Chapter 1: The Prince
The tale began in a faraway kingdom in a faraway land, where yakuzas and other very dangerous men ran about. The people in the land were very happy bringing and shooting their guns and other artillery about and were very much in havoc—peace, rather with each other. The kingdom had many lands and were rich in all kinds of resources. There were no invaders out to get them and they had almost no political enemies.
That was lie.
Well, some kingdoms are out to get them but we will get to that later.
Now, in that certain kingdom was a prince who went by the name Prince Ichijou Raku, the sole heir to the Shuei Gumi throne. Now Prince Raku was a very kind, talented, generous, intellectual and just prince with all the ladies swooning for him (albeit he never did notice any of them) and he was very well loved by his subordi—ehm, people. However, no one really had the courage to talk to the prince since he was always guarded by multiple bodyguards ready to shoot at any minute. Thus he made no other friends aside from the Duke Maiko's son Shu, who was his constant playmate. And that promised girl, too but we'll get to her later as well.
But now, he was about to turn of age and his father, the King of the Shuei Gumi Kingdom, was slowly getting older. The older Ichijou decided to have a serious talk with the young prince for the sake of the kingdom's future.
"You called? What do you want, Dad?" Prince Raku asked as he took a seat in his father's library.
The king sighed. "Well, Raku my boy, you will finally turn sixteen and be of legal age—"
"Liar, you're only legal when you turn eighteen."
"Don't interrupt me, stupid boy!" The king cleared his throat. "In this kingdom, you're of legal age when you turn sixteen and at that time a very important decision must be made—"
"But it was written in the law that I should be eight—"
"Well, screw the rules!" the king shot back as he slammed his hands on his desk. He crossed his arms and huffed in his place. "From now on, the person will be of legal age when he or she turns sixteen. Because I said so! Done!"
Prince Raku allowed himself to do a sweat drop in front of his father but the king immediately continued before he could say anything else. "Anyway, the most important thing is your marriage and this kingdom's future. We need you to get married to a suitable princess who is fit to rule beside you and bring prosperity to the entire land."
Raku froze for a millisecond in order to take in all of the information his father had just spouted out to him. Legal age. Marriage. Kingdom. Future.
He uttered a loud scream.
"N-No w-way!" he stammered. His face flushed and he suddenly felt hot. Marriage?! He wasn't in that stage to be thinking of such an absurd thing! That was crazy talk! Just crazy talk!
"I-I know I'm the prince and all but that doesn't mean you can force me into marriage! I-I can't possibly think of that right now! I-I mean, Shu and I, you promised that we would still go out and see the world and all! A-And I'm only a teenager and—But—I—! "
His face by now was in a shade of a good tomato red and he was finally speaking in angrish (a combination of anguish and English—or whatever language he spoke.) "I-I—"
The king arched a brow. "Oh? And why not?" he asked the young prince. He eyed his son carefully. "You don't have anyone in mind now, have you? Because you know for sure that I will check her out whether she is royalty or not."
"T-That's not it at all!" Raku cried out. "I-It's just that—"
You see, dear reader, Raku already had a girl in mind. Not that she was his girlfriend at that point of time. He couldn't even come near her, let alone talk to her or ask her the time of day. She was no princess but an honest country girl. A baker's daughter, to be precise.
She was none other than the Lady Onodera.
Which posed a problem. She was not available.
Well, at least for him.
What was the real reason why the young prince had favoured her so? Well, for one, Raku always saw that she was a rather kind, sweet, feminine girl. She helped her mother run their tiny family business. She always greeted the prince very respectfully every morning without fail and treated him very kindly when no one else did (because they were too frightened to do so.)
Plus, she rocked a kitchen apron with her awesome body.
Alas, the prince could only admire her from afar. Specifically when she delivered fresh bread from the bakery to the palace. And when he replied to her morning greetings. Plus, she wasn't a princess so he knew that somehow, the fantasy of him and the Lady Onodera would never come true.
And it broke his heart every time. Every. Single. Time.
And yet, he never stopped hoping that his happily ever after would somehow come true.
Idiot.
By the time you had finished reading the simple yet heart breaking introduction about the girl whom Raku had fallen in love with, the young prince had been sputtering, stammering and doing spit takes as he tried to explain his stand to his father. Sadly, he was speaking gibberish so his father ignored every single explanation he had. The poor prince couldn't even make a single coherent sentence.
"Enough gibberish already, Raku," his father said exasperatingly. "Well for one, I don't really care whether you have a girl in mind or otherwise because the only thing that you can do is sputter either way and I want you to stop spouting off saliva onto my mahogany desk! It's just disgusting!" He stared hard at the young prince. "Well, not that it's important. Either way, I already thought of a good match for you. Your union with the princess I have in mind will be beneficial for the kingdom."
The king took out a huge leather book. He flipped to a page where there was a map that contained all the nations and the different kingdoms of the land. He pointed to an even smaller kingdom that was residing right next to them. He beckoned his son to come closer.
He pointed to that kingdom. "See here, Raku boy, the kingdom of the Tachibana's have been looking for a suitable fiancée for their sole heir, the Princess Marika. Her father and I have had a history with each other and somehow, we hoped that our own children might unite and gain more power as a massive single nation."
"We have the Beehive against us and we are in need of a strong offensive ally. Marrying you and the Princess Marika will bring the ultimate chance we need to gain protection from them."
The prince tilted his head in confusion, only to have himself scream once again as he pointed a finger at his father.
"So you want me to marry her?!" he yelled in both shock and frustration. "S-She—I-I don't even know a thing about her!"
"You don't have to know a thing about her," the king said with a smirk. "The only thing important is that you get to marry her. After that, all the benefits will follow. Plus, I heard that she has taken a great liking to you. " He jabbed Prince Raku with a devious grin. "Who knows? Maybe she is your mystery girl. The one whom you have waited for ten years."
Raku sighed. He wasn't even sure if the girl remembered the promise they had made years ago. He stared at the locket hanging down his neck. He had taken care of it for so long with the strong belief that he would be able to see that girl again. Now, it seemed as though he won't be able to complete that promise since he was forced to marry someone of his father's preference anyway. It seemed as though everything he had tried to keep so far had all been wasted once he heard the news.
And so, as I promised, the story of the promised girl will now be revealed. Once upon a time, specifically on a summer ten years ago, the young Prince Raku was out on a family vacation in his family's beautiful mountain villa while the king had gone on to an important meeting between all the leaders of the kingdoms of the land. He was bored and didn't really like to stay indoors doing nothing so he went out in search of adventure. And in his ventures, he met the most beautiful and kindest little girl who stole his heart and became his first love. Making the long story short, they exchanged tokens, a locket and a key, and promised to get married once they are reunited and open the locket to see what was inside before they said goodbye.
And he had always believed that he would see her again.
Fat chance! They never had and were probably never going to see each other again! How cruel could the world get?!
"Raku, are you listening?" The king's voice snapped Raku out of his thoughts. He turned back to his father with a clueless look. The king sighed. "You really weren't listening after all." He crossed his arms and looked at his son seriously. "I was serious. The Tachibana kingdom will really be after your head if you won't marry Princess Marika. Literally."
Raku felt his knees shake. He shakily placed a hand on the back of his neck. "R-Really?" he said in a tiny voice.
"Yep. At least that was what the princess's father said."
"…"
"…"
"Couldn't you just call off the engagement?!"
"Why would I when the future of an entire kingdom is at my hands?! Raku, you're the only hope I have!"
"Find some other hope, then! What kind of hope am I for me to lose my head if I don't marry her?!"
"I told you! You're the only ace I've got left! Would you really want to sacrifice the future of thousands for the sake of your selfish needs?!"
Silence engulfed the two of them for a few minutes. The king stepped out from the desk and placed his hands on Raku's shoulders. He looked at the prince straight in the eye. "Raku, you are my son. If things would go my way, I wouldn't have you do any of this at all. I promised your mother that I would give and do everything I could to make you happy."
He gave his son a solemn look. "However, you are a prince. And as a prince, you have—"
"A responsibility to fulfil. The urgency to serve the people," Raku finished. He started to scowl. Damn the royalty creed. "I know that, Dad. Ugh, using the royalty creed on me. But marriage? That's—That's beyond me."
His father let go of his shoulders. "I know." The prince sighed. At least his father was trying to understand the situation. Maybe he was thinking of some plan to get the engagement off and still have the Tachibana's support. Maybe—
"That's why I won't give you a choice."
Oh. Craaaaaaaaaaaaap.
He was wrong. Horribly wrong.
He shouldn't have assumed ANYTHING.
"You will be marrying the princess, no questions asked," the king said as he started to make his way to the door. He turned to the young prince. "Oh, and that was an order by the way."
Raku felt his jaw drop to the floor.
"We shall announce your engagement as soon as possible. I shall be contacting the princess's father to talk about the dates and the rest of the arrangements." He gave his son a big smile. "Until then, Raku! I shall be very busy so do not disturb me!"
With that he left with the doors slamming behind him.
Raku ended up frozen in place as he realized the worst thing had just placed his life in the most uncomfortable and unfavourable position ever.
He felt his heart fall straight to his stomach, crushing any other organ underneath. He lost his freedom. And he was sure to be toast.
No.
He had to find a way. He had to.
And then it hit him.
Shu.
Lady Onodera stood hidden behind the door of the library. She grabbed a fistful of her blouse on her chest. She bowed her head to hide her sad smile. Of course, she knew it had to happen. Overhearing the situation was something she shouldn't have done but she couldn't help herself. And it was true. Prince Raku had to get married to a princess sometime soon. It was only natural for something like that to happen between royal families, very natural.
She gripped her bread basket hard. She ducked even harder to control the blush on her face and steady her heartbeat. She sighed. Onodera knew that she wasn't supposed to feel this way but she couldn't help herself. She had always admired the crowned prince from afar. Secretly, she had always watched him fondly ever since she could remember. The greetings she exchanged with him every single time were enough to get her smiling every the whole day through. And if she were lucky, she could even steal a glance of him in his study or in the courtyard as he fed the animals secretly.
She wanted him to be hers.
But he was a prince. And she was just a common baker's daughter.
It would never work out.
And she couldn't deny that it did break her heart in two.
Well, it is only a fantasy, Lady Onodera told herself. I can't expect anything more. She stood firm and held her basket to her side. After all, he would never notice me. How could he when there's nothing noticeable in me?
She started to walk away from the door post. "That's just too stupid, Kosaki!"she whispered sharply to herself, shaking her head to get away from her thoughts. "I shouldn't be thinking of such things! In fact, I shouldn't even be here—"
Before she knew it, she felt herself falling onto the floor butt first. The basket of fresh bread fell beside her. The force of the collision was minor but it still managed to push onto the ground.
O-Ouch, she thought. Her back ached but it wasn't too bad. She looked around her only to see the bread scattered all over the place. She screamed.
"T-The bread! F-For the king!" she stammered as she quickly collected the pieces on the floor. Although a few loaves managed to land safely on the basket's cloth that held them, some of them fell out and altogether, none of them were acceptable to be served anymore!
Oh no! she thought to herself. Mom's going to kill me once she finds out! What's worse is that the royal kitchen needs this for the lunch today!
She squeezed her eyes shut in fear. I'm going to mess things up for everyone! W-What should I do?!
"H-Hey, I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you with that!" She snapped her head toward the voice. Her eyes widened. Her face started to flush. Her heart beat started to go unsteady once again!
I-It couldn't b-be!
In front of her was the crowned prince Ichijou Raku, helping her out in picking up the bread and the basket!
"I'm sorry! I wasn't looking at where I was going and I'm in a hurry!" he explained very quickly, gathering three loaves at a time. "I really needed to find someone important! It's an emergency!"
"I-It's fine," Onodera replied as she gathered the rest of the loaves on her side. She could literally feel her heart beating out of her chest. She bowed her head to hide her face from embarrassment. "Y-You don't really have to help me out. It was my fault. I should have been more careful, Your Highness."
The prince stopped as he was about to reach out to get the last loaf of bread. "Your Highness?" he echoed. "A-Ah, no need for that! Everyone in the castle is not really obliged to call me that. You don't have to, you kno—"
He was cut short as he raised his face to see the person he had bumped into. Raku froze and dropped his jaw down to the Earth's core. Had the gods finally granted his prayer? Or had Fate decided to play a joke on him? A tiny sliver of a chance to let him pursue his dreams? A golden opportunity that may never ever come back again?!
Yes! Yes, it was!
It was the lady of his dreams! The flower of his imagination! The star of his absolutely lonely and pathetic life! The absolutely lovely and beautiful Lady Onodera!
Suddenly, he felt like he needed to run to the hills to shout out for joy for that absolutely glorious moment.
"Um, Your Highness?"
The young prince eagerly placed the loaves back into Onodera's basket. "U-Uh, yeah, that's me!" he stammered and stood up. He held out his hand to help her on her feet. "Um, Lady Onodera…"
She tilted her head to one side. "What is it, Your Highness?"
Raku felt a blush creep on his face. Man, she's totally cute when she does that! he thought to himself, hearing his heart hammering in his ears. Damn it! Why did she have to be so cute?! And to think I'm actually this close to her—no, even better! I'm actually holding a conversation with her!
He threw his head up to the sky, tears of joy running down his face. God, what have I done to deserve such a blessing?! I'm so thankful! Very thankful!
No, that really wasn't a blessing.
"Yeah, about the bread. It was my fault so please don't say anything about it to anyone. Tell the royal kitchen that we had a shortage of goods or something so that you won't get into trouble," Raku told the baker's daughter as he took the bread basket from her. He took about two or three loaves into his arms. "As for the ones that haven't fallen out of the cloth, give them to the poor and the ones on the streets, okay? They probably need it more than the people in here. After all, they are fed, clothed and paid well here."
Onodera felt herself smile a little. Truly, that was the reason why she had loved her dear prince so. That was right. That was the reason.
"But, what will you do with those loaves you have taken, Your Highness?" she blurted out. "And w-what should I—"
Raku grinned at her. "Oh? Just tell your mother that we had taken all of it," he replied. "And tell her that we need more, too. Don't worry about it. The kitchen will still pay for it. The previous order, I mean."
"As for these, I think the court animals will appreciate a morning snack," Raku said as he started to break the loaves into bite sized pieces. "They always like your bread, Lady Onodera. They finish it without fail!"
"R-Really?" Onodera asked in a surprised tone.
"Of course! Not even a single crumb left!" Raku said excitedly. "I mean, it is good bread. You do know how to tell if the bread is good or not?"
Onodera smiled even wider this time. "Mmhm!"
"When the crust on top crackles!"
"When the crust on top crackles!"
The two were silent, shocked as to have said it together. They immediately hid their faces from each other. Raku cleared his throat to break the silence. "Well, I suppose I have to go. I am in a hurry." He bowed to her. "Until we meet again, Lady Onodera."
"To you as well, Your—" Onodera replied but was cut off.
"Ichijou!" he interjected, waving his hands to stop her. "Ichijou is fine. You don't have to give me all that 'Your Highness' stuff. I-It's cool."
Another smile tugged at her lips. "Absolutely, Your High—Ichijou-kun."
Raku scratched the back of his head with an uneasy smile. "Well, I'm off," he said. He gave her a little wave as he jogged off further into the hall. "Goodbye."
Onodera continued to wave as she saw his figure disappear into the distance. "Goodbye."
She, too, had a place to go. An errand was still waiting for her and her mother would probably be waiting for her return. She started for the royal kitchen, basket in hand as she hummed a happy tune and even skipped a little.
Today might have been any other ordinary day.
However it was not.
Because it was a magical one.
She hoped they would meet again.
Author's Note: Yey! First chapter up! So as you see, this is my first story and I'm actually pretty nervous about this. Haha, but I'll do my best, guys! Anyway, this is obviously an AU story and it just wouldn't leave my head. I just needed an outlet and so this is it. Don't know when the next update will be but I hope that it will be soon.
Comments, anybody?