Lost in the Dark
By E.M. Megs
Chapter 12 – Tension
The first night sleeping in the Narian palace was difficult. She was tired, but she didn't stay asleep like she would have liked. One of the times she woke, Kyoya was closer than she had thought he was. She reached up to brush the hair out of her eyes and accidentally knocked his head with her hand. He growled a bit under his breath but just turned over in the end, allowing her to let out a breath.
She's always known that he was a good person inside. How could you have as kind of a sister as Fuyumi and not be? She imagined that the Narian Queen had been the same when she was alive.
Maybe she was just uncomfortable sleeping in the same bed as him.
Except, the next night she was perfectly fine. She slept soundly through the night despite the fact that the man sleeping next to her kicked her in his sleep.
The third morning, they were woken not by the sun shining through the curtains to the balcony, but by his sister. "Kyoya? Are you awake?" she murmured, poking her head into the room.
"Hng," Haruhi moaned softly, blinking her eyes open to squint at the intruding woman, who squeaked when she realized that she'd woken her up. "Good morning Princess." The brunette looked over at Kyoya, who looked slightly annoyed even though he still appeared to be sound asleep. "I'll wake him," she murmured, taking over her role as his fake lover, "Kyoya." She placed a hand on his cheek. "Kyoya, wake up."
An angry, but quiet grunt escaped from his throat. She smirked softly and tilted her head down enough to put her lips closer to his. "Your sister's here. Don't make me kiss you, please." He still stayed stubbornly asleep. "You asked for it."
For what must have been the first time, she kissed him. No sooner had she than he rolled over, pinned her down, and glared at her. She let out a squeak of surprise when she found herself staring up into his unshielded onyx eyes. "What?" he growled.
"Your sister," she answered robotically, pointing in the direction of the door.
When he looked over, his sister was smiling at the two of them fondly. "What?" he asked her instead, angered that his sleep had been interrupted.
"I was just playing with Yuki. She's wanting you, Utleli Uherbro."
"Why does she always want me specifically when it's early?" he grunted, "Tell her to ask later. Like say, four hours." He was already off of Haruhi and rolling over so his back was to them. The brunette couldn't help smiling at his foul mood.
"I'll play with Yuki," she murmured, pulling herself out of bed. Her side ached slightly but she ignored it. She shrugged one of three robes that was in Kyoya's closet. It was a bit big on her but she didn't mind, it was warm. She followed Fuyumi to Yuiichi's family's chambers, which was a main bedroom for the Prince and his wife conjoined to a bathroom and another smaller bedroom for their daughter.
Yuki's room was fitting for a 5-year-old. A small table was set up in the middle of the room with a tea set scattered on it. Haruhi smiled at the set up, remembering seeing her neighbor's daughter playing in a similar way. Sitting in a little chair was a little girl with her raven hair pulled back in twin pigtails and her bright hazel eyes shining. "Auntie Yumi!" she called when she caught sight of her aunt again. "Is Uncle Kyo with you?"
The 28-year-old shook her head sadly. "Uncle Kyo's sleeping still, Yuki." It was then that the little girl caught sight of Haruhi. She suddenly turned shy, looking down at the table. "This is Haruhi though. She'll play with you until Uncle Kyo wakes up if you like."
The 5-year-old glanced up through her bangs, eyes wide. "Haruhi? Like... Uncle Kyo's girlfriend?"
"The very one," the brunette replied, curtsying a bit to humor the little girl. Her shyness seemed to be forgotten almost immediately as she jumped up, ran over, and hugged her. Haruhi was a bit bewildered to find her hugging her legs but smiled anyway. She had always loved children.
"Can I call you Auntie Haru?"
"Yuki!" Fuyumi started to scold but the 20-year-old interrupted with a small, "I suppose."
She couldn't resist how her hazel eyes lit up with the answer and cheered, tugging her hand until she sat in one of the chairs at the table.
–
Nearly an hour later, Haruhi was still playing tea party with Yuki. They had taken breakfast in her room so they could have the dishes as part of the pretend party. Currently, she was staring the older girl in the face, her own screwed up a little. "You're pretty, Haru."
"T-thank you," she stuttered, surprised by the child's sweet complimenting attitude.
She lapsed into silence, seeming to be thinking about something since her face was still screwed up in a thoughtful expression. Well, as thoughtful of an expression as a 5-year-old could have. "Auntie Haru," the little girl finally mumbled, "Are you going to marry Uncle Kyo?"
The brunette choked a bit on her tea and had a miniature coughing fit. She gaped at the small child for a moment, not quite knowing how to answer the question when a bemused voice answered from behind her, "Perhaps. But I would hope it wouldn't be too soon." She turned, finding her fake lover looking at her.
"Uncle Kyo!" Yuki cried, running over to him. Kyoya easily scooped up the giggling girl in his arms.
"How's my favorite niece?" he asked. Haruhi was almost enraptured by how gentle he was around the 5-year-old even though she knew that he probably had only woken up several minutes ago. His eyes were softer than she'd ever seen them. And little Yuki obviously adored him.
Her giggles only increased. "Uncle Kyo... I'm your only niece!"
"That must mean that you're my favorite then, hmm?" His gaze shifted to Haruhi, who was looking at them with a small smile on her features. A wall seemed to be put up in his eyes as soon as she looked in them. A slight disappointment seemed to tug at her heart. Yuki had started chatting to her uncle, who seemed to be paying half-attention.
"Sleep well, Kyoya?" the brunette asked softly. He nodded while his niece seemed to fall silent, looking between the two of them. She slipped down his frame till her feet touched the ground and frowned, looking up at her Uncle Kyo.
About five seconds of silence later she threw her hands up in the air and stubbornly demanded to Kyoya, "Well? Are you going to kiss her good morning?"
The Prince chuckled a bit and strode forward, leaning down to meet her lips quickly. "Good morning, Haruhi."
"Morning," she replied, grinning at Yuki's antics. The twins would love her. Haruhi's chest wrenched horribly but she ignored it for the sake of the 5-year-old in the room. Kyoya took a seat next to her and Yuki hurried over to hers.
The tea party commenced once more.
–
Yuiichi wasn't pleased when he came back from a meeting with Yoshio and found his daughter playing with Haruhi. He gritted his teeth and glared at her. "What's going on in here?" he asked, trying to keep calm.
Kyoya turned while Yuki raced over, crying, "Daddy!" Haruhi avoided his eyes, feeling slightly helpless. She stood abruptly and started walking toward the door when Yuki answered her father's question, "Auntie Haru and Uncle Kyo were playing with me!" The brunette froze, eyes looking at the First Prince quickly.
"Auntie... Haru?" Yuiichi growled softly, trying not to frighten his daughter while also demanding of his brother why she was calling a woman that couldn't be trusted in his eyes 'Auntie.' His brown eyes were piercing Kyoya's onyx ones dangerously.
"She asked if she could call me Auntie, I told her yes," Haruhi spoke softly.
Yuiichi chuckled a bit dryly. "Yuki. Haruhi's not related to you," he murmured.
"But she's going to be as soon as she married Uncle Kyo!" the 5-year-old pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.
Her father stared at his brother. "Is that so?"
Kyoya coughed a bit uncomfortably and corrected his niece. "You mean if she marries me, right Yuki?"
Her face screwed up in a frown and she opened her mouth to retort but Haruhi interrupted, "I'll be in the library, Kyoya." She left them before any of the three could protest. Fuyumi was sitting back wondering what the hell was happening.
"Yuki, go with your Aunt please," Yuiichi murmured, keeping his gaze on his brother's face. Yuki was about to protest when Fuyumi swept her up in her arms, sensing the oncoming argument between her brothers. As soon as the two left the older closed the door of his daughter's room. "Why was she playing with Yuki?"
"Because Yuki needed someone to play with until I woke up," he answered stiffly.
"I don't want her anywhere near my daughter, Kyoya!"
"She's not about to hurt her, Yuiichi. You're being unreasonable. Haruhi would never hurt a child. She only ever uses violence for self-defense."
"You're sure about that? Last time I checked your character judgment wasn't in the best condition."
"Yuiichi, she came back just to warn me of an assassination attempt. She risked her life just to warn us."
"I don't want her around Yuki."
Kyoya suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and muttered, "Whatever you say Hbi Uherbro. Fuyumi and I were with them the entire time."
–
The next week went by smoothly. Yuki simply loved Haruhi and spent as much time with the brunette as she possibly could against Yuiichi's approval. She met his wife, a nice woman who was obviously as much in love with her husband as he was with her.
Her wound healed up perfectly, leaving only the slightest scar for the collection of them that she had.
Kyoya was distant. Akito was still trying to court her for some reason that she couldn't even fathom. Fuyumi's husband had arrived, much to her dismay. Another life to be taken when the assassination started. She tried to push all thoughts of having to kill the Third Prince out of her mind. It didn't work. She kept a small knife on her person at all times, paranoid that someone might attack her.
Then there was a storm.
She'd always been afraid of thunder and lightening. And this was no exception. Even though she was in the Narian palace and wanted desperately not to be afraid, she was. She curled up and tried not to whimper so she wouldn't wake up her sleeping companion, but she was shivering so badly that it shook the bed and woke him up anyway.
He wasn't mad as she expected him to be though. "Haruhi, what's your matter?" he asked bluntly. A crash of thunder followed his words, eliciting a small shriek from her. "Ah... The thunder?"
She nodded, too afraid to speak. "Yuki's the same. I imagine she's crawled into her parents bed by now."
"D-Dad said that he used to have to hold my-my mother wh-whenever a storm h-hit," she stammered, trying desperately not to start crying as she'd been known to when she was younger. The twins were normally there when there was a storm. Now there was no one. No one but the indifferently distant Third Narian Prince.
"It's only noise," he murmured. In a flash of lightening she caught sight of his form lying on his back with his arm reaching in the air, as if wanting to touch the thunder. "Only noise and light. I find it fascinating now, though I was partially terrified when I was younger."
She was turned towards him, noticing how soft his voice was. "How... How'd you get over it?"
"My mother taught me a trick," he replied, eyes staring straight at the ceiling before shifting to her dimly-lit face. "Start counting the seconds after you see a flash. When you hear the thunder that follows, stop. That's how many miles away it is. It's rather calming when you realize that most of the bolts are actually quite far away."
She tried to calm herself enough to do as he said. But the moment that she saw a flash of lightening her mind went into a blind panic and she couldn't think of anything except to get underneath the covers and stay there.
Kyoya sighed under his breath, obviously tired, and pulled her smaller form toward him by the arm. She struggled at first, childishly thinking that the thunder was trying to pull her in. "Haruhi. Stop," he grunted. She froze immediately, moving as his hands seemed to demand her to. Soon she was lying on her side with her back to his chest, facing the balcony doors, curtains open. He was almost amused by how badly her entire body seemed to be quivering with fear.
He waited until he saw a flash outside the window, feeling her quaking increase, then started counting softly in her ear. "One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, one thousand four, one thousand five," he continued until he got to eleven. Then the thunder rumbled gently in the distance. "11 miles. It's pretty far off."
He counted the next few lightening-bolt-to-thunder-claps softly in her ear, each far off one causing her to shudder a bit less until she was completely still. When Kyoya looked at her, she was sound asleep, lulled to sleep by his voice counting the miles between them and the lightening.
He smiled to himself tiredly and settled down, deciding not to remove his arms from around her.
–
When Haruhi woke, she found herself very close to a certain Prince. His arm draped over her waist and his nose a hair-breadths away from hers. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment while her heart both beat erratically and yanked painfully in her chest, causing her to sit up sharply.
The raven-haired Narian growled under his breath and turned over, leaving her to climb out of the bed and slip on the robe she had adopted.
She remembered the storm very slowly, though the signs of there ever being one outside were nearly non-existent when she peeked out the clear glass balcony doors. The sun was just barely peaking over the mountains in the far south-west, illuminating the sky in orange and pink light. Why had she woken so early? She glanced back at the bed where all that showed it was inhabited was a rather large lump in the middle.
He'd been unusually kind to her. Uncharacteristically kind. Of course, she mused, he had also been quite tired. That must have been why.
Yes, she told herself sternly, he had been like that because he was tired. No other reason.
–
The end of the week came quicker than she expected. Two weeks had passed in a snap. Her nerves were going crazy. Tonight she'd have to at least attempt to assassinate the man she'd been sharing a bedroom with.
"My father wants to meet you at dinner tonight." His voice pulled her out of her thoughts. The frown that had wanted to show on her face finally got through. The Narian King wanted to meet her? As what exactly?
"As your lover or your spy?" she asked softly, biting her lip.
"My lover of course," he replied curtly, "Uherfa thinks having women as soldiers is asking for disaster."
Haruhi snorted and murmured, "I don't think meeting your father is the best idea." He gave her a questioning look but she just shook her head. "It's not a good idea. The Witch... What if she's watching?"
"She won't be watching, Haruhi. She's down south in the mountains. She never uses that looking glass we saw the assassination in unless she's here. It's in her room where no one will touch it. Refusing might make Uherfa suspect something."
She sighed softly and rubbed the back of her neck. "I dunno, Kyoya."
"I won't let anything happen."
"You can't promise that."
"Even if the Witch were watching, if she tried to cause you harm against my will I'd have authority to banish her from the country."
"If she's watching and she tells your father that I'm Moradian, he'll pull rank as King and overrule your wishes," she snapped back. "I don't particularly want to die anytime soon. Especially by her hand." He grunted a little under his breath with frustration.
"You've met everyone else in my family except him! He wants to meet you, Haruhi."
She stared at him for the longest moment with doubt. "This isn't some sort of trick is it?"
"No. He merely wants to meet the woman that everyone thinks has captured my heart and attentions."
Biting her lip and still slightly doubtful of the Narian King's intentions, she finally replied, "Alright. Fine."
He smirked slightly with triumph. "You'll need to borrow a proper dress from my sister. Come," he murmured, taking her elbow and leading her toward his sister's room. She shook her head furiously in protest. She didn't wear dresses. She had never worn one in her life and she didn't particularly think that it was necessary. "Yes, this is necessary," he answered her unspoken question. "Fuyumi!" he called through the oak door, knocking.
When the door opened, Fuyumi was slightly surprised. Kyoya apparently never came to visit her, she always had to come to him. "Hbi Uersis," he greeted softly, holding Haruhi's hand lightly in his own, "Haruhi requires a dress for the dinner with Uherfa tonight."
"Ohh!" Fuyumi squealed, grabbing the brunette and pulling her into the room then shoving her husband out at her brother. "I'll have her ready by dinner!" Then she slammed the door ungraciously on her youngest brother's face.
–
He would never admit it, but Kyoya was actually quite nervous for this dinner with his father and Haruhi. It was very possible that his father would look into the Fari's daughter and find that her name was not in fact Haruhi but Marimei. Which meant that Haruhi was not a Fari. That would just lead to questions and investigation that wasn't needed, only putting more stress on Kyoya.
Fuyumi delivered Haruhi to his – their – bedroom door about 10 minutes before they were supposed to arrive for dinner. She waited to see her brother's face when he saw Haruhi and then took off with her husband, giggling softly all the way down the hall.
It was really quite a bit of a change from the loose masculine clothing she normally wore to hide her femininity to the simple yet magnificent dress she now wore. It was a pale powder blue in color so close to being off-white that it almost shimmered as she moved. Sleeves short. Small bits of white lace were sewed into the bodice. The skirt flowed down from where the bodice ended just above her hips all the way to her ankles. Small white slippers were cradling her feet to match. Luckily Fuyumi and Haruhi were about the same size so there was no need to refit it.
She was gorgeous to say the least. The brunette coughed uncomfortably under his gaze. "I assume this is suitable?"
"Of course," he mumbled, holding out his arm to her, which she took a bit hesitantly. Her grip seemed to tighten the closer they got to the dining room until he laid his hand on top of hers and murmured, "Relax. Even if he doesn't like you it isn't like he can do anything about it. And it's not like we're asking for his blessing for us to marry."
She shook her head, not speaking what she was thinking. 'I'm more concerned about whether he'll recognize my mother's appearance in myself.' She knew the chances of it were slim. But it was possible. The Moradian and Narian royals had met occasionally once upon a time just as the Kiran and Narian ones met once every few years now.
At that moment there was one thing that the two agreed on as they entered the dining room. And that was a hope for the meal to go well.
–
Haruhi was paranoid even as they left the dining room, feeling the eyes of Yoshio Ohtori burning in her back. He seemed to recognize her just a bit. Perhaps he didn't know where exactly she was from but he definitely recognized her. Dinner had been pleasant enough. Kyoya had kept romantics to a minimum for her sake. Yuki had demanded to sit on Haruhi's other side.
A second pair of lustful eyes also scalded her retreating form. She knew those belonged to Akito Ohtori.
Yes, everything was wonderful. But it was even better now that she was away from that table. She could relax a bit more.
Then she remembered the impending task that she had been ordered to fulfill. She had to do it tonight. She tried to keep her thoughts off her face as Kyoya walked next to her. She still carried the small knife with her.
When should she do it? As soon as she could after they had gotten back, she guessed.
Second question: Could she do it?
Now the answer to that was not as obvious. She'd been spending the last two weeks almost constantly in his presence. He was a quiet companion. Kept mostly to himself. But she noticed small things about him that made her start doubting her own abilities.
Like how he would occasionally distract her from her thoughts when he thought she was starting to look troubled.
Or how he showed his affection towards his niece and siblings in small subtle ways.
Or how it seemed that he'd almost grown a soft spot for her. She tried to ignore this one when it presented itself since she knew no good could ever come from it except him sparing her life.
She stood out on the balcony while he prepared for bed. This was what they did every night after their evening meal. She would stand outside while he changed then he would do the same for her. This time though, she spent the entire time hopping from foot to foot with nerves. When he opened the balcony doors, her back was to him and he rose an eyebrow at her movements. "Anxious about something?"
"No," she replied a little too quickly, "It's just a bit chilly out here is all." Really, she hadn't even noticed the slight cold until she mentioned it. But she was glad it was there. It provided a nice excuse.
"Then get inside and change already," he muttered coarsely, taking her place while she ran inside and closed the doors, pulling the curtains shut. She changed quickly, wanting to get this entire damn thing through with before her nerves caved through. She knocked quickly on the balcony doors, signaling that it was safe to enter.
He came in, looking ready to just settle down and read a book. Which he did after standing looking at her in contemplation. Like he was trying to figure out everything that was wrong just by staring at her.
He slid into the bed, fishing his earlier abandoned book off the bedside table while she fingered the knife that she'd placed in her robe pocket. Then, slowly, she joined him. She felt slightly helpless. She didn't feel comfortable just reaching over and slitting his throat without warning while he was so unguarded but drawing in his attention might make him fight her.
She fiddled with the knife a bit longer before speaking softly. "Kyoya." His eyes hesitated to draw away from his novel toward her face. He made a small humming noise. "Something's bothering me." She moved slightly closer to him. The questioning look on his face as he lowered her book made her resolve crumble slightly. She drew in a breath slowly then pulled out the knife and held it to his throat. "You aren't dead yet."
He froze, staring her in the face. "What...?"
"You were right when you guessed that I only came back to kill you." She hated herself when her voice quivered slightly. She shouldn't talk to him. Just drive the blade through his throat and leave. He was silent, lips pursed and eyes boring steadily into hers. But they held one thing. Anger and the tiniest bit of hurt. "I-I'm sorry."
He laughed a little. Harshly, bitterly. And muttered to himself, "I saved the woman that was sent to kill me. Yuiichi was right."
She urged her hand to just do it. Her brain told her limbs to move and murder the man she held at knife point before he thought about fighting back. The longer she allowed herself to just stare into his face the more crushed her resolve became.
Murder was not a thing to be taken lightly. And she was not a person who could commit it without a second thought of regret. The more she thought about it. The more that she stared at him. The more that she started to think that it was wrong to just keep trying to kill each other. Didn't she join the army to try and bring peace to Filandria? Was assassination really the answer?
Again she tried to bring her hand down. To get it over with. But she couldn't. Instead she found herself tearing her eyes away from his face, her hand raising and tossing the blade in her hand at the floor, where it stuck straight up in the carpet. "I can't do it," she mumbled, her mouth moving on its own accord just like her head was as it lowered to his chest. "I can't do it. Dammit. I tried to tell him I couldn't do it."
He was still tensely frozen underneath her. And when he spoke his voice held the slightest bit of ice, "Care to explain?"
She sighed softly, keeping her head down as she answered promptly, "I was given orders by the Kiran General to inform you of an assassination attempt to happen a month from my arrival when in reality it would be 2 weeks earlier than that. And I was assigned to kill you. But I can't."
She pushed herself up and crawled off the bed. "The other assassins... They were given the same orders with different family members?"
"I don't know," she grumbled, "Each of us were briefed individually. None of us know who the others are. I suspect that the others are already in the palace though." His eyes were sharp and wide as he stared at her. She realized the same thing he seemed to right then, the weight of her own words ringing in her ears. "Shit. Yuki. Yuiichi," she whispered at the same time he breathed, "Fuyumi. Akito. Uherfa."
She took off at a run, calling, "Take guards with you!" as she ran toward Yuiichi's chambers, hoping against all hopes that she would know who the assassins were and would be able to convince them not to go through with their mission.
–
A/N: Image of Kyoya playing tea party = HI-LARIOUS. LOL.
I always have that problem... The first night I sleep somewhere different, I never sleep well. If I sleep there again a second night, I'm perfectly fine. Soon as I get home to my own bed again, first night is almost unbearable. It's ANNOYING. Anyone else have this problem? Or am I just crazy?
I have a story to go with the counting thing too. As I've mentioned many times before, I, like Haruhi, have astraphobia. When I was staying at my grandparents house one summer, there was a storm that made me want to hide under a blanket but my grandpa sat me on his knee and taught me that trick. It wasn't so bad from then on until he died 5 years ago, then the phobia got worse again. Irony. Dad still does it if he's home when there's a storm though.
Tired Kyoya is either sorely enraged/cranky or unusually unguarded and gentle depending on the situation. I figure, Haruhi's fear reminds him of storms with his mother, thus enticing the unguarded gentle one out.
Yes the entire three segment part on Yuki was necessary! Don't question my logic! (But I will admit... I was just playing on my muse a little bit with it rather than actually being important.)
This was pretty long. Just over 9 pages. And another slight-cliff-hanger. Though half of the next one's already finished... School starts in two weeks.
Kudos to: BlackestNight BrightestDay, Agent Twinkle Toes, Enigmaticrose4, Jengurl4, Mrs. Ootori43ver, XxNightShroudxX, and Twilightrewriter.
This is a really long Author's Note... When did I get back into that habit?
Oh yeah... When I decided that I had a lot to comment on.