Samuru: Oh thank goodness you’re alright!
He hugged her firmly to his chest, but did not feel his sister wrap her arms around him as well.
Samuru: It’s all right now. Your captor will be locked up for a very long time.
Yume: He’s not my captor!
She pushed her brother away from her and looked at to him with a passionate fury.
Yume: If anything, he’s my savior.
Samuru was taken aback by his sister’s new behavior. Always had she been submissive to him, doing as he told her without question. This new attitude was bizarre to him.
Samuru: He’s brainwashed you, hasn’t he? If only we could have gotten to you sooner…
He shook his head and rubbed his eyes with his fingers.
Yume: He has not brainwashed me. He saved me from that dreadful life I was leading in the palace! For eighteen years I have been pushed around and guarded and…and caged, basically! He gave me the chance to finally be free, if not for just a little while.
Samuru: But he kidnapped you!
Yume: I was more imprisoned in that palace than I ever was on his boat.
With that, she stormed off, leaving her brother completely oblivious to how this new side of Yume had come about. He still believed it had something to do with that wicked little pirate. And he knew there was only one way to find out.
Takara: FASTER!
Amaya: Hon, we can’t control the speed of the wind.
Takara: THEN GRAB AN OAR OR SOMETHING! LET’S GET THIS BOAT MOVING!
Akio: Don’t worry! The Horizon’s already going faster than that big old naval ship. We’ll catch em’ in no time.
Takara: I hope so.
Takara sat down, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her head upon them.
Takara: Somehow I feel as if it’s my fault… I mean, if I had only gotten to them faster, I could have warned them sooner. Then they could’ve gotten away.
Akio: Don’t think that…
He sat down next to her and reached out to touch her shoulder, but she slapped it away before he made contact.
Takara: DON’T YOU DARE USE MY MISERY AS AN EXCUSE TO TOUCH ME, PERVERT!
Akio’s face turned bright red as he stood up and took a good three steps away from the girl.
Mokoto: It wasn’t your fault, Takara.
Amaya: Yeah. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to know that they were in trouble, and rather than going to save them now, we’d still be waiting on the dock for them to come back.
Takara: I guess you’re right… I’ll still feel better once we get them back. I feel really guilty…
Akio: They’ll be fine. We’re already gaining on them. See?
He pointed over to a ship they could see in the near distance, the image of which was growing less and less faint as time wore on.
Keiji sat alone in a cell beneath the deck of the ship, guarded by two men covered in armor and armed with sharp, shimmering swords. There was something inside of him, taunting him, telling him that something like this was bound to happen, had he gone through with this silly plan.
Keiji: (Great going, genius. You just wanted to go treasure hunting, and now, you’re stuck in a cell. You’re probably going to be stuck in a cell for the rest of your life. As soon as you had figured out that the princess was to be your target, you should have just given up right there. But nooo. You had to be a hero and “save her” from her cooped-up life. Akio and Mokoto were right. I really am trying too hard to be a knight in shining armor. Keiji, no matter how hard you try, you’ll always just be…well…Keiji.)
He sighed, knocking his head against the side of the cell wall. The loud knock got the attention of the two guards.
Guard1: Hmph. So what exactly possessed you to kidnap Princess Yume, kid?
Keiji merely sighed and spoke the truth in a sarcastic manner.
Keiji: Me and a few friends needed her to seek an amazing treasure in another realm.
The guards burst out laughing.
Guard1: That’s a pretty good one, kid.
Keiji: Fine. Don’t believe me.
He grumbled and relaxed his arms behind his head.
Keiji: Though I’m not surprised you don’t. After all, you men are from the same security system that was easily foiled by a nineteen-year-old boy.
The guards whirled around, blazing their blades.
Guard2: What did you say…?
Samuru: Ehem. At ease, men.
The prince came down the stairs, a couple more guards at his side as he drew nearer to Keiji’s place of captivity.
Samuru: Ah, the boy who thought he could get away with kidnapping my sister and dragging her across the ocean. I do admit, kid. You’ve got some serious guts.
Keiji only stood up and glared at the man, his eyes burning with fury.
Samuru: You did what others never even thought of doing. You, a mere child, kidnapped the princess of our prosperous nation and took her away from her home, brainwashed her into thinking you were helping her…
Keiji: I was helping her.
Samuru: Please, you took her…
Keiji: I took her away from the place where she was imprisoned to somewhere with friends and a purpose in life.
Samuru: She has a purpose in life!
Keiji: To get married and improve Hitomi’s alliances?! She’s basically a tool!
Samuru: And what, she was never a tool to you at one point? I’m sure there’s a reason you took her. Ransom? Political reasons? Rape!?
Keiji: I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH THING!
Samuru: THEN WHY DID YOU TAKE HER!?!
Keiji: We needed her for a treasure hunt.
The prince grew silent with an oblivious expression as the boy shamefully admitted his motive.
Samuru: A treasure hunt…?
The prince burst into sarcastic laughter.
Samuru: You took my baby sister away from here, risking your life and safety so that you could find a treasure?
Keiji: I’m not going to deny it. Though I will say this: I almost just up-and-left the minute I found out that I was targeting the princess. But when I saw how sad she looked up on that balcony the night of her birthday, how lonely her eyes were, I knew I had to save her.
Samuru: That’s just about the most ridiculous…
Keiji: No, it’s not. That very night, she tried to run away from home, didn’t she?
Samuru grew silent for a moment.
Samuru: Well, yes…but…
Keiji: She wanted to get out of there, your Highness. She told me all about how trapped she always felt. I freed her that day. She’s thanked me for it.
Samuru: I will not believe such lies!
Keiji: Are they really lies, your highness? Or do you just want them to be?
Samuru stood motionless, his arms glued to his side, his eyes glazed in fury. His lips were quivering and his eyebrows were slanted as he glared at the boy with stunned disbelief. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, he spun around and began to make his way back toward the stairs.
Samuru: Get used to life in a cell, Mr. Taiyou. You’ll be spending quite some time in one.
Yume: Keiji?
She rapped on the cell bars, getting the attention of the boy who sat in the corner staring at the ground. At the sound of her voice his face lit up and he jumped from his place of concentration.
Keiji: Yume!
He rushed over to her and touched her hands as they rested on the iron bars. The guard behind her growled irritably at the sight of the gesture. She just turned to him and spoke with a level tone.
Yume: It’s fine.
He just grumbled under his breath in disapproval.
Yume: I’m so sorry Keiji…
Her face was sincere as she peered into the boy’s dispirited eyes.
Keiji: No, don’t you be apologizing. This is all my fault. I was the one who got you into this mess. I’m going to be the one to pay for it.
Yume: No, not if I can help it.
Keiji: Well what are you…?
Yume: I will be doing anything in my power to get you free.
Keiji: You don’t need to get yourself in trouble just for helping me.
Yume: What are they going to do? Fire me? I’m a princess. I can make things happen.
Keiji: But I kidnapped you. Your brother thinks I brainwashed you into believing that I was helping you.
They continued their conversation, not realizing that Samuru stood on the other side of the wooden door that led down to the brig, his ear pressed up against it as he listened in on their conversation.
Yume: That’s Samuru for you: stubborn as a mule. Always gets his way and believes what he wants to.
Keiji: No kidding…
He shook his head with some sarcastic laughter, then stood quiet for a minute, just looking at his heroine, her eyes glowing as brilliantly as ever, though not with the same luster he was used to.
Keiji: So, say that you do get me out of here. Do you think your brother would let you…
Yume pursed her lips innocently.
Yume: I think my journey’s over, Keiji.
Keiji felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach.
Keiji: You…you don’t think that there’s any way to convince—
Yume: My stubborn brother? Not a chance.
She shook her head hopelessly.
Keiji: But…but you can’t just…go…
Yume: I don’t think I have another choice.
Keiji: But…but you’re my best friend.
He reached through the bars and touched her chin, raising it up to his eye level so that he could stare those teary hazel eyes straight on.
Keiji: You can’t go.
The thought of losing her was painful to him, painful in ways that he couldn’t even fathom. She was just some girl, just some pretty girl he’d intended on using as a pawn in his treasure scheme. And even now, when she was of zero use to him, he felt as if this journey couldn’t be made without her with him. It would be unbearable.
Yume: I’m sorry…
She turned away, feeling his hand slide down her chin and across her jaw until he lost contact with her skin.
Keiji: Yume…
He knew that she had merely left so that he wouldn’t be able to see her cry.
Keiji: (Wait…she’s crying.)
The thought hit him with a kind of bittersweet happiness. Sure, he was losing her, but at the same time, he was realizing that she cared for him too, enough to cry about it. A brief smile crawled across his lips and then diminished as a different thought entered his mind.
Keiji: (Ugh. Never mind. She’s probably just sad that she has to leave the ocean and go back to the palace. This has nothing to do with me.)
He grumbled and leaned up against the cell, letting his head fall and make rough contact with the wall behind him.
Yume reached the top of the stairs that led out of the brig and opened the door to the deck. Immediately her gaze met that of her older brother, his face stern and stolid as ever.
Samuru: My quarters. Right now.
She just rolled her eyes and groaned as he led her down a different staircase and into a cabin area three times the size of the room she shared on the Horizon with Amaya and Takara.
Yume: What now? Going to forbid me from seeing sunlight? Or would you prefer a lifetime of silence?
Samuru: These are my conditions. You will be home in two months. No exceptions. You are not to leave the sight of at least member of that boat’s crew the entire time you are gone. You are not to break any Hitomi laws. You—
The girl stared at her brother in a stupor.
Yume: You’re….you’re letting me go?
He ignored her excitement and just continued to ramble.
Samuru: …You will return to Hitomi and be ready to do anything that Father or me asks you to do. You—
As he continued on, her face lit up with more vibrancy than the Hitomi sun on a clear summer’s day.
Yume: THANK YOU SO MUCH!
She ran up to him and threw her arms around him with all the energy she had left, nearly choking him, but not breaking him free of his list of demands.
Samuru: No alcohol, no drugs, no sex…
She pulled away gingerly, still completely ignoring his list.
Yume: But, but why did you change your mind?
He finally took a breath, preparing to continue on with his regulations, but then paused after hearing the question. Hesitantly, he inhaled once again in preparation for a new speech.
Samuru: I heard you talking with the Taiyou boy. I could tell that it was really you that was talking, not a brainwashed victim of crime. And the way you were talking to him, so openly, so sincerely... You don't talk to anyone like that, Yume. I could tell that you and him have a kind of connection between you. A trust. And I can feel that trust too. When I felt that, I finally believed everything you’d told me before, about how you felt trapped in the palace all these years, never making such a connection with anyone. I'm not going to make you give that up just yet.
He grumbled on, his arms folded, almost mad at himself for caving in this situation.
Samuru: Plus, I decided to let you go because I decided that you needed one last chance to do something you want to do before you marry off.
The last words were like a dagger to Yume’s heart. But in any case, she was glad to be able to have this one chance her brother was giving her.
Yume: Thank you so much, Sammy!
He cringed at the pet name and braced himself for another suffocating hug.
Keiji still leaned against his cell wall, his eyes glazed over in disappointment. Sure, Yume was planning on pulling some strings to get him free, but just the thought of being on that boat without her was mind-boggling. He pictured Akio staring at Takara from afar, daydreaming about everything he’d love to do to violate her. And then of course she’d read his mind and punish him for it. And then there were Amaya and Mokoto, always arguing, never faltering. Sometimes he wondered if they argued just so they could have a chance to speak to the other without seeming to be flirting. And then he saw himself, steering the wheel, Yume beside him: talking to him, smiling, laughing. Just being her happy, beautiful self. And in return, it made him happy.
And then he saw the same sight, Yume removed: Takara and Akio their same, awkward selves, Amaya and Mokoto, continuing to bicker. And then he saw himself. Lonely and melancholy. He couldn’t stand the thought of it.
Keiji: (Maybe I’d be better off in prison. Heh, if I wound up in Hitomi, then Yume would at least be able to visit me.)
That same bittersweet smile played itself across his lips.
Samuru: Taiyou.
Keiji looked up to see the face of his captor, his eyes cross and his stance serious. Keiji had been so lost in fantasyland that he hadn’t even heard the man approach and order the guard to unlock the door.
Samuru: Let’s go.
Keiji silently obeyed, glaring at the prince as he passed. A guard gripped his arm and led him up the stairs towards the deck, never loosening his clutch on the boy. The sunlight was nearly blinding to Keiji as the door was thrown open before him. He didn’t know how long he’d been stuck in that cell. A couple hours at least. A couple hours of sheer darkness.
What did these guards need with him now? He wondered. They couldn’t possibly be back in Hitomi already. Maybe they would begin punishment here. He didn’t know much about the Hitomi law system. What would he get for this? A day in the stocks? A hundred lashes? The methods of torture made his cell seem a whole lot more comfortable, now.
Yume: KEIJI!
She dashed forward and wrapped her arms around him, nearly toppling him over.
Keiji: Whoa! Hey! What’s the deal?
She pulled away from him, her face brighter than the sunrays above.
Yume: My brother’s letting us go on our journey! Isn’t it great!
Keiji froze in excitement. Words couldn’t describe his delightful face, filled to its capacity with happiness.
Keiji: Are you serious!?
She just nodded, bright-eyed.
Samuru: Yes.
The older brother walked closer, his eyes glaring and his strong arms tucked behind his back.
Samuru: I’m leaving my daughter in your hands, Taiyou.
He brought his stolid face inches away from Keiji’s.
Samuru: If when you return she is harmed in any way, it will be your neck.
Keiji gulped.
Keiji: Yes sir.
Samuru: If you do not return in two months, our ships will be scouring the ocean for your puny little vessel, and it will be, once again, your neck.
Keiji: Yes sir.
Keiji’s palms were beginning to sweat as the man bore down on him.
Samuru: I’m counting on you, Taiyou. You better protect my baby sister with your life.
Keiji: I intend to.
Once Samuru was done with his lecture, he brought his hand forward, never moving his glare away from Keiji nor changing his expression. Keiji took the prince’s hand firmly and nodded in agreement.
Samuru: Yume.
He turned to his sister now, who had been standing to Keiji’s left. She just tilted her head curiously and prepared to hear yet another lecture.
Samuru: Take care of yourself, sis.
She smiled again, just as beautiful as Keiji could remember.
Yume: Of course.
She reached her arms out and collected him close to her, feeling his arms wrap around her tightly, just as any other worried big brother would.
Yume: Oh!
She let go of him and began to rummage through her pockets. Finally she pulled out a wrinkled beige envelope and held it out before her.
Yume: This is for Father.
Samuru: From who?
Yume: My mum.
Samuru felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach.
Samuru: She’s…she can’t be…
Yume: She is alive. She lives on Tsurro, and she told me to give this to dad.
Samuru straightened himself and crossed his arms over his chest.
Samuru: And you will. The very moment you get home from your little treasure hunt.
Yume: But…but I want him to—
Samuru: Yume. I need to know that you’ll be coming home. This little deed will give you plenty reason.
Yume sighed and placed the envelope back into her pocket. There would be no odds of convincing her brother twice in one day.
Samuru: Now.
He turned back to Keiji.
Samuru: As far as getting you back to your ship, we’ll start heading back to—
Takara: YUUUMEEE—MPH!
The sound of Takara’s shrill scream was heard throughout the entire naval ship as she soared from the deck of the Horizon to the naval ship by a long rope and then fell to the deck in front of Yume’s feet.
Yume: Takara? Are you okay?
Takara: Yeah, fine. Now let’s get you guys out of here!
She grabbed the wrists of the two “captives” and dragged them off in the direction of the Horizon, which was now positioned directly beside the ship they were aboard. Amaya was swinging over to the navy ship now, and Akio and Mokoto could be seen steering the ship.
Yume: I guess we’re going now!
She shouted in the direction of her brother, a huge, energized smile bright across her lips.
Yume: Bye!
And Samuru watched as he let his baby sister go off in the hands of that scrawny little treasure hunter.
-PREVIEW!-
Mikona: Puu! I'm here to help Starlite give a preview for her next chapter!
Looks like the group's all back together again! Hooray! And they're getting closer and closer to the entrance to the second realm! How exciting! Let's just hope they find what they're looking for and not something that'll tear them apart!
Next time on Beyond the Horizon: "Hold on tight!"
Mikona can't wait!
Mikona: Puu! I'm here to help Starlite give a preview for her next chapter!
Looks like the group's all back together again! Hooray! And they're getting closer and closer to the entrance to the second realm! How exciting! Let's just hope they find what they're looking for and not something that'll tear them apart!
Next time on Beyond the Horizon: "Hold on tight!"
Mikona can't wait!
Hey guys! Just want to give you some updates! I've finally got the story back up and running! I'll probably be writing more, too, now that school's out. Which is good. Yay. You can clap.
Also: I'm eventually going to have an art contest. For the meantime, I'm too poor to provide a decent prize, however. But I just need your opinions on what exactly I should do for the art contest. For right now, my options are:
1) Draw Amaya Yume and Takara.
-Pros- Cheap and Cutsie
-Cons- I dunno, I kind of want the guys too.
2) Draw Keiji Mokoto and Akio
-Pros- Cheap
-Cons- No girls and need I say, GAY (not that I am against that lifestyle. It's just not the lifestyle shared by the characters in my story)
3) Draw Everyone
-Pros- God I'd love a cute shot of the whole group
-Cons- EXPENSIVE >.< And I am poor.
4) Draw a couple shot of everyone and maybe stick them all next to each other
-Pros- ADORABLE AND AWESOME!
-Cons- SUPER DUPER EXPENSIVE >.< and I am VERY poor.
So, readers, share your opinions on my options here. Also, if you know any artists (GOOD ONES, not ones who scribble something crappy on paint and then call it a day. I'm saying if they can draw better than ME, then they're hired) that might consider discounts or donations (which would be lovely) then please let me know of their existance and I can give them some information on what to do.
Gracias <3
And don't forget to comment.
Also: I'm eventually going to have an art contest. For the meantime, I'm too poor to provide a decent prize, however. But I just need your opinions on what exactly I should do for the art contest. For right now, my options are:
1) Draw Amaya Yume and Takara.
-Pros- Cheap and Cutsie
-Cons- I dunno, I kind of want the guys too.
2) Draw Keiji Mokoto and Akio
-Pros- Cheap
-Cons- No girls and need I say, GAY (not that I am against that lifestyle. It's just not the lifestyle shared by the characters in my story)
3) Draw Everyone
-Pros- God I'd love a cute shot of the whole group
-Cons- EXPENSIVE >.< And I am poor.
4) Draw a couple shot of everyone and maybe stick them all next to each other
-Pros- ADORABLE AND AWESOME!
-Cons- SUPER DUPER EXPENSIVE >.< and I am VERY poor.
So, readers, share your opinions on my options here. Also, if you know any artists (GOOD ONES, not ones who scribble something crappy on paint and then call it a day. I'm saying if they can draw better than ME, then they're hired) that might consider discounts or donations (which would be lovely) then please let me know of their existance and I can give them some information on what to do.
Gracias <3
And don't forget to comment.
