((This time it was a ruptured ovarian cyst. Lemme tell ya, those things hurt! WOOO! Page 2!!)


Fox disappeared out the door before Ryoko could explain; he wasn't trying to be rude, quite the opposite, he wanted to make sure Fox got the rest he needed so as to heal quickly. Kicking himself mentally for a while, Ryoko shoveled the rest of the food into his mouth, not caring in the slightest as various sauces dribbled down his chin. He hadn't realized just how ravenous he was, and now that he was alone, he needed no decorum.

He knew he had crossed a line by winking, he had never been an masterful flirt even around women, let around someone as intriguing to him as Fox. He found himself really caring about the man, and hated the idea that he had offended him by not requesting he stand guard at his door all night long.

Finishing his meal, belly stuffed full, Ryoko made his way over to his bath, sliding himself into the hot water that awaited him. Steam rose as he exhaled, swirling around his nearly submerged head in a delicate smoky dance. He watched, letting his mind wander from the events of the day, their plan to keep him and his father safe, and the constant problem that was his feelings towards Fox. Maybe this arrangement wouldn't work; though Ryoko balked at the idea of losing his contact with Fox.

Exhaling all the air from his lungs, Ryoko let his head slip under the still steaming water, running his fingers through the tendrils of hair that waved about in the swirling currents. Resurfacing, he blindly reached for the bottle of scented hair oil, pouring it over his soaked head. He took another dunk, rinsing most of the concoction from his tresses. Standing, he dried himself with a course towel, then wrapped it around his waist, leaving his chest still exposed. He was a well built man, though he didn't exercise the way his warriors did, he was toned and obviously had strength to him. His wet hair clung to his face and neck, small water droplets rolling down his chest and back, sending chills through him. It didn't help that those chills reminded him of the way he felt looking into Fox's eyes. His body responded, a little too willingly, to the image of Fox's gaze locked upon his.

Alarmed, Ryoko stripped the towel off him and rubbed his hair dry, trying to shake the image from his mind and quiet his body. He fell into bed, barely making an effort to cover himself with blankets. He stared up at the ceiling, hearing the quiet bootfalls of the guards walking back and forth on all sides of his chamber, Ryoko fell asleep, wishing it was Fox outside.

Fox stood outside for hours waiting to see if Ryoko would wake. Fox didn't waver just curious on what was keeping the prince. Fox knew that the King would be leaving soon if he hadn't already. It wasn't till mid day that Fox gathered the courage to enter the Princes chamber. Fox knocked loudly first hoping to not have to not have to enter the chamber. Not hearing any sounds from the room Fox consciously open the door and walked in. Fox kept her eyes to the ground as she moved further into the room. " Majesty are you here?" Fox said slowly entering the main part of his chambers. Fox knelled just inside keeping her eyes to the floor before daring to speak again. "MAJESTY!!!!!" Fox waited a moment before trying again. "MAJESTY!!! You must get up. Please....You are making others worry about you. Are you ill?"Fox said honestly worried about Ryoko.

Ryoko slowly came to his senses, hearing Fox's voice echo around his skull, as if from a long distance. In his mind, he ran towards his voice, pulling himself from the darkness that had enveloped him all night. With a tremendous effort, Ryoko opened his eyes, the lashes sticking together stubbornly.

"Wh-what is wrong?" He mumbled, his speech slurred as if drunk. "I only just went to bed," he continued, trying to sit himself up. His mind felt foggy, and his body numb; trying to move his arms to hold himself, his hands flopped about and his muscles refused to carry his weight.

Now Ryoko was getting upset with himself; what the hell was wrong with him? Why couldn't he do what he wanted? He made a motion to grab Fox, in hopes of steadying himself, but that ended with Fox being pulled down on top of Ryoko, who only stopped flailing his extremities when he realized what had happened.



((((Thank you so much for being so very patient; I'm so sorry my life is such a mess. It's getting better, slowly, and I think I'll actually be able to start replying more! Yay!))))

Fox bowed and could tell that Ryoko was tired. Fox tried to steady herself to help the Prince up. However in a strange turn of events she ended up on top of him instead. Fox froze paralyzed gazing into Ryoko's enchanting eyes. Fox felt her check turning red as she did so. However her body wouldn't move as much as she begged it to. She found herself unable to move as she gazed into his eyes finding them very enchanting. "Y-Your Majesty I-uh...." She felt her face growing brighter as she felt his body under hers. Fox found herself mesmerized by Ryoko. The solider in her screamed at her to move and beg for forgiveness. However the women in her wanted to stay like this and stare in his eyes for hours.


(of course I'm glad you are well !!! I thought I would leave you some room to have Ryoko do as he pleases. )

Ryoko lost himself in Fox's eyes, his body uncooperative in all the wrong ways as Fox's weight settled over him. His soft warmth on top of Ryoko gave the prince many fantasies, all playing at once in his mind. He wanted nothing more in this moment than to kiss the man laying on him, their noses nearly touching.

When Fox spoke, it broke the spell holding Ryoko entranced, and he began to shimmy out from under the man who was supposed to be guarding him.

"I apologize... I can not seem to control myself," He stammered, trying to force his muscles to cooperate and get upright. "Please, forgive my clumsy action." Ryoko tilted his head in a small, but submissive bow.

Fox snapped back to her senses as Ryoko moved from under her. She quickly bowed back respectively apologizing profusely for landing on the prince. " Majesty you have done nothing wrong. However I felt it was time to wake you so you could start your royal duties. However you look worse for wear. If like I will guard the entrance to your room while you sleep in. I just thought you might want to see your father off today. I believe it was your idea to send him and your double out of the kingdom today. I thought before that happens you may wish for a privet meeting with your father." Fox explained hoping that Ryoko wouldn't be to made at the events that had just unfolded before them. Fox was unsure what to do with herself at this point. She was use to be a solider and not having such issues. However around Ryoko she seemed to be having more issues than she had experienced her entire life.

Fox slowly stood and quickly moved back into the entrance way of Ryoko's room. She closed the privacy screen as she knelt down and waited for his orders. It really wasn't her idea to have ventured so far into his privet quarters. Fox scolded herself as she tried to keep her manly demeanor. It was hard for her to act like a man around him. All she wanted to do was unthinkable things around him. He was royalty after all and she was nothing but a impersonator. If any found out her true identity she could be killed. She felt as if she was dancing to close to the fire for her liking with him. The longer she was around him the closer she was to being discovered.

Ryoko immediately felt the absence of Fox's weight, a comfortable heaviness that he missed as soon as it was gone. He restrained himself from reaching out to embrace Fox, knowing that if he did, the actions that would follow would not be approved of by the Emperor.

Ryoko's heart fell as Fox continued to back away, showing no signs of feeling anything like how the prince felt. He attempted to recompose himself, which was becoming more and more difficult. "Yes, yes I did wish to see my father off on his journey. Would you see to those arrangements?" After a beat, "Please, Fox." Ryoko added, his voice softer, his intense eyes meeting his.

Fox bowed deeper before speaking once again. "Of course Majesty it would be my honor to serve you." She said in her masked voice. She turned and quickly left the sanctuary of his room. She found several guards just outside his room waiting to speak with her on more pressing matters in their opinion than the concern of her own. Fox was diplomatic in her response to the guards concerns and in her dealings with them. Once they had resolved the guards issues they moved to the Princes issue of seeing his father. The guards took Fox request and quickly dispatched the King himself. The guards decided to tell the King of Fox's request on Ryoko's behalf. They where instructed to tell the King to follow the path of the dragon.

Only Fox the royal family and her brothers knew the importance of that phrase. There where secret passages throughout the palace many accent and long forgotten. They where very hard to navigate to the untrained eye and very confusing if one didn't know what they where looking for. Every path lead to a different place none of them leading to the same one unless you knew the signs. Fox had been taught the dragon lore since her birth along with her brothers. It was the key to finding the secret Dragon Shrine that the royal family used when they wished to be alone in their own kingdom. The knowledge of it's existence had been lost over the centuries. The grounds where considered sacred everything in the land could parish but the land there would flourish. The water was purse and said to hold magical healing properties. The temple is said to have magical priorities and will only share it's knowledge and secrets to the ruler of the land. No other unless proven to be pure of heart man enter the sacred temple nor the land surrounding it. The temple is said to still look a new as the day it was built. However no one really knows how much is fact and how much is fiction about the palace. Fox herself had never seen the palace. She just knew how to get there for the King. No one besides the royal family had ever dared to enter the shrine before.

Fox looked over her shoulder as she slowly open the door once again quickly knelling just inside the door way. "Majesty, your father will meet you once you follow the path of the dragon. I would suggest you leave as you are now. If memories of the legends serves me correct, you may find rest there free from danger. It would be wise for you to seek shelter there for a few hours of rest. I'm sure if the legends are true that your family has everything one would need to stay there for a few hours to a few weeks." Fox said not wanting to come out and say what she really meant. She knew that most walls had ears and it was better to speak of something in riddles. Fox prayed that the Prince would let her lead him to the entrance of the sacred place and then dismiss her while he slept after his fathers meeting was over. He looked like he could use some sleep. Her father had told her the lands there where beyond beautiful and lush with life. She honestly wished to see them. But she didn't dare think herself worthy of trying it.

((I'm so sorry I've been such a shitty RP partner :( I hope to be better this coming week XD ))



Ryoko nodded, finishing the knot on his obi. He had managed to dress himself and pop a few morsels of food left over from the previous nights meal into his mouth in the time that Fox was gone instructing the soldiers. Ryoko was nervous about this journey, something felt off to him, something wrong. He knew that his father would be accompanied by his body double on the way, but he just couldn't shake the feeling.

Choosing to ignore it, he eyed the room, making sure he wasn't leaving anything he may want or need on the trip. "We shall leave immediately; as long as you yourself are ready, my Fox?" Despite having only really known him for a few short days, Ryoko felt a sense of loss whenever Fox wasn't with him, and couldn't fathom making this journey without him by his side, and now unconsciously claimed him with his words.

Sauska wondered about the empty palace he was no fool he could sense something was amiss. He had learned much from his noble host the night before. He honestly didn't understand why Lang or Demon even thought those assassins would work. The assassins where some of the best but Sauska had been trained here he knew that his people wouldn't fall so easily or be fooled. He had stopped by the kitchen early in the morning only to find that the cook was to open with his mouth on many things. He learned of secret meetings between the generals and the Prince. He also heard that the king wouldn't be taking his morning breakfast. It was amazing to him how little most people here paid attention. Not even his own people had noticed who he was. Maybe he really had changed that much. He had a way about him that could charm wild animals into doing his bidding. He had used that charm to acquire himself a servants robe and even good favor among the nobility. It had served him well with the cook of the royal kitchen. The man happily talked away about things he shouldn't have. The man even gave him the tea to take to the King.

Wolf himself truly felt like a wolf as he moved through the empty hallways. He was clothed in sheep skin no one knew him but they all seemed to love him. None of them knew that he was here to deliver a devastating blow to the King and his son. The King would drink the herb mixture that Wolf had slipped into his tea and be dead in a matter of seconds. The poison he had laced the herbs with was known as dragons breath. It only took a needle point amount to kill. It was made from several different poisons. It felt like fire engulfing the victim from the inside as it quickly shut down every system in the body. He had been smart ad laced the rim of the cup there was only enough of the poison for one person. If anyone tested it there would be no trace of it. It would just look like the victim had a massive heart attack.

Wolf bowed waiting outside the Kings door. He open his eyes as he heard the conversation from inside of the room. He heard the guard inside tell the king to follow the path of the dragon. It had been years since he had heard that phrase. He was was surprised that there where no other guards outside of it. He slowly knocked on the door as he left the tray of tea and cup there. He vanished almost instantly behind a secret panel hidden behind one of the large wooden columns. He waited in the small passage as he peered out through a screen. A person could see out of the screen but no one could see in. It was something his people had learned to make many years ago. He smiled as he waited. He had his suspicions and wondered if the man inside was really the king or not. However he knew about the lore of the dragons path. Before he defected he was being trained for the position that the meddlesome Fox had. He didn't learn all of it but he knew enough and had a feeling if he was right he could wait and follow them King himself or the prince to the meeting spot. He knew that only royalty could enter the sacred place.

Fox slowly rose and stepped into Ryoko's room bowing before the King to be. " Majesty I am always ready to follow and go when you are. " Fox said meaning it and rose looking to the Prince."I am honored that you feel I am yours. I was sure you wished to replace me with someone more deserving. " Fox said honestly meaning it. Fox had sensed that the prince hadn't chose her to be his protector. Fox turned as she walked over to the Princes privet garden area. She knew more about this palace than most. She quickly open the privacy screen as she steeped out. She kept her hands near her sword at all times as she steeped out and waited. Once she felt they where alone and safe she lean the prince to the pond in his garden. She stopped as she saw the dragon sculpture.

The sculpture was massive she walked around to it's front as she mashed down on one of it's massive talons. Fox was impressed as the secret doorway open. She stepped inside as she pulled out one of the stone that she could make fire with. She held it over the far wall where a banister of shorts was. However there was liquid in it. She smiled as she managed to get a few sparks over the liquid causing a sudden flame to arise from the liquid as it moved down for miles following the Bannister and wall. It illuminated the darken hallways making everything easier to see. Fox lead the way knowing that the door would close as soon as the prince entered. Fox remembered the lore as she lead the Prince further and deeper into the winding maze. She kept quiet as they moved making sure to stay alert. It was amazing to see the old pathways. She smiled as they can to their destination. It had taken them hours to reach but she could hear the sound of the waters and birds chirping. She could see a beautiful light and see long branches from some tree covering the entrance. The place look magical she could swear she felt magic coming from it as she paused bowing to Ryoko. " My Prince we are here." She said to him.