Disclaimer: I don’t own Ranma and co. They belong to a better writer.

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 Chapter 3: Fool Me Once

The common people of Nerima crowded around with awe as the royal procession slowly made its way up the hill to the lofty palace walls.

At the front of the procession rode the elegant, upright figure of their princess, seated in front of her brother the crown prince on his white warhorse as it stepped proudly through the crowd, jingling the bells threaded through its thick silver mane. Behind them rode a contingent of soldiers in strict formation, their spears and helmets gleaming in the afternoon sunshine.

The people strained to get a glimpse of her, but her face was hidden as usual behind a translucent veil. They didn’t mind. They were joyous that she had been saved and her kidnappers punished.

Little did they imagine that the slim figure on the horse was NOT the princess.

Shampoo sat stiffly before Prince Kuno, fear and excitement rising in her as they neared the palace. Her hands clenched beneath the cloak she was wrapped in. Kuno and his guards had naturally believed she was Akane since they thought they had saved her from the evil sorcerer, but now their party was approaching Akane’s home. Her parents, the king and queen, were perhaps not so easily fooled. Everyone who knew Akane lived here. Would Shampoo be able to carry off the deception?

Shampoo’s master Kulloden had expected that they would have a few days to observe the Princess Akane when they held her captive, to allow Shampoo to copy her behaviour. However, they’d lost that chance when the soldiers attacked so early.

Yet again, she wondered how the soldiers had found them so quickly.

Shampoo felt a pang for her master. Ever since the pale, thin sorcerer had brought her into his home twelve years ago, she’d served him. Never once had she known him to be at a loss. It must have been devastating for him to be attacked when he wasn’t ready. Yet the dark sorcerer was powerful and wily. Shampoo was fairly certain that her master was older than he looked. In fact, he’d looked the same for as long as she’d known him. His jet-black hair had never gained a hint of gray, and those obsidian eyes had retained their cold glitter. She had no doubt he had escaped. She only hoped they could maintain contact somehow.

As for Ranma, she didn’t doubt that her fellow-apprentice would wiggle his way out of trouble like a mongrel. That’s all he was, anyway. A street-rat that Kulloden had adopted from the wharfs for no good reason that she could see. So he was a beneficiary of Kulloden’s kindness, like her, but he was too cocky for his own good and if he had some trouble escaping, all the better! A malicious smile crossed Shampoo’s stolen face at the thought.

The false princess looked ahead, anticipating her ‘return’. They’d entered the city gates a while ago, and there had been a big hubbub when the guards and citizens learned she’d been ‘rescued’. Shampoo had only seen some glances thrown at Kuno and her before knees were bent in obeisance.

The party had traveled up the gentle hill to the drawbridge, where eager guards saluted them and waved them onto the palace grounds, past the spelled granite from the eastern mines that made up the outer walls and kept intruders out.

Looking around her, Shampoo was glad that the veil hid her wonderment and curiosity. The Neriman palace was indeed a sight to behold. The grounds were a hive of noise and activity. Soldiers drew bows and shot arrows at wooden targets on an archery field. Next to them, servants were busy pushing large, heavy carts of something. Groups of ladies loitered, talking softly. Young pages ran here and there, bearing important messages to and from the nobles.

It all looked very busy, but quite faded in comparison to the large, moon-white palace that the great-great-great-grandfather of the present Tendo king had built. It looked like a very large, white eagle, perched over the rest of the city. Tall, white columns supported its two wings, and several more stories continued upwards. Lush gardens surrounded the palace itself, and swept away to the back.

Even as Shampoo gaped up at the palace with her mouth open and taking it all in, unable to believe her luck, Kuno was talking.

“Welcome home, Akane. Mother and Father will be so grateful that I was able to rescue you in time.” Kuno fervently pressed Shampoo closer to him, which annoyed her. Wasn’t he just a bit too affectionate with his sister?

“Well, perhaps he’s simply glad to have me back!” she told herself. Nevertheless, she was glad to descend from the horse and be embraced by the king and queen, and other members of the court.

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

Akane sat on the hawk’s back and surveyed the sea below her in awe. Never before had she imagined that water could look like a living sheet of silk, stretching to the horizon, where the cerulean sky was stitched to it. She felt as though she was encased in a sphere of blue glass. It was a very different view than she’d gotten from the prow of the ship. She’d quite forgotten her initial fear of flying.

“This is magnificent!” Her excitement couldn’t be contained and she clutched the hawk’s golden neck feathers more tightly, her fingers reveling in the feel of the soft down. “Why, if the court painters could but see this, surely it would fire their imaginations for a lifetime!”

To her right, land was approaching. This was even more fascinating, as she could pick out details she had only previously studied about in geography lessons. There were the Mermaid mountains, so named because they rolled gently, like mermaids in the sea. Closer still, Akane could see the jagged extinct volcano, Hinako.

To her right, the King’s Forest stretched for miles, covering hills and plateaus. It was almost like a green sea itself. Farther away, she could see the busy harbour, where ships from other countries brought goods of all kinds. From there, the city grew until it nearly reached the forest.

Instinctively, Akane looked for the palace. It was hard to see, but she could make out the inner city, and the royal palace perched on the hill in the center. She breathed a sigh of relief. It didn’t look very far. They might easily fly there.

Even as she thought the words, Ranma swooped towards the ground, and landed in a cloud of dust raised by his mighty wings.

He changed to human form so suddenly that Akane, who had been clinging to his neck feathers ferociously, found herself blinking and clinging to his very human neck and looking closely into his blue-gray eyes as she sat in his arms.

She blinked, blushed and hopped off rather awkwardly.

“Er…er…why did you change?” she stammered, brushing at her long dress and looking elsewhere. “We could have flown on till we reached the palace!”

“I’m not a flying machine, princess.” Ranma folded his arms, irritated. “I’m only an apprentice, and my magic is not boundless. Perhaps…” He stopped. He’d been about to say that perhaps one day he’d be as powerful as Kulloden but that didn’t seem like a very good idea at the moment. Especially since Akane was, more or less, his master right now.

Whether she knew it or not.

The thought ate at him, making him angry. He’d been tempted almost beyond bearing to simply tip his wing sideways and dump her in the sea, but he didn’t dare test the spell that bound them just yet. What if he were obliged to rescue her again?

It was important that she NOT realize she could command him. Handing over control of the situation to her was not an option Ranma even wanted to consider. He simply couldn’t permit it.

Thoughts of the bumbling apprentice magician that had trapped him in this dilemma made Ranma rage inwardly. Yet there was nothing he could do about it. His hands clenched and unclenched as he fought his fury.

Akane was looking askance at him.

“We’ll have to make our way there by foot.” He carried no gold, and his magic was running dangerously low. He’d expended enough power just flying to the mainland.

“Perhaps we can hire a carriage or something,” Akane suggested brightly.

Ranma stared at her. “Which part of  ‘on foot’ don’t you understand?” he asked.

“On foot?” Akane repeated. “But that could take…an hour!” She paused. “I’ve never walked that long before.”

The apprentice continued to stare, disbelief stamped on his features. He couldn’t believe the depth of her naiveté.

“It will take,” he ground out, “three days!”

“Three days?!” Akane couldn’t even imagine what that would be like. She tried to imagine walking and walking for three days. No, she couldn’t see it.

“Are you sure you can’t work some magic?” she asked hopefully, and quailed at Ranma’s thunderous expression.

“I cannot repeat a type of spell once I’ve sustained it for a while,” he growled. “Don’t you know anything? The hawk spell looked easy, but it’s one of the hardest spells there are.” If only his water dragon had come when he’d sent out the mental call, but she was nowhere to be found. Then again, Ranma didn’t think Akane would relish seeing his pet after the dragon had destroyed her ship.

“Three days,” Akane said, testing the sound on her tongue. Well, at least there were no scolding tutors or ladies-in-waiting to tell her that princesses did not create calluses on their pretty feet by walking too much.

She shrugged.

After all, she had to get home somehow.

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

At first, Akane enjoyed the walk. The sandy beach had eventually given way to a grassy plain, and they were now following a rough path that led deeper into the forest. She had never been in this part of Nerima. It seemed rather wilder and woodier than the parts she’d been exposed to. The grass was not cut neatly, but rather grew thickly on either side of the path. Wild flowers grew sparsely here and there. Plants and bushes Akane didn’t know cropped up now and again.

The trees grew more thickly, until the duo was enveloped in a vibrant green world of chirping insects and the rustle of birds and animals in the undergrowth.

Despite the interesting landscape, Akane kept looking back at Ranma as he walked in front of her. She’d never met anyone like him before. He always seemed angry, and at first he’d walked with a jerky motion that made his long braid bounce. Then he had settled into the smooth, quiet gait of a hunter.

She knew she ought to be mad at him, and she was. He’d humiliated her and abused her, yet he’d done it so emotionlessly that she didn’t know quite what to make of him. He was like some wild creature, a tiger perhaps that mauled amorally. A mystery.

So she studied him.

Ranma could feel the princess staring holes into his back. He could tell exactly when she was looking at him. He could feel it when her gaze moved away to their surroundings, and then he knew when it cut back to him.

He wondered what she was thinking and then decided that he didn’t care. All he wanted to do was reach the palace and wring Mousse’s neck until the magician coughed up the antidote to the spell. Without the antidote, things would get a lot hairier for him in a hurry.

He wondered if Akane might attack him from behind.

No, she was too timid to attempt such a thing. She looked so small and fragile. Did she know how feminine she looked in that semi-transparent dress? He could see the line of her slim thigh with every step she took. Not that he cared.

But she alone held the power to let him do magic.

What a dilemma.

It was in his best interest to get to the palace as soon as possible, find that apprentice…Mousse...and make him recant the spell.

Ranma ignored the princess and concentrated on plotting out their route. He had seen the palace from the air as well, and was making towards it in as straight a line as possible.

He was more familiar with the terrain than Akane was, however, and he knew he’d need his magic if they were to get to the palace unharmed.

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

“What’s this?” Akane asked.

Ranma continued without a backward glance.

“It’s a shrine.” His tone was even. “Keep walking.”

The shrine sat in the middle of the road, old and weathered. Carved from flinty rock, it was about three feet high, in the shape of three cupolas, one stacked above the other, so that the topmost one was the smallest. Despite its obvious age and isolated location, the shrine was free of any plants or dirt.

“To whom?” Akane asked, her interest mildly piqued. They’d been walking forever. The hem of her translucent skirts was getting torn and muddy and her thin sandals were not meant to be walked in. Any excuse to stop looked good to her.

“Don’t think about it. Just keep walking,” Ranma replied in the tone Kulloden used on him to indicate a subject was closed.

Akane stopped completely.

“Trust a female to be contrary,” Ranma muttered. “She’s more like Shampoo than I would have guessed.”

“What is it? I just want to know. It looks so very odd,” Akane said, walking around the shrine, examining it from all sides. She placed her palm against the stone.

“Don’t touch it!” Ranma snapped with such force that Akane jumped and yanked her hand back, cradling it to her bosom as though Ranma’s voice had really been a whip on her fingers.

He looked furious, his blue eyes alight with anger.

“Why can’t you ever do as you’re told?” he demanded, advancing on her like a demon from one of the stories her nurse used to tell her.

Akane backed away until she ran out of road, and heedless of her steps, she retreated onto the grassy slope on the roadside, lost her balance and began windmilling her arms desperately.

Ranma caught her upper arms before she fell. He yanked her close, his snapping blue eyes merely inches away. Akane’s heartbeat thudded in her breast.

“When I give you an order, you’d better jump to it,” he said, his breath warm against her cheek. “You’re completely helpless in these woods, and without me, you’ll perish before the day’s end. It’s best you remember that, princess!”

Akane stared at him like a deer caught in the hunter’s trap. She gave a half-hearted tug to free herself, but the motion only angered Ranma more.

“You’re free when I say you’re free,” he said, pulling her closer so that her soft body was crushed against him.

“Tsk tsk, my lord, the lady meant no harm,” a smooth voice said from the edge of the road.

Both Ranma and Akane swiveled their heads to see a young girl approaching them. She was lovely. Her eyes were slanted and green. Her hair was long, dark and coiled in a shining loop around her head. A silky ribbon of hair flowed down over one shoulder to her waist. She wore deep green robes of a fine material.

Akane stared at her hair enviously, sorely missing her own chopped locks. The girl’s hair indicated that she was a noblewoman of some kind. Akane ought to know her, but she’d never met her before.

“Who are you?” Ranma asked suspiciously, still clutching Akane to him.

“You may call me Rouge,” the girl replied. “You look weary, travelers. Would you not like food and drink, and perhaps- eep!” She jumped back as Akane latched onto her, having detached herself from Ranma with unnatural speed.

“Food! Did you say…food?” She shook Rouge slightly, her eyes wide with hope.

“Akane…” Ranma began, slightly bewildered.

“Quiet!” Akane ordered with the first imperial air Ranma had seen about her. “I’m hungry!”

“Certainly I will feed on you...I mean, feed you,” Rouge coughed to cover up her slip of the tongue. She’d never met such an enthusiastic girl before. “I have all manner of food…roast peahen, fruits, rice…”

Akane reached up and wiped away the start of unladylike drool.

“Please,” she moaned. “I’m so hungry!”

“Of course. This way,…?” Rouge stared at her questioningly.

“Akane.”

“This way, Akane. And…?”

Ranma just glared and stalked past them. He’d let Akane eat, but then they were on their way.

********

Rouge’s house was beautiful, with creamy white walls, imported glass and marble floors. She led them to a low table and seated them.

“What a beautiful place!” Akane exclaimed looking about, determined to fulfill her duties as a guest at least.

“Thank you. My grandmother built it and I’ve tried to add to its beauty.” Rouge clapped her hands. Immediately, servants bearing large metal platters and covered bowls walked out and placed the dishes on the table. Some came around and washed Akane’s hands, but her attention was completely on the dishes. Servants took off the covers and steam wafted from the dishes, revealing roast fowl, cooked vegetables and other delicacies.

Akane, swallowing, focused so much of her attention on not falling on the meal like an animal that she didn’t wonder how such dishes had been produced here in the jungle. She was quite used to being served, eating well, and not worrying about where her meals came from. In fact, she knew no other way.

Ranma, however, sat and stared as the servants served him and Akane. Rouge, he noticed, did not eat.

“My lord,” she said, caressing his arm. “You are not hungry?”

“Neither are you,” he pointed out.

She laughed a tinkling laugh, a sound that sent chills down Ranma’s spine.

“It would be very rude of me to eat before my guests had a chance to dine.” She sent him a sultry glance from beneath her sweeping lashes, an invitation that was plain to see. Her fingers ran up his arm and squeezed his shoulder gently.

He tensed, then deliberately relaxed. He adopted a sheepish mien.

“Well, I didn’t want to be rude.” He glanced pointedly at Akane, who was delicately gnawing on a chicken bone. He returned his attention to his plate, heaped with delicacies.

Rouge watched avidly as Ranma began to eat.

“It’s quite good,” he said around a mouthful of meat.

“One tries what one can.” Their hostess smiled.

She struck up a conversation with Akane, all the while sending Ranma steamy looks on the side. Akane didn’t notice at all.

“That was wonderful!” Akane politely hid a tiny burp behind her hand. “Thank you.”

Rouge airily waved away the gratitude with a small hand.

“Now you must sleep,” she said. “You’re both very tired. I have had rooms prepared for you.”

Akane sent a pleading glance to Ranma, expecting opposition. She was surprised when Ranma smiled and looked at Rouge.

“We’ll be happy to accept.” He let his gaze roam lightly over Rouge’s prettily clad form.

Rouge clapped her hands.

“Wonderful! I love having guests!”

She shepherded a tired Akane off to her room, leaving Ranma to be escorted by servants to his room.

Akane followed Rouge, admiring her clothing and bearing.

“I don’t think I’m aware of your house, my lady,” she said, wondering which of the noble houses Rouge would lay claim to.

Her hostess glanced around.

“It’s…a long story.” A sad look crossed Rouge’s face, and she averted her eyes.

Oops! Akane’s hand flew to her mouth, and she berated herself for her rude question. Perhaps Rouge was some sort of love child of one of the nobility, and they had stashed her here, away from the city, to conceal their shame. How awful!

She decided to invite Rouge to the palace as soon as she herself got back.

“How did you come to be traveling with Ranma?” Rouge looked openly curious, but Akane had been trained in the palace to never reveal what she didn’t need to. Yet Rouge had been kind to her.

“He’s escorting me home.” Many noblewomen were escorted by soldiers, but they always had maidservants with them. Thankfully, Rouge didn’t ask about that. But her next comment threw Akane for a loop.

“So then I suppose he’s not your lover.”

“Wha….?” Akane’s eyes whirled in shock.

Rouge laughed.

“Oh, never mind. Silly me.” Rouge could tell such a thought had never even entered the girl’s head. What an innocent. Well, it didn’t matter. It would be such a waste to let a gorgeous specimen such as Ranma go to waste.

“Here we are.” She flung open the door to a richly appointed chamber, with a fire glowing in the hearth.

“Oh!” Akane entered the room in a trance, feeling as though she was already home. A satin nightgown lay draped over the back of a stuffed chair. When she reached it, she fingered the material, looking at her own bedraggled condition.

“Don’t worry, I’ve ordered a bath for you.” Rouge’s voice faded as Akane’s hostess disappeared down the hallway.

Akane wanted to weep with gratitude.

*********

Rouge jiggled the doorknob of Ranma’s room. It was locked.

“Ranma?” she called in her most seductive tone. “Are you there?” He’d better be.

“He’s in the privy, my lady.” A servant appeared beside her silently. “Apparently, something he ate didn’t agree with him. He had…an unpleasant reaction.”

“No!” Rouge stamped her small, delicately-shod foot. “I want him now!”

The servant backed away nervously.

Rouge pouted.

“Bring me some water!”

*********

Akane was fast asleep and dreaming. She knew it was a dream because she was floating next to a giant, purple lizard. Then again, the last time she thought something was a dream, it had been real. The giant lizard looked friendly and fluffy, until it swung around and began to choke her with its claws.

Akane opened her eyes and found a six-armed demon trying to strangle her. All six of its hands were around her neck and doing a fair job of choking her. Already Akane could see spots in her vision. It was the oddest feeling.

“Urk…” She struggled, fear roiling in her belly as the glowing red eyes of the demon grew closer.

“Stop fighting, human. There’s no one here to rescue you!”

“R…Rouge?” Akane recognized the voice but not the face. This Rouge looked so different. She had fangs, for heaven’s sake. Confusion reigned. “But I thought you were a noblewoman!”

“Now did I say that?”

“You said…it was a long story!”

“To make it short, I’m not.”

“But you just fed me! Why…are you trying… to kill me?” She tugged at the half-a-dozen hands.

“I just want you to return the favour!” The demon licked her lips.

“You want...to...EAT ME?!”

Rouge rolled her eyes.

“You’re remarkably dense!”

“Aaaaaaaaagh!”

“Who do you think is going to rescue you in the middle of the forest? Ranma’s sick and out of the way!” Rouge smirked down at her struggling prey.

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It’s a bit of a cliffhanger, but hey it happens! :) Click and review, good people!