This Desolate Existence (boy x boy) COMPLETED

Part 19

Hoofbeats and shouts draw my curiosity. The chorus of metal on metal rings in my ears. I open my eyes to see Shuhei and several others engaging the enemy. I marvel at Shuhei's beauty. His red hair seems to shoot sparks like a real flame. His blue-gray eyes are narrowed and focused. His movements are graceful and strong. I watch his muscles ripple. 

He leaves the last enemy to one of the palace guards. He runs up to me and, together, we manage to shift the body off of me. I stand up, covered in blood -mine and others. I need to pull the arrow out, but if I do so now then I'll bleed out faster. And I may not make it to a doctor. Shuhei studies me, checking for injuries.

He finishes patching me up as best as he can. "Come on. You'll ride with me." He helps me up on his horse and climbs on behind me. My vision is starting to fade, but I blink furiously to clear it. I can't fall unconscious right now. I need to keep my eyes open. However, I feel my body going limp. I tilt sideways, but Shuhei catches me.

"Ran! Ran, stay awake! Please!" I shake my head to clear it as I attempt to regain myself. However, I'm slipping quickly. The galloping steps of the horse don't help me stay awake. I keep fighting the darkness, refusing to accept defeat. However, I eventually succumb.

***

I wake up in an unfamiliar, comfortable bed. It takes my mind a moment to remember what happened. I remember slipping into unconsciousness, so I can only assume Shuhei carried me here. I look down at my body. I'm wearing only some trousers and my chest is bandaged. I feel a little weak and my body is sore where my wounds are, but I feel fine despite that. 

As I sit up, I notice Shuhei asleep in a chair next to my bed. He looks so peaceful that I don't want to wake him. However, he seems to have sensed my movement. His eyes flutter open and he blinks sleepily at me. It takes his brain a minute to comprehend what it's seeing.

He sits up straight, eyes alert. "Ran. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was run over by a horse," I deadpan.

"Well, at least you're alive," he adds.

"I guess there is that." I sigh. "We'll need to get an audience with the King. He has some explaining to do, after all."

"Unfortunately, that might be harder than you think."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"While you were out, I wasn't even allowed to roam the castle. There were guards following me everywhere, blocking my entrance."

"Why would they do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe, they have something to hide. If it was someone from the royal family, they wouldn't want any prying eyes, would they?"

"That's true." I stand up. "It's time we found out what's really going on here. I have some things I've been dying to say to him, anyway."

"Please try to control yourself," Shuhei warns. "I don't want to be on the King's bad side."

"I don't give a damn," I respond coldly. "I'm going to kick him off his throne and take his pride away. After what he'd done, sitting here safe while his people die for him, I won't forgive him."

"I understand how you feel, but don't let your heart control you."

I stare at him. "I lost my heart when I lost my brothers. All I have left is my mind." I grab a shirt that was sitting on a chair and button it up before striding from the room. The King WILL see us, I'll make sure of it. I won't leave or stop bothering him until he does. He'll have no choice but to listen. Shuhei follows after me. I walk up to the throne room's doors. The guards block my way with their spears. I glare at them icily. I see them recoil slightly, but they don't give in.

"No admittance. King's orders," one says.

"I require an audience with the King."

"No admittance under any circumstances."

"Let me through. I must speak with him."

"We can't let you."

"I don't have the patience for this. Don't push me." My eyes narrow. I could easily kill them, but I'd rather not. "Just let me by."

"Our orders are strict. No one gets through for any reason." Out of patience, I clench my fists. In the blink of an eye, both guards are weaponless and unconscious. I toss their spears away and slam open the doors. I glide through, but stop dead in my tracks. What I see is something I never would have expected. I can't move or say anything. I don't want to believe what I'm seeing.

Shuhei sucks in a breath behind me. "What is the meaning of this?"

A maid comes in through doors to our right. She stops when she sees us. "Y-you're not s-supposed to be in here," she says timidly.

"What is this? Explain," I order.

"N-no one's supposed to know. I-I'm not allowed t-to tell."

"I'm the Colonel of the army. I demand to know."

Her eyes widen. "W-well...the King...is dead. He died twelve years ago." I can't breathe. All this time...there wasn't even a King ordering us? All this time, the war has still been going on? Why?

"Then, who has been giving orders in his name?" Shuhei asks. I simply stare blankly at the mausoleum with the King's body in it.

"Why, the General of the army, of course."

This snaps me out of my daze. "The General was giving orders? He kept the war going?"

She looks confused. "Yes."

I whirl around. "Kotaro." I sweep from the room, stepping over the bodies of the guards. I'm angry at myself for believing in that lie and leaving the camp. Who knows what kind of damage Kotaro has wrought in my absence. "Damn it!" I practically fly into the stables, saddling a random horse. It doesn't matter anymore, there's no one here with more authority than me. All this time, Kotaro has kept making us all fight. He's kept this dirty little secret. I'll make him pay for everything.

Shuhei rushes inside the stables as I gallop out. Not long later, he joins me again. I speed out the palace gates, my hair whipping about my face. My teeth are clenched so hard, my jaw is getting sore. But I can't loosen them, my fury is too great. If I hated Kotaro before, that feeling is doubled now. Too many deaths lay on his shoulders. Can he not see the blood staining his hands? Once that blood hits your skin, it can never be washed off. I should know.

A/N: HUGE plot twist! Just how angry are you? ;P I've been leading up to this from the start, but it took a lot to actually get there. I started to get writer's block right before this, sorry if things seem a little rushed or just plain terrible. I knew where the story was going, but I couldn't seem to get there. Anyway, tell me what you think and I'll see you lovely cookies in the next part. Oh, and this story is wrapping up soon. :'(