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Shattered Illusions	By : dragonphire99 Category: +. to F > FAKE Views: 6374 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own FAKE, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
FAKE

Shattered Illusions

by Lady Dragonphire

Summary: When
Ryo, a vengeful assassin, is sent to kill Dee, the sovereign of a kingdom, can
they discover love amongst the driving forces that rule their hearts?

Disclaimer:
FAKE and its characters are the property of Sanami Matoh.

Warning: Angst,
mild Het Lime, Character Death

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 7.
Bitter Vengeance

Dee�s striking emerald eyes flew open
the next morning as consciousness abruptly returned to him. He bolted upright in his huge bed, causing
the silk sheets to fall away from his sleekly toned body. The sudden movement made his mind reel. He closed his vibrant green eyes and breathed
deeply until the dizziness had subsided.
�How long had he been out for?� Dee wondered as he focused on his
surroundings and leaned back against his pillows. The last thing that he remembered was holding
Ryo close to him, begging him to stay, and then� darkness.

With this realization, Dee quickly threw off the remaining
covers, his eyes frantically searching around the room for the shy honey-blond
assassin. The only remnant of Ryo�s
presence in the castle from the night before was the white silk robe that he
had been wearing, now lying carefully folded on the side of the bed where his
body should have been. Dee reverently picked up the robe and
brought it up against his face, closing his emerald eyes and breathing in
deeply. With his eyes closed, he could
almost imagine that Ryo was still beside him.
Ryo, the gorgeous fair-haired assassin with the gentle
smile and the dusting of a soft blush that more often than not stained his
cheeks. Now Ryo was but an
ephemeral memory, although Dee was certain that he would never forget him. Sadly lowering his long eyelashes across his
eyes seemingly to shield the depths of his emotions, he knew that Ryo would
never again return to him.

�Could he have done more to
persuade him to stay?� Dee thought, filled with grief. No, he had done everything in his power to convince
Ryo to remain with him, but the assassin had remained steadfast on
leaving. Running his hands through his
thick ebony tresses and sighing deeply in resignation, Dee slipped out of his black silk
robe. From his wardrobe, he selected
black leather pants and a black leather vest that lay open, revealing his
finely sculpted chest and firm abdomen.
He pulled on black boots and draped a long cloak across his broad
shoulders, tying it at the neck. Dee needed to take a walk in order to
clear his mind before he could focus on the matters of
his kingdom at hand, such as how to deal with Rose now that he knew where his
campsite was. Dee�s men were more than willing to
draw the enemy into battle and were counting on their ruler to come up with a
strategy that would not fail. The
manipulative warlord had to be punished for his transgressions against the
crown and its people and for robbing Dee of a chance to be with Ryo. Dee pictured Ryo�s handsomely angelic face as he saw himself
drowning in the depths of Ryo�s kind imploring eyes, caressing his soft
tempting lips gently with his own, sliding his tongue in and tasting Ryo�s
succulent hot mouth that beckoned him wordlessly. Dee sighed despondently and shook his head to clear this line
of thought. He had to get away from this
room full of memories before they consumed his soul with sadness, grief, and
regret.

A sharp knock at the door of his
bedchamber caused the raven-haired sovereign to be abruptly brought out of his
thoughts. Sliding his sword securely
into its scabbard that was draped on a belt across his trim waist, Dee bade the person to enter in a
clear, strong voice. He reluctantly
returned the robe that Ryo had worn into the trunk where it had come from. Concealing his emotions from the world with a
brave smile, Dee confidently turned around to
confront the person who wished to speak with him.

Drake pulled open the heavy door
and entered with a beautiful peasant woman following closely behind him. She wore a form-fitting dress with a
practically nonexistent neckline that accentuated her feminine attributes to
their fullest. The material covering her
lower body displayed enticing slits that ran up the sides of her long legs and
ended at her hips, revealing a pair of thigh-hugging boots and a hint of her
soft curves that lay underneath the fabric.
Despite the daring appearance of her outfit, her clothes were slightly
rumpled and torn and there was a smudge of dirt across her cheek. Her long blonde hair hung in slight disorder
as it framed her pretty face. However,
she was still a sight to behold as she opened her sapphire eyes wide in a show
of wonder, gratitude, and innocence. She
hesitantly stepped out from behind Drake and bowed slightly to Dee, her eyes never leaving his.

As she looked up at Dee, Diana�s sharp blue eyes took in
the darkly handsome man�s attractive features and she smiled to herself. She would not have to deceive her heart
during her seduction as much as she had previously thought. The way Dee carried himself, his stance, and
his deep penetrating eyes emanated a hint of familiarity that vaguely reminded
her of someone, although she couldn�t say who.
She looked around the room, shrewdly taking in every detail that she
could use to her advantage in her mission as Drake walked over to Dee and spoke to him softly. �This is Diana. I happened across her when my troops and I
were patrolling the kingdom�s borders.
Her village was attacked by a rival clan and she fled with nothing more
than the clothes on her back and a small travel bag packed for such occasions
of having to depart in haste from her village.
She has nowhere to go and is willing to work for food and shelter. I offered her a position in the palace, but
told her that you would have the final decision concerning her employment.�

Dee nodded his head as he acknowledged
Drake�s explanation, his eyes taking in Diana�s beauty as she stood to one side
of his bed with her hands clasped behind her back. Lowering his voice so that Diana couldn�t
hear him and stepping closer to Dee, Drake spoke suggestively. �You know, I�m more than willing to bet that
she�ll offer her services in other ways too.
I know you, Dee. Something�s not
right. When was the last time you�ve had
someone of this caliber in your bed?
Maybe this will get you out of your depression,� he hinted. Despite his lighthearted implications, Drake
was genuinely worried about Dee. He had noticed a
subtle change in the fiery raven-haired man in the past few days, although he
did not know what to attribute it to. He
figured that Dee would benefit from a woman�s
companionship, losing himself in the entanglement of
limbs under the sheets and driving away the melancholy thoughts that plagued
his mind.

�Yeah, maybe,� Dee said
distractedly, his mind wandering to the night when the gorgeous honey-blond
assassin�s body had lain pressed against his flesh and wrapped within his
arms. His kind-hearted Ryo, the man he
shared a deep inexplicable connection with, was now gone forever. Dee had not even gotten a chance to say goodbye. Maybe Drake was right. Maybe this Diana was the delicious
distraction that he needed to put the memory of Ryo behind him. Dee needed to be able to focus on what his kingdom needed and
to be able to rule and make decisions with a clear mind. However, he knew that his heart could never
allow his mind to forget the person who had affected the very core of his soul
so definitively despite their short time spent together.

Diana, meanwhile, was smiling to
herself as she continued to survey the room, calculating her next move. It had been almost too easy to convince the
royal soldier to take her in. She had
concocted a foolproof story. Rose had
received word from an informant that a village on the border had been
plundered, and that Dee�s
border patrol would be able to correlate the time of her arrival with that of
the other refugees seeking shelter from the magnanimous ruler. She started slightly in surprise at
recognizing the dagger that Rose had given Ryo lying on Dee�s bedside table. So, the honey-blond assassin had tried to
complete his mission after all. It had
not been a total lie. In that instant,
Diana almost felt sorry for what Ryo had to endure. Then she remembered his reasons for defying
Rose and his accusations against the warlord.
Rose was right. Traitors had to
be rooted out and punished at all costs.
There was no room for defiance in the code of an assassin. Ryo had tainted his honor by questioning his
superior and taking matters into his own hands.
Diana frowned in contemplation.
Although she would never betray Rose or think of going against his
wishes, the seed of doubt had been planted in her mind as she reflected over
Ryo�s actions concerning this mission and his last words to her before she had
handed him over to Rose�s punishment.
Ryo knew the consequences of questioning Rose�s judgment and still he
stood firm in his convictions that Dee was not a murderer until the very end,
his body collapsing in protest but his mind unwavering in the fact that he had
made the right decision. Just what kind
of a man was this Dee
that he could so vastly alter the determination of the emotionless assassin who
was bent on vengeance for his family at all costs? Diana was determined to find out before she
killed him.

Dee noticed the fleeting glimpses of
emotion playing across Diana�s face as she stood across the room. His emerald eyes suddenly narrowed as he saw
her appraisal of the dagger on his bedside table. Was it his imagination, or did a flicker of
recognition cross her face before it was replaced by a villager�s obvious
distaste for any kind of weaponry?
Whatever it was, it warranted further investigation. There was more to the sultry siren than initially
met the eye. Focusing on the man
standing before him, Dee
smiled devilishly and winked, a hint of lust present
in his voice as he confided in Drake, �You know, Drake, maybe I will take you
up on your advice. Leave us. I will deal with the details of the �interview�
for her position.�

Drake grinned broadly,
glad that he could be the one to find a possible solution to Dee�s loneliness. He was sure that Diana would be able to help Dee forget about what was troubling
him. The opportunity had seemed too good
to be true, a beautiful woman alone and in need of
comfort after enduring the horrors of an attack on her village. However, her story had checked out with the
other soldiers patrolling the border.
Drake felt that Dee would be in no real danger from this innocent villager,
save getting his heart broken. As he
bowed and departed Dee�s
bedchamber, closing the door silently behind him, he had no idea how wrong he
was�

Diana captured Dee�s emerald gaze as she
flirtatiously batted her dark eyelashes at him and coyly twirled a strand of
her long blonde hair around one finger, letting it slip through her grasp to
fall softly across her shoulder. She
pushed her chest out and shifted her weight to one foot, slanting her hips and
letting the soft material of her dress fall away from one sleek leg invitingly
before walking over to stand before Dee. Dee moved closer to her and offered
her his hand as he took in her figure appreciatively. �So, what kind of position were you
interested in?� Dee
asked as he grasped Diana�s hand firmly.

�I think I rather like you in this
one,� Diana purred as she took her other hand and placed it lightly on Dee�s broad chest, feeling it rise and
fall underneath her fingertips with each breath that he took. She pushed him away from her forcefully,
causing him to let go of her hand in surprise and fall backwards onto the soft
bed. Diana leaned down over him, her
lush hair cascading across his chest in a tickling caress. Dee moved backwards until he was up against his pillows,
unsure of her intentions. He did not
want to take advantage of this woman when she had just been through the tragedy
of losing her home, no matter how much he needed physical comfort to mend his
wounded heart. However, Diana had other
ideas. She was determined to put his
mind at ease and make her intentions clear.
There was no turning back now.

Dee raised his eyebrows as Diana
climbed on top of him and straddled his hips.
If she was determined to have her way with him, he would embrace the
fa�ade until he could discover her true purpose. �Well,� he said, recovering quickly, �I see
that you aim to please.� He paused
before putting a question to the persistent blonde who was now running her
tongue across her pouty lips as she simultaneously
toyed with the material of his vest, pushing it aside to reveal more of Dee�s toned chest as she gazed
invitingly into his gorgeous emerald depths.

�Who did you work for in your
village? What was your trade?� Dee asked,
trying to keep her focused on the reason for the interview before he ended up
doing something that he might regret. He hoped that by getting her to feel
comfortable talking to him, she would disclose more of
her past to him. Despite her seductive
advances, Dee felt that there was an ulterior
motive for her having infiltrated the castle.
The look resonating behind her eyes was one of determination to
succeed. Underneath her confident
bedside manner, he felt that she truly needed to be comforted, to fill a void
in her heart that was evident by looking deep into her eyes, despite what her
body was telling him. However, he knew
that he was not the one that she wanted to fill that void.

�I have many talents. I�m sure that I will be able to accommodate
any of your needs that arise,� Diana promised, her voice dripping with lust as
she suddenly leaned down and captured Dee�s lips between her own, gently
nibbling on his lower lip before pulling it between her teeth and running her
tongue across the pliant flesh, enveloping it completely into her hot mouth as
her hand ran across Dee�s flat stomach and traveled lower to teasingly rub
against the front of his pants, stroking his impressive length beneath the
material. Dee felt a jolt of electricity pass
through him. She was good. Not as good as when he had kissed Ryo, but good for a distraction.
However, he was determined to show her that two could play at this game
of seduction that their bodies were wholeheartedly responding to.

Dee parted his lips and pushed his
tongue against Diana�s soft lips, causing her to moan as he finally thrust his
tongue inside to claim her mouth fully.
The kiss was fierce, impassioned, but lacking in any real conviction
other than physical gratification for them both, each desperately determined to
find a weakness to use against the other, resolute to gain the upper hand and
shatter all harbored preconceived defenses.

Dee broke the kiss and Diana pressed
her moist lips against his neck, lapping at the tender exposed flesh as she
moved lower to lavish attention on his rising and falling chest. She swirled her tongue across his taut nipples
as he entwined his fingers in her long blonde hair. Dee drew in a sharp breath as he tightened his grasp and
arched his back, but he forced himself to concentrate despite the pleasurable
sensations inundating his body.

Dee ran his hands expertly down Diana�s
sides, causing her to shiver with anticipation as her own chest began to heave,
her breathing quickening in excitement, finding the comfort of his powerful
masculine aura sensually intoxicating. Dee was good. As good as Berkley, perhaps even
better. However, this man displayed a heated passion
that she had never experienced with Berkley before, despite her attempts to
convince her mind and heart otherwise.
Maybe if things were different, if she had never met Berkley, Diana could abandon all defenses and
really let herself fall for him.

Dee�s strong hands grasped her hips as
he pressed their bodies together and rolled on top of Diana, pinning her
underneath him as his powerful thighs rested against her legs. She smiled and pulled his head down to execute
another fiery kiss against the raven-haired man�s bruised lips. Gone was any reluctance or inhibition.

Still locked in the kiss, Dee slid his fingers under the slit of
her skirt and ran his hands up her thighs, ghosting her sensitive flesh with light
caresses. Diana brought one hand to rest
on Dee�s shoulder while the other one
inched its way under the pillows on Dee�s bed. �Mmmm,� Diana encouraged as Dee�s stroking fingers went
higher. She began to run her hand
underneath the pillow as if she was searching for something. Diana grinned triumphantly against Dee�s lips as her hand closed around a
small dagger that rested beneath one of the pillows. At the same time, Dee�s hand closed around the dagger
that was holstered in a sheath on Diana�s upper thigh. They simultaneously drew the weapons and
placed them against each other�s throats as they broke the
kiss, panting slightly but each possessing a fiery determination.

Diana smiled in amusement as they
held their stance and caught their breaths, her eyes never breaking contact
with Dee�s as she gazed at him with a
mixture of astonishment and respect. No
man had ever been able to resist her charms before. She had always been able to disarm them
completely and render them utterly defenseless after they had spent themselves
in the throes of passion. �How did you
know that I was carrying a weapon?� she asked, amazed.

�Instinct,� Dee replied bluntly, wisps of raven
hair falling across his handsome features.
�I suspected that you were an assassin.
How did you know that there would be a dagger underneath my pillow?� he
returned, his brilliant green eyes flashing.

�I�ve occupied the beds of many
warlords. All of them kept a small
weapon underneath their pillows within easy reach. They would never risk the chance of anyone
catching them off guard, even while they were asleep,� Diana replied
unabashedly.

Dee was quick to recover as he looked
at Diana harshly, all traces of his previous teasing gone from his stern
visage. �Now tell me why you�re really
here. You were sent to kill me by Rose,
weren�t you?� Dee asked fiercely.

Diana gasped and her lower lip
began to tremble. No, this was not how
it was supposed to be. This mission was
supposed to have played out flawlessly.
Where had all of her careful planning gone wrong? Her eyes flared with anger and defiance,
meeting Dee�s accusation with a challenging
glare as he spoke to her. �Don�t try to
save him by denying it. I saw that you
recognized his dagger when you first entered the room. Yours displays the exact same pattern on the
handle. Does he give them to all of his
followers?� Dee spat out accusingly and his
intense emerald eyes locked onto her blue ones unwaveringly before he lowered
his voice dangerously. �Tell me what
that bastard did to Ryo. Where is he?�

�He punished him for his
insolence,� Diana said simply. Although
she did not outright dislike Ryo, she was jealous of the protective instinct
that Dee�s body language seemed to emanate
towards Ryo, one that she longed Berkley to show towards her.

�What does that mean?!� Dee shouted,
every last vestige of his cool demeanor shredded in the desperation that was
threatening to overtake him as he blinked back tears. This woman�s statement had seemed to confirm
what Dee was not yet willing to admit to
himself, what he couldn�t stop denying was true from the deepest recesses of
his heart � that Ryo had been killed.

Seeing Diana�s eyes lower sadly at
his display of grief, Dee angrily got up off the bed and drew his sword. �I�ll kill Rose for what he did to Ryo. Does he even understand how much Ryo meant to
me? I loved him! I never even got the chance to express how
much. I wanted so badly to make love to
him. All we wanted was to be able to be
together,� Dee yelled in anguish as he faced
Diana with a renewed gleam of a man seeking vengeance shining within his
vibrant green depths.

�And I love Berkley, but some things are never meant
to be! What is the price of
happiness? Would you be willing to die
to see his body one last time?� Diana asked the fiery ebony-haired ruler
evenly. Seeing Dee nod determinedly, she challenged
him. �Then prove it. Defeat me in fair combat and I will take you
to him. In return, you must surrender
your kingdom to Rose.�

�And what if I lose?� Dee asked levelly, not in a position
to argue the unfair terms of the agreement but willing to hear her out
anyway. He drew a sword from a coat of
arms anchored to the wall and tossed it to her.
Diana caught it deftly by the handle and met his glittering emerald gaze
with steely resolve.

�Then you forfeit your life to me
and Rose takes me as his Queen at the successful completion of the mission,�
Diana said definitively. Her voice
softened. �Don�t worry. Your kingdom will be in good hands. I�ll make sure you�re buried next to Ryo
after Rose is done with your body. It�s
the least I can do for two tragic lovers.�

Undeterred by the conditions that
she had laid before him, Dee growled low in his throat as he sheathed his weapon. �Then let�s begin. What are you waiting for? Follow me to the courtyard,� he commanded as
he turned with a sweep of his cloak that billowed behind him as he walked
briskly out of his chambers. Diana
followed, her code of honor binding her to the rules of fair combat as she knew
Dee would adhere to them as well
despite the stakes resting on the outcome of the battle.

The courtyard behind the castle was
bordered by a hill on one side and flanked by high stone walls on the two
others, the project not yet completed by the battle-weary soldiers struggling
to maintain their defenses while being called away to defend villages in these
times of war. The bright sun shone
overhead as two shadows trailed behind the warriors and separated as they took
a stance facing each other, weapons drawn and bodies poised for combat. Diana attacked first, putting all of her rage
and fury into her swing. Stepping
forward, Dee raised his arm and blocked her
attack with his sword as the sounds of metal against metal resonated throughout
the courtyard. They fought relentlessly,
both tiring but unable to do much damage since they were pretty evenly
matched. Both Diana and Dee were
impressed with the other�s ability to wield a blade. Since their determination was fueled by the
need to protect the ones they loved, the outcome of the fight would undoubtedly
be decided by a battle of wills.
Breaking away from each other as their swords disentangled, Diana
clutched her wounded arm while Dee ran his hand against his chest, his fingers wiping a
trace of blood away from a slight wound that she had inflicted. Both the king and the assassin were
breathless, but neither one was willing to give up just yet. The stakes were too high.

They attacked each other again with
renewed fury, swords clashing as they employed all of their skills carefully
honed to perfection from their intense training. Suddenly, a single arrow flew straight and
true from the direction of the grassy hill.
It hit Diana�s sword and knocked it out of her grasp. Taking advantage of Diana�s moment of
surprise, Dee immediately bent down and deftly
picked up the sword before crossing them both at Diana�s throat. �I win,� he said triumphantly before
commanding, �Take me to Ryo.�

Diana�s wide eyes blinked in
surprise. Did Dee have a hidden ally? �You promised fair combat,� she protested,
upset at losing to Dee
by chance as she was forced to stay in a kneeling position before the
king.

�How do you know that that arrow
wasn�t meant for me? Maybe you are the
one who brought reinforcements,� Dee countered evenly, meeting her accusing gaze with an
unwavering stare. �Now, lead the way.�

�No,� Diana said flatly, her eyes
dull with a newfound realization. �I
will never betray him. I had no
intentions of losing. A life without him
is no life at all. I will never reveal
the whereabouts of our campsite. I will
arrange to have Ryo�s body sent to you.�
She reached into the folds of her skirt, withdrawing a small object from
her pocket.

�What are you doing?� Dee asked suspiciously. He pressed the blades of the swords more
firmly against her throat. He was not
going to just let her walk away, possibly never to return again.

�Retrieving a
whistle to call a messenger falcon. I will uphold my
end of the bargain before I die,� she said as she pressed the thin tube against
her lips. She had failed in her
mission. Could Rose ever forgive her for
this ultimate betrayal? She could not
face the warlord knowing that she was not good enough for him. No, she reflected as the harsh reality sank
in, she had never been good enough for him to begin with. Rose had only used her in his pursuit of
power, putting his ambitions above all else.
Ryo had been right, she thought sadly.
He had tried to warn her, but she had been blinded by what her heart had
wanted, what she had desperately yearned for.
She had called Ryo a traitor, but she was the one who had been a traitor
to what she now knew was the truth. She
had been jealous of a man who was good and pure, and now she could not even
make it up to him. Ryo had held firm to
his convictions, even in death. If only
she could be so brave.

�Before you die? But I�m not going to kill you,� Dee said, puzzled, as her statement
sank in.

A small smile spread across her
face as Diana looked deep into Dee�s eyes. The regal
figure stood over her, his raven hair glinting in the afternoon sun and his
long cloak billowing in the breeze. �Ryo
defended you to the end,� she said wistfully, admiring Ryo�s loyalty to Dee in her last confession, determined
to make amends in some small way to the honey-blond whom she had only ever
previously viewed as competition for Rose�s affections. Dee looked even more confused by her enigmatic
statement. Had she been present at Ryo�s
death? Why had she not tried to stop
Rose from killing him if she now spoke of him with such respect? She gave Dee a sad smile in reply as she raised
the whistle to her lips and parted them.

Only after Diana tilted her head
back and collapsed did Dee realize that it was not a whistle that she had procured,
it was a vial. Unclenching her lifeless
hand, he brought it up to his nose. She
had drunk a very potent poison, rendering her body lifeless almost the second
that the venomous liquid had passed her lips.
There was nothing he could have done to prevent it.

�Why did this have to happen to
her?� Dee thought as he shouted for the
guards. �Both her and Ryo did not
deserve to die! I�ll kill Rose for what
happened. I will show him no mercy. Then he�ll see how expendable the lives of
others are when forced to confront his own inevitable death. There
will be a reckoning,� Dee vowed as he sheathed his sword and
picked up Diana�s lifeless body. She was
beautiful, even in death. Her delicate
features had not yet been tainted by the poison that had robbed her of her last
breath. �You deserved so much better
than him,� he whispered before smoothing back her hair reverently and handing
her body to a guard who had arrived. �Take
her body to the apothecary�s healing quarters until I give further orders,� Dee instructed as the guard bowed
obediently and departed.

Dee picked up the sword that Diana had
used to fight with, twirling it absentmindedly in his hands before walking over
and crouching down to examine the arrow that lay on the ground not far from
where he was standing. Who had shot the
arrow, and why? Who was it meant
for? Was he only spared by a stroke of
luck, or had Rose sent yet another assassin to take him down? Pondering the answers to these questions, Dee stood and placed his finger up to
his mouth, moistening it between his lips.
He held it out in front of him in order to determine which way the wind
was blowing. Using this knowledge, Dee determined that the archer had
been located toward the left side of the hill when he had fired the shot. Doubting that whoever had shot the arrow was
still there, Dee was nevertheless determined to
explore the grounds in the hope that he would find a clue to the mysterious
archer�s identity and possibly determine whether he was a friend or a foe.

Dee
unsheathed his sword and proceeded to walk up the hill, his stance alert and
his keen eyes searching for anything that would belie the presence of an
enemy. Dee
followed the path up the grassy hill in the direction that the arrow had come
from, his sword at the ready to face any further threat. He stopped walking as he saw a lone horse
standing next to a stream, its large chocolate eyes taking in his presence with
an air of nonchalance as it bent down to nibble the lush grass nearby. Dee looked around in
expectation. Where was the rider? He tensed and quickened his pace when he saw
the body of an archer collapsed facedown on the ground, his bow lying discarded
by his side and a bag of arrows slung across his shoulder. Scanning the forest and finally determining
that he was in fact alone, Dee slid his sword into its
scabbard and hurried forward. Letting
down his defenses, he ran to the prone figure and knelt by his side.

Upon reaching the man, Dee noticed that his back was cut and
bleeding from erratic patterns of cuts and bruises. His scarred flesh was bathed in blood, the
wounds fresh and evidently painful, some of which had opened up with a renewed
fury from his journey. The man was bare
from the waist up, his lower body covered by a tattered piece of tent
flap. Bending down, Dee placed his hand on the man�s
slender wrist and felt a faint pulse. He
was still alive, barely.

Dee narrowed his emerald eyes in
hesitant recognition. Could it be? This was too much to hope for. Gingerly turning the unconscious man over, he
gasped when he realized the familiar strands of honey blond hair that were
matted to the man�s sweat-dampened face with dried blood. Dee took a deep breath.
Ryo had returned. Had the man
come to save him from the second assassin who had shown no mercy, or to help
her complete her mission? They had
obviously been sent by the same person to kill him. They were perhaps allies, even. But why would Ryo risk everything he had to
try to save Dee?

His joy at seeing the gentle
assassin again was short lived as he continued to assess the severity of Ryo�s
wounds. The honey-blond had numerous
other bruises on the front of his body that also adorned his beautiful face. How had he managed to live through Rose�s
gauntlet if he had indeed defied the ruthless warlord as Diana had said? What force drove Ryo so strongly that he
could triumph against all odds to survive this long despite the protests of his
battered body? Dee�s heart skipped a beat at the
thought that Ryo had been willing to die in order to save him. An unanswered question haunted Dee�s thoughts. Would Ryo live long enough for Dee to find out why he had returned to
him? Dee picked up Ryo�s bow and arrows and
slung them over his shoulder. He gently
ran his hands over Ryo�s body, frowning when he realized how much blood the
honey-blond had actually lost from the various wounds that had remained unseen
at first glance.

Musing over his unanswered
questions, Dee untied his cloak from around his
neck and draped it over Ryo�s battered body, covering him completely before
lifting him up and gathering him into his strong arms. All Dee knew now was that he had to help Ryo, regardless of why
he had come. Dee wanted to believe with all of his
heart that the love and desire which he felt for Ryo was reciprocated by the
shy assassin. Holding Ryo close to him, Dee proceeded to carry him back to the
castle, determined to try to do everything that he could to save the one who
was so willing to sacrifice his own life for him.

�Stay with me, Ryo,� Dee begged as he held Ryo�s shivering
body close against his heart. The man
felt light in his arms despite his well-toned musculature, as if his life was
ebbing away with each shallow unsteady breath that escaped his lips. Dee quickened his pace as he commanded a guard to fetch the
healer. Clutching Ryo close against him,
Dee entreated the unconscious assassin
with steadfast determination, �Don�t give up on me. Keep fighting. You�re not alone anymore.� Shifting his weight in order to more
adequately support Ryo�s body against his, Dee placed a tender kiss onto his
forehead, as if to convey silent comfort by his touch of vitality. �Just try to hang on,� Dee whispered reassuringly as his
raven tresses brushed against Ryo�s cheek.
Feeling Ryo�s pale skin growing cold to the touch as he grasped him
tighter, Dee vowed, �I thought I�d lost you
once, Ryo. I�m not going to lose you
again.�

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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Shattered Illusions