Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Learning to Love ❯ Cursed ( Chapter 7 )

Legal Disclaimer - I claim no ownership over FAKE or any of the related characters. God, I finally believe it when people tell me “Life's a bitch.”

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note - I realized that I didn't get that many reviews on the last chapter. I dunno, did anyone else even read it? You gotta review so I at least know that someone has read it so I can move on with my updates! You do that for me, you get faster updates, longer chapters, shorter waiting time…yes. It's an even trade, don't you agree? Three seconds out of your life can get you a new chapter sooner!! I'm so bribing you all right now….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7 - Cursed

 

 

Mother had turned around with a large bowl of stew for Ryo when she felt a change in the air; a very negative energy that was swirling around the kitchen. She looked over at Ryo and noticed that his posture was very stiff and his face a shade of pure death. Mother took a step closer and she could see that Ryo's eyes were almost black: distant and far away. Then it was as if the darkness faded away; vanished into the oblivion. Ryo's eyes returned to their natural coffee brown again, but his slim frame was shaking horribly.

 

“Are you all right, child?” Mother asked.

 

She was beginning to worry about Ryo. There was something very wrong going on with him. Something was plaguing him. Haunting him. It was a frightening prospect. Was that what Dee was telling her about the previous night?

 

“There's something here in this castle. Something ominous. I don't know what it is or why it's here . . . but whatever it is . . . it cannot be good and it must be stopped . . .”

 

Mother's brow furrowed in thought. The darkness that had settled over the castle a couple days after Ryo arrived.

 

“No . . . it's not Ryo's doing. He is pure,” Mother thought to herself.

 

Then there had been Ryo's mysterious injury and his prolonged illness along with all of the animals becoming restless and agitated. And then there were the roses . . .

 

“Mother…you need to tell me something…” Ryo said, his voice wavering slightly.

 

Mother set the bowl down before him with some bread and took a seat across from Ryo. His head was bowed and his hands were clenched into fists. Tsuki rested her head on his lap; Ryo stroked the wolf's soft fur to soothe both himself and the animal.

 

“Will you tell me?” Ryo asked, looking up at her.

 

“Whatever you would like to know, I will answer within the best of my ability,” Mother replied.

 

“There's a man. Who is he?” Ryo asked, feeling cold.

 

“A man?” Mother repeated, looking at him intently.

 

“Yes, a man. Who is he?” Ryo asked again; a chill ran up his spine.

 

“What does he look like?” she inquired.

 

Tsuki was growling; her head was no longer resting on Ryo's lap. The wolf had ventured towards the center of the kitchen and began to turn around in circles, growling at every shadow in the room. Mother felt a cold draft enter the kitchen and the large fire in the hearth disappeared along with all the candles that had been lit; their flames dispersed.

 

“Blue eyes . . . he has blue eyes . . .” Ryo whispered in the dark.

 

He was meddling. Whoever “he” was didn't like it. In the darkness of the room he could almost feel an unreal, paranormal presence. It was as if Ryo could feel every step as it got closer and closer to him. Tsuki was snarling, her golden eyes flashing dangerously in the dark. Ryo's breath caught in his throat when he heard the sound of a whimper and then a heavy thud. He was looking around helplessly in the dark when he felt someone grab his wrist. At first he thought it was Mother, but when the grip began to burn he knew that it definitely wasn't her.

 

“Who are you?!” Ryo cried, trying to throw his attacker off him.

 

The room suddenly filled with the sound of maniacal laughter, the sound echoing off the stone walls. Ryo was released and then thrown to the cold floor, his shoulder scraping against the uneven bricks and tiles. The laughing subsided and the fire returned to the fireplace along with the flickering flames of the candles. Tsuki whimpered again, limping across the kitchen from a far corner. Ryo shivered violently, his elbow giving out from under him; he lay down on the floor and closed his eyes.

 

“Good heavens! Ryo, darling, are you all right?” Mother asked, rushing to his side.

 

Mother shook his shoulder gently; those dark orbs opened and looked up at her. Never before had she seen anyone so pale before . . .

 

“Mother . . . what . . . what does he want with me?” Ryo whimpered, wincing in pain as he tried to get up.

 

“Was that him?” Mother inquired softly, helping him sit up.

 

“Yes. That is the same presence that has been lingering around me during my days here at this castle,” Ryo answered, holding up his right arm.

 

Mother gasped and made the sign of the Cross at what she saw on Ryo's thin, white wrist: a horrible burn in the shape of a hand. The skin there was charred and turning red quickly; Mother rushed to go get a wet towel. Ryo sat there and stared at his arm, the pain starting to sink in. When Mother returned and put the cloth around his wrist, she told him to apply pressure to it and wait there.

 

He didn't really want to be by himself, but Tsuki came and stood in front of him protectively when Mother disappeared to go and fetch some bandages and medicine. Ryo continued to stare at his arm, still not being able to comprehend what had just happened. Then he looked at his hand where a long scar ran across his palm from when the thorn had been forced into his flesh. Ryo also noted the bruises that decorated his arms; he had been grabbed in his sleep a couple of times.

 

“I need to leave this place . . .” he thought to himself.

 

Images of Dee flashed through his mind and he felt himself flush slightly.

 

“Well . . . I can't just leave, I guess . . .”

 

Who cares about Dee?! He's rude and arrogant and a complete jerk! his mind stubbornly argued. Why are you thinking about the likes of him anyways?!

 

Why was he thinking about his gorgeous green-eyed, dark-haired “master?”

 

“Why am I thinking about him? I mean . . . well . . . he's not a total jerk . . . he did spare my life and everything. And healed my wounds . . .”

 

That he inflicted upon you by the way . . .

 

“And he took care of me when I was ill . . .”

 

How do you know? You were unconscious. For all you know he went sledding!

 

“Dee sledding? Oh yes, and making snowmen too.”

 

Either that or he could have been being a pervert, you know . . . taking advantage of you while you slept and other immoral things like that!

 

“E-ew! No way! He'd never do that!” Ryo argued self-consciously while flushing crimson.

 

There was some hesitation there. Would you actually want something to happen between you two?

 

Ryo's eyes widened. Did he want something to happen between them? Images of a night lit only by candles filled his mind as he and Dee lay on a couch before a fire, sharing a glass of wine and . . . other things . . .

 

“Now, just hold out your arm, dear,” a voice dragged him out of his thoughts.

 

Ryo complied, bowing his head. At that point in time he didn't know which burned more, his face or his wrist. Or maybe it was a certain area down in his pants . . .

 

“Oh, my. Ryo, darling, are you becoming ill again? Your face is very flushed,” Mother said worriedly, touching his forehead with her hand.

 

“I'm okay,” Ryo replied, trying to assure her with a small smile while pushing all of his previous thoughts out of his head; he could sort out his emotions later.

 

She finished up the final touches on his bandages and closed the small box that she had brought with her. Mother set it up on the table before helping him to stand up; he swayed slightly and took his seat. Ryo looked back down at his arm.

 

“Please, Mother. Tell me who he is and why he wants me,” Ryo said quietly, his voice wavering with a barely restrained anger.

 

“Why don't you eat up and I will explain everything. You really need to eat,” Mother adverted the question as she forced a smile.

 

Ryo looked up at her, those eyes boring into her own. And in that moment she could see that he needed to know. He needed to know what plagued his nightmares, what followed behind him in every corridor, what hurt him so badly . . . Ryo needed some answers. And he needed them right at that moment. She took his hands into her own weather-beaten ones and gave them a small squeeze.

 

“Come with me,” Mother said, releasing his hands.

 

Mother led him and Tsuki down a narrow hallway and up another brick staircase. They found themselves behind a royal blue tapestry; Mother pushed it away and continued on her way. Ryo noticed that her step was quick and suspicious, as if she were afraid of being caught by someone. Tsuki even seemed to be on the look-out, moving her head back and forth while jumping at small noises. The air in general seemed to be thick with something that Ryo couldn't quite name, though the word seemed to be on the tip of his tongue.

 

They stopped outside of a large door with twin brass handles shaped like dragons. Rubies, emeralds, and other treasured gems were imbedded in their surfaces. Mother pulled open the door and looked up and down the corridor before stepping inside; Ryo followed closely behind with Tsuki in the lead.

 

Ryo looked around the room that they were currently occupying. There was a large fireplace on the far wall and there was a great bookcase that went all the way up to the ceiling. The floor was covered in an elegant rug while the furniture was rustic and antique in appearance; yet the whole room was very classy and smart. Mother took a seat in a large red chair before the fire and Tsuki lay at her feet. Ryo took a seat on the floor next to Tsuki, stroking her soft fur to comfort himself.

 

Mother looked at him with a very serious expression; the fire dancing in the hearth behind him illuminated her stoic features. Her lips were drawn in a thin line while her brow was furrowed causing her forehead to become even more wrinkled than it was before. Ryo noticed that she fingered the golden cross around her neck with her stubby fingers.

 

“It was such a long time ago it seems . . .” she murmured, looking distantly at something to Ryo's right.

 

When she said nothing more to this and Ryo was beginning to feel uncomfortable, he asked:

 

“What seems like such a long time ago?”

 

She looked at him, her dark eyes flickering with something that Ryo, once again, could not place.

 

“Ryo . . . do you know anything about curses?” Mother inquired.

 

“Curses?” Ryo repeated; his face blank. Mother sighed before beginning.

 

“A curse can be born in one of three ways: a person who dies in either a state of pure terror or in a blind rage of fury. The last and final way is for a person to die with enough hate and malice within themselves that it completely takes over the human soul and devours it, keeping it bound to this World and not the Next. Whichever way a curse is born, this being is can take out its fury and hatred on all those who it wishes to blame for its death,” Mother explained with forlorn.

 

Ryo just sat there for a moment, soaking in all the information that Mother had just told him. It was hard to believe in something as farfetched as curses.

 

“But . . . but what does this have to do with me?” Ryo asked, meeting her dark eyes.

 

“The man who haunts you is Arnon,” Mother replied.

 

Obviously this was supposed to have some sort of effect on him. But Ryo had never heard of this man and he couldn't even begin to fathom why this accursed being would want with him.

 

“But who is he? I've never heard of him before,” Ryo said, confused.

 

“Ah, it was so long ago. So very long ago,” Mother replied, lacing her fingers together.

 

“Then why am I tangled up in all of this if I wasn't even born yet?” Ryo asked, feeling suddenly angry.

 

“Oh, I believe that you were born when all of this happened. Do you not remember anything strange in your childhood at all?” Mother inquired.

 

“I . . .” Ryo said.

 

He thought hard for a moment. Ryo couldn't remember much about his childhood. It was all a blur of summers and winters passed with his ill mother in a small hut on the outskirts of the village. Nothing really prominent stood out in his memory though he remembered smelling blueberries . . .

 

“No . . . I lived far from the village. Even if something did happen, I wouldn't have remembered it anyways,” Ryo replied; he could have sworn he saw Mother's eyes twinkling in the firelight.

 

Was she smiling?

 

“But what does this have to do with curses? With this Arnon person?” Ryo asked.

 

Mother sighed and leaned back in her chair, folding her hands across her lap.

 

“It was twenty-four years ago. Oh, my. Twenty-four years it has been since that fateful day,” Mother began.

 

Ryo sat his posture straight and his form rapt with attention. He wanted to catch every word that she said.

 

“Yes, twenty-four years ago. I knew a man. Actually, he was merely a boy back then. Hair the colour of the Darkness itself, eyes that matched the forest and grass, and his skin, oh so tan and golden. Ah, yes. He wanted to grow up so fast, prove to the world that he was worth something more than just the product of a poor family who had to give him up at birth. Yes, he worked very hard at what he did, a Blacksmith by trade and a very gifted one at that. Oh me, oh my, so very gifted.”

 

“Dee?” Ryo ventured to ask; Mother nodded and continued.

 

“And then one day, a strange man appeared. Very strange indeed. He was a Healer, if you will. He had a very strange gift, that he did. So much energy he did possess. It was hard to believe that this man, who looked so much like a boy, had enough Magik within him to send a soul straight to the depths of Hell if he chose. Ah, yes. His face was fair as the finest marble, those locks the colour of the shining sun above, and those eyes, oh those eyes, matching the far seas around this region.”

 

“Arnon?” Ryo asked; Mother nodded again.

 

“Yes, yes indeed. Their paths crossed thrice within the period of four and twenty hours and Dee was very much smitten by this visitor to the village of Bellwicket.”

 

“Bellwicket? So Dee used to live where I live?” Ryo inquired, confused.

 

“Ah yes, many a years passed he did so. And those many a years passed, many things happened. Dee and Arnon became more than just companions. Oh yes. They became lovers the both of them, that they did. Their love was surrounded by mistrust and rumors. The town believed that Arnon was the devil himself-”

 

Mother made the sign of the Cross once more; the fire in the hearth flickered slightly, the tips of the flames licking at the brick fireplace, the smell of the burning wood giving Ryo a sense of peace that he missed greatly.

 

“-and they might have been right. Arnon indeed was full of a power that not even the greatest knew of. He was powerful and feared; for a while I believe Dee to be possessed by Arnon, until I met him. Arnon was beautiful, gifted, and free-spirited. He loved life and everything in this world. He did all he could for the greater good, but had to flee town from town so that he would not be executed for being a witch.

 

“But Arnon did not leave the town of Bellwicket. He remained with Dee and they remained lovers. Only sometimes would they leave Dee's small home and come here-”

 

She gestured around the room, indicating the castle.

 

“So this is really Arnon's home?” Ryo asked in awe.

 

“Actually, this was the castle of the Laskody family. Arnon inherited it when his family died off, for they all possessed such great spiritual power and were thought to be witches. The Laskody Castle was to be a safe retreat for any of the family to hide within when they were in danger; the place is bewitched to have an eerie fog about it so that everything remains hidden to those looking for it.”

 

“So, because I wasn't looking for the castle . . . I found it?” Ryo wondered.

 

“Oh, dear me, no. There is something greater in all of this. Something far more complex than you just happening to stumble across this manor.”

 

“What do you-”

 

“I will get to that, child. Please be patient.”

 

Ryo remained silent after she said this.

 

“Yes, so sometimes both Arnon and Dee would flee to the castle in the dead of night and stay away for weeks at a time to be safe. Soon, they were staying for whole seasons, almost all year after that. But Dee was becoming too distant. He was so wrapped up in Arnon, he was forgetting what he loved to do. And he forgot all of his hardships, living in the empty castle with Arnon was all he did. All they did was be together. Every waking moment of every waking day.

 

“He was drifting out of my reach, and I was afraid for Dee. He had grown up in my orphanage and he normally came to see all the children at least twice a week. But he stopped. He became so absorbed that he forgot about me. I confronted him once when he did come. Dee became angry, but then realized that I was right and went home that evening.

 

“The next day, the orphanage had burned down. Everyone, but myself and two of the children, perished in the flames. Who could have done such an unspeakable act? Who would torch a poor orphanage run by the Church? Who would hurt such innocents? The only one to possess that much power, if indeed it was done by magik, was Arnon. I became somewhat angry at this. Why would he hurt the children? Was it because I was trying to break both he and Dee apart?

 

“That's when I decided that there must be much more to the story, to the man named Arnon, than I thought. Perhaps when he became angry . . . things happened? Horrible things would happen if you got in his way? However, he was not cold to me that day. He was sympathetic and offered myself and the two orphans residence in this castle.

 

“When we arrived here, it was very alive. It was not like it is now. It was bright and bathed in white light. The moor was not at eerie as it is now. It was well taken care of. There were gardens and animals. Flowers bloomed everywhere. The inside was so rich with culture and literature from all around the world.

 

“Indeed, it was beautiful, but as a nun of the Church, it was my duty to rebuild the orphanage for those children without homes. I approached Dee once more, that I would have to leave. He was upset, for he wanted me to stay. And I believe that Arnon was angry with me because I made Dee upset. I could not leave after that. It was as if both I and the children were bound to this wretched place. Over the weeks at the castle, Arnon would talk with me. He would always question me about Dee's loyalty to him and I would always reply with the same answer: that Dee would never betray him ever.

 

“Arnon was a very good person, his heart was always in the right place, however, I don't think he understood that you couldn't manipulate other people to make yourself and those around you happy. The other servants of the castle, I believe, also were bound to the castle like myself, for they could not leave the gates as I could not. We were his playthings, if you will, in a giant dollhouse that he controlled.

 

“Soon after that, Arnon and Dee went back to the village. It would be their last time, for there was nothing that would be holding Dee back any longer. And that day, Dee went into the town pub and was drugged with a mild sleeping sedative in his draft. Whilst he slept, the townspeople managed to tie Arnon up in the town square and proceeded to burn him at the stake for his witchery. Dee woke just in time to run out of the pub and see his love burn so brutally . . .

 

“And with the last bit of his strength, Arnon cursed Dee with all he had, turning him into a terrible beast. Arnon felt so betrayed to a point that even this household was cursed as well. He cried to Dee as he died-”

 

As Mother was about to finish, the flames flickered dangerously low and the shadows in the room seemed to speak for her:

 

Die you will with a heart of pure steel and the face of the Devil, Lucifer, himself for your strayed loyalty! Until the full moon of five and twenty years in future time you will have to change-to love. And if you cannot, as you cannot for you are the Devil himself, you shall be banished into eternal Damnation!

 

The flames returned to their normal size in the hearth, yet Ryo shivered involuntarily. Tsuki was growling in his lap, tense and ready to pounce if the voice should take an embodiment.

 

“And then it was so. We were cursed. This place was cursed. And until the next full moon do we have, does he have, to learn to love or else all of our souls shall be damned for all of eternity,” Mother said, looking pointedly at him.

 

They sat in silence, Ryo determined to look anywhere else in the room besides Mother. And, looking at the far wall, trying to decipher the title on a large volume in the case asked:

 

“How long until the next full moon?”

 

“Four weeks,” Mother replied, as if waiting for him to ask that.

 

Ryo continued to stare at the far wall. That's when something stirred in his memory. In his dreams, after he received that wound from the rose Arnon gave to him.

 

Yes…sleep…sleep deeply until the first night of the full moon . . .

 

Ryo looked down at his hand and ran a finger down the white scar that ran diagonally across the center of his palm; it still burned. His brow furrowed in thought. Why would he want Ryo to sleep until then?

 

“Mother . . . he . . . Arnon, that is, told me . . . he told me `sleep deeply until the first night of the full moon' right before I woke up today. Is tonight the full moon?” Ryo asked, finally looking her in the eye; she suddenly looked uncomfortable.

 

“Nay, last night was the night of the full moon,” Mother explained softly.

 

“Mother . . .?” Ryo asked.

 

Why was she looking away from him now?

 

“Last night . . . last night was indeed the night of the full moon. And something . . . something disturbing happened within your chambers.” She made the sign of the Cross.

 

“I was asleep; what happened?” Ryo asked.

 

“We believe . . . we believe that Arnon tried to possess you. You were thrashing about and screaming . . . oh, it was so frightening. We had to tie you down you know . . .” Mother continued.

 

Ryo looked down at his non-bandaged wrist and could make out a bruise that went around from the front of his hand to the back. And all those bruises on his arms . . . Ryo touched his upper arm gently and winced inwardly.

 

“Dee held you down too . . . he was very pale, so very pale. And your eyes . . .”

 

Ryo saw her shudder in the darkness of the room.

 

“Yes, well . . . you went silent after a while and the dark presence disappeared. We didn't know what to do . . . and we agreed that we wouldn't tell you . . . Dee was going to . . . but I think you've been kept in the dark too long . . . so I . . .”

 

He looked up at her. Suddenly, there was such a fire of anger building up within him that he surprised himself by standing upright quickly; Tsuki jumped out of his lap and was up on all fours ready to pounce at will. Ryo clenched his fists by his sides and gritted his teeth to keep from yelling.

 

“What does he want with me? Why does he want me?” Ryo managed to get out calmly.

 

She looked at him with an expression akin to pity before lowering her eyes.

 

“I do not know. I do not know.”

 

 

 

ppddppsp

 

 

 

Ryo left the room sometime later and let his feet take him down different corridors and hallways and staircases and passageways. He had no idea how he ended up at the grand, twin doors that led to the outside of the castle without getting lost. He reached for the handle without even hesitating, feeling once more as if he were watching the whole scene through another pair of eyes.

 

He walked out onto the grounds, Tsuki following close behind him. The snow crunched beneath his feet when he walked. The only sounds in the courtyard were his steps and the panting of the wolf beside him. Ryo stopped and looked up at the grey sky, thinking about all the information that he just absorbed.

 

Possession? But why? What did I do to this Arnon? I've never even heard of him!

 

Ryo sighed and continued to walk, Tsuki trotted behind him, wagging her great black tail. Her ears perked up at the sound from a nearby bush where a rabbit jumped from one shrub to the other. Tsuki bolted and ran after it, barking and yipping as she went, seemingly happy to be outside stretching her legs. Ryo felt a smile tug at his lips.

 

He sat down in the snow and watched as Tsuki continued to run after the smaller animal, not wanting to hurt it, but to play with it. Ryo smiled for real and leaned back to lie in the snow, listening to the sounds of Tsuki's happy barks and yelps around him. Still looking at the sky, Ryo continued to think.

 

Dee and the others will be damned forever if I don't do something . . . what could I do? To break this curse, what could I possibly do? I don't know magik or anything! I mean, really! What do they expect me to do? Do they all really expect me to save them?

 

Ryo's brow furrowed as he closed his eyes.

 

How could I save them? I mean, if this is some serious dark magik, what's to say that I won't die in the process? What if they are really behind all this magik and they just want my soul or something evil like the storytellers in town used to tell us kids? What do they really expect from me?

 

Ryo sighed; he felt a snowflake flutter and land on his nose. And then another on his cheek. Another on his lower lip. His eyelashes flickered and then his eyes opened, expecting to be gazing upon the darkened sky once more. However, he was met with another pair of eyes. Not the dark eyes of Mother, nor the ice blue eyes of Arnon. No, they were like emeralds.

 

He looked up to Dee's face and saw that his jaw relaxed some at his conscious state. Those dark locks fell before his eyes and that gaze seemed to soften some. Ryo couldn't understand this. Just that morning, Dee had been so cold with him, and now he was looking at him so . . . gently . . .

 

Dee's lips parted, as if he were about to speak, but no sound came out. Ryo mimicked him, parting his own lips, but actually managing to speak to Dee.

 

“Um. Hello,” Ryo said, flushing slightly.

 

Dee looked down at him, watching as those pink lips spoke so softly and then at the pale blush that stained Ryo's fair skin. He looked so beautiful lying there in the snow, like an angel. But for a brief moment, it was as if his heart had just stopped. All Dee saw was that Ryo was lying in the snow, not moving and presumably dead, and he felt like all the happiness he had ever felt just melted away. But when those dark eyes opened to gaze upon his face, the weight in his stomach lessened some and he felt himself wanting to smile with relief. Ryo was alive. Thank the Gods.

 

“Hello,” Dee replied.

 

His voice was so deep and rich and comforting to Ryo. Did Dee know that he now knew everything? Would he be angry? Ryo sat up and brushed some snow off himself. His white collared shirt was something that he should not have been wearing out in the snow; he was soaked to the bone. Involuntarily shivering, Ryo turned to face Dee.

 

“Here,” Dee said, taking off his cloak and wrapping it around Ryo's slender frame.

 

“Thank you,” Ryo murmured, pulling it closer to him.

 

They sat there for a moment, the snow serenely falling around them. Every now and then one of them would look up but then turn away, flushing a shade of crimson. Ryo ventured a look at Dee's profile. That straight nose and those full lips. Such fair skin he had and those eyes . . . oh, those eyes he could just get lost in. Ryo felt so warm in his presence, so . . . safe.

 

Without thinking, Ryo reached out a slender hand and touched one of Dee's clawed ones; he started at the contact but did not pull away. Ryo looked up into his eyes that were questioning his antics. Staring back into those emerald depths, Ryo could see all of the hardships and struggles in his life. Ryo could see all the pain . . . the suffering . . . the loneliness. And he felt a sudden urge within himself to do everything in his power to make Dee never feel that way again.

 

Ryo leaned forward, resting his head on Dee's muscular shoulder, his hand still on Dee's. Dee himself was surprised at the sudden gesture. He felt Ryo turn his head on his shoulder; Dee could now feel the gentle caress of Ryo's eyelashes when he would blink. He could also feel the warmth of Ryo's breath on his neck when he would breathe. He felt his fingers tingling where Ryo's hand was over his own. Had he ever felt such an emotion? He didn't know what to call it. It was an inner protectiveness that he was feeling. Dee couldn't help but smile inwardly. He really liked that feeling.

 

“Did you love him?”

 

Ryo's small question took Dee by surprise. He chose not to answer. Ryo must have sensed that he did not want to reply to his question; he did not press any further. And they continued to sit like that in the snow, just being in each others presence.

 

“I . . .”

 

Dee turned his head to the side when Ryo started to speak.

 

“Yes?”

 

Ryo squeezed his hand before wrapping both of his arms around Dee's neck, his long, slender fingers finding their way into his dark locks. Dee froze up; he didn't like to be touched. But . . . this was okay. He somehow wasn't so bothered by it, just surprised. Dee kind of . . . liked it. Ryo was warm against him. How long had it been since he'd held another close to him?

 

“I'll do whatever it takes,” Ryo murmured softly in his ear.

 

“For what?” Dee asked, as equally soft.

 

But Dee knew what Ryo was talking about. The curse. Arnon. Everything. And he knew that Ryo knew that he understood what he meant. Dee closed his eyes and allowed himself to smile for the first time in ages as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around Ryo. But as the time passed his embrace became more natural and Dee was holding Ryo to his chest, hoping that he would never have to let go.

 

“Thank you.”

 

And above them, the sun peeked out from behind the mass of grey clouds and shone down on the two of them.

 

 

pppdpdpdp

 

After Talk with The Random Queen:

 

Yeahuh! I finally got all this shit done! Oh yeah! -does Ace Ventura impression- Can you feel that honey?! I have exorcised the demons! This house is clear. Heh heh, okay then. Sorry for the late update or whatever. But omg, I've had so much shit floating around. But I finally got good and grounded so I can update more often. Oh, and I just watched that Exorcist beginning movie so I have some really cool ideas now! I'm so psyched that my muse finally returned! I really want to write this fic now! I might go on to the next chapter if I'm lucky! But I doubt it because I have a lot of math homework to do -_-;; But maybe I can write tomorrow night and get something up by the end of the week?!!

 

About the Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Yessir. I finally got the chapter out that's got the whole story!!! Who's da boss now?! Yes, and I got a mushy Dee/Ryo scene in there. Wasn't it cute? I didn't get to a Berkley and town scene in there because it got too long so . . . ek . . . sorry about that! I didn't get to all the finer points on the curse yet, about how those under the curse don't age and everything and all the rest of it. But, there's always the next chapter! Well, yeah . . . I think that's all I have to say! Whee…!

 

 

Parting Words and The Bribe:

 

Okaaaay. I got this out, so you know what to do! Write a nice review and you guys will get a new chapter and these little Shamrock cookie things that I made (and, yes, they are edible and not burnt) but if you guys decide to flame this really crappy story, I'll be really sad. Oh, and maybe I can get someone to kick your ass…or give you a nasty virus or something! Oooooh. I'll send you SPAM! MUHAhAhAhAhahAhAa -coughcough- Eck. I choked on my mint….

 

 

 

Please review!!! Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

~The Random Queen

 

 

~~Thanks and see you soon!!!