Shattered Illusions
Mask Of Virtue
xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
FAKE
Shattered
Illusions
by
Lady Dragonphire
Disclaimer:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 3.
Emerald
green eyes flew open suddenly and captured Ryo’s
intensity. Ryo gasped and drew in his
breath, hesitating for an instant in his thrust at seeing no trace of fear
present in the man’s eyes. Ryo was
mesmerized by the twin glittering emeralds that captivated him by their mere
depths. That was all the time that
leaning back on his arms and extending his muscular leg to kick the dagger out
of Ryo’s hand and send it flying across the room.
Ryo and had flipped him onto the bed.
hips and his arms held Ryo’s wrists above his head, effectively pinning his
body helplessly underneath the raven-haired man.
tried to throw his captor off of him, his dark expressive eyes wide with
fear. Seeing that the man above him was
too strong and that he had been helplessly overpowered, Ryo closed his eyes and
remained silent, reluctantly acknowledging defeat.
of his life. He was not even worthy of
the honor of avenging the deaths of his parents.
taking in every aspect of his opponent.
Each curve of Ryo’s sinuous frame was elegantly defined by the
body-hugging suit that he wore.
abdomen up to his chest, finally settling onto the black mask that covered his
entire face.
the mask and with one swift gesture slipped it off, revealing the honey-blond
assailant’s handsomely perfect features.
wanted rebels in the kingdom, but he had never seen this man’s face
before. This man looked too innocent to
be a mercenary. Laying there with his
exquisite features vulnerably exposed, he took
gorgeous, regardless of the fact that he had just tried to kill
Ryo slowly
opened his eyes as he felt the cool breeze that wafted in from the window lightly
brush across his face. His
emerald green that seemed to penetrate the very depths of his soul, causing him
to be anchored to the bed in frozen awe.
Feeling like he was drowning in the depths of the powerful man’s
overwhelming stare, he averted his gaze and brought his long lashes down to
cover his beautiful eyes. “Please, make
it fast,” he begged, squeezing his eyes tightly shut and preparing for the
worst. “The least you could do is bestow
upon me a noble death. That’s all I ask
of you, from one warrior to the next.”
“I’m not
going to kill you,”
said softly, somewhat amused that the man who had snuck into his bedchamber
with such audacity and obvious skill was now lying helpless beneath him.
now occupied his bed. The man looked so
pure and untarnished despite his occupation.
Ryo’s
tense body relaxed slightly underneath
his only chance of survival, he nevertheless looked up bravely and challenged
“Oh, I
don’t think that that was your intention at all,”
playing over his lips at the fire that burned behind the assassin’s eyes.
“Why do
you say that?” Ryo questioned adamantly.
His pride was slightly wounded.
This was the first adversary who had ever gotten the upper hand on him
in a battle of hand-to-hand combat. Now
it seemed that it had become a battle of wits as well.
before he killed them. Ryo knew that
death was inevitable for him, either by this man’s hand or his own.
with dishonor. Rose would make sure of
that.
“Because
if you had really wanted to kill me, I’d be dead already,”
palace guards before. That is quite an
accomplishment, one for which you should be commended,”
present in his calm voice.
Ryo
blinked in astonishment. This man before
him was not the snide, cold-hearted killer that Rose had made him out to
be. Rather, a certain warmth and
protectiveness radiated from behind his deep green eyes despite the current
situation.
“I’ve
failed in my mission,” Ryo said ruefully as he looked away.
raven-haired man.
Suddenly,
he felt
his hands underneath Ryo’s chin, tilting his face toward
by the soul-searching emerald gaze again.
face and ran his thumb along Ryo’s bottom lip, lightly grazing against the
delicate flesh. Ryo trembled slightly as
he felt the weight of
his eyes, seeming to hypnotize Ryo into submission.
to, the intoxicating nearness of his captor enthralling.
honey-blond captive. “No, tonight you
get to live.”
Changing
his mannerism slightly,
curiosity. “I will ask you again,”
patience, never breaking eye contact with Ryo.
“Why did you hesitate when you had the chance to kill me?”
Ryo could
hardly focus on the question, his mind still reeling with the onslaught of
conflicting emotions. He could feel
his striking features. The deep pools of
very soul. However, he defiantly refused
to answer, the palpable silence between them clearly evident as he steadfastly
met
nature.
Lowering
his voice,
uncontrollably. He knew the stakes that
comprised the success of the mission, and he knew that Rose would be none too
pleased that he had failed in this ultimate task.
instant and dangerously threatened to spill over his attractive countenance at
any second. However, his training as an
assassin surpassed his initial fear and he quickly blinked back his tears,
forming his face into an unreadable mask once again, although from the fleeting
glimpse of the man’s true nature,
uncompromising features was still evident in his deep expressive eyes.
feelings.
Seeing the
shivering form of the man underneath him,
through
was to take this man into his arms and comfort him.
threat to
and had to be treated as such.
As
only covered his face with his hands, his body wracked by silent uncontrollable
sobs that were only restrained by his long years of training and
discipline. “Please don’t make me go
back to Rose,” he whispered barely audibly, hating himself for showing any form
of weakness but not knowing what else to do except to yield to his
emotions. For some reason, he believed
that if anyone could understand the depths of his pain, it was the charismatic
raven-haired man before him. Even though
they had just met, Ryo felt an inexplicable deep connection between them.
help, or at least some reassurance. He
could not bear to see the man before him wracked with such despair.
angel underneath him and was determined never to let him go.
form, he held him close against his broad chest and ran his hands soothingly
over Ryo’s sinewy back. Ryo opened his
eyes warily as his overwhelming fear subsided and he felt a
comforting warmth emanating from
had fallen partially open due to their struggle.
offered a reassuring feeling of protection from all that threatened him harm, and
he hesitantly returned the embrace.
dangerously as Ryo’s statement sank in and he unconsciously clutched Ryo closer
to him. Rose.
was behind this stealth attack. Rose had
been trying to infiltrate his defenses ever since he had come to power.
connections with the previous king and his ruthless followers.
weak and innocent, preying on their fragility and manipulating them in order to
achieve his own ends. He wondered what
Ryo’s story was. This fascinating man
was obviously different than all of the previous mercenaries that
despite his line of work, and his deep expressive eyes conveyed a refreshing
innocence that desperately longed to trust another person.
strong and unyielding, and he was not likely to let his defenses down a second
time. He had been wounded in the past,
and he would harden his heart against the slightest show of mercy in favor of
suspicion, of this
was sure.
“Your
loudly. The noise from the men’s heated
struggle had drawn attention from outside.
Ryo froze in
arms, immediately set on the defensive again as he pulled away and stood up.
threat of discovery. “Everything is
fine,”
query, the guard went back to his post, not wanting to further disrupt the
king’s sleep.
Ryo gazed
at
deep
have been so easy for
information about his mission from him that way.
with Ryo’s knowledge of him. He was
determined to find some answers, and soon.
He had to in order to resolve his own state of mind.
when his heart was enshrouded in doubt.
“I should
go now,” he said softly, reaching over to the pillow to pick up his mask where
it had been discarded. “Thank you for
your mercy,” he said sincerely. Ryo
bowed respectfully and turned around, walking towards the balcony to begin his
descent into the dark night.
“Wait!”
the charismatic ebony-haired man called out to him.
around. He understood how
on all of those around him as
He was drawn to the stunning man whose handsome features were further
defined by the streams of moonlight that shined down upon him and contrasted
with the darkness of his ebony hair and olive skin.
of his chest and broad shoulders moving in sleek ripples beneath the
material. The gentle night breeze lifted
strands of their hair as it swept across their faces, softly caressing them as
the two men stood next to each other on the balcony,
stature than Ryo. Ryo gazed up
questioningly into
emerald eyes. The two of them together
were a striking sight to see, the handsomely dark king and the beautiful fair
assassin.
“If you
need to trust someone, you can trust me,”
mind as he gently brushed a strand of Ryo’s silky hair away from his face and
leaned in close to him. Ryo tensed up as
he stared mesmerized at the noble king who stood over him.
of
consumed by their very intensity, and it scared him.
brush his lips against Ryo’s, bringing his hand to tilt Ryo’s face up as he
tenderly pressed his lips upon Ryo’s and executed the kiss.
lashes sweeping across his lids as
own.
across Ryo’s bottom lip in a silent request to enter his heated cavern.
Ryo was so intoxicated by the exhilarating feeling of
could only stand frozen to the spot, overwhelmed by the sensations coursing
throughout his body. He had never felt
this way before with anyone. The soft
hooting of an owl nearby broke the spell of the ephemeral moment and Ryo’s eyes
blinked open, bringing him once again back to reality.
gazed into Ryo’s eyes intensely, refusing to relinquish his grasp around the
man’s shoulders, his face only inches from Ryo’s.
passion evident in
advances, Ryo, weak-kneed, began to tremble and nervously backed away, almost
tripping. God – the man was such a good
kisser!
“
forward and caught Ryo before he could fall.
“I-I
really must go now,” Ryo stammered shyly, blushing furiously and lowering his
gaze, extricating himself from
one had ever bestowed such tenderness upon him before in such a simple
gesture. He could not deny the effect
that
lost and confused right now, not knowing if he could trust his own feelings
against Rose’s blatant accusations.
Without another word, Ryo picked up his grappling hook and anchored it
to the nearest parapet, swinging over it to climb down and seeming to disappear
into the night as he was swallowed by the darkness.
his ebony tresses, berating himself for reading too
much into the soft-spoken man’s words.
The honey-blond had only reacted in gratefulness that his life had been
spared.
his affection for anything other than pure thanks.
fast, despite the underlying attraction that he was sure the other had felt as
well. The man had after all been sent to
kill him. The assassin was obviously
very shy and unsure of himself, shielding his emotions all too often for him to
know how to respond to true affection.
advantage of the shy honey-blond to satisfy his animalistic cravings of
lust. Despite destroying the man’s trust
for anyone, Rose had not managed to corrupt Ryo into his wicked way of life,
of the mysterious assassin, and he had seen a heart that was good and
pure.
and made his way over to the bed, pausing as he noticed a gleaming metal object
on the floor. Picking it up and turning
it thoughtfully in his hands, he realized that it was the dagger that the
assassin had tried to kill him with. He
must have forgotten it in his haste to depart,
carved on it and placing it on his bedside table, he laid back against the
pillows thoughtfully. He rang a bell
that was located next to his bedside table and one of the guards entered.
following the east trail,”
The guard bowed and exited the room, closing the door behind him.
location.
the sheets over his supple form, closing his emerald eyes and drifting off to
sleep. He felt that this would not be
the only time that he would be seeing the intriguing mercenary.
superior to return and finish the job.
Maybe
Ryo walked
along the trail in the direction that led back to his camp with his head
lowered, deep in thought. He was so
confused right now. He did not know what
to think about any of the events that had transpired since the beginning of
this mission. The man who had killed his
parents in cold blood had practically been served to him on a silver platter by
Rose and yet he had still hesitated at delivering his retribution at the
fateful hour of judgment. He was
inexplicably drawn to his mysterious redeemer.
No one had previously shown him an ounce of mercy in this cruel world
like
Ryo even now. Every man had a hidden
agenda, a driving force, that was his motivation
behind each carefully constructed plan of action.
the man thought that Ryo was oblivious to the underlying wrath that drove him.
were only a clever disguise for his true intentions that lurked underneath a
false pretense. The more he contemplated
became.
warlord type. Rather, he seemed
different from all those other men that he had assassinated.
he had never instituted slave labor or execution of prisoners of war.
Ryo had
heard rumors that he was a magnanimous ruler concerned about the welfare of his
people, although Rose had told him that others had only propagated those rumors
in fear that they would be punished if they refused.
only confused Ryo more.
fierce intensity, but they had also distinctly emanated a protectiveness that
had seemed comforting, especially when he had so tenderly kissed Ryo.
tracing the outline where
imagine that he was caught up in the enthralling rapture that had consumed him
when they had been joined at the mouth.
He had never had such warmth bestowed upon him by another in his tumultuous
life. But what if this
was only one of
him to doubt the authenticity of his mission?
Was he only responding to the kiss because he longed so much for someone
to love him? Ryo just didn’t know what
constituted reality and what was merely an illusion anymore.
turn. His instincts told him to trust
his heart, but his heart was still wounded and scarred from so long ago.
and manipulation in his life thus far.
He was not sure if he could accept something so
foreign as love in his life when he had been bombarded with and driven by the
hate of others for so long. Running his
hand through his silky tresses and sighing, Ryo reluctantly concealed his
conflicting emotions behind an unreadable mask and buried his confusing
feelings as the campsite came into view.
He would need to rely on all of his inner strength and self-discipline
to get through the confrontation with Rose that he knew was imminent upon his
return.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*