Alnwick Castle

*Prince* Shinya Hayashi

Genre: Historical Romance

Band: Dir en grey + Others

Pairing: Ano... d x s & I'm making it up along the way ^^;

Setting: in the border of England + Scotland in the Medieval times

"What is most beautiful in virile men is something feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine."~Susan Sontag

Parchment two: Scotland

"Ah, so you've returned. What of the treaty?" Prince Kaoru Niikura asked his messenger.

Hyde, the tiny royal messenger, kneeled before the throne. "Sire. All's well among the neighbouring kingdoms, except for the McPhearsons and the Hayashi's."

Kaoru frowned. "What sort of trouble is it now?"

The messenger cleared his throat. "The McPhearsons refused to sign the treaty, saying they will not be associated with such lowly place..."

Kaoru's jaw tightened and the messenger was starting to sweat. Everyone knew of the Prince's temper, but they didnt' know he would never act brashly out of sheer anger. "And the Hayashi's?"

"We've discovered that one of the Hayashi's is betrothed to one of our knights; but the agreement was not to take effect until now. The knight requests to leave his castle and bring a party of troops with him. He also requests your Royal Advisor/Diplomat Kyo to go with him to the Hayashi's as well."

"I assume there is a problem with the betrothal. Of course, there is; those damnable English." Kaoru muttered. He turned to a scowling Kyo who stood on his right. "What think ye, oh great Royal Advisor?" He said mockingly.

Kyo made a face. "I'm supposed to be a Royal Advisor, a respected diplomat, not a giddy matchmaker!"

Kyo's rival advisor, Kamijo, stood on Kaoru's other side. He suggested, "I think it would be a wonderful experience for little Kyo-kun. In order to become a respectable diplomat, onehas to broaden his experience. Don't you think, Sire?"

Kaoru thought a moment. "You know, Kamijo, you have a great point."

Kamijo grinned evilly at the shorter man. Kyo stuck his tongue out in return.

"Alright then." Kaoru said. "Both of you shall go."

"WHAT??!"

Kaoru nodded. "It shall be a good experience for both of you, and maybe you'll get to know each other and actually agree on something."

Kyo and the other advisor stared at each other in contempt.

//I can't believe this! How could the Prince allow a peasant borne man become a ROYAL advisor??// Kamijo chided.

//That blue-nosed snob had better shut up. Just because his father's father's father's father's father was a Royal Advisor doesn't mean---.// Kyo's thoughts were interrupted.

"Ano... your highness..." Hyde said timidly, sensing tension in the court. "Am I excused?"

"Nay." The Prince said. "I have but one final question: Which knight gave this request?"

"Sire, 'tis your best knight and best friend of Alnwick Castle. 'Tis-----."

~~~~~~~

"---SIR DIE!!!!!!!!!!" the squire yelled. "I'm sorry, but i need to relieve myself."

"Again?! you sure y'ain't have watery bowels?" Shuse rolled his eyes.

Levin looked at the knight pleadingly while he held his stomach. "It must have been the berries from a while ago."

Die sighed. "Alright, alright. We're taking a break."

All the other men groaned in dismay while Levin ran behind a bunch of bushes. Die leaned by a tree trunk and waited.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the McPhearson's followed us using your squire's trail." Gisho chuckled.

"Tis not my choice that the squire come with us." Die muttered. "I think the Prince is trying to torture me."

Gisho smiled. "Well, well. What are best friends for?"

"That's not all he threw at me." Die motioned to Kyo and Kamijo. "But those two were appointed to advise me on this journey and all they've done is bicker 'till my ears ring."

"Sir Die, I think J and Ken have fallen once more." Hakuei said, walking up to them with an empty bottle.

"I thought I told them NOT to bring drinks on this journey. This is an important mission!"

"^^; Apparently they stole a bottle or two of port from the village we passed." Hakuei informed. He looked at the two drunk men singing. "Strange, isn't it? They're always lazying around, but they're quite fast when drinks are involved."

Die shook his head. "Once they wake, tell them their punishment is to carry the equipment for tonight."

"Aye, aye, sir." Hakuei replied. "I must ask, what are you going to do once we've reached the Hayashi Castle?"

Die's face grew dark. "First, I will see to myself if this whole mess is nothing but a rumor. If it is true that I Am betrothed to another man, then we'll wage war."

Gisho frowned. "I daresay, 'tis pretty insulting to have someone betroth you to a man. Those English must think we're beyond barbaric."

"Bah! Marry a man or marry a women. I still say women are more of a nuisance!" Hakuei spat.

"Of course you say that. You haven't had your share of luck with women." Die declared. "You have to be GENTLE, you know?"

"Gentle my ass." Hakuei snorted. "I've no time to sing poetry or grow rose bushes. I'd rather duel and joust."

Die and Gisho just gave understanding nods. They both knew Hakuei had not had the greatest experiences with relationships. He'd been betrothed thrice. Once broke the engagement the night before the wedding day; the other 2 ended up having affairs with other men. No one was really to blame for what happened, but some pointed out it was because Hakuei never paid the women much attention and the women were not exactly the best of characters.

Die, on the other hand, doensn't have that much bad luck, but he also has his share of relationship downfalls. For one thing, many women run after him, but all only want the power of being a royal knight's wife. Fortunately for him, he was a better judgement of character.

"But of course, no one could master cham and courtly conduct better than Chisato." Gisho chuckled.

Die rolled his eyes. "Of course. That's why I left him at the castle. Not only is he trustworthy to care for the fortress, but he'd bring a trail of swooning women following us if he came."

Gisho laughed.

"So, how far do we have until we reach the border?" Die asked Shuse, the expert navigator.

"Not too far. I can tell ye, but my map's missing." Shuse looked through his pack.

"Maybe Gackt has it." Gisho suggested.

Shuse groaned. "Not again..."

"Care to tell me how Gackt got here?" Hakuei nudged his commander. "I thought he was Prince Niikura's court jester."

"He WAS the court jester, but he had a problem. He couldn't stop stealing things from the castle. The Prince, for osme reason, truly believes the man can't help stealing things. Then he discovered Gackt's talent for archery and decided the army might give Gackt discipline." Die shook his head. "They replaced Gackt with a different court jester named Kirito."

"Ah, you mean Sir Kohta's brother?"

"Aye." Die scratched his head. "I wonder why. They say Kirito never smiles, but is quite an entertaining jester."

Shuse finally came back with the map. "Sir Die, if my calculations are correct, the border should be across that mountain."

"Alright, let's go." the red head commanded.

"What about your squire?" inquired Gisho.

"Oh."

"Sir Die!" Gackt said. "Your squire is tangled in a clump of bushes."

Die muttered a few curses. "~@$$%@! I'm stuck with a bunch of children!!"

"Where is he?" Gisho asked.

"Across yonder."

"Alright. Gisho, stay here and babysit. Hakuei, you come with me." Die commanded.

The two men marched off to the spot. They stopped in their tracks once they discovered nobody there. Levin, the Royal Knight's squire, has disappeared.

~~~~~~~~

"I still don't understand you, why did you hurt that poor child!" Toshiya practically shrieked. He stared at the unconscious Levin on the grass.

"Please be quiet, Toshiya." Shinya said calmly. "I assure you I didn't murder him. and if you were paying attention to his attire, he's wearing a pleaid over his shoulder. That means he's a Scot! A young warrior too, judging from his scars and the equipment he carried." He looked through Levin's tiny bag.

"But he's an innocent child!" the blue head protested. "He was just relieving himself in the bushes when you ambushed him! What if YOU were the one by the bushes..."

"Ah, interresting. He has extra blankets that we need." Shinya took them and stuffed them in his bag.

"Shinya! Are you even listening to me!? This is wrong. Stealing is a sin, I tell you! >o<!! You will burn in hell!"

"Hmm... For someone so young, I never thought he'd be carrying a pouch of sunflower seeds!" the younger brother inspected it, then put the pouch in his second satchel. "Oh well. It's mine now. I do believe we need something to keep your mouth occupied."

Toshiya glared at him. "Are you calling me chatterbox? Whatever gave you that impression!! I ---."

"And taking these seeds away will surely irritate whoever's using them. I doubt it's the child's seeds. It's probably a person he works for." Shinya observed.

"But STILL! You're stealing! And how cruel are you to take those seeds from whoever is using them!"

The auburn head grinned. "These seeds are often used to help rid of an addiction. Usually, opium, drinking, or laudnum addicts chew seeds to relieve the urge." {Dunno if opium existed back then, but I'll shrug on this one -yk2}

"You are impossible! Wait until Mother hears about this!"

Shinya frowned. "Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll barter for these items instead. I shall leave this medicine pouch with him in exchange for the seeds and blankets. I think he had a stomach ache when he crouched by the bush. It should relieve him of his pain."

Suddenly, they heard voices in the distance.

Shinya quickly held his brother's hand. "His friends are coming. Quickly, we have to get away."

"Where are we going now?"

"To the nearest inn, yonder." Shinya said, as he dragged his brother along the way.

//End of Parchment 2//

Contd~ Parchment 3: Fever

Yk2: I understand most of this is introductory stuff. We'll get to the good stuff soon, just need to know the characters first. =).