From the very beginning, it was a fact that everyone had always known.
She was the princess, and her kingdom was that of her family's, their history, and her own home. The one who'd been given everything at the means of her own disposal. Rich, beautiful, intelligent, and always the center of attention – even if she wasn't really a princess, it had always seemed she'd make a great one.
Looking back to a diary entry she'd written months back discussing the topic, it brought a new question to mind: Did she alone consider herself that way, or was it only because everyone had told her it was so? Trying to think about that brought up new questions on its own, and the amount of possible answers doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled. There was just no end.
However, there was one question she could answer when she asked it to herself. Who do you love?
Never would she have even dared to tell anyone out loud, much less the very person herself. She always subconsciously hoped – wished – that she'd realize it on her own, but to this day she's still unsure whether she is truly loved by that person or if it was all just a game.
Everything about her annoyed the princess, from every word she's ever said, every move she's ever made, and every time she embarrassed her in front of everyone. Even still, whenever she looked into her eyes she felt enamored, captured inside the bright red flames that they spoke of. She longed to hold her small body inside of her arms forever, lulled by her sweet charms, her quirks, all the things she thought she'd find annoying but truly admired in the end.
The princess's name was none other than Nishikino Maki, and her sweet but secret interest was the one and only Yazawa Nico.
It made Maki wonder if she'd ever make a move herself. Although she seemed cold to every action made towards her, learning to be smart and cool and never let people's words sway her… With that one person – with Yazawa Nico – it was different.
Was she a hypocrite? For falling in love with someone she, if not for μ's, almost thought she would have hated?
It was strange of her to try to think about it, but in the end she supposed that she was indeed.
Maki looked out the window of her metaphorical palace, wondering what her next move on the chess board was to be. The warm sun shone a bright orange glow, telling the world that it was morning, and all of
At this time of the year, school had been out for months. More importantly, μ's had officially ended since then, and Nico had graduated along with the rest of the third years. At this rate, trying to think about it made Maki feel like she was trying too hard – too desperately. So she tried her best to stop. Maybe she could play the piano or study a bit of math.
Even though she wasn't in school for the summer, those two were good options for any time. When Maki felt like she could really concentrate, it took her mind off all the other events in her life. Studying helped her concentrate when she felt too guilty from relaxing, and piano helped her feel calm whenever studying had her stressed out. They balanced each other out well, didn't they?
Reaching for the advanced physics book, Maki suddenly heard her phone go off. Her eyes snapped to it immediately, and watched it carefully as it buzzed across the table with the caller ID's name on the display.
Kousaka Honoka. How could she have guessed?
Maki picked up the phone and slowly swiped to accept the call, raising the phone up to her ear.
"Moshimoshi! Maki-chan, are you there? Hello?" Honoka's voice rang.
"Jeez- obviously yes, I'm here."
"Great! Soooo… uh… What'cha doing?"
"N-nothing! Just… Studying, you know."
"Maki-chan, it's nearly the end of summer vacation. Why would you study when you could be out in the sunshine? Or even better, sleeping in~!" Honoka's voice let a happy sigh at the thought of it: being able to sleep in all the time was great – for her.
Then a third voice burst in, although more quietly, obviously in the background. "Honoka! Summer might be over soon, but that doesn't mean you should waste it away by sleeping! If anything, you should spend the rest of your time preparing for the upcoming school year!" The tone was all too familiar. It was Honoka's childhood friend, Sonoda Umi. Of course she'd be at Honoka's house, since she and Kotori tended to hang out there often. Maki chuckled at the thought of Umi going to wake her up every day only for Honoka to continue sleeping in for another two hours – and she could have easily guessed that habit had been going all summer. The two of them had gotten so predictable by now, anyway.
"It's a waste to not, though! This is my last chance to do it! Anyways, Maki-chan, you can't really be studying at this time of the year, can you? What are you really doing?"
"Why does it interest you what I'm doing? Maybe I want to study!"
"Fufu, you never change. Hey, aren't you wondering why I'm calling?"
"No, not at all," Maki mumbled, her words laced with sarcasm. "You call me all the time, why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, you know how there's that new place with the really good steamed buns at the other side of town? Hanayo told me they have a secret ingredient in them that tastes really good! Let's just hope it's not red bean paste, yeughh…"
"Tell her the point already, Honoka!"
"Aww, Umi-chan… let me finish!"
Maki giggled inside of her head. She didn't mind Honoka's ramblings so much sometimes, and she knew that Umi never minded them either- however, in her opinion, Umi was right this time. If Honoka had a point to get to, then she shouldn't have to make small talk.
"So, as I was saying, there were these really good steamed buns, right? Hanayo-chan and Rin-chan went up to see if the rumors were true."
"And were they?"
"Of course! What's even better, they won the secret grand prize! The trip for 9 to a secret trip to a real castle up in the mountains! It's a big, grand, beautiful palace, with gardens, high-end bedrooms, a rich history and a pool! It sounds just perfect for a vacation! Especially since it's been so long since we've all been able to get together!"
And what a coincidence that there's 9 of us, Maki thought, but shouldn't there be some kind of catch here?
"Isn't that such a coincidence?" Honoka asked. "And you're coming, right, Maki-chan? I've already called everyone else, and they're all going too, so- please, won't you?"
"You don't even have to ask. O-of course I'm coming!" Maki responded hesitantly. Having to hear Honoka plead as if she was going to say no reminded her of how people had always told her she was stubborn. However, there was no way she'd miss a chance to hang out with her friends like this again! Especially Nico-chan!
"Great! Hey, Umi-chan, you hear that? Now everyone's coming!"
"Oh, nice!" Umi said. "Honoka, give me the phone-"
After a few seconds of static noise, Maki coughed. "You do realize you're on speaker, right?"
"…" No sound from the other end of the phone. "…Right." Umi awkwardly bit her lip, her voice much louder than it was before as she'd now assumedly taken hold of Honoka's phone.
Although Umi and Honoka couldn't see it, Maki gave a smile. "…So we're going on this trip for sure, hm?"
"Seems so. I'm honestly a fan of old castles, the architecture is just beautiful. Especially in a serene place like the mountains."
"That's true, but… Now that I'm thinking about it, the whole thing sounds a bit suspicious."
"At first I thought Honoka was joking when she told me we were going, but Rin showed me the tickets, we looked on the websites, and there's plenty of pictures in the reviews, so – I'm still a bit skeptical, of course."
"Well, you have reason. How many places just give out tickets to free trips, much less a castle? From a restaurant? Sounds like a scam to me, but… it doesn't hurt, I guess. Where are we meeting?"
"The train station, 12:00. See you there!"
"See you, Maki!" Honoka added.
"See you both too." Maki responded.
With that, the phone hung up, and Maki tossed it back onto the desk. Noon, today? That didn't give her a lot of time to pack. Come to think of it, she hadn't even asked her parents if she could go – but they'd be gone for a couple of weeks for business anyways, and probably wouldn't care so much. They didn't usually, so why would they now? Still, she decided to write up a note for them in case they came back early. She ripped a piece of paper from her notebook, then neatly scribbled:
Went on a trip with the girls to the mountains. I'll be back soon~!
Sincerely, Maki~
After staring at her note for a moment, she went to the kitchen and tacked the note to the fridge with a magnet. That should do it, right?
…Now all she needed to do was pack.
The clock was ticking. Seven girls gathered at the given place as described, sitting down at some benches at the station. Even though it was a quarter after noon, not everyone had arrived yet, and so the topic arose of why that reason might be.
"Maybe they just got stuck in traffic!" Honoka optimistically suggested.
"Honoka, there's no such thing as traffic when you only need to walk a short distance," Umi sighed.
Kotori piped up with another plausible suggestion. "What if they couldn't find something, or forgot something at home?"
"That's a possibility, but–"
Hanayo cut her off. "I-it could've been a family emergency!"
"And they wouldn't think to notify us? I–"
"Or they could have just decided not to come," Nozomi hummed.
"But everyone–"
"That wouldn't make sense," Eli added, shaking her head.
"It–"
"Oh! Maybe their favorite TV programs came on at the last minute?"
"F–"
"Or they saw a really cute animal and wanted to pet it, nya!"
"Th–"
"Or maybe they just finished boiling a pot of rice?"
Umi stood up, clenching her fists in a boil of rage. "For goodness' sake, stop interrupting me!" The blue-haired girl yelled, causing everyone to fall silent for a few seconds.
"Woah, Umi-chan, I…" Honoka began, somewhat surprised by this sudden outburst. She stood up as well and put a hand on Umi's shoulder, giving her a calm smile. "I'm sure they'll come in no time! It's only been fifteen minutes after all, right? No matter the reason, they're definitely coming! We just have to sit still and wait!"
As much as she felt like protesting once again, Umi knew it was only her nerves getting to her. She glanced toward the ground, then back up at Honoka and nodded. "You're right. They'll be here any minute now. I shouldn't let this trip drive me crazy. It hasn't even begun and I – I'm already nervous," she told her, "but with you and the others, I'm sure it'll be amazing."
Umi and Honoka sat down again, and the girls continued to wait in silence. Each of the girls had a clearly different mood from one another: Honoka's cheerful, Kotori's patient, Rin's anticipating, Nozomi's comfortable, Eli's calm, Umi's worried, Hanayo's just hungry. They all could hardly wait – it had been a while since everyone had gotten to go someplace new together, and since it wasn't all just for training anymore but pure fun many of them looked forward to it.
After a few more seconds, Rin glanced over to Hanayo with a playful expression, the sides of her lips curled up and eyes gleaming. "Psst, Kayo-chin! Did you bring the buns?"
The latter nodded. "Mm… um, yep! They're all here!" She enthusiastically picked up a box and opened up the top to reveal 9 flawless buns – with a perfect golden color, alluring aroma, and to top it all off they were still all warm and steaming. The other girls leaned over to the two holding the box of buns, captivated by the delicious smell.
"Ooooh…" Everyone gasped, and even Umi, the greatest stickler for refraining to eat large amounts of carbohydrates could hardly keep herself from drooling over the buns. They just looked that tasty.
"So these are the legendary buns we've been hearing about, hm?" Nozomi licked her lips and reached towards the box, only for her hand to be smacked away by Hanayo's.
"No! You mustn't eat them!" She whisper-shouted, now intensely staring at the box in case someone else tried to reach for it again. "You have to wait for everyone to come, or- or when we share them together, it won't be the same!"
"Ah~ Of course, I wasn't thinking," the purple-haired graduate responded, "it's so tempting when you wave it in front of us, though…"
Hanayo bit her lip, quick to close the box again. "S-sorry."
Thankfully it wasn't much later when the waiting girls saw a figure running in the near distance, coming towards them. The atmosphere filled with a little bit more cheerfulness, a little more excitement. The figure could have been anyone. It could have gotten their hopes up for nothing, just some random person running to that spot. However, even from that distance, everyone could tell who it was.
Red hair, violet eyes – it had to be Maki, of course. Right they were.
Stopping a little bit before the others, Maki slowed down and took a minute to regain her breath. To be honest, for a moment… She wasn't sure if she was ready. Her gut feelings had almost always told her to be cautious and this was no exception. However, she knew that if she tried – she'd have a good time. In fact, upon thinking on it a moment longer, why should she have to try at all? Whenever Maki was with her friends, she never had to try to be happy. This time shouldn't be any different. Instead of running the rest of the way the girl decided to walk, playing it cool.
Little did Maki know that she would be ambushed by a surprise hug.
"Maki-chaaan!" Rin squealed, lunging forward and wrapping her arms around Maki, causing her to let out a startled and embarrassed 'eep!'
She quickly tore from Rin's grasp and turned around so she wouldn't see her reddening face. "H-hey, don't startle me like that!" She scolded, and Rin pouted.
"Aw, Rin was just excited, nya-! We've been waiting for such a long time!"
"It's only been twenty minutes!"
Nozomi waved to Maki, standing up and walking over to her with a friendly grin. "Good to see you, Maki. Hm, what caused you to be so late, anyways?"
"Nothing!" Maki insisted, "I simply lost track of time, is all. Why do you need to know?"
A giggle escaped Nozomi's lips, and her smile turned to a more mischievous one. She tapped her chin as she stared at Maki thoughtfully. "I don't, I was just curious."
Now eight out of nine girls were present, the only missing one being…
"Hey, where's Nico-chan?" Maki inquired, noticing that she wasn't the only one missing. The other seven looked amongst themselves, only returning her question with shrugs and inaudible noises.
"We don't know," Kotori carefully answered, scratching the side of her head. She didn't think of Nico to be late – then again, she didn't think Maki would be late either, and that proved to be a fact that didn't always apply given this time.
"We thought she'd be with you," Eli added, "after all, you two tend to be together."
That particular comment made Maki blush once again. Was it really that obvious? Did she and Nico spend that much time together? No way, they couldn't have noticed that. "That's not really true." She coldly mumbled, somewhat hoping that they wouldn't catch on to her true feelings.
Before things got too silent again, Honoka decided to wrap things up. "Well, either way it doesn't matter if Nico-chan's late or not, does it? I mean, in the end, we'll still all be together, won't we? A few minutes doesn't change anything!" She proclaimed, and the others agreed.
"You're one to talk!" Rin teased, seeing as Honoka was usually the late one here.
Maki smiled at Honoka's optimism, and sat down with the others to wait. How does she do it? Always looking at the good side of things. Being brave and being able to move people with her words – that was Honoka. She could hardly believe that determination and dedication came from the same person whom constantly would be scolded by Umi whenever she ate too much food or slept for too long, but for what she lacked in organization she made up for in charisma and willpower.
Isn't that what drove μ's together in the first place?
That wasn't the point, though – no matter what Honoka said, everyone still had to wait. To feel the anticipation of waiting, it was almost as if it was never going to end.
Fifteen minutes passed.
Then thirty.
Forty-five.
An hour.
An hour had passed, and still no Nico.
"…Do you think she got the time wrong…?" Hanayo whispered.
"No, no way! Umi-chan was very clear when she told us when to meet up!" Rin whispered back.
"She did say she was going…" Umi frowned, whispering as well.
"Then why hasn't she shown up yet?" Eli wondered, "Fifteen minutes I get, but an hour?"
"Uwaaahhh! I'm tired of waiting!" Honoka complained quietly, "Wait, why are we all whispering?"
"Maybe we should, um, try calling her?" Hanayo then suggested, talking in a voice that wasn't really a whisper anymore, but still pretty quiet.
Upon that, everyone immediately turned their heads to Maki.
"Why are you all looking at me?" She raised an eyebrow, feeling their suspicions grow. No way was she going to be the one to call Nico!
Yet before she knew it, the violet-eyed, violet-hearted princess had her phone pressed to her ear, Nico's number being dialed. Everyone around her leaned in patiently, to see if they could somehow hear in.
Ring… ring… ring… beep!
"Nico Nico Nii!~ Sorry, looks like Nico can't answer your call right now, Nico-nii! But don't worry, Nico will be back soon to hear all your love and admiration! So don't forget to leave a message, okay~?"
Straight to voicemail. It was no use.
The girls looked amongst each other feeling a little uneasy. They all had questions, but they all knew they wouldn't be able to answer them.
"What are we going to do, nya?" Rin's expression turned to a more worried one, and she spoke for all eight of them.
"We can't just wait here all day," Maki told her, biting her lip, "you know her. If she changed her plans without telling us, there's no use in waiting." Sadly, she did wish she could have asked to wait longer – but it was Nico's fault for being irresponsible with the time, not hers. She could feel her heart sinking a little yet tried her best to ignore it. It wasn't like she needed to be distracted by thinking about her all the time anyways… right?
They weren't technically classmates anymore. They hadn't called or hung out since the very beginning of the summer. Maybe Nico had moved on or put everyone behind her, she could never be sure. That may have been a pessimistic was to think about it, but it made Maki feel a little less infuriated on the inside.
Yet still, Maki didn't want to forget about her – and she wasn't so much sad or angry that Nico hadn't shown as she was simply disappointed.
Taciturnity came upon the eight again as the excitement they held earlier had a huge piece chipped off of it. Umi sighed, a bit hesitant to be the first one to break the silence, however she decided it was the right idea. There weren't any other obstacles in their way now; it was simply a matter of getting past the gate and proceeding.
"We better get going. The next train's coming soon, and I don't really want to miss it." While Umi's tone of voice held a certain bluntness to it, Maki could see how desperately she was trying to hide her own disappointment. She could see it in her eyes just how much of a downer it was to her, too. Who knew that one person's presence could make such a difference?
The train station wasn't far away, and the ride up wasn't too tedious. Maki wondered why there was a stop for the train all the way up in the mountains, but then again – how else were you supposed to get there? The only girls out of them who were old enough to drive were Nozomi and Nico, and as poor as they were Maki doubted they'd have a car of their own that was big enough to tote their entire group. Not that there was anything wrong with taking the train, it was just… a little odd that it would go all the way up there. Despite that, the next train came just in time, and there was no hesitation on boarding it.
Since the girls had missed the train they were originally going to take, they arrived to their destination much later than planned. The sun had almost set, basking in the sky with a warm orange glow. Before the horizon stood a tall and sprawling Victorian castle, lavishly illuminated by the remaining sunlight as it basked in its own glorious beauty. A long path drove through the lawn reaching towards the castle, but first there was an obstacle. A black gate.
Honoka was the first to curiously approach the gate, tapping it lightly to see if it would open. Lightly. It didn't open.
Instead however a dark figure appeared just behind the gate, causing Honoka to jump back with a rather unattractive scream.
"Where – did – they – come from?!" She gasped, clinging to the back of Nozomi (who just happened to be closest to her) while staring at the figure like they were some kind of ghost. The figure was nothing of the such, but rather a person with fair skin, dressed in black, Victorian-style clothing.
"Relax, Honoka-chan, it looks like it's just someone who works here," Nozomi reassured her, giggling.
The person behind the gate nodded once, searching around in their pockets for some kind of key. "Yes. Welcome to our castle, once home to a lovely couple, royalty of… some country…" They droned on monotonously, before finally finding the right key and unlocking the gate. "Please enjoy your stay." The person took a few steps back as the gates slowly opened, and gave a bow as the eight of the girls confusedly walked through.
"Oh! Um, before we go inside, um," it seemed Hanayo had remembered, "do you think it's time to – to eat the buns?" Her eyes wandered around the others hopefully, holding up the box so they all could see it.
Clapping her hands in excitement, Rin clearly agreed. "Yes, yes! Let's all enjoy them together, nya!"
With no hesitation the rice-loving soon-to-be-second-year held out the box with the lid wide open and everybody was quick to take one.
Everybody except one.
"Huehh? Don't you want one, Maki-chan?" Rin worriedly asked, poking the redhead's cheeks.
"No thanks. I'm good."
As much as the buns did look appetizing, there was something about them that simply put her off. For one, nobody knew what the secret ingredient was, although that wasn't a great claim to start with.
Honoka took a great big bite of hers and licked her lips, savoring every moment of it. "Are you sure? They're as good as the rumors say!"
"They really are!" Kotori agreed.
"I-I'm sure!" Maki frowned, now appearing quite annoyed with the others. "I'm just not… all that hungry right now, alright? Sheesh."
"Aw, come on. They're pretty good. Nicocchi'd comment right now about how much of a tsundere you're being~" Nozomi teased, coming in from the other side of her. Maki went from pale to red in three seconds flat, and took a step back from her.
"Ngh… S-so what? She didn't come anyways. Let's just hurry up and go inside already."
Without bickering any further, Maki went on ahead through the path towards the castle's door.
"Well, we might as well follow her," Eli shrugged, taking another bite of her own bun. The others nodded and did so.
The castle seemed even taller and grander up close as it did from afar. The decorative designs and patterns that lined the walls in stone went up long turrets which tapered off in the pointiest violet-colored roofs, the glass of the windows seemed to be ancient enough that you couldn't quite see through them yet light still managed to get through, and even the door of the place was designed in a manner that made it unlike anything you'd see nowadays.
Umi's eyes glistened at the sight of it, and the others couldn't help but stare at it as well. It truly was a beauty to bestow – even though it was only a building.
"So," Maki began, walking up to the door and turning on her heels to face the others. "Anything you guys want to say before we enter?"
Eli was quick to respond. "Actually, yes," she carefully plucked a pink rose from a nearby bush, its' petals in full bloom, and immediately gave it to Nozomi. "For you, Nozomi. Just a way to say that I'm grateful to have met you."
Nozomi accepted the rose, her face at first with slight shock that melted into a smile. "-I –Thank you, Elicchi," She said, feeling as if a certain breathlessness were to take her over with that gesture alone. "I'd love to take the credit, but you should be more thankful towards the rest of our friends. If it weren't for all of you, I wouldn't be who I am now."
Eli smiled back. Though it was sappy, she had to admit that Nozomi's words held a truth for her as well.
The group's aura seemed to be lifted a little bit, and even Maki was smiling.
"You know… I do wish that Nico-chan had come – e-ehm, maybe just a little bit. Anyways, her not showing up, well – it couldn't have been entirely purposeful of her, right…?"
"Do you, um, want to try calling again?" Hanayo tilted her head to the side.
"No use! There's no cell service, nya!" Rin held up her phone, which was apparently already on. Zero bars.
"It's too late for that now, isn't it?" Umi shook her head. "We took the last train of the day, and… If there's no cell connection, we can't really call. Let's go inside, shall we?"
A unanimous nod finished the action, and Maki pushed the door open with great might. It was a bit heavier than it looked.
The second they all got inside, the door shut tight behind them.
Click.
Maki swiftly turned around to face the door again. "Hey, what was that…?"
A/N:
Alright! Phew! Chapter 1: Prologue. Yes, that was a prologue… A rather long one I might add. Sorry.
I am a little nervous to be posting this online, after some of the words of discouragement that I received the last time I posted a fic – but anyways! That's over with. I'm going to be honest with you all here, I'm actually more used to roleplaying (ehem, LITERATE roleplaying,, fyi,,,) than I am writing stories, and in the past one of my biggest struggles in writing fanfiction was having a sufficient amount of dialogue… That being said, I haven't written fanfiction in over a year, so I hope this suffices.
Right now, things seem pretty normal, but I have this entire story planned out, unlike previous times. So I won't let you down~!
For the moment being, I'm an American exchange student in Germany. However, I still get enough free time to be able to write in the evenings, so updates shouldn't be too considerably slow. If they are, please understand, I might just be having fun actually doing what I came here to do.
Please, if you have anything to say about this chapter, the story so far, suggestions for improvement or ideas about what you think might happen next, give a review! Leave some feedback! I'd love to hear it!
Until next time, Zuzanna.