BAHD, Chapter 3: Imperial Traitor

Here is the next chapter XP I hope it's decent, I hate reading all of my old stuff

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Imperial Traitor

Chapter 3

Ryo woke up to feel something poking his face. He rolled over and attempted to go back asleep. The poking continued in his side. "What...?" Ryo murmured.
"Dad said to tell you to get up," came Davis' voice. Ryo rolled back over and opened his eyes to look at Davis. "What time is it?" he asked. Davis shook his head. "I don't know Uncle...we didn't learn time yet in school."
"How old are you?"
Davis stopped and counted his fingers. "Six, and I'll be seven next year."
"No shit..." Ryo let slip.
Davis left him alone, and Ryo got up. He looked around his room. His top bunk was made neatly, as to be expected from Leo, while his floor still had Dimi's messed up makeshift bed. He shoved it into a corner of his room and got dressed. He wore a dark gray shirt and his normal black pants. He reached for his sword, but stopped. It would be better to just leave it for this trip. He left it under his bed.
He left the house without talking to anyone or eating. He didn't feel much like interacting, he just wanted to get him amnesty, if he even could do that. As he walked through town, he figured it must have been almost noon. The markets were crowded and the city was active as he walked through them towards the palace. When walking across the city square a group of people caught Ryo's eye. The group consisted of nearly twenty people, all dressed in dark colors, and all wearing cloaks. None of the common people talked or went near them. They were all grouped together in a corner of the square, and all seemed to be discussing something. Ryo stopped and watched them for a few minutes. They continued to talk, until one person, a taller, possibly male individual saw Ryo watching them. He instantly nudged the person next to them, and all talking within the group stopped. Ryo quickly looked away and continued to the palace. He figured they were just street performers of some kind getting ready for a show, or maybe beggars...
Ryo passed the palace gates and into the palace without anyone stopping him. He felt relieved he didn't have to confront anyone. Once inside Ryo considered his options of where to find Mel again, preferably alone, without the Council or Janon. Or Kaira. He was still uncertain about how he exactly felt about being a father to a little girl he knew nothing about. A little girl that thought Janon was her father. Ryo couldn't really blame them. Janon had dark brown hair, darker than Ryo's, but it was always slicked back, and looked greasy. Kaira's hair was brown too, she could pass as his daughter.
He saw Ayla again in the marble hallway. "Hey Ayla...” he said lowly. She just gave him a warm smile.
"Ryo! Did you see Mel yesterday?" she asked.
Ryo shook his head no. "That's why I'm here again..." he said. Ayla told him Mel was in her bedroom still. Ryo thanked her and left towards the northern wing of the palace. On the way, he stopped and looked down a narrow hallway that led to the servant's quarters. Six years earlier he had his own room down that hallway where he stayed occasionally if he decided not to stay at the old spot with Dimi.
"Leo?" a very vain voice interrupted Ryo's thoughts. Ryo's very soul froze. He knew that voice. He could never forget that sly, poisonous voice. "You're not working today are you?" Janon asked from down the hall. His dark brown hair was slicked back as normal, using more hair gel than any man alive should ever use. His ice blue eyes reflected the coldness of Ice, his element. He wore a white jacket with matching pants, and stared at Ryo, looking slightly surprised. Ryo took a deep breath, thankful he was wearing a long sleeved shirt to hide his tattoo, and he didn't make eye contact, to hide his green eyes.
"No...I'm not..." Ryo said, trying to imitate Leo's more proper style of talking that was slightly different than his, while keeping his hate down to a minimum.
"Hmm..." Janon said in a low voice and brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes. "Well, why are you here then?" Ryo's fists were clenched, his nails digging into his palms and oozing blood slightly.
"Just to...see Mel," he said truthfully. Surely Leo visited Mel once in awhile.
"Why?"
Ryo closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. The tension between them was thick. "Just to....see her. Is that a problem?" he said in a surprisingly calm voice.
Janon was silent, and Ryo could feel Janon eyeing him suspiciously. "Look at me..." Janon said demandingly. Ryo hesitated, then slowly raised his head and looked Janon in the eyes. Their ice blue and green eyes met, and Janon took a quick step back. "Ryo!"
Ryo tried to keep his voice calm. "I'm just here to see Mel, Janon...." he said quietly.”That's all..."
Janon stared for another few seconds, anger creeping into his face. "I don't think that's wise," he said. "I should turn you over to the Council."
Ryo took several steps towards Janon, and stopped several feet in front of Janon. Mel's bedroom was past Janon, and he refused to move out of Ryo's way. "Please move Janon..." Ryo said through gritted teeth.
Janon stared ice daggers at Ryo, not flinching this time. "You killed the last Steward of Hollow..." he said.
"And I'll kill the present Steward," Ryo said, louder, "if he doesn't get out of my way."
The ground suddenly shook, breaking their gaze. Janon stumbled, while Ryo kept his balance. "What the hell was that?!" Janon yelled accusingly at Ryo.
"It wasn't me!" Ryo yelled back defensively. The ground shook again, more violent. In the distance, they heard women scream, then their screams were cut short. All coming from the front gate. Janon looked back up at Ryo, glaring. "Are you up to something?!"
Before Ryo could reply, the door at the end of the hall flew open, with two soldiers running in. "Sir!" They yelled, kneeling before Janon, ignoring Ryo. "Sir, cloaked men are attacking the gates! They're all Users!"
"What?!" Janon said, ignoring Ryo now. Ryo stopped and looked down, thinking about the group of cloaked people he saw near the palace gates earlier. "Summon the army! Find out who these people are!" Janon demanded, and the soldiers bowed, then left, before another blast made the ground tremble. Dust and small pieces of debris started falling off the ceiling with the last shock. Janon glared at Ryo again. "Do you have anything to do with this?!"
Ryo shot him a bad look. "I said no! Now shut up!" A group of older men, all wearing pale robes, entered the great hall. Ryo cursed loudly. The Council of Hollow. Ryo turned and ran back down the hallway the way he came. Behind him, he could hear Janon telling the Council his identity, and hearing the Council yell after him. He ignored them for now, and ran towards the entrance. He stopped at the entrance and looked down at the gates. The gates were completely destroyed, and lied in ruins, the men in dark cloaks, all summoning their elements to destroy the Hollow soldiers opposing them.
Ryo scanned the area, looking for an escape route. He cut across the palace garden to the wall separating the palace from the rest of the city. After taking a quick look around, he summoned the Element Wind, and flew over the wall. He took another quick look around to check if anyone saw him, then took off running down a deserted ally. All through the city, people stood in the streets, questioning one another what the earthquakes were. Ryo ignored these, and shoved his way past groups, heading toward his house.
He ran inside, ignoring Kima and Chele's questions. He ran up the stairs past Leo and Dimi without stopping to his bedroom. He knelt down beside his bed and reached for his sword. He felt the hilt and pulled it out, and started tying it to his waist.
"What's wrong?" he heard Leo and Dimi behind him.
"The palace is under attack or something!"
"What?!"
"I don't know!" Ryo said quickly, standing back up and rushing past them. "I'm going back!" he yelled back at them, "This might get me amnesty, whether Janon likes it or not!" he ran back down the stairs, nearly running over Davis and Taj, back towards the palace.
The gates were completely destroyed, and there cloaked offenders were nowhere to be seen. Soldiers' corpses littered the ground, but Ryo ignored them for now. He drew his sword and carefully approached the palace entrance. His mind tried to figure out who these people were. All of them were clear Element Users, and they were all strong. Stronger than most Users in Hollow, he knew that much. Were they some kind of cult, or organization, rebels against Hollow's government? But there were no known rebels to Hollow.
The doors to the palace were scorched by fire, and blown clean away. Ryo checked around carefully for anyone, but saw no one. No soldiers, no cloaked Users, no one. Then he heard voices coming from just inside the doors. He stepped over corpses of the dead soldiers, scorched, drenched, electrocuted, grounded bodies. He leaned close to the blown away doors and looked around inside the palace's entrance. The group of cloaked Users all stood together, all focusing on the one in the center.
"We'll split up!" the leader said to the rest. "Search the palace for the Steward, Janon! The traitor to the Empire!" The other cloaked men all yelled in unison at the mention of Janon's name. The leader's voice sounded familiar to Ryo, but he couldn't recognize where. "Search the palace!" the leader repeated, "When you find him, kill Janon! And..." he held up a picture Ryo couldn't see. "Apparently, our traitor had a daughter! Kaira!" Ryo's heart stopped, and he looked away, leaning against the wall outside. "Find Janon, and his offspring! KILL THEM BOTH!!" the leader yelled, receiving a roar from his allied, where they all took off in different directions to scour the palace for the Steward and his daughter.
Ryo remained leaning against the wall outside. They were after Janon, and his own daughter, Kaira. What did she ever do? Ryo thought. She's just a little kid! He still had no idea who they were, or what they meant when they said Janon was a traitor to the 'Empire'. There was no other country in the world other than Hollow. He looked down at his blade. It reflected the light of the afternoon sun, and he saw his own reflection. And in it, he saw a part of himself in Kaira. She had his hair, her mother's eyes...
"Ryo!" He looked up and saw Leo and Dimi running up. "Who did this?!" Leo asked.
"Shit!" Dimi said, looking at the damage done to the castle. Before Ryo could say anything, two other men ran up. One had short black hair, and grey eyes. The other had longer, blonde hair and golden eyes. They were both wearing military uniforms.
"Dimi, you dumbass, what are you doing here?!" the man with black hair said, glaring at Dimi. Ryo knew both of them. The man with the black hair was Kalon, Dimi's 'friend' he knew from when Dimi lived in an orphanage. He was an Earth User, and constantly fought with Dimi. Ryo didn't care for him or his harsh attitude much. The blonde was Caza, an ally of Kalon, and a loner. He had also lived at the orphanage with Kalon and Dimi, before Ryo met them. He didn't talk much, and he was a Wind User. Ryo, Dimi, Kalon, and Caza had all been recruited into the military when they were eighteen.
Dimi, despite the circumstances, and being his usual self, smiled at Kalon. "Hey Kalon, someone attacked the palace." he said, stating the obvious. Kalon opened his mouth to retort back. "Don't start Kalon!" Leo yelled at Kalon. Caza put a hand on Kalon's shoulder to hold him back.
Ryo shook his head. They had no time. "There are guys in dark cloaks!" he said to everyone, stopping Kalon and Dimi. "I heard them talking about assassinating Janon! Find him!" he said, turning to leave into the palace and track down the cloaked men. Kalon, Caza, and Leo all left in different directions, all of them drawing their own swords. Dimi hesitated, and gave Ryo and questioning look. "I thought you hated Janon," he said.
"I do," Ryo said, "But he's still married to Mel, and the Steward, I still have to protect him..." Without another word, Ryo jumped away up the staircase. He didn't tell the others, but he wasn't looking for cloaked men, or Janon. His thoughts were on Kaira, and finding her before one of the other Users did.
He passed a door, and saw two cloaked men inside. They were ransacking the room, while two maids hid in the cowered in the corner, being ignored. Ryo sighed. He couldn't just leave them. He walked into the room, and pointed his sword at the two men. "Who are you?!" Ryo demanded. The two cloaked Users looked up and Ryo. One stood straight, taller than Ryo and laughed. "That is none of your concern!" he laughed. Ryo didn't move, and held his sword steady. The carvings gleamed in his eyes. "This one has a death wish!" said the other cloaked man, taking steps towards Ryo.
Ryo smirked, and in an instant, he was behind the first men, his sword rippling with the blue power of the Element Water. He drove his blade deep into the man's back, then kicked him off. The cloaked man fell to the floor, bleeding and dying. The other cloaked man, drew his own, curved blade that burned fire. He was a Fire User. He swung at Ryo, and he dodged by jumping back to the wall. Ryo kicked off the wall, summoning the Element Wind to his blade. "Shattered Wind!" Ryo screamed as he swung his sword at his opponent. A shock wave emitted from his sword, hitting the man in the chest and sending him flying back, colliding with the wall. Before he could recover, Ryo sheathed his sword, and ran at the cloaked User. He slammed his palm against the man's chest where his Shattered Wind had hit him. "Flames!" he yelled, and instantly, his hand was engulfed in fire that burned through the cloaked User's chest, killing him.
Ryo withdrew his hand, and let the dead body slide to the floor. The two maids whimpered next to him. "Kaira!" Ryo said to the maids, "Where is she?!" The maids whimpered, then one pointed to the window. Ryo gave her a questioning look, but went to the window. He looked out but saw nothing. "She's out there, hiding on the ledge..." one maid said between whimpers. Ryo opened the window and leaned out. Just out of sight of the window, sat Kaira, her knees pulled to her chest, and desperately clinging to the wall to avoid falling off the ledge.
"Kaira," Ryo said softly and reached for her. She opened her eyes, and smiled. "Ryo!" she said, sounding relieved, and reached for him. He took her in his arms and brought her back inside. "What's happening? Where's my mom?" Kaira asked, still clinging to Ryo, and looking scared.
"I don't know," Ryo said quickly. He turned to the maids. "Get out of here, and warn the citizens not to approach the palace." The maids both nodded and hurried out of the room.
"Shouldn't we leave too? After we find Mom?" Kaira asked. Ryo stood for a moment thinking, still carrying Kaira. "Maybe," he said finally, making his way to the door, and carefully looking out, "First I need to get you to a safe place, then I'll go find your mom, okay?" Kaira nodded sadly and hid her face in his chest. "I need you to be a good girl, and keep quiet, okay?" Ryo asked. Kaira nodded again. "And if I tell you to run, no matter what happens to me, you run, understand?" Kaira waited a moment before nodding again.
Ryo left the room into the hall and started heading to the North Wing of the palace, carrying Kaira with one arm, and holding his sword with the other. "Can you Use an Element yet?" he asked, both curious, and trying to keep Kaira's mind off bad things. "I just started training as a Lightning User..." she said quietly. Ryo went carefully, but quickly through the palace, watching for cloaked Users. He could only think of one safe place in the whole palace to hide Kaira.
"Put the Princess down!" a voice echoed through the hall. Ryo spun around and saw a cloaked man, holding a sword brimming with the blue power of Water. Ryo put Kaira down and stepped in front of her, holding his sword at the ready. "Run." he said to her. Kaira, looked between Ryo and the enemy, then ran away down the hall, and hid behind a pillar. She didn't wish to be alone, and watched Ryo. The cloaked man ran towards Ryo. Ryo stood his ground, and braced his sword, glowing with green energy. The blades met fiercely, and Ryo spun around for another strike. The Cloaked man blocked easily, and summoned more energy to his sword. "Water Scorn!" he yelled, and multiple energy waves of blue Water power flew towards Ryo. Ryo placed his sword in front of him, summoning a shield, reflecting the waves into the walls and ceiling. When his force field broke, his heart stopped. Kaira was standing behind the cloaked User. Before anything else happened, Kaira formed her hands into a circle and pressed the against the User's back. "Lightning Blast!" she yelled, and electricity cracked in her hands, sending the User flying away, past Ryo into a wall. He lied still, unconscious.
Ryo stared, impressed at Kaira's skill at such a young age, but furious with her for not running. He ran to her and grabbed your hand. "Don't do that again!" He yelled at her. "Next time, just leave it to me! You'll just get hurt!" Kaira looked hurt, then looked down. Ryo was suddenly stabbed with guilt for yelling at her. "I'm sorry," he muttered, started to walk again, holding her hand towards the North Wing. "You just had me worried..."
Ryo led Kaira into the North Wing of the palace, towards the King's bedchamber. "Where are we going?" Kaira asked, running to keep up with Ryo. "A safe place," Ryo answered, swinging open the door to what was Janon's room. The room was still unaffected by the intruders, with a large canvas bed. This room had once belonged to Mel's father. Before he died. Ryo led Kaira to the far wall, near the doorway to the bedroom's balcony. The wall was made of stone, with a crack running down the wall. Ryo released Kaira's hand and dug into his shirt. He pulled out a dark red, round pendant on a silver chain.
"What are you doing here?!" Janon demanded. Ryo looked back to see Janon standing in the doorway with Mel. Kaira's face lit up. "Mom! Dad!" she said happily running to her mother. Mel held Kaira close, thanking the gods for her safety. Ryo turned back to the wall and searched along the crack, ignoring Janon's question. "What are you doing?!" Janon yelled louder, grabbing Ryo's shoulder. Ryo shoved him away violently, finding a small hollowed out hole on the crack.
"I'm saving my daughter!" Ryo said with poison in his voice, glaring at Janon with his green eyes. Janon stared. "Your daughter...?" Janon looked up at Melody, holding her daughter. "Is this true...?" he asked her, his eyes lowering. Mel lowered her eyes, and nodded. Kaira looked between the three adults, confused. Ryo turned back to the hole on the wall, and inserted his red pendant into the spherical hole. Instantly the crack started to glow, illuminating unseen marks along the wall. Janon, Mel, and Kaira all watched in wonder. Ryo wasn't as affected. Mel's father had shown him this hiding spot long ago.
Ryo put his hands in between the crack, and pushed open a secret door that led to a small crawlspace, big enough for two grown adults. "Mel, you and Kaira hide in here," he said. Mel quickly went to the hiding spot and placed Kaira in the hole. "What about you two?" she asked.
"We'll fight them off," Ryo said quickly, pushing her in, and giving her his pendant. "Your dad gave this to me, before he died..." Ryo said quietly. "Use this to get out once everything is over." Without another word, he closed the door, perfectly hiding them within the wall. He stood up and faced Janon, who was still glaring with hatred.
"She's your daughter..." Janon hissed evilly. "I should have known. The way Mel suddenly agreed to marry me after you left..." Ryo sighed. "We need to get out of here Janon," He said turning to leave. He stopped, hearing voices in the hall. Instinctively, Ryo held up his sword, ready. Janon remained still, not looking away from Ryo.
The door to the room was blasted open, and ten Users instantly surrounded Janon and Ryo. Ryo cursed under his breath, while Janon looked around at his enemies, looking terrified. The leader, walked into the circle, his face hidden, and stared at Ryo. "Lower your sword," he demanded. Ryo slowly lowered his sword, praying Janon wouldn't indicate where Kaira and Mel were hiding. The leader stepped over, and took Ryo's sword into his own hands. He observed it, and turned the blade to Janon's neck.
"You are a brave man, to turn on the Empire, Ghost," the man said. Ryo didn't say anything, three of the other offenders holding their swords at Ryo's neck. They all left Janon to their leader. His voice sounded so familiar to Ryo, if only he could remember.
"I just realized..." Janon said, "That the Empire isn't as great as it thinks..."
The sword cut slightly into Janon's neck. Janon did his best not to flinch more than he needed to. "That's too bad," the leader said. Ryo stared at the leader's right arm, holding his sword. He wore a long sleeve shirt and white gloves, but between them, he could see the man's arm. It was made of metal. Ryo's eyes widened. He remembered who's voice that was. "Steel..." Ryo said loud enough for him to hear. The leader looked away from Janon at Ryo. "Do I know you?" he asked threateningly.
Ryo looked into his eyes under his hood. "I'm your son..." He saw his body go rigid. "Demon! It is you..." Steel said, pulling down his hood, revealing his face. His hair was short, and graying. His eyes were a deep shade of maroon, and his face resembled Ryo and Leo's distantly. The other Users murmured among themselves, while Steel examined Ryo's eyes. "Your eyes are still green, Demon. You've been gone for almost ten years," Steel said, still pointing Ryo's sword at Janon's neck. "The Razada House misses you. When were you planning on coming back?"
"Never."
"Huh..." without looking, Steel drew the sword slowly across Janon's neck. Janon choked, blood squirted from his neck, spraying some on the other Users, as well as Ryo. His body fell to the floor, and continued to bleed. Ryo looked upon Janon in pity. Steel stared at his son for a long time, ignoring Janon bleeding to death at his feet. He looked like he was exploring his options. "I'll leave you for now..." he said finally, when Janon's body stopped bleeding, and died. He held up Ryo's sword, painted red with Janon's blood, and dropped it next to Janon's body. "The whole country will now think you killed him," Steel said, "I'll see you again someday, Demon. Your eyes should still be green when we do." Ryo simply stared at his father, who smirked at him. "Tell your brother hello for me," he said evilly. Steel disappeared, teleported, along with the rest of the Users, leaving him alone with Janon's body at his feet, slain by his own sword.