A young girl scurried down an empty corridor, grasping as many of her cumbersome skirts as she could in her hands. She panted out when she reached the room to find it empty. She would not be counted late today. She flopped down in her seat, one of two in the room, in a rather un-ladylike manner. Sweat was starting to collect on her brow and she hastily wiped it away. She herd footsteps echo in the hall and sat up straight, her corset pinching her side painfully. She was wearing on of her new sets, just finished by the family tailor.
Sir Kakashi the Second opened the door and closed in behind him. "You need to work a little harder to get here on time." Her eyes widened a little and he chuckled. "Your skirts are almost turned around, and your breath is not yet caught." She frowned and sighed. Oh well, nothing she could do about it now.
"Sorry." She fiddled with the design on her top-most skirt. It was a fairly simple vine work, done in purple on a heavy white cream. Her corset was a deeper purple, with the lace in white. The sleeves cut off at her shoulders, leaving her arms bare. He looked her over, scrutinizing.
"They did a good job, the tailors. But I still think you need to gain some weight. And do something different with your hair." Her fingers flew to her loosely secured buns on either side of her face. He had often teased her about them, but still they remained. A testimony to how much of a habit they had become. Her frown deepened and she simply looked around the room, trying to politely dismiss the subject.
"Lady Ten Ten, I would normally ask you to get out your French text, but I have something very important to tell you." She locked eyes with him again, shocked. Nothing interesting ever happened to her. She had always lived in the shadow of her elder sisters, trying to live up to them, trying to out do them. The problem was that she excelled in the wrong things. She could shoot an arrow as good as the king himself-her father- but not speak a decent sentence in French without assistance.
"Really?!" She blurted after a moment, and then clapped a hand to her mouth. He frowned and made a small 'tsk' she removed her hand and looked down at her desk.
"Please, Lady Ten Ten, do try to be a bit more formal. Either way, you will be going on a trip around the world to meet all the different royalties. You will be staying at each palace or residence for a time. To learn how they live differently from yourself." He smiled and his eyes creased, making him look younger than he probably was.
She blinked for a few seconds, and then it hit her. "Oh! This is going to be so fun! When do we leave?!" Her face was lit up and she was fighting to stay in her seat.
"On the fourteenth of this month. You have a week to pack." He moved form the doorway to his desk and sat down. Her face fell and she suddenly stopped squirming.
"Are you sure?" She was taking slow deep breaths, trying to reassure herself. It was a mistake, it had to be. "I would miss the Chestnut Roasting Festival." Kakashi winced and sighed, trying to think of how to explain it properly. Her mind was reeling, she couldn't miss the festival. For most of the small country it was a day of fun and rest, but for royals the age of 16, it was a coming-of-age mile stone. To miss it would keep her a child until the following year, or until she attended a festival.
"Yes, that has been considered. You will unfortunately miss this year's festival and feast. I know it means a lot to you, but try to look for the silver lining. Your brother will be coming as well, though none of your sisters will have to opportunity." She was on the verge of exploding from all the different emotions flooding her.
She nodded. "My brother? So he will be coming? I haven't spoken much to him lately…" 'He was too caught up in being heir to the throne to speak to the lowly 8th princess' was left unsaid. Kakashi nodded and she put her elbows on her desk, lacing her fingers to rest her chin on them. "Do I get to start packing today? Or is there still a lesson?"
"No lessons. We will work on your French through-out the trip. Go pack, you're going to be very busy for the next few days." She nodded and glanced at the wall calendar. 10th. She scurried out of the room.
Hey, hope you liked the first chapter! Writing something completely unrelated to my stories is my way of getting over writers block. This is the result of a severe case taken way too far. But, it did the trick. My other stories should be up soon!
-Inukuro, A.K.A. K-gal