Chapter 8: Stranger Chapter 8: Stranger and Disaster

“Wait here. I must speak with the King and Queen,” Lutheus ordered. Nakoda nodded and watched him silently as he left her standing in the middle of the courtyard. The door shut, and she was left alone.

The palace surrounded the courtyard. The path was made from brick in soft shades of gray. The gardens were alive with color; vivid reds, cheerful yellows, calming blues, and bright green plants and flowers thrived in the flowerbeds. Small fishponds with white or lavender water lilies dotted the gardens. A person can really just forget about the world here, Nakoda thought as she closed he eyes.

Something that felt like an electric shock raced up her spine. Nakoda bristled. She was very aware that someone was here, and she was pretty sure that someone wasn’t nice at all. She opened her eyes and turned to see a tall figure dressed in flowing black robes striding towards her. His long black hair hung in a loose ponytail, and a lock of it half covered one of his deep red eyes. He stopped about ten feet away from her and studied her. Nakoda shivered again. She wanted to run desperately, but she was sure he would catch her before she’d gone three steps. And even if she got back into the castle, it was such a maze that she would get hopelessly lost in it.

“Good afternoon,” the man said, bowing deeply to her. He smiled as he straightened up. Nakoda was pretty sure those were fangs instead of teeth. “Who might you be, miss?”

Nakoda hesitated. “What’s the matter? If I tell you my name, will you tell me yours?” Nakoda glanced at the door behind him. If she ran really fast, she might be able to make it. The man saw this and shifted so he was blocking it from her sight completely. “I’m Akuma, the brother of the King. Now, who are you?” He said the last three words with such emphasis that Nakoda couldn’t help but answer, lest she made him angry. “Nakoda,” she said in a small voice.

Akuma smiled. “See? That wasn’t so hard. Now why are you here?” He took a step toward her. Nakoda backed up quickly. She felt like a foal cornered by a cougar. “I don’t have to tell you,” she snapped, more out of fear than anger.

“Very well. Aren’t you the girl who was brought here by a Yuukou?” He stepped forward again. Nakoda shrank back, but nodded. “Poor girl. Such nasty creatures, the Yuukou. By now I’m sure you know His Majesty was betrayed by one.”

Nakoda looked up into those red eyes for a moment. She wanted nothing to do with this man, but her curiosity got the best of her. “What happened?”

A smirk flickered across Akuma’s face, almost to quick for Nakoda to see. It was speedily replaced with a look of remorse. “The King had once named a Yuukou as his advisor, a right-hand-man, so to speak. The Yuukou, what was his name? That’s right, Rohan. At the time, no one knew, but Rohan had pledged his loyalty to an enemy to the crown. During the King’s many trips to confer with neighboring kingdoms, Rohan led him into a trap. My brother managed to escape before he even met the crown’s foe. Still, the Yuukou had proven itself to be a treacherous race. They were banished from the kingdom forever. I was named the King’s advisor in Rohan’s place.”

Rebellion flared in Nakoda. “If they’re so heartless, why did a Yuukou bring me here?” she challenged the man.

“Knowing their kind, it was probably trying to get back into the kingdom through you, to finish off the work Rohan failed to accomplish.”

“Kiana would never betray anyone!” Nakoda stepped forward, her eyes blazing.

Akuma arched an eyebrow, but did not even flinch in the angry stare of the girl. “If you are so sure, where is she now? If this Kiana was truly you’re friend, why did she leave you?”

“She-” Nakoda broke off. Why hadn’t Kiana fought to stay? Maybe Akuma was right. Maybe a Yuukou, just like the king, had betrayed her…

She was saved from having to respond when one of the doors to the courtyard swung open. The King and Queen stepped out into the bright sunlight. Inside they looked elegant; out here they were spectacular.

“My dear brother!” Usagi said, embracing Akuma. From where she was standing, Nakoda saw something flash through Akuma’s eyes. Was it resentment?

--

Nakoda lay tossing and turning in her bed. Her restless mind refused to let sleep come to her. Finally, she gave up. She sat up. At first she thought about putting on her shoes, then decided against it. She would make less noise by walking barefoot.

Nakoda carefully opened up the door to her room. The guard who had been positioned next to it was sound asleep, snoring loudly. She smirked to herself, then started down the hall. She had no idea where she was going, she just felt that she needed to go somewhere. She was certain there was a reason for her need to walk. As she went down the halls, turning at random corners, she reran the same questions over and over through her mind. Had Kiana betrayed her? And what was with Akuma? He behaved like a perfect gentleman, but there was something about him that made her shiver.

She heard voices. Nakoda slowed down and started searching for whoever was talking. She found her way to a nondescript door. She pushed it open and went in, finding it led to old wooden stairs. She closed the door behind her, but not latching it. She stepped carefully down the stairs, willing them not to creak. The voices were much louder now.

“-is disastrous! She could ruin all our plans!” a high keening voice wailed.

Nakoda peeked around a corner into the room. It was lit by several torches that were mounted in the walls. The walls were bare stone, not the beautiful marble the rest of the palace was made from. It was empty, save for a table, a large chair, and the three beings that occupied it.

In the center of the room, a strange reptilian creature was pacing, yelling, him being the obvious cause of the keening screams. She shivered as she realized its eyes were the same belonging to the guard outside the King and Queen’s throne room. Watching the reptilian being with cold, bored eyes was a Yuukou. Rohan! Nakoda realized with terror. And lounging in the chair was Akuma, regarding the humanoid lizard with amusement.

He waved one hand lazily. “Peace, Sen. She won’t be a problem for too long,” he said, silencing the reptiloid.

Rohan flexed his claws. “When does my part come into play, my Lord?”

“Soon enough, my friend. There is no one more anxious then I to reclaim my rightful place as King. Father said I was too ambitious to be king and instead passed my crown to my little brother. Well, in this world, where would you get without ambition?”

“Oh not this story again…” Sen groaned.

“Silence!” bellowed Akuma. A fireball formed in his hand and he flung it at the lizard. Sen yelped and scurried out of the way, but his tail was still singed. “This time the plan will succeed! Their Highnesses,” he sneered, “will soon find out who the traitor was all those years ago.” He turned to Rohan. “Can I trust you this time not to fail me?”

The Yuukou stood and bowed to Akuma. “Yes, my Liege.”

“Good. You and my other subjects may kill as many as you like, especially that Keiba, but you will leave Usagi to me. I wish to spill his blood myself,” Akuma growled.

Nakoda couldn’t help it, she gasped. Instantly, three pairs of eyes swung around to stare at her. Akuma’s face twisted into a snarl. “Get her!” he screamed.

Nakoda bolted for the stairs and scrambled up them, Sen and Rohan right behind her. Her feet hit the polished floor of the halls and she took off down them, marveling at the fact her bare feet offered much better traction then her shoes would’ve. Rohan was not so lucky. He slid and hit the opposite wall, stunned for a moment, but he recovered soon. Sen’s feet were like a gecko’s and he sprinted after her.

He was gaining on her; Nakoda knew it. She leapt up and grabbed the nearest tapestry and tore it down. She flung the piece of cloth at him, tangling him up in it. Before she even had a chance to turn and run again, Rohan sprang. Her head hit the hard floor, stunning her as the Yuukou pinned her down. “We meet again,” he snarled. He gripped her shirt in his teeth and started dragging her down the hall back to his master, pausing momentarily to rip the tapestry apart with one claw, freeing Sen.

Akuma stood at the doorway. “Well done, Rohan.” He knelt down to look Nakoda in the eye. “We have special things planned for you, my dear. And to think, you befriended a Yuukou only to be abandoned by one and brought down by another.” Then he laughed. Nakoda’s blood ran cold.

--

A tawny gold Yuukou lay beneath the stars, resting on a grassy knoll. She licked one paw. Her calm demeanor betrayed the turmoil that was inside her heart. Suddenly, her head shot up and she looked back at the palace. “Nakoda!” Kiana breathed, then got to her paws and took off back the way she had come.