After following the tracks, they met up with the soldiers and proceeded to do battle in a sneak attack.
The still unconcious Jiro was being dragged by his arms.
"Sir Jiro wouldn't stand for this if he was awake.." Anji whispered.
"Why did he do something so stupid?? That's really unlike him." Kakeru watched them stop suddenly.
"He wont wake for a while. He knocked 'imself out cold." One of them laughed. He took a little flask out of his sleeve.
"No doubt full of ale.." Kakeru sneered.
"It's now or never." Anji whispered.

"I can't believe they left us behind!!!" Keiko pouted.
"So, Mai.. How EXACTLY did you happen to be all the way out here at just the right time??" Staci asked. "And how did you get out of the brothel?"
"All too easy." She smirked. "And for the being here now, well, I had been following those soldiers for a while now."
"Why??" Naoki blinked.
"I'd tell you.." She grinned. "But then I'd have to kill you.."
Naoki gulped.

"Let's go!" Anji yelled, as they charged the soldiers, who grabbed their swords in panic and began to ready for an attack. The battle went on for 3 minutes, and beating the beered up soldiers was no hard task. One soldier left, and..
"Stand back, or I'll slit his throat!!" He yelled, as he held his sword to Jiro's neck.
The three boys stepped back a bit.
'What now?!' Anji thought.
"You think you're so clever," The man laughed. "Well who's in charge now? I have a hostage!"
"Just-" Kakeru started. He looked behind the soldier, and pointed. A strange blue ball of light flew through the air, towards the man, leaving a trail of glowing sparkles behind it. "WHAT IS THAT?!"
"I'm not going to fall for-" He started to say. Then the thing let out a mischevious giggle, rather high-pitched.
"Mesno gga fiffle!!" It said.
"What??" The man started swatting at it with his sword, but the quick little thing was too fast for him, and flew over him in circles, annoying the heck out of him. While he was distracted, Anji, Kakeru, and Otaru took charge, and in less than ten seconds, they killed him.
"Geejo mnni!!" It giggled.
"Looks like a wisp.." Otaru said worriedly.
"What's a wisp??" Kakeru asked.
"A very obnoxious and mischevious creature." Anji sighed.
"Aasi!!!!" It turned bright yellow, and zoomed away, only to come back to them a few seconds later. "Aasi pfin fiffle!"
"I think it means 'follow me'..." Otaru laughed. So, they dragged Jiro along, and slowly followed the creature.

Naoki screamed as the ball of light zoomed around them.
"What is it?!" Aika asked.
The horses were going berserk. Rina smiled, as she look away from them.
"Look!!" She exclaimed. The four men started walking towards them.
"Look!!" The thing repeated. "Aasi fiffle!!" It started flying around Mai.
Otaru thought a moment. What had he heard about wisps? They look like balls of light, they enjoy playing tricks on people, they like bringing you to things(good and bad), they repeat words they think sound funny, and they like gold... "Mai, do you have any gold on you??"
"Why?" Mai narrowed her eyes.
"They like it.." He pointed to the wisp.
"Aasi!!" It said.

Mai grumbled and dug into one of her pockets. "This had better make it go away..." she mumbled, pulling her hand out to reveal a polished Allarian gold. The tiny blue wisp sputtered joyfully and immediately, with unseen hands, grasped the coin and began floating about happily. It admired the shiny object for a few moments before bowing obscurely (or what they could only guess was a bow), and hovering away.

Mai sighed with relief. "I hate those things," she murmured, walking toward a tree. "They make me so nervous..." cautiously she slipped and disappeared behind the tree, before returning a few moments later carrying with her a small, green case, obviously made of some rare reptillian skin. She carried it in her arms possessively as she returned to the group, who were eyeing her green case with burning curiousity.

She smirked at them briefly before setting the case on the ground and untying the cord that had been bound around it. She murmured something to herself about getting latches before setting open the green case.

Various smells escaped the small case, none of which Keiko or the others could quite place. The smells were unfamiliar--almost foreign--though not unpleasent. Keiko stepped forward a bit to peer into the case.

It was filled it entirely of viles and pouches of powders and liquids. Keiko's jaw dropped as she realized, with a small shock, that most of the contents of the case were poisons.

"What're you doing with THOSE?" Keiko demanded of the sandy-haired assassin who knelt carefully over her case. Mai smirked at the stunned princess.

"I'm one of the few assassins in the entire world who has experience with poisons," she grinned. "Also, poisons are the most effective weapon known to man." she said this with the air of someone explaining somethingt to a child. In that instant, Keiko took a sudden disliking to this girl.

Mai carefully selected one of the viles--a glossy, purple one--sniffed at it, then walked over casually to the unconscious form of the knight, Jiro. Anji drew himself up in front of the knight, blocking the assassin's way.

"What're you going to do?" he asked defensively, his hand finding his sword hilt automatically. Mai blinked at him, then laughed an undignified sort of laugh, the kind that did not rightly fit a woman. She held the vial out for the prince to smell.

"I'm going to wake him up," she explained simply, kneeling down beside the knight after Anji had had a chance to sniff at the liquid contained in the vial. Then, with the air of someone who had done the same thing many times before, she carefully placed the vial directly under the unconscious knight's nose. Almost immediately, Jiro stiffened, then began coughing profusely.

Mai quickly hid the purple vial under her cloak in one of the many sewn-on pockets, then backed away as the knight rose to his feet. For a moment, Jiro's expression seemed almost distant as he tried to gather in his surroundings. Then, with a large smile, he spotted Prince Anji.

"Your Majesty, thou art safe!" he said, a smug, though curious expression crossing his face. "Then I have succeeded in rescuing thee, My Lord?"

Anji stared at the knight for a moment before bursting out laughing. He clapped the knight roughly on his iron-protected shoulder. "It was a valient rescue, friend Jiro," Anji laughed. Keiko noticed, quite suddenly, that Anji had never once called anyone 'friend'. Keiko hid her smile behind a hand, feigning a yawn.

Rina was at her side as she did so, and she mimicked Keiko's yawn with preciseness. "I think we could all use at least a few hour's sleep after this," Rina said quietly, though she caught the attention of the group. The tiny girl began blushing as the group turned their eyes to her. Keiko noticed that this tiny blond girl blushed quite a lot.

When they finally got time to sleep, it was almost daybreak.
"Rina-san.." Mai whispered, waking Rina from her light slumber.
"Yes??" She yawned quietly.
"About that Knight.." Mai started.
"What? Jiro? What about him?" Rina furrowed her brows.
"You like him, don't you?" Mai frowned. Rina didn't answer, but blushed furiously. "Does he know?" Mai smiled in her sly way.
"..." Rina sighed. 'Will she tell him?!'
"Do any of them know?" Mai smirked. 'This will be too easy..'
"Staci, and Princess Keiko.. And Naoki and Aika. And of course, Prince Kakeru.." Rina replied.
"So neither Jiro, nor the Prince, Anji, know, hmm?" Mai felt somewhat pleased with this.
'Anji might understand, I mean, it wasn't my fault.. But I don't want Jiro to hate me.. Someone so bound on honor like he is would never understand.' Rina thought.
"Really, Rina-san. Do you think your Knight in shining armor would still feel the way he feels about you if he knew that you came from a brothel??" Mai snickered. 'This is going to crush her. If I can't have the things I desire, why should she? I'll make sure it doesn't happen..'
Rina felt like crying, something she could not let herself do in front of Mai. She got out of her bedroll and walked off.
'Why was Rina given food, while I had to go without food and water, and traveled on foot while she had a horse, I had to go alone, while she was in the company of Princes and Knights? Why did Rina get all of the privileges, while I was given none? Even now she has friends to comfort her.' Mai sneered in her thoughts. 'Before I'm through, she'll be back in the brothel where she belongs.'

When Keiko woke up, it was early afternoon. They got packed and started on their journey again.
"Jiro.." Mai smiled.
"Yes?" He replied politely, his eyes not veering from the road ahead.
Mai was about to tell Jiro about where Rina previously lived, in a very subtle and sly way, OF COURSE, but she stopped. She heard... Music. Or what could only be described as music, as was too noisy for anything else.
A lone man walked towards them, on a horse with large packs, strumming a lute.
"Ken???!" Staci exclaimed.

Keiko was startled by her friend's sudden outburst. She knew this man who... was riding a mule? What had she thought before was a horse now, clearly, was some breed of donkey. It's long ears and stubby legs revealed that.

Keiko's eyes searched the rider atop the fat mule. He had dark brown hair, much like Staci's, she noticed. His clothes were ragged and weather-stained, though he didn't seem to care much. Staci, however, by the look on her face, seemed to care very much.

"Ken, what are YOU doing going THIS way?!" she asked fervently, moving her horse almost shamefull to block the view of the man she called Ken.

"Sister!" Ken called suddenly, reigning in his chunky mule and throwing himself off it. Keiko noticed that he was rather unsteady on his feet and, as he grew closer to their company, that he reeked of what she could only determine was a badly-brewed ale. Ken hastily embraced Staci's horse as Staci herself slid off.

"Ken!" she nearly hollered, "You're drunk!"

"Sister," Ken said, looking slightly abashed. "I can't believe you! What would make you think that?"

Staci began ticking off her fingers one by one as she explained--at some length--her reasoning. Looking confused, the travelling musician stopped her.

"Okay, so I'm drunk," he said simply, suddenly embracing his sister. "But would you have me be any other way?"

Staci suddenly laughed, a clear, almost melodious kind of laugh that made Keiko smile. "No, I suppose not," she answered finally, releasing her brother. "We're on our way to the next town," Staci said, pointing northward. "We can find an Inn and talk there, all right?"

Ken nodded his affirmation, and they made their way down the road once more.

Keiko and all her new found friends made their way up the dirt path, looking for the next town and a comfortable place to get a good nights sleep.
Keiko thought about how long it had been since she had taken a nice hot bath (*cough* WITHOUT any interuptions ^^).
Behind her rode Staci and her brother. Staci struggled to keep her brother ontop of the horse.
"Uhg! Ken! Can't you do anything right?!" Staci exclaimed angrily as his head started to drop again.
Keiko turned around to see how they were doing.
Ken saw her turn around to look at them. He winked at her and gave her a goofy smile.
Keiko turned back around, shivering and making a disgusted face while Staci hit him on the back of the head with her palm.
"Don't do that!" she snapped (don't ask me how she knew, after all she's facing his back... Guess its one of those sibbling things)
"There it is!" Exclaimed Otaru from ahead.
"Huh?" Keiko's head suddenly snapped up. Up ahead of her she saw some lights. And if she squinted she could see that the lights were coming from a few cabins. But when she got closer, she could tell that it wasn't just a few cabins, but a whole city. And not that far away she could see an Inn...
"YAHHOO!!!" yelled Keiko, exitedly, rushing forward on her horse. She ran past all the others, saying to her self over and over agian, "Hot tub, warm bed, hot tub, warm bed"
"Keiko! Wait!" Yelled Anji, rushing after her.
(Alright, I know what your thinking. This is the part were I'm gonna make something bad happen. Well.... You know me too well!)
"AAAHHHHH!" Keiko yelled, as she and her horse dissapeared out of site.
"Keiko?! Keiko?! Were'd you go?!" Anji yelled running after his preciouse sister.
He to dissapeared out of site with a yell. Then, one after another they all dissapeared without a trace, untill Mai (who was the rear end of the party) stopped right in front of a huge whole everyone fell down.
"You guys really are pathetic, you know that?" she said, tauntingly.
"Anji! Get off my foot!" They all heared Keiko comlplain.
"Come on, Mai. Let us out of here!" complained Rina.
"I would but--- WHOAH!"
"Oww!" Kakeru protested as Mai fell right ontop of him.
"WHO PUSHED ME?!" exclaimed Mai looking up at the shadowy figure hovering over them.
"Well, well..." said a taunting voice. "Looks like we meet again, oh royal ones. Only who are these peasents you've picked up on your journey?"
"(gasp) OBARI!" Anji gasped, as he saw him and an army of other men crowding over their whole.

Obari?!

Keiko squinted up at the figure hovering above them. No, it couldn't be! Could Anji's eyes be failing him, at this young age? Keiko could plainly see that the obvious masculinity that was apparent in Obari was not in this figure that hovered above their trap. Also, he was AT LEAST an inch shorter than the handsome Obari! His skin was also much paler...

And, it seemed, he wore a pair of large, round spectacles. Obari DEFINITELY didn't wear those.

Who could this be, then?

Beside her, Kakeru took in a sharp breath through grated teeth. Keiko raised an eyebrow at him curiously, though he ignored it. He stood, abruptly (an awkward position in that tiny hole), and muttered a carefully selected curse word under his breath.

"You were sent by my uncle, weren't you?" Kakeru demanded hotly of the man standing mockingly above their trap. The man smirked, an action which seemed, somehow, to fit that pale face perfectly. Then he laughed.

"Yes, I was, Prince Kakeru," he answered indifferently, then cocked his head up defiantly. "Many were sent to find you, My Lord, and only I, Hiragii Gohei, have succeeded in apprehending you!" He then threw his head back in a show of purely maniacal laughter.

"Who IS this nutcase?" Anji asked no one in particular, also struggling to help the armored Jiro to his feet (An armored knight, while upright, is a dangerous thing; but, when fallen, they can be as helpless as a turtle on its back).

Kakeru shrugged at Anji's question. "I dunno," he answered, "My uncle must be pretty desperate to find me; this guy is clearly dense as a rock."

"I heard that!" Gohei suddenly burst, his face going an odd shade of red. "And I AM NOT!"

"I believe you are, Hiragii." A clear voice suddenly spoke over the red-faced Gohei. A few soldiers cleared the way for this voice to show itself. Keiko blushed when the blond (and obviously handsome) young man showed himself, and she could only guess that the other girls were doing the same.

"Tyler!" Kakeru suddenly exclaimed, his tone of voice exulting. Keiko could only guess that this handsome young man was a friend, as Kakeru's consternated frown turned to a smile of pure, friendly relief.

The blond man, Tyler, as Kakeru had called him, squinted at the form of the prince for a moment, then smiled happily. "Prince Kakeru!" he said, reaching down a gloved hand to assist his friend from the hole. Kakeru accepted it gladly, and hoisted himself out. Keiko grumbled about this, finding the hole to be more unpleasent now that only one of them had been helped out.

"BARON!" Gohei nearly screamed at the blond man as he assisted Kakeru. "What are you DOING? He's a prisoner!"

"Prisoner?" Tyler laughed, causing the disgruntled Gohei to go pink in the face. It seemed that the opinion of this higher officer mattered very much to this man, so he turned and pushed his way through the small group of soldiers and back to where the horses sat, grazing delicately on the grass at the side of the trail.

"Well, I'm glad that Hiragii managed to find you!" Tyler said, suddenly embracing the prince in a brother-like fashion. Kakeru jovially clapped his friend on the shoulder in reply.

Keiko was now becoming impatient to get out of that hole. She was about to voice this impatience, when another voice broke hers.

"Excuse me, sirs," Otaru said cautiously, catching the attention of Kakeru and Tyler. Absently, Keiko noticed the dryad-boy's use of the word "sirs". Serfdom must have still been playing on the boy, she observed to herself as Otaru kindly requested asssistance out of the deep trench.

"Oh, dear!" Tyler exclaimed, slapping the palm of his hand against his forehead. "Of course! Sorry about that!" He called over a few of the soldiers to the trench to assist Keiko and the others out. There was some struggle getting Jiro out, but they finally made it, and all of them were out.

"We'll into the city and find an Inn," Tyler announced, then turned to Kakeru. "Then you can introduce me to your companions."

They remounted, and rode into the city.

Keiko relished in the tidiness of the small, orderly city. Of all the cities they had yet come across, she automatically felt at ease in this one, the most. She judged by the expressions on her companions' faces that they were also quite pleased with the appearance of this city, and all were smiling as they reached the Inn.

Tyler curteously made arrangements for them, also paying for everything. Females to one room, men to the other, females having the bigger wash pool (for that was really what it was--a pool meant for sharing). As the women entered their room, they dropped their belongings and busily began filling the wash pool to the brim with hot water. The convenient size of the pool was not outdone by the convenience of it being located in their large quarters. Each of them jumped into the washing pool in unison, uncaring of the usual rules of privacy. The water was warm, and smelled of fresh petals...

"This is so wonderful!" Keiko announced ecstatically as she dipped into the water.

"You don't think that the men will mind too much if we bathe right now?" Rina asked shyly, still not quite comfortable with the idea of an open bath.

"Oh, they might mind a little," Staci said coolly, closing her eyes. "If they're around my brother all night, that means they're not going to bathe, and they won't have anything better to do than sharpen their swords."

However, as they treaded downstairs to dinner, each found that the men HAD bathed, and that each wore a stunning gray doublet that Tyler had obviously provided for them. Though Kakeru and Anji looked, of course, princely in their new garments, Jiro looked strange with the absence of his armor, and Otaru seemed simply out of sorts without his usual brown tunic and hose. Ken, Keiko noticed with a hint of disgust, had neither bathed nor changed, but sat on a chair strumming lute, looking grimy. Staci greeted her brother warmly, however, seemingly unaware of his bedraggled condition.

"Ah, here are our lovely ladies!" Tyler greeted as they descended the staircase, arms outspread in a genial manner. Aika and Naoki giggled and moved quickly to grace the rest of the stairs, then went immediately to greet the blond-haired man.

"Kakeru, I believe it's time you introduced me to your guests," Tyler said, gesturing them to a large, round table in the center of the dining room. Keiko noticed, with a smile, that this Inn was very much like a large version of a home, and she sat down happily at the table.

Kakeru cleared his throat, signalling quiet, and began introducing the guests. "This is the Knight, Sir Jiro of Par Duneth," he waved a hand in the knight's direction. Jiro rose formally and bowed, looking almost awkward in his doublet and hose in place of his armor.

"My Lord Baron," Jiro acknowledged regally, and Tyler reaised a hand.

"Please," He pleaded, "Formalities are not necessary. We're all friends here, are we not?"

Somehow, to Keiko, that sentence felt unnerving. Kakeru moved on.

"This is Otaru," he said, indicating the nervously smiling boy next to Jiro. "A former serf in the kingdom of Sosaria. He served under the care of Obari."

"Obari, huh?" Tyler said drearily to the dryad-boy. "I know of him; it's a good thing you got away when you did, boy."

Otaru blushed slightly. "Excuse me, but I'm far from being a boy," he protested gently. "I'm actually eighteen years far in my life."

Keiko was surprised to see Tyler actually blush. "I beg your pardon then, Sir." He then smiled at Otaru and winked. Kakeru proceeded.

"These two are Lady Aika and Lady Naoki." Kakeru introduced the two giggling girls next. "They were once courtiers in the court of Sosaria before, as far as we know, Obari took over."

"I'd heard about that," Tyler said dryly. "Congratulations on escaping the beheadings, ladies."

The two girls went visibly pale.

"Next to them is Lady Staci." Kakeru motioned to the brown-haired girl who, surprisingly, was deeply blushing. Keiko thought it strange that Tyler said nothing to her as Kakeru moved on.

"Next to her is Nimai Rina." Keiko was taken aback by the use of the tiny girl's last name. Didn't she have some kind of title? Keiko didn't ponder on this very long as Kakeru moved on to introduce Mai.

"And this is... erm..." Kakeru found himself struggling to introduce this woman, whom had dressed herself that night in a sleeveless tunic belted around the waste. "This is Mai."

Mai stood up and curtsied in an attempt to appear regal before the handsome blond man, but nearly failed as the scantness of her tunic was revealed. Tyler quickly averted his eyes to Anji. Kakeru opened his mouth to introduce the prince, somewhat unsurely, when Tyler interrupted him.

"I think I know him," he said, looking over the red-haired prince with squinted eyes. "You're Prince Anji of Sosaria, aren't you?"

Anji nodded mutely as Tyler's eyes turned to Keiko, who began blushing instinctively. "And you're his sister, Princess Keiko?"

As Keiko had always been taught to do when being introduced to someone of obviously high rank, she stood up and curtseyed. Anji quickly pulled her down, however, giving her a 'look'. She mock-pouted and closed her mouth.

Tyler laughed at this show of sibling rivalry, then turned his head to Ken, who sat next to one of the Inn's windows with a tankard of ale in hand.

"I don't believe you've introduced this gentlemen," he said to Kakeru.

"Gentleman, Lord Tyler?" Staci suddenly said, grabbing the blond's immediate attention. "I see no gentleman over there. All I see is a hopelessly drunken musician with no more than a peanut for brains."

The soldiers, who had been silently watching the introductions from smaller tables set around the dining room abruptly burst into laughter. Two of them stood and went Staci's brother, urging the drunkard to sit with them. He accepted their offers graciously (or as graciously as a drunk man gets), and went to join them in a very rowdy game, thus breaking the session of formal introductions between the company with Tyler.

As the night drew on, everyone had wandered from the table to various groups in the huge dining room. The large fires of the earlier evening had been put out, and now only a few torches and a large spit in the center of the room remained. It gave the place a homely feel, and Keiko had to force back the temptation to fall asleep then and there.

A loud ruckus erupted once more from a table nearest the spit, and Keiko grinned and held back a giggle. Ken, Staci's brother, had been challenging every soldier in the Inn to a drinking contest, claiming that each one would collapse before he so much as blinked. So far, this was true, and nearly eight soldiers lay in heaps about the dining room. The remaining ten or so soldiers rooted on their proclaimed hero, Jiro, who was almost on the verge of out-drinking Ken. His knight's stomach proved to be tough as he downed another tankard of ale, and Keiko looked away to where Naoki, Aika, and Mai sat chatting happily with a slightly nervous-looking Otaru. Anji, Staci, and Rina, however, had chosen a more secluded corner, and spoke in hushed voices, possibly about something serious.

Normally, Keiko would hav enjoyed involving herself in one of these various conversations, but she found that she was too comfortable to move. She sat on a bench located conveniently by a window, from which she could stare out of and out to the quaint little city. She sighed as she gazed out the window, picturing herself in one of those quiet little houses, on the verge of sleep...

Until, seeming to take no notice of her presence or thinking she was in a daze, Kakeru and Tyler came and sat nearby on the same bench. Immediately the princess' attention perked up. So as not to raise suspicion, she closed her eyes, though opened her ears at the same time. She wanted to hear what this Tyler-guy had to say.

"You're absolutely serious about this?" Kakeru was saying to Tyler quietly.

"Absolutely," Tyler replied, "Obari has moved on to the Western kingdoms and taken over Sosaria as his stronghold."

Keiko heard a sound distincly like Kakeru pounding the wall with his fist. "How did he do it, though?" he demanded of his blond friend.

"His forces are apparently stronger than ours," Tyler replied in a disturbingly off-hand manner. "They took us by surprise and laid seige to both fortresses, and then to the castle. It only took them a day."

"A day!" Kakeru said, in obvious outrage. "My Uncle is such a fool!"

"There's no doubt about that," Tyler replied, "But, even if you HAD been there, it couldn't have been helped. They had the advantage of surprise and stronger forces on their side."

"Where do you think Obari got his forces?" The Allarian prince asked. "They couldn't have come from Sosaria..."

"No, I think you're right," the blond agreed. "I think they may have come somewhere from the southern kingdoms."

"I guess that makes sense," Kakeru consented. "Those people will do anything for a battle. And, if Obari threw in a bit of money, they were probably licking his feet."

Tyler let out a mirthful laugh, a laugh that made Keiko struggle not to smile. There was a short silence.

"So that Hiragii-guy's really crazy, huh?" Kakeru suddenly asked of the blond.

"Yeah," Tyler answered. "He's the main reason I was sent after you; to stop him from causing any harm. Although he's not entirely crazy, he's still full of himself, and that can be a dangerous thing."

There was another, longer silence that was only interrupted by the sound of the soldiers cheering on Jiro. Then Tyler spoke.

"Kakeru, why don't you come with me?" he asked of the dark-haired prince. This surprised Keiko a bit, and she started without realizing it. There was a pause as Kakeru considered this offer.

"I don't think so, Tyler," he replied, and Tyler sighed with obvious melancholy. "I hate to admit it, but I've actually become comfortable with these people," Kakeru continued. "I would be sad to have to leave them after only a month in their company."

Keiko stiffened at this. A month? Had they really been together so long?

"That's too bad," Tyler said regretfully, then suddenly chuckled. "Your eyes reveal some other reasoning, Kakeru," he said slyly. "Are you sure there is no other reasoning you wish not to part with this company?"

Kakeru cleared his throat, and Keiko could almost feel the heat rising off the prince's usually pale face. "Well, actually..." he muttered.

"Yes?" Tyler urged, stifling an onslaught of laughter.

Kakeru cleared his throat again. "You know that 'person' I was supposed to be running away from...?" He left it hanging. There was another one of those short pauses, then Tyler finally gave in to laughter. Keiko heard him clap Kakeru firmly on the shoulder, then stand as his feet shuffled onto the floor.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck!" He chuckled. "I think I'm going to retire now, however. The night is wearing on. I suggest you do the same, too."

Kakeru also let in to a small laugh. "Soon enough cousin. I have some thinking to do, however."

"Well, I wish you good thoughts, then," Tyler said, and Keiko heard him shuffling off to the stairs. "Good night, Kakeru."

"Sleep well, cousin," Kakeru acknowledged him, and Keiko was taken aback. What was that he had just called this blond man?!

When the princess was sure that Tyler was safely up the stairs, she feigned a yawn, and stretched, opening her falsely sleeping eyes. Kakeru quickly turned to her, his eyes wide.

"Princess, I hadn't even realized you were there," he said, sounding almost out of sorts. Keiko smiled at him, realizing that all that false sleeping had actually made her very tired. She rubbed at her eyes drowsily, and Kakeru's brows furrowed in a natural show of concern.

"Tyler just went to bed," he said, "Perhaps it's time you did, too."

Keiko nodded at him. "That's probably a good idea," she agreed, and stood, sleepily walking to the stairs. She didn't feel like telling the others that she was going to bed.

"Good night, princess," Kakeru murmured from behind her, and she waved her hand in acknowledgement, not noticing the odd note in his voice. Her mind was on other things.

/How far does Obari plan to go?/ she questioned inside herself as she trudged up the wooden stairs. /And how can we stop him before he goes too far...?/

"I don't trust this Tyler fellow.." Anji furrowed his brow.
"He seems pretty nice.." Rina shrugged.
"He does SEEM nice, yes.." Staci sighed.
"I couldn't help but notice, it seems like.." Anji paused. "Staci, do you know him??"
"Yes.." Staci blushed. "We.... Knew each other a long time ago... I don't know if we can trust him.."
"Prince Kakeru seems to know him well," Rina protested subtly. "Maybewe shouldn't be so untrusting.."
"Rina, in our current situation, you can't trust ANYONE!" Anji huffed.
"Like that Mai girl.. She's very..." Staci searched for the word.
"I know." Anji blushed, as he glanced over at the scantily clad girl, and then quickly looked away.
"Mai was never one for subtlety..." Rina said.
"I don't like it.." Staci glared at Mai, who clutched the arm of the timid Otaru. "What was she saying to you the other night??"
Rina gasped. "Nothing!"
"Was she talking to Mai? All I saw was her standing up and walking into the woods." Anji shrugged. "I was going to come see what was wrong, but.." He blushed. "I thought it might have been a personal problem.."
"It was nothing, okay??" Rina said nervously.

A loud burst of laughter and yelling coming from the soldiers.
Ken was knocked out on the floor, and a drunken Jiro stumbled out of his chair and headed towards the stairs, trying desperately to keep his balance up.
Otaru and Aika tried to help the inebriated knight up the stairs, but he grabbed a mob and began to attack them.
"Have at thee!!" He slurred, waving around his mop.
"Sir Jiro! It's me, Otaru!!" Otaru yelped as he backed away from him.
"My enemy disguising thine self as a friend! Dishonorable swine!!" Jiro cried. "I shall slay thee, foe!!"
Slowly, but surely, they 'disarmed' the knight, and took him to bed.

In Tyler's room...
"What are your orders, Sir Baron?" A mysterious figure said in the darkness. He revealed himself to be Gohei.
"Send a message to Lord Obari.." Tyler said solemnly. "I have them here. I will KEEP them here if he will let my father go, and leave my cousin with us. He can take the rest."

"Are you sure that's wise, Baron?" Gohei questioned unsurely, wringing his hands. "Your cousin IS one of the group that has managed to thwart Obari for so long..." he left it hanging. All traces of the insanity from earlier had left his voice, and he spoke--and thought--rationally. The dark-haired soldier patiently awaited his officer's reply as he thought it through.

Tyler grinned. "Don't worry, Gohei," The blond-haired Baron said calmly. "Prince Kakeru is my cousin. He shares the same family blood. He would never do anything to betray me or my father." then he smirked, his expression malicious. "Besides," he added, "I think I'd like to kill him personally."

"I take it he doesn't know yet..." Gohei commented knowingly, and Tyler's grin became wider.

"Of course not," he replied, "If he knew that it was my father who killed his parents, he would have run away long ago. Now go deliver my message, and leave everything else to me."

Gohei bowed somberly, then left. Tyler, almost instinctively, fell to his back on the nearest bed, sighing bitterly, as if doing so would lift the great burden that he had placed upon himself.

"Please understand, Cousin," he murmured to the beamed ceiling, "I'm only doing this to save our kingdom..."

Kakeru stirred from his half-doze as the sound of scuffling feet reached his ears. The dining room had long since been abandoned, leaving only himself and the fire. He didn't raise himself from his position, though, as he warily eyed the stairs.

Gohei emerged from the darkness of the hallway at the top of the stairs, protectively clutching something in his gloved hand. He seemed to take no notice of the prince as he passed the stairs and walked to the door.

/What's he doing up?/ Kakeru asked himself, waiting for the door to close behind the crazed soldier to follow him.

Outside, Gohei was heading for the stables, as was obvious to Kakeru as he peered around a corner. Carefully and quietly, as Gohei saddled his horse, he crept up behind the soldier and in to the stable. Deciding that violence might not be the smartest thing to start out with, he spoke.

"What are you doing out here so late, Gohei?" he asked quietly, slightly concealing his face in the shadows. Gohei did not carry a candle, so it took him a moment to identify the face of the prince.

"P-Prince Kakeru!" Gohei gasped, involuntarily taking a step back. "I didn't know you were awake!"

"I hoped you didn't," Kakeru replied casually. "Why are you out here?" He repeated his first question. Gohei swallowed.

"I-I'm taking a message for Lord Tyler," he answered, sounding only slightly unsure of himself. Kakeru was slightly surprised by this particular answer. Why would Tyler trust a crazy man with a message?

"And was it necessary to deliver it at night?" Kakeru questioned, determined, now, to find out Gohei's intentions.

"It's very urgent," Gohei answered with a hint of confidence. Obviously, to Kakeru, this was true. However, he still had his suspicions.

"May I see the letter?" he requested, all-too-casually. Almost unexpectedly, Gohei began to tremble, and held the letter protectively in both hands. This indicated to the prince that something, indeed, was going on.

"It will only take a moment of your time," Kakeru urged, reaching out a hand toward Gohei. "Let me see the letter, and then you can be on your way."

There was a slight pause, in which Gohei had begun to shake even more violently. Then, as Kakeru had anticipated, he picked up a nearby board and swung it forcefully at the prince. Kakeru ducked, barely in time, from the board, leaving Gohei in surprise. Once the prince had rolled out from under the board, he immediately went to the soldier and punched him, full-force, in the stomach. As he was certain would happen, considering the force applied to the punch, Gohei gasped, then fell to his face, unconcious.

Kakeru quickly snatched the letter away from the falling soldier, and kicked him once in the side to make sure he was fully unconcious. Satisfied, Kakeru looked to the letter and tore it open, reading silently to himself.

Unable to sleep, Mai wondered outside.

Outside. Hmmm... it was so *nice* to be able to go where ever she wanted for a change. She wasn't in a brothel, she was *free*.

She swayed a bit, slightly drunk with power, slightly drunk with the flask she'd "borrowed" from Ken. Not enough to act like an idiot, just enough to...

She knew her new "friends" didn't trust her, or even like her. She didn't care. They were just a jumping off point. She just had to stick with them until they took her someplace worth going, someplace where she could be something more powerful then a courtesan or an assassin. She *could* get there, no question of that. It was just a matter of finding the right people.

So WHAT if Rina and her little playmates didn't think her clothes were proper? Pretty soon they'd learn that being proper never got anyone anywhere. Everyone had to figure it out, sooner or-Wait, was that a man?

It was! A man on the ground! Afraid of what she might find she snuck towards him. She shoved some dark locks of hair away from his face and stared at him. The vision was a little blurry, maybe she'd had more of that flask then she'd thought.

Hey, she though, It's that crazy solider. She shook the man, named Gohei, she thought, but he only stirred like someone in a bad dream.

He was out, and not from alcohol. A low moan started from the unconscious man's mouth.

She looked up and saw that the groan had attracted someone else's attention. She couldn't see who it was, not in the dark, not under her ... condition. But someone, just a few feet away, holding ... something tightly in his (definitely a his) fist, faced her. She stared back, frightened. She might have unknowingly walked into a very bad confrontation.

No getting out now, Mai figured, and slowly stood up, facing the strange man.