In a small country in a faraway land lived a young promising knight. Always on top of his duties, never missing appointments and one of the strongest warriors among the knights, Yukimura Sanada was quite famous for his fierce and devoted spirit as well as his airheadedness outside fighting. He was also infamous for his naiveté and trusting nature, not to mention that despite his handsome features, he seemed unaware of his many female (and sometimes male) suitors. He along his brother had been recently accepted into the highest rank of the military organization within that country, the Elite Guards, whose duty was to defend and protect the royal family.

The king, still unmarried, and actually the Prince, had to take the throne at a rather early age, after the mysterious deaths of their parents (which instead of being of a mysterious complicated political-driven nature had been just an unfortunate accident as he later learned). Because of that, the Prince feared for the safety of his younger sister, under the age when she could marry and also around the time when she could be easily led astray or confused by questionable men. She needed a personal knight to protect her at all times (and also keep an eye on her).

That was how Yukimura Sanada (真田幸村) became Rinne Hanamura's (花村輪廻), the Princess, bodyguard.

The first meeting was rather unexpected. Yukimura showed up at the appointed time only to find the princess stubbornly asking why she couldn't go outside and go to school like other girls her age. She didn't mind her tutor, listening to the (usually life-related) advices of Shingen the Wise was always interesting. In fact, she loved the lessons. However, they tended to be between the princess and the tutor and not even maids around her age hung around with her.

When Yukimura waited to be noticed (which was actually a "Oh, Princess, your escort is standing here and listening to you be completely unrefined"), the Princess and the tutor turned to see the diligent knight. The Princess, face completely red, actually smiled, and ran to him, getting closer than what Yukimura thought acceptable between two people.

"So, you are the one who will keep me company?" she asked, surprisingly cheerfully.

Yukimura wanted to correct her, he didn't think he was "company", but the attempt was cruelly silenced the moment she took his hands and shook them with energy. She looked ecstatic about the prospect of someone being with her (regardless of the maybe unfortunate circumstances) and Shingen's quick look made Yukimura understand he shouldn't say a word.

When talking about his meeting with the Princess to his wordlier brother Nobuyuki, he was surprised to hear his respectable brother laugh.

"I am not surprised, Yukimura," Nobuyuki had said calmly. "The princess is famous for being all alone."

Despite that grim omen, Nobuyuki hadn't stopped smiling, something that confused Yukimura.

"I might have heard about the Princess from his Majesty," Nobuyuki continued, with that cryptic tone that gave away that he knew more about the Princess than Yukimura and somehow was very entertained at the situation. "But rest assured, she is a good person."

Yukimura later learned that the Princess had discussed heavily with Shingen over getting a "guard", particularly since she was barely allowed to leave the castle.

"It'll be like being a prisoner! Always watched by someone whenever I do something wrong."

Kind words of "Think of him as a companion, maybe a friend," and the prospect of being let outside the luxurious gilded cage were more than enough to silence her protests, however. Thus, it was advisable that he played along.

The Princess liked to talk.

A lot.

She had clearly taken heart on "companion", as she grabbed Yukimura's hand and pulled him along as she went through the lively crowded streets of the town. Colorful bouquets from a flower seller, smell of recently baked bread, the rather unsightly sight of fish being gutted and smell of blood, she earnestly drove him to places he was more than familiar with, asking about almost everything. The Princess could speak French and was taught to play the violin (being rather terrible at it), she could name the flowers in the Botany book she had been given and could name the rulers of the kingdoms. However, she didn't know how bakeries worked (deemed unfit for a princess), how flowers arrived to the kingdom or the names of the folk-popular candies at the shops.

With an amused realization, Yukimura noticed how the princess quickly dropped all refined manners as she ate bread and encouraged him to do so. High cuisine and the best ingredients were her usual nourishment, yet she had never seemed so delighted when eating a common baguette. For him, it was just bread, the kind soldiers would eat in hunger and a common part of dinner. However, he couldn't help but finding it more delicious than usual, after seeing her happy face and urging him to eat it before it got cold. Even if she talked with her mouth full and he could hardly understand what she was saying.

"Why did you become a knight, Yukimura?" the Princess eagerly asked him as he cleaned his horse, Orfevre. Despite his warnings that it wasn't a place fit for the princess, she had gone and sat on a small bucket in the stable. The butler would certainly not be happy when she came back reeking of livestock and horse droppings AND with a muddy dress.

"To protect the people of our country and to show the code of a knight," he answered, cleaning the sweat on his face.

"Is that so…? What is the code of a knight?"

He brushed gently Orfevre's mane. "To fight for what I believe is right. To follow orders and help those in need. To be loyal to his Majesty and his family. And if it should be the case, to give my life gladly in war, protecting this country."

The Princess frowned as she took his hands between her smaller ones, the brush falling off. "I don't like that," she muttered.

"Princess…?"

She stared at the ground, looking surprisingly dejected. "I don't want you to die."

"…"

"Please…" She looked straight at him, blue eyes meeting brown.

He didn't answer.

Her cries were louder than anyone else's as she cheered on Yukimura in the middle of the joust. Her excitement and worry matched partially Nobuyuki's own worry for his brother. Both knew that Yukimura was the unrivalled champion of jousts, but he also tended to get hurt in the process. He clearly showed who was the better knight against his rival, but received a hit in the face as well.

The Princess leaned forward examining the small cut on his cheek, puffing hers in disapproval. She admitted that watching him compete was very exciting but chided him at his carelessness. Nobuyuki jested that she could do the same, seeing her attempts to leave her bedroom at late hours through her window had almost given Yukimura and half the castle a heart attack.

"…I wanted to see the city at night…" she mumbled

"Yukimura wanted to feel the adrenaline of fight," Nobuyuki replied as he handed some ointment.

"I promise to not do something like that again if Yukimura promises to be more careful."

"Sounds fair enough," Nobuyuki accepted.

Mumbling something about a faster way to heal, she pressed her lips on Yukimura's cheek, dangerously close to the corner of his lips. With a coy smile, she ran to the castle, saying that her brother wanted to talk with her after the joust. Yukimura blinked as he felt his cheeks burn, and turned to Nobuyuki who only replied with a faint knowing smile.

"I feel I can talk to you about almost everything," she said as she brushed Orfevre's mane, changing the speed depending on the sounds the horse made.

Yukimura looked in surprise as he poured water in the water trough.

"Everyone nods to me politely but they usually want to stay away from me. They fear they might say something rude and I'd get upset. The advisor warned them about it." She turned to him, fingers above her head like horns, and with a stern voice said, "You cannot interact with his Majesty and the Princess, stop dawdling and get back to work."

Rather crude imitation, but Yukimura couldn't deny it resembled somehow his friend Mitsunari Ishida, the man behind the logistic and management of servants and soldiers in the court. He also couldn't deny that Mitsunari's rather stern scolding of a young servant had driven the point. The newcomer, apparently in love with the princess, had tried to be overly friendly and attempted to hit on her. Mitsunari noticed that and gave him a long speech about his duties and how it was forbidden for the servants to talk to Royalty in such a casual way. Yukimura knew Mitsunari was simply following his own orders, but apparently the Princess didn't like that.

"I believe Lord Mitsunari has the Royal family in his best interests," Yukimura warmly said.

"He could be, I don't know, friendlier in what he says. He could say it more gently or like 'Hey, don't do that, please'."

"Lord Mitsunari might seem difficult to talk to at first, but he's a loyal and honorable man. He is a close friend of my brother and I."

"...I know that." The Princess sighed in frustration. "It's just… no one wants to be near me because they fear they'll get yelled at." Orfevre looked happy at the carrot the Princess offered. "At least, you don't do that."

"…Princess."

"We are alone, you don't have to be so formal."

"My apologies, Princess."

She sighed again. "I'd rather you see me as your friend than some sort of boss you respond to."

Yukimura almost said that she was technically his boss, since she belonged to the Royal family. Also, as the Princess of the country, people had to respect and address her properly and it was too improper of him to refer to her as "Rinne" and not the adequate title. However, before he could even open his mouth, she said, "I suppose that is impossible."

And she left.

"Why do you look so dejected, Yukimura?" asked Sakon Shima as he gave a light tap on Yukimura's shoulder, moments after he, Yukimura's superior, saw the dutiful knight staring at his drink.

Yukimura reacted slower than usual, apparently too deep in thought to even recognize Sakon's voice. He then turned surprised, as Sakon usually went to the pub late into almost midnight if he wasn't busy with "other matters" that might or might not have to do with the advisor.

"Ca-captain, I," Yukimura mumbled.

"It's not good to leave such a fine drink for hours. I'll taste bad now," Sakon said, shaking his head as he eyed the neglected beer. "So, what is the matter?"

"I am a knight, I wear proudly my armor and spear but…"

"But you fell in love with the Princess, isn't that right? I take not even Nobuyuki heard of this."

Yukimura turned at Sakon, redder than the cape he donned proudly. "H-how?"

Sakon pat him lightly. "It's written all over your face." Sakon knew that face too well, being much older than Yukimura and Nobuyuki and of course more experienced than both brothers combined.

A small pause, then Yukimura finally took a sip of his drink. Tasteless.

"The Princess told me to call her by her name. But I-"

"You are a knight, who swore loyalty to them, right, right." Sakon shrugged Yukimura's worries as if he complained about an eyelash in his eye.

"I can't refer to-"

"This goes beyond that, Yukimura." And to Yukimura's surprise, Sakon laughed. "You are too uptight, take it easy." To answer to his blank stare, Sakon added, "You aren't betraying your code. Just finding another reason to uphold to it."

The Princess insisted on getting other clothes as she went to town. Her dresses were too inconvenient and flashy and always caught up people's attention. She tried some dresses, asking Yukimura's opinion though the young man didn't know what exactly to say. In the end, she picked up a violet dress, simple but he thought she looked pretty on it.

Next she asked him to dress like 'anyone outside'. They even went back to the castle to his room (she looked amazed to be there though he was unexpectedly nervous) to leave his armor. They walked around town, she grabbed his arm and leaned on him. He got her a flower, nothing as magnificent as the fancy bouquets that had been arriving recently to the castle, but she smiled the brightest to the small flower, more than any she did to those at home. They shared fresh bread, she sat next to him and he could hear his pounding heart.

A shirtless Yukimura was found in the courtyard, fighting against invisible enemies that only existed in his mind. His spear cut through all of them with deadly precision, not giving any a chance to retaliate. The wind flew some leaves from the nearest tree, and in a matter of seconds, they had been cut by his spear work. Just as the last piece fell to the ground, he looked up to see the flushing face of the princess, standing in the middle of the field, entrancing eyes fixed on him.

Just as she noticed she had been found out, he realized he was only wearing pants, and hurriedly grabbed his shirt. The Princess couldn't help but hide her bright face behind her hands, though she quickly peeked for the last time to see his naked and muscular torso. Neither talked to each other the rest of the day, and the Princess avoided his eyes and stared at the ground. However, when Nobuyuki bumped into them, he couldn't help to notice the smile plastered on her face.

Yukimura never said it aloud but he liked to watch the Princess draw. It wasn't because she fell oddly quiet but because he liked how she looked concentrated. The Princess had pointed out how he looked fierce and determined, a little frightening but intriguing. He could say the same about her. Perhaps she didn't look frightening, but there was something, he couldn't point what, that he enjoyed about that calm concentration. Perhaps it was that faint smile he had grown very fond of, he didn't know.

She was painting a cat, a black stray they had found the other day. She wasn't allowed to keep pets, but she had made it a habit of feeding it every day. And when she couldn't do so, Yukimura would take care of it. It was like a secret between the two of them.

Another joust and again, Yukimura got hurt. This time it was the other cheek, a larger cut. He had gotten distracted but he somehow eagerly expected treatment from the Princess and perhaps another scolding. To his surprise, she didn't bring up the topic, that was Nobuyuki's role. She cleaned the cut as Nobuyuki reminded Yukimura of the sort of promise he had made, and pointed out how the Princess was refraining herself from doing dangerous stunts, so Yukimura should hold up his end of the bargain. However, the words Nobuyuki said fell to deaf ears, the moment the Princess' lips pressed against Yukimura's, one or two seconds, heart freezing for a second and only managing to see the Princess exiting the room when he had realized what had happened.

Nobuyuki simply stared as his brother with that familiar knowing smile.

It was Yukimura's birthday and the first thing he noticed as soon as he was awake were the soft knocks on his door. It was the Princess, and Yukimura had to blink twice to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Looking tired, as if she had been forcefully woken up, long messy hair and in a rather short baby doll that made Yukimura swallow hard, she held a carefully wrapped box and handed it to him. Next thing he knew was that the Princess had flung out all convention of personal space out of the window, as she embraced him, "Happy birthday!" muffled as she buried her face in his chest (he had realized too late that again he wasn't wearing a shirt). Then, that same coy smile, she went to her bedroom.

Macarons, he was surprised that she knew he liked them, a small treat from his childhood he remembered fondly. He didn't recall mentioning them and he couldn't figure out how she had gotten them, as there were no signs (that he knew of anyway) of her escaping the castle at night.

"How are the macarons, Yukimura?" Nobuyuki asked with the most normal smile, and then Yukimura realized who had been the informant and buyer.

The Princess had been so busy painting that when Yukimura called her out for dinner, she jumped unexpectedly and dropped her pencil. Just as Yukimura bent to pick it up, he got a glimpse of a picture, seeing a familiar face, like the one someone would see if they started at a mirror or at their own reflection in the water, before the Princess hurriedly covered it with other papers, including a rather cute but bizarre cartoon of the "evil horned advisor", a picture of round flowers that looked always at the sun, and the cute drawing of the moon rabbit from a rather embarrassing incident when Yukimura accidentally admitted in believing on it.

He couldn't keep his heart steady for the rest of the day and after meeting the judge Kanetsugu Naoe, his friend and a self-proclaimed defender of love and justice, he had been pointed out that he had "love written all over his face".

"The Princess will marry next year."

The words of Mitsunari rang in Yukimura's ears but he couldn't understand them, as if they were spoken in a tongue foreign to him. The Princess' birthday had arrived and she was now the age when she could marry. That meant she was to take a man as spouse, usually arranged in the best interests of two countries. It meant that his services would no longer be required and he would take his place protecting the King along Nobuyuki. The Princess would be sent to whatever country the groom was from and live there.

The castle, the room grew dark. For a second, he couldn't hear his heart beating.

"It's the tradition, Yukimura. There is nothing you can do."

Yukimura stood there, motionless, and Mitsunari realized his words hadn't been the most reassuring or comforting.

"S-sorry, what I mean to say is… cherish the time you have left with her."

A knight can't marry his Princess, that was what Mitsunari, no, the tradition held.

A slamming door resounded in the entire castle, snapping Yukimura out of his thoughts and drowning the sounds of the inhabitants, everything muted except for the lone voice of the King, who could only say "Rinne! Please open the door!"

Seconds in dreadful silence that seemed like hours, everything seemed to move slowly. Even Mitsunari seemed to hesitate when he spoke, quickly realizing what had happened.

"It seems the Princess was also informed of this. You should try to talk to her, Yukimura."

Yukimura knocked on the door three times only to be greeted by a crying "Go away!" from the other side of the door. The King stood next to him, his normally gruff expression was gone, instead replaced with a pale one full of worry. The King had tried to talk to his sister but the moment she was told she couldn't decide who she married, she had stormed out of the room and barricaded in hers. All attempts of dialogue from the King, Shingen the Wise and the maids had fallen on deaf ears and Yukimura seemed the last hope.

"Princess, it's Yukimura," Yukimura heard himself saying that.

"Is my brother next to you?" she replied between sobs.

"I-Yes."

"Go away!"

For an hour, Yukimura tried to plea to the Princess to open the door, so that she could at least eat, only to hear the muffled sobs of her. Not even after the King had left did she open the door. Yukimura didn't know how powerless he felt to hear her crying.

"You are wasting a fine drink again, Yukimura," Sakon said, shaking his head as he sat next to the slouched knight at the usual pub.

"What is the matter, Yukimura?" Kanetsugu's characteristic cheerful tone came from the opposite side.

Yukimura couldn't bring himself to reply, staring vacantly at the drink.

"Kanetsugu, you can't tell us you don't know. The entire castle heard about it." Sakon came to his rescue.

A light pat on his back, Kanetsugu replied, "Yukimura, you can't let this get to you, where is your warrior spirit?" Sakon almost wanted to say "In the same place where his broken heart fell", but bit his tongue.

"You can meet someone else," the always unhelpful blunt reply of Mitsunari was heard, the man sitting on an empty place next to Sakon.

"Mitsunari!" Kanetsugu chided.

However, Mitsunari simply shook his head. "It should have been obvious from the start that the Princess would marry someone from a different country. Yukimura was fully aware of that. Best choice would be to forget about her," he said.

Yukimura didn't get offended, though, like someone else would have. What Mitsunari said was the truth, one he always knew but didn't think deeply on it. A knight is a knight and follows the orders he is given. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Ha! You say that calmly but you'd be in a similar situation if I were to marry someone else," Sakon cut in. "What you try to say is supposed to sound like 'Time will heal wounds', explaining the logic behind the twists of fate won't help a man when he's down."

"Yukimura, it's best if you just accept it. You can't do anything to prevent it. The sooner you cut the root of the problem, the better it will be for you," Mitsunari said, though his words carried a faint sense of regret. After all, the last thing one wanted to see was a friend in pain.

"He could also kidnap the princess and run away," Sakon interjected, with the straightest face he could, that met the horrified one of Mitsunari.

"Sakon!"

Yukimura turned at his captain, who shrugged it off, as if it was the most natural thing to do. "There is a man in the Kingdom of Tosa who had once said that if you didn't accept something, you should rebel against it. Or something like that, no one really understands half of what he says."

"Sakon! Are you saying Yukimura should commit high treason, by taking the Princess and running away?" Kanetsugu yelled.

"Kanetsugu, talk sense to Sakon," Mitsunari said.

"The Princess will agree to the idea if you talk to her about it. A pair of lovers running away to escape their destiny... Has a hint of tragedy and hopeless romance, if you think about it."

"Treason in the name of… love?"

Mitsunari shook his head, face showing frustration and indignation at the ridiculous things he was just hearing. "Kanetsugu, don't eve-"

"Mitsunari, love is the force that makes the world move. As such, we should all strive to-"

"He's betraying the honor of a knight, Kanetsugu. Aren't you supposed to defend honor and-"

"The honor of a knight is doing whatever he must to protect his Princess from a sad, cruel fate, that is what we are talking about. A knight cares for the well-being of his Princess!"

Sakon could only smirk as he had somehow turned Kanetsugu against Mitsunari. Funny thing how something like "Love" could get someone so fired up that they'd excuse treason.

Mitsunari, of course, was not amused by this. "You are just twisting things so that Sakon's ridiculous idea is for love and honor!"

And while it sounded ridiculous, questionable and almost unforgivable, deep down in Yukimura's heart, a part of him wanted to heed to that advice.

Yukimura knocked on the Princess' door again, almost midnight, as he hoped that at least she would go to eat something. Being locked for the entire day, she hadn't eaten anything and would surely be starving.

"Princess, please open the door," he said.

He could hear her crying. The hall felt colder and darker.

"Princess…"

"I refuse to marry some arrogant or old fart because of that stupid tradition!" she exclaimed. "Brother put guards to see if I tried to leave through the window again… So I won't leave this place until I figure out how to do it."

Actually, he had been wondering why she had locked herself in the room. Though in retrospective, the King putting guards so that the Princess wouldn't try to escape was the most logical choice as she would have undoubtedly changed into something else that wasn't flashy and ran away. She was perfectly capable of that.

There is a man in the Kingdom of Tosa who had once said that if you didn't accept something, you should rebel against it.

A pair of lovers running away to escape their destiny...

The honor of a knight is doing whatever he must to protect his Princess.

"Would you run away with me?"

Yukimura didn't know if he had been driven by her crying, by the echoing voices of Kanetsugu and Sakon, or by some sort of spell that made him voice those dangerous words aloud. Even the Princess had stopped crying.

"Wha-what did you say Yukimura?"

"Would you run away with me?"

The more he said it, the more it felt real, voicing that primitive but hidden feeling, that seemed to be the best choice, as extreme and ridiculous as it sounded. One had to fight for what they cherished, it was only natural to do so.

"I will not allow it."

Yukimura turned in shock, to find Nobuyuki walking quietly towards him.

"Brother…."

"I won't allow it, Yukimura. If you try to kidnap the princess, you will be accused of treason. The entire order of the knights will go for your head. Just as you refuse to let go of your beloved, I refuse to fight my brother as he does something so childish and suicidal."

Yukimura stood unable to utter a sound, as he realized that if he were to do so, if both were to escape, they'd be hunted down. Even if Sakon didn't participate, Nobuyuki would have to, as the Elite Guard supposed to protect the Royalty. A clash with his brother would be inevitable.

"Then, do you mean I should just stand and do nothing?" He found himself saying. The belief he could choose his destiny, to forge his life, to fight for what he wanted, that was what fueled those words.

Nobuyuki shook his head. "Yukimura, this does not concern you."

"What?!"

Nobuyuki turned to the door. "Princess, I know you are listening. No one should fight your battles. Talk to his Majesty, see if you can reach an agreement."

"I tried but I can't choose the husband! It's supposed to be between the angry Cyclops of the kingdom of Tohoku, that weird "no" guy who always plays with a ball and other men I've never even heard of... Brother and the court are supposed to pick the best candidate so… It's not like they'll let me pick. The princess is not supposed to name the suitor."

"In that case, maybe you could try to have a way to influence the decision."

No answer.

"Brother, what are you…"

"I won't let them kill you, Yukimura."

Silence.

"Um, Nobuyuki...?" Rinne's voice sounded from the other side of the door, after a dreadful pause, slicing the tension in the air. "I-I won't escape or do something like that, so… Um, could you come back tomorrow…? I, I think I know what I have to do."

Yukimura felt as if the world had crumbled under his feet, the faint feeling that he could fight for his beliefs shattered as the Princess refused and he could not take her against her will. However, Nobuyuki simply smiled in silence and accepted her terms, offering to come back in the morning to hear whatever she had to say.

Yukimura couldn't sleep on that night.

At the Princess' request, the advisor, the King and the court, the Elite Knights and Yukimura gathered in the Audience room. Sakon, Kanetsugu and Mitsunari stood next to Yukimura, an attempt to provide him support as Nobuyuki handed the King a rather long letter, where the princess unconditionally accepted to marry whoever was deemed suitable provided her terms were fulfilled (Shingen the Wise appeared mere moments later, offering a small pat to the dejected and sleep-deprived Yukimura). The court and the King deemed such conditions agreeable (though the King would have accepted anything that didn't break their Law as he had been worried sick over his sister). Thus, Nobuyuki began to read the letter.

I, Rinne Hanamura, Princess of this ridiculous country (Mitsunari cringed) with ridiculous traditions will obey the law that governs us, even if it's stupid. Since I can't name my suitor, I have kindly provided a set of conditions that should be met for me to marry him.

1.- He cannot be arrogant and has to be humble and kind.

"That shoots down the entire suitors list," Sakon snickered.

2.- He cannot be older than me in that he could be my Father. In fact, the difference in our ages should not be above 5 years.

3.- He should be polite and gentle, though I think that should also be covered in No. 1

4.- He can't have a moustache.

The list went on and on, but Yukimura didn't listen. He couldn't focus, as the list was the Princess' will and he couldn't oppose it. Shingen snickered and gave a light tap on his shoulder.

10.- He has to be exactly 1.85m tall. By this, he has to reach this height after being measured and has to be barefoot.

"Ha! If our Cyclops of Tohoku was out because of number 1, he can't even use heels to get to the required stature," Mitsunari mocked, as he had had a certain bitter fight with said character years ago.

"Is it me, or is the list getting oddly…" Kanetsugu mumbled but didn't finish his sentence.

11.- He has to be a younger brother. And he should have exactly one older brother who should not be one year older than him.

12.- He has to have a horse. His horse should be the younger brother of another horse.

Yukimura blinked, as Kanetsugu looked at him equally surprised.

13.- He has to be trained in combat, his weapon of choice should be a spear. Not a sword, not a bow. A spear.

Sakon grinned.

14.- He has to be a perfect mix of airheaded and focused. He should not be completely naïve but he should also be able to focus in his task with scary accuracy.

"I…" Yukimura muttered.

15.- He has to have a mole in his left butt cheek (Nobuyuki had to stop to hide a grin), and has to have a nice smile.

Mitsunari shot Yukimura a dangerous glare. "Yukimura, what is the meaning of this?"

"I-I don't know, I've never…"

16.- He has to sleep shirtless. Also he has to do his physical routine exercises without a shirt as well. On second thought, add that he has to have very nice abs. And nice arms.

Shingen let out a laugh, as he whispered, "You have a lot of explaining to do, son."

17.- He has to believe in the moon rabbit. In fact, he has to look adorable when he is asked about the moon rabbit.

Yukimura could feel his cheeks flush.

18.- Macarons should be his favorite sweet. Particularly chocolate macarons. He has to have eaten macarons as a kid and shared them with the aforementioned older brother.

19.- His name should be composed of exactly four kanji and it should share a kanji with mine. In fact, provided he were to take my family name, his name and family name should be a perfect rhyme.

20.- Finally, but no less important, he has to love me as I love him.

Nobuyuki finished reading the letter. "That is the Princess' will, your Majesty."

However, before the court or the King had said anything, Yukimura had already left the room.

He had never run faster in his life, establishing a record on the shortest time to reach that bedroom. Breathless, he knocked on the door.

"The law said I couldn't 'name' my suitor so…" She replied.

"Rinne," he managed to say, voice hoarse, as he leaned on the wall.

The door opened.

"You, you said my name…" Rinne stood in front of him. Her eyes were puffy and she looked very tired, as if she hadn't slept all night long. However, the smile she had was like none he had ever seen. "You, are you al-"

Next thing she knew, Yukimura had pulled her into a strong embrace, kissing her forehead gently. "I love you, Rinne."

She could only bury her face in his chest, as she repeated, "I love you, Yukimura" over and over until the King and the court arrived.

It was decreed that the Princess, in an unexpected turn of events, should marry Yukimura Sanada, in accordance to the conditions stipulated by the Princess, as he was the suitor and possibly the only man on Earth who could fulfill each and every one of them. When the suitors of other countries learned of it, some decided to protest until they were all silenced by a certain ruler of Tosa, who wholeheartedly approved what he called "a magnificent display of a rebellious spirit". Because certainly no one wanted to deal with an argument with that man, they decided to let it rest.

Moments after the decree, Yukimura Sanada kindly asked his brother to stop disclosing private matters revolving the condition of his rear end, to which Nobuyuki kindly smiled. He later admitted that he had fed that information to the Princess during the fateful night and he had provided the lawbook that clearly stated the tight conditions on what she could and couldn't do. Also, macarons.

The King, with support of the court, decided to modify the law, as the tradition was, as aptly put by his sister, "stupid". However, her wedding with Yukimura Sanada was to be respected. Also, the townspeople were not surprised to hear of this, with several witty comments in pubs stating that "they had taken their sweet time to become a couple".

The Princess was allowed to keep the stray cat, despite the protests of the advisor, who actually had allergy towards cats. As expected, the cat was named Nari and its favorite place to sleep was the bed of the advisor.

Finally, the wedding was held a year later, and at the request of the groom, with the help of the Elite Guards and court, the flowers in the church and bride's bouquet were thousands of sunflowers. It was said that the bride tried very hard to not cry at the moment she said "I do". Kanetsugu Naoe had been acting as priest, and he had to be interrupted on a very long speech of love and honor. Nobuyuki Sanada was naturally the best man and got a particular mention by the 'priest' on his efforts to bring a couple together. Mitsunari Ishida got hit by the bride's bouquet and Kanetsugu began plans for the next wedding. Yukimura Sanada was named captain two years after, and he continued his duty of protecting his beloved wife. Rinne Hanamura convinced her husband to finally take her to the city at night, was taken to the pub and discovered why it was probably a bad idea to be in a room full of drunk knights.

Author Notes:
Amarela is yellow in Portuguese (female adjective but yeah).
The kanji 輪in Rinne's name can also be the counter of flowers. And round objects.
The moon rabbit thing comes from Yukimura's Chronicles event, Orfevre and its older brother Dream Journey (who is owned by Nobuyuki) appear in Derby Musou.
This is oh so very sappy, I'm sorry but thanks for reading!