Lost in the Dark
By E.M. Megs
Chapter 23 – Trying
He'd lost her again. Or rather, she'd managed to get away from him again so that she could et lost in the Narian royal palace. It wasn't very hard to do, especially if you were unfamiliar with the place. Haruhi might think that she knew her way around, but in reality she'd only actually ever been in one wing of the huge place. There were three others.
It was rather troublesome for him to have to come find her for every meal. It was like she'd suddenly gotten tired of his company and no longer wished to hang around him.
For some reason, that bothered him even more.
This time it was dinner and he had wanted to check on her injuries beforehand. They had seemed to be healing just fine the last time he checked, but he'd rather make sure.
Good lord... When did he get so paranoid?
He shook his head and quickly blamed it on her recent nightmares. Finally, he walked into his father's library and caught sight of her brunette head of hair over the top of a chair. The slight knot in his stomach went away. He didn't bother calling out to her. Chances were she had already sensed his presence and knew that he was here. When he was just behind her, he heard her sigh. In her lap was a rather large history book, the page opened to the one with her family portrait. He rounded the chair and knelt down on one knee in front of it so he could see into her face.
Were those... Tears?
"Haruhi?" he murmured in question.
"It's funny how you can miss someone you never really knew." She didn't elaborate. Merely shut the book and set it aside, breathing a heavy sigh and looking at him. He rose an eyebrow, thinking over her statement. Then he nodded a bit and stood up, holding out a hand to her.
"It is. But it shouldn't bring you down. Come," he said softly. "We have something to talk about after dinner."
Curiously, she put her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet and away toward the dining room downstairs.
~o~
After dinner, Kyoya didn't let her slip away. She tried, sure, but she didn't succeed. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked as he caught her hand right before she could escape up the stairs. He tugged her back toward him. "I told you that we had something to talk about." He glanced back into the dining room where his brothers were both seated. Akito glared slightly while Yuiichi paid no attention.
He looked back at Haruhi and she was smiling just a little to herself. He didn't ask just intertwined his fingers with hers and pulled her out of the dining room, down the hall that led to the courtyard and finally to the stables. She opened her mouth to speak as he took a saddled horse from one of the stalls, patting it on the muzzle a bit, but just ended up closing it again without trying to voice her question. He helped her up on the horse then climbed up behind her himself.
"Why couldn't I just ride on my own horse?" she muttered with a bit of irritation.
"Because this way I can make sure you won't run away," he replied in her ear as he steered the horse out the gate. She shifted uncomfortably and he suppressed a chuckle. "You aren't getting uncomfortable around me, are you Haruhi?"
"No," she squeaked. His arms hugged her around the waist as he controlled the reins of the horse that was taking them to their destination. "Where are we going that we need a horse to get to?"
"You'll see."
"Kyoya," she sighed, "I don't like surprises."
"It's nothing bad, I assure you. It's just a bit far out of walking distance." He spurred the horse into a canter grunting, "Hold on." A minute later the horse was going at a full gallop. When he stopped them again 20 minutes later, Haruhi looked like she was about to be sick. "Horseback riding doesn't agree with you it seems," he commented lightly as he dismounted.
"Apparently," she retorted, "not at that speed." Then she looked around them and Kyoya did as well. It was a small garden, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Stones were placed throughout the entire hillside, in fact. Her mouth turned down in a frown and then she realized.
They were in a graveyard.
She whirled around to face him immediately. Kyoya tried not to smirk at her surprise. "Why are we in a graveyard?" she asked a bit cautiously.
"Don't act like I'm about to kill you and bury you here, Haruhi," he murmured, pacing among the headstones until he came to the one he was looking for. "This is the Narian royal family graveyard." He squatted next to the particular stone he'd stopped in front of. "And this... is my mother." He took her hand and pulled her down next to him carefully.
"Why... Why'd you bring me?"
He shrugged. "She died 12 years ago today. I haven't been here in about 3 years and... I didn't want to be alone when I did come. I would have liked for you to meet her in person, but that's not possible, so... This is the closest I have." She squeezed that hand that he still had hold of, an indication that she understood. "I... I do trust you, Haruhi. I hope you realize that. I just don't want you getting caught up in my family's... issues, to put it delicately. It's not exactly the safest thing to do, getting involved with them."
"I know," she murmured. "You're protective. Though why, I'm still not exactly sure. I can take care of myself." She sighed and retracted her previous statement. "No... I know a possibility of why. But I know that you'll do your best not to let that happen."
Kyoya didn't ask what she meant. He already knew. Her curse. His growing affections for her that were becoming harder to suppress and ignore, even for him. He turned his eyes to her, meeting her chocolate brown orbs. "My mother believed that emotions and affections couldn't be restrained," he said softly, trying not to scare her while also trying to convey his message. "I'm starting to think she may have been right."
The look in her eyes changed drastically and if he didn't know any better he would have thought that he heard her heart speed up. "What I'm saying is it's possible that I might try my very hardest to stop from falling in love with you, but the chances are that no matter how hard I do try, it will still happen." He didn't say that he thought that he had already started to. No need to scare her any further.
"So...?"
His mind transferred a memory back into the present for him. Of an earlier conversation with his eldest brother.
"Kyoya, you know that he wants you to marry by the time you're 22."
"I know that. But does it matter if he's asleep? Do I still have to do his absolute bidding even while he's in that damn coma and I'm acting as King? When I have no idea what that bidding might even be?"
"Regardless... He'll expect that if Haruhi's still here by the time he wakes up that you're either engaged to her or planning on being engaged very quickly."
He shook his head, bringing himself out of it rather quickly. "So," he murmured, "I think that it's reasonable for me to ask you to think about accepting to be my wife." She stood sharply.
"You shouldn't ask those things, Kyoya."
"I was merely requesting that you think about it. There's no need for you to worry about answering now. What we should be worrying about is a way to end this war." He stood slowly as well.
"I'm a lost Moradian princess living as a Kiran soldier, Kyoya. I can't just... marry a Narian Prince."
"As I said. No need to answer now. That was for the future, possibly after we find a way to end the war." He sighed. He really hadn't meant to frighten her or anything. Though he supposed that he should have thought a bit more about her other reaction before he asked her to marry him. As for ending the war, he had thought about it quite a few times but he was missing bits of information here and there. The exact reasons for it starting. His father's aims when it began. All of the internal war workings of Kira.
He was smart. But even he couldn't solve a problem with that much missing information.
He turned his thoughts back to Haruhi and sighed inwardly. They needed to talk about this problem... But not at his mother's grave. He strode back to the horse a bit sluggishly and pulled a small bouquet of flowers from the saddlebag. He walked back over and while taking Haruhi's hand in his free one, placed them down in front of the gravestone, brushing his hand over her name engraved in the stone.
The same heavy feeling he always felt when he was here filled his chest. He traced over the M in his mother's name. "Miss you, Mother," he breathed then squeezed Haruhi's hand and turned away from the grave. He didn't look back as he walked back to the horse and mounted quickly. He took a deep breath. "Come on, Haruhi. We have a lot to talk about."
~o~
The entire ride back to the palace, Haruhi's thoughts were so scrambled not even she could decipher them. The only thing she really completely knew was that they were all centered around the man she was holding the waist of right now to keep from falling off the horse. No matter what she thought about it somehow connected directly back to Kyoya.
Kyoya's proposal.
Kyoya wanting to end the war.
Kyoya wanting to marry her.
Could Kyoya even possibly know how to end the war?
Kyoya wanted to marry her. Did he even know what marrying her could entail? Was he off his rocker?
Finally, they had reached the palace and all her thoughts came to a screeching halt. It didn't matter whether or not he knew what it entailed. She now knew that he cared enough to notice that she was missing. He trusted her, he'd made that much clear. And he cared more than enough to try and protect her. Her test of him had worked. She could end the avoidance game she'd been playing with him for the past few days.
She put his caring and words at the graveyard together.
He was already falling for her.
She had, of course, wanted him to stop pushing her away, but she now realized that he had been doing it to keep himself in check.
"Oh," Haruhi muttered to herself out loud. Kyoya glanced up at her with an eyebrow raised in question. She shook her head and he gave her one more skeptical look before holding out a hand to help her down. She took it hesitantly. "Kyoya," she mumbled, looking him in the eye once her feet were on the ground.
"What?"
"Thank you for trying. You're strong. So much stronger than me." It was true. She had found over the last few days that during the times she would escape she would crave his warmth and presence. She would yearn to go find him herself. She had acted like a child to try and get his attention without realizing that she already had it.
It was scary. This entire business was scary.
He had already started falling for her. And she, him. That was more frightening than anything she had ever faced before.
But when she stopped thinking about it, she realized that...
She didn't really want it to end.
She didn't want her silly curse to stop them.
And as she looked at his confused expression she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.
The first kiss they had shared in over two weeks.
The second that she had initiated.
He responded, kissing back gently then breaking away. Her chest clenched and her stomach did a flip. He still looked a bit confused. "I'll try harder," she whispered, "But... I may also be unable to stop it."
He looked at her oddly, like she might have gone insane or caught some kind of mental illness that made her talk in strange phrases. Then he shook his head with a soft chuckle. "An enigma. A goddamn enigma, Haruhi." She scowled at him. Here she was trying to be understanding and he ruined it by calling her an enigma. And she still didn't know what the hell he meant by that. "Come," he murmured, leaving the horse, still saddled, for one of the stable boys to take care of. He held out his hand again and she suppressed a smile as she took it. Something told her she shouldn't be smiling because their conversation was going to be very serious.
They wound their way through the courtyard to the main entrance to the royal wing. He seemed to be heading toward the stairs by the dining room before changing his mind and stopping by his downstairs office instead. He strode to bookcase while she looked at him skeptically. Instead, she found that when he whispered a certain word or phrase to the shelves, it swung out to reveal a narrow hallway crammed between the walls of the next door general library and Kyoya's office.
"You aren't to tell anyone that this is here, understand?" he murmured strictly, "It only opens to a certain spoken password. Only Tachibana and myself know it. Only my guards and myself are even aware of this passage." Haruhi nodded once. He squeezed into the passage and allowed her through before closing it behind him with a soft thump.
"Where does it go?" she asked in slight awe as she followed his hurried pace. He took a right and it gradually sloped downward the further they went.
When it finally got dark enough, Kyoya muttered, "Aduro." A small ball of light appeared in his hand, lighting up the passageway around them in a bubble. He took her hand in his free one and pulled her along like he might lose her in the darkness that surrounded them outside of his little bubble of light. "All over the palace," he answered her question quietly, "It used to be a servants' passage before servants were allowed to be seen in their masters presence. It hasn't been used as such for nearly 150 years now and I doubt that anyone alive today even knows about them, except perhaps my father."
"Where are we going?" A chill had come over the passage the farther down they went. Kyoya took a left a few feet after she noticed this. "Some other secret place?"
He snorted slightly in amusement and said quite blankly, "No."
"Where then?" The passage sloped up again. Haruhi frowned a bit. What the...?
"Somewhere that we can talk without interruptions and where no one will know where we are."
"Couldn't we just go to your bedroom?"
He smiled slyly. "That would require my brothers knowing that we're back. This way, the guards saw us last in my office, therefore, they will assume that we're doing work there and not bother us, leaving us free to roam on our own."
"Then... Where...?"
"Haruhi, there are entrances to this passage all over the castle. We could literally go anywhere inside the walls. Hell, there are probably some passages that lead outside that I haven't found yet."
She looked at him in alarm. "Couldn't that be a security problem?"
"Possibly. But considering I'm 98 percent positive that no one else knows about them, I'm sure that it isn't. Besides, any outside passages are probably pass key protected like most of the entrances are." A spiral staircase came into view in front of them, Kyoya took them two at a time, tugging her along behind him. A few feet from the top of the stairs was the faint outline of a door. Kyoya pointed at it a muttered, "That opens into the full length mirror in my bedroom. Remember that." He kept going straight until the passage T-ed off in two new directions. Kyoya took the right. He pointed to another door."That goes into Yuiichi's room."
"Kyoya... This could be a major escape route for the royal family if you were ever under siege."
He shook his head. "Not if it doesn't go outside."
"Even then though, your entire family could easily hide in here."
"We'd only starve to death then."
She pursed her lips. "My dad told me that passages like this are the reason that he and I are alive right now," she said quietly as he took a right. The passage sloped down again. "Why does it do this? The sloping?"
"To go underneath hallways. Ever notice how the ceiling in the downstairs halls is lower than in the rooms? This is why." Soon, the passage went back uphill. "Almost there." He pointed to one more door on their way past. "Akito's bedroom."
"How long have you been exploring these?"
"I stumbled on one on accident when I was about six. I've gradually been finding the true extent of them ever since." A few more feet and he took a sharp left that was almost a u-turn. The passage that branched the other direction sloped downward quickly. About a minute later he stopped in front of a doorway and whispered, "Solvo." The light ball in his hand fizzled out. He breathed something else at the wall next to them and it clicked open.
He let her out first and shut the shelving behind them quickly. She looked around. "Your father's library," she murmured, looking a bit impressed by how he'd gotten them there. He smirked.
"I hope you remember that route. If you ever need to hide somewhere, like if the Witch arrives unexpectedly or anything like that, take any of the passages that I've shown you. The password is patefacio scientia."
She nodded quickly, understanding why he had told her this. It was another way for him to protect her. She found herself smiling. "Open knowledge?" she translated the magic phrase.
He nodded wordlessly and changed the subject as he led her to a more enclosed part of the huge library.
"Now," he paused long enough to take a seat in one of two chairs in the area, "I have thought very hard about a strategy we could use that could end the war. So far, I've come up only with partials, none of which will satisfy the needs of all the countries involved. Of course, it's rather hard for me to satisfy all those different needs when I represent only one country."
"Understandably," she murmured.
He continued. "It's even more difficult when I begin to realize that although my father has given me war-related tasks, he's never actually told me what we're trying to gain out of it. And there are obstacles in both Nari and Kira that I can't even begin to touch on."
He stood and strode over to the small desk nearby, rifling through the drawers until he found a piece of paper and a pencil. He drew a quick map of Filandria in one corner, basically a circle that was divided into seven countries in their respective places. He retook his seat. "I've thought about a full on military siege of the Kiran palace but that isn't peaceful so I'd rather not do it."
Haruhi nodded her approval. He started scribbling a list on the side of the paper next to the map. "To my knowledge there are three things that are keeping Nari from even thinking about peace." He showed her the three words written on the paper.
Witch
Moradians
Succession
Haruhi frowned at her race's name on the list. "Why are the Moradians on there?"
"My father believes that one of them killed my mother and there are still rebel forces hiding everywhere, refusing to comply to the Narian government." He pushed up his glasses and added, "And if I'm not mistaken the Kiran government also readily accepts Moradian refuges?"
Haruhi nodded. "They're accepted but the fact that they're Moradian is never mentioned. That's the only way that my father and I were able to join the royal court. No one knew."
"My father doesn't like that Kira so readily accepts them and wishes to get rid of your race completely."
"Just because of one person?" He nodded solemnly, actually looking quite perplexed by his father's behavior himself. "That's not fair!"
"Haruhi... My father was deeply in love with my mother. The arrow that eventually killed her was intended for him. And when she was shot... in front of our entire family no less..." He stopped and closed his eyes, his head bowing briefly. "It tore our entire family apart. I think the only reason that Uherfa hates Moradians so much is because of her death."
"How does he know it was one of them though?"
Kyoya swallowed and leaned closer to her. She could tell that it pained him to talk about this. Even if only briefly. "The arrowhead was dipped in a poison that was commonly used in the Moradian army when it still existed. We didn't know about it until after she had died." A pang of sympathy went through Haruhi's heart. She gently slipped a hand into his and squeezed, smiling at him. He drew in a deep breath and continued, "As for the other two... The Witch has an incredible amount of influence, especially over my father. Sometimes the way he acts around her makes me think that he never cared about Uhermo at all."
Haruhi made a face, trying not to think of what he might mean. Her grandmother and Kyoya's father...? Gross. Just gross. Especially considering that her grandmother was probably about 300 years old but only looked 55. Kyoya stifled a chuckle at her expression. Haruhi looked at him and muttered distastefully, "She visits Kira every once and a while... That's only because she's practically obligated to though. And she has immunity there due to the deal that Yuzuru made with her when we were just toddlers."
"The succession of the Narian throne is an internal problem. My brothers and I fighting for the throne causes quite a bit of a stir-up. All three of us have a different view on the war doesn't lighten matters any. I'm anti-war, Akito's pro-war, and Yuiichi's neutral."
"Meaning that the war could be prolonged or shortened depending on who gets the throne."
He nodded sharply once, pleased that she was catching on. "If Akito got the throne he wouldn't stop until both Moradians and Kirans were wiped out. Yuiichi might be convinced to make peace."
"And you would definitely rather make peace."
"Exactly."
"I didn't actually realize that this war included Mora. Even after so many years of Mora being gone." He nodded in agreement. She studied his face. He looked... tired. Haruhi looked at the window. The sun was setting, that was probably why she got the feeling that he was tired. It was almost time to sleep. She looked back at his face. "Why is it... That everyone who is supposed to be enemies are friends?" He shrugged.
"We're different people than our parents. We think and feel differently, thus we make friends and enemies differently as well." He paused then added, "I've stopped trying to think of ways to justify my father's actions and thinking. It isn't worth my time any longer as his thoughts are so complex that no one but him can possibly make sense of them."
"Well," Haruhi murmured, "If we're going to end the war we're going to have to find some way to change his way of thinking about things, aren't we?" He nodded tiredly and leaned his body forward a bit more till his forehead rested on her shoulder. She sighed. "Tired?" He nodded his head against her shoulder. "We could turn in early."
"When we're finished," he murmured, breath hot against her neck. She looked at his hand still clasped in hers. He was awfully comfortable. Her chest twinged a bit painfully but she clamped down on the feeling. She lifted her free hand carefully and stroked his hair absentmindedly. Finally he heaved a sigh and lifted his head. "I need any information you can give me on Kira's internal conflicts and their objectives in the war."
She blinked a few times. "Kyoya... You realize that that's very sensitive information."
"I do. And I will treat it as such."
She nodded slowly and his grip on her hand tightened a little. "The army, as you know, has taken on a mind of its own. The extent to this, I'm not sure of but the royal court no longer has much if any control of it. Fusawa is head of this military movement and he has a surprising amount of support. I think most of the soldiers are either unaware and following orders blindly or actually hate Nari severely enough to want to destroy them as much as Fusawa."
Kyoya's mouth twitched in irritation. "How bothersome," he muttered. She could tell he had an extreme distaste for the Kiran General. She didn't blame him. She had started to develop a dislike of the man herself and she was supposedly his subordinate.
"Other than that. From what I can see Kira is protecting the Moradian refuges from Narian malice. My guess if that they're fighting the defensive."
"They have been for most of the war." He frowned and shook his head slowly. "They've only really had the offensive during the few assassination attempts and Yuki's kidnapping, all of which failed. On the front lines, we've always had the offensive."
"When I return to Kira... I'll try to get more information and I'll inform anyone that I find trustworthy enough what we're doing."
He looked at her sharply. "Such as...?"
"Tamaki," she stated, "I think having the Kiran prince in on our plans will be a tremendous plus." She paused. "Hikaru and Kaoru. Both of which are slowly moving up the military food chain and are gaining Fusawa's trust. They'd be a great asset as well." She thought carefully, thinking of anyone else that might be useful in their planning. "Hunny and Mori possibly as well. They're Gratweny."
Kyoya hummed. "We didn't have nearly as much trouble with Gratwenies as we did Moradians. Possibly because they were a smaller country in political turmoil already when we stepped in. A lot of their citizens still fled though, I'm sure. Father, it seems, was afraid of another encounter like the one we have with Mora, so he prosecuted anyone that stepped outside their boundaries."
"I'm really starting to hate your father..." He merely chuckled in response. "Is there any way that you could convince Yuiichi to aid us?"
Kyoya's eyes flashed and he quickly shook his head. "No," he muttered, "No. Absolutely not. It's best if neither of my brothers knows. Although Yuiichi is neutral on the war he could still have a loose mouth and he may not agree with us on everything. Yuiichi and Akito will both be left out. Tachibana, however, and my other guards, are all loyal to me more than my father. They may be let in. Fuyumi as well. She's always hated the war. And then we'd have a Paitet royal support as well. Speaking of which... She and her husband have consented to being a shelter for you should you ever need to flee from Kira or here."
"Really? Hmm. That's... interesting. Might be useful in the future."
"Hopefully you won't need it because hopefully you won't get caught." He looked at her pointedly and added, "But it's there if you do need it."
"Is that all?" she murmured, gazing into his tired onyx eyes. He nodded and stood. She noticed that their hands were still intertwined and found herself smiling despite herself. "To bed then?" Again, he nodded and tiredly trudged out of the library with her at his side, hand-in-hand. When they reached his bedroom she stood by the bed while he climbed in it. "Don't overwork yourself thinking of a solution to this, Kyoya," she murmured as she sat on the bed. "It's going to take time."
"I know," he replied. "I'm willing to take that time though." She nodded and gave him a small smile as she burrowed under the covers with him, keeping a respectful distance. He was exhausted and thus fell asleep quickly. She stared up at the ceiling for awhile and then back at the slumbering Shadow King. His hand lay between them as if reaching for her without actually making it. She sighed under her breath and turned onto her side, placing her hand next to his outstretched one.
She didn't think it would be possible to fall asleep so easily.
~o~
Haruhi woke with a start several days later to a hand on over her mouth. She almost screamed but when she looked up at her supposed attacker she found Kyoya standing over her with a finger to his lips. She calmed almost instantly. He uncovered her mouth slowly. "What?" she whispered. He shook his head and pointed to the mirror.
"Hide until I come get you," he breathed back. He looked toward the bedroom door anxiously. She noticed then that he had a dagger drawn and hurriedly pulled herself out of bed, rushing toward the mirror. He caught her arm and pushed a robe and a second dagger into her hands. "I know you can defend yourself, but only do so if completely necessary, alright?" She nodded.
"Patefacio Scientia,"she whispered to the mirror, entering as soon as it swung open. She glanced both ways down the passage after pulling it closed and took a left toward the way to his office. She stopped not far from the door back into Kyoya's bedroom, listening for any sounds that might tell her what the hell was happening.
She didn't dare create light even though she doubted that anyone would be able to see it. She tentatively stepped back toward the door and put her ear against it. She didn't hear anything. After a few moments of intent listening she started to hear voices.
"... Is she?" A female voice, unrecognizable because of the muffling that the door created.
"Not here. Get out." Even though it was terribly distorted, Haruhi could still make out Kyoya's deep voice.
"You're lying. Akito said she was here. And you have a knife drawn so obviously you were expecting to have to fight someone in order to distract them. You can't hide her forever, Kyoya."
"Want to bet on that?"
"Why are you so intent on keeping me from meeting her anyway? I just want to know who my future step-son is involving himself with. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."
"I'm never going to be your step-son and I'm old enough to protect myself. Get. Out. Your presence is unneeded and unwanted here." Kyoya obviously didn't welcome whoever it was he was talking to at all. She didn't think she'd ever heard him sound so harsh, except perhaps when he was torturing Yuki's kidnapper.
"Oh... But you can't banish me. You may be King while Yoshio's sleeping but I haven't done anything wrong. And you can't take away my immunity unless I break the contract."
"I don't care. I still have the right to kick you out of my chambers. Get out."
"Fine," the woman seemed to be nonchalant. "I'll be sure to mention this to Yoshio when he wakes. Though my main purpose for coming here was to try and heal him. I suppose I should do that. I do expect to meet this lover of yours eventually though, Kyoya."
Then there was silence. Haruhi moved away from the door and waited in the dark until, finally, the door in front of her swung open, revealing Kyoya's lean form. He was swearing under his breath as he closed the passage behind him. "Damn Witch."
"She's here?" Haruhi asked incredulously.
"Yes. One of her surprise visits where she masks her intentions by saying that she's here to see Uherfa when she really just wants to bother me about you." He quietly lit a light ball in his hand as he had done before.
"How long is she staying?"
"I don't know," he admitted, "Hopefully not more than a day. Normally her surprise visits are brief but I wouldn't put it past her to make this one extra long in hopes of either irritating me halfway to hell or catching sight of you." He took her hand and led her down the same path he had previously taken to the library a few nights before. This time though, he completely surpassed the entrance to his father's library and kept going along the passage, turning left when he got to a fork. He continued straight as he murmured, "We're in the servant's wing right now."
When he couldn't go straight any more he followed the passage as it turned right. After what seemed like forever he stopped in front of a door and knocked once quickly. "I thought you said no one knew," she accused softly.
"Okay," he amended shortly, "There are a few maids who know about it only because their families have been serving mine for generations." A call came through the door after a moment and he muttered the password to open it. He pulled her through the narrow door, right into the sight of two women. The older one looked like she might be the mother of the younger. "Haruhi," he introduced quietly, "This is Desdemona Hedgewood and her daughter Charmaine. Mona, Maine, this is my..." He glanced at her, unsure of what to call her, "... Friend, Haruhi."
"Oh, we've heard plenty about her," Mona said with a huge smile. "And if I'm not mistaken she's quite a bit more than a friend, Kyoya." He scowled a bit at her but didn't object. "What brings you here through the passage?"
"I need you to hide Haruhi."
"From what?" Maine snorted.
"The Witch. There's bad blood between the two of them. And let's just say a meeting between them wouldn't be pretty." Charmaine shrugged her shoulders but Mona nodded her head sympathetically. "I want her to remain in the castle, just out of sight of the Witch. You could even put her to work. I doubt she'd mind." Haruhi glared at him but he just smirked lightly and squeezed her hand, dropping her hand.
"If she isn't gone in a week..." Haruhi muttered, looking at him.
"I know you have to leave in a week," he replied quickly, "I doubt she will be here that long but if she is then we'll get you out somehow." Desdemona and her daughter didn't ask.
"We'll take care of her, Kyoya," Maine said with a large note of confidence in her voice. Kyoya rose an eyebrow at her but nodded in thanks anyway.
"Thank you," he said quietly. Both women nodded their heads with small smiles and turned away as their King turned to Haruhi. "I will be back when I can."
"She really messes things up a lot, doesn't she?" the brunette grumbled with a scowl.
He chuckled. "She does. Hopefully though she won't scramble Uherfa's brain with her magic while trying to heal him. The last thing we need is him waking up with a new outlook on life that matches up perfectly with the Witch's views." Haruhi nearly rolled her eyes but somehow stopped herself as he turned his gaze directly to her eyes. "I trust you to stay safe."
"I'll try my best," she replied, giving him an odd look. "You should get back to your room before anyone suspects anything." He nodded but didn't move toward the passage again. She stared at him, feeling like there was something else he wanted to tell her. Finally though he shook his head and leaned forward until his lips came in contact with her temple, his hand grabbed hers again and squeezed it.
"I'll be back."
"I have no doubt you will."
She watched him leave, the door the passage closing behind him. When she turned Maine and Mona were both working on different things but Mona looked up at her with a knowing twinkle in her eye.
Haruhi didn't want to know what was going through the older woman's head.
~o~
A/N: Yaaaay! Longer chapter this time to make up for the short one last time! And a lot sooner too! Yay! So... Things are getting more intense. This chapter is really information-heavy and I apologize if that's confusing. It took me a while to figure out exactly how and where I was going about this (22 chapters to be exact, and now I can't really backtrack and fix things if I need to so I had to make it fit the story as it is now...) Kyoya and Haruhi are also getting a lot more affectionate, which bothers me a little but not TOO much since it isn't THAT bad.
If you have any questions, leave a review and I'll try to clarify OR I have a spiffy new author website that I made: emmegs. webs. com without spaces. There you can also get updates on where I am in the next chapter. Since I'm gradually making ms paint diagrams and stuff of things in Filandria that I need to draw out just to keep straight, I'll probably be posting them there too. Hopefully the introduction of this site will cut down on my ramblings... Maybe.
I've been diagnosed with insomnia which is causing my headaches from hell. So... that's great. Insomnia is part of the reason that this story is alive though, so I guess it can't be all bad. Unfortunately it's wreaking havoc on my grades.
Kudos to: Nessie-san, zenophobiaz, ShadowedSerenity, Twinklefeather (Answer to your question: I have major events planned out in my head but everything in between those points is basically made up as I go. As I said earlier, I JUST figured out where and how I'm going with this.), Magpie09, Victoria5624, Obscurity Within Mercy, JUCHKO (Ahahaha... Funny you should mention the curse... Err. Um. I'll shut up now.), Christina E. Lupin, and Koharu Veddette. Thank you guys for sticking by me even when I'm a rambling authoress.
So! Check out my new website because I'm pretty excited for it!
Until next time!
-E.M. Megs