ShadowMoon - Fanfictions - The Country of Elwood / Chapter 5 by Lady Torrent

The Country of Elwood

Chapter 5

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Cye's girl

Disclaimer: Don't own the Ronins... but really really wish I did. I would have so much fun... ^_~

Thanks to WildfireFriendship, Jenna, Axisor, Sailor Moon, Jou-chan, Hiruma, Djinn Hashiba-Maxwell, and Gradual Decline. I love you guys so much!! You make me feel special!

I got a 94 on my English essay. I was happy. My "friend" got mad at me too. *cough* She's not really my friend. I don't like her. I'm sure you guys really wanted to know about that. On with the story!

<><><><><>

Cye poked his head out of the small barn where he was currently tending to Ryo and Sage's horses, as well as White Blaze. He leaned against the door, watching Ryo and Sage as the two of them fenced. He smiled faintly when he heard Sage teasing his black haired cousin.

"You're getting kind of rusty, Ryo." Sage smirked, parrying Ryo's jab at him, then attacked.

"Yeah, I've had other things to worry about." Ryo jumped backwards, barely getting away from Sage's blade.

Sage laughed. "Yeah, you've been busy planning a wedding. Totally slipped my mind."

Ryo made a face, parrying then making a counter attack. He dropped his sword, crying out in pain as Sage's blade dug into the flesh of his arm.

Sage sighed, lowering his weapon. "You were supposed to block that." He stated, walking over to Ryo.

Ryo put his hand over the wound, wincing slightly. "Yeah. Sort of forgot about that part." He muttered sarcastically.

Sage pulled Ryo's hand off the wound and mad a face, re-sheathing his sword. "You're lucky I realized that hit your arm." He pulled the rest of Ryo's torn sleeve off the black silk shirt he was wearing. He laughed slightly at the look on Ryo's face. "It's not like you're really going to use it after this anyway. It would've had a big hole in the sleeve." He wrapped it around Ryo's arm and tied it off to try to lessen the blood flow a little. "Time to go visit the hospital wing."

Ryo nodded, putting his hand on his arm where the wound was and following Sage back toward the castle after picking his sword up and re-sheathing it.

Cye patted White Blaze's head on last time before following after Sage and Ryo.

<><><><><>

Rowen looked up when the door opened and paused in his window wiping. He smiled at Sage and Ryo before going back to the windows.

"Ro, where's the bandages?" Sage asked, looking through the cabinets.

Rowen looked toward the blonde, setting the rag he was using on the counter top. "If they aren't in there we don't have anymore and we have to restock... why?"

Ryo pulled the already blood soaked bandage away from his arm and spoke before Rowen could. "And you are NOT healing it."

"You actually think just wrapping that is gonna stop the blood flow? Ryo, if you don't let me, it's gonna get infected." Rowen prodded the deep cut, watching Ryo's reactions.

"Ow! Stop! I'm not gonna let you heal it, so just forget about it." Ryo backed away from the blue haired boy, and turned when he ran into someone.

Cye poked the cut, causing Ryo to yelp again. "That IS pretty deep Ryo... you should just let Rowen heal it. Otherwise we're going to have to get Sage to amputate."

Ryo bit his bottom lip before nodding slowly.

Rowen grinned putting his hand to Ryo's forehead. "See, you can't win."

Sage watched the cut slowly close and then fade. He looked at Cye, who had a faintly amused look on his face.

Rowen opened his eyes, stumbling back slightly only to be steadied by Sage. "Woah... that was deeper than I thought..."

"Thanks Rowen... ruined my shirt though." Ryo tossed Sage a look.

"That was your own fault. You should have gotten out of the way." Sage picked Rowen up, much to the elf's surprise and delight. "I'm gonna take Rowen back to the room." He murmured.

Cye nodded. "Kento's in there, I think."

"Okay." Sage nodded, before carrying Rowen out of the room.

"So, did you finish all of your chores?" Ryo teased, looking at Cye through his black bangs.

"Yes mom." Cye smirked slightly.

"Why I oughta..." Ryo's voice trailed off and he narrowed his eyes playfully. "I gotta get going before the king sends out a searcher party." Ryo gave him a quick kiss.

"The king?" Cye raised his eyebrows.

Ryo smirked slightly. "I don't consider myself to be his son because I don't agree with the way he runs things."

Cye nodded. "Okay. I can understand that."

Ryo smiled and started toward the hallway, Cye following him to the door.

"Hey Ryo, I'm gonna stay down here for a bit longer and make sure Rowen's okay." Sage caught up with Ryo near the picture leading into the secret passage.

Ryo nodded. "Okay. Then I'll just see you later." Ryo turned to the large portrait and paused. "Dude, that guy must be ANCIENT."

Sage rolled his eyes. "Ryo, that's King Kaos." The blonde sighed when Ryo gave him a blank look. "The greatest king of Elwood."

"Oh." Ryo looked up at the picture and squinted slightly. "What's with the hood? You can't see his face."

"And you're supposed to be the next king?" Sage raised his eyebrows. "King Kaos was the greatest king of Elwood. He has a hood because he dressed as a commoner and went out in public rather often. Something I'm sure your father has never done."

"That's probably why the poor guy's down here." Ryo shook his head, pushing the portrait to the side and stepping into the passage. He walked down the familiar, small dark tunnel before slowly cracking the door on the other side and slipping out.

"Where does THAT lead?"

Ryo turned to face Sekhmet and Dais, the picture sliding shut behind him. "Where does what lead?" Ryo raised his eyebrows.

Sekhmet and Dais exchanged looks.

Ryo gave them a cheesy grin, hiding his nervousness. This was NOT good.

"This..." Dais opened the passage and looked down the dark hallway while Sekhmet grabbed Ryo's arm to keep him there. "Hmm... dark... how long is it?" Dais looked toward the black haired prince.

"Scared?" Ryo's voice held a hint of amusement.

Dais gave him a look then looked to Sekhmet. "Where's Kale?"

The green haired man shrugged. "Not sure." He peered down the hallway. "Heh. It IS really dark..."

"We'll just come back when we find Kale." Dais motioned for Sekhmet to follow him.

Sekhmet released Ryo's arm and caught up with the other knight.

Ryo sighed and scampered off to his room to change his torn shirt. "I'll have to keep an eye on those two." He muttered to himself, untucking his shirt and pulling it off.

"Who?"

Ryo spun around, his sword drawn and gripped tightly, his shirt on the floor. "Jesus Christ Kayura! What the hell are you doing in here?" He sheathed his sword and turned away from her, kneeling in front of his dresser and pulling a new shirt out and over his head.

"I was waiting for you, Ryo. You keep disappearing into thin air." Kayura murmured, and grabbed Ryo's arm to help him up.

Ryo yanked his arm out of her grip and stood up. "Don't touch me. And stay out of my room. You have absolutely no right to be in here unless you're invited in, and I don't see that happening." He crossed his arms, watching her.

Kayura's eyes watered and she took a step away from him before she turned and ran out of the room, holding her dress up off the floor.

Ryo bit his lip, knowing she'd go to the king. He paused slightly before running after her. "Kayura! Wait a minute!"

<><><><><>

The king fumed silently, listening to the report his chief knight gave him. Three more of the knights had been killed. "Yet you have no idea who is doing this?" The king raised his eyebrows.

"We think it's the elves, your Majesty. But we aren't sure." The knight looked up at him, his arm resting on his knee.

"Well, if you intend on keeping your job, I would suggest you figure it out!" The king shouted, pounding his fist on the arm of the throne.

The knight's eyes dropped to the floor, and he nodded. "Yes your Majesty." The knight rose and left the throne room.

Sage stifled his yawn, shifting his weight to the other foot. "When's dinner?"

<><><><><>

Kale leaned on the counter, smiling at Naya. "So, why do you hate it here so much?" He turned his dagger in his hand, watching it glint.

Naya gave him a cool look. "Why do you care?" She asked, tossing a salad for dinner.

"I was just wondering. You don't have to tell me, you know." Kale shrugged, smirking slightly.

Naya gave him a look, rolling her eyes. "Except you're not going to shut up until I do tell you, right?"

"It would probably help." Kale gave her a sideways look, putting his dagger away and resting his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"I don't like it here because I was dragged out of the woods. They thought it would be "best" for me. I was fine where I was." Naya stated, and rubbed her right shoulder.

Kale was about to reply when Dais and Sekhmet came in the door.

"Kale, we have something important to show you." Sekhmet announced, smiling triumphantly.

"This had better be good." Kale muttered, following them out of the kitchen after murmuring a goodbye to Naya.

Naya watched them go and covered the bowl of salad before rubbing her shoulder again. She slowly left the kitchen, shutting the door behind her. Naya walked into her room, and crawled into her bed, closing her eyes.

<><><><><>

The king glared at the blue haired elf, and slowly climbed to his feet. "Don't think I won't kill you, you insolent little brat!"

"Oh, is that all?" Rowen asked, raising his eyebrows and putting his hand over his mouth as he yawned.

"If you don't heal him, I will kill you myself." The king took another step toward Rowen.

"That'll be the day. Are you sure you wouldn't need help lifting the sword? I mean, after just sitting on your ass doing absolutely nothing for the past eighteen years, that would make you really weak." Rowen crossed his arms, blue eyes locked on the king's.

The king clenched his teeth and took the necessary steps to close the gap between them before smacking Rowen.

Rowen's head snapped to the side and he slowly looked back at the king. "Is that all ya got?" He cracked his neck, raising his eyebrows.

Sage licked his lips and watched as the knight on the floor went limp. He turned his attention back to the king and Rowen. He blinked and barely suppressed the urge to smack his forehead. He must have missed something the king had said that Rowen found highly amusing.

Rowen was laughing at the king. Not only was he laughing, he was on his hands and knees, pounding the ground with his fist.

"Get him out of here. And make the punishment 60." The king glared at the still laughing elf before turning back to his throne.

Sage sighed, running a hand through his hair. He suddenly looked around, realizing something. Where was Ryo?

<><><><><>

Ryo smiled, sighing contently. He really didn't want to leave, but he didn't have much of a choice. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair, looking around the room.

Cye stirred slightly, turning onto his stomach, his arm being used as a pillow.

Ryo smiled again, found his clothes, and pulled them on. "Hey... Cye, wake up." He lay next to the auburn haired boy, and brushed his hair out of his face. "Cye... Cye, wake up."

Cye's eyes fluttered open, and he smiled lazily at the black haired prince. "Hi."

"Hi." Ryo kissed Cye's forehead, pulling him closer.

"You okay?" Cye murmured against Ryo's chest, closing his eyes.

Ryo nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I probably should make an appearance at dinner, don't you think?"

Cye opened his eyes, and yawned. "Yeah..."

"Okay. I'll be back later... I promise." Ryo sat up, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed. "These beds suck..." Ryo cracked his back before standing up.

"They're okay once you get used to them." Cye watched Ryo as the black haired boy walked toward the door.

"I'll have to take your word on that." Ryo winked at him, his hand resting on the doorknob. "I love you, Cye."

Cye blushed a light red and smiled. "I-I love you too, Ryo."

Ryo smiled and left Cye to go to the dining room. He paused and looked into the kitchen as he passed it, then cursed. Dinner already started.

<><><><><>

"Where's Ryo?" The king glared at Sage as if it was his fault for the other's absence.

Sage sighed, slightly annoyed. "For the third time, I don't know."

Kayura shook her head. "This is extremely irresponsible of him." She murmured, and turned her head when she saw a side door open out of the corner of her eyes.

Ryo slipped into the room and slowly walked to his seat between Sage and Kayura.

Sage watched Ryo sit down and nearly spit his drink out when he saw a rather noticeable red mark on Ryo's neck. He cleared his throat slightly and pulled Ryo out of his chair just as he was sitting down. "I need to talk to you. Now." He pushed Ryo through the door.

"I know you're wondering where I was-" Ryo never got to finish his sentence.

"No, actually I was wondering how the hell we're supposed to hide the hickey on your neck." He murmured, and smirked as Ryo's hand flew to his neck.

"Oh shit!" Ryo ran a hand through his hair but Sage stopped him.

"Wait... Just don't put your hair behind your ears. And don't run your fingers through it either, until we can figure something else out. Your hair is long enough that it hides it." Sage stated.

Ryo nodded and followed Sage back into the dining room.

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"I told you it was down that other corridor." Dais gave Sekhmet a look.

Sekhmet shook his head. "I remember it was behind a curtain, or something..."

Kale sighed, highly annoyed. "What ARE you two babbling on about? I have other things that I could be doing at the moment."

"What's-his-name! He came out of this secret passage thingy." Sekhmet stated, throwing his hands up in the air.

Kale paused, looking at Sekhmet. "What's-his-name? And if it was a secret passage, why didn't you follow it and see where it lead?"

"It was really dark." Dais replied, and pointed when Ryo turned the corner ahead of them. "You!"

Ryo stopped and tilted his head. "Me what?" His eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Where is it?" Sekhmet demanded, crossing his arms.

"Where is what? Are you guys feeling okay?" Ryo looked past them at Kale, who shrugged his shoulders.

Ryo walked pushed past Sekhmet and Dais and walked up to Kale. "You should really keep an eye on them..." Ryo tapped the side of his head. "Not quite right up here."

Kale smiled and nodded. "Will do." He patted Ryo's shoulder. "I'm sorry they bothered you... and me..."

"Eh. Don't lose any sleep over it." Ryo grinned and retreated to his room, shutting the door behind him.

"You two... go..." Kale rubbed his temples, trying to soothe the headache away.

"But I swear there-"

Kale cut Sekhmet off. "NOW!"

<><><><><>

Anubis sighed, scratching his head. Where was that girl that brought the blankets? She was usually there and gone by now. He wandered into the hallway and looked around. He could hear faint voices from the corridor Prince Ryo and Prince Sage's rooms were in, and one didn't sound too happy, but they quickly faded. He wandered toward the corridor the Prince's rooms were in.

The girl stopped at Ryo's room, but was quickly dismissed. She continued on toward Sage's room.

Anubis paused at Ryo's room, and opened the door, poking his head in.

Ryo looked up from the book that was across his lap, his eyebrows raised. "Hello Anubis."

"Hello. Just checking to make sure everything is okay." Anubis smiled and closed the door before doing the same at the blonde's room. He murmured a good night to him before catching up to the girl. "Excuse me." He put a hand on her shoulder.

Naya hissed in pain, pulling away from the touch.

{{The forest was fairly dark, the trees overhead blocking most of the sunlight. Anubis looked around while he wandered through the thick under brush.

A sound high in the trees caught his attention and he turned, quickly throwing the dagger he held. Although he wasn't expecting a counter attack as he felt an arrow bury itself in his stomach.

The girl in the trees grabbed her new wound on her right shoulder, her hood having been knocked off.

Anubis caught a glimpse of the girl as he fell to the forest floor, unconsciousness claiming him.}}

Anubis was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a loud "Hello in there."

Naya was giving him an annoyed look. "What do you want? I have to sleep too, ya know." She shifted the bundle of blankets to her other arm.

"I just need a blanket, please." Anubis took the one she handed him. "Thanks."

She gave him an extremely fake smile and turned away muttering about how stupid knights were.

Anubis twitched slightly and turned to head back to his room. Shutting the door behind him, he crawled into his bed and spread the blanket out, drifting off to sleep.

To be continued ....