She looked up at him. She was blushing, not knowing what to say or think. She had gotten lost in the moment, and had caved to her desires. "You do not need to worry..." She had made her decision. She would give herself to him. She would allow herself to become his. She was ready and felt confidant. Although at the same time, she was afraid. However, she new that she would be there with him, and she felt safe with him. She looked at him reassuringly, and then leaned up and kissed him once more.

He wasn't sure what she'd decided, 'don't worry' didn't let him know what she was thinking. He just knew that she was doing what she wanted to do and that was fine by him. He wasn't going to walk away from this, no matter what happened. Though he did hope that no one would walk in, at the very least. He didn't think that her family would take too kindly to him doing this to her, but even that fear didn't stop him. If need be he'd say that they'd decided to get married to help seal the agreement. He knew that he hadn't spoken to her about it, but he hoped that Kiako wouldn't get in trouble that way. He was willing to lay his life down for her, so marriage sounded like a blessing. No, he decided to hell with her family. He'd talk to her about it anyways and just use the pact as an excuse or something. He just wouldn't talk about it now...

(Uhh... I really have no idea where to go with this (since we know it is headed somewhere >.> XD), not going to lie. XD So, I think perhaps I will start it from the next morning)

Kiako has laying down in her bed, half resting on his chest. She smiled softly, turning her head over and lightly placing a kiss on his chest. She then rested back down on it, listing to his heart beat. She waiting for him to walk up, not wanting to move until she had too. The night had been too perfect. and she wanted to prolong it for as long as possible.

(haha ya, I wasn't sure what to do either. nice save. XD )

Kaido hadn't had any particularly bad nights in a while, but he hadn't slept this soundly in a very long time. He took a deep breath and grumbled softly as he slowly woke up. He couldn't open his eyes at first, finding it to be too bright, but as soon as he remembered what had happened his eyes flew open and he had to quickly close them again. He covered his eyes for a second before rubbing the sleep from them and opening his eyes at last to look at her. His eyes were squinted at first, but he smiled when he saw her and his eyes gradually got used to the light filtering through her window. He ran his finger up and down her back and his smile grew. "Good morning." He leaned over and lightly kissed her forehead.

A chill went down her spine, and she laughed softly.She looked up at him, leaning up and kissing him softly. "Mmm... good morning indeed," she blushed, and giggled softly. Her face lit up as she looked up at him. "Oh, what time do you think it is?" She looked at him. "Well.. I guess Jethro would have woken me if it was really late..." She relax back down once, trailing her nails down his chest.

He watched her hand and grinned crookedly, "I'm sure it's before 8. I can't sleep in past that time, it seems." He gently took her hand in his and suddenly turned serious. He looked at her, watching her smile, and wondered if her smile would dissapear were he to ask for her hand. The very thought made him freeze and he didn't know whether to ask her or not. It would be hard for her to marry another man unless he had no idea what to expect, but even then he didn't think that she could get away with it once he had her in bed. He realized what he was thinking and a cold fury built up inside of him. He couldn't let her be with another man like that, he wouldn't allow it. At the very least he'd kill the man so she could have the excuse that she'd slept with him before he died, and therefore explain why she was no longer a virgin.. but he knew that he'd have to kill himself afterwards, and that would ruin all of his plans to take her away. His mouth grew dry and he had to lick his lips, but the fury in him gave him the courage he needed to ask. He held her hand tighter and looked down at her, slowly softening under her gaze. "Be my wife..." he blushed, knowing that he hadn't sounded very romantic, but he hadn't been able to say too much because his mouth became even more dry and made it impossible to speak at all. He held his breath, waiting for her answer. He hoped that should she say yes they would find a way to keep her in office so that her work (and the treaty) wouldn't be nulled, but he knew that eventually he'd run into the person who had killed his family so he couldn't stay in the capital. He thought it to be impossible, but he wanted to try... if only she said yes..
(nice, romantic reply for you before I go. lol)

She paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath. Did he... She looked at him, pulling her hair away from his face. No words were coming to her head, all thoughts had just faded away. She was flabbergasted to say the least. "I... We..." Her expression was blank. She had no idea how things would work out, but did that matter? Should that be the first thing that comes to her mind? She had just had the most incredible night, and she had long since decided that she wanted to be with him. The only thing was she would need to present him before the council. How her council would take to her marrying someone from the rebellion... Their reaction scared her, thinking about all that they could do, and how she was powerless to stop them. They followed her Father's ideals, and he would not approve. Perhaps she could try and convince them otherwise, then again... She just prayed that they had nod idea what was going on. She smiled softly, tilting her head up and lightly kissing him. "I don't know why else to say but... yes."

He took a deep breath, he'd been holding it while he'd waited for her answer. He let a big grin spread across his face and he started kissing her all over. He didn't know what to say so he kept his mouth busy with kisses. He held her tighter and felt like his chest was going to explode. (sorry, short reply. didn't know what else to write since he isn't talking. lol)

She laughed, kissing him back. "One thing though, we will have to work out a way to present this to the council. For now, there is a potential suitor coming along..." Wait a minute... "Why don't you come as a suitor? That way I can chose you to marry and everything would be legitimate. We wouldn't have to worry about anything!!!!" This idea made her very happy. The council would have no choice but to agree, and it would finalize the treaty. They could be happy.

He thought of the other suiter coming and grumbled, but nodded his agreement. He seemed to look off for a moment, then a grin spread across his face and he laughed. "I'll just have to run him into the ground! I'll show him what it takes to win your heart!" He grinned wider and looked at her, saying "But I think I've already won, so it doesn't seem very fair. But I don't care." He laughed and kissed her all over.

Kiako laughed kissing him once again. "You do have a small advantage, yes," she said in a teasing manner. She had rejected everyone else, so rejecting this suitor would be no problem. "First, however, you will need to get dressed. Then ride in and sweep me off my feet!" She laughed, kissing him once again. "In all seriousness however, we will need Jethro's help. He is good at the whole scheming thing."

She sat up, wrapping a blanket around herself and walked over to her closet, putting on a simple wrap around kimono and tying it. She then went back over to the bed and set down. "I honestly have no idea how we are going to go about this."

He shrugged and sat up, looking at her. "Maybe that's what I need to do.. Ride in and introduce myself and pretend like I wasn't here last night." He reached over and held her hand. "We can make it look as though I'm worried about the treaty and came for your hand to solidify it. They would believe that, right?" He smiled a little bit and ran his hand lightly over her cheek. "I'll do whatever it takes.." he said softly.

She leaning into his touch, then held his hand against her cheek. The feel was so soothing, and every time he had done it to her, she had enjoyed it immensely. She turned her head, lightly kissing the tip of every finger individually. She turned her attention to him once again, sighing softly with a smile. "You really are something, you know that right?" She leaned over and lightly kissed his lips. "And yes, I believe that the council will have no choice but to believe. We will make them believe. However, this will need some acting on both our parts. No affection can be shown between us, lest the council find us out. And, we will need to be wary of our behaviour, and make sure that my sister does not discover us either. She will surely inform the council, and we will both be hanged."

He nodded grimly and put his other hand on her opposite cheek. "it's going to kill me not to show my love for you, but I will refrain from even looking your way. I don't care about myself being hanged, I deserve it for failing others in my life.. but I will freeze my very heart if it means keeping you alive.." He looked sad for a moment, but all he had to do was kiss her and he felt a bit better. "Just know that even though I may not smile and hold your hand, I'm thinking of you with the warmest of affections.. no matter what I'm forced to say or do.." he sighed softly and kissed her again, then reluctently got out of bed and started to dress in his clothes. they were mostly dry and would be completly dry by the time he met with the council.
(the heart thing could be a bit of foreshadowing. ooooooh. lol)

She got up, going into her closet and putting on an elegant black kimono that was embroidered with red and silver dragons. She had tied her long hair up with a silver clip that had a red ribbon handing from it. She went over to him and smiled softly, picking up a black ribbon off her desk. She tied it around her neck. A small pendant with the royal symbol hung from the ribbon and rested neatly on her collar bone.

"You know.. It is going to kill me to have to be cold towards you. I won't be able to give you the same look I am giving you now. It will be much like the look I gave you when we first met." She walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head into his chest once more. She knew this was going to be hard. Fooling the council would be very easy. It was convincing her sister... Soon enough, she thought.

A knock came from the other side of the door, startling Kiako, making her move quickly away from Kaido. "My lady..." it was only Jethro. Kiako took a deep sigh of relief. "My lady, the council is summoning you, Lord Dante from the west is almost here..."

Shit... she thought. She looked at Kaido. "Follow Jethro, he will get you out without being noticed..." She paused for a moment, looking back up at him, kissing him once more. "Its show time." She opened the door, hurrying out of her room, the train and sleeves from her kimono trailing behind her.

Jethro stepped into the room, closing the door behind him, and walking over to the book shelf. He pushed it over, revealing a stairwell. "Follow me."

Kaido frowned as he looked at the closed door, but nodded and turned his back to it as he hurried after Jethro. 'Dante' was obviously a foreigner, but he would not lose to the likes of some man who knew nothing about what he could attain. For all that loser knew he probably thought he was being forced into something he didn't want with a 'barbarian' and wouldn't try very hard to win her affection. He growled loudly and balled his hands into fists, determined to show the poor boy up.

Jethro led him down the hallway and down several revolving stair cases. He brought him outside, just outside of the castle gates. A horse was sitting there waiting for him. "Wait 30 minutes, get dressed in a formal wear and then ride in. Make sure you are not scene, but that should not be a problem. There will be no patrol passing by, I have already arranged that. Also," he pulled a scroll from his bag, "take this and hand it to Kiako. She will read it. Basically it says that you are here as a suitor to insure that the peace between her empire and your rebellion will be maintained."

Jethro looked around and then headed back in, leaving Kaido alone.

* * *

Kiako sat down at the head of the council chamber. Her sister sat beside her, and the chair on her left (reserved for her brother) was empty. The council men sat around the room. The door opened, and a tall man stood in the doorway. He walked up to Kiako, and handed her the document, bowing before her. Kiako took the scroll, reading over it, and then handing it to her sister.

"Stand, state your name, family name and birth right."

Dante stood, an explained who he was and what kind of family he came from. The council was pleased, however Kiako sat there, tapping her nails on the table. Her sister looked over, noticing Kiako's nervous habit. "Forgive me Kiako, you seem impatient... Are you perhaps waiting for your lover?"

Kiako's attention quickly changed, and she looked at her sister. "You know not of what you speak, my dear twin. And in my presence, you will hold your tongue if you have nothing respectful to say." Aiasha smiled and laughed softly.

"We shall see when he arrives Kiako. I am not as dense as you had hoped."

(you said twin, so I have to do it)
Kaido did as instructed and dressed slowly a few miles away. He rode in exactly 30 minutes later wearing his best armor with his hair tied up without a single hair out of place. He closed his nervousness away inside of himself and put on an air of military action and indifference. He was led to the council, note in hand, and walked into the room before they could announce him. He looked from one woman to the next and thought, 'I didn't know her sister was a twin. I should have asked.' He knew at once which one was Kiako, but knew that he couldn't know so instead he said "Which one of you is miss Kiako, the one that I faced on the battlefield?" He looked at both of them, square in the face, and tried not to look directly at Kiako with any hint of recognition. It was easier said than done, especially after the night before, but he pulled it off and held up the scroll. "I have come as a suitor, and hope that with it a strong sense of peace can grow between our people's." He ignored Dante.

Aiasha looked at the man in front. She grinned. "Can you not tell the difference between a warrior and --"

Kiako cut her off mid sentence, leaning over and taking the scroll. "Thank you, sir." Her voice carried the same cold harshness that it did when they first met. Kiako opened the scroll, reading over it and then handing it down, letting it pass to each of the council members. One of them looked up. He was an elder, his face straight and hard. His eyes held no form of emotion.

"It is good of you to have come, even though you were not summoned."

"Even so, a stronger bond of peace would be beneficial." A familiar voice rang out. Jethro Sat in the back, wearing a matching robe.

"You do indeed have a point, Master Jethro." The council men began to discuss amongst themselves. Kiako was so thankful Jethro had been a part of the council, and in a high standing position at that. He would be able to help them pull this off.

Kiako looked around. "I will return. Perhaps I might speak to each one of these men in private." She stood, everyone standing up with her. She stepped down, walking over to Dante, ignoring Kaido as she went by, acting as if she felt nothing. Jethro went down to Kaido.

"Follow me." His voice was just as unemotional, leading him to the main entrance hall. "You did well, Kiako will not be long, so wait here."

He nodded, but didn't trust the castle. He felt as if the walls could be listening or watching, so he didn't dare let himself relax and knew that he'd have to keep up the charade up eventhough they were alone. He didn't trust anyone, and knew that even comrads may turn and stab you in the back, as they could do to Kiako. He'd protect her, till she was safe in his arms. He'd find a way to convince the council that he fell in love afterwards, or just accepted his fate, so that in time everyone could see without being suspicious. Till then, he wouldn't feel that Kiako was safe, no matter who seemed to side with them. It could all be a charade, after all.

Kiako finished going over her evaluation in record time. It was true, Dante was attractive in her eyes, but he did not let her speak, and believed that it wa not "her place" to be in such a position seeing as how she was merely a woman. Oh how she cursed the very ground that he walked on for his comments. When she walked out of that room, she felt disgusted, however she carefully escorted Dante out of the room. When he was gone, she went back to Kaido. "Come with me," was the only thing she said. She did not even look at him.

The walk was agonizing for her, not being able to reach out and take his hand, but she dared not. Around every corner, someone was watching, and she knew this very well. They were all waiting for her to make her mistake.

When she got back up to the room, she barred all the secret entranced to it, and looked the door, then looked at him. Her face smiled instantly with a look of relief. She walked up to him and held onto him tightly. "Kaido... I do not want to have to spend time with him..."

He froze, a look of agony crossing his face. "Is it really safe to be speaking like this? I fear that there could be more places people could be hiding." He hugged her tightly, unable to do otherwise. If they were being watched, her relief would have given them away already so he felt that holding back now wouldn't help much. He kissed her all over and felt as though his chest would burst. He was determined not to put her in danger and to win her council over. He would do anything for her.. but this was a true test of patience. Every passing second that he had to ignore her was agony now that he'd accepted that he loved her. He hadn't loved in so long it was like a breath of fresh air, but hiding it was like sufficating again.

She kissed him deeply, her desire for him burning in her chest. It hurt beyond all reckoning to act as she did, but it was for the greater good. She knew in the end she would be with him, no matter where that end would lie. She paused for a moment. looking up at him. "You are right... someone could be watching..." And yet, she did not pull away from him, if anything she just got closer. She wanted to feel him once again, even if now was not the best of times. She longed for his touch once more, and agonized for that feeling once again. She leaned up and kissed him deeply, not knowing what would happen if she did.

* * *

"High Priest Jethro, do you know where my sister is?" Aiasha's gaze was cold and empty as she looked at Jethro.

"Conducting the interview with the new suitor, lady Aiasha... But I do not suggest an interference, you know your sister will not take kindly to you should you interrupt the interview."

"Ah, yes, as she has done many times before." Aiasha smiled, and made her way over toward the room.

He leaned down and kissed her gently, then regretfully stepped back and sat down in a chair. It hurt to do so, but they needed to think up the rest of their plan. "So, what now? What do we tell them? Do you ask me questions like the other guy and tell the council?" He looked at the floor, hoping that not looking at her would help calm him so that he could pretend again when they walked back out. "The answers we give them should match the way I act or think, or they'll eventually catch on that the answers were fake. So, princess, ask me what you asked him.." He looked up at her and smiled a little bit to show that he couldn't wait to have this over with so that they could just be themselves again. He looked at how pretty she was and couldn't help but have a lewd thought as he remembered the night before. He blushed and had to look away again, feeling his face burn up. It was nice feeling like a lusty young boy again, like the past few agonizing years hadn't happened. He chuckled softly and a corner of his mouth turned up. He looked back up at her, looking almost like that young boy again. "Don't worry, I don't bite." He said, trying to lighten the mood so that she'd feel more comfortable with asking the questions. Already they were taking too long and hadn't discussed anything.

Kiako smiled softly, even though she felt disheartened as he pulled away. She knew in her heart though that he was right, and sat down in the chair behind her desk, picking up a scroll that laid loosely rolled. "Here, fill these out first. This will be passed through the council, so we will not need to focus much on asking the questions. It is much simpler to have your answers written down on paper, rather then merely rely on the sometimes swayed memory. This way we also have a full proof of your coming here." She handed him the scroll and a quill with an ink bottle.

* * *

Aiasha made her way to the door, pulling out her eye and unlocking it. When she opened it she was much disappointed at the scene before her. Everything was normal. "Forgive my intrusion, I just wanted to --"

"No need for an explanation my dear sister. Come, you should be a part of this ceremony to, a you will need to go through this when you chose to be married." Kiako grinned, pulling up a chair for her.

"No no, it is alright, I will learn when my time comes." With that, she bowed and left, closing the door behind her.

Kiako tried not to laugh, waiting for a moment to make sure no one was around. Only then did she smile. "That girl will never learn the tact of catching someone in an incriminating act."