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wishchapter36 by seat 2.24.99
"Just what do you think you are doing?!!!" Prince Atsushi snapped at
Imai, who was holding a black fire bud and heading towards the chained Sugi.
Imai reproached coldly, "Calm yourself down Atsushi, and mind your
manner. I am not going to kill him...YET, even though I'd love to see this
sinful creature burn in hell forever. But I can wait, until our truce with
J ends."
Atsushi snorted, "Oh, how loyal our Sir Imai has become to his beloved
J! Too bad he has desserted you here to take care of his lover while he
himself is going back to his pretty Princess Ino."
"Atsushi, you are being irrational, but I have no time to argue with
you. J will come back in time to join our trapping of Rayla."
The burning fire bud started to give out sweet scent, and Imai forced
it upon Sugi's face.
Before Sugi could resist, he'd breathed in the scented smoke, his head
started to swirl, his vision blurred and he lost balance as his strength
drained away from him.
Atsushi caught hold of Sugi, and Imai explained, "This drug will keep
him stay a good bait for the time being. Now we should set our trap in place."
Atsushi fended off Imai's hands which meant to take over, he carried
Sugi's body with his arms and started away.
"Where are you going?" Imai asked angrily.
"You leave us alone. I will handle it myself. I don't accuse you with
that betrayer J, and you don't come to bother us either." Atsushi
disappeared with his last word gritted out in jealousy.
**************************************************************
An immense garden grown with bushes of roses was hidden in the deepest,
darkest corner of the Dark Palace, the petals had the beautiful but cruel
hue of fresh blood, and the sharp thorns kept all unwanted visitors away
from the large bed, covered in a canopy of immaculate white lace, in the
midst of this secret garden. Two shadows could been seen through the half
transparent veil, one lying naked in bed, the other sitting closely beside.
"Your poison was truly lethal..." Atsushi gave out a sigh.
Sugi's mind wandered in delusion, his sense of perception came clear in
occasions, but mostly numbed to oblivion.
"Do you know how much I have suffered from your dirty trick? How could
you betray me? Did you mean to kill me...for that little devil of yours?"
he bent down and kissed Sugi's lips, and then he laughed slightly at
himself. "But I still cannot do you any harm...who would expect the
arrogrant Dark Prince to be this hopeless...?"
Atsushi pulled up a silky linen and covered Sugi's body with it. He
drew open the veil, and before he left, he turned back to Sugi and said,
"Rayla will come for you, and I will kill him for sure this time. And if J
comes in our way, I will kill him too. Then, Sugi, you will be mine, and
mine alone."
**************************************************************
Sugi didn't know how long it had been since the sound of someone
speaking nearby stopped, and he didn't know what the sound was meant to be.
All he could see was a rush of colours, but in some brief moments it came
clear to him that he was actually seeing something white. His mind drifted
on and on.
Abruptly a sharp cold pain pierced through his heart, and his head
cleared up slightly. He looked down and saw an ice arrow protruding out
from his chest.
By the dim blue light it was giving out, he saw words on the side of
the arrow. But the focussing of his mind exhausted him, and his head fell
back to the pillow, which was invitingly soft and comfortable.
The pain in his chest did not ease, but it helped to sharpen his mind
slowly. After many exerting attempts, he managed to make out the words,
which said:
"Prince Atsushi awaits in the vicinity. I cannot come forth to rescue
for that will alarm the Prince and expose my identity. When the arrow has
vaporized entirely, your strength will have come back and you should seek
to escape as soon as possible. Best of Luck. The Ice Archers."
Sugi closed his eyes, endured the pain, and tried to recollect how he'd
come to be in this state.
**************************************************************
Princess Ino and Rayla walked by a large lake with water so peaceful
and calm that its mirror image of the crystallic Moon Palace was flawlessly
indiscernible from the reality.
However, the second Dark Prince was not all that peaceful and calm,
because his new fiancée had been rambling nonstop for the past countless
number of hours, since they set off to come for a formal marriage proposal
to the bride-to-be's mother Queen Shinya.
"...we can have the wedding right here by the lake, all our Moon
Kingdom people are invited, also your relatives and friends from the Dark
Kingdom, oh don't forget the Ciel Palace, Queen Tetsu is a very good friend
of my mother...and we can have musicans playing your favourite tunes, what
kind of music do you like? How about the background song you put on when
you proposed to me in the clinic, what was it called again? "You are my
trash" or something? You know you really should sing it in our wedding! We
can set up a karaoke box as entertainment for our guests. Oh also what kind
of flavour do you like for our wedding cake? Chocolate? Strawberry? Oh
no...I almost forget about my wedding dress? You must come and choose the
most beautiful wedding dress with me! And do you prefer appearing on a
white horse or a wedding-use-only surfboard?....." Princess Ino went on and
on.
Rayla had smartly switched off his ears a long time ago, but the word
"wedding" kept repeating itself and occasionally it slipped past his
defense and gave him an insufferable headache attack. He decided that he
could take it no more, he turned to the babbling Ino sharply, grabbed his
shoulders and sealed his mouth with his kiss.
Ino was stunned still and quiet immediately, and Rayla would not let
this moment of peace end so quickly, his lips pressed on forcibly, and
circled his arms around the Princess. Ino felt a rush of passion throughout
his body, his heart raced, and his legs weakened which brought them rolling
on the ground.
Ino fell short of a scream, Ryu steadied them both and held Ino over
his body as he laid flat on his back. Ino blushed and struggled to free
from Rayla's embrace, but his struggle somehow seemed weak-minded, and it
was obvious to both of them.
Rayla smiled at Ino and said softly, "You know you are very adorable,
my Princess. I am so lucky to be able to marry you." He lifted Ino's face
up with one hand.
Ino blushed more severely as his long straight hair fell down like a
river and hid both of their faces from the faint moonlight.
Rayla whispered ever so sweetly to Ino's ears. "An elegant girl like
you shouldn't be troubled by all these worldly affairs, let the lesser
beings worry about them for us. Wedding is not what marriage is all about,
but LOVE IS..."
This rendered Ino completely breathless, his head reeled, and before he
realized it he was kissing Rayla voluntarily.
Rayla pushed Ino away gently, "Take me to your mother, and we will tell
her about our affection for each other, and we should wed as soon as
possible."
"Rayla...you are already my husband in my heart...you can carry out
your husband duty...whenever you wish..." Ino said, excitement and shyness
both present in his voice.
A moment of hesitation came over Rayla, and he answered in haste, "I'd
love to, my dear Princess, but it is not a good idea because you might be
carrying our baby..."
Ino was obviously disappointed. Rayla slowly drew themselves to sit up.
"You must be thirsty, let me look for some water to drink. Stay right here
and I'll be back in a minute." Before Ino could answer, Rayla dashed off
and disappeared...as if in escape.
Ino walked towards the lake and sat by the edge, he looked down at his
own image and was about to daydream about his wedding again. Suddenly he
caught a glimpse of some bright colours on the water surface, and a voice
came from behind, "Princess, I am back."
Ino looked up and saw Rayla smiling down at him, there was something
odd in that smile, but Ino couldn't figure out what it was.
"Ah, you are back so quickly. I forgot to tell you that you can drink
the water from this lake." Ino said.
Rayla settled beside him, and said listlessly, "Oh really."
Ino felt Rayla's gaze on his chest, a bit embarassed, he asked,
"What...what are you looking at?"
"I am just amazed that someone as weak as you could survive so many
attacks. A stab in the heart with my glass is supposed to mean absolute
death. And Princess Jun's spider was no small threat either." Rayla said in
an amused tone.
"...what...what do you mean...?"
"I mean, killing you is so challenging that it has become a very
addictive sport to me." Rayla said as his smile spread into a full grin
that seemed almost evil.
A loud shout came suddenly from behind, Ino felt pain at the back of
his neck, and in a lightning moment, a figure had hurled into Rayla and
they both fell into the lake.
Ino gasped in horror as he saw the Rayla who had been sitting next to
him turned into a face with dazzling colours, and he was holding a sharp
crystal knife. Ino touched the hurting part at the back of his neck, his
hand came back with a few drops of blood. The figure who shouted the
warning turned out to be the real Rayla.
"It's you again, Furu-furu!!! What were you trying to do?!!!!" Rayla
bursted out.
Furu-furu laughed, "I mean you no harm, my dear Prince, you have an
important role in my prophecy. However, if you insist to get in my way,
then prepare to learn your lesson!!"
The water on the surface turned to ice abruptly, trapping Rayla inside.
He strived to break free, and the ice plate cracked into pieces and cut
sharply into his upper body. Rayla screamed as Furu-furu laughed
satisfactorily and submerged into the water.
The last sentence before the magician was gone: "Princess Ino, I shall
come back for you again."
**************************************************************
"Rayla Rayla Rayla are you alright?!!!!!!!!" Ino's worried voice
distracted his full attention from enduring the pain of the wounds all over
his body. He moaned.
The cut on Ino's neck was slight, and he had helped Rayla out from the
water, and carried him into a small cave near the lake.
"This has happened to me before!! I almost got killed at that time!!!
But!! But!! But I don't know how I was cured...!!! Oh no!!! What should I
do?!!! What should I do?!!! What should I do?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ino was in
the middle of a panic attack.
"Shhhh....." Rayla tried to quiet down the Princess.
"Ah, I should go back to the Moon Palace and ask for help!!! Yes,
yes!!! We are not far away from it!!! My mother will know what to do!!!!"
Ino stood up and was about to go.
"Wait....wait..." Rayla held back Ino by his hand. "I...I am not as
badly injured as it seems. The magician didn't mean to kill me...I just
need to stop the bleeding and I'll be fine..."
Despite of his words, the significant loss of blood had made his face
sickly white, and he was still soaky wet which caused him to shiver
violently from the cold.
Princess Ino could hold back his tears no longer, he stood helplessly
and bursted into a full cry.
"Calm....calm down....calm down Ino!!!!!" Rayla gasped madly at the
yell, but that got Ino quiet down a little, he forced a comforting smile
and said, "Go to your Palace and find some healing potion, also bandage for
my wounds and perhaps some clothes for me to change. Do them secretly and
don't let anyone spot you...because there might still be assassinators
waiting for you...We can visit your mother when I have fully recovered. Do
you understand?"
"Yes yes...I will go...I promise I will return very very very soon..."
Ino wept still, Rayla waved his weak hand to send him off, Ino bit his
lower lips and left the cave for the Palace.
**************************************************************
J had been searching everywhere on earth for Princess Ino, since he
discovered the blood stain on the bed in the clinic and Ino was nowhere to
be found. He had asked every person he came across and no one knew what had
happened to the Princess. Frustrated to the point of going insane, he came
back to the Moon Palace without notifying anyone, and hoped that the
Princess had somehow made his way back home by himself.
J sat on the bed alone in Ino's room where they had spent so many happy
moments in each other's arms, shame came upon him as he thought of his
origin as a Dark Knight, and his unfaithful whims on another soul beside
the Princess. "Ino, where are you?" he mused.
A noise of glass broken brought him back from his reverie. It was a
faint sound and seemed to have come from the medicine store-chamber. J
thought it could be an inexperienced novice's doing, and he was about to
ignore it, when he heard someone gasped, "Princess Ino?!!"
He dashed out from the bedroom and ran straight to the sound. When he
arrived, he saw a dumbstruck servant staring at the window which was flung
open, and there were some broken potion bottles scattered on the ground.
"Did you see Princess Ino?!! Where is he?!!" J asked as he shaked the
servant urgently.
"He...he was here...but when I called him, he just jumped out through
the window..." answered the servant.
J darted to the window and looked out, but the sky was dark, and thick
mist hovered around the palace. He squeezed his eyes and barely made out a
shadow appearing and disappearing in a scant second by the lake. He threw
himself out the window and ran towards that direction. But the shadow was
gone by the time he reached there. He looked around him, the fog allowed
his sight to reach no further than his immediate vicinity.
"Ino, are you here?!!!!!!" J shouted, but silence answered him. He
stamped his foot in frustration and started to roam about in random
directions.
Hours must have passed for J found himself completely exhausted from
the fruitless search, he cursed and slumped onto the ground.
Suddenly he heard vague sound coming from the lakeside, he jerked up
and drew near as fast as he could. He saw a cave half hidden in the rocks,
a familiar voice spoke from inside, which struck a blow into his head.
"...are you feeling better now...?" It was Princess Ino.
"I am fine, I just need to rest for a few days." A man's voice
answered. J flamed up at once for he remembered this voice. It belonged to
the second Dark Prince Rayla.
Ino sighed out his relief. "I was so worried about you..."
Rayla said tenderly, "Come here, let me give you some comfort."
Standing outside the cave, J heard a ruffle of clothes and a giggle
from Ino. Blood shot into his head and he stormed into the cave without a
second thought.
"What the @%^#$&*%#& are you doing to Ino?!!!!!!" J thundered.
Ralya and Ino were startled and turned to the intruder in shock. They
were lying next to each other, the intimacy obviously shown.
"J?!!!!" Ino gasped.
"Ino, what the hell are you doing here? Why is he with you?" J pointed
an accusing finger at Rayla.
"He...he...I..." the Princess stuttered.
Rayla pulled Ino into his hug, his wound hurt but he forced back a
grimace, and said to J, "Watch your manner! You are frightening my fiancee."
"FIANCEE?!!!!!!" J couldn't believe his ears.
"Yes, your pretty Princess is my fiancee now. And we are getting
married soon." Rayla said playfully, "Of course you will be invited to our
wedding. Hahaha!!!"
"Wedding the @#^$%#$%*&%!!!!!!!!!" J couldn't hold back his anger, he
darted forward and snatched up Rayla by his shirt. Rayla frowned at the
pain, which made me dizzy at once, but he refused to struggle.
"Stop it, J!!!!!!!" Ino cried and tugged at J's arms with all his
force. "He is injured!! Let go of him!!!!"
J looked down at Rayla and saw the bandage covering his body, blood was
seeping through the cloth. But he kept his grip and snorted, "This serves
you right! How dare you shame the Princess by putting her in your lies!!!"
Rayla laughed scornfully, "A lie or not, you can ask your Princess. Or
are you too coward to learn the truth?"
J turned to Ino with an inquiring look.
Ino lowered down his head to avoid the gaze, and said lowly, "It...it's
true...he is my fiance now...please don't hurt him..."
"Noooooooo!!!!!!!!! This can't be!!!!!!!" J yelled in fury, his grasp
on Rayla loosened and he dropped to the floor.
Ino hurried to Rayla's side and helped him to lie down.
J stared at his beloved Princess gently blotting the sweat from Rayla's
forehead. He hissed in denial. "This evil must have deceived you with his
dark tricks! Ino, don't believe him. You cannot marry him!!! Come with
me!!" J stepped forward to take Ino's hands.
"Argh!! You are a stubborn fool!!" Rayla sneered, and dragged down Ino
to kiss on his lips.
J's face turned white with anger. Rayla was enjoying it, he held Ino
close, slipped his hand inside his dress and caressed him presumptuously.
"Your Princess is carrying my baby. Do you still not understand?" Rayla
laughed in satisfaction, "Ino looks so innocent from outside, but he can be
REAL hot inside. Hahahahaha!!!!!!!"
Ino's face flamed up in shame, he buried his face into Rayla's arms.
His mind was in turmoil and he didn't know how to explain what had actually
happened.
The embarrassment and silence from Ino was more evident than spoke
words of admittance to J.
J cried in despair, "Why...? What have I done wrong...? I thought...I
thought you loved me..."
Ino heard this, an urge rised up in him to jump into J's arms. But
Rayla tightened his grip on Ino and said immediately, "Who do you think you
are to deserve a royalty's love?!! You have CHOSEN to become a worthless
guard, haven't you?!! Then live with your low rank and wake up from your
dream, you fool!!!!"
J gritted his teeth with hatred, "Sugi should be listening to what you
are saying now!!!"
The mention of Sugi struck Rayla like a slap on the face.
J went on, "If I am a fool, Sugi is more a hopeless fool than I am to
fall into his enemy's trap for your sake!!!"
"What do you mean?! Where is Sugi?!" Rayla demanded, all his triumph
vanished.
"Why should you care?!!!" J took one last look of Ino, who was still
hiding from him, he tore away his eyes and left without another word.
A long silence fell, both of them had not the will to move.
Finally Rayla dragged himself to sit up, "Ino...I have some important
business to attend to...will you wait for me here...?"
Ino didn't response, he stared into the empty space in stupor, his face
a mixture of anguish and confusion.
"You won't go anywhere...until I return, right?" Rayla said as he
slowly stood up.
Ino turned to look at Rayla, but his eyes were not in focus. Rayla
picked up the long coat Ino brought back from the Palace, covered the shirt
soaked in blood with it, he took a deep breath and departed.
**************************************************************
A disturbance arose in the rose bushes, shaking loose the more fragile
petals and leaves from their stems. Two branches parted and a slim figure
in black coat appeared.
The second Dark Prince smiled as he saw the bed with its fine drapery,
he mused to himself, "Atsushi, you are so predictable. Your trap for me is
exactly what I expected it to be: luxurious but impractical."
He walked to the bed and drew open the veil. Sugi laid naked under the
silk linen, his eyes half opened.
"Sugi...Sugi, it is me." Rayla called softly.
Sugi blinked slightly, his eyes shifted to Rayla's face for a second,
then they drifted back to stare at the bedpost overhead.
"Ah, my brother is getting a bit smarter, drugs are definitely more
effective in keeping hostage than chains..."
Rayla sat next to Sugi, gently touching his face, he said in a small
voice only two of them could hear.
"What have you been doing all this time...? Did that fake First Guard
do anything to you? How did you fall into my brother's hands? Did...did you
miss me?"
Rayla felt a surge of emotions hitting him hard. He bent down and
kissed Sugi.
At that moment, a cloth-tearing sound snapped, the canopy fell down
together with the poles. Rayla dodged quickly when a laughter rang loud
from nearby.
A tall figure in black stood, snatching back a whip which was
responsible for the damage. Prince Atsushi had appeared.
"How do you like being treated by your beloved Sugi's whip?" jested
Atsushi.
"Oh very pleasant thank you. I guess if you hadn't stripped the weapon
from him, he will probably be treating you with it for the wonderful drugs
you've given him." Rayla retorted without haste.
Atsushi laughed dryly, "And you expect him to be grateful for your
coming to his rescue, don't you? Even though you came here only to take
back a useful tool for your evil plans?"
"Better that than leaving him here to fulfill your sexual desire!"
Rayla said in disgust.
"Oh, but I think he loves that. You know how many years we have been
devoted lovers, even before he noticed your existence."
"Lovers? Oh, stop daydreaming please, I almost feel embarrassed for you
to have uttered such a lie. Has he EVER said he loves you? He almost
poisoned you to death, you half-wit!" Rayla laughed.
"You lured him into doing all the dirty work!!! But I won't let you use
him against me anymore!!!"
Atsushi flung the whip at Rayla, and it caught his neck in a few
windings. Rayla jerked forward as Atsushi pulled the whip towards himself.
The pain told Rayla that his windpipe was breaking into pieces, he
squeezed a yell from his throat with sheer will, "Let go of your whip or
Sugi dies!!!"
Atsushi was about to jest when he saw Rayla holding something against
Sugi's face. It was a fine needle which would be invisible if it weren't
possessing a shiny black sheen, a sheen that indicated nothing but the most
deadly poison.
Atsushi held the whip still, but he'd stopped pulling it.
Rayla struggled to catch his breath to ease the ripping pain, blood had
started to ooze from his old wounds, but he kept his deadly weapon steady
over Sugi's face.
Atsushi spoke coldly, "So the bait for you has become your hostage? How
ironic."
"Yes!! If I have to die, Sugi dies with me also!!" Rayla blurted out in
his hoarse voice.
"Maybe you should ask Sugi himself if he will agree to that."
"I don't need his agreement. It was his choice to love me and every
part of him belongs to me, including his life."
"This is impossible!! I don't believe you will kill him!" Atsushi
tugged at the whip and this time without mercy.
Rayla stabbed the needle to Sugi's eye at once, but the whip caught him
off balance and the needle slanted aside and made a cut above Sugi's
eyebrow. A trickle of blood flowed down his face, but Sugi remained inert.
Rayla aimed his needle at Sugi once more.
Atsushi let go of his grip on the whip and held both of his hands up in
the air.
"You win, I give up. If this is how you love him, then I must admit
that my love for him can never be a match with yours." Atsushi announced
with contempt.
Rayla struggled to loosen the tie around his neck. Atsushi saw the
needle left Sugi by a few inches, without delay he seized that moment to
throw himself towards Rayla.
Caught by surprise, Rayla was under Atsushi's ferocious grasp again, he
suffocated when the large hands tightened around his neck, he knew he would
truly be strangled to death this time.
Suddenly two arms appeared from behind Atsushi and they tried to hold
him back. Rayla didn't hesitate, once he regained enough strength, he
stabbed the needle still in his hand into Atsushi's heart. Atsushi released
a cry and collapsed into Rayla body lying below.
"Ryu...are you alright?" Sugi's worried face came into view. He lifted
off Atsushi's body from him, blood gushed out from his wounds, his head
reeled and his stomach sickened.
Sugi gathered him into his arms, and fixed his eyes on the paling face.
"I...I am...fine..." Rayla spoke weakly.
"Who had done all these injuries to you?!!! Imai?!!" Sugi fumed.
"No...it is a long story..." Rayla turned his head to examine Atsushi's
body.
"Is...he poisoned...?" Sugi asked.
"Yes of course. That is the only way to make this fierce dog stop
barking. But he is not dead yet. What a shame."
Sugi sighed secretly for Atsushi's plight.
Rayla looked up at Sugi's face, "When did you regain conscious?"
"The drug effect wore out before you came here." Sugi avoided
mentioning the Ice Archers' help.
"Then why didn't you escape?"
"I was afraid that you might fall into this trap before I could find
you..."
"But you didn't offer help when I was tortured by Atsushi." Rayla
pointed out bitterly.
"I...I was hoping that Atsushi would release us..."
"...since I held his lover as hostage?" Rayla cut in.
Sugi nodded. Rayla rested his head on Sugi's shoulder, touching the cut
he had inflicted on this beautiful face, he asked softly, "Aren't you mad
at me?"
"Mad? Of course not...I can never be mad at you no matter what you do
to me." Sugi lowered his head and kissed him gently, and he returned the
kisses with equal passion.
Sugi pulled away when he felt his hand was wet from Rayla's bleeding,
"I need to get you out of here."
"Yes, I have to go back to pick up Princess Ino." said Rayla.
"Princess Ino? Is he with you?" Sugi was surprised by this news.
Rayla looked right into Sugi's eyes. "Listen Sugi...the Princess and I
are getting married. But it is all for politics and I don't love him at
all. You must understand that and you must help me."
Sugi was stunned speechless for a long while. He stared blankly at the
waiting face, and stammered, "You...you can't marry Princess Ino...he
is...he is J's lover."
"Well, I think I have sorted that out." Rayla smiled a sinister smile.
"Anyway, take me back to the Moon Kingdom now."
Sugi had a million questions to ask, but all that could wait until
they've found a safer place, and tended to his wounds. With Rayla secured
in his arms, Sugi snatched up a sheet and wrapped them in it.
Rayla pointed the way and Sugi headed for the exit.
**************************************************************
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