Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Fairy Tale Ending ❯ Happily Ever After ( Chapter 2 )

Fairy Tale Ending

By Llewlyn

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. Me no own, you no sue.

Summary: It's a fairy tale... more depressing than sugar coated and damned if there's any magic.

Warning: Non-con sex, character death

A/N: This is kinda based on Cinderella, with the ball, but otherwise not. It's just a general fairy tale. Don't know where this came from. Fever dream, I guess.

A/N2: YAY!! I actually finished it! *does scary dance* And I've finally defeated my writer's block for To Catch a Thief!

I woke the next morning to hushed voices in a room nearby. I glanced around the space, searching for the speakers, though I didn't move from the bed. I recognized the voices quickly. My husband the prince was talking quietly to Schuldig, and though I could not see them, I could hear them clearly.

"Why did you have to marry him, Brad? We were happy, weren't we?" That was obviously Schuldig, though I did not know of what he spoke.

"I had to, Schu, it was my duty as a prince of this country." And of course, my husband. "I'm sorry... but after last night, I'll be back in your bed." My eyes widened with shock. "I had to sleep with him last night. People would have talked otherwise..."

"I know... but you could have chosen a girl, couldn't you? Get her pregnant and ignore her from there..."

"I could have... but you've seen him, Schu. He's so pretty he's almost a girl, and he was a virgin. Besides, he's wildly in love with me. I'll be able to get away with anything, since he'll be so blind to any faults I might have." I heard a small chuckle from the prince, which was answered by Schuldig. "I promise, we'll be back together. And you know I would have married you..." He trailed off.

"But I married the Duchess, instead... it was an arranged marriage, Brad, you know that! I didn't have a choice!"

"And I didn't have a choice, either! It was choose a bride or a husband, or lose the crown." There was a pause, and I could only imagine what my husband... my husband! was doing to Schuldig. "Just think, darling, soon you'll be able to get rid of that spoiled bitch they tied you to... And I'll get rid of Ran dear, and we can get married." The sound of a soft kiss carried to me where I lay in shock, still nude from the consummation of my marriage. "Not much longer..."

"I know... but until then, I'll only be able to see you like this when he's not here..." Another kiss. "I missed you in our bed last night..."

The prince's voice carried the sound of one of his charming smiles. "I missed you, too, Schu," he murmured. "He wasn't as good as you, not nearly." I blushed. Had I been bad in bed? I didn't have anything to compare to. "I'll be back with you tonight, I promise." He was repeating himself, I thought, slightly bitter. I rolled over onto my stomach to listen to them talking. The sheets, which had been pulled over me as I slept, rustled noisily in the quiet room.

"He's awake..." Schuldig whispered, the sound carrying to me in the once-again quiet room.

"Don't worry, darling, I'll take care of him... go back to the barracks and train the boys. I don't want you to lose your position as captain of the guard." A longer kiss, with almost crude smacking sounds coming from whatever dark corner they were in. I still couldn't find where the sound was coming from, looking around the room.

Finally, with a final, wet slurping sound, the prince returned to the bedroom where I lay on the large, sumptuous bed, pretending to be asleep. I closed my eyes and forced my breathing to stay even, turning onto my side. One arm was draped over my own waist, the other on resting on the sheets. I felt his weight pressing the edge of the mattress down, and his lips pressed to mine. "Are you awake, Ran?" he asked, his voice reminiscent of the night prior when his words had been only for me. Or so I'd thought.

"Mmm?" I muttered, opening my eyes and smiling blearily at him.

"Good morning, Prince Ran..." he whispered, still close enough for his lips to brush against mine as he spoke. "Ready to greet your subjects? We've got a busy day..." I nodded, shifting slightly and wincing as I did so, discomfort emanating from between my legs. "Are you alright, dear? Sore from last night?"

I nodded. "I'll be fine, though... I suppose it's to be expected." I smiled broader. I felt like a player on the stage, pretending to be someone I wasn't. In this case, I was pretending to be ignorant of the conversation I'd just heard, and it was the hardest thing I'd ever done. "Thank you... that was the most wonderful experience anyone could hope for," I whispered. I couldn't stop myself from loving him, not with his amber eyes gazing at me... only at me. He smiled tenderly and leaned in, kissing me on the lips softly.

"You're welcome..." The prince nuzzled my cheek affectionately. "But as much as I'd love to stay here with you, we both have things to do today. You need a royal wardrobe, and we've got to prepare a set of rooms for you." That surprised me. Wouldn't I be sharing a room with my husband? I knew I wasn't going to be used to the nobilities' customs, but it seemed odd to me to be married and not share a room. He must have guessed what my expression meant, because he laughed. "It's silly, isn't it? But it's customary for spouses to have separate rooms. I suppose it's because most people have arranged marriages and can't stand each other."

I nodded. "I guess that makes sense..." I murmured, though I still thought it was pointless to waste an extra set of rooms if a couple did love each other. I frowned slightly as I noticed a small red bruise on my prince's neck that hadn't been there the night before, and that I hadn't given him.

"Your servant will be here soon, to help you learn your way around the castle and get you settled in your rooms... if you need anything, just tell him and he will get it for you." As he finished speaking, a demure knock came at the door. The prince smiled. "There he is... I'll check on you soon, Ran..." He kissed my cheek softly, rising gracefully. "Enter," he said imperiously, and a tall young man stepped into the room, with long blonde hair that framed a handsome face and verdant green eyes. My heart skipped a beat, which confused me. I loved the prince, despite what I was sure I'd heard not three minutes prior. Why was I reacting this way to the appearance of the stranger?

"You called for me, your highness?" the blonde said meekly, though his voice seemed to infer a superiority despite his servile station.

"Yes. Yohji, was it?" The blonde, Yohji, nodded. "Your new prince will be requiring assistance, which you will provide." The prince turned to me, a smile gracing his lips. "I'll be busy all day, but I'll come to see you whenever I can." I realized that he was already dressed, cream-colored vestments over a light purple shirt.

"Alright. I love you," I said, discreetly drawing the sheets up higher over my naked body as Yohji looked me over critically. I could tell he was older than me, perhaps twenty or twenty one, and I didn't like the way he was staring at me in my state of undress, even as my heart continued to beat eratically in the presence of the stranger. The prince didn't seem to notice my discomfort and left the room.

"Your highness," the blonde said, bowing slightly from the waist. "Can I help you get dressed? I've got orders to show you your rooms." I frowned.

"I'm perfectly capable of dressing myself, thank you," I said curtly, only to be met by a laugh.

"Oh, I'm sure you can, highness. If you don't mind me saying so, you're not a pampered noble who can't tie his own shoes, like some." I raised an eyebrow. "You're from a regular family, aren't you? Th' story's all over the city by now, the banker's son who won the prince's heart."

"It's all over the city already? It couldn't have spread that fast, could it?" I was slightly shocked at the sudden acclaim as the new prince, the fact that I was famous now overwhelming my mind. The day before I had been simply a banker's son, studying and thinking wistfully about a man I'd never met but given my heart to anyway.

"It has. It's already noon, highness," Yohji said, his voice teasing. "You've slept half the day away. And I get made fun of for oversleeping." He shook his head slightly, golden strands swinging about his face.

"Where are my clothes," I asked coolly, disliking being teased by this man who confused me so. "I wish to get dressed."

With that, Yohji took up his duties and gathered a set of clothes for me, informing me that one of the things that I would be doing that day was fittings for a royal wardrobe. I ordered him to turn around as I slid from under the comforting shield of the bedclothes and dressed. There were too many fastenings, however, for me to myself, many of which were on my back or hard-to-reach places on my sleeves, and I was forced to request Yohji's assistance. He smirked lightly as he turned and did up buttons on my back.

"Ready, highness?" he asked once I was finally dressed and had run a silver comb through my hair. "I'm to take you to your chambers, first." I nodded, and he led the way out of the prince's room. We passed through hall after hall, walking under stiff and fading portraits of knights and nobles, kings and conquerors. I frowned at the distance we walked, surprised that I would be so far from my husband. The frown deepened as we began ascending stairs. Yohji glanced at me apologetically. "Your rooms are in the tower. It's been fully furnished, but you can redecorate to your liking." He sighed, sounding a bit wistful. "You've been given a library, as well, since you were a student. Prince Brad had them brought from the main library for you."

"That was thoughtful of him..." I said, thinking of the conversation I'd overheard. Had Schuldig and Crawford been lovers before? It had sounded like it. "Yohji, is Schuldig married?"

"The captain of the guard? Yes, highness... to the Duchess Schoen, I think. They don't live together. They can't stand each other and there's a rumor that the kid she just had isn't his. He doesn't seem to care, though, he just stays here at the palace whilst she's at the family manor." Yohji dithered on for a while, telling me about the Duchess and Schuldig's fiery arguments that had occurred soon after they'd discovered her pregnancy, most of which had been about where the child would be born, and then she'd left. "There's another rumor that the prince and milord Schuldig were involved... that way... but I think that's just jealous minds working." I started at that.

"Yes, I think you're right," I agreed absently, though now I was sure that what I had accidentally evesdropped on was real, and the rumors were true. While I thought, Yohji stopped before a spiral stair case.

"Your rooms are up these stairs," he said, and started up the steps. "Follow me, highness. It's not too much further." I sighed and followed the servant. I idly counted the steps.

One...

Two... Three...

Twelve... We passed a room that smelled faintly of soap and water. "There's a bathing room in there," Yohji explained as we continued past it.

Twenty... Twenty four... "That's a storage room there, for the winter blankets and clothes."

Thirty six... "Your library is in there," Yohji said, and again there was a faint note of wistfulness in his voice as he told me about the library.

"We'll stop for a minute," I said, opening the door and smiling as I saw the familiar sight of books. I entered the room, followed by the blonde man who shut the door behind us. "There's all the right books..." I murmured to myself. "Philosophy... science... religions... and fairy tales..." I noted all the subjects I'd been devoting myself to before the ball, the exact books I'd been studying and other titles I'd been saving for. Yohji stood, rather uncomfortably I noticed as I turned around to examine another shelf, in the middle of the room. "Are you alright? You can read them if you'd like, as long as you check to be sure I don't need it," I said, feeling generous with my newfound wealth of reading material. The room was small, and the walls were lined with books, which kept out the chill feeling I'd had in the stair well.

"Thank you, highness, but..." Yohji paused. "I can't read."

"But... there's schools for everyone to go to, you should have learned there." I was surprised. There had been a law passed by the king some years before I was born that required children to be educated to a certain level for free.

"I didn't get to, I had to work to help feed my family." Yohji sounded slightly bitter, and I smiled.

"I'll teach you, if you'd like, so you can read..."

Yohji looked at me in surprise. "You'd teach a servant to read? Why?" Now he sounded confused. "You're a prince, you don't have to do anything like that."

"But I want to. Unless you'd rather not..." I pulled a tome of fairy tales that had been my favorite as a child, and was currently the subject of my research to find similarities between the children's stories of our land and others.

"No, highness, I would love to." Yohji looked around. "Thank you, highness."

I smiled and pulled a volume of fairy tales from the shelf. "We can start with this," I said. "Let's keep going, I would like to see my room. Yohji smiled and nodded, and I felt a relatively unfamiliar feeling in my heart, one of friendship. I had never had many friends, too involved in my studies to carouse with the other middle class boys my age, and too disinterested in over-achieving to be close to my fellow students. Yohji, though, inspired an easy camaraderie in me that was welcome, along with the more confusing emotions that were going through me.

The blonde servant lead me up the stairs again.

Thirty-seven...

Forty...

Forty-eight... and there, at the top of the stair case, was a door with no landing. "These are your rooms. There are more stairs inside, you've got the whole tower from here up to yourself," Yohji said as he pulled a key from his inner pocket, and after unlocking the door handed it to me. "The rest of the tower shares space with other rooms, mostly storage. Those entrances are on the other side, in the servant's wing." Together we stepped into the chamber, and I noted the barrenness of the space. "You're to decorate it yourself."

"I believe I can do that," I said, walking the circumference of the room. There was furniture, and other doors. I also saw the staircase Yohji had spoken of. "Thank you, Yohji," I said as I turned to him again. "That will be all for now, but is there a way I can call for you again?"

"I'm now your personal servant," Yohji answered me. "I've got quarters behind the library, and if you want me, you can pull this," he showed me a discreet, slender rope hanging from the ceiling, "and there's a bell that will ring. There's one of these in each room, so I'm at your beck and call." He bowed. "I'll be leaving now, highness, but please, call if you need anything." As he rose, there was a friendly smile on his face. "Even if you just need help adjusting to the palace."

"Thanks, Yohji. I appreciate it." I smiled back, not as broad a grin as the blonde. He nodded and left the room, leaving me to explore in peace. I walked up the stairs to find a bedroom, the large bed devoid of sheets, and a closet, empty of clothes. Further up was another room, with plush chairs and a telescope. The walls seemed to be almost solid glass, letting me see out over the castle grounds, and I realized it was an astronomy tower for nighttime observations. My prince really had given me everything I could possibly need.

Eventually I heard knocking at my door downstairs, and when I answered it, it was a girl, arms full of sheets. "I've brought your bedclothes, highness," she whispered demurely, looking down at the floor.

"I'll take them," I said, holding out my arms.

"Oh, no, your highness, I couldn't! You're a prince, you shouldn't bother with changing sheets!" I laughed.

"Haven't you heard, though? I'm not noble born, I simply got lucky and caught the prince's eye. It's alright if I change my own sheets." I paused. "In fact, unless I say otherwise, whenever there's laundry, give it to Yohji for me. That will lessen what you have to do." The girl smiled wanly. "It's alright, really. Here, give me those." She handed them over unsurely, but I smiled at her. "You can go... remember, just give anything to Yohji for me." The girl nodded, bowed, and left, and I shut the door again.

I set about simple chores that I had learned in my parent's home. They'd understood the fickle nature of money, and I had been taught to take care of myself. It had become habit, and I wanted to keep my self sufficiency in my own chambers. Finally, my rooms were arranged to my satisfaction, and I sat back with the book of fairy tales to wait for my husband to arrive.

Perhaps, now that I think back on it, if I'd allowed servants into my rooms more often at the beginning, it would have been harder for the prince and Schuldich to do what they did to me.

That night, some time after sunset, my prince had yet to come to see me, and I'd begun to wonder if he would. Finally, after some time of worry, a knock sounded. I practically flew from where I sat, curled in a chair in the observation room above the bedroom, down to the doorway, hoping to see my husband's handsome face. I was greeted instead with cold bluish eyes and a smirk- Schuldich.

"Schuldich? What are you doing here, is Prince Brad coming?" I asked, trying to hold the eager tone out of my voice.

"He'll be here..." the redhead told me, and his voice was huskier than it had been the night before. He stepped past me, closing the door behind him.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked warily. The back of my neck was prickling, and I wasn't enjoying the way the captain of the guard's eyes were raking over my body.

"Yes..." he fairly growled at me before gripping the back of my neck fiercely, pulling me against him and pressing his lips roughly to mine. I froze in shock, arms at my sides as he fairly gnawed at my mouth, prying my lips apart with his own and shoving his tongue down my throat. I gathered my scattered senses and pushed him away.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, voice shaking slightly as I stepped back. "Are you trying to make a cuckold of the prince? I will not betray my husband that way!" Schuldich laughed coldly, and I shivered slightly at the sound.

"Oh, don't worry, little Ran," he purred at me. "The prince and I share everything... he won't begrudge me this..." Schuldich grabbed me again, holding my arms tightly at my side this time as he plundered my mouth with his tongue. I struggled in his grasp, trying to free myself.

"Schuldich!" I heard the prince's voice cutting through the air of the room. "What are you doing?!" Schuldich pulled away from me, rather guiltily, and I smiled gratefully at my savior. "I told you not to start without me." My eyes widened in shock. What did he mean, start without him?

"Brad... I..." I stammered, confused, as he entered my room and shut the door behind him. "What's going on?" The two men grinned and approached me, stalking towards me with matching feral gleams in their eyes. "Brad?"

"Sh..." I was ordered as my husband's lips descended on mine.

From there my memory is sketchy, coming and going. I do remember, though, that together the prince and the captain of the guard had their way with my body.

That night set the tone for my marriage.

At first, I was involved in much of the goings on in the palace, attending court, assisting my husband with small complaints brought forth by simple people. Most nights, though, Schuldich and the prince would use me for their pleasure, coming to my rooms after they'd tired of their games together in their own rooms. I would wake in the mornings, aching everywhere, more often than not with blood on the sheets beneath me.

And my duties began to lessen, and I started spending more time in my chambers or library. I began to hear rumors from Yohji that I was sick, and as time went on, I was only called for when it was necessary that I be shown. I was trotted out for the occasional ball, and on festival days. Otherwise, my loyal friend Yohji told me, I was sick in my rooms.

I realize that I'm making it sound as though this happened quickly, which is misleading. The changes took place over the span of two years, passing my eighteenth and nineteenth birthdays. By the time I was twenty, I was forbidden downstairs. My world had shrunk to the four floors allotted to me- the bathing room, my library, and my personal rooms at the top of the tower. Yohji's world was constricted as well. As my personal servant, when I began to be `ill,' he was the only one with direct contact with me. When I stopped leaving my room, he was the one that continued to bring me news of the outside world. Schuldich's wife died, apparently from complications during her second pregnancy. I was informed by the prince and the redhead, when I asked them about it during a nightly visit, that they had poisoned her.

Then Yohji told me that the king had died. My husband was now the king. I should have been the prince consort.

But I wasn't. I had ceased to exist to the people. One night, the prince and Schuldich informed me that I had been declared dead. Only a select number of people knew I still drew breath in the tower, and they included myself, them, and Yohji exclusively.

Next, they told me, gleefully, that they had been married. They came less often to torment me and use me for their perverse games. My life became easier, even as it became harder. By my twenty first birthday, my rooms had become sparse, the sheets on the bed thin and the tapestries upon the walls that kept out the damp mildewed.

That was when I truly realized how cold castles could be.

The only bright spot on the span of my miserable years confined to the tower was Yohji. As I grew more withdrawn, he made sure that he stayed close by my side. He was my only friend, and my heart, which still yearned for the charming, beautiful prince I'd so dearly loved, often found itself turning to him. Sometimes, just thinking of his smooth voice, easy laugh, and golden personality, my pulse would quicken and my skin grow hot. Nights with the new king and Schuldich were eased by thoughts of what it would be like to truly make love with Yohji, to be pressed into the bed by his body, to feel him fully inside me, loving me... It made the time bearable.

Yet I dared not even kiss my friend, for fear of discovery by the king or his consort. I had been told that I was theirs, and I had little doubt that if they did find that I had slept with Yohji they would kill both of us.

The day I turned twenty one, Yohji gathered the courage to place his lips over mine.

We were sitting together on a couch in the one place I could see the world, my observation room, the old volume of fairy tales open on my lap as I read to him. I had taught Yohji to read, and we took turns reading the familiar stories aloud. We had just finished the story of Cinderella, one of my favorites, when he slowly leaned in over the book.

"Ran... please, don't hate me for this..." he whispered, just before his soft lips were on mine, barely there for a moment before pulling back. "I love you, Ran..." I blushed, the color showing brightly on my cheeks. My skin, pale from birth, had faded to an unhealthy pallor from my years of confinement, and I had thinned dramatically from a lack of exercise and no will to eat and stay healthy. "Say something?" he asked, his verdant green eyes looking into mine.

I smiled slightly and leaned towards Yohji as he had done me. "I... love you, Yohji..." I whispered in answer, finally coming to realize that I did love Yohji more than my husband. He smiled brilliantly, setting the book aside and twining an arm around my neck, kissing me deeply. I was eager to respond, my own arms sliding tightly around my true love's neck as I parted my lips for his tongue. It darted into my mouth, tangling with my own and tracing over the roof of my mouth. We finally broke apart, panting slightly. "Yohji..." I whispered, pressing my forehead against his. "I love you..." I repeated, surer this time, and kissed him again.

The second time, Yohji was the one who murmured the three words of utmost in a fairy tale, "I love you..." I found myself pressed down into the cushions of the couch, Yohji's golden hair falling forward and brushing against my skin as he kissed me passionately. He lay me back onto the furniture, lips still firmly in place over mine, his hand slowly moving to undo my clothing. I was suddenly reminded of the first time I'd done such a thing, how my husband had pressed me into the bed, removed my clothes... just as Yohji was doing now. I took my hands from where I'd tangled them in his hair and began taking off my friend, and now lover's, garments. Our clothes were soon shed and lying on the floor, our lips never having parted for more than an instant. Yohji slipped between my legs, his body covering mine, surrounding me with his scent as he nibbled on my lower lip.

Slowly, everything was moving so slowly, he trailed his fingers down my body, over my chest and stomach, and then skillfully avoiding my aching center of need, down to my torn and scarred entrance. His fingers gently teased over the scarring from where my husband and his lover had torn me open so often, and I whimpered as his touch encountered fresh cuts and burns, from where they'd recently experimented with wax and knives. Yohji frowned to see me in pain, and he pulled back. "Ran... are you going to be alright if we... make love?" he asked softly, brushing my cheek with his other hand.

I nodded, a small smile on my lips. "I'll be fine... just.. There's lotion by my bed...." He nodded and slid off me, giving me a beautiful view of his body, lithe and tanned, so perfect... He rose and lifted me into his strong arms. I caught the book of fairy tales we had been reading, carrying it down to the bedroom. Once there, Yohji set me on the bed and took the bottle of healing lotion from the side of the bed, pouring it on his fingers as I spread my legs for him. The book clattered to the ground as I lay back again, Yohji repositioning himself between my parted thighs. One slick finger tenderly pressed against my entrance, sliding in with minimal resistance from my body. My arms were around his neck as he stretched me, first with one digit, then two, and then three, before he removed them and I felt him positioned at my entrance.

"Ran..." He whispered, as he slowly pushed into me. "Oh, god, Ran..."

"Yohji..." I gasped, my legs coming up to wrap around his waist, pulling him in further. My body had been conditioned to be taken with the least resistance, and I was mewling and arching against him almost immediately. He leaned down and nuzzled my neck, sucking softly as he withdrew a bit, then thrust gently back in, golden hair falling about his face and tickling my skin. I gave myself up to the pleasure, and together we lost sight of the world, the entire universe shrinking to the distance between my eyes and his. A tear made its way down my cheek at the sheer perfection of the moment, so much better than when I'd imagined it during the king and his husband's use of me.

Our reverie and passion were interrupted by the slamming open of the bedroom door and heavy footsteps in the doorway. Yohji looked up from where he'd been kissing my neck, both of us staring in horror at the king and Schuldich. "Yohji..." I whispered, suddenly terrified.

"Don't worry, love," he answered, withdrawing from between my legs, where he had filled me so exquisitely. I watched in growing fear as he rose from the bed, standing protectively at my side. I drew the sheet up over my waist, sitting up and preparing to plead for Yohji's life, since mine was nigh forfeit.

"Don't bother talking, Ran," the king said cruelly, a small, wicked smile on his lips. "We've seen everything. You can't save him now, you're both going to die..." Schuldich smirked in agreement, and I trembled.

Yohji glared hatefully at both men. "You have no right to treat him like chattel, majesties," he said coldly. "But since you think you do... Let me take Ran away from here, away from this city, this country. Everyone thinks he's dead anyway, why bother to kill him now?" Schuldich grinned and I waited, dreading what was coming next.

"Because we want to." I shrank back even as the two men in the doorway darted forward- the king caught Yohji and held him fast, struggling though he was, and Schuldich dragged me from the bed, fighting him madly. If it had just been me in the room, I would have gone swiftly to my death, throwing myself on one of their swords, but with Yohji, I was going to try and keep him alive even at the cost of my own life.

A cold blade was pressed to my throat. "Struggle too much, and you'll make it worse on yourself," Schuldich hissed gleefully. The king smirked and nodded to Schuldich, giving him permission to do what he wished, still holding Yohji tightly around the waist, keeping his arms pinned. The redheaded consort smirked and flung me back onto the bed, where I hit my head against the headboard. He didn't even strip, just undid his pants and was on me, rutting harshly into me as he pushed my face against the sheets. "RAN!" I heard Yohji scream, followed by another, more pained cry.

"The more you struggle, the harder he gets it," Crawford threatened. I couldn't see my lover, the white sheets on my bed covered my mouth and nose and eyes so everything was grey. Yohji must not have believed him. Suddenly, Schuldich wasn't just taking me roughly, he was slamming into me, fingers digging more cruelly into my hips. I sobbed into the cloth covering my face. Why did they have to disgrace me in front of Yohji? Why did they humiliate me so? Why couldn't they let him live, have a chance with someone who was free to love him back?

Finally, after an eternity that lasted only a few minutes, I was dimly aware of Schuldich spilling himself deep into my badly ripped body and pulling out. He grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me from the bed, his seed mingling with blood and trickling down my thighs. I was flung across the floor, only to be caught by Yohji's strong arms. The king had released him as well. "Yohji... Yohji..." I whispered repeatedly, my eyes glazed and sightless. My lover held me tightly, his heart pounding against mine. "Shhh... Ran..." he answered, stroking my hair. I clung to him desperately, my face buried in the crook of his neck as he gently soothed me, even as he held me so close against him.

A sharp, piercing pain ripped through my back, making my eyes fly open and a scream tear its way from my throat, shaping the sound of my lover's name. It continued to work through my body, piercing my flesh and driving through the front of my chest to stab into Yohji's heart. His eyes grew wide as he managed to gasp out a final word. "Ran..."

We fell to the floor, arms still entwined as blood... blood the color of sunset, of my hair.... trickled down our bodies. A sword, a shimmering silver, was buried in my back, running us through together. The blood... so much blood... wound its way across the floor, staining the boards, the sheets that had fallen in the melee, the leathern covers of my books... vaguely, as my eyes glazed over for the last time, I saw the last book we'd read together, Yohji and I, open to the page that read, "And so they lived happily ever after..." the words spattered with more of the life-giving blood. "Happily ever after...." I whispered just before my heart finally stopped and my cheek slumped against my lover's already cooling shoulder...

The End