Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Learning to Love ❯ Unveiled ( Chapter 2 )

Legal Disclaimer - I still do not own FAKE. It crushed me to admit it too . . .

Author's Note - Hiya all, I'm back and with the next installment of: "Learning to Love." I hope that everyone is enjoying it as much as I am! I really appreciate all the positive reviews! I was originally going to turn this into an Inuyasha fic. But, there seem to be so many in the Inuyasha genre; therefore, I turned this into a FAKE fanfiction. AU fics never seem to do well, but I'm all for `em! Maybe I should be called: The AU Queen. Yeah . . . maybe I should change my name! Well . . . maybe not. Then I have to change my email, and my penname in English, and that really annoying sign on my door -goes on- Might as well just read as I rant! Enjoy!

Chapter 2 - Unveiled

The next morning, a pale stream of weak sunlight filtered into the room, causing its occupant to awaken from his silent slumber. Ryo sat up quickly, not knowing where he was, but was immediately the victim of a strong wave of dizziness that washed over him from head to toe.

"Where on earth . . .?" Ryo murmured, lying back down and closing his aching eyes.

He then opened them to gaze about the room. It was neatly furnished, with mahogany dressers and chests, velvet curtains, and the very large four-poster bed that he was resting in. The sheets were silky and the blanket on top of him had interesting patterns and designs on them. Never before had he seen such luxuries in one place!

Trying to remember how he had gotten in the room, Ryo recalled the events of the previous night. He suddenly realized the achy feelings and the sudden jabs of pain were not just morning stiffness, but wounds from the man whom he now had to address as "master."

Ryo slowly sat up and got out of bed, rubbing his temples where the thumping of a migraine beat against his skull. Walking uncertainly around the room, Ryo explored his new territory like a curious child.

He found the bathroom had a large porcelain tub with gold feet on the bottom; the sink, toilet, and everything else in the small room seemed to match the gold and white theme. Ryo stepped inside and peered into a full-length mirror hanging on the wall. Touching one of the bruises on his face tenderly, Ryo winced at the contact.

"I-I can't believe this! I've never been struck before . . . well, at least not this hard," Ryo mused, and left the bathroom so he no longer had to look at the ugliness of his face.

Ryo then walked about the room, noting that the rugs and carpet were extremely soft and cushioned. He found a small window seat and sat down, gazing upon the garden below.

Spotting the same form in which he had seen last night, Ryo squinted at the person. He was still wearing that black cloak with the hood up, so Ryo could not make out his face. It was very disturbing to him that he didn't even know the man's name in which he now belonged to.

As if sensing his presence, the stranger tilted his head towards him; Ryo couldn't tell if he was actually looking at him with that veil over his face. That's when he rose and left the dying garden to head back inside.

Ryo sighed, finding that his only opportunity to study the man was now gone. Therefore, he rose and went back to the bed. Lying down, Ryo turned on his side and stared out the window, focusing and then un-focusing his eyes to make the colors blur into one.

He realized that his little trip around the room had caused him to use up a lot of the energy that he had acquired from a small night's rest. That's why he closed his eyes and willed himself to drift back off to sleep.

The nearly silent click of the lock on the door caused Ryo's dark eyes to snap open. Sitting up quickly once more, the blonde man had no time to react as he suddenly came face-to-face with his new master. How did he move so fast?

"I trust you slept well?" he inquired from beneath the veil.

Ryo could only nod and he hung his head low as if to avoid the stare that he was receiving. This, however, gave Dee a moment to study his new acquaintance in the light. He could not tell if Ryo was looking worse than from the previous evening. The paleness of his face, even though his skin was very fair to begin with, suggested strain or perhaps an illness of some sort. The dark circles under his eyes and the bruises from Dee's abuse were very prominent on his white face as well.

Dee reached out a slender hand and gently touched a single finger to Ryo's bandaged cheek; Ryo flinched slightly but made no objection. Emerald eyes studied the emotions that played across Ryo's face: fear, pain, sadness, anger . . . and regret? Dee withdrew his hand and placed it in his lap as he turned his head away from Ryo.

"Does it hurt?" Dee asked quietly, after a moment of silence.

"Um, no. Not really," Ryo replied, putting a hand up to his cheek.

Ryo was afraid that maybe his new master could see through the lie. The truth was, the four gashes on his cheek were burning and throbbing painfully, but Ryo didn't want to say it aloud.

"You must forgive me. My temper is very short. Especially when I find people trespassing on my land," Dee explained.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go," Ryo said, bowing his head in apology.

"Well. No use crying over spilt blood, so let's start over then," Dee suggested, turning his head towards Ryo.

Ryo cringed slightly at the part about spilt blood, but decided to overlook it just this once.

"Change into something warm. You will find everything you need in that wardrobe over there," he said, indicating the large bachelor's chest in the corner. "I will come and fetch you later."

With that said, he stood and left the room swiftly.

"Fetch me?" Ryo thought, raising an un-amused eyebrow. "What am I? A stick or a piece of meat? Oh, the nerve of that man!"

But still, Ryo rose and walked over to the chest. He opened the oak door and found that it was holding several articles of clothing. Ryo pulled a couple of them out, noting that almost all of them were black.

"Why does it feel like I'm going to a funeral?" Ryo wondered, sticking his tongue out at a rather ugly shirt with a frilly lace collar.

He finally settled on a long-sleeved white collared shirt and a black vest with a pair of matching pants and an ankle-length (black) coat with a fur collar. It was basically all black, much to Ryo's displeasure, but he had to wear them unless he wanted to go naked.

Striping off his nightclothes (that certainly weren't his because they were a dark maroon) Ryo folded them and set them near his pillow on the bed. He then dressed in the shirt and slacks. That's when he went searching for something to wear on his feet. He couldn't go out bare-footed, could he? Therefore, Ryo searched the wardrobe and found a pair of knee-high black boots and (after some more searching) a pair of woolen socks.

He slipped on the socks and then the boots before putting on his long raven cape. It dragged a little bit, but not too much so Ryo did not fret over such a small thing. He tied it around his neck and pulled up the fur collar to his ears. Then, Ryo sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for his master to return.

After this task became rather boring to the young man, Ryo stood and walked back over to the window seat. From where he sat, he gazed about the room and saw a small bookcase in an abandoned nook in the corner of the room. Slowly heading in that direction, Ryo looked at all the different colored spines that were peeling with age.

There were big books the size of his head, and there were small ones that were so tiny, they could fit in his pocket. Some titles were printed in black, others in gold, and some had no title at all! Ryo selected a book at random, realizing that it was a volume of poetry by Edgar Allen Poe. He flipped through the pages, noting familiar titles like: "Eldorado" and "Annabel Lee."

He was just getting immersed in a piece of work that happened to be his favorite: "The Raven" and he just half-way through when he could have sworn he heard the sound of the door opening. Ryo peeked around the corner and found no one; therefore, he continued through the poem.

"Do you read much?" a voice inquired from behind him.

The voice startled him, causing Ryo to drop his book and spin around. He was met with the face of an elderly lady.

"Um, yes. Yes, I do," Ryo replied, trying to calm his racing heart.

She merely smiled at him and then turned to continue her business.

"Milord wishes to see you downstairs," she informed him.

"Uh-" Ryo said, unintelligently.

He watched as she began to strip the bed and went to assist her in her chore.

"Excuse me, Milady, but-" Ryo began, and stopped when she looked up at him with such kind eyes.

"It's best not to keep Dee waiting, young master," she replied.

"Dee?" Ryo asked, sounding clueless.

"The master of this castle. I believe you met him last night and early this morning," she answered.

"But, Milady-" Ryo began.

"Please, just call me Mother. Everyone else does," Mother said.

"Everyone else? You mean to say that there are more people in this castle?" Ryo inquired.

"Oh, yes. A great deal of us to be precise," Mother replied, folding the comforter and sheets.

"I see. And does he treat you all kindly?" Ryo wondered.

Mother looked up at him once more, her expression somewhat sad.

"Do not be angry with Dee. It is not his doing," Mother said. "Now go to him. I assure you, he is very kind."

Ryo appeared skeptical and he touched one of the bandages on his face.

"Try and look past that," she told him, watching his movements, "for he needs someone such as you."

With that said, Mother departed out one of the great doors with the laundry; Ryo followed and looked around the corridor, but Mother was no where to be found.

Ryo gently closed the door to his room and began to walk down the hallway. He found that the hall curved into another corridor, this one also lined with exquisite paintings and priceless pieces of porcelain. When Ryo came to a fork in the hall, he chose the left and headed down that way.

At the end of the hall, there was a short flight of stairs that were lined with various stone gargoyles and lions that were snarling and looking ready to pounce. He bit his lip and turned around; that was obviously the wrong way. Not to mention that there was a dark, ominous feeling just pulsing from that area.

This time, he took the right fork and ended up at a grand flight of stairs that had intricate patterns on the railings. He walked down the stairs slowly and at the bottom, Ryo found himself in a very large foyer area. Before him, two giant double doors sat closed, looming over head of him.

Ryo stepped forward nervously, looking around for his now named master, Dee. When Ryo couldn't find him, he thought that maybe Dee was outside waiting for him. Therefore, Ryo walked up to the big doors and opened the right one slowly; little snowflakes fluttered inside onto the red carpet.

He was just about to open the door winder, when it was suddenly snapped shut right in front of him; Ryo was lucky that his fingers were caught in there. Turning, Ryo saw that there was no one there. He looked around the dark foyer; a voice spoke from an unknown place.

"Are you afraid?" it asked him quietly.

"N-No. Why?" Ryo replied, still trying to locate the source of the voice.

"Because I can smell your fear," it told him.

A figure stepped out of the shadows and into the dim lighting. Ryo then realized that it was his master. Dee came closer to him and before Ryo knew it, they were once again face-to-face.

"Why do you fear me, Ryo?" Dee asked.

"Why do you think I fear you?" Ryo inquired angrily.

"Is it because of this?" Dee wondered.

In the dark, Ryo could not see what he was about to do, until he felt a gentle caress on the uninjured side of his face; Ryo pulled away from the touch.

"I had thought as much," Dee said to his silence.

"It's not that . . . I just . . ." Ryo began, not knowing how to describe it in words as he slid down onto the floor.

He had first been hit and then treated with kindness, and yet he was still a prisoner to a man whose name he had just learned but not even a moment ago and to a man whose face he had never seen.

"Why do you hide your face?" Ryo asked after a moment of silence.

It was Dee's turn to be silent.

"If you fear me now, as I am, I doubt that you could handle my true identity," Dee replied.

"Why?" Ryo questioned.

"Because I am a horrifying beast," Dee answered softly.

"I see. But, it doesn't matter what you are on the outside. It's the inside that counts, you know that right?" Ryo replied, looking up at Dee from the floor.

"I've been told that," Dee said, somewhat stiffly.

"But you don't believe it, do you?" Ryo asked.

"No. No, I don't," Dee replied.

There was another moment of silence between them.

"I would like to show you the grounds now," Dee informed him; Ryo stood up.

Dee opened the large doors and they both walked outside into the light snow. Ryo followed a couple of paces behind Dee, choosing to look down at the ground that was slowly becoming white with snow. They walked in silence for almost the whole time, but before they were about to head back inside, Ryo spoke up suddenly.

"I'm not scared anymore," he said.

Dee just continued to walk; Ryo had to run to catch up with him.

"You said that if I was afraid, then I couldn't see what you looked like. But I'm not afraid anymore," Ryo continued, jogging after Dee.

"Haven't you realized that your meddling in my business turns my mood very sour?" Dee inquired.

Ryo stopped and remembered the previous night when he had asked the name of his new master. After that he couldn't really remember anything, and so, Ryo deduced that he must have been knocked unconscious.

"Yes, but if one doesn't meddle, then how are they supposed to find out more about their companion who chooses to remain silent?" Ryo wondered aloud.

"Maybe by remaining silent, their companion will tell them in time," Dee reasoned.

"Yes, but what if their companion chooses not to, and just continues on a lonely existence by remaining silent?" Ryo questioned.

"Aren't you full of questions? Maybe I do not want to tell you. You should respect my privacy," Dee informed him.

Ryo continued to follow his master around the grounds once more.

"There's a difference between privacy and just plain hiding," Ryo said.

Dee stopped suddenly and Ryo nearly crashed into him.

**

Up on the cornice, a couple of servants, along with Mother were watching the two men on the grounds below.

"Mother, are you quite sure that the master will not kill him?" a boy with platinum blonde hair inquired.

"Yes, Mother, do you think that the master will put up with his persistent meddling?" a girl spoke worriedly.

"I think that he will, children. Milord has taken quite an interest in this young man," Mother replied, and patted them both on the head. "Do not fret young ones. It is fate that brought him here."

The two children exchanged a worried glance before commencing in watching what was happening down below once more.

**

"Why do you continue to persist your nosiness in this subject?" Dee inquired.

"Well, I would certainly enjoy talking to you more often if you didn't hide yourself like that," Ryo said, crossing his arms.

A silence passed between them once again and when Dee reached his hands out from beneath his cloak, Ryo was afraid that maybe Dee would hit him again. But, he did not. Dee gently pushed the veil back so that Ryo could see his face.

He had a straight, hawk-like nose and very elegant dark eyebrows that could be seen from under a mass of raven tresses. Dee's face was pale and shaped very long, but the skin was beautiful and flawless as if it had never seen a pimple in its lifetime. His eyes, though, were the most expressive. They were a vibrant, emerald green and his pupils were the slits as of a cat; those orbs watched him intently for some sort of reaction.

"I hate to be stared at," Dee commented.

Ryo noticed that Dee had two, long vampire-like fangs on each side of his mouth that seemed to catch his lip when he spoke.

"I-I'm sorry!" Ryo cried, looked down and feeling flustered.

He ventured to look up and saw that Dee had turned away, showing off his pointy, rather elfish-looking ears. Dee reached up a clawed hand and scratched the back of his head in annoyance.

"What are you staring at?" Dee growled, whirling around to glare at the young man behind him.

Ryo smiled slightly.

"It wasn't that hard, now was it?" Ryo asked.

"Huh?" Dee replied, surprised.

"Hmmm. You're one of those people who make things harder than they need to be, aren't you?" Ryo asked, observing Dee closely.

"Wha? Aren't you scared? I'm a horrible demon! Aren't you the least bit frightened?" Dee asked, flabbergasted.

"As long as you don't kill me, I guess I'm not," Ryo replied. "Now let's go inside. It's rather cold out here."

He rubbed his arms for emphasis, and turned to head back inside the castle. About half-way there, Ryo looked back at Dee who was still standing there in total shock.

"Are you coming along with me or are you going to stand out there until you freeze over?" Ryo asked with a small smile.

Dee snapped out of his stupor and followed after Ryo, wondering why the young man did not look at him with disgust or scream and run away. And why, after all that he had done to him, how could Ryo smile through all those bruises? Smile at him no less?

And for the first time, in a long time, Dee felt warm and happy inside.

**

After Talk with The Random Queen:

Okay then. I finally updated. Sorry for the wait, but I had to clean and cook and do laundry. And I've been packing for this family vacation thing or whatever that we've been planning to go on. Plus there's shopping, eating, and sleeping. Along with surfing the net and talking on the phone and bullshitting over at my neighbor's house. Oh. And I'm a BIG procrastinator too. So . . . that was a bad excuse, wasn't it?

About the Characters . . . . .

Yep. Dee finally revealed himself. -glomps him- God! He's so hot. -makes Ryo and Dee plushies do stuff- They're so hot together! And, yes I know that the plot isn't really sticking to the movie all that well. But, it's my fic and I can do whatever I want. And because I'm God and because I said so. Gotta love Ryo and Dee.

I sorta slid Bikky and Carol into this chapter as well. Once again, they're just side characters and they're probably just going to be seen once in a blue moon. Or making out behind a curtain, whatever I come up first.

And yes, Berkley is going to be Gaston (or however you spell it) but I don't think I'm going to kill him at the end. It's not his fault that he's a total ass. But he's a hot ass, so I'll just wound him and have myself (dressed as a nurse) take care of him.

Me: Berkley . . . it's time for your medicine! ^_-

Berkley: -hides- Noooo!

Me: Yessss! -jumps on him and starts to grope- Whoops! My bad there honey!

Berkley: -cries- Someone save me!!!

Me: No one can hear you! -glomps- Ryo and Dee 4eva!

Parting Words and the Bribe:

Alrighty then. You all know the drill. Flames will be used to set fire to this girl's hair who I REALLY don't like. All nice reviewers will get some banana nut bread muffin things. -hoards- They're so good! -passes out peanut butter Keebler things- Thanks for all the reviews!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of updates on Never Had a Boyfriend (if you read it, and if you don't, go and read it so you'll understand this) but I've been having some technical difficulties with my brain!

~The Random Queen

Thanks and see you soon! Love ya all!