He was more surprised than anything. Just a minute or two ago they would have been caught, but Kiako seemed so natural about the whole thing. He suddenly felt a bit sick, thinking how close they'd both come to being exposed. Kiako would have been put to death, as Jethro had said. He quietly filled out the list and handed it back to her. "Will she try something like that again...?"

Kiako smiled and laughed softly. "Aiasha? Of course, her and I have never been... fond of each other. Do not worry though, it is very easy to keep her at bay. The only thing you have to do it act natural, and not let your guard down. She is after the crown, and would take great delight in seeing my death." Kiako looked saddened for a moment, taking the scroll and going over it. "Very nicely done." She rolled it up, tying it with a purple ribbon and then sealing it shut. She then went to written another scroll, sealing that one as well.

"Shall I show you to where you will be staying whilst you are here?"

He didn't like seeing her sad like that and wondered if he could do something to help her and her sister get closer. The thought quickly left his mind because he knew that once a person decided on your death they almost never came around. He nodded and stood, deciding instead to make her happier himself instead of relying on her sisters changing. He wanted to hold her hand, but refraned just in case.

Kiako stood, going over to the door and opening it, then walked out. She lead him down the hallway until they reached a grand set of doors. She opened it, to reveal a well decorated room, th closet in the room opened to reveal freshly folded clothing. "This will be your room," she looked at him with a slight grin, "I am sure you will find everything you need when you retire for the night."

Jethro walked past the door. Kiako turned to him. "Oh, Jethro, could you see that this is delivered to the council men, along with the other one," handing him the scroll Kaido filled out, "and then could you make sure that this one is sent to my brother?"

Jethro smiled, and bowed. "Will he be joining us tonight?"

"I do hope so. Perhaps he can keep Aiasha at bay for a bit."

"Of course, my Lady Kiako, I will do as you wish." And with that, he was gone. Kiako smiled going over and sitting down in the chair in the room. "Do you like it?"

He hadn't expected such a grand room, but he figured that he should have what with where he was. He'd never really sat down and realized who he was in love with and what that implied. He'd never been interested with anything having to pertain with the throne, but now he finally let it sink in that she was royalty. He stopped for a second, frozen in a brief moment of panic. He didn't want her to think that he was going through her for the throne or that he wanted anything to do with it. The thought of so many people relying on him scared him. He was busy enough taking care of his past army and brieftly wondered how they were doing without him. He sat on the bed and shook his head, looking at her. "I love you, Kiako. There's nothing else I want, just your love.." He looked at the floor, not sure what he was trying to say.

She smiled, getting up an sitting down beside him. "Let your mind rest for now. Stay here for a bit. I need to return to my chambers, however when it comes time for the banquet, I will have someone come to get you. For now though, my love," she rested her hand on his cheek, "just rest." She stood up, and walked out of his room, made her way down the hallway and entered her own room.

"Kiako, were have you been?" She turned quickly, seeing Dante sitting in the chair beside the fire place.

"You should not be in here..." She looked at him coldly, watching him carefully.

"Do not play me for a fool, your highness..."

"Get out before I have you charged..."

He paced back and forth in front of his bed. He knew that he should rest like she said, but his mind was going a mile a minute. Thoughts swirled around in his head in a big jumbled mass and he couldn't sort it out. He thought about how he should act, what to do to win over the council, what he could and couldn't say to Kiako, and even what he had to do once he got back to his own place. He stopped and thought about the last one, able to pick it out from the rest just for a moment. He wondered if he'd even be able to go back soon. If he was to be wed with her, would she want to stay here or move in with him? Would she be able to even work from his place? Would she be put in danger if she wasn't surrounded by guards like she was here? He shook his head, knowing that her sister would probably try to do something once her sister was away, so Kiako had to stay here, at least for the majority of her time. He wondered if he could do his own work from here. He figured it wasn't as important and that he could leave it to one of his men to take care of intruders and to take care of the house that his men had to pain-stakingly built for him, but he wondered how his men would take the news. He was regularly visited and wondered if they'd feel betrayed if he lived her, especially after they'd worked so hard on his home. He began pacing again, now worried for more reasons than just winning Kiako. He made a sour face, the word 'winning' didn't sit well with him so he edited his thought to 'getting Kiako's hand in marriage'.

Kiako was caught. This man was physically much stronger then her, and from where she was standing, she could not reach any of her weaponry. Even if she ran now, she would still need to unlock her door, and by that time he would have her. Screaming wouldn't do any good either, she doubt is Kaido would hear her.

"Oh come now Kiako, do you really take me for a fool? Your sister has told me all about you and this... other suitor. And I will not allow my honour to be hurt in such a way." He got up moving closer to her. The only thing she could do was back up, but when she hit the wall, she knew she was in a dead spot. She had to make a few very split second decisions, otherwise she did not know what would happen. As he got closer, she began to shrink down against the wall, turning her head away from him. He went up to her, turning her to face him. "Now now Kiako, you will look at me when I am talking to you..."

Kiako glared, her hands behind her back, fiddling with the key. When the door clicked unlock, she had enough time to open it to let out one cry before Dante quickly closed it and locked it, through her away from the door.

He heard something and his head snapped up towards the door. That didn't sound like any kind of natural noise or a squeeky floorboard or anything and he walked over to the door and opened it a crack. He took a slow step into the hallway and looked around. He didn't see anything and he relaxed a little bit, but he had the urgent feeling that he needed to see Kiako. He didn't know if he wanted to ask her what would happen with them, what he should do at the dinner, if he missed her already or if it was something else. He just knew that he needed to see her face. He went to where he remembered her room being and knocked on the door. "Mistress Kiako?" he called for appearances sake.

Kiako heard the knock, and so did Dante. He stood up, brushing his hair from his face, opening up the back entrance from her room, and left. She sat down on the ground, waiting a moment to get up. She was in shock, looking around her room. She pulled herself into a tight ball, and then remembered that the door was locked. She got up, wiping the tears from her eyes. She walked over to the door, picking up the keys that had been strewn across the floor on the way. She reached the door, unlocking it slowly. At that moment, she didn't care about anyone seeing, she wanted Kaido to hold her and tell her it would be okay. She pulled him into the room, which at this point had become quite the mess. She looked at him, trying not to cry. She went into his arms, holding onto him tightly, not saying anything.

He didn't know what to make of this scenario. I hadn't expected something like this and it left him shocked. It took him a second but he got the general idea, but didn't know that Dante knew about the secret passage. He looked up, alarmed as he scanned the room. He held her tightly and whispered, "where is he?" He pulled her to the wall so that he could put his back to something; making sure he could keep the room in view so that no surprises would get him. He had a dangerous look in his eyes, much like when he found bandits trying to cross the border and was forced to cut them down. He looked down at her quickly, waiting for her to calm and tell him. He wasn't in a rush now that he could watch the room. He was confident that he could take out the foreigner with minimal damage, even if he had a weapon. He'd lose an arm and a leg to protect her and not care. He'd fight Dante head on even if he had a weapon. "Kiako?"

Kiako looked up at him, wiping the tears from her eyes. She then moved away from him, and knelt down onto the ground, slowly starting to clean things up. She was shaking, but somehow she managed to stand again. She had no idea in her mind why she had moved away from him; her body was acting on its own accord. She kept going though, she pushed herself to her limit. She looked back at him.

She honestly had no idea what it was she was doing. Her head had so many thoughts in it. She wanted to clean up. She wanted to stop crying. She wanted to be near Kaido, but she didn't want him to see her like this. And then, everything blanked. She rolled off her heels, her eyes closed, and slowly slipped away from conscious thought.

He saw her falling and quickly knelt to catch her. He held her in his arms, alarmed at her sudden collapse. He checked her pulse and shook his head, then picked her up and gently set her on the bed. He then went about the room, checking every crack and hiding place. He even checked under the bed and when he found nothing he stilled and realized that the only place he hadn't checked was the secret passage. He crept to the passage and slowly opened it as he'd seen Jethro and Kiako do and he peeked inside. When he didn't see Dante he shook his head again and closed the passage, then blocked the edges with foot pillows so that the door couldn't swing open (man, no chairs or iron pokers made this reply rather difficult. lol). He then went back to Kiako and checked her over from head to foot, making sure he hadn't put his hands where they didn't belong. He ever so gently ran a finger over her cheek where she'd been hit and finally let himself calm down. He was angry of course but he couldn't do anything now and was sad that he hadn't been able to protect her. He whispered, "I'm sorry" before kissing her forehead and tucking her in. He wondered what he was supposed to do. If anyone walked in they'd find them in a rather compromising scenario but if he left Dante could probably still find his way into the room.. and with her out like this he just didn't want to think of what he could do...

Jethro had been off duty when he heard the commotion. It had taken him a while to get there, but by the time he did, he did not know what to make of the situation. He looked over Kiako's room and saw Kaido there beside her. Anger flared in his heart and he stepped in a quickly closed the door. He looked back at Kaido, then over Kiako's room once more "What happened..." His voice was cold, but he was trying to keep his anger to a minimum.

"We will... deal with this at a later point..." Kiako's voice was hushed as she sat up, rubbing her head. "For now, I will need my room tidied and an extra guard fortified at the door, and one in each passage in and out of me room. No one is to enter unless I am with them." She looked at Jethro, who saw the red mark along her face. he could say nothing to her. Her word was final. He bowed and left the room.

Kiako then looked to Kaido, smiling softly. When Jethro closed the door she leaned over and kissed him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. he then looked into his eyes. "I am sorry about before, I did not mean to faint." She then looked at the door. "And don't worry about Jethro, he will be alright. Just probably won't leave me alone for a bit." She sighed, turning back to face Kaido. "Dante will pay, I promise you. But not right away. I would like to draw this out for a while. Its seems tedious, but please, bare with me... Trust me..."