Chapter 12: Warning signs
It was a long night. Shizuo had been gentleman enough to stay downstairs inside the inn to leave the chamber to Izaya, or rather, his fiance.
One would think after everything that had happened Izaya would be too vigilant to fall asleep. His father, the constant pretense, the wedding that was soon to be held, his sister's whereabouts- not to mention getting abducted and almost killed…there were a lot of reasons to sit in bed, awake, all night long and wrack his head about the mess he had gotten himself into.
Yet that wasn't what happened.
It might have been the fatigue and overexertion of the past days, the stress or maybe just the moment of calmth before Izaya headed to bed, but as soon as his body hit the mattress he was knocked out.
He slept a sleep, tighter than the damned corset around his waist.
It was refreshing, calming and most of all desperately needed.
Izaya noticed as soon as he woke to a quick set of knocks at his door. His body felt heavy, his skin warm and mind clear as he blinked into the blinding rays of the sun.
Again the knock resounded.
Legs tangled in a mess of bed sheets he quickly peeled himself out of bed.
"Yes?"
Opening with a creak the door presented the very warm and welcome face of the innkeeper.
"I take it you slept well, dear?" She chuckled. There was no need to deny that fact as Izaya was terribly aware of his own bed hair and the sun glimmering high up in the sky- what time was it even?
Slightly embarrassed he picked at his hair, trying to keep it down.
"Do you want some help with that?" A bit confused after waking up, the raven tried to find some orientation.
Right.
This was the inn Shizuo had brought him to the day before. Fragmented memories of last night's bath if blood and frames of stars resurfaced from his mind, causing his vigilance to rise in an unexpected cocktail of emotions.
"Ah, no, I'm fine," he quickly assured, realizing the old lady aas still waiting for an answer. Despite really not feeling up to force himself inside this treacherous fabric that was supposed to be clothing he couldn't afford being exposed.
Approaching a small desk located right next to the window he reached for the gown that had been placed there.
Feet touching the ground quickly, Izaya caught himself on the object in quite the unlady like fashion as his ankle screamed in a shot of pain.
Right.
The wound.
Cursing under his breath Izaya glared at the stained layer of dried blotched blood.
He had almost forgotten about the wound that the bastard inflicted on him.
"That doesn't look good, make sure you get this looked at, alright?" Izaya lifted his head to look at the woman. Surprised, he noted that her expression had fallen. All the former warmth and carefree attitude had dropped as genuine worry doubled her wrinkles.
He didn't think her expression could look as serious as that. And it had been a while since Izaya saw an expression like this.
Pure empathy.
Like a mother scolding her child.
It caused a different kind of warmth to spark inside Izaya's chest as he nodded.
"I will."
The innkeeper nodded approvingly before withdrawing into the hallway.
"Your husband is downstairs, he is waiting for you to come down. I will make sure to tell him too." She announced with a fading voice as she disappeared.
Izaya found himself nodding despite not having been seen and snorted at the action a second later.
It was a welcome change, to be doted on to this extent.
It took longer than expected to get changed.
Layer after layer was meticulously adjusted and tied as Izaya forced himself to ignore the throbbing pain in his ankle and chest.
Sitting there like a fire lizard the skin on his collarbone burned at the slightest brush. It was as much discomforting as it was annoying.
It didn't help that the cut started bleeding halfway through the process either.
By now Izaya was very confident that the guy who had invented women's clothes was either a sadist or plain insane. He should be made to wear his own designs and then be asked to run.
Just for fun, really.
Izaya would love to see the guy stumbling over the rim of his own work and cursing the day he invented them.
After what felt like an eternity he was done. Every garment was in place, every layer adjusted so it aligned gracefully with the rest.
Having learned from his previous mistake Izaya made it a point to keep a tight hold onto the railing as he made his way down the flight of stairs.
Falling down the narrow passage wouldn't really hurt his body considering he was sitting inside a cocoon of fabric, but it would certainly hurt his reputation.
It was when the smell of fresh bread and soup filled his nose that the raven turned to look around.
The main hall of the inn was fairly empty. Of course.
Drinking was something men rather enjoyed after a good day of work and not in the middle of the day.
Stools were still on top of the tables and only one man was sitting there eating away groggily on a plate of sausage and bread.
Shizuo.
Yawn escaping his lips he didn't even try to hide it as he hadn't realized his fiance had already come down.
"Tired?" Izaya snorted, snapping the blond out of his daze.
Lowering the sausage he had been about to behead his expression brightened with a certain amount of mischief.
"A little maybe, some woman claimed my bed to herself only."
Hoh?
He was quite honest and direct in his speech. And thank god, it seemed he decided to drop the awkward act of chivalry.
"What a wench," Izaya snorted, approaching the table to snatch a tiny piece of bread for himself.
He wasn't really hungry which was somewhat odd as the last time he had eaten anything was back at the mansion.
The dinner with his siblings.
He blamed the ongoing act of pretense and occasional abduction for his loss of appetite.
Eyes previously playful and tired changed to seriosity as Shizuo's eyes fell to Izaya's chest.
Izaya had made sure to wipe away the droplets of blood that had been brought forth by his attempt to dress himself, but the violent redness tearing at his skin still looked anything but pretty.
"How are you feeling?" the king inquired and Izaya couldn't help but feel he actually cared.
Guilt sprang forth from the back of his mind like a cold shower on a hot day.
He didn't deserve any special treatment. After all, he was just playing a game of pretense.
"Eager to get back to the castle," he laughed quickly, trying to disperse the unnecessary topic.
Shizuo chuckled, obviously relieved by his answer.
"You don't seem all too fazed, do you?"
Well fazed wasn't the right expression.
Had the whole ordeal shaken him? Of course.
Was he willing to let just an instance affect his life? No.
"What? Just because you cut down some bastards?" Izaya shrugged, pulling one of the upside down chairs off the table to take a seat.
"Are you kissing your sister with those dirty lips?" Shizuo asked.
Swearing wasn't exactly ladylike behavior but his future wife didn't seem to care as she merely shrugged.
"Mind you, I'm a lady after all. A queen soon as well."
Shizuo laughed- and now she was even playfully threatening him!
"Oh, really? Dang I should watch my words then."
This woman was getting more interesting by the minute.
"The horse is ready, sir, but do take your time!" Turning their heads the two looked at the innkeeper that had entered from the front door.
Skirt dirty and expression delighted she seemed to be extremely pleased to find them both enjoying the food she prepared.
"Ah, thank you!" Shizuo quickly spoke, rising from the table.
Mimicking the action, Izaya left the almost untouched piece of bread as he followed.
There were surely places the king needed to be and considering he had made him wait until midday Izaya shared no interest in keeping him even longer.
Nodding quickly the innkeeper pushed the front door wide open.
"Have a safe trip home, sweetie."
Gentleness swayed in her voice, only emphasized by her concern.
Izaya couldn't help but smile at the gesture.
"Thank you."
Low like a bear's growl, the wooden chair dragged along the hard floor as Shizuo waited for his wife to catch up.
Only when the inn lady had left and the two stood close, he whispered in a tune of slight mockery.
"Sweetie?" He chuckled, repeating the nickname the innkeeper had addressed him with.
"Oh, shut up, she is nice." Izaya snorted, stepping onto the damp grass of morning dew.
"I know." Shizuo said, while catching the rail dangling from the horse's neck. "Let's get going, shall we?"
Standing much taller than Izaya was, he couldn't help but scrunch his nose when the animal leaned down to nudge his head.
It was gross, wet, cold and a few flies circled its eyes.
"You don't like horses, do you?"
Not liking it was an underestimation.
With a face that couldn't even look straight, the stench of hay mixed with a nice sprinkling of shit and the sheer height it was looking down at Izaya with he couldn't imagine a more disgusting creature.
The fact that he really hated the way it shook when they rode was only a nice add on.
"That obvious?" he questioned, fending off one of the creature's personal flies that had headed for his face.
The king seemed to have the time of his life as he shrugged.
"The death glare gave you away."
Another fly steering for Izaya's face he groaned and quickly approached the horse's back.
"Oh well, at least it's fast." The saddle was gripped and his leg lifted- only to stop halfway as Izaya froze in a short sting of pain.
Walking straight had already been a challenge, but setting his injured ankle into the saddle step was sheer impossible.
It seemed the king had noticed too as he dropped the mocking attitude.
"I don't mean to overstep my boundaries, but may I help?" he questioned softly, walking up to Izaya.
For a moment Izaya was set to just gather his will of steel and push through the pain the action would bring- but what for?
He had already ridden on top of a horse with the king at his back and he hadn't noticed a thing about his sharade.
So why torture himself?
"Do what you must," he sighed softly, letting go of the saddle as he stepped back.
Quick and with ease Shizuo slipped into the saddle, his thighs gripped the animal's back tightly as he leaned over with seemingly no effort at all.
Pulling Izaya closer his arm sneaked around his waist and before he knew it he was hoisted sideways onto the horse.
The leash was pulled and the king assured Izaya, "It won't take long."
And with that they rode off.
Arm sneaked around Izaya's waist in an iron grip served as a pretty decent hold.
In the past Izaya had really disliked sitting on top of a horse as those bastards of animals always decided to change directions at will or yank in an especially stupid way so he fell off them.
It was just one of the many reasons his father had been dissatisfied with his future heir.
Feeling his thoughts drawn to rather unpleasant topics, Izaya made it a point to look at the scenery.
At night he hadn't quite had a chance nor the constitution to spare a thought on the landscape.
But now, glittering with morning dew as the mountain was still casting a huge shadow across the lands despite the advanced time, Izaya couldn't help but feel quite fond of the sight.
Since the castle resided in a valley it didn't see a lot of sunshine during the early morning hours until mid afternoon but that didn't take any of its beauty.
Silky layers of mist wavered on their path and decorated the trees like a veil would a noblewoman's shoulders.
The sparkling drops of morning dew mimicked jewelry and the soft sound of birds and other animals brushing through the soft grass served a calming sonata of sounds.
Even the heavy hooves meeting earthy roads of slick dirt were somehow fitting the peaceful atmosphere.
The only real downside was the temperature.
It was fairly cold- which wasn't bad per se as catching some fresh air was always a welcomed change.
But for Izaya it was quite an ordeal.
Coughing softly he felt the usual tightness return to his chest and swallowed hard to keep his coughing low. Breathing in the clear but cutting fresh air proved to be the worst task at hand.
What must feel awesome to any other human heading outside felt like stabs of needles prickling his lungs inside out endlessly over and over.
Again his lungs spasmed and he couldn't quite control his coughs.
"Are you okay?" The question came like a stab to his neck as he felt shudders travel down his spine.
He couldn't let the king know of his condition. It was a legitimate excuse to call the wedding off-
Lifting one of the dozens of layers of his dress to his face Izaya tried to keep his breathing low to not trigger another set of violent coughs.
"Ah, yes, of course, I just swallowed a fly by accident," he quickly lied.
But it seemed he was better at pretending than breathing as the king snorted at his response.
"We are already there anyway," he announced and as if on cue the horse emerged from a thick layer of fog, clearing the view enough so Izaya could see the castle from afar.
Following the same road they had when first arriving at the king's castle it didn't take them longer than a few minutes to arrive at the gate.
Neighing and moving, disgustingly surprising, Izaya nearly fell off the damned horse as it came to a stuttering halt. Only the tight grip on his waist kept him upright as Shizuo brought the cursed animal to a standstill.
"My lord!" Barely a few seconds had passed since they arrived when the butler emerged from the castle. "We have an urgent matter that needs your personal attention." The expression he wore was quite dire, only stressing the importance of the matter at hand.
Quickly slipping from the horse, Shizuo brought Izaya down with him before approaching his worried servant.
"What is it?"
Leaning in hevstarted to spill the beans, although Izaya couldn't catch a word of it.
He was a bit too far off and the butler too keen on privacy as he discussed the land's matters.
Izaya didn't really mind.
Usually he would be dying to know what was going on, but right now he was pretty exhausted.
Breathing had become less of a hassle and more of a chore and his ankle had started throbbing with the uneven motion of riding torturing it.
Glancing towards the castle gates he found himself glad to be pretending to be the future queen.
As a temporary guest he would take a stroll to the library the butler had shown him the previous day, snuggle up in another layer of fabric and read.
He was going to go insane just thinking about the wedding all the time and wasting his time until the mercenary returned was also out of question.
A few pieces of well refined literature would surely bring the piece and satisfaction he looked forward to.
Glancing towards the two he wondered whether he should just head inside or wait for the butler to finish.
It was when his eyes met with Shizuo's that the two stopped talking.
"Would you join me?"
A second of confusion followed in which Izaya looked behind his back thinking the king had addressed another knight or maybe a consultant that had appeared without him noticing.
But there was no one.
Only Izaya.
A bit flabbergasted, he found himself at a momentary loss of words.
"Sorry, I wasn't thinking, we only just returned-" Shizuo suddenly said, shaking his head as though he meant to scold himself.
"No, it's fine actually," Izaya quickly hurried, realizing he was actually asking for his help.
Only dimly the promise he gave the previous night resurfaced from his memory and he hurried to the blond's side.
The butler seemed equally astonished as he was confused as he gestured towards the castle.
"Then if you would follow me."
to be continued~
Oh my oh my, Izaya you should really listen to your body when it tells you to give it a rest~
Also, dang - My sister had the time of her life laughing while reading the horse section in this chapter going like "Omg you really don't like them" and I was like "... is it that obvious?" xDD
No offense to anyone that likes to ride xD It looks cool, but I'm too scared of those huge side eyed motherfuckers xDDD
Let's see what Izaya is going to advise Shizuo on xD God I have so much planned ahead I swear to god
this story will be running for like ages, I can already see that coming xDDDD
Anyway~ I hope you liked the chapter and see you next Saturda will be updating every Saturday from now on xD
PS.: "Behind closed doors" and "Sinful desire" volume one are on amazon now, but I am afraid amazon only sells/ships to England, USA, germany/austria and maybe one more place :C I can't really widen that by myself since I'm just a freelancer here T^T
But for those who can/want to buy those copies, the originified rework of "The wish to disappear" will be coming out next week :3 I will be updating an extra chapter on that story with the info once it is there xD