Shattered Illusions
Web Of Intrigue
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FAKE
Shattered
Illusions
by
Lady Dragonphire
Disclaimer:
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Chapter
4. Web of Intrigue
Ryo
wearily emerged from the dense forest and blinked into the sun’s morning rays
that were cresting over the horizon. All
he wanted to do was to go soak in the
finally tumbling into bed. He had had a
long night, and he was feeling drained both physically and emotionally.
Rose stationed as a sentinel outside of his tent.
confrontation was unavoidable and although he would have preferred to talk when
he was washed and rested, Ryo knew that things were done on Rose’s terms around
here and his much-needed respite would just have to wait until the man was
finished interrogating him.
“Ah, so
you have returned,” Rose observed with a self-satisfied smile.
dispose of?”
Ryo
lowered his
placing his arm as a barrier across the tent’s entrance.
after I have bathed and rested?” Ryo asked softly.
night and had forfeited the luxury of sleep in an attempt to reach
campsite as quickly as possible.
Ryo bowed
and slipped into his tent, stripping his skintight assassin’s apparel off of
his lithe frame and picking up a robe that he intended to wear down to the hot
springs. Just as he was about to slide
his arm into the fabric, he realized that he was not alone in the tent.
covering up his body. “I think I rather
like you without it,” Rose purred next to his ear as he extracted the garment
from Ryo and draped it over his arm, leaving Ryo exposed and vulnerable.
his neck and it made his hair stand on end, causing a shiver to run through his
body.
“Please
sir, may I have my robe back?” Ryo questioned as he lowered his head, ashamed
at his state of undress that revealed the more intimate places of his body.
“You will
turn around and face me when I talk to you, and we will discuss the events of
the mission NOW, not when you feel like it,” Rose commanded with a vile
hiss. Ryo slowly turned around, a shy
blush burning on his cheeks that he desperately willed to disperse as he
brought his dark eyes up to meet Rose’s.
His deepening blush only served to heighten the feeling of
submissiveness that he felt in the other man’s presence.
of insubordination present. Remember,
you serve me and only me. You do know
what happens to those who dare to defy me, don’t you, Ryo?” Rose threatened
ominously.
Ryo
desperately wanted to shield himself from the man’s penetrating icy blue
stare. He could feel Rose’s eyes roaming
his body and he flushed further in shame.
such derision and contempt that made Ryo feel like he was somehow unworthy of
even washing the other man’s feet. Ryo
longed to just confront him openly, break all ties, and end the feeling of
subservience that he was forced to endure every time he encountered the
powerful blonde man. However, without
the safety of the tent and the protection of the encampment that Rose provided
him with, he was as good as dead wandering in the rugged unchartered
territory that was ruled by the land’s barbaric codes of justice.
territories were concerned only with survival and they lived and died by the
sword, knowing no other way of life. Ryo
had no choice but to endure the humiliation if he wanted to live long enough to
avenge his parents.
“That’s
better,” Rose crooned, running a possessive hand up and down Ryo’s side,
inching lower each time. When he reached
Ryo’s hips and moved down towards his upper thigh, Ryo squirmed uncomfortably
and took a step back, the feeling of Rose’s vile hands on him leaving a bitter
taste in his mouth. Rose observed his
actions with amusement and dropped his hand to his side.
“I-I don’t
have it with me,” Ryo stammered. “
surrounding the palace. I never got a
chance to complete my mission.” Ryo
looked down in shame as Rose narrowed his eyes dangerously and moved closer to
the trembling honey blond.
Despite
Rose’s intimidating presence, Ryo looked up bravely and continued in an attempt
to appease his superior’s anger. “I had
vastly underestimated
ill-prepared for a confrontation with the knowledge and equipment that I
possessed. I’m sure that anyone else who
would have gone would have been dead right now.
It was only by a whim of fate that I was spared to return here,” Ryo
said, his voice unwavering as a fire burned within the
his actions.
Rose
seemed to ponder this information before replying.
redeem yourself, but fail this time and it’s your life on the line, Ryo.
heed my words,” he said with a hint of foreboding present in his menacing
voice. Tossing Ryo’s robe at him, he
sauntered out of the room, turning back and reiterating, “Your life or his -
you choose,” before he was gone with a flurry of the tent flap.
Ryo
clutched the robe to his chest and stood there trembling with silent fury.
before towards Rose. All of his previous
missions had not affected him in this way or made him question the actions of
his superior. He had always been
emotionally distant and had closed off the rational part of his mind.
those who had refused to repent for their actions.
involved a certain ebony-haired ruler.
Even now, he could feel the man’s emerald eyes upon him.
anyone else whom Ryo had come across. He
had talked to Ryo with respect, treating him as if his self-worth was of an
equal level as his own. Wrapping his
robe around his lithe frame, Ryo set off for the
prepare himself for his second attempt on
Rose
stormed into his tent with a seething fury and splintered a small wooden table
with his fist before an unrelenting stream of curses escaped his lips.
control until after he had departed Ryo’s tent and had taken shelter behind the
confines of his own. How dare Ryo defy
him, after all he had done for him?
Rose’s plan was not going as desired.
Something had happened to Ryo during his encounter with
in the way that the man carried himself.
mindset and had obviously created moral doubt concerning the mission, of that
Rose was sure, lest Ryo wouldn’t have failed.
He would have to instill fear in Ryo’s heart once again in order to make
sure that he understood who he served.
Composing himself once more, Rose exited his
tent in search of the honey-blond assassin.
Ryo
entered his tent after he had just finished soaking his weary muscles at the
The tension seemed to ebb away with each minute that he spent wrapped in
the water’s calming embrace. As the
steam pervaded his senses, he also had time to reflect and sort out his
feelings concerning
and although he had not reached any definite conclusions, he had decided upon
his course of action to employ during his next visit to the castle.
been when he had initially returned to the camp as he lay his head down against
the pillows, ready for a well-earned day of sleep.
immediately, overcome from sheer physical and mental exhaustion.
Rose
slipped into Ryo’s tent and observed the sleeping form of the gorgeous
man. He looked so innocently peaceful
lying there. However, underneath the
calm surface, Rose knew that he was capable of deceiving him.
anymore. A stone had been cast into the
lake that was his mind, upsetting the smooth surface and causing the ripples of
knowledge and doubt to course powerfully throughout him.
the driving need to have absolute control over him.
have to be ingrained into his very soul with unrelenting discipline.
Ryo was
surprised when rough hands roused him from his brief slumber and his blanket
was forcefully pulled from his body. He
shivered as he sat up in bed and turned a questioning gaze onto the one who had
deprived him of comfort. “S-sir?” he
questioned a bit fearfully, wondering what had provoked Rose’s obvious anger
towards him as he pulled his arms towards his bare chest.
“I meant
what I said, Ryo. Do not fail me a
second time. You are already at the
boundaries of testing my limits. I
believe that you should be going now if you are to make it to your destination
before nightfall,” Rose advised.
“B-but,
can’t I at least have a day of rest before embarking on the journey?
best. I want to go when all of my skills
will be their sharpest,” Ryo entreated his superior.
“May I
remind you that I am the one who gives orders around here,” Rose said
harshly. “You had use of all of your
faculties the first time and yet you failed.
Why should I be any less lenient this time?
have left a trail behind. I’m sure that
and will know the location of our base of operations come nightfall upon the
messenger’s return. You must get to the
castle ahead of him and finish your job.
I refuse to pay for your mistakes, Ryo, and I will not condone your
actions further.” He tossed Ryo’s
assassin’s apparel that had been drying in the sun outside at the startled
man. “Get dressed.
bed.” With that, Rose spun on his heel
and walked out of the room, his head held high.
Ryo sighed
and slipped on his body-hugging black suit.
He knew that Rose would have killed him if he had been anyone else in
the camp, save maybe Diana. He did not
want to push the limits and test the extent of the warlord’s wrath that boiled
underneath the deceivingly calm and controlled surface of his exterior.
campsite and retraced his path from the night before, not sure what to expect
but prepared for anything nevertheless.
Rose lay
down on his bed and closed his eyes. He
hated seeing such insolence in his men, and wondered why he didn’t just do away
with Ryo on the spot. Ah yes, because
the man was the best weapon that he possessed.
He just had to keep reminding himself of this ever since the man had
spoken to him out of turn, which had occurred upon his return from his
encounter with
Rose wondered just how much longer he would be able to keep Ryo caught
up in his web of deceit or where the man’s loyalties lay.
The bed
shifted slightly as another body joined his.
“You do know that by sending him back in his current state that you may
very well have sent him to his death?” Diana observed as she removed Rose’s
armor and began to knead the stiff muscles in his back.
“If he
dies, so be it. He has failed me once
already. I don’t need him as a
liability. Already my plans have been
pushed back due to his mistakes,” Rose said bitterly.
time before
battle before we are ready. Ryo has
ultimately sealed his fate since the moment he chose to doubt me.
“Then why
didn’t you kill him when you had the chance?
Why did you let him return to
first time you sent him?” Diana asked as she moved to work at the muscles of
Rose’s arms.
Rose
sneered in contempt and replied, “Because every man has a weakness.
However, seeing how my fair beauty reacted upon his return to the camp,
I was able to see that
encounter. With
coupled with Ryo’s desire to be loved by another, my
plan could not have worked out more perfectly if I had forged the wills that
drive them with my own hands. I will use
their weaknesses to my advantage. Their
fates have been sealed. Maybe they would
be so lucky to die in each other’s arms.
How ironic. The very attraction
that brings them together will be their undoing.”
Ryo
arrived at
travels. He had not had a moment’s rest
for almost two days. Wiping a bead of
sweat from his brow, he surveyed the daunting structure of the castle wall that
he would need to climb in order to reach his destination.
and tossed it upward. It caught onto a
parapet and he pulled the rope taut, hoisting himself up and nimbly scaling the
wall. He swung his leg over the ledge
and silently dropped onto the stone balcony, pulling up the rope behind
him. Ryo stopped a moment to catch his
breath, almost collapsing from exhaustion.
He certainly could not face
The honey-blond assassin was not ready for another draining
confrontation yet. Removing his bag from
his shoulder, he used it as a pillow as he lay down against the cool stones of
the balcony, sighing. He would confront
rest. Ryo closed his beautiful dark eyes
as sleep encapsulated his entire being in a state of utter surrender.
middle of the night to perceive a beam of moonlight reflecting off of a shiny
metal object on his balcony. Curious as
to what was causing the shimmering reflection, he cautiously pulled his robe
closer against his supple body and crept out of his bed, moving along the wall
to investigate. He drew in his breath
sharply at the sight that met his eyes.
The gorgeous assassin from the night before was huddled on the stone
floor in a deep sleep, his arms wrapped around his lithe body to offer some
protection from the high tower’s slight breeze that whipped his silken tresses
across his handsome features that were illuminated by the pale moonlight.
the man slumbering before him. Looking
to the side of the sleeping beauty,
source of the light that glinted in the moonbeams.
Ryo
shivered again and turned over in his sleep, a blissful sigh escaping his
parted lips as he found comfort in his new position.
as he was lifted up and held against a warm body.
his defenses. He felt so safe wrapped
within the arms of his unknown protector.
and placed him gingerly onto his bed so as not to wake him, setting him against
a large overstuffed pillow. The soft
surface seemed to mold against the contours of Ryo’s weary body, and he sighed
softly.
the deep circles under his eyes belying his apparent lack of sleep.
leaned in closer in wonder to the shy man who had ensnared his heart since the
previous night. The enigmatic
honey-blond assassin with the deep
As the
sensations of being carried and placed against something soft inundated Ryo’s
senses, he reluctantly opened his sleep-laden eyes and blinked slowly into
smoldering emerald depths. “I found you
out on my balcony,”
said in order to alleviate the onslaught of panic that plagued Ryo’s features
at finding himself in unfamiliar surroundings.
“You know, most people who come to see me use the front door,”
cascaded across his dark features could not hide the amusement in his voice.
Ryo smiled
despite himself.
even more alluring, but Ryo’s beautiful smile seemed to light up his whole
face, its rarity only heightening its elegance.
“I-I’m sorry,” Ryo said softly, a deep blush spreading across his face.
as he looked down and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
subserviently all of his life,
have to take things one step at a time if he was to get anywhere with getting
Ryo to trust him, of this he was sure.
“
his own and restrained him from getting up off the bed.
I’ve got plenty of room in my bed.”
Ryo
glanced up at
present in the man’s words and his cheeks flushed a deeper shade of
crimson. He knew that he should protest,
but he really didn’t have the energy at the moment to put up much of a fight.
next to the handsome ruler was quite tempting.
Ryo reluctantly lay back against the pillows once more as
beautifully embroidered with the royal insignia, which he had retrieved from a
trunk. “Here.
sleeping in this,” he said as Ryo surveyed the elegant garment in awe.
between his fingers. He had never seen
something so remotely luxurious in all of his life, let alone had it offered to
him.
assassin had seemed to relax against the comfortable bed.
guard a bit further with each passing moment in the raven-haired man’s calming
presence. “You must be thirsty,”
smile. He handed Ryo a cup of water that
he had poured from a pitcher by his bedside.
Ryo stood
up and took it gratefully before hesitantly putting a question to the ebony-haired
sovereign. “Why are you being so nice to
me?” Seeing the look of surprise on
challenging the raven-haired man’s actions or speaking to him out of turn.
mean, it’s not necessary for you to serve me.
“Don’t
worry about it. The important thing is
that you get some rest right now. We’ll
talk in the morning,”
moved closer to Ryo and took the empty cup from him, placing it on the bedside
table before taking Ryo’s hands in his own.
Ryo was entranced once again as
captivated him with the intensity of his emerald depths.
nearness of
undeniable effect on Ryo and Ryo was drawn to him even more strongly than he
had been the previous night. “However,
there is one thing that I must ask of you,”
“Why do
you ask?” Ryo inquired softly as if in a trance as
waist, pulling him closer. Ryo’s breath
caught in his throat and he found that he could not look away from
intoxicating nearness of
“Because I
want to place a name to the face that has visited my dreams,”
Ryo’s honey-blond tresses away from his face.
Ryo’s beautiful dark eyes widened.
So the charismatic man before him felt an underlying attraction to him
as well? Ryo was overwhelmed by this
sincere confession.
to Ryo in this moment of raw emotion.
Ryo gazed
at the man who silently waited for a response.
Much to
swept across Ryo’s cheeks. He was amazed
that he seemed to fluster the honey blond whenever he asked him anything about
himself.
for Ryo to open up to him so quickly. He
did not want to rush the bashful assassin, but given the circumstances, he knew
that they did not have much time together before they would once again be
parted.
“Ryo.
once again meeting
emerald gaze with his
A genuine
smile spread across
handsome features. “Welcome to my
castle, Ryo. And please, call me Dee.”
continued, “Although I have forgotten my manners.
With that,
he pulled Ryo close against his body so that Ryo was pressed up against
him. In a heartbeat,
and claimed Ryo’s mouth in a searing kiss, the warmth of his body radiating a
passionate intensity that only heightened Ryo’s feelings of pleasure as he
responded wholeheartedly to the kiss.
Ryo regretted that he had been lost in a sea of confusion during their
first kiss, but was fully intending to take whatever the ebony-haired man had
to offer now. At first,
his own, although there was a driving fire burning behind the onslaught of
Ryo’s hot mouth that soon built into a blazing inferno with each instant that
Ryo’s sweet yielding mouth was against his.
Ryo moaned in supplication and parted his lips to allow
Ryo, finding his own tongue and engaging it in a bout of intrigue that only
fueled Ryo’s anticipation of the tempting promise of what else
Ryo’s
knees buckled beneath him and he clutched onto
slightly from the intensity of the kiss.
breathless, his
tinged with a faintly pink hue. The
assassin had never looked so alluring,
onto the bed and hovered above him, his emerald eyes burning with a fierce
intensity and his ebony tresses falling across his face in seductive
disarray.
slightly, revealing the defined muscles of his chest and abdomen as he leaned
down and once again devoured Ryo’s mouth with his sizzling tongue.
basked in the sensations of utter abandon that the ebony-haired man was
conveying to him with each stroke of his velvet tongue.
he was being shown true affection. This
very thought alone amplified his longing for the man above him whose heart
mirrored the forbidden desires that his own possessed.
Dee moved
down to lavish attention on his neck, encouraged by the moan that escaped Ryo’s
lips as his hands came up to tangle in the raven tresses.
at the juncture between his neck and collarbone.
neck, driven by a passionate fury. He administered
soothing licks to Ryo’s smooth flesh that he had assuaged and reveled in the slightly
salty taste of the assassin’s skin against his tongue.
honey-blond who writhed and whimpered beneath his touch, his body begging for
more.
desirous of anyone before, and he was overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of his
emotions that Ryo had elicited in him.
Ryo threw
his head back in bliss and closed his passion-glazed eyes, losing himself in
the sensations coursing throughout his responsive body.
consuming passion and desire by another.
His mind told him to force
him to finally allow himself to feel something for another.
in
physically expressing their underlying feelings for each other.
Before,
Ryo had been lusted after by many, such as with his superior, Rose.
dominate him, sealing Ryo’s fate so as to always control him in mind as well as
body. However, Ryo had resisted his
advances when he could and had shut himself down emotionally when he could not.
possessed by another, and Ryo could never get enough of the tender affection
that his body craved. He had been
deprived of it for too long.
steamy body and smiled seductively.
“Welcome to my castle, Ryo. You
may stay as long as you like. Oh, and
the pleasure was all mine,”
desire as he whirled around, walking briskly out to the balcony.
Ryo could
only lay on the bed where
previously unknown feelings that were now inundating his senses ever since he
had met
They were prominent in his mind, and he did not know how to deal with
the intensity of how his body had responded to
stop
feeling of how
kiss was both frightening and exhilarating at the same time.
shut down from the sheer exhaustion of his travels and he drifted into a
dreamless sleep. He would confront
his silky raven tresses, resting his other hand on the balcony.
thought as he reflected how easily it would have been to take the honey-blond
right then and there. The shy assassin
had been so willing, and the man’s naivety coupled with his unbridled
exuberance for the raven-haired man above him had sent a thrill down
have given in to his carnal desires, but with Ryo it was different.
them into something more than just satiating his own lust.
to put another’s pleasure above his own.
pulling his black silk robe tighter around his lithe frame.
gorgeous assassin and find out why he had returned to him so soon after their
first meeting, although he had his suspicions.
Pulling the curtain that hung from his huge canopy bed closed and enveloping
them in a shroud of semi-darkness, he noticed that Ryo had fallen asleep.
man’s chest indicated that he had let his guard down completely.
“What did
Rose put you through?”
out of Ryo’s eyes and kissed him softly upon the lips.
robe that he had offered him to sleep in.
He would be cold lying there in only the thin material of his outfit on
this chilly night.
Ryo’s shoulders. When Ryo didn’t even
stir,
broad chest and defined abdomen. He
slipped it down further until he had removed Ryo’s suit fully from him and drew
in his breath. The shy honey blond was
even more beautiful than he had imagined, lying magnificently in his bed like
an angel fallen from heaven.
robe over Ryo and slipped his arm into it, rolling him over slightly before
guiding his other arm into the material.
waist and pulled the sheets up to cover his form before walking to the other
side of the bed and getting under the covers.
He pulled Ryo close to him, reveling in the comfort that he felt at
having another in his arms and wishing that they could stay like this
forever. As
this magical night was only a clever disguise of fate.
unpunished, and
did not want to imagine the aftermath of his fury that Rose would bestow upon
Ryo in light of his defiance. As he
succumbed to sleep’s spell, he wondered if he would be willing to forfeit his
life if it meant that the one in his arms would finally be able to attain true
happiness.
Ryo was
only vaguely aware of deft hands moving over his body as he drifted in and out
of awareness, fighting a losing battle against the dark abyss of sleep’s
depths. He welcomed the feel of the soft
material that cascaded in abundance around him, surrounding and enveloping him
in its silky caress as it traced every curve of his smooth flesh and settled
over him. The last thing that he
remembered was
him protectively and holding him tightly against his body.
smiled. He felt a wonderful sense of
belonging and completeness that he had longed for his whole life.
of his soul that he never knew he had been searching for.
become a reality and they could stay like this forever.
written in the stars. He knew that they
could not be together. Come morning, he
would have to kill the one that he had hopelessly fallen for or die trying.
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