The feeling of waking up in a soft bed for the first time in days was both welcome and alarming.  Kyuhyun bolted upright when consciousness fully returned, his eyes wild and his heart racing as he remembered the events that had happened just before unconsciousness.  Immediately, he recognized Kwan sitting next to his bed and in reaction, he reached for the flames he knew were just beneath the surface.  Surprise and alarm flit across his features when nothing happened and he frowned when he heard soft, amused laughter on his other side.

                “It won’t work,” Hana smiled smugly, one leg crossed gracefully over the other while she lounged in a stiff backed chair.

                Kyuhyun growled and moved as if to go after her but a sword that came to rest against his shoulder made him pause abruptly when Kwan stepped up, the blade sliding free from the sheath with a quiet whisper.  The captain was not wearing his customary set of armor but that did not mean he wasn’t armed as he quite adequately proved.  “Calm down,” Kwan murmured softly, his tone neutral but there was an underlying edge to it as he eyed Hana in brief disapproval.

                Reluctantly, the fire elementalist settled himself back in the bed and glared at both of his ‘guests’.  It did not take him long to get a handle on his current situation and after the initial surprise of waking in a strange place, he was able to discern that he had been washed and changed while he was unconscious.

                He was currently in a very comfortable sleeping shift but the fact remained, liberties had been taken with his person without his permission and he was inordinately unhappy about that.  Nor did it escape him that Eleanara was nowhere to be found in this room either.  “I will not calm down,” he spat instead, arms crossed defiantly across his chest as he continued to try and call his power, with no success.

                “Then don’t calm down,” Hana stated as she stood up and walked over closer to where Kwan was standing.  “But you will listen and you will behave,” she stated bluntly, her expression severe.  Why Enrhyll wished to entertain these ungrateful wretches was beyond her, but if it made him happy…

                “Hana,” Kwan murmured in quiet warning, his own expression displeased.

                The neutralizer glared at him but refrained from saying anything further.  Instead, she focused back on Kyuhyun and sighed heavily.  “Lord Enrhyll has commanded your presence in the throne room once you have been made to appear presentable,” she explained succinctly, relaying the message she had been given.

                Kyuhyun laughed roughly and shook his head.  “No.”

                “What?” she asked, briefly confused by the absurd response.

                “I said no,” he reiterated slowly, as one would to a child.

                Kwan’s mouth pulled up in the slightest of smirks, quickly wiped away before she had a chance to see it when she grew cross.  “No is not an option for you,” she snapped waspishly.  “Now since you’re awake, get up so that you can get dressed,” the annoyed woman grumbled as she stalked closer to the bed.

                Before she had gotten very far, Kwan reached out to bar her from moving any further and she glared at him until he explained, “You may wish to keep your distance.”  He was rewarded by an angry scowl from Kyuhyun who had been waiting for her to get close enough for him to reach her.  Neither of them missed her hand as it drifted to her hip where her dagger was still sheathed, a dark expression on her face at the implied threat.

                Still angry, Kyuhyun eventually pushed the covers back and ignored Hana as he focused on Kwan instead.  “Where’s Eleanara?”

                “Safe.  Like you,” Kwan answered honestly.  It had not been his idea to separate them, but he gained nothing in keeping the information from him.

                 His response made Kyuhyun laugh, a harsh and disbelieving sound.  “Safe,” he scoffed before he shook his head and finally threw his legs over the side, looking at Hana out of the corner of his eye as she took a step back, her hand still hovering near the dagger and her eyes piercing.  While he did not believe this place was in the least bit safe, he was inclined to believe that she was at least alright, given his current condition.  Kwan was an but he was not, as of yet, a liar.  He was certainly more inclined to trust him than the angry woman beside him at any rate.

                Kwan maintained his hand on the sword at his hip; the blade was back in its sheathe but it was clear that he was alert and ready.  With a gesture to Hana to step back, he shifted so that the elementalist would be able to get out of bed without getting too close.  He did not much like the way the young man was eyeing his sword.  There was too much familiarity there and it wasn’t just the nervous attention of one who didn’t want to be accosted by it.

                The rest, though a forced one, had been very good for Kyuhyun, but it had done little to restore his flagging energy as they had both been dealing with a lack of food.  Feeling as weak as he did was not an experience he relished, particularly with a hostile woman who refused to stop glaring at him and the captain he loathed.  At the foot of the bed, he saw that clothes had been laid out for him already and he eyed them with obvious distaste.  They were a great deal more formal than he was used to and they didn’t look particularly comfortable.  A glance down slowly forced him to adjust his thinking in that regard.  While comfortable, the sleeping shift did little to inspire any sort of confidence or engender a feeling of actually being dressed…  “Do I get no privacy?” he asked with an arched brow, glaring back at Hana who smirked.

                “No.  You don’t,” she answered instantly.  She was not going to let him out of her sight as he was absolutely volatile.  She could feel him still trying, here and there, to summon his element.  “You can change right there,” she suggested harshly, amused by his obvious discomfit.

                With a scowl, he snatched the clothes up from the bed and held them up.  The predominant color was orange, which he figured was supposed to go along with his element and while the pants were at least roomy and made of a soft material, he did not favor the white, short sleeved undershirt that clung more than he was used to, or the overlying robe.  Kwan did him the favor of stepping between him and Hana, hiding her from sight, but he did not ask her to leave, fully aware of what she was there for.  Kyuhyun’s scowl remained but he finally relented and hurried to change, frowning fiercely around the captain as Hana took great pleasure in furthering his discomfort and looking around the barrier.

                Once dressed, the clothes were more comfortable than he thought they would be, though the long sleeves of the robe would be a bit of a hindrance and the deep blue sash was awkward to tie.  He quickly refused Kwan’s offer of assistance and manhandled it into a semblance of what he imagined it was supposed to be.  “Happy?” he muttered with a distasteful curl to his lip.

                “Content,” Kwan supplied instead with a nod in his direction.  At last, he moved out of the way and Hana was able to see the young man fully dressed again.

                “He is nothing compared to Lord Enrhyll,” she expressed with a bored look on her face.

                “He is nothing compared to lord Enrhyll,” Kyuhyun mimicked her in his best snarky tone of voice.  “Like I care.”

                She grumbled ineffectively for a moment before she went to the door to his room and flung it open, banging the handle loudly against the wall.  “Move,” she commanded as she pointed out the open doorway, a severe glower on her face.

                “Come on, Kyuhyun,” Kwan prompted with a raised hand towards the door.  “The sooner you leave here, the sooner you will see Eleanara too,” he reminded the young man softly.

                The fire elementalist growled under his breath but the final reminder finally drove him to comply and he stalked out, his eyes focused on Hana.  Maybe this time he could actually get close.  At Kwan’s presence at his side, he sighed and bit his tongue.  No.  He was leaving little to chance.  She turned to lead the way before he could get close enough anyway, to his consternation.

                Once outside the room, his focus was diverted by the enormity of the palace and the finery of the adornments within.  He had never seen such ornate decorations as the statues, manicured plants, tapestries and paintings that were displayed everywhere.  He glared darkly at the newest pictures done of Enrhyll, posing with arms open wide or seated in his throne.  A touch at his arm prompted him to turn when he would have gone straight otherwise and before he knew it, they were back in the throne room he had first met the tyrant in.

                A table had been set in front of the raised dais where Enrhyll was now sitting, facing the doorway so as to see who entered his domain immediately.  Kyuhyun froze as soon as he spotted him, anger and disgust suffusing him instantly.  The tyrant stood when the elementalist was escorted in, his attention shifting immediately from the other person at the table easily.  It took Kyuhyun a second to realize that it was Eleanara who was seated at the table and not some fancy noblewoman dressed in ornate white robes.  She looked at him with a vaguely confused, pleading expression which baffled him further.

                “Kyuhyun,” Enrhyll smiled in greeting as he gestured to the seat at his right, directly across from Eleanara.  “Welcome,” he went on as he waited for the young man to sit down before he took his seat.

                Despite Kyuhyun’s reservations, Kwan was persistent in assisting him to find his seat, to Enrhyll’s annoyance.  He calmed himself quickly upon sitting down though and regarded both the light and fire elementalists with a charming smile, apparently pleased by their company and their appearance.  Hana and Kwan moved around to either side of Enrhyll, watchful but not a part of the meal by any means.

                The table itself was set with all manner of delicacies, most of which looked incredibly appetizing.  Unfortunately, with their present company, neither was particularly hungry.  They looked at each other uncertainly across the array of food and eyed Enrhyll with confusion.  His current treatment of them made no sense whatsoever.  Attempt to kill them yesterday aside, he was treating them as guests…

                Under the pretense of eating, both reached for utensils which included a knife.  It was by no means as sharp as a dagger, but it was still a knife.  Eleanara managed to drop hers into her lap but Kyuhyun was still under scrutiny from Kwan and Hana both.

                The captain stepped forward to retrieve the utensil from the elementalist but was stalled by Enrhyll.  “Kwan.  Leave him be,” he stated softly, feeling magnanimous.  If they still felt the need to arm themselves for fear of him, then he could indulge that for at least a little while.  He focused his piercing gaze on them and then gestured at the grandness around him.  “What do you think of my palace?” he asked simply, eager to hear their response.

                “It’s not yours,” Eleanara stated quietly, her hands folded in her lap, long sleeves hiding the knife still hidden there.

                “Of course it’s mine,” he retorted instantly, a cross expression on his face.

                “Only because you took it,” Kyuhyun added on the other side, his expression grim.

                Enrhyll leveled a superior look on the fire elementalist and raised a brow.  “They did not recognize my greatness.  It was my right to take this place as mine!” he stated vehemently, stabbing the table with one forceful finger.

                Kyuhyun scoffed with a sneer as he looked over at Eleanara and shook his head in disgust.  “You’re no better than a bandit.”

                “I am a god!” Enrhyll declared firmly as his fist hit the table, making several dishes rattle noisily.  The four nearest to him flinched at the unexpected sound and shifted nervously.  “Why else would you have come here?” he asked suddenly, looking from elementalist to elementalist.  “What other reason is there than to love me as your god?  I, who am perfect in every way.”

                Eleanara and Kyuhyun exchanged disbelieving glances.  “You’re nothing but a murdering tyrant.  Why in the hell would we love you?!” Kyuhyun demanded with a snarl as he surged to his feet, knocking the chair out from under him.

                Hana flinched when she felt the abrupt surge in his attempt to call his power again.  Stubbornly, she pressed down on his flames, aware that the wall sconces in the room flickered wildly despite her efforts.  “My lord.  Perhaps they are still a bit easily excitable,” she suggested mildly, her attention focused on the fire elementalist.

                Enrhyll regarded the angry Kyuhyun with real confusion and then annoyance.  This kitten was going to be more work than he had anticipated.  “Sit down,” he waved in annoyance as Kwan stepped up.

                The Captain moved close to Kyuhyun with his sword drawn, wary of the elementalist.  “Kyuhyun,” he stated firmly, his voice quiet in the open room.  The fire elementalist growled in frustration and eased up just a hair on his power.  He reached down to retrieve the chair he had knocked over and smirked when his dark eyes spotted Eleanara.

                Mostly forgotten in Kyuhyun’s attention grabbing power play, Eleanara adjusted the knife in her hand and slipped out of her chair quietly.  As much as she wanted to aim for Enrhyll, there was little point since he could heal himself and his neutralizer was still subduing their power.  Instead, she aimed for Hana.  The light elementalist had never had much physical prowess but with training, she had become at least fairly proficient in a dagger fight and speed was her ally more than anything else.  Swiftly, she closed the distance between her and the neutralizer, cursing quietly when the other woman noticed her at the last minute.

                Hana cried out in surprise when she noticed the light elementalist approaching her swiftly.  Her control over Kyuhyun wavered for an instant and he felt it, even as she shifted her attention to draw the dagger at her hip to deflect the fierce attack on her person.  While the flickering flames on the walls rose up angrily, she deflected her attacker with significant difficulty, screaming in pain when the blade dug into her forearm when she failed to block properly.

                In the next instant, Eleanara was flung back as a massive gust of biting wind caught her completely off guard.  The knife thudded on the carpeted floor, skidding away from her swiftly while she came to rest and painfully tried to get back to her feet.

                “Nara!” Kyuhyun cried as he slowly began to manifest a shimmering ball of fire before him.  With Hana distracted, he could work, but not well.  Enrhyll reached out to contest the building flames, stalling them in place by manipulating the budding fire where it grew.

                Kwan hesitated for a moment.  His sword was still drawn and it did not appear as if Kyuhyun was even aware he was still there.  Part of him wanted to let the boy keep pressing his attack, but he knew at this point that he would not have a chance to succeed.  Before either Enrhyll or Hana could notice his hesitation, he sheathed the sword in one smooth movement before he grabbed Kyuhyun by the back of the neck and rammed his head down against the table, stunning him immediately.  “Calm down,” he growled quietly into the dazed elementalist’s ear.

                His focus shattered, the flames along the walls subsided to a normal size and he swayed where he stood, supported by Kwan’s restraining hands.  The fire before him dissipated slowly, spun back to nothingness by Enrhyll who appraised him with a moody expression.

                Hana retrieved a wounded Eleanara, her uninjured hand threaded through the smaller woman’s hair savagely.  “Bow before Lord Enrhyll!” she snarled angrily as she forced the light elementalist towards the still seated Enrhyll.

                Eleanara shrieked as her hair felt almost as if it was being torn from her scalp before she ended up in a heap on the floor just in front of Enrhyll.  Her breathing was elevated and shaky as she clasped her left arm around her tender ribs and glared up at the tyrant, a mixture of fear and anger in her eyes.

                “Poor child,” he murmured softly as he reached out a hand to place it on her head.  She tried to flinch away but Hana grabbed hold of the back of her hair again and forced her to be still.  Easily, Enrhyll healed the harm he had caused and shifted his hand from the top of her head to her cheek.  “Who has lied to you?  Who has told you that I am not your god?” he asked, his voice deceptively persuasive.

                “You’re not a god!” she denied vehemently, reaching up to push his hand away with hers.  A whimper escaped her when Hana yanked her hair again.

                “Shhh,” Enrhyll soothed softly as he grabbed her head in both of his hands.  “You must be so confused,” he sighed sadly.  “Let me help you forget those lies,” he cooed while he called upon shadow.

                A shadow she could not see slid over Eleanara and she felt her memories slipping away from her and becoming fuzzier the longer he focused on her, dark eyes locked with her lighter ones.  “No!” she screamed in denial, forcing her eyes shut which only helped to slow the feeling of the encroaching shadow.

                Aware once again, Kyuhyun struggled against the stronger Kwan and screamed, “Stop it!  Leave her alone, Enrhyll!”

                Enrhyll paused for just a second as he kept his hands on either side of Eleanara’s head and looked back at the fire elementalist.  “It’s alright, Kyuhyun.  I’ll help you next,” he promised before focusing his attention back on the woman before him.  Eleanara’s defiant scream resounded through the room, joined by Kyuhyun’s, as they fell upon deaf ears.

(a/n: Hello to my wonderful readers!  I know it took me a bit longer than usual and it's not as long as my most recent ones have been but I do hope you enjoyed it none the less.  Enrhyll is both fun and aggravating to write which makes for interesting interactions when I can get them to work correctly.  >.>  I am hoping to have the next update out a bit sooner than this one was.

Since we're actually seeing more of the interactions with the supporting antagonists, I am curious to know what you think of them.  As always, thank you to my readers, both silent and otherwise, and I look forward to any thoughts or comments you might have.  Take care!  ^_^ )