CHAPTER 6: BETWEEN THE DEVIL & THE DEEP BLUE SEA

Kane lifted the sword and deflected the blow that came from Anyss - stumbling backwards a couple of steps. Who would have thought that such a small frame could hold such enormous strength, he mused as he recomposed his stance and readied himself to face the bandit queen again.

"What's the matter?" Anyss grinned as she casually twirled the sword in her hands. "Conceding defeat already?" she mocked.

Kane merely smiled at her and charged forward - changing their roles for the moment. He now played the aggressor while Anyss expertly blocked each move he threw at her. She deftly side-stepped him, bringing her foot out under his and tripping him up. Kane tumbled towards the ground but he balled his body up and managed a quick roll, bringing himself up onto his feet again.

"Not bad, not bad," Anyss smirked. "Let's see you try to avoid this one then," she said as she lunged at him once more.

Ruella watched them from the window of her room. Her nails digging into the flesh of her palm as she clenched her fist in anger. She didn't like it that Anyss and Kane were getting closer and closer by the day. It had been almost 3 weeks now and the bandit queen seemed to be spending more time with him than she was with her. And it didn't look as though she was tiring of him at all.

Ruella had spoken to Anyss about it a few times, trying to alert her to the unknown motives of this man but each time Anyss had stood by Kane. The last time the sorceress had brought the matter up, they had had an argument about it with Anyss storming out of the room. The room had been reduced to almost a rubble by the time Ruella was done.

She abruptly turned to face the trembling man standing behind her.

"Zater, what have you found out so far?" she asked.

"M-my l-lady," Lord Zater bowed nervously before the sorceress. "T-there is absolutely no i-information about t-this Kane G-Galdrich. No one s-seems to have h-heard of him n-nor does a-anyone know w-where he comes f-from."

Ruella shot Zater a striking glance which saw him bowl over as he held his stomach in pain.

"P-please...m-my lady. T-that was a-all we could find..." he pleaded as he buckled over in agony, his knees giving way to his body weight as he crashed onto the floor.

"So you mean to tell me that this Kane Galdrich just appeared out of a rock then?" Ruella remarked.

"Err...errr..." Lord Zater stuttered, not daring to say another word in front of the sorceress.

"Oh, just get the hell out of here..." Ruella waved him off disinterestedly.

Lord Zater quickly bowed and hurriedly scampered out of the room in relief, leaving Ruella on her own. She turned back towards the window and a wave of loneliness suddenly overwhelmed her.

Ruella missed Anyss tremendously but the bandit queen hardly seemed to have time for the sorceress anymore. And it was all because of Kane Galdrich. Ruella's animosity toward that man grew with each day. She had him watched like a hawk - just waiting for the exact moment when he would do something wrong. Then she'll have him. And she'll crush him like the pest he was.

Anyss swung her blade at Kane which he easily avoided by ducking. He leapt towards her body, hoping to knock her over with a heavy shove. Anyss merely laughed as she brought the hilt of her sword down upon his head. It hit him squarely on the skull, knocking him down onto the ground once again.

Kane laid sprawled on the ground, rubbing the back of his head and pretending it hurt a lot more that it really did. The things I do...he quietly chided himself.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Did that hurt?" Anyss laughed as she held out her hand to him.

Kane smirked at her as he grabbed on to her hand to pull himself back up. As he was getting to his feet, he noticed a figure step away from sight from the window above where he and Anyss were. It was pretty obvious that that person had been observing both him and the bandit queen all this while they had been there. And Kane had an idea he might just know who that person was.

"I think the sorceress was looking at us," he told Anyss.

The smile on Anyss' face faded just as sudden as her fist met Kane's jaw, knocking the breath out of him. The unexpectedness of the blow surprised him as he stumbled back a few steps, holding his jaw in pain.

"Let's go hunting," Anyss said as she turned away from him and walked away as if nothing happened.

Kane rubbed his jaw as he followed her. He figured he must have hit a nerve when he mentioned the sorceress. So, 'trouble' was already brewing in 'paradise', he silently chuckled.

Anyss hadn't meant to hit out at Kane but she couldn't control herself when he suddenly mentioned Ruella. She recalled the argument they had the other day. It had been awful. Anyss couldn't remember them ever having fought so terribly before. Ruella had been complaining to her about Kane the moment he set foot into the castle. She didn't trust him and she didn't like it that Anyss was spending so much time with him.

Ruella was looking for every opportunity to kill him, that Anyss knew. But she wouldn't allow it. Anyss didn't want to admit it but she was truly enjoying Kane's company. He was fun to be with and Anyss had finally found someone who would and could do the things she liked - not that she didn't enjoy Ruella's company. But then swords and spears were not Ruella's cup of tea at all.

Anyss knew she had been neglecting the sorceress ever since Kane came into the picture but she was also slightly mad that Ruella could not see it her way. Couldn't the sorceress tell that all she wanted was some genuine company? Of course not, Anyss shook her head. She knew just how jealous Ruella could be.

Ruella had seen Anyss' fist connect with Kane's jaw. She wondered what called for it but she was also secretly happy that it happened. She hoped that it hurt a hell of a lot too. But then, nothing could compare to the pain she was feeling at the moment. She would make Kane Galdrich pay eventually.

"My lady, did I say something to upset you?" Kane asked after he caught up with Anyss.

Anyss ignored him and kept on walking.

"I'm a good listener. So, if there's anything you want to talk about...Not that I wish to pry..." Kane said.

The next thing Kane saw was the flash of metal and the feel of cold steel at his neck.

"Then stop prying," Anyss warned as she applied pressure to the blade.

Kane gingerly pushed the blade away from his neck with his finger. "Oh-kay, I think I got the point."

Anyss lowered her sword. "I'm not in the mood to hunt now. You're dismissed," she told Kane.

Kane bowed. "As my lady wishes."

When he straightened up, Anyss was already nowhere in sight. Kane gave a little shrug and headed back toward the courtyard. Since he had come into favour with the bandit queen, he had moved out from his little cell in the dungeon and had been given the freedom to roam the castle grounds.

Kane hadn't expected that sort of reaction from Anyss though. He had hoped that with all the time they had spent together, she would have been able to open herself up to him. He needed her to do just that. It would make things a lot easier for him. Unfortunately that was not the case as he discovered, recalling the cold steel at his neck. It looked as though he had to work on Anyss a lot more. He had to think of something fast though before she got bored of him entirely. As for Ruella, well...

A slight rustle snapped him from his little reverie. My, my, speak of the devil - literally, he chuckled to himself as he made his way towards her.