Kon'wa! *blows dust off of story* It's been awhile since this one, ne? I hope that you all have enjoyed this story so far...^^ As usual, SM is not mine.... Faerie Tales Chapter Six by:Lazuli Usagi stared up at the trees while Mamoru slept. He looked as if he needed it more than she did, so she let him explore the dreamlands. She was so confused, still. To be faced with this sort of problem wasn't an ordinary thing. She and Mamoru were given the highest honor. To be Clan Leaders. Although, it was very easy to be a Leader to a Clan that was no more. Most of their Clan had died so many decades ago when they were attacked. The rest may still be trapped within the world of mortal humans. She sat up straight. That was what they needed to do first. To make the other Clans realize that the Slyphs still existed, to make them see the importance of Mamoru and Usagi's posistion, they needed their Clan to back them up. They needed the Wind Runners back, so that the word may be spread further. For those Slyphs who had escaped the humans to the other side, to those still trapped...and those of the Clans who had forgotten what it was like to be with the Wind, and have that message brought to them on the breezes. She looked at the sleeping Mamoru again. She didn't want to bring him back into that cold world. Where he was tortured and trapped for so many years. It was needed though. She would go alone, though,.if it spared him any grief, and saved those that she cared for, and were a part of her people. She brushed the hair away from his forehead gently, and stood up, walking away. She knew he would not be harmed, but also she need not fear that anymore harm come to his spirit. He did not have to traverse the mortal world. She was sure she would be fine without him, and he could carry on the other half of the mission in the Forest. Usagi had only gotten so far when the Wind nearly knocked her flat. She knew that it was Mamoru behind it, and she could feel his emotions clearly. Anger, and betrayal, and hurt. Why had she left him? Why was she risking her own life? He didn't want her to go alone. He made that known quite clearly. With the Wind holding her in place, Mamoru caught up with her, and without warning, wrapped his arms tight about her. Usagi tried to move out of his arms, but was only able to adjust herself enough to look into his eyes. They were filled with an anguish that shocked her to the core. "Usagi...why did you run off? You're the only part of my Clan left. Don't you remember that we have to work together for this? You can't just run off...you can't leave me..." Mamoru was trembling at this point, and Usagi could hardly believe what she was hearing. Mamoru needed her? "I was only going to the mortal lands. I had to see what I could do about freeing those who were under human control, finding those who escaped to the other side of the Forest. I didn't want to put you through that torture again. I didn't want to see you in pain, or caught in the same trap as before..." Mamoru stood back for a moment, and grabbed her arms. "What do you think would have happened to you? You are so much a part of the Wind, when you walk, you almost fly. You have an unearthly quality about you to these humans. It isn't just that, either. Women are treated very poorly in their lands. If they caught you, they might not have suspected you at first, but you would have no chance of escape at all, as I did. They would lock you in a room, away from sunshine and fresh air. You would be forced to marry one of their kind, or else you would be burned alive as one of their witches. I don't want that to happen to you. I want to be there, to be your protection. Please, Usagi, let me." Usagi was shocked, and her eyes widened with it. What was Mamoru saying? That he did not just look to her as a fellow Clan leader? That he truly wanted to make an effort to be by her side, and protect her always with his power? "How will you protect me, Mamoru, from being locked up and forced to marry their kind?" Mamoru looked a little sad, and unsure of himself. "I would ask you to pose as my mate, Usagi, what they call "wife." Would you consent to that?" His head was bowed, and it struck Usagi to the heart that he would fear her answer...her possible rejection. She could never reject him, though. Never! She lifted his chin up, and smiled at him. "I do want to be your mate, Mamoru. If not in reality, then at least for this moment." Mamoru's eyes lit up, and he smiled, then grabbed Usagi, and swung her up in the air. For now they would have and treasure this happy moment. They would have to be on their guard, though, once they penetrated the human defenses, to the mortal realm. Usagi was not sure at what point they would arrive in the mortal world. The time between the mortal and faerie plane ran different, and all she knew was that it was unlikely that she would arrive at the same point in time that Mamoru emerged from. It would be several years later at the least. The return trip was not that way. Since she was a part of the Forest, they time change did not work in the reverse. Nothing much changed in the Forest, that what wasn't what bothered her if the time change did occur. She feared that once her and Mamoru left the land, and nobody claimed it for years on end, then the Slyph Clan would be declared officially dead, and the Heart of the Clan, would be no more, and the other clans would extend their lands. Usagi gripped Mamoru's hand tighter at that thought. It wouldn't happen. She was sure of it. She would return to the Forest, with Mamoru, with her Clan, and it would be alive again. Mamoru took a deep breath as he made an effort to cross the planes. It hadn't always been difficult to cross over. After the Clan had been attacked, though, the Forest put up that defense. It wasn't as picky about letting people out as in, but it was still a strain when one wasn't used to the barrier. He felt another's energy mingling with his, and he saw Usagi standing next to him, her eyes half-shut, with a dreamy expression on her face. It was her energy. And he wasn't sure if she was totally aware that she was giving it to him. He sighed. He knew that he couldn't break the connection, he just let it flow through him until the barrier was thin enough to walk through, and then waited until they were safely through to shut it again, an even tighter lock than before. He leaned aganist a tree to recover his strength, and gather his courage. Going back willingly, after all he had done to escape the place was a hard concept for him to accept. He knew that Usagi was willing to go by herself, and spare him the pain, but he couldn't do it. He wanted to protect her from it, for he knew what they would do to a female of their kind was ten times worse than what they did to him. He wanted to be prepared for when they walked into the town, though, and he hoped that Usagi would be able to stand the shock of such defilement of the land. All the smoke and poison in the air may prove to be to much for her, for one who grew up soley with the Wind. He was glad, in a way, that he had been spared for death and taken here instead. He at least was prepared for anything that was tossed out at them. Usagi walked quietly with Mamoru as they went toward the town. It was huge....her eyes grew wide as she took in the amount of people compared to the amount of space. How could they do that? And all the wood and smoke? She felt ill from just the amount of abuse she felt the earth was going through. She knew that she couldn't let her earth-sense, show, though....she could be in extreme danger if she did. She looked up at Mamoru, who seemed relieved. "This does seem to be further than the time I left, although it's still basically the same. That's a good thing. I won't be suspected, and neither will you, and I still know what to expect from the town. Sometimes civilizations can change so quickly." Usagi nodded, and just held on to Mamoru tighter. Not for support, and not because she feared what was around her, but to play the part of the human female, the supposed weaker of the species. She hoped that she played the role right, although she saw several human females out and about, with no male nearby them. She saw Mamoru's eyes widen as he took more of the town in, and she has a feeling that he was realizing that it was much different from the time he had left. She swallowed uneasily. Both of them were now in the human world, and neither of them knew exactly what to do. Not much of a cliffhanger, but feedback will get out the next chapter....^^