Romance RP

(Hmm I think he would definitely go mad with jealousy and want to go after Ryan. He might ask Ryan to duel him for Lycoris. XD)

Lycoris pouted cutely and tonguing playfully at Ryan, she replied, "Aha, now you're obviously just flattering me. There's Rosaline, for one and of course, there's Sia. She's a beautiful queen and she's strong and tough...and of course, she's your fiancee so I don't even compare to her now, do I?"

She pretended to pout in annoyance although she was really joking.

(lol  I wonder if Lycoris would stop him.  XD)

Ryan chuckled softly upon seeing Lycoris pout and he replied, "Aww but you're just as wonderful and beautiful as them.  And no matter what, I'm very lucky to be dancing here with you tonight."

He paused in the dance to give Lycoris a kiss on each of her cheeks.

(Ahh yup, of course. If things went well for her and Ryan, there's no way she would allow such a thing as she would choose Ryan over any other man any day. XD)

Lycoris couldn't help but blush and smile shyly as Ryan kissed her and happily said, "Well, I can only say the same thing; that I am very lucky to be in your company tonight."

The couple continued dancing for a little more before the music eventually ended.

(Aww that's so sweet.  ^^)

After the music ended, Ryan released himself from Lycoris' hands and bowing before her, he said,

"Thank you for the wonderful dance, my angel.  I feel as though I've just been to heaven."

Lycoris blushed deeply and replied happily, "You're the one who has my thanks, my prince. I truly feel like a princess in your presence."

She smiled gently to him then said, "So let's rest for a while now and enjoy our little ones' company, ok?"

*****************

Away from Ryan's house, something strange was happening in the nobles' area, specifically near Alex's and Nerine's house. A hooded woman was standing near a tree and looking at the house, she smirked to herself as she whispered,

"You've hidden well this time, girl. But we will force you to come out of hiding along with that human of yours."

Raising her hand, she gave the signal, and in a matter of seconds, a group of around ten soldiers were surrounding the house, blocking the back door and windows to prevent anyone's escape.

(Yup, the shapeshifter is back. XD)

(O_O  Should we have Alex and Nerine come back into the picture?  XD)

Ryan nodded happily and replied, "Sure, that sounds good to me."

After Ryan scooped the puppies in his arms and placed them in Lycoris' arms, he escorted her to a nearby tree.  The couple then sat under its branches, and Ryan gazed at the sky, commenting,

"The sky is truly beautiful tonight, isn't it?  I don't think we've had a night where the sky hasn't been so beautiful."

(Ahh I think we'll have to since the shapeshifter isn't going to waste any time. XD)

Lycoris gazed at the night sky as well and nodding happily, she said, "We've been truly lucky about that, you know. Sometimes, it can rain and it can even snow in winter, right? Although I wouldn't mind that as well. The rain and the snow are so beautiful too."

**********

After the soldiers had completely surrounded the house and everything was secure, the hooded woman began to take her move. The objective was clear-to kidnap the couple and bring them to the captain. Stepping out of her the darkness, she moved steadily to the house's door and casually knocked on it like any normal visitor.

(I see.  XD)

Ryan nodded happily and replied, "Yup, that's true.  Have you seen both, my angel?  I especially love snow in the winter.  It's so white and pure, kind of like you."

*************

As Alex spent the evening happily in Nerine's company, he heard a knock at the door.  Raising an eyebrow, he commented,

"It's awfully late for someone to come at this hour.  Should I check to see who it is or should we ignore it and hope they come back tomorrow?  I don't want anything to disturb our time together tonight."

Lycoris blushed at Ryan's compliment but she smiled and nodding, she said, "Yes, I've seen both. I saw the rain here in Devenshire and I saw the snow back in Lessire. I especially remember the snow and you're right-it's so beautiful, white and pure. I was with Alex back then and we built a snowman and we had a snow fight..."

Her looks changed suddenly from the happy ones to a gloomy, depressed look, as thinking of Alex reminded her of her divorce and brought her sadness back to her heart.

**************

Nerine was disturbed as well by the knocks on their door and nodding, she replied, "Yeah, I don't mind. Hopefully it isn't an urgent matter. I can't think of any reason it should be and I don't want anyone to interrupt our time with my Alex either."

The hooded woman continued knocking on the door for a couple of minutes although her patience was running out. She thought to herself,

Well, if this won't go smoothly, I'll have no choice but to be rough.

Ryan noticed the look of sadness on Lycoris' face and hugging her, he replied,

"I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to make you sad.  It must be so hard but you should know that you're not alone.  You'll never be alone."

************

Alex nodded and replied, "Me, too."

He hoped that whoever was at the door would go away but for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.  He turned to Nerine and said,

"I might be overreacting but I think we should head to our room just in case."

Lycoris returned Ryan's hug gratefully and after sighing, she smiled a little and replied,

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't want our night to turn gloomy all of a sudden so umm, let's change the subject, please? I think I'm fine if I am distracted but I don't know how strong I can be if I can't shake it out of my mind."

********************

Nerine looked a little worried and asked, "Umm is everything ok, Alex? You're worrying me now."

Before Alex could reply though, there was the voice of a sudden explosion at the door, for the shapeshifter had used her fire magic to blow up the door and get it out of the way. Nerine heard the sound and fear coursing through her, she said, completely panicked,

"Alex, you heard that, right? What's going on?"

Ryan nodded and thinking of a topic, he asked, "Ahh what would you like to do tomorrow?  I'm at your disposal as always.  Any ideas?"

************

Alex looked worried and replied, "I don't know but I can tell that someone is trespassing.  I need to protect you first, though.  We have to get to our room and quickly."

He got up and holding tightly to Nerine's hand, he hurriedly led the way upstairs towards their room.

Lycoris looked thoughtful and replied, "Hmm I can't really think of anything right now. Maybe we can go outside? Perhaps we can go to town and just ride around. That can be refreshing, right?"

************

Nerine followed Alex to their room hurriedly, doing her best to remain calm although she was afraid, wondering what was happening all of a sudden. Meanwhile, the shapeshifter had entered the house and although she could see no one, she could hear the footsteps on the stairs. She smirked to herself but first, she made sure that a soldier was placed at the blown-up door, before moving forward towards the stairs.

Ryan nodded and replied, "Yup, that's true and I think Robert will look forward to the exercise."

As if on cue, Robert whinnied happily and chuckling, Ryan added, "Yup, I was right."

***********

Alex and Nerine had fortunately reached their room, and then Alex locked the door as well as placed a heavy table in front of it.  He knew it wouldn't hold for long but at least it would delay whoever was suddenly invading the house.  He then turned to Nerine and said,

"We have to get out of here.  Dad told me of this a while back but he said to keep it a secret unless I absolutely had no choice."

He reached out to touch a nearby wall and after making a couple of presses, the wall suddenly opened up, revealing a secret passage.  He then said, "We have to go in here quickly and follow the tunnel.  The wall will close up behind us.  Dad said it should lead us to town and we'll be all right there."

(I know this is a bit out there but I hope it's ok.  XD)

Lycoris giggled happily and reaching out to touch Robert's head gently, she said, "I'm glad you'll enjoy your time, boy. We'll make sure to have a lot of fun."

**************

(Ahh that's fine although I find it strange to have a tunnel in a room that's upstairs. XD)

Nerine was surprised by the secret passage that was suddenly revealed to be right in their house but clinging to it as a ray of hope, she nodded and replied, "Let us waste no time then."

She was about to follow him to inside the tunnel when she was startled by yet another explosion; a merciless fire ball that blew up their room's door and the table behind it. As the smoke dissipated, the hooded woman entered the room to witness the opened passage and the couple. Frowning, she spoke up,

"Planning to run away, huh? I didn't see this coming but you're still slow. There's no way I am letting you two escape."

(Ahh it's more of a secret passageway that leads to a tunnel.  Sorry-I should have explained that better.  XD)

Robert nodded his head, looking forward to their outing tomorrow.  Ryan smiled and said, "It looks like our day tomorrow is all set and I'm sure we'll find something to do in town.  I think there's still a few places I haven't shown you yet and now that we have Robert, it'll be easier to take you to them."

************

Alex frowned at the intruder and although he wanted to know why this woman suddenly barged in, he knew that this was no time for talk.  He needed to protect Nerine, first and foremost.  Holding tightly to Nerine's hand, he quietly said,

"We're leaving now."

He ran into the secret passageway with Nerine right behind him and once they were inside, the wall immediately closed behind them.  As they followed the passageway, Alex quietly said, "She won't be able to get in, at least not right away."

(I should get off for the night now and go to sleep.  Hopefully, this allergy/cold will go away soon and I can get back to a normal schedule and all.  Nite, nite, Love.  ^^)

(Nite, nite, phoenix and I hope you feel completely well soon. ^^)

Lycoris looked happy and happily said, "I can't wait."

She looked thoughtful then getting an idea, she said, "Ryan, you said there was a small beach in Devenshire before, right? If it's nothing fancy, can we go there? I really want to see it. Maybe we can even spend the morning there?"

**********

Nerine nodded and choking back on her tears, she ran with Alex through the tunnel. She was still quite scared and confused, hoping they could get to safety soon.

Meanwhile, the shapeshifter groaned angrily as the couple disappeared behind the passage's wall. Approaching it, she could feel how strong it was and trying to bring it down with her fire would take time, enough for the couple to have gotten out of her reach. Therefore, she had to rely on her other ability-shapeshifting.

After she had searched for the tiny gap that separated the wall of the passage from the other walls, she changed into a tiny ant and swiftly passed through carefully. Once she had reached the other side, she changed into a tiger and immediately ran off, knowing that with such speed, she'd be able to catch up with them.

There's no way I'm letting you go. The powers girl wouldn't hesitate to show up to save her sister or her husband and that's exactly what we need. So give up already before my patience runs out.

(Yup, she isn't giving up. xD)

(Yup, I can see that.  XD)

Ryan nodded happily and replied, "Sure, I'd be happy to take you there.  Since it's a small beach, it won't be crowded at all so most likely, we'll have the place to ourselves.  Are you curious to check out the water again?"

***********

Alex continued to hold on tightly to Nerine's hand, never once looking back.  He kept going, running as fast as his feet could take him, until finally, they left the tunnel.  They were in town and right near the stables.  Alex immediately knocked on the stable manager's door, and there emerged a sleepy-eyed man.  Alex asked for his help and promised to explain once the couple was inside.  The man nodded and stepping aside, he let the couple through, closing the door immediately behind him.

(I'll be going to work in a bit so I'll be back this evening to post more then.  ^^)

(Take your time. ^^)

Lycoris nodded happily and replied, "Yes. I think Devenshire has a very beautiful ocean, right? So I want to see it up close. And I like beaches. They're such a magical place."

***************

The shapeshifter had run as fast as she could in her tiger form and although she couldn't catch the couple, her tiger form which was faster allowed her to catch them just as they entered the stables' door. Pausing, she changed back to human form although she was a little worn out from the running.

Calmly thinking over the situation, she knew she had to prevent them from going anywhere first. So casting a spell, she summoned a fire shield surrounding the stables to prevent anyone from passing through. Then using her telepathy, she ordered the soldiers from the house to follow her to the stables. Lastly, she communicated with Alex himself,

You can't keep hiding for long. Come out with your wife and no one will be harmed.

(Back and free now.  XD  I'm feeling a bit better today but I'll probably go to bed early again tonight.  Hopefully, I can get back to a regular routine tomorrow.  ^^)

Ryan smiled softly and replied, "I love the way you think, my angel.  I don't think I asked this but have you ever made a sand castle?"

************

Alex could hear the shapeshifter communicating through his mind and he replied,

Who are you?  What do you want with us?

(Welcome back. ^^ And I am glad you're feeling better and yup, you should get all the rest you need. I hope you are 100% well soon. ^^)

Lycoris looked curious as replied, "A sand castle? You mean a castle made of sand? But how so? I mean, a castle is too huge and the sand will fall off and..."

She looked confused, not able to figure out this sand castle.

****************

The shapeshifter smiled to herself as Alex responded and replied,

Who I am doesn't matter. I don't intend to harm either of you but I need you two to come with me and I can promise that you two will be kept somewhere safe. You're not our real target after all.

(Thanks.  ^^)

Ryan chuckled softly upon seeing Lycoris' confusion and he replied, "Ahh a sand castle isn't huge like an actual castle.  Think of it as more of a miniature version of a castle.  I take it that you've never made on before so let's do it tomorrow.  I haven't made one since I was a kid."

****************

Alex replied,

Why should we?  You chase after us so neither of us are coming out unless you identify yourself and your reasons for going after us.

Lycoris smiled softly and replied, "Well, if you say it's fun, then it must be. And I never tried it before so I'm really curious. I can't wait. Sounds like it's a very fun morning we're having tomorrow."

****************

The shapeshifter replied,

Why should you-simply because you're surrounded and it wouldn't be very smart to try running away. But alright. Let's just say I come from the captain's side-I am pretty sure you know him. Why am I going after you? It should be obvious why.

Ryan nodded happily and replied, "Yup, it sure will and we can collect seashells on the beach as well.  They're quite pretty."

***************

As he heard the shapeshifter's reply, Alex realized that this was all meant to trap Lycoris.  However, he didn't understand why such a strategy would be needed, as he thought that Lycoris was still at the castle.  He replied,

I see but why not just get Lycoris back at the castle?  You were able to do so before.

Lycoris looked even more curious and replied, "Seashells? I never heard of them before. Man, you're saying a lot of new things tonight, Ryan. It sounds like I know nothing about beaches after all."

*****************

The shapeshifter frowned angrily at this and replied,

Don't mess around me. You should know better than I do that she's not at the castle anymore. She's in your world but where-that's what I am going to find out.