Inspired by: An episode
of the TV Show: "the Others" and Katharine Kerr's Deverry-Westlands series.
I've also been reading way too much Barbara Cartland books in my distant
high school days to my estimation.
Beta Readers: Parts
1 & 2 - Michele-san, Part 3 - Crem-san
"Mar a bha, mar a tha, mar a bhitheas
bith go bragh."
Patricia Kennealy-Morrison's
Keltiad
1. Last night,
in a dream that came to me…
Last night, in a dream
that came to me
I saw a face and I knew
right then,
You were meant for me;
Last night in a dance
from long ago,
As the music fades and
we walk away,
Why did we let it go?
"Always Come Back To
You'
From the movie "The Nutcracker
Prince"
- Natasha's Brother and
Rachelle Capelli
Crawford remembered the first time he
had seen Fujimiya Aya, the man with the vaguely familiar eyes. It was at
the Human Chess. Abyssinian had been charging after their then employer
Takatori Reiji. He had stopped the latter and gotten a report on them via
Nagi's hacking skills. Oh he remembered and remembered the dream he had
when he put off reading the report for much needed rest.
***
19th Century, Scotland
"It's your sister's ball, and who is
that red haired beauty?" Rory said to his friend Randy as he stood with
the latter in the sidelines of Lady Patricia Sherringham's fine ball. It
was such a crush of new debutantes and young bucks. The kind of parties
that he despised but was forced to attend by his mother. The dowager countess
of McDuff had quaint notions of marriage and the like.
You're nearly thirty, my lad, high
time to settle down… You've sown your wild oats an' all… What a bunch of
babblin' nonsense…
For all Rory thought of his mother's
strictures, he still respected her enough to go to these sort of occasions
though he'd prefer the smart card parties and rather mixed company of the
more mature set.
"The Honorable Deirdre Kierney. She's
as Scottish as you." Randulf took some time to answer looking for the woman
in question, making a point to admire her a bit before turning to his friend.
There was a lot to admire: long red hair arranged up in a fashionable concoction
pinned up by diamonds and amethysts, a shapely figure in a ball gown of
violet silk. Her fined featured face was animated unlike most of the young
ladies in the room.
The loveliest little lassie I've
ever seen. Being married might not be such a hardship at'all… But wait…
"Of the Highland Kierneys?"
"Aye, daughter of the Duke of Kierney."
Randy was slyly looking at Rory as he drawled the reply. They were cousins
on the distaff side and Randy knew well that Clan Kierney and McDuff were
neighbors and enemies for generations.
"I think I can live wi' a Kierney lassie
that's a beautiful as she is. Even if she took a skillet to my head every
night." Rory said not caring who heard him.
"Thus is peace to be proposed to the
barbarian Highlands." Randy laughed and bore him off to be introduced to
the lovely lady.
She's even lovelier up close…
Rory found himself thinking as they drew near the lady in question. He
saw the reason for the violet gown, it was calculated to be only a shade
darker than her clear amethystine eyes.
Eyes that seem to be familiar… Eyes
that bore through his face into soul… Come on Rory, you’re not a sprig
out of th' country just come into the city, you're a city gentleman of
the first water. No one believes in that sort of thing. Though she seems
familiar… Maybe you've met her before after all, she is a near neighbor
for all there's been blood feud between your clan and hers…
"This is my cousin, Lord Rory, the
Earl of McDuff." Randy introduced him to the lady as they came to a full
halt in front of the lady.
The lady looked him over curiously.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Do I please you, my lady?" Rory added
annoyed, when it seemed that the lady would continue to stare.
"Actually, I was looking for your horns
and tail. We Kierney's have always been raised with tales that McDuffs
had them." The lady said as she came out of her reverie.
Rory threw his head up and laughed.
He could not help it; the Lady Dierdre's tone was so mischievous that it
just begged for him to join her merriment. She certainly recovered with
a grace that belied her years.
***
Crawford sat up on his bed. He vaguely
remembered his dream of a girl barely out of the schoolroom, as they would
say in the olden days. Charming and pretty, he'd always felt that as his
ideal.
That dream again…I thought that
I'd outgrown that nonsense a long time ago…
He had been eighteen since that dream
had come last. He thought it a bit of youthful fancy, something he had
outgrown.
Why, now? Soft, silky red hair,
purple eyes snapping with fire, naked, seduced, on his bed… Argh! Snap
out of it Crawford…
It was time to read that report to
banish the cobwebs in his mind.
This is some help…
The report was on his office table.
Crawford rubbed his temples.
I should have recognized him. He's
the son of Fujimiya one of our targets for Takatori…the one who survive
the assassination of his family…
The young man it seemed had fallen
to hard times. First, he had tried to work as a waiter to support his unconscious
sister, then when that was enough posed and maybe even whored for a living
before settling into his current profession. The proof of this scattered
in his sight, erotic pictures, disgusting yet strangely compelling.
Fujimiya Aya in the nude with his hips
rolled in such a way as to thrust out his cock and balls into focus. The
redhead on a sapphire-blue divan, thighs wide open with his head thrown
back to reveal his sweet passage. Various, other poses on the divan, a-straddle,
on all fours in boneless grace…
One moment he wanted to burn them all
and destroy all the copies that might have been distributed, all copies
soft and hard, an impractical proposition to say the least, another moment
he wanted to stare at them until the world ended. Arousing him, titillating
him, making the blood rush to his groin in an agony of desire and deep
jealousy.
Why him? I've never been attracted
to a man before. Hell! I've even slept with women before, the Chinese operative
in Porblos, what's-her-name…Sylvia for one… Or is it just because he seems
familiar somehow…red hair, purple eyes…
Aya had replaced the girl in his nightly
fantasies. He woke up sweating to the thought of the Weiß redhead's
hands and warm mouth on him…
***
Crawford remembered those thoughts
as he looked at the chained Abyssinian on the bed and now it was more than
a possibility to indulge those dreams.
Yes, now is the time, if any…
***
Aya surreptitiously looked through
his eyelashes while pretending to be unconscious. He had tested his bonds
a while back and found that they were unbreakable. He knew he shouldn't
have taken this mission. He had a bad feeling about it from the start.
He knew it the day Manx came in to the shop to deliver the mission tape…
***
"For this mission, I would like you,
Abyssinian to pose as a prostitute to catch the ring. We know only these
hideouts and know that they are not the only ones, the most secure bordello
had been kept too secret, too hard a nut to crack. The police have been
unable to catch the boss of the operation because of this. It should be
easy for you due to your former contacts." Manx said without regard to
Aya's feelings.
"Hn." Aya wanted to back out of the
mission despite the fact that he had already committed himself. He didn't
like that reminder of his sordid past. Besides, he had an indefinite foreboding
about this mission.
"You will pretend to be down on your
luck…"
Aya let Manx ramble on what he was
suppose to do as he coped with the concerned looks of his teammates and
his own feelings of uneasiness.
***
Aya should have known better. Now he
was chained on the bed in front of one of his worst enemies, one who was
the bodyguard of the man he hated the most.
He has nice brown eyes though… Hey
where did that thought come from…
***
Thebes, Greece*
Lysandros flicked his wrist to alter
his slash minutely to catch Makheon on the arm with the wooden sword. It
was a meaty hit that had his friend wincing but then it was something necessary.
Makheon was rather complacent in practice and in the field was prone to
playing with his enemy like a cat liked to do with a mouse. A trait that
might yet get the latter killed in a serious fight.
Not if I have anything to say about
it…
"Lys, lighten up, it's just a practice
session. One would think that you had something to prove…" Makhi drawled
lazily as he dodged another slash by Lysandros. They were sparring in the
nobles' practice yard with several other boys of their age group.
"Hn." Lysandros said refusing to take
the bait.
Lysandros was his best in their cohort
of noble brats and a prime candidate for one of the elite units, cavalry
or better yet the Sacred Band. No one doubted it least of all Lysandros.
It was probably why he got along so well with the younger boy, he knew
who he was and was not liable to fall for any of Makheon's taunts. Makhi
was sharp witted and acid tongued, he got a bit more in the way of fights
with the other boys who were not as tolerant as Lysandros.
"You're good enough to get into any
unit you want and for the matter so can I…"
And so they went until Lysandros noticed
a commotion in the yard and looked up into an incredibly mesmerizing pair
of brown eyes. He stumbled in confusion and barely managed to check the
slash Makhi had aimed for his chest, that would have ended the match with
him losing. Something he had never done yet with his sarcastic friend.
Thank the gods! He'd never give
me any peace for weeks…
Lysandros recovered to lunged at the
opening Makhi had left with the last attack and that was that. The match
had ended. He tucked his curiosity in line and decided to sip his customary
drink of water from the yard pitcher first before turning to look at the
strangers. Makheon held no such restraint however he had boldly gone to
introduce himself to the newcomers and waved for his friend to join them.
"Hey, Lys, I want you to meet Eutokles
and Aristaios Peleucides. This is my friend Lysandros Oinomides. They're
brothers just in from field training." Makheon said grinning. Makhi hadn't
been fooled by Lysandros' feigned reluctance. Always sharp, he probably
caught his friend's slip a while back and was teasing him now for it.
So be it, at least I get to meet
the man…
Lysandros noted brown eyes on rather
handsome faces and black hair waving in the wind as he drew close. Muscular
bodies moved with refined grace. They had sauntered into the yard and had
proceeded to turn the well-ordered place into chaos as a detached part
of Lysandros' mind noticed that he wasn't the only one who looked a bit
dumbstruck by their beauty. They were men not like the boys in the
yard. Though the difference in years was negligible, it was very evident
in their bearing. They had passed the undefined gawky stage that almost
all youngsters pass through and matured into an athletic grace that took
the breath of every male in the yard.
"Oi, Lys."
"Hn." Lysandros said finally in greeting
drawing a grin from the livelier brother, Aristaios. Though it was the
other that had caught his eye and had caused him to stumble. That one,
Eutokles, was solemnly looking over the proceedings. In an impulsive move,
Lysandros decided to give the serious one a smile that startled Makhi with
its genuineness.
***
The operation had come off without
a hitch up until the time Aya got transported to the secure bordello. His
good looks got him in without any problems but it had gone wrong after
that. An Estet agent had been waiting to add a string of whores for their
private pleasure house. Crawford of Schwartz was with him as well. Though
he couldn't fathom why he had been put here rather than the torture chamber.
The gaijin surely recognize him as a member of Weiß.
"So you're awake…"
"Hn." Aya decided it wouldn’t be any
good to pretend to be unconscious still when the other knew it was otherwise.
"So, Aya…you probably know why you're
here." Crawford fairly purred into his ear as the latter stripped slowly
in front of him.
"Why am I here?" Aya said feigning
indifference while frantically trying to assess his condition. He was naked
and chained on to the bed in a spread eagle position by unbreakable silver
chains.
"Don't worry it's no different from
what you used to do…" Crawford said with a sudden venom as he glided over
Aya.
Now what prompted that…? Why would
he care for what happened before? If he knows about that what else might
he know about me?
"Hmmm." Crawford said as his fingers
brushed across Aya's bare chest rubbing against the nipples so dark against
pale skin.
Aya flinched then closed his eyes,
trying to block the unwelcome intrusion into his personal space. It was
bad enough that he had to endure some of this sort of pawing before…
What is he up to…?
"Ran." Crawford purred before he forced
Aya's lips apart with his tongue.
The sound of his real name startled
him but Aya controlled himself. . He forced himself to lie inert, unresponsive.
He offered no resistance either, knowing that it would be worse in the
long run.
"Has anyone ever made you cry out in
real passion before…" Crawford's voice thrummed throughout Aya's being
and unwillingly he begun to feel a flutter of response below his stomach.
Bastard…maybe I should have taken
Yuushi's offer of sleeping with him at least it wouldn't have come to this…at
least it would be with a friend…though I don't really care for him in that
way at all…
Crawford begun to touch him with feather
light caresses that were swiftly becoming heavier with passion. Aya's resistance
begun to flag, his breath was starting to become uneven and against his
will he felt the blood rush to his groin.
"Hmmm." Crawford said sucking on his
forefinger with slow deliberateness. The move was so sensual that almost
elicited a groan from Aya.
Bastard…you want me completely humiliated…is
that it?
Humiliating or not, Aya was getting
hard pretty fast. He begun to tug at his restraints as Crawford teased.
Then slowly he found his erection being stroked.
"Did anyone ever do this to you…"
Gods…
Aya almost missed the fingers probing
past his cock and balls to enter into his anus. The pain was barely noticeable
in the sensual overload. Then the fingers slid out and a much thicker organ
slid home, hard and fast. He screamed.
***
Crawford knew he was being too rough
with the little redhead in the moment the latter screamed. And he had misjudged
the man very badly.
Shit, shit, shit! He's a virgin!
How can he be when…?
Guilt gnawed at Crawford.
"Sorry…Sorry…" Crawford found himself
murmuring soothingly.
I…I should have known, he probably
just allowed them to take those pictures out of desperation that's all
that it was too it. I should have known that he was too proud for that.
Why didn't I…? Well the harm is the done…I'll just have to be gentle about
this as I can… Wait a minute…he's Weiß, I'm Schwartz why should I
care what he thinks or feels? He is my fucktoy nothing more, isn't he?
The thought disturbed Crawford more
than a little. He allowed enough time for Aya to get used to him before
moving and when he did move it was to a gentle slow tempo in time with
his hands on Aya's cock that was hardening again under the stimulation.
They climaxed together in a burst of coruscating light.
I've never felt it quite the way before…
He used the last of his energy to loosen
Aya's chains so latter would not be cramped in the morning before he followed
his new lover into the unconsciousness of sleep.
***
Somewhere else, in the Kritiker base…
"Queen, I have a job for the Crashers."
Manx said as her colleague sat down on the opposite side of the conference
table. The large, empty room seems to echo her statement.
"What is it?"
"A mission, albeit successful, has
left Weiß with one member missing and two members injured. I would
like Crashers to investigate. It is in your territory."
"And the missing member is…?" Queen
said feeling a sudden dread in her heart at her suspicion at the identity
of the missing member.
"Fujimiya Ran, a.k.a. Fujimiya Aya
and Abyssinian."
"Aa." Queen said nonchalantly. She
was so not enjoying this.
"I know, I wouldn't relish having to
tell Knight that either." Manx said making a sympathetic noise as she did
so.
Ran and Yuushi Honjyou a.k.a. Knight
had always had a special relationship, one prone to as much teasing by
their teammates. Everyone more or less suspected that they had been romantically
involved with one another at one time or another or maybe even now. Though
both were so discreet about their private lives that no one was entirely
certain as to the extent of their relationship. Everyone did know that
they had kept contact since Ran had left the Crashers for Weiß. No
it was a sticky situation indeed.
~TBC~
Author's Notes:
*Thebes' Sacred Band - an army of 150
pairs of lovers, reputed to be one formidable fighting force but was defeated
by superior numbers by Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander
the Great. Got this idea from Mary Renault's Fire from Heaven, book
one of her Alexander Trilogy.
Greek names Source: http://www.gabwhacker.com/xwp/bluequill/names.html
Greek homosexual practices: http://www.bway.net/~halsall/lgbh/lgbh-marriage.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/sacredband.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/greekeros.html
