Sha'en Directions

Chapter 1 – Sought

By Threshie

AN: Death Note and its cast of interesting characters belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, not me. This is a work of fanfiction.

This story is an Alternate Universe medieval-era fantasy. For fair warning, there will be yaoi—malexmale romance. As for pairings...anything can happen, I suppose... ;)

This fic has been months in the making; I've been plotting on it and even drawing illustrations for it for ages now, so I'm very excited to be presenting it in written form at last for you to read.

I hope you enjoy the first chapter.

Matt would never forget the day that they arrived.

A shining silver carriage, drawn by pale, dappled horses and escorted by yet more, drew into town just as he was arriving home. Talne was a tiny mountain village; no one high-born enough to travel in such a carriage should have had any reason to come there. No, the redheaded youth told himself, this precession must have been just passing through. There was writing on the side...he paused, squinting to glimpse what it read, and realized that the white calligraphy was written in Ximmelian, the language of a kingdom far to the north.

'Home is where I am traveling,' the writing said in graceful, exotic curves. Matt had only ever seen Ximmelian written in the dusty books he bought off of traveling traders; to see it in actual use sent a bit of a thrill through him.

He tried not to look as happy about seeing the writing as he really was. It was well-known amongst the villagers that Matt Jeevas, the innkeeper's son, was obsessed with languages, and he was frequently mocked for spending his time in the company of dusty old books rather than pursuing a "useful" hobby, such as learning a trade that could earn him money. Really, even his own father didn't see any use in his linguistic talents; if not for the fact that the man planned to pass the inn business on to Matt when he died, he would likely have forced his son to make more use of his time before this.

All of this was in the back of his mind as the redhead watched the carriage procession draw closer and closer to the center of town. When it stopped, the lead rider—a tall, muscular man with short flaxen hear and pale blue eyes like bits of ice—dismounted his horse and tossed the reins to the ground. Ignoring the growing crowd of villagers watching and whispering about the obviously-rich visitors, the blonde man came to the small door on the side of the carriage and knocked softly once, twice.

A tiny slitted window slid open, and the man leaned close, murmuring to whoever dwelt inside with his head bowed in respect. After a moment, he nodded and headed for the front of the procession again; the tiny window, Matt observed curiously, did not close. He got the distinct feeling that the inhabitant of the carriage was as curious about him and the other villagers as they were about him.

I wonder what kind of person our visitor is...obviously a rich one, a noble probably. In that case, they would probably not risk mingling with common folk such as Matt. The carriage's beautiful script was more interesting to the redhead than whoever was traveling in it, really.

Still, if I linger too long, father might be angry at me for not being in the inn when the visitors come inside. I had best get back. He crept past the still-murmuring throng of people, making a beeline for his father's business. Nobody seemed to notice or care that he was leaving—they probably hadn't even noticed when he had arrived. If not for his fiery ponytail and tendency toward wearing stripes, Matt doubted most of the village would even recognize him on sight, with how much time he spent indoors with his books and how very little he spent out socializing.

Oh, well. I love languages more than people anyway. Languages were beautiful, and intricate, and graceful—all things most people were not.

Hours passed, but no new visitors came to the inn.

Nobles hated sleeping on the ground, Matt knew this from the number of them that had stayed at the inn over the years even if only just passing through for one night. Nobles seemed to be fragile creatures, unaccustomed to the discomforts of everyday life that normal folk endured every day. It had been something of a source of amusement shared between Matt and his father for years, since every spoiled noble that happened to wander through their town inevitably stayed at Mr. Jeevas' very humble inn rather than camp in their own splendid tents or carriage seats.

Matt crawled out of bed early the next morning, curiosity overwhelming his grogginess. Had the nobles passed on without spending the night after all? He had to know.

Well, and getting one last glimpse of the lovely calligraphy on the carriage might have played some role in his plan...

The sight of the empty courtyard made his face fall. So they took one look at our tiny village and decided it wasn't even fit to sleep in, he thought drolly, disappointed. Typical nobles. I don't care about them, though—it would've been interesting to see if they had any books in Ximmelian they might have traded to me. He didn't have a Ximmelian book in his library yet, and he needed some way to practice reading the language.

"...The inn? I was told that he was a resident here, my lady." The voice drifted to his ears from across the empty courtyard; few people were awake this early to do anything but put on the porridge, so Matt turned curiously to see who it was.

The tall blonde man from the day before was speaking with a curvaceous lady Matt recognized to be the baker's wife. Mrs...Kenwood, was it? Now that he wasn't distracted by the carriage, he saw that the man was dressed in intricately-etched silver armor, large pauldrins on his shoulders, and an impressively-sized longsword slung across his back. Having just observed how well-armored the visitor was, Matt was just thinking that he was sure glad these people had no business with him when Mrs. Kenwood murmured in a bored tone, "His father owns the inn, sir. They dwell in the upstairs portion of the building."

"Thank you very much," the blonde man said very seriously, icy eyes turning immediately toward the inn. "We have journeyed a very long way to find Matt Jeevas."

What could these people want with me? Matt wondered, ducking behind the nearest building corner so as not to be spotted. Surely I haven't managed to make enemies of such high-born people...without even knowing it? Having a fully-outfitted knight searching the town for him was intimidating, but Matt was too intelligent to believe such a story. I've never been outside of Talne—I've never even met anyone from Ximmel. More importantly, I don't do many things to anger people—what quarrel could they possibly have with me?

He was reasonably sure that he wasn't being hunted by them; with such a well-armed procession, if they had ill intentions likely they would have demanded outright that Matt be given to them when they'd arrived. There was no reason to wait overnight in that case, either...the real question was, what did they want with him of all people?

Only one way to find out.

Taking a deep breath, Matt stepped out from behind the building and followed the blonde man as he headed for the inn. Mrs. Kenwood must have left as soon as the visitor ended their conversation, because she was nowhere to be seen now.

"Sir?" He called, trying his hardest not to sound as meek as he felt in the presence of such a lion-like man. When the visitor turned to stare at him icy-eyed again, Matt shrank a little under the gaze. "I-I'm...Matt Jeevas. I'm sorry, I overheard that you...want to find me?"

"...You?" The knight looked him skeptically up and down, raising one thick blonde brow. "You're just a boy! The Matt Jeevas I've been told of is a great scholar—master of dozens of languages, surely you cannot be him. Don't jest with me, boy, I have serious matters to attend to." With a swish of his cloak, he resumed stalking toward the inn. Behind him, Matt was feeling lightheaded.

They came here because I know many languages! Can that mean...they need me?

"I swear to you that I am!" He jogged to catch up to the man, curiosity growing by the second, and added, "Please tell me, sir, do you need the services of a linguist? Is that what this's about?"

The man paused again, sighing.

"Yes, Matt Jeevas I am told can read the ancient writings of Sha'en—a language that slipped out of spoken use hundreds of years past. Can you truly mean to tell me that a boy such as you has mastered an ancient tongue the likes of that one?"

"Sha'en, Mashe'nu, Triell, and more yet," Matt said frankly. "Don't judge me by my age—I promise you, I can translate this Sha'en document, no matter what it is. So long as the text is still legible, anyway..." He scratched his head, glancing down at the toes of his boots. I wonder how I can get him to believe me? I suppose if father verified that I am myself, he'll be more likely to believe it...except, father might say I am not Matt Jeevas, on the off chance that these people mean me harm. I don't think they do, though...hmm.

A bit taken aback by the list of arcane tongues, the blonde man was silent for a moment...and then he nodded grimly.

"I will hold you to your word, Matt Jeevas," he said, placing a heavy gauntleted hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Come with me."

The carriage, and the entire procession it turned out, had spent the night outside of the village and planned to a second time, guarded by six more armor-clad knights. The sun had just risen, casting long shadows toward the west, when Matt first set foot into their camp. The knights turned sharply at the sound of even his light footsteps, but upon sighting the blonde man who had brought him here, they promptly turned back to standing at attention.

"You are from Ximmel, right?" Matt asked softly, glancing around the camp. He was surprised to see that a woman traveled with them; her hair was as flaxen as that of the head knight, but her eyes were a much softer, less shocking shade of blue, and she was clad in armor as much as any of the men, a polearm laid on the ground beside her where she sat near the fire at the center of the camp. She eyed Matt grimly as he approached the carriage, but the head knight nodded at him as if to say, 'he is trustworthy', and she made no move to stop him.

"We are indeed from Ximmel," the man said, pausing at the carriage door. He tapped it lightly once, twice, then turned back to Matt with a frown. "You must understand something right now. You cannot tell anyone about what you see here...and if you so much as lay a finger upon our charge, no one here will hesitate to do away with you. This is a very serious request for your help, so I give you one last chance to admit that you are jesting me about being the real Matt Jeevas and to escape this foolish prank unharmed. What do you have to say for yourself?"

He still doesn't believe me, Matt thought, a bit irked. Well, I am the real Matt Jeevas, so I've got nothing to fear by saying so. I'll prove to him that I'm being honest!

"Yes," he said firmly, "I am Matt Jeevas. The real one. I swear it."

The blonde man stared at him icily for a long, drawn-out moment before saying heavily, "Very well. Follow me." Turning, he slid the small door of the carriage open and gestured for Matt to enter. It was very dim inside...the contrast to the brightness outside made it impossible to tell who or what was in there. For a split second, Matt considered turning back and forgetting this whole thing. He could say he had been lying about being Matt Jeevas and leave now without having anything to do with these people...

...But then I might have missed my one chance to see Sha'en writing, real Sha'en writing. Not just a book example, but an actual document! That cinched it—for a linguist, he just couldn't pass this up. Steeling himself for whatever might face him, the redhead stepped into the darkness...

--End Chapter 1

AN: Thank you for reading the first chapter of "Sha'en Directions"! I hope you're enjoying my AU world so far; this is the first fantasy I've written with the Death Note cast, and I'm having fun with it. ^^

I love reviews, be they critiques or one-liners or whatever you like, so please do leave a review if you're so inclined!

Before you take off, feel free to read the Akugi section. Akugis are outtake-style parodies of various lines/scenes in the chapter they belong to. They are intended to be funny, but I have a kind of cheesy sense of humor, so...yeah, be forewarned. XD; Er, enjoy? LOL.

'Til next chapter!

-Threshie

Sha'en Directions Akugi! Volume 1

Akugi #1

Narrator: There was writing on the side...he paused, squinting to glimpse what it read, and realized that the white calligraphy was written in Ximmelian, the language of a kingdom far to the north.

Writing: 'We brake for no one—especially commoners.'

Akugi #2

Blonde Man: "...The inn? I was told that he was a resident here, my lady."

Wedy: "He may as well be a visitor, for how many friends he has."

Matt: Ouch...

Akugi #3

Blonde Man: "You're just a boy! The Matt Jeevas I've been told of is a great scholar—master of dozens of languages, surely you cannot be him."

Matt: (Sweatdrop) "So whoever told you about me mentioned the languages thing but failed to mention that I'm only 16, huh? What a rip—that's half my claim to fame!"

Blonde Man: "..."

Akugi #4

Blonde Man: "You must understand something right now. You cannot tell anyone about what you see here...and if you so much as lay a finger upon our charge, no one here will hesitate to do away with you."

Matt: "Ooh...it's a girl, isn't it! She's a princess, right? A beautiful princess? Am I right?"

Blonde Man: (Sweatdrop) "..Just get in the carriage so the chapter can end."