Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Change of Hands ❯ Tell Me Lies ( Chapter 5 )

Atheria: Hello! We'll it has been almost a year since I started this story and a few months since I've really updated. I really like this chapter, and the last section has a character I am already fond of. If I get views and reviews, these chapters would come more frequently. I am an attention hound, so feed me and chapters will abound. I also might start a DBZ story, but I want to get really into the action of this one beforehand. Anyway Enjoy! (A/N Not really an update just some slight changes I needed to make)

 

 

Tell me Lies

November 15, 1040 AD

Castle Bellenrogue:

The sun rose a splendid gold, it's soft morning rays ethereally warming the Western valley. The light found it's way into lord Accubu's personal chambers. The light slowly makes it way to his bed only to find it already empty of its occupant. The light continued its measured movements keeping time to the sun's waltz across the eastern sky. Before long the whole valley was illuminated, and one could easily see the many servants scuttling about in a harried fashion. One particularly well-dressed servant was overseeing the entire seemingly unorganized parade. Sergio had overseen everything in Lord Accubu's household for 20 years. He was the most trusted and powerful member of Lord Accubu's servants and slaves, and of course the only one that was paid. Looking out on the hustling mass of 200 below him, Sergio's face contorted into a sneer. After all these years he was under the opinion of being better than the lowly slaves that practically crawled in the master of the castle's presence.

 

“At attention!” Sergio shouted in a commanding tone. The formerly writhing mass stilled and formed neat lines. Sergio smiled at his own authority, before starting into the reason for the interruption. “ Master currently has 20 guests here on the grounds,” Sergio began in a self important tone,” As you know I expect nothing but perfection in demeanor, response, and service. This time is no exception to the rule. I would like to inform you that anymore slip-ups, like the one yesterday in the entrance chamber will be dealt with swiftly and promptly with the most severe of consequences. The master's guest will be expecting breakfast in only an hour so be fully prepared, and DO NOT further embarrass either the master or me. You are dismissed.” Sergio finished his prep speech before turning around to add, “Oh and in a few weeks the master will be entertaining the Northern lords as well.” Sergio walked through another corridor and towards the source of all of his current headaches. The grounds were kept to his master exceedingly high expectations. “ My master has had many of head servants before me, if I do not act with accordance to his rules, he will me retire prematurely.” Sergio thought nervously. The Bellenrogue castle grounds sprawled over 100 acres of the best land in the area, and Sergio was responsible for everything from the lowest chamber pot maid to the head stablemen, archers, and chefs. Sergio's walk to the breakfast antechamber was unfortunately short, leaving him little time with his own thoughts. Before he stepped forward to open the doors, a lowly human slave shambled up to him.

 

“ Master Sergio? Are all of the guests assembled and ready for master's meeting? I wouldn't want anyone to miss this.” The slave said quietly.

 

“ Of course they are! Quiet you little fool, we do not need any eavesdroppers.” Sergio said severely. The slave rushed off into the pervasive darkness of the Bellenrogue interior to finish his duties. Sergio stood outside the door to the dining room a few extra moments, to collect his sanity, before opening the double doors. “Gentlemen,” Sergio said in his most cordial of voices,” Thank you for your patience. Breakfast will be here momentarily, but I have been instructed to deliver a message from Lord Accubu beforehand. Sergio paused and closed his eyes to remember Lord Accubu's exact words. “ My fellow lords, please forgive my inability to join you at breakfast this morning, I have other pressing business to attend to in the matter of our decision yesterday. I leave you in the hands of my most capable servant, and the organizer of my affairs Sergio. My deepest gratitude for understanding this arrangement as it stands, and I would like to ask one last favor from Lord Ewashi.” Sergio paused in his recitation of Lord Accubu to get everyone's full attention. “If you could please meet me after Sergio finishes this message, it would be greatly appreciated as I need your council on a very important matter.” Sergio finished his message before bowing to his audience. “ Lord Ewashi, Lord Accubu is awaiting you in the antechamber to his private study. If you would please follow me.” Sergio turned briskly and began to walk out of the room. Lord Ewashi sent a look to the rest of the room, before he stood and followed Sergio. Sergio kept a fast clip as he expertly navigated the twisting inner halls of Lord Accubu's castle. Before long the two men stood at the entrance to Lord Accubu's private study. The room was filled with large volumes of dusty old books, the majority of which were arranged in stacks around Lord Accubu. “ Lord Accubu, Lord Ewashi is here as you requested.” Sergio said.

 

“ Thank you Sergio, please see to the rest of the guests per my earlier instructions.” Lord Accubu finished with a dismissive wave of his hand. He continued staring down into the book that had previously occupied his attention, as Sergio turned to leave. A few terse moments passed in silence between the two lords before Lord Ewashi spoke up.

 

“What is it you wanted to talk to me about?” Lord Ewashi inquired. Lord Accubu took a few moments to finish the page he was on, before answering.

 

“Well nothing really. I just didn't want you in the room with the other Lords when Sergio pumped the poisonous gas inside.” Lord Accubu punctuated with a flip of the page. For a flutter of his heart, Lord Ewashi thought he hadn't heard him correctly. “ They aren't really necessary now anyway, their armies are already committed to the attack and all of their sons are more than committed to the coming war.” Lord Accubu said standing from inside the ring of books. Lord Ewashi stared wide-eyed before stuttering out

 

“What?” Lord Accubu let out an amused laugh.

 

“ Your speechless for once?” Lord Accubu took a look at his confused face. “Don't you get it? I have single handedly re-arranged the balance of power in our country, all without those old fools knowing a thing. This war it's just a cover for a greater goal, one my own father died trying to see completed,” Lord Ewashi finally regained his composure after Lord Accubu stunning revelation.

 

“ What good is killing off all the other lord's going to do this country? Putting it all into the hands of young inexperienced fools like you! Do you think that's what this country needs?” Lord Ewashi was becoming more accusatory by the second. Lord Ewashi turned to leave the room.

 

“Don't bother they're already dead by now.” Lord Accubu continued after he stopped, “You aren't proud? I'm not killing off our country I'm uniting it. The Lord's sons all have promised to follow my leadership. All of them even the Northern lords, have promised to name me the King of our new country. The Northern Lords are on their way here, and I guarantee they will fall for the same trick, as long as you are here to welcome them, they won't suspect a thing” Lord Accubu finished with a self-confident smirk. Lord Ewashi sighed,

 

“What makes you think I would go along with your plan, this cockamamie scheme of yours?” Lord Ewashi leveled sternly. For a moment Lord Accubu was afraid he had miscalculated. Lord Ewashi's stern face melted into one of compliance. Then he said, “Never mind, I`ll help if only to keep you out of trouble” Lord Ewashi paused before adding,” And for God's sakes did you cover your ass on this, because this could get you killed.” Lord Accubu faltered if only because of Lord Ewashi colloquial speech not at his concession to his side.

 

“Don't worry the poor men took a walk through Soo-hoo valley. Poor things I told them about those sulfur pits but they didn't listen. Stubborn and stupid isn't that the mark of the Southern Lords?” Lord Accubu finished with a smile.

 

“Well just promise something, you'll inform me the next time you want to make such a brazen decision.” Lord Ewashi said.

 

“ Why is that uncle” Lord Accubu questioned.

 

“ Because I'd like to be informed the next time my card playing mates are going to die, Lord Zephil still owed me money.” Lord Ewashi smiled at his young nephew. “Just promise me. Alright?” Lord Ewashi pressed.

 

“Alright,” Lord Accubu conceded, “I promise I will inform you the next time I want to kill off any one else.” Lord Accubu said sincerely.

 

“Good. Now let's talk about where we're going to put those bodies, they need to be out of sight till some poor servant girl finds them all dead in the valley from the sulfur explosions. And then there's the delicate matter of concealing their death until the Northern Lords arrive.” Lord Ewashi stopped walking and turned around towards his nephew. “ Is there something wrong?” Lord Ewashi questioned.

 

“No. Nothing at all. In truth everything is just perfect.” Lord Accubu said with a smile. He began down the corridor towards his uncle with large strides.

 

Spirit World:

The sun rose on another unbearable hot day in the Spirit World summer. The populace hidden within the castle walls relished ever second inside the cooled palace walls, and all but the most lowly slave lived inside the castle walls during the height of the summer months, a preventative measure against excessive death was the administration's official opinion on the practice. To heat or cool such as massive structure ordinarily would be beyond the abilities of most owners, however King Enma employed some of the finest engineers in the land Using the steam produced for the many technical operations inside the castle, the builders employed the heat differential between it and the hot landscape around it to cool the palace air as it cycled through fans that opened to the walls of the castle. Unfortunately, not all areas of the castle were equally cooled. In fact most areas were just as warm as the surrounding landscape, and some areas were even hotter. Those areas of course were occupied by slaves, however all the dignitaries rooms and the royal family's wing were substantially cooler than the rest of the castle. This is what Lord Bealthezal discovered the majority of the inner workings of the palace were for, other than moving the obscenely large gates that framed every castle doorway.

 

“ Such a monstrous waste of time and energy on pomp, but I suppose it is no more excessive than any of the wastes of my own people.” Lord Bealthezal thought morosely having been “trapped” in his dignitary chambers for several hours. The dignitary rooms were on the west side of the castle and as such received the lowest amount of light and subsequently heat. While each of the rooms have the same dimensions, each has a different theme attached to its space. Lord Bealthezal's seemed to be fall in the Northern Spirit Kingdom, which accordingly involved plenty of red and blacks, and while this color scheme was his personal favorite, there is only so much staring at the pattern walls and studying Sprit history that conceivable can be done without mind numbing boredom. The young Lord had long since passed this point and his restless youth was beginning to combine with his natural curiosity.

“What other interesting things did the castle have to offer, other than some slave entertainment and a dull history lesson? Perhaps a walk around the castle on this level will satisfy my appetite for entertainment?” the young lord thought to himself. He couldn't exit out of he front door; King Enma had posted guards outside of his chambers, though he didn't call them such. So his only option was to sneak out of the back door, and hope there was no one posted there. “ But knowing Enma, there are men there as well, so I'll just make a dash out of the servants entrance. I am going to need something a little less flashy for that, and while I'm in the mood to sneak about, I'll do some snooping into what he uses all those slaves for.” Lord Bealthezal thought cunningly. The young lord proceeded to dress down in one of the uniforms for the male upper castle slaves he had one of the slaves bring to him. In payment he had given on of his out of fashion suits. The ignorant slave was more than happy to have it even if he could no longer get any use out of it, if only for the danger of a fashion faux--pa. Having suitably dressed down, Lord Bealthezal stole out of the slaves' entrance without a second thought, his curiosity more than piqued by the prospect of seeing how his own slaves might experience life. He snuck through the sparsely crowded upper chambers looking for some slaves he could stay with to avoid detection. “ As much fun as I am already having it would be a severe embarrassment to my people if I were caught in this outfit. Not to mention my father would quite possible beat me for it.” Lord Bealthezal cringed recalling the last time his father had so sternly disciplined him. After a few successive turns done down the cool passageways, the young lord was quite convinced he was lost. In fact, he couldn't find his way back to his own rooms if he tried. He would have been concerned over his lack of direction, if he hadn't been discovered by a group of guards.

 

“ Slave! Come here!” The lead guard screamed austerely. Seizing an opportunity to find his way back, the lord put his best acting skills to the test.

 

“I am lost. I am looking for the chambers of Lord Bealthezal, he has requested several slaves for his entertainment.” Lord Bealthezal said in his most demure voice. The lord paused, holding his breath, hoping that his act had deceived them. The lead guard smirked,

 

“ Ah. It must be one of the new slaves brought in last week from the Northern territories. I'd be more than happy to show you the ropes.” the guard said smugly. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, the young lord stepped forward after the retreating forms of the guards. Several minutes passed in forced silence, before it became obvious the guards weren't taking him back to the area of the castle with the dignitaries' chambers.

 

“Where are we going? I hope this is not going to backfire on me.” Lord Bealthezal thought. A few turns later and the young lord found himself in the upper chambers slaves' quarters.

 

“ Ezal!” The lead guard screamed into the rather crowded room. A diminutive man dressed in lead slave clothes rushed forward through the crowd.

 

“ Yes m' lord?” Ezal asked.

 

“ This slave seems to have gotten lost. See to it that it is properly disciplined for this transgression and make sure it learns its way around. I don't have time to lead the ignorant around this castle instead of protecting it.” The lead guard finished his small speech with a hard stare at Ezal.

 

“ It shall be done m' lord” Ezal said with a deep bow. Ezal took Lord Bealthezal roughly by the wrist and began walking him off.

 

“ Slave!” Lord Bealthezal turned around, “ Do not let me catch it wandering around again or I will see to this one's punishment personally.” The lead guard fished with a grab of a whip at his side and turned, and hastily made his way back into the bowels of the castle. Ezal led Lord Bealthezal off by the wrist and into the middle of the slaves' quarters. He stopped in the middle of the room and gathered the other slaves' attention.

 

“ Whose partner is this!?” Ezal screamed into the now deathly quiet room. Ezal's eyes skittered to and fro around the crowd surrounding him, looking for any sign of weakness or fear. After seeing none, he turned back to Lord Bealthezal and said, “ Which on of these is your partner slave.” The young lord searched the room for the slave he had traded clothes with earlier. After a quick search it was obvious that he was not in the room. Lord Bealthezal frowned slightly and turned to Ezal.

 

“ He is not here.” he spoke quietly.

 

“ Surely it has to be here. All of the slaves are…” Ezal started angrily before trailing off in thought. Suddenly, he turned and faced one of the slaves closest to him. “ Creature! Where is the bright haired slave from the Southeast?”

 

“Do you mean Esper sir?” The slave answered back with some personality.

 

“ Don't take that tone with me!” Ezal said with a crack of his whip in the slave's general direction. “ Yes I mean that one, and since when do slaves have names?” Ezal asked furious at his seeming lack of respect. “ Who knows where it is?” Ezal asked referring to Esper again without name. No one spoke up and most just down cast their eyes in fear of being wrongly punished. Frustrated with the lack of results, Ezal twisted Lord Bealthezal to the ground and placed his boot on his back. “ Now. Since neither it nor its partner can seem to be responsible today, I will have to delve out punishment” Ezal spoke with a self-indulging sneer smeared across his face. Ezal flung the whip in a show of dramatic flare he reserved for his displays of superiority. Right before the whip came down upon the young lord's back, a hand reached out from the crowd and stopped Ezal in mid-swing. More than relived from not having to stop the foolish slave leader himself, the young lord turned to look over his shoulder at the slave who had stopped the attack. It was Esper, and he had not only stopped the whip but had some how gotten Ezal into a bind, tied with his own weapon. Esper chuckled at Ezal's predicament before turning to look at the slave he had just saved from a beating. Esper masked his surprise when he saw the young lord knelt on the floor. He was even more surprised no one else recognized him, even in his disguise, because he had made such a ruckus when he had moved into his quarters. After verifying that none of the other slaves knew him, Esper grabbed Lord Bealthezal by his collar and lifted him to his feet.

 

“ Well he looks happy to see me. That's probably because he doesn't know his way back to his own chambers. Well I better make this good. I hope he doesn't throw a hissy fit later.” Esper thought as he brought his hand across Lord Bealthezal face and a resounding smack sound resonated through the room. The young lord looked sufficiently surprised by the action. Happy with the general result of his actions, Esper started in on a verbal reprimand. “ I told you to stay next to me!” Esper finished his sentence with another slap to the face. Lord Bealthezal by this time had snapped out of his initial surprise, and had been staring angrily into Esper's eyes. “ Now that I have everyone's full attention, I can get us both off the hook.” Esper thought slyly. Esper locked eyes with Lord Bealthezal and winked. The young lord suppressed a smile, having just understood Esper's tactic, and did his best impression of a terrified and remorseful slave.

 

“ M' sorry elder. You just walk so fast and everything here is so nice, forgive me.” Lord Bealthezal said with a medium sized bow.

 

“ Well he's better than I thought. No wonder they haven't figured out he's not a slave yet.” Esper thought impressed.

 

“ Alright. Fine. But we have to get to Lord Bealthezal chambers. He summoned slaves almost ten minutes ago, and if you get me into trouble again I won't be so lenient.” Esper jerked the young lord away from the center of the room, and pushed him briskly out the door. After the two had traveled a few turns away from the slaves' quarters, Esper turned down a final corner and stood in front of Lord Bealthezal's chambers. Esper quickly opened the door and motioned for the young lord to follow. Lord Bealthezal practically bum rushed Esper to get into the room. Esper followed the young lord's example and quickly shut the door behind him. “What possessed you to just dress up like a slave and go traipsing through the middle of the castle?” Esper asked.

 

“ Well I was honestly just bored, and the idea just popped into my head. I was not really thinking of anything other than a little curiosity about…” Lord Bealthezal trailed off realizing that the rest of the sentence was a little politically incorrect. Esper raised and eyebrow,

 

“ What? How us slaves spent our day? Do you really have so little to occupy you that you want to run around in slave's clothes? Or is it you just want to pretend to be one, so you can adequately appreciate your position of power you stuck up prick?” Esper turned to leave the room.

 

“ Wait!” Lord Bealthezal called after him.

 

“ What is it that you wanted me for anyway?” Esper asked with his back still turned.

 

“ I just wanted you to, well walk around with me in this outfit. So I would at least have a cover, and no I'm not doing it to degrade you. I am just a little curious. I have not even left my own castle without guards. It would be nice to be invisible for once.” Esper thought about what Lord Bealthezal said for a few moments before nodding his head to an internal decision.

 

“ O.K you can come along with me, but promise you won't go anywhere without me with you. Alright?”

 

“ Of course. I can not seem to even find my back to my chambers by myself.” Lord Bealthezal finished with a small laugh. “ So what are we going to do first?” the young lord asked eager to start the masquerade. “ Oh wait. I have to ask you something before we start.” Lord Bealthezal said.

 

“What?” Esper replied.

 

“ Well is Esper your real name? I would feel odd calling you that if it's not.”

 

“ Yes it's my real name. Why? Do you give your slaves different names or something?” Esper inquired

 

“ Well yes. I do not, but one of my servants does. So I was just wondering” the young lord finished his sentence and began restlessly wandering the room.

 

“What does he have the attention span of a child or something? Ah well, if I'm nice I can use him to get out of here.” Esper thought. “ Ok so I guess I should give you the basics of slave behavior so you don't get caught. I mean you're all right, but I can make you fool proof! … Hey are you listening!” Esper blurted out at the young lord. The two spent the rest of the day perfecting Lord Bealthezal slave acting.

 

MediAnne:

The same eternal star ascended the peak of the Kenidori mountain range. Its warm glow, caressing the earth beneath it. The King had long vacated the royal chambers, his day having started hours before the sun had a chance to catch up. The lovely queen, growing more heavily with child everyday, was still asleep in bed. One of the palace's many eunuchs, Eningo, gently tapped at the door.

 

“Malady? It is sunrise, and you requested to be awakened.” Eningo said gingerly. After he finished, he pushed open the door. The queen began to stir from her sleep, and opened her eyes. “ How are you feeling malady.” Eningo asked.

 

“ I'm fine, a little tired. Thank you for asking Eningo.” Queen Isabelle said sleepily. Eningo crossed the room in the few strides, and sat down next to her on the bed.

 

“ And how is the little muffin.” Eningo asked a smile.

 

“ Doing well, thank you. Growing quickly…” Queen Isabelle paused and rubbed her swollen abdomen, before continuing. “And draining the very life straight out of me. It will not be much longer before he is born.” Queen Isabelle stated with a sigh.

 

“Well enough chitchat. You have a long day ahead of you.” Eningo said with a smile. Eningo said with a smile. The queen pushed her rounded body from the edge of the bed and began walking towards the door. Eningo followed closely behind her, but made sure to keep an adequate distance between them. Queen Isabelle had slowly removed herself from the public eye from the moment she learned she was pregnant. Over the last few weeks, she had begun to appear publicly less and less often, citing the attacks on her husband's life as the reason for her cautiousness.

 

“In all truthfulness, the assassination attempts were concerning, but the brevity of the pregnancy is the main reason for my change in behavior. My pregnancy will only last three months, and two and a half had already passed. Luckily, I will only look it in the last month.” Queen Isabelle thought. That had given her plenty of time to work her way away from the countries prying eyes. The queen was brought out of her thoughts by the sudden presence of another by her side. She turned and gazed into the lavender eyes of Ringo. Ringo was the oldest member of her servants. In fact, he was the only one to join her in the palace from her own home, after she was married. “ Ringo! I didn't see you there.” The queen gasped. Ringo smiled impishly, but didn't say a word. “ I suppose you are sorry?” the queen questioned. Ringo dropped his eyes and made the most pitiful looking face he could muster. “Alright then, apology accepted.” The queen said with a smile. Ringo continued on silently behind Queen Isabelle, taking his place in step with Eningo. The Queen walked through the royal chambers and into main hall. The hall was decorated in the same elegant, but extraordinarily lavish decorum. Vaulted ceilings, flying buttresses, cold marble and granite, and rich colors abounded in the corridors throughout the palace. The royal colors, claret, onyx, and sapphire, flowed like liquid crystal throughout the castle, from the polished midnight sky exterior, to the ruby drapery highlighting the windows of the palace. The queen walked with her two most trusted servants towards the bath in the royal section of the palace. The walk would usually take no time at all, if the queen were in any lighter state of body. After a few more steps, Queen Isabelle stopped for a short rest. Instantly, Ringo was at her side. “I am alright Ringo.” the queen spoke between puffs of air. Ringo looked unconvinced. After a glance in Eningo's direction, he spoke up.

 

“Perhaps it would be best if you were carried the rest of the way. We don't want you over taxing yourself.” Eningo suggested gently.

 

“ No. I am fine.” The queen spoke decisively before continuing down the hallway. Ringo passed another concern look to Eningo to press him to insist, but he just shrugged his shoulders, and continued on in step behind the queen. Ringo huffed in frustration, before catching up to their two receding forms. A few moments later they were at the baths. The queen had Eningo dismiss the two other attendants, a constant presence in case an official stopped by unannounced. The slaves left quickly and quietly, before the queen entered the room. It had become routine to dismiss the slaves in the last month to keep the secrecy. No one but her closest servants, Ringo and Eningo, knew about the pregnancy. Ringo and Eningo deftly moved throughout the room, checking for bugs/spies. The two crawled around the room on their hands and knees checking every nook and cranny. “ What do you say you two? Is it safe for me to enter?” The queen asked mostly out of habit. “ The room is closely guarded and was meticulously checked after every visitor left by my personal guards. There's no way a bug could be planted, but there's no harm in checking. Besides Ringo would never let me enter, if he did not think it was safe.” The queen thought warmly to herself. Ringo paused from his work to look in Queen Isabelle's direction. He cocked his head to the side, and then checked one last place, before smiling and nodding his head in approval. After the room had passed their expert judgment, the queen was allowed to enter. The two divided the tasks equally, keeping them both in near constant motion. One ran the water, the other helped her undress, the other grabbed soaps and perfumes, while the second brought the towels. In no time, the queen was relaxing in a hot aromatic bubble bath. The two set busy scrubbing her from head to toes. Before long, she was glowing pink clean. Ringo went to grab her some towels to dry her hair when there was a knock on the door. He immediately went to answer it. Ordinarily, his presence alone would suffice to answer any questions; he was never far from the queen's presence. He flung open the doors, only to be side-railed away from the doorway. Three of the queen's personal guards stood tall and proud darkening the doorway. “Yes?” The queen called out from the tub behind a partition.

 

“Malady. It is not safe for you to be in here without an armed guard. There has been another assassination attempt on your husband's life. It has been requested by the council that you now have 24-hour guard. I understand your need for privacy, however it is of the utmost importance that neither you nor your husband's life comes under any direct threat. Secondly, it certainly isn't proper for Malady to only have two servants wait on her. Is there any-” The guard started into another speech.

 

“ No. These to servants suffice to care for me in such an easy task. It would not take more than two to help me bathe.” The queen said curtly. “ I would, however, prefer that you and the other guardsmen wait outside till I dress.” Queen Isabelle said sourly.

 

“ Malady, I don't think-”

 

“ Do not worry gentlemen, the two of us can look after the queen.” Eningo offered. The small group of guards broke out into a fit of hearty laugher. Eningo bristled behind the partition.

 

“ What would a little… less than a man as yourself… know about defending anyone?” The captain leveled between laughing. Eningo teared up a little, glad the partition acted as a barrier, when Ringo caught his eye. The two nodded silently to one another, as the guards turned to leave. Right when the queen was going to speak up to admonish them for their rude behavior, like a flash of quick silver, Eningo and Ringo rushed the retreating guards. Before any of them had even drawn a weapon, Eningo had knocked the two underlings into semi-consciousness. The leader stared in awe at his grunts clutching various body parts on the floor. With the sound like the flutter of a butterfly wing, Ringo appeared behind him. The leader turned just in time to see his attacker before, with a single fluid move, Ringo knocked the sword from the leader's hand, twisted his arm, and forced him to the ground with his knee in his back. Eningo jumped, and then balanced gracefully on the top of the partition, slowly letting his eyes met the defeated guardsmen in gnarled positions on the ground. “ Perhaps you gentlemen don't understand your station very well. You are extra guards to the queen, additions to her already large entourage of protectors. You are by no means the best, or else you would have been asked to defend her sooner.” Eningo said stated cruelly. “ The council must have been scrapping the bottom of the barrel to find you. Don't you agree Ringo?” Eningo said with a sneer, and then looked in Ringo's direction. Ringo smiled sadistically before grabbing the leader's hair and yanking his head back to force him to look into his eyes. The leader whimpered quietly when he saw Ringo's normally light eyes flushed dark with bloodlust. Ringo rolled his eyes in disgust before releasing the leader of the weak band with a hard shove, sending him into the floor. “ Now I think we can handle anything that could get past you guards, easily. Say anything above a large rat?” Eningo said while glancing in Ringo's direction. Ringo smirked in agreement. The guards picked themselves off the floor and headed towards the door.

 

“ Damn cockless bastards!” The leader screamed from right on the other side of the door. Before the fool could react, Ringo had flung a small dagger towards the man head.

 

“ Ringo!” Queen Isabelle screamed. Before the dagger could pierce the man's skull, it stopped and hovered just centimeters from his face. The leader eyes locked onto Ringo's form. His body glowed with controlled demonic energy, even through his and the palace's wards, as he manipulated the dagger adeptly from across the room. Most importantly, the leader caught a glimpse into Ringo's mind with a single word echoing in his mind, adementural, blood. A second later Eningo emerged in front of him.

 

“Boo!” Eningo screamed, and the leader ran off in a state of near hysteria. Eningo busted out laughing while Ringo's eyes shimmered mirthfully.

 

“ Well I hope you two are proud of yourselves. You managed to be even ruder than those men.” Queen Isabelle spoke angrily. Eningo stopped laughing and faced the queen remorsefully. “ Especially you Ringo, you know you are not supposed to use demonic energy in the palace. It is too dangerous! What if someone had sensed you and attacked you by accident? I do not want to think of the repercussions of such a hasty decision.” Queen Isabelle started angrily. “ And another thing, what was that awful speech about? Really you would think you would know better than that.” Queen Isabelle stared furiously at Eningo. Eningo opened his mouth to explain, when the queen interrupted. “ Oh don't even bother trying to defend yourself it's pointless! Oh and Ringo your behavior was even worse! Where in Enma`s name did you get that dagger?” She turned to start in on him again when she saw the blood running down his arm from a wound right above his wrist. The queen gasped at the small pool of blood forming on the floor. When she brought her eyes back up, Ringo was looking down in submission. He bowed deeply before quickly exiting the room. If anyone else had done as much, it would have met with severe reprimanding. However, Queen Isabelle knew Ringo well enough to know when to leave him alone. Ringo's exit had stopped the queen's lecture in its tracks. Queen Isabelle walked over to a bench and sat down deflated.

 

“Malady?” Eningo asked worried for her emotional state. “ Whenever that odd one gets upset so does she.” Eningo thought morosely.

 

“ I am fine.” Queen Isabelle said with a sigh. “ I just shouldn't have been so hard on him. He was only defending the both of your honors. He just overdoes it sometimes…” the queen trailed off sadly.

 

“ I know it's not my place to ask, but what is Ringo's story. I've never heard him speak once since I've started working here a year ago. His emotions they're so controlled but fiery all at once. I've never met another being like him.” Eningo said. The queen paused and closed her eyes pensively.

 

“ You know, I really don't know. Ever since I have known him his been like that. I asked my father once, but nothing came of it.” Queen Isabelle said. “ I have to get moving, I need to dress and get ready for that council announcement.” The queen said standing and heading towards the door.

 

“ What of Ringo?” Eningo asked. “ Do not overly concern yourself,” the queen said dropping back into her cultured and poised mode. “ He will turn up before long.” The queen said with finality to Eningo to end that branch of conversation. The queen paused, lost in memory, “ He always does.” She thought before hurrying out the door and onto the rest of her day.

 

Atheria: Well that's it. The chapter has this title for a reason, because of the plot determining lies everyone tells in it. In each section one or more characters tells a lie that will move the story forward. I have a contest. If my reviewers can guess who lied and about what in any of the sections, denoted by the different locations in the story, then you earn a gold star. Earn two gold stars and you get a preview of the next chapter. Don't worry I'll message each person individually for the answers, so the contest will go until the next chapter is out. R&R please! It will feed my neglected plot bunnies.