Take Me Away

Chapter summary: Shandaar is determined to leave after one more thing happens to him…

Author’s Notes: I’m finally done with my assignments, so a big part of my free time will be dedicated to write to this story ^_^. Once again I can’t say much about the current chapter, so read, and keep in mind reviews can actually help me (not only between the chapter postings, but I’m always open to tips ^^;;). Okay, I’m a review whore… happy? XD. Oh well, I am.

Take Me Away
Chapter 05 – Enough

“Take me away with you… I wish to leave…”

How should have Kieran took the request? It was insane enough already that Shandaar wanted to leave… but when he thought about it, it made sense. The younger man simply didn’t like it. When he had gotten tired of his own life, that’s what he had done, he had moved away, found new friends, and saw other places. Why couldn’t it be the same for a prince? Didn’t they have desires like this as well?

Calmly, he guided the silver-haired youth to his bed and sat him down on it, holding him by the shoulders. His head was still hung down, obviously unable to look in the other male’s eyes after such a… betrayal. The adventurer’s right hand brought his face back up, making the first visual contact, just as he had done years ago. He could never hate him... “Shandaar… not even a wedding will stop me from loving you. I know without a doubt it wasn’t your idea.” His thumb traced the pink lips in front of him. He had always seen the man as perfect… perfect for him. Perfect for their love. “And I have to… to let you go in the arms of someone else in order to love you-“

“No. I’ve made my decision. I am going with you. I am ready to let go of everything here for you…”

“I can’t let you do this.” Kieran sighed, kneeling in front of the prince, his usual smirk replaced by a serious face. “You’re the next king, and you’d make everyone worry about you. And I can’t rob you from everything you own. Life on the road isn’t easy. There’re no servants or guards, you’re on your own, even with a group.”

“I have always wanted to travel, and you know it. If I don’t try anything, how will I know I am not able to do these tasks?” Shandaar had a point there. He’d have to act by himself in the future.

However, was his will enough? Knowing the Kandi family for being stubborn, the answer would mostly be a “yes”, so he gives up on the argument. “Alright, I’ll talk with Dagmar and Raya later on. When’s the wedding due?”

The prince simply shrugged and sighed. He had no idea. “I left before they told me everything. I just thought about you.”

“Alright. You’re gonna get some rest, and I’m going back to town once you’ll be asleep. I’ll come back after dinner to check on you, and then you’ll tell me the details.”

“Good idea. I’m so tired…” Shandaar let himself fall on the bed with another sigh, closing his eyes. That news had drained him, sleep was now the only thing he wanted to do. Sleep in his lover’s arms, forever if possible. Well maybe not forever, else he would never be able to see him again. Dying was out of question. He crawled on the bed and let himself fall down again, on the pillows, giving Kieran a look that said “Come here please”. The older male obeyed and wrapped his arms around the smaller figure, watching him as he closed his blue eyes. His hands wandered along the green material-covered waist, until he reached the strands of silver hair, gently playing with it.

-

After about two hours, Kieran snuck out of the castle. Reality was being less painful, now that Shandaar was going to come with them. If the two others wouldn’t allow it, fine. He’d go on his own. He too would make sacrifices if this eventually ever came to be real. There was no way he’d let his lover down. No one would stand in his way.

The pink-haired girl was the one to greet him. She entered the inn room not long after her friend, just having posted her letters. “Back already? I thought you were going to practice longer, and hang out with him, y’know?”

“We’d have sparred longer if we hadn’t had been interrupted. Shandaar’s bodyguard came to us after half an hour…” He sat on one of the beds and put his hands on his face, tired as well. “The queen arranged a marriage between him and the princess of Renken. You heard of her, right?”

Raya cocked her head, trying to remember the other woman. “Oh! Apparently she’s very beautiful! And nice, unlike her father… maybe Shandaar will like her!” Upon seeing the other man’s reaction, she cringed. “Yeah, you and him are together… sorry about that…”

“It’s alright. I know you didn’t mean anything bad by that. It’s just… hard. And it must be even harder on him. Think about it. You’re about to wed someone you don’t even know. You’re not sure you’re gonna love the person… and you’re already in love with another one. I feel so bad for him. That’s why I can’t be mad… ‘Cause I know I’m not going through the same thing as he’s going through.” He paused for a moment, shaking his head and blinking a few times. “Anyways… where’s Dagmar? I need to speak to the both of you as fast as possible.”

“He went to buy a few items… he should be back soon, don’t worry. Are you going back to see Shandaar after?” she asked, sitting beside him, looking at him with a faint smile. She felt sad for them. Why people had to go through such things?

“Of course I’m going back. I said I would after dinner, if he ever wakes up. He was asleep when I left… he needed to rest.”

The young woman nodded, imagining that it was a good reason to be tired. “Do you want me to go get Dagmar?”

“Nah, gonna be fine. Let’s just wait… d’you still have those cards?”

“Yep, lemme get’ em!” She got up and got her hands on her pouch, getting a deck of red cards off it, and jumped back in front of Kieran, who had sat so his back was resting on the wall. “Poker. And I challenge you for the candies you bought before going.”

Kieran looked at her with a puzzled look, wondering if she was serious or not. “Okay, okay. But you gotta bet something as well. I’m not playing for nothing.”

She was about to get up again as the door opened, revealing the giant’s massive frame. Dagmar bent his head in order not to smack it on the frame and closed the door, eyeing the two youths. “Definitely, I thought you were gonna spend more time with him.”

“Well I got another reason.” The smile disappeared from his face, leaving room for worry. “He learnt he was going to get married to the Renken princess…”

“Ah… I see. Well… huh… ah man I’m bad at this. But I know it ain’t good ‘cause you really love him.”

“I thought I had to live with it, but he found something… that if he ran away, he wouldn’t have to. So he asked me take him out of the country, that he wanted to travel too. With us.”

The blonde man frowned. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea. “He’s from royalty, it’s kidnapping! Do you seriously think you’re get away with this?”

Kieran rolled his eyes; of course he knew he wouldn’t get away with it. He’d most likely get death penalty or life prison, but it was worth a try. For his love, everything was worth it. “It’s his will, there’s not much I can do. I’m unable to condemn him to such a life anyways… nor can I promise him that I’ll be able to spend my life with him. But I’m ready for that. If you don’t wanna be meddled in this, fine, I’m gonna go on my own.”

“Hey hey hey. Never said I didn’t wanna do it. I just explained there was a major risk there. If you understand it, fine. He can come along. But he better not drag the whole army after us.” At some point, Dagmar was even happy Shandaar would join them. They’d need another swordsman with them.

“Great! Be back later!” With this, Kieran left the room, forgetting about his upcoming card game. He couldn’t wait anymore.

-

Shandaar was woken up at around 4:00 by another knock on his door. Normally he would get up and answer himself, but right now, he just didn’t want to. It would probably be Ethan anyways. “Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Ethan. I wanted to say that dinner was ready, in case you were hungry. Or do you want me to bring your meal here?” The door remained closed; he almost had to scream to be heard. “May I come in, my prince?”

“Yes you may, Ethan.” His voice wasn’t exactly the happiest one, and the man hadn’t figured out why yet. It must have had happened in the throne room earlier. He opens the door and slides in, somewhat worried. Shandaar was usually a happy youth; sure he had his hard times, but he hadn’t sounded that depressed since the death of his father.

The prince was lying on his bed, absently looking at the ceiling. Instead of a smile, there was sadness written all over his face, and judging from the looks of it, he had cried. “Is there something wrong, sire?” the brown-haired man asked as he approached the bed with caution. He didn’t want to make him feel worse then what he was already.

The young man rolled on his side, facing his bodyguard and sighed. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone, no one. I’m serious. Not Mother, nor whoever you can think of. Please.”

Oh yes, now he could sense it. There was something wrong. “What is it?”

“As you know, there have been conversations about how I should find a bride… I didn’t even need to search for one… I’ll be wed to Princess Hawa of the Renken kingdom.”

Of course he’d never know what it was like, but he imagined it was hard to swallow. Even he had been deceived by that news. He loved Shandaar, and now the man was going to be with someone else for the rest of his life, and a princess would be harder to get rid off than a simple commoner. Maybe it was best to eliminate him now and say it was all an accident? That would probably cancel the wedding, and the silver-haired man would be free? ‘Ack I can’t do this. He’s going to be even more depressed, and as much as I don’t like that fact, I can’t make him go through this.’ A wave of guilt got through his body. No… he just couldn’t have had thought about it.

“But that’s not all” the prince continued. “Maybe you have notice before, but Kieran and I have been seeing each other for quite a while…” 3 years. 3 years of happiness had been destroyed within seconds. He closed his eyes as if would help taking the pain away and took a deep breath, not wanting to cry in front of Ethan. “And now I don’t know what to do. He says he loves me no matter what happens, but I will not be able to escape wedding… which means I will eventually have to let go of him, and I don’t want to…”

Telling the truth without it being too harsh was almost impossible. It was life, much like it was life to Ethan as well, even if Shandaar would never consent to go out with him. He just couldn’t help his feelings for the other male. “I hate to say this, but it’s life… and it goes on. You’re strong, you’ll get through it fine.” Maybe they weren’t the right words for the circumstance, maybe they didn’t bring any comfort, but to him, that’s how it was.

“I know, I will live through it, I have to. If I don’t, who knows if I’ll ever have a chance to get back with him? What if I don’t worry? What if something else happens? I will miss it all if I kill myself, and I can’t take this chance. I prefer suffering, hoping in the end it was all good, then running away from it all.” That was irony. He was planning to run away and there he was, saying he wouldn’t. And he was aware of it. After all, there was better not taking any chances on this point, and playing along like he always did. This way, no one would suspect it.

Ethan sits on the edge of the bed, gently ruffling Shandaar’s hair with a faint smile. “That’s the prince I know. Of course that doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to be sad. Everyone in your position would.”

“I guess you’re right… I am not the first one to have been married against his will, and cannot say my case is worse than any other. It’s just unfair. I will never be able to forget Kieran.”

Seeing as the heir didn’t move, he laid on the bed as well, not letting go of the silver strands for that matter. The closer he was, the better he felt. Even there, the youth didn’t back off… on the opposite. He had seemed to enjoy the touch, making him look more serene. Could he have returned the feelings as well? Or maybe he was in need of attention. Who knows how Kieran treated him. The other male was gone of the time… Shandaar obviously needed someone who would be by his side, instead of an adventurer who never was in his hometown. If only he could kiss him… make this union real… if only. His dreams were populated by thoughts like these, as a point where he wondered if he wasn’t obsessed by his prince.

To his surprise, he felt himself lowering over the smaller body, obeying his mind and covering the lips with his own. Shandaar’s body jerked, as if he had been shocked, quickly breaking the kiss. “Ethan, what are you doing?” he asked, frowning. That only resulted in another, deeper kiss, as the older man slowly made his way on top of him, under the blankets. “Ethan… stop it…” However, he wasn’t listening at all, and moved his hands under the fabric, mapping the flesh. “Ethan!” So now there was a point in being physically stronger than Shandaar, since he could withstand the pushes he received without any problems. How he wanted to do that every night. How he was jealous of Kieran, who had such a good time when he came back…

How he was lifted from the bed and slammed against the wall went beyond his comprehension until he opened his eyes. The raven-haired adventurer stood in front of him, breathing through his teeth. “Bastard! I don’t suggest you attempting to get close to him again; else I’m not afraid to use force. I may not be as strong as your whole army, but I sure can do damage.” Anger and hatred could be discerned in his done. “Try such a thing again, and I’m going to kill you.” Ethan tried to free himself, but the result was a strong punch in the guts, making hikm double over. His surroundings went from crystal clear to blurry, yet he could still see Shandaar from there. He didn’t know if the young prince was startled by this sudden outburst, scared or in pain, but the last thing he saw was black.

“Kieran! Are you okay?” The silver-haired prince rushed to the side of both men, eyeing them carefully. “If you hadn’t been there he would have raped me I know it. Thank you.”

The older man picked up the limp body in his arms and put him on the bed, but not out of compassion for the bodyguard. He didn’t want Shandaar to have any more troubles, although he wondered if he hated him now.

“I have made my mind. I’m going with you.”

“Alright. Grab what you need, we’re outta here.”

The young prince picked up clothes, money, not forgetting his sword, and went back up to him. “I’m ready.”

“Then let’s go before he regains consciousness.”

Shandaar looked at his bedroom one more time. He would miss the castle, the people, his mother, Ethan… but he was also excited at the idea of leaving to discover new places. Both men escaped through the balcony, as they always did, and headed for the town, where they would sleep before leaving town the next morning.

~ TBC ~