Hey everyone! I'm so glad that some of you gave this story a chance! This is a story that I wrote some years ago and was not originally a Kenshin/Kaoru fic. I had hoped to someday publish it, but alas the story is too short, so I decided to post it here instead. Hope you guys like it, and please review, let me know what you think!
-Mia21
Of course, standard disclaimer applies.
When asked whether or not they believe in love at first sight, most people would say yes. Koshijiro Kamiya would have said no.
A young man when he took the throne of Nauru, he was a serious, driven king who had no thought to matters that did not concern his kingdom. That is, until he met her. Akira Fujimoto was said to be the most beautiful woman on the Continent and five kings had each wanted her for himself. Each came with riches and untold treasures, hoping to please her father and win her hand, but she was her father's only child, and he was not eager to part with her. It took only a single dance for Koshijiro and Akira to fall in love, and when her father saw the bond shining between them he did not have the heart to deny his daughter, so he gave them his blessing and they were married that very night.
At the end of three years of blissful marriage, Akira learned she was with child, and in nine months' time she bore her king a son. The baby, whom they named Kohaku, was strong and beautiful; but the queen had been much weakened by the labor, so that when she bore a second child little more than a year later, it was too much for her unrecovered strength, and she died, and the baby with her.
Koshijiro was a broken man, his heart as frozen as the winter cold ground they buried his queen in. The only thing for many months that could bring a smile to his face was his son; the small piece of herself his queen had left behind.
After five years the King yielded to the pleas of his closest adviser and decided to marry again, choosing his second wife for political reasons rather than for matters of the heart. And so it was to his utter surprise that he began falling in love with her, and she with him. She melted his frozen heart and showed him how to live again, not just for his people but for himself.
Two years into their marriage, Queen Emiko gave birth to a daughter, and they named her Kaoru.
But their time of happiness was not to last. When the princess was six, Emiko left on a diplomatic mission to the neighboring country of Kuril, and did not return alive. For some generations there had been animosity between the two countries, and though foul play was suspected, it could never be proven.
The King, of course, was shattered by this loss, but his depression turned into an obsession with revenge, and much of his time was spent in seclusion with only dark thoughts for company.
The little princess was treated with kindness that bordered on pity after her mother's death, but she did not notice, or chose not to. She was always well fed, and well dressed, and she loved her father dutifully, though any time spent in his company was to endure reminders that her mother had been murdered and someone ought to punish the guilty party.
What no one expected was the companionship that bloomed between Prince Kohaku and his little half-sister. In the absence of her mother, and their father on most days, he became her protector and best friend. During the day he not only allowed, but encouraged her to follow him around with the unquestioning devotion most older brothers find embarrassing in their younger siblings. And at night he tucked her in and told her stories until she fell asleep.
As she grew older he helped her with her lessons in reading and writing, history, and philosophy. She often had unending questions, so much so that by the time she was twelve she knew almost as much about the kingdom as her brother.
Older still and he taught her how to ride and to track, and often he let her ride out with the hunting party. After some cajoling on her part he provided masters to teach her archery and swordsmanship, and in this she excelled above all others, even her masters.
It was these talents that would finally bring the princess to her father's attention.
Does that make some sense as to why the two countries are at odds? Stay tuned for the next chapter!
-Mia21
