….. New Life

Take my hand and follow me

To that place I long to be….

As the sun rose from the east, the Second Prince Of Clarines began to get restless. Despite Kiki and Mitsuhide's one thousand assurances and hundred re-assurances, Zen couldn't sleep properly. The only thought which came on his mind was," What if she isn't pleased?". His thought was interrupted by a knock on the door."Zen?" He froze. He knew that voice; he could identify that voice even amongst the noise of a thousand ringing bells. The silverette composed himself and replied," come in Shirayuki". "Zen are you alright?" this was the greeting which he got from her. Nevertheless her question startled him. I'm fine Shirayuki, what possibly happen to me? In case you have forgotten my room and the whole castle is surrounded by more than thousand guards to protect the royal family."Even though her expression relaxed her shoulders still seemed tensed. Worried Zen asked if she was alright. Everything happened suddenly, Shirayuki ran towards him and threw her arms around Zen and hugged him as if his life depended on him. To make it more worse diamond tears started to spill from her emerald green eyes. Zen was caught off guard and stumbled a bit but he was able to regain his balance after a few moments. As soon as he had regained his balance he hugged her back and asked her if something was wrong. It took a while for Shirayuki to calm down but Zen was patient and held her gently. Both of them were enjoying each other's presence. Finally Shirayuki broke the silence by say that she had a nightmare in which she lost …Zen Forever…There was some silence which was broken by Zen. He hugged Shirayuki closer and comforted her by caressing and kissing her forehead gently. "Shirayuki I'll always be there for you. Even if the strongest force ordered me to leave you all by yourself I'd never leave your side. Trust me". She lifted her head and saw a pair of Royal Blue eyes which were filled with love and care. And this time Zen was the one who hugged her. This gentle hug lasted for a few minutes."A..Arigatou Zen" Shirayuki mumbled softly resting her head on his shoulder. Zen smiled and said," anytime and anything for you Shirayuki" .

Shirayuki stood to leave but Zen stopped her from behind by hugging her from behind. Shirayuki hated herself for breaking the hug but she had to go so she told him so. Zen was not pleased at all for she was leaving way too early but later he gave in. After all he had to attend to his duties as well, so he reluctantly let her go. Little did Shirayuki know that Zen had another thing on his mind.

That whole day Zen read and signed what it seemed like a thousand documents and files. The only thought which comforted him was of Shirayuki. After about a hundred hours (for Zen, for Kiki AND Mitsuhide it was a normal busy day) He finally headed towards Shirayuki's room for the preparation.

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Hmmm….not bad at all. I'm quite sure Shirayuki's gonna be pleased. Now all I have to do is wait for Shirayuki.

Meanwhile in Shirayuki's workplace ..

"Shirayuki that is more than enough for today. You may take your leave now its already quite late" those were the words of the twelve year old Ryu who was still reading books about Mediterranean plants. "Thankyou Ryu. So I'll be off then good night Ryu"the red haired court apprentice herbalist said.

Well quite late would be an understatement seeing that it was already nearly midnight. But Shirayuki didn't mind at all. After all she was a herbalist it was her duty to fulfill all of her work religiously. She entered her room looking forward to her comfortable bed so that she can have a good night rest. However Shirayuki doesn't know that there is someone who is already waiting for her …