"Mathew!", Aria cried out, embracing her newly rescued friend, "Oh, I thought that I would never be able to do this again..." She burried her face in his shoulder, glad to be with him again.

"It's okay, Aria", Mathew said softly, "It's all behind us now. We're both alive, and we can join their band of fugitives from the king. We will be safe with them."

"Yes, we can go with them...", Aria agreed, nodding ever so slightly, "They did rescue the both of us from his clutches."

Zane closed his eyed, not bearing to look at Rukiea. "You already know my answer." he said.

((Fail. Can someone else play Mathew? It's really kinda akward having two of my charries togeter. XD )) 

(if you want, I can do it...)

Jake looked at Aria and Mathew. "Yes, you can both come.. Let's head back to the hideout while we wait for these three to settle this dispute." He grabbed Matthew and Aria. He hoisted them onto a horse and rode off toward the hideout. He wished not to be between the fight, or anywhere near that fight. It was a triangle, not a square.. Nor does he want to hear his sister cry if either boy made her cry. Why can't you guys just share her..

~~~

Rukiea looked at Zane and her eyes filled with tears. She didn't want to choose. She didn't want to lose either of them. She wanted them both to be happy. She'd be fine with both of them. She'd make time for each of them equally. She let teh tears roll down her cheeks. "Why won't you two just share me? I loe you both... I rather not lose either of you. I don't want to choose either of you and upset the other. I want to be with both of you for reasons of my own..." She got off the horse and climbed onto the castle wall. "I'm not coming down until this is resolved.. I don't wan tto go back if you two can't agree.."

Sam and Leita followed Jake on their own horse.

Jay closed his eyes and shook his head. The thought of sharing Rukiea absolutely disgusted him.  "I refuse." He said simply. "I refuse to share you and I refuse to have to make Zane share you. And if you can't make up your mind, then I'm simply going to chose for you." He kept his eyes closed, hating what he was about to say. He finally opened them and looked up at her. "Rukiea, you know I love you and Zane loves you and we know you love us both. I also am a.ssuming that if you had to chose the most important thing in the world to you, you would choose the two of us. But if I were asked that, I couldn't choose you. As much as I love you, the most important thing in my life is taking down the King. That is why I started the Vipers. Not to fall in love with someone." Jay hated himself now. He was sure that he was hurting the one person he loved deeply and she would probably never forgive him, just like he would never forgive himself.

Rukiea's eyes widened and she stood up on the wall. "And hat's absolutely how you feel.. After everything I did.. I bandaged your wound that my brother caused. I worried about you when we were sent on missions and I had no way of cantacting your team. I was disgusted by the though of you going and getting yourself killed. I was worried to hell when you got stabbed by Jake. I even changed teh bandage when it got bloody.." She felt tears in her eyes. She wiped them and looked at Jay. "Fine... I'm pretty sure that's teh same way Zane feels. I give up. I hate love.. I hate this life.. I'm going t-" Rukia felt a hand around her ankle. She was pulled down before she could finish her sentence. She knew it was a male guard. She knew the king would lock her up again.

The guard took Rukia directly to the king. She would have usually screamed out one of teh boy's name, but she didn't feel liek bothering them anymore with her stupidity. Jay had a mission. Zane was going to help. She was only in the way. She let the tears roll down her cheeks. She knew she would finally die. She wanted to die.. Neither of the men she loved would allow her to choose them both. Plus, Jay had already said she wasn't most important. Zane, she wasn't sure, but it was probably the same.

~~~

Jake sneezed and rubbed hsi nose. A sudden image flashed into his head. Rukia was tied up and about to be killed. Ther King standing over her and his grin, the one Jake hated so much, was smugly on his face. He shook his head. "What the hell was that about.." He stopped his horse.

((Go ahead, Ruru. ^_^ ))

"Jay, you stupid *censored*!" Zane shouted, sprinting to the wall and scrambling up it, cringing as his clothes irritated the raw, bleeding wounds underneath. The blowing wind stung his scratched cheek as he reached the top, jumping to the ground and landing on all fours. "I'm coming, Rukiea", he thought as he ran after the guard who had taken her, "Because you are the most importaint thing in my life, and if you died, it wouldn't be worth it to keep living on without you." He fought his way past the guards, using a sword he'd stolen from one of them. The pain dissappeared as he fought, becoming only a soft buzz in the back of his mind.

((I seem to have misplaced Rosalie... Where the heck is she? XD )) 

"I would want nothing more", the king growled, standing and drawing his sword, taking several steps closer to the imputent girl who'd charged into his throne room unnanounced and uninvited. "Guards, stay back. The girl is mine!"

 ---

Zane charged through the hallways of the castle, finally finding his love standing in the doorway to the throne room, shouting a challenge to the king. "No, Rukiea, don't!", he cried out, taking long strides, reaching her side in seconds. But it was too late, the King was already coming. "Rukiea, my love", he whispered into her ear, "I swear on everything that If I had to choose between anything and you, I would choose you every time. Sure, taking down the king would be nice, but I love you, Rukiea. I love you more than anything. Even more than taking down my insane father. I would die for you if the situation demanded it, I would do anything for you."

---

"I'm not going back in there, either.", Aria said firmly, Nodding once, "Too many horrible things have happened to both of us inside those walls, and we will not go back."

Rukiea felt the tears roll down her cheeks. "Don't bother trying to stop me.. I'll die here and now.. As long as I can be of some use to you and Jay." She stepped closer to the King. "Zane.. Don't get in my way. I'm going to show those who thought I was nothing that I can take the King... Even if I die.." She rushed at the king and swung her sword at his head. "Die!!" She took out a small blade from her pouch and held it in her other hand. She lunged at his gut as she swung her sword. She knew it could be a fatal move, but she wanted to show them she was going to take him.

~~

Jake looked at them. "You guys are weak.. But fine. You stay here.." He stopped the horse and quickly jumped onto the wall. "Stay here and I'll be back." He looked at Jay and picked a rose. He threw it at Jay and it landed on Jay's head. "Listen... If she even makes it out of there alive, Jay... You better treat her right... You messed this up and she is out there risking her damn life for you and those she loves. She isn't very strong.. But she can handle more hits than I can. If she dies, this is on your head. I'm going to burry you right next to her... I'll kill you if I have to.. She loves you and you can't just make her feel special one time. How pathetic.. And you call yourself a man. We were going to kill the King together.. Now, since your words, she is going to attempt it alone.." He growled and jumped down. Don't worry sis.. He ran quickly. 

~~~

Matt looked at Aria. "We aren't weak. He doesn't knwo what that King is really capable of." He looked at Jay. "So.. what did you say to make her get upset and go charging in there herself?" He rubbed his shoulders. The wounds were irritating him. The clothes chaffing at his skin and old cuts.

"Rukia, NO!" Zane shouted, running to her after she'd lunged at the king. HHe caught her by the arm and tried to embrace her. He suceeded in the first, only to realize she was holding a knife in the worst way possible. He managed to ignore the pain for a few minutes, long enough to tell her, "I love you, Rukiea, and I could never care for anything more than you. You hold my heart in your hand, and you can do whatever you like with it." He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth as the pain truly hit him. His brain processed that Rukiea's small dagger was sticking out from the middle of his chest. Zane backed away from her, clutching the handle with one hand, now sporting a sad smile.

The king easily dodged the girl's reckless blow, jumping to the side. He dropped his own blade in the process, however, and growled in frustration. He hadn't dueled in ages. He watched as his foolish son tried to stop the girl from getting herself killed, only to unpurpousely impale himself on her knife. He laghed at this. "You see where love has taken you, my son?" he asked, retrieving his blade and brandishing it, "You see where it gets everyone?"

"We are, in a sense", Aria corrected, "You can barely stand, and they barely fed me anything substantial while I worked there. You were only fed because I was able to split my rations with you. I gave you the better part of them as well. So, if you look at it energy wise, we are both weak at this moment in time."

Jay threw the rose on the ground as Leita and Sam hopped off the horse. "Go. Just go." He growled at them before they could speak. "And you two, I'm taking you back to the hideout. No sense in sticking around only to get caught. The king will have us all killed." He jumped off his own horse and walked over to the one they were one, managing to swing himself up.  He turned just slightly to look up at Leita and Sam, about to jump off the wall. "Good luck guys. Make sure everyone gets back alive and if you see a chance, kill the king." He then rode off, thinking how much he hated himself because of what he caused.

Leita shook her head. "Can't wait to here this story." She mumbled, jumping off the wall and running to caught up with Jake.