Take Me Away

Chapter summary: While Ethan recovers, Shandaar and his friends prepare for their journey…

Author’s Notes: Another fast update ^_^. Introducing 2 more characters, secondary ones though, but they’ll come back later on. Thanks for the reviews, really appreciated ^_^.

Take Me Away
Chapter 06 – Preparations

“We’re back.”

By “we’re” Kieran had implied he was accompanied by Shandaar. So they were going to do it and welcome the prince in their team? It was a bit risky indeed, but the raven-haired adventurer seemed ready to take the world on. And so did his royal lover. Raya was really happy about travelling the new guy and if she hadn’t been stopped by Dagmar, she would have bounced all around the inn, which would have gotten too much attention on the group. And Shandaar still seemed to be tired. That whole marriage thing had really affected him, more than the two others had thought.

The pink-haired thief ran up to him and hugged him tight, while the axe man patted him on the back… a bit too strong, but the intention was good. “Don’t worry! We won’t let you get married that easily, ‘cause you belong to Kieran. Right?”

“You’re right, Raya. He’s mine.” Noticing the sad look on the man’s face, Kieran draped an arm around his shoulders, bringing him closer, kissing the top of his head. He could smell the shampoo that he had used earlier. “And mine only.”

‘But soon a princess’…’ Shandaar tells himself, leaning in the embrace. He loved how the older man held him close, and took advantage of every second when it happened. He would really miss that. However, he’s the first one to pull off and sits on the bed. “So we are leaving tomorrow morning?”

Raya and Dagmar’s head turned. Neither of them had seen that coming. They had thought that they could have bought more things, and sell some as well, but that’d have to wait… “Tomorrow morning? Isn’t that a bit early?”

“If we stay too long in town we’re going to get caught way too fast. And we don’t want that, do we?”

“I agree with Kieran. I don’t really want to be much longer is this city… I want to see the world. It’s true that we have plenty of time, but I would rather not take chances. So yes, I suggest we leave tomorrow.” He didn’t mention it, but Ethan’s behaviour had troubled him as well. For someone who was responsible of his well-being, it was a shock. He didn’t feel hatred; he felt ashamed. Ashamed that a prince couldn’t even defend himself from his assailants…

“Alright then. Guess we’re gonna leave in the morning. If you wanna travel with us, Shandaar, there’s a few things you’re gonna have to get used to. Get prepared to be sick often, very different food… you’ll need other clothes than that by the way. This is too… royal” Dagmar said, eyeing the green outfit the man wore. “We’re gonna get spotted right away. I think the pimpsqueak should take you out for shopping, guess you can take Kieran’s clothes in the meantime.”

Well frankly, there was no chance taken with his identity. “I agree with you, my current clothes are too representative of my heritage… I don’t think I should have brought more after all.”

The blonde axe man continued. “At least you’re gonna be able to keep your name, and your silver hair as well. Shandaar isn’t the most common name in the world, but I bet you’re not the only man who’s named this way, and as long as to most you don’t appear as the Kadessan prince because of that, it should be okay. Come on now. Get off those clothes, put you boyfriend’s on, and pipsqueak will take you on a shopping spree.”

The pink-haired girl squeaked with delight and clapped her hands. “I’ll do it and I’ll do it good! But I don’t want him to look like a total commoner. I don’t see it this way. Brown and grey doesn’t suit. I want something a bit distinguished. Maybe adding a cape…”

“Ok go for it, as long as it’s not just like that. That’s too visible. I’m gonna go buy food. Kieran, you stay here in case someone comes in. Plus, I don’t want you half-naked around town.” Dagmar then made his way out of the room, not bothering to take his axe since he wasn’t going far.

In the room, the three youths were starting to get ready for their own excursions. The raven-haired male slowly got off his clothes and handed them to an equally half-naked Shandaar. They consisted in a white shirt and brown pants, which were a bit too long for him, but not by much. “You look rather good in that” he said with a wink before walking over the prince and kissing him quickly on the lips. “I bet you’re going to look even better once you come back though.”

“Don’t worry, you will get those clothes back in a short time. You can take my own if you’re cold. By the way… do you want something in particular, while we are going to shop?”

“Nah, gonna be fine, thanks though. Just grab clothes for yourself, and whatever you think can help you until the next city. We’re going to do it on foot until we reach the border of Kadessa and Nael.” Kieran went back to the bed and laid on it, picking up a book from the end table beside the bed. Something the person before them must have forgotten. “I’ll stay here like Dagmar said. You go with Raya.”

The throne heir nodded and smiled, waiting for the girl to be done with getting her own money. “I need new boots” she said as she pointed to her black knee-length boots, which were starting to feel too small and were starting to tear here and there. “Well, gonna kill two birds with one stone! Come on!”

The duo went out as well, leaving Kieran alone at the inn. As opposed to the castle, the buildings were made of grey stones and wood, but it still was better than what most of the countryside people got. Kadessa City was rather rich compared to smaller cities, and so the people had more colourful clothing. Light blue, pink and red were colors women found fashionable these days, while men were mostly in red, black, or green. A few kids were playing by the fountain, apparently enjoying the water, even though the days were getting colder.

“Let’s get your clothes first, Shandaar. I can’t wait to see you in brand new clothes! You’d look good in leather, see that man there?” the young woman asked, pointing to a man who wore a brown leather jacket that went to his waist, unbuttoned, so everyone could see the white shirt he was wearing under. “Oh yes, we have to get you this!” She took him by the hand and dragged him to the tailor. “With leather pants too! Although, when I think about it, maybe you need armor more than that… something light.”

“I could put a chain mail chest plate and leggings under that. Should do the trick until we get in hostile territories.”

Raya nodded and opened the door to the shop. “So let’s get them a bit bigger than what you’d normally need.” They walked to the counter, where she asked for seeing the leather jackets models that they had, something that suited him, not bothering telling why she wanted it a bit larger. The lady at the counter came back with a few jackets, then directed her customers to dressing rooms.

“Now try those. I’m gonna get pants for you.”

“Huh... okay…” With a puzzled look, the silver-haired man undressed himself for the second time, trying jacket after jacket, finally settling for the second one. It had a few pockets on the outside, and one on in the inside for a small weapon like dagger. “I like this one” he said as his partner came back to him with two pair of pants of the same color than the jacket he was wearing. Now dressed with both pieces of clothing, he got out of the dressing room.

“Wow! You look good in that! These are the ones you’re taking?”

Shandaar nodded, happy at his choice. “I will pay for those, and put them on after we go to the blacksmith. This way I will surprise Kieran. I think he’s going to be jealous.”

-

The trip to the forge at been a bit longer than expected, but they had come back with the chain mail armor. The woman had also got her new boots, which were almost the same that she had before, only with more straps. “You’re gonna die under all those layers… I don’t know how you do it.”

“I got used to it. Plus that underwear isn’t heavy at all. I feel naked even though I am not.” This got a giggle out of Raya, as he pushed the door of the inn open and got inside. He couldn’t wait much more to be with Kieran. Maybe he would even strip for him later on. After all, it was getting dark already; soon they should be off to sleep if they wanted to be in shape for the next morning.

Kieran had stayed in the room all along, and Dagmar was back from buying provisions, and the fruits, bread and beverages on the table proved it. “I got us some chicken at the same time. You guys should check it out; Kieran had enough anyways.” The giant received a death look from the adventurer, who had finally let go of the book. “What… I’m right. You had half of the chicken.”

“Yeah but you had a WHOLE chicken before…” Glancing in the newcomers’ direction, he noticed Shandaar’s outfit had changed, replaced by something more casual. “That really suits your hot body.”

“I even could fit a chain mail armor under it” Shandaar added, happy that he was pleasing his lover with the new clothes.

He then looked Raya over, noticing something had changed on her as well. He tilted his head to figure out what exactly. “Lemme guess. You got a new haircut?”

The female youth rolled her golden eyes; no, that wasn’t that. “I got new boots, stupid!”

“Oooh that. Sorry…” Kieran lifted his right arm and rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile.

“Now come on. Eat up, then we’re going to sleep. Leaving early tomorrow, but we might be forced to leave earlier. If the royal army starts to search for Shandaar, they’re going to find us quick. Let’s just pray that they don’t do so now…”

-

Dark. It was now dark in Kadessa, and Ethan woke up in a bed with a terrible headache and stomach ache. Something had happened, but he couldn’t remember anything. He rolled off the bed, falling on his arm – not breaking it – then got up, staggering. One thing for sure was that he wasn’t in his bedroom, since he could see through the window from where he was, which was impossible in his own room. So where was he? ‘I got to check on Shandaar…’ Shandaar. He was in the prince’s bedroom.

But where was the prince?

He recalled the silver-haired man going back to his room, and waiting for him to calm down before getting in… For a moment he closed his eyes. He could see the man under him, trying to pushing him away, but he hadn’t been able to. So something got a hold of him and hit him… the face, however, couldn’t come back to him. So that meant he had almost raped Shandaar? “Oh no… it can’t be possible…” Now how the hell was he going to last the next days? He could always make up that Shandaar was sick and that he could take care of him, but it was extremely rare that it happened. Most of the time, he had his personal doctors anyways. That wouldn’t work. Maybe he had left on his own… but in all cases, one of them would be to blame; Ethan for not doing his job or raping Shandaar, or the latter for running away.

“I’m in so much trouble…”

Without wasting any more time, he ran down the hall, making his way back to the throne room. The best explanation, and the most rational one, was that someone took advantage of the fact he had been knocked out and Shandaar’s depressed mood in order to get a hand on him. He didn’t even request to talk to Queen Tahira, for it was way too important.

The throne room doors opened and the woman raised her head in order to see what was going on. “What’s the matter, Sir Darby?”

“My queen, I am deeply sorry for causing such a disturbance. But I have a very good reason.”

“You may talk.” She could tell the man had something important to tell her.

“My queen, your son, Prince Shandaar, has been kidnapped.”

She gasped along the other guards who were in the room with her, and brought her hand to her mouth. No, it was impossible. “How do you know he has been kidnapped?”

He would tell everything… except the rape part. “When I got back to the prince’s living quarters, he apparently wasn’t feeling much better. He told me to get in, and told me about the wedding. He seemed… desperate. Then there’s a man who got through the window and spun me around, hitting me in the stomach. The next thing I know is that I’m laying on sire Shandaar’s bed, and he wasn’t there anymore. I know I failed to the task of being a body-“

“Stop, Sir Darby. I know it might seem cruel of my part, but if he really has been kidnapped, he will not come back tonight. At midnight, if he still hasn’t been back at the castle, send a few men. We cannot let the whole castle, yet even the city or the world know that we are in an emergency state. You shall be in lead of the operations, Sir Darby.”

He bowed down, thankful that he hadn’t been judged right on the spot for letting his own guard down, while the prince’s life might be on the line. “Yes my queen. Right away. I will go back to the prince’s living quarters and wait until he comes back. If not, I will do as told, and send my best men.” This being said, he turned around, opened the doors back to the hallway, and let them close by themselves. Never in his life had he been under such a stress.

-

“WHAT?! The Prince ran away?!”

The short blond man who had brought the news cringed at the woman’s tone. She was pretty when she was mad, but now, she was fuming. “That’s just something I’ve heard, Lady Karali. Other rumors going on at the castle says he has been kidnapped, and even though we aren’t the only Kadessan resistance, I don’t think anyone else would have dared to kidnap him. And we know the reasons…” At least this rumor came from the interior, so it must have been true. Leroy made a good job as a spy. Maybe she could reward him… later.

“Kordell!” She turned her head at her twin and punched him in the face, making him yelp. It wasn’t the first time it happened, and it wouldn’t the last, he knew it. “Asshole! If only you had grabbed him the first time you had seen him we wouldn’t be talking about this!”

The redhead clenched his fist as well, wanting to hurt her back, but he knew better. Instead he took a deep breath in order to try to calm down. “I explained. He wasn’t alone. A 7’8” giant, a little girl who was dressed as a thief, and the sword-wielding adventurer. Shandaar Kandi ALONE would have meant my death! Imagine with those guys! I would’ve been over-killed!”

The man had a point. She couldn’t afford losing him. Sometimes he was incompetent, but he still was her beloved brother. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. If he has ran away, he shouldn’t be very far, maximum being Fatshir, which is a day from here, on horse. Saying he wasn’t on horse, he’d have to be in the capital. It should take us a few hours to reach it. We’re going to send a team to Fatshir, while you, I and another team will head to Kadessa City. If we see him, we grab him, offer a ransom, and kill him.”

“If we can ever get our hands on him…”

“Shut up Kordell! Listen! If we don’t, we STILL say that we have him. We’re going to try to find him and kill him as the army’s trying to find us. We’ll have a third team, of rogues and ninjas, going to the castle to assassinate Queen Tahira. That’s when we’re climbing on throne. It cannot fail unless WE fail. Understood?”

“Got it.” The male sibling got off his chair, looking at the blonde man. “Gather the guys and bring them back here. We’re going on a mission.”

“Alright Sir.” Leroy exited the building to check on the other clan members, which were probably sleeping, or drinking in their respective huts. From above, the community barely looked like one. The huts had been made of wood, mostly pine, and were melting in the environment. That had been done in order to avoid every suspicion, but every now and then, they would go in the cities and recruit more people. The ones far from the capital. For their sake, they couldn’t afford going there too much, since the army forces were concentrated there. Even around Fatshir there were lesser, and by Lokin, there were only a few men. The news of an attack would take near 2 weeks to reach the castle.

Not even 15 minutes later, the blonde spy came back with 40 men and women or so, all armed with swords, bows, crossbows and wands. “We’re ready to be divided.”

Kordell bit his lip as he looked around, searching for two particular men. This time, they’d work in separate ways. For now they were obviously together. “Radwan, Xylon, you guys are ones of our most trusted men. You’ll be in charge of the teams. Xylon, get your men; you’re leaving tomorrow morning for Kadessa.”

Xylon Daffyd smirked and saluted. He was sure their leaders had picked them because he and Radwan were lovers. They barely needed to communicate in order to tell what the other was doing, at one point Karali and Kordell had thought they had telepathic capacities. His long green hair and yellow eyes shone under the moon. Even though he looked sweet… he was a brute, able to kill without remorse. There was a quick hug and a kiss before the smaller man parted. “Come on guys! We got sleep to catch before leaving! Everyone back home!”

Now only half of the men were left, Radwan Jayser amongst them. He looked tougher, with his 6’3” and indigo hair, which were messy more than anything else. A pair of blood red eyes opened as he smirked in Kordell’s direction. “So I guess we’re going to Fatshir?”

“You bet we are. You, Karali, the rest of the men, and I. We should be enough. We’re leaving in half an hour.”

In the same manner as his lover did, the tall man gathered in men. “Let’s go! You heard the boss! Get your horses and meet at the city limit in twenty minutes!”

With a tactic like that, there was no way Shandaar would escape them.

~TBC~