they can do is try and ease the pain." The King paused a moment. "I want you to go to her."
She could imagine the look of shock on the blonde's face at that current moment without having to look at it. He hadn't seen his mother in years. Had rarely even had any contact with her at all aside from the few letters the two tossed back and forth behind his grandmother's back. "What... What about grandmother?"
"I'll take care of her. If... If your mother's dying, she deserves to see her son again before that happens." Yuzuru's voice was wavering slightly when he talked of the death of the woman he loved, understandably. "You'll leave tomorrow morning, understood?"
"Yes, Dad. Will you be accompanying me?"
"No. I must stay here and hold down the fort. However, once you return I'll visit Anne-Sophie myself separately."
"Alright." Silence came from the other side of the door as the two probably looked at each other. "Dad, what're you going to do about Nari?"
A soft sigh left the Kiran King's mouth. "They have the Eastern Tip. They're on the verge of seizing the Marshes as well. They tried to kill us. I'm not sure what to do anymore. General Fusawa is pushing an assassination attempt on their royal family, though."
Tamaki was hesitating as he listened to this. "Are you going to go through with it?"
"Like I said... I'm not sure. Get some sleep and pack your bags. Let me worry about the war."
Namahi, hearing the dismissal of the Kiran Prince, hurried away from the door and down the hall again to Tamaki's room. She heard the door down the hall open and close again moments after she shut Tamaki's bedroom door.
All she could think was: An assassination attempt on the Ohtoris?
–
The danger out of the way and the funeral for those that had died finished, the living soldiers that had come to Miera as protection for the royal court returned to camp. Where the General was waiting for a messenger from the King. "Marioka, in my tent pronto," he instructed as he passed the troop that was entering the campground. Namahi saluted with a nod and hurried to her tent quickly to change into something more comfortable.
When she entered the General's tent she didn't bother standing at attention but she had a feeling that she was about to be accused of something or another. "Marioka, your registration papers say that you have no magic in you."
She swallowed. Perfect. So she was going to be accused of being a liar because she'd saved King Yuzuru. "Yessir," she replied dryly.
"Then how did you use magic to heal the King?"
She bit back the witty retort that was hanging on the tip of her tongue. Instead she muttered, "I... do have magic blood. I prefer not to use it though unless in times of great need. It drains me more than it should, sir. I wanted to only be known as a simple soldier instead of a wizard."
Fusawa nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face and hand on his chin. "That's understandable. And the army can hardly be mad since King Yuzuru probably would have died if you hadn't acted so quickly." He paused and regarded her with a slight fondness before continuing. "Due to your spy work over in Nari and your bravery in Miera, I'm promoting you to Corporal."
Her mouth fell open as the older man took a seat behind his desk, pulling a pin out of a drawer and handing it to her. "Th-thank you, sir!" she stuttered, still slightly in shock. The General chuckled softly and waved his hand to dismiss her.
"Send in Pike, will you?"
"Yessir!" She exited the tent feeling rather pleased with herself yet slightly apprehensive at the same time. How would she refuse another spy mission to Nari now that she was higher ranked?
She couldn't go back. Going back would practically be suicide. But refusing a direct order for a mission was also out of the question.
And what the hell would she tell Kyoya if she did return? "Oh... My father and myself were in danger, I couldn't just stand there and let my best friend's father die, and I didn't find it necessary for other people to die"? She snorted mentally. Yeah right. That would fly really well with the Narian Prince.
"Pike," she said, catching the man's arm as he passed by her. "General Fusawa requests your presence in his tent immediately, sir."
He nodded, smiling at her. "Alright, Marioka. Thanks. And congratulations on making corporal."
News traveled quickly apparently. But perhaps Pike had been discussing it with Fusawa. He was his second-in-command after all. It was completely logical if he had known prior to her knowing.
She couldn't help but feel a sly bit of pride sneaking its way into her heart. She'd been promoted! Yet, a bit of something else gnawed at her too. Was that... regret? Or shame for lying to her superiors? She brought a hand to her chin in thought, not really paying attention where she was going until she found herself inside her tent with the twins staring at her eagerly yet apprehensively at the same time. "What did he want, Haruhi?" they chorused.
She flashed the pin that she was still fingering in her hands quickly and mumbled, "I was promoted."
They applauded quickly, faces breaking out in grins. "Great!" Kaoru exclaimed.
"We thought that maybe," Hikaru paused, looked at his brother then continued, "Maybe he'd found something out."
"Maybe that he was going to punish you somehow."
She snorted. "Yeah right. Have you guys noticed that the General's taken a liking to me? And you guys as well? I doubt that he'd punish me for something as trivial as not mentioning that I had magic blood on my registration."
The two of them shrugged and snickered just a little, seeming at ease once more.
–
At the same time, Kyoya was having a little chat with his eldest brother. They were both still pissed at their supposed 'spy''s betrayal.
"What are you going to do about her?" Yuiichi demanded briskly, pacing back and forth. Kyoya sat in a chair by his desk watching him with hard eyes and his cheek resting on the palm of his hand in thought. At his brother's voice he looked up.
"I don't know," he retorted sarcastically, "Kill her maybe? Just like I would anyone else?"
The older Ohtori glared. "Sarcasm is not needed here, Ulelit Uherbro," he muttered, "What if she doesn't return?"
Kyoya faltered. He had thought about that. He had thought about that very hard, in fact. If he were her, he wouldn't dare come back to Nari unless he had a death wish. Which he was pretty sure that Hanaru – Namahi. Haruhi. Whatever – didn't, considering how fiercely she had fought off the assassins at her home in Kira. "If she doesn't return, then obviously she isn't a problem anymore. She'll stay in Kira – hopefully get herself killed – and if she stays there, there's no way that she'll get information from us."
His brother scoffed softly and rolled his eyes. "I don't mean that. I mean," he paused, sighed and ran a hand through his raven hair in exasperation before continuing, "If she doesn't come back, that means that any intelligence we may have gotten from her that came directly from the Prince is going to be unavailable."
This time, it was Kyoya's turn to roll his eyes. "We can find someone else."
"Someone else who's the Kiran Prince's close friend?"
"Who says that we need someone who's the Prince's friend? All his plans go through his father and the Generals anyway. Sergeant Wari should be a useful enough asset for information," the younger shot back quickly. Was Yuiichi trying to defend Namahi by coming up with important purposes for her? Unbelievable.
Yuiichi shook his head quickly and waved his hand as if to say, 'Never mind.' "She could always sneak back into the country and enroll as a regular soldier under a different name."
Now that, he hadn't thought of. Well he had... Just not in depth. "She won't do that," Kyoya grunted softly, standing and striding over to his balcony.
"And how do you know that?" Yuiichi countered, following so he was standing directly behind him. "She's betrayed you once already, Kyoya. You can't trust your previous judgment of her."
"Then I'll send a damn description of her to all the recruitment camps along with all the names she goes by! I'm still convinced that she won't do that though. She's too... careful. She wouldn't risk one of us seeing her there and pointing her out," he half-burst, throwing a hand on the air during his little rant.
Yes, he was pissed at her. But more because of the fact that she'd lied to him than anything else. Hadn't they established some small shred of a trust system in the little bit of time that she'd been there? And she'd breached it. Kyoya closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I'll take care of her. Don't you worry about it, Hbi Uherbro. I told you that you wouldn't have to cover for me if I got in a hole, and you won't."
"I trust that you'll fulfill that promise."
–
The rumors were everywhere by the end of the week. Rumors that there was going to be a huge attack happening on Nari soon enough. It was enough to make Namahi jittery and anxious.
The part of her that was the worst though was the peace-keeper part. It was screaming for her to run back to Nari and inform Kyoya regardless of whether or not he would kill her. But she wouldn't. She wouldn't go back and practically walk herself to the gallows. She wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to walk to her death.
A few days later, worse rumors reached her ears.
She was eating with the twins, chuckling as they staged an argument and flicked beans at each other. Then the twins were called away to the General's tent and she was there alone with Hunny and Mori who both chatted happily with her.
"The 'Arian 'oyals sure 'ot th' General mad 'his 'ime."
She barely even caught the snatch of conversation from a few tables behind her through the loud noise of the mess hall. But the voice continued as she kept forking food into her mouth, "I 'ear tha' he's goin' ta send assassins o'er ther' an' 'ave 'em lay low for a bit 'hen 'ill th' 'oyal family."
Her fork dropped from her hand and clattered loudly against her mostly empty tray. Hunny and Mori glanced at her strangely. "Something wrong, Namahi?" Hunny asked, shooting her a friendly smile.
She glanced at the two of them and shook her head. "N-Nothing. Just suddenly feel kind of sick is all." Hunny's mouth turned down in a frown while Mori's remained passive. "I'll talk to you two later," she added in a mumble, standing quickly and taking her tray to dump in the garbage.
She ran into the twins on the way to their tent so that she could think for a bit. "Namahi?" Hikaru stopped her, looking concerned. "You alright? You're a bit pale."
"Fine," she muttered distractedly, "Just need to lay down for a bit."
They both nodded, though Kaoru gave her a lingering stare. "General wants to see you," he told her quietly. "And we're leaving immediately. Be back in a few weeks." The older twin nodded to confirm this.
"Ahh. Good luck then." She sent them a soft smile and didn't ask about the mission. They would have mentioned it if she were allowed to know.
"Aye, aye, Corporal," they saluted in joking unison and hurried toward their tent while she headed toward General Fusawa's.
–
"You've probably heard from the rumors running around camp that we're sending assassins to kill the Narian royal family."
The first words to leave her superior's lips. She nodded in confirmation and let him continue.
"This rumor is true. However, we need to make everyone think that it isn't in case there are spies lurking in the camp."
Her stomach flipped, thinking about Kyoya and his sister who had both been very accommodating while she had been there despite her discomfort with the former's interrogations. "How do you propose we do that, Sir?" she asked politely.
"You, won't have a part in it. The higher ups and I, are going to put an end to it. You, however, are going to go to Nari, tell the Third Prince that there will be an assassination attempt in a month and then kill him in two weeks right before you come home." His steely dark eyes pierced hers as he said this.
It took all her will-power not to choke up and give herself away. "S-Sir. All due respect, but I'm not an assassin," she stuttered, blinking a few times in surprise while on the inside she was thinking a mile a minute with her heart beating faster than ever before. How the hell could she kill Kyoya?
"Spies can easily be converted to assassins, Marioka," Fusawa chuckled.
Shit. She was quickly being shoved between a rock and a hard place. She resisted the urge to sigh in frustration and muttered, "I see."
"You'll leave immediately with the twins who are doing an undercover co-op in Uwarfa. This is top secret, Marioka. You aren't to tell anyone of what you're going to do. They must think it's another spy op."
"Yessir!" she saluted quickly, taking that as a sign of dismissal. He called her back though and she turned, trying to hide the look of absolute dread that was fighting its way onto her face.
"One more thing, Namahi," he said softly, "Good luck, Corporal."
"Thank you, Sir," she replied dryly.
–
'It's one thing killing those damn assassins in self-defense,' she thought dazedly as she packed the bag she was going to take to Nari. 'It's another thing entirely to actually murder someone that you know. And how the hell am I going to convince him not to kill me?'
The twins, having heard that she would be traveling with them, were happier than could be. But they also noticed the gloomy daze that seemed to be surrounding her. "Oi, Namahi!" they called, "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing," she muttered, "Just a bit tired."
She glanced at Kaoru, her eyes drained. He seemed to understand what she was going through, seeing as his eyes were soft with sympathy. Hikaru was completely oblivious to their shared looks.
They left before the hour was up.
–
They camped outside the Wajima Forest, trying to ignore the growls of hungry beasts as they did so, taking turns keeping watch throughout the night.
Namahi could see the glowing yellow and red eyes of the things that lived in there as they stalked back and forth, probably waiting for her to turn her back. She caught sight of one thing that ventured out, oblivious to the humans standing within fighting distance. She held her breath as it passed.
A huge dog-like creature with black leathery skin and fangs nearly as long as the short-sword she carried on the back of her belt as a back-up. It passed by them, headed in the direction of Charton where another forest took up the northern section. She let out a breath as she lost sight of it in the distance and turned back to the Wajima.
Once her shift was over, she woke Kaoru and settled down in the place that he'd abandoned on the floor. Exhausted, she slept.
–
A few hours after sunrise, when they were sure that the beasts of the forest had high-tailed it back to where they came from, they ventured into the trees in the direction of Nari.
They moved at a leisurely pace since they had all day and exited about an hour before nightfall, stopping in a small village and renting a room in an old inn for the night instead of camping on a hillside outside. Dressed in the clothes of Narian farmers, they merely looked like travelers.
By afternoon the next day they'd reached Uwarfa where she left the twins, with a smile and a small embrace. Both of them cast good luck charms on her which she thanked them for and gave them some of her own before continuing on her way to the castle, hoping to reach it by nightfall.
–
She could already guess that the guards at the front gate of the Narian Palace wouldn't let her in. Thus, she put her military and spy skills to sneak in. A loose drainage grit in a section of the walls surrounding it provided a useful entrance.
Then all she had to do was get past the patrol guards, in through the servants quarters and up to Kyoya's bedroom.
Easier said than done. Instead of a moat surrounding the castle, there was an open grassy field about 400 yards long until it gave way to either walls or garden. Every single foot of the fields were in sight of a watch tower and a patrol passed by every 15 minutes. The watchmen rotated every hour. She'd have less than two minutes to run the 400 yards to the garden on the other side.
She kept her eyes on the closest watch tower, waiting until the guard standing there disappeared then looked each way to make sure a patrol wasn't on the way. Then she crouched low and darted through the grass as quickly as she could.
Heart beating rapidly in her chest, she slunk along the wall on the other side until she came to a small garden which she slipped through, keeping her eyes open for guards. She found a servants entrance not far from there and ran through and up the stairs, navigating until she found a familiar hall.
She didn't run into anyone, which she found slightly odd.
She stopped in front of Kyoya's bedroom door and caught her breath as she knocked. A muffled, "Come in," came through the door. She slipped through the door and closed the door behind her.
"Kyoya," she breathed. She caught sight of the several other people behind her in uniforms and faltered, wide-eyed.
"Hello Hanaru," the Third Narian Prince murmured, a certain threatening glint in his eye, "Or should I say, Namahi."
–
A/N: Kicsi = little in Hungarian. Again... I got lazy with my language-making. I figured that Hunny needed some sort of pet name to give her. But I couldn't think of anything. So I went to an online translator, typed in 'little' and scanned through the list until I found a word that I liked enough.
I'm telling you... TRANCE. IT'S THE CURE TO WRITER'S BLOCK. As long as it's playing I can write without stop. AMAZING 3
Kudos to: Xaldin's Girlfriend, Twilightrewriter, Enigmaticrose4, BlackestNight BrightestDay, Mrs. Ootori43ver, XxNightShroudxX, and an anonymous reviewer who yelled at me to update (Har. I loved that. It was GREAT. And it shocked me back to my senses and forced me to find something to conquer that writer's block. THANKS!)
That's quite a list... I LOVE YOU GUUUUUYS.