I'M BACK! The result of the poll were 100% in favour of me posting this chapter today instead of waiting for Christmas, which is not surprising at all x3 I cam back from Germany two weeks ago, and honestly I didn't work on Dark Ages at all... I didn't even have the time to write to my family every day! Anyway, I'm very happy to be back, I think I was as eager, if not more, as you all to finally post this chapter ;P

HOWEVER! I want to warn you that the following updates will only be monthly, since I've started working full-time and I sadly don't have the energy to write. I love writing, I really do, but I simply can't do that at all times...

ANYWAY! Please enjoy reading this chapter, and I hope to see lots of reviews in no times x3

DARK AGES

Chapter 8

Christopher stifled a yawn. He couldn't show such a weakness as being tired. Anyway, he wasn't even tired; just bored. Being a guard was undeniably boring. He had to stand all day, or in some cases, all night, in front of a door; wasn't even allowed to play chess with or talk to fellow soldier...; and couldn't even shift from one leg to the other! He would rather be on the wall; at least there he could move. Now his legs were stiff from standing still so long and the urge to shift his weight was too strong to struggle against. It relieved him of a bit of the pain, yet it wasn't enough. If only he could bend his knees a bit...

He could hear the giggles of the two boys at play inside the room he was guarding. He had been assigned to watch over the new prince and was under strict order not to let anyone enter without authorization; and if the heir wanted to exit, he had to follow him like a watchdog. He wished the kid would decide to leave soon, because his legs and back were starting to kill him. And he needed a piss.

That's why, when a fellow, off-duty soldier passed by, he asked him to guard the room while he relieved himself, promising to buy the younger man a few beers on a night they were both off-duty. Much to Christopher's joy, his offer was accepted. When he came back, he thanked the man and continued with his duty. After a while, he noticed the lights were out and the room was silent. The boys had fallen asleep. Good. That meant his replacement, the great honoured swordsman Sir Silvers, shouldn't take too long to steal his boring post.

Luffy and Sanji had been playing for a while before they finally noticed it. It sent both of them into a state of pure excitement, making them bounce around with enthusiasm and push themselves with haste. They didn't take anything aside from the torn trousers of the prince. He had ripped them after a not-so-painful fall from running around with untied shoes. There was a new guard at their door, and he only briefly enquired the reason for their sudden departure. He found the reason acceptable enough to let them go. After all, they were only going to see the Queen's personal dame to demand her to repair ruined pants.

It was no lie. The boys stopped by Laura's, who agreed to repair the fragile brown piece of cloth, before rushing out again. Destination: the courtyard.

The sun had already set, forcing the world into darkness. The stars and moon were hidden by grey clouds. The wind was practically non-existent and the yard was completely empty, making the atmosphere eerie. The soldiers on the wall were shivering, but the children were filled with joy. The first snow of the year had finally fallen, covering the earth, the buildings, and every obstacle with its coat of whiteness.

Luffy rushed forward, ignoring the freezing wind and pulling his friend who was having no trouble whatsoever in keeping up with him. His face was lit up with a genuine smile. As soon as he reached the centre of the yard, the prince let himself fall and rolled about in the fresh snow. He forgot the whole world while he created his first angel of the year. When it was done, he admired his work, faintly recalling a sweet face that would have complimented its beauty and perfection. Before he could fall into memories of his mother, though, a cold something exploded onto his back. Turning around, he saw Sanji crafting a snowball with a mischievous grin. A second later, Luffy received the object directly in his face, spurring his revenge. He rushed straight toward his blond friend, who had turned away to start making his next projectile; then tackled him to the ground, resulting in an intense snowball fights which soon was followed with a game of tag.

After what seemed only a few minutes to the boys, they found themselves running in the snow, pushing each other and rolling on the ground. Their laughter filled up the evening's silence, but, much to their pleasure, didn't reach through the castle's interior walls. If Rouge found out the prince had slipped from his room unguarded, she wouldn't be happy about it. Not. At. All. Yet none of that really worried the kids. They were playing and joyful, completely unaware of the passing time that only quickened as their fun went on.

However, those amusing times had to come to an end. Sanji eventually dropped from his laughing high as he noticed that their clothes were wet from the snow. And freezing. And his skin was red and hurting from the cold. If they stayed in such a state much longer, he and the prince would definitely catch a cold, if they hadn't already.

"Luffy, we should get back in!" He yelled to the running child. He was completely ignored, but nothing would stop the blond from running to a warm fireplace to envelop himself in cozy warm blankets and sip on warm tea. "Come on, Luffy!" He didn't bother chasing after the younger boy. Instead, he stood still, his wet feet sinking deep into the snow as wrapped his arms around himself in a vain attempt to bring a bit more heat to his body. The prince simply looked at him, oblivious smile still on his face and a snowball in hand. The blond boy shook his head in desperation. "Fine. Suit yourself." The heir's smile fell a bit as he watched his friend head back inside without him; then he went back to building his snowman without a second thought.

Robin was making her last round for the night. Taking all the time necessary, she checked on every horse to see if they had enough water for the night and, since winter had made itself known a few hours ago, if they had all been provided with a light cover to protect them a bit of the cold seeping in the building.

For a few seconds, she grew worried as she approached Silver Wind's stable, for the mare was lying on the ground and unmoving aside from her deep breathing. With a pinch of panic, she professionally pushed aside, the equestrian master entered silently the wooden room. The first thing she noticed was the wet track on the ground heading toward a corner to an autumn overcoat dropped on top of a child's pair of boots.

Luffy was asleep next to the white horse, his back close to the big belly of Silver Wind to absorb the radiating heat of the animal. Robin knelt down and brushed the black bangs out of the boy's closed eyes. She didn't know he had slipped from his bodyguards, but she knew she should bring him back to his room.

As if hearing the woman's thoughts, the mare breathed out loudly enough to get her attention. Blue eyes slid to hers, and Silver Wind glared menacingly at Robin. The kid was tired and sleeping, no one was to wake him up.

The equestrian master mentally sighed at the King's mare's attitude, yet smiled at the sight before her. If only someone could immortalize this moment... Robin finally stood up after a few minutes, placed the boots upside down to let them dry faster and hung the coat on the stall's door before continuing her round.

As soon as she was done, she headed back to sleep.

Nami was in front of her desk, delicately tracing the map of the kingdom with coloured ink. Once the last line was painted, the blue representing a river going from the castle to the ocean, she dropped her quill and silently admired her work. The piece of paper shone with the sun's light pouring from the window behind the scribe, announcing the start of the day. Today was a day of change. The snow had piled up during the night, with it came Winter and the modifications in most people's schedules. Nami was no exception.

The orange-haired girl scrolled up the parchment then set up the room for her next lesson: calligraphy. The prince was about to attend this new class, which wasn't much different from what they'd been doing up to now. The nobles had to know how to read and write, but the royal family was expected to know the ancient runes which were often found in official documents and everything related to religion, and peace treaties. Following that lesson was geography. After all, the cartographer would never miss the chance to teach the prince her own speciality.

However, Luffy was late. Nami waited twenty minutes, but the child never showed up. Maybe he hadn't been informed of his schedule's changes and was still waiting for her in his quarters.

The blond had woken up late that morning. Really late. The last evening's event had left him exhausted, so it wasn't really surprising. What was though was the fact that Luffy was already up and out of his room. He had even made his bed, like he always did after his class with Bellemère.

That made him remember of the changes in the heir's schedule. So that's why he wasn't in his room that morning... Sanji had even travelled all the way up to the tallest tower in his search for the prince, leaving the servant worried at his absence.

As the blond finished with the room's cleaning, a gentle knock left him perplexed as to who would want to see Luffy at this early hour. His curiosity pushed him to open the door, only to face a slightly smiling orange-headed girl.

"Ah, Sanji! It's good to see you, boy!" She said with an overly cheery tone. The scribe entered uninvited in the prince's quarters and strode directly yo the bedroom, where she abruptly stopped once she opened the door. Great, now Sanji had to deal with a statue of Nami frozen in the doorway.

"What's wrong?" The servant asked, to which the scribe reacted by turning around sharply, her happy face completely gone.

"Where's Luffy?"

"Huh?"

"I said, where's Luffy?" By then, she was standing right in front of the kid, her eyes glaring darkly at him.

"Well... I though he was with you," Sanji answered in matter-of-fact manner.

"Clearly he's not," Nami hissed, her voice dangerously low. The servant could only respond with a shrug before heading for the door. Better make a subtle run for it before the snake finds out anything.

"Maybe he got lost," yes, that would be a good reason.

"Sanji." Said boy stopped moving and breathing all at once. She knew. "I suppose..." the snake started, pausing purposely to scare the shit out of the blond, "the prince wouldn't be lost in the first place if... you were doing your job, wouldn't he?" Sanji gulped as he cursed inwardly; he could feel her furious eyes on the back of his head. "What did the Queen order you to do with Luffy?"

Shit.

"Bring his breakfast?" He attempted.

"And?"

"Clean his room?"

"And?"

"And... follow him everywhere...?" He added reluctantly.

"I believe she did, didn't she?" Maybe it was getting dangerous. "Then go tell the whole situation to the Queen, Sanji. And don't leave any detail out." This was worse than jumping to his death. "Now!" She seethed.

She couldn't believe it. She had looked in every room of the castle; even the kitchen and storage room, but found no trace of the young prince. She was desperate to find her son, worried something bad had happened to him, and angry at him for having disobeyed her orders and slipping out of his quarters. As soon as she got her hands on him, he was going to regret making her worry so much.

She stormed through the castle's yard, not bothered by the snow clinging to her dress and shoes. The few lads she passed by dropped down their gaze as soon as they saw the fiery eyes of the Queen as she walked toward the stables. If anyone knew where Luffy was hiding, it would be Nico Robin. She had eyes everywhere.

The slim woman walked up to the Queen at the stables' entrance, having heard of her arrival a few minutes ago. She bowed her head in respect and led the blonde to her quarters on the floor above the stables. Once the door of the equestrian master's room was closed and locked, all formality was thrown out the window.

"What's wrong, Rouge? You seem stressed," Robin asked with her usual expressionless face.

"When am I not, Nic?" The blue-eyed woman stayed silent while the Queen teased the fire with a thin wooden stick, sitting on the carpet in front of it. "Luffy is nowhere to be found. He was playing in the snow with Sanji yesterday night but hasn't been seen since then." With her other hand, she played with her golden hair, her eyes lost in the flames in thoughts. "I worry about him..." She tossed the stick in the fire and leaned back, supporting herself with both arms.

Robin's blue eyes softened at her friend's worry. "I'm sure he's fine, Rouge." Two seconds later, the Queen was up and pacing around the room, her arms flailing with her mood.

"But what if he got hurt? What if he got kidnapped? What if he gets sick? I swear I'm going to scold him so hard when he gets back home!" Then she stopped as suddenly as she had started. "If he gets back home..." She murmured as her gaze went to the window.

"I actually have a pretty good idea of where the prince is." Robin showed her subtle smile to the mother, then showed her the way to Silver Wind's box, where she had last seen Luffy.

Even before opening the door, though, she knew he wasn't there anymore; the clothes she had let dry on the wooden structure had disappeared. Still, she hoped she was wrong.

Stepping inside her husband's horse's box, Rouge glanced around for any traces of her son but found none. She looked back at the equestrian master with questioning eyes.

"He came here last night. He was sleeping with Silver Wind and she refused to let me move him... I guess he woke up and went back to the castle," she explained, snorting inwardly at her failed attempt to comfort her friend. "Maybe you should search the castle once more," she proposed in a low, almost hopeless, voice. Really, that child was so worrisome.

Today had been a long day. He had had to train youngsters last evening and had spent the whole night on guard duty, spending hours watching the still darkness of the night for non-existing traces of an enemy attack. He was dead tired and his legs hurt from walking around too much on the wall. Plus, his body had started freezing mere minutes after the fall of snow. Mind set on getting warm inside and lost in thoughts of a good heated breakfast, he didn't see the bird flying toward him. All he noticed was a black shadow speeding up right above his head, almost shaving the soldier's hair only from the gust of wind it left in its trail.

The black-haired man panicked and ran around screaming the instant it happened. The other soldiers ignored him, used to their comrade's antics. What stopped him dead in his tracks was the fact that he tripped over something, falling face first into the snow. He rubbed his skin clean of the cold substance while muttering to himself about how much he was freezing and practically dying of cold.

He turned around and saw a lump under a light cover of snow, unmoving like a dead animal. The solder hesitantly reached out and delicately brushed snow off of the curled-up body. It moaned. The dead thing moaned. The black-haired man couldn't move, remembering the stories he often told children about the living dead coming out of their graves on cold autumn nights to eat people and make them one of their own. Clouded silver eyes looked up at the soldier, eyelids fluttering rapidly in the whiteness of it all; then blue lips parted slightly to let out a whimper. This brought the man back to his senses, remembering that children stories were just that; stories, and what was curled up in front of him was a live, freezing child. A child who needed his help.

The common dining room was filled mainly with soldiers, as the servants had eaten long before the sun rose and were now already at their tasks, and the nobles were either eating in their chambers or not awake yet. The old swordsman let his gaze wander purposely around the room, wondering if any of the men knew the whereabouts of the prince. He did consider asking around, but knew it would be unwise. Anyone could take advantage of the situation and ask a ransom if they found Luffy before anyone else.

"It's not my fault that the idiot didn't want to come back inside!" The young servant sulked, picking at his food with a frown clearly showing on his face. The Queen had scolded him for his irresponsibility before storming out, leaving the boy's care to Rayleigh. The older man mentally sighed.

"Look, kid, if you're not hungry, don't eat. I have work to do," he said, taking his empty plate and bowl and walking away.

On his way out, he crossed paths with a curly black-haired soldier; one he knew too well, and who looked a bit pale. Out of concern for his friend, Rayleigh stopped the younger man by dropping a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Ah! S-Sir Silvers! G-Good morning t-to you, Sir." The swordsman rose an eyebrow at his friend's panicked state and warily eyed the baggage covered with a thick blanket that the man held close to his chest.

"What's this?" He asked, reaching for it, but the other soldier gently pushed his hand away while slowly shaking his head; brown eyes determined and fearless like his years in the warrior business had made them. The younger man nodded to Ray to follow and walked away. He led him around a corner, away from prying eyes.

"I found him unconscious behind the baths a while ago. He was freezing." The soldier pushed back a bit of the blanket covering the child's face and the swordsman frowned in recognition. It was exactly the one he was looking for. However, Luffy didn't look good at all; his cheeks were the only part of his face that weren't pale and sweaty, he was shivering uncontrollably, and his breathing was slightly wheezy.

"Thank you, my friend," Rayleigh whispered as he brushed a stray wet hair to the side of the child's face. "And if you would be so kind..." The swordsman took the boy from the soldier, then offered a small smile to his friend. "Please go find the Queen and tell her the prince has been found." The younger man's eyes widened at the mention of the sick child's identity, then fell back into his earlier expression of determination.

"Yes, Sir!" He called before rushing down the hallway.

So? How did you like it? I hope it wasn't below your expectations, if you had any... Please review! I love you all! Next chapter...

Chapter 8.5 (Christmas Special)

On their way to the kitchen, Luffy couldn't help but look around with wonder and fascination. Even though all was clearly not fully prepared yet, all the colors, new garnishings, and embellishments were filling him with wondrous joy. All the while, Laura explained that this time of the year was a special holiday known as Christmas, simply created to bring fun and peace during a period of time that was, more often than not, darkened by sickness and death.

Next update: 11th July 2014