A/N: Hey everybody! I'm Kristen also know as KTHM. I suppose some of you may remember me from 'My Envious Ways' or some of my other stories. As I said in 'My Envious Ways' I would be starting up a new romance soon. Well here it is. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not over Tokyo Mew Mew.
Summary: Ichigo is a runaway princess. Ryou is a bounty hunter. Masaya is the prince that hired Ryou to get his beloved back. But will a new romance bloom during this time? RyouXIchigo with very, very mild MintXMasaya.
It was the overcome feeling of despair as Princess Ichigo Momomiya sat in her room, staring out the window. Dawn was slowly approaching as smoke rose from the chimney tops of the straw roofed homes. Farmers and peasants set out to their daily tasks while their horses trotted down the stone paved streets, closely behind them. Merchants opened up their shops, laying out the various items they had to sell. Ichigo pressed her hand to the clear glass and sat up on her knees to get a better look at the small town below her.
Up on the mountain loomed the gray-bricked castle that Princess Ichigo lived in along with her fiancé, Prince Masaya. Ichigo watched as the people of her future kingdom tended to their business. Small children ran from their homes, chasing chickens while others helped their parents with the chores. Ichigo smiled to herself but then frowned reaching up, and rubbing the small crown on her head. She pulled it off, yanking a few strands of her crimson colored hair. The crown was small, but it was only temporary. Ichigo's real crown would come in after the marriage.
She ran her thumb along the golden headpiece. A single blue gem dangled where the crown would wrap around the forehead. Ichigo smiled to herself again and held the crown close to her chest. Her mother had given that crown to her before she left for Masaya's kingdom. Ichigo had always known of the arranged marriage but at the age of 16, she didn't believe it was necessary to marry so soon. Someone knocked at the door and Ichigo placed the crown on her head, standing up.
"C-come in." she stuttered.
"Good morning Ichigo." The young maiden greeted as she entered the room.
"Oh good morning, Mint." Ichigo smiled and walked to her dresser.
"You're not dressed?" Mint sat down on the small chair next to Ichigo's dresser.
"Uh, I'll only be a minute." Ichigo quickly pulled out an off-colored brown dress from the bottom of her dresser. She tore off her nightgown and slipped the dress over her head, tying a bow in the back. Mint looked up at her friend and cocked an eyebrow, "What is with that color?"
Ichigo twirled around and patted the brown fabric; "My mother gave it to me."
"Really?" Mint stood up and eyed Ichigo, "Well I sure do hope Prince Masaya likes it. Considering he's taking you through the gardens today."
"But, I just went horse riding with him yesterday." Ichigo complained, "And the day before that we went into the market."
"Well in case you haven't been counting, you're going to be married to Masaya in one week and three days." Mint walked to the door.
"I am?" Ichigo's eyes widened.
Mint nodded, "You are."
"But I haven't seen my family yet." Ichigo frantically walked next to Mint.
"You probably wont see them for a while, Ichigo. After the marriage you're going to be quite busy. You'll have to prep for queen. Then you have the responsibility of ruling a kingdom with your husband. Not to mention you're going to have to make a family." Mint smiled at that.
"Mint, I need to see my family before this marriage." Ichigo grabbed onto her friend's shoulder.
Mint shrugged it away, "What for? It will take days for you to get there. It's in a whole different kingdom!"
Ichigo began to wring her wrists, "Um well, it's a little personal. I don't know if I can go through with this marriage if I don't get to see my family before it. I'll be starting a whole different life and I just want to say good bye to my old one before I go through with it." She smiled sheepishly.
Mint rolled her sapphire colored eyes, "Well you tell that to your fiancé and see what he says."
"I have to talk to him about it?" Ichigo titled her head, "I just can't say I'm going?"
"Absolutely not!" Mint exclaimed putting her hands on her hips, "You have to inform Masaya if you're actually going to leave for another kingdom. That's like not telling your parents that you're going leaving to live on your own."
"But I don't have to tell Masaya everything." Ichigo shook her head.
"Of course you don't have to tell him everything, stupid. But you should tell him things like that." Mint reached for the door handle and pulled it open, "You can try asking at breakfast. And even then, I still don't think he's going to let you go."
"I'm not going to ask him." Ichigo followed after Mint. Mint smiled, "Good. That makes it easier. I'm glad you'll be able to go on with this wedding without doing anything drastic." Ichigo shut the door behind her, "I'm going to tell him!"
The dining room area was always noisy; residents chatting amongst themselves, entertainment (jokers) either being humorous or playing music, and the clanging of plates as food was passed around the table. Hardly anyone could get a quiet peaceful meal at the table. That went for Princess Ichigo.
She had been so used to nice, quiet meals in her castle but ever since she moved to Masaya's kingdom, things seemed to get more hectic as the wedding neared. A plate of buns was set in front of Ichigo's plate and before she could reach for one, the person next to her immediately grabbed it and passed it along. She sighed; this was another thing she still wasn't used to. You had to be quick when passing food because everyone at the table was hungry and wanted the food to come quick.
On the other side of the table sat Prince Masaya next to his father, the king. Masaya looked up from his quail egg and stared at the princess in front of him. "She's so skinny," was his first thought when she came to his kingdom last year. But now as he stared at her, he noticed how beautiful she was. He was glad that he was going to actually marry one of the prettiest girls in all the kingdoms.
"17 isn't that bad of an age to be marrying. Besides father married when he was only 15." Masaya smiled at his princess. Ichigo looked up from her plate and looked shocked at his expression. He grinned again and she looked around then smiled back.
"Why is he smiling at me like that?" Ichigo wondered and pushed her plate aside.
Masaya leaned over to his father and asked, "Father, may I be excused to talk to Ichigo in private?"
The king wiped his mouth and laughed, "Of course." Masaya stood up and bowed muttering 'thank you.' He walked over to Ichigo and pulled out her chair, "Follow me." he whispered in her ear grabbing onto her hand. Ichigo looked down the table at Mint, who slightly blushed and then smiled. Ichigo smiled back, "This is my chance to tell him that I want to leave."
The gardens were gorgeous. Flowers from all over the world bloomed everywhere. Special servants took care of them every day. Ichigo was surprised that when Masaya was taking her to the gardens, it was to tell her that he loved her not to talk about her leaving. Masaya pressed his lips on Ichigo's, wrapping his hands around her waist.
"Mahshayah!" Ichigo exclaimed as he moved a little further.
"What?" he titled his head, as he broke the kiss.
"This is not what I had in mind." Ichigo narrowed her eyes.
"And what was that?" He let go of her waist.
"I wanted to talk about something." She rubbed her arm, running her hand over the brown fabric.
Masaya sighed a little disappointed and backed away, "What is it?"
"I want to do something before the wedding." Ichigo started.
"And that is?"
"I want to leave to visit my family in my kingdom." Ichigo smiled that she got it out.
"What!" Masaya shouted angrily backing away. I
"Please I just want to see them!" Ichigo pleaded.
"They are more than one thousand miles away from here. It took almost a month to get you hear and now you want to go back?" Masaya shook his head, "The wedding is in a week. We have waited a year for this! You're not leaving. Not now, at least."
"I just need to see them before I go through this! Please?" Ichigo followed after Masaya as he walked back to the castle.
"No, Ichigo! We just can't to that. Not now!" Masaya ignored her attempts and pleads.
"But why not?" Ichigo yelled. Masaya lashed around and smacked her in the cheek. Ichigo staggered back some, rubbing her face.
"Because I am not going to let you ruin my wedding. I am going to be the king of this kingdom and no on will stop me. I want this more than ever and as everything is finally going good you want to ruin it all by leaving for your family. Well no, Ichigo. That is not going to happen." Masaya hissed while slamming the door to the stairs to his study.
Ichigo stood there, her hand still glued to her face, tears whelming in her eyes. Her lip trembled and she cried silently, "I will see my family and no one will stop me!"
…To be continued…
A/N: AIIIEEE! My computer crashed just recently so I didn't get the chapter up as soon as I wanted too. Sorry! A little exaggeration about the whole a thousand miles away part but I didn't know what else to put. Like they knew the exact distance back then. So anyways, I have absolutely no idea what to name the kingdoms so it anyone has an idea, I'd be so grateful if you could tell me. Anywho this was short but I'm leaving it so that I can get a good starting point. The chapter really sucked but I promise it'll get better. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! I will try to update soon. Until then-KTHM