Zen sat at his desk. He stared beyond the window, gazing at the sun as it rose. Once again, it seemed as though he had spent the entire night in his office doing work, getting not a wink of sleep. As he looked harder and harder at the sunrise, he notice the red hue. His mind drifted to where it usually went in this sleep-deprived state. Shirayuki, and her absence.
So many times did he dream of her still being here. After all these years, he still did not know the reason she ran. Or where she even went. It had been a strong 7-ish years. She should be about 25 by now, Zen himself being 26.
It had hurt quite dreadfully. He remembered that just a few days before they had rescued her from the claw of the sea. That night, they had become one. A few days after their return, Shirayuki had disappeared. All that was left of her being was the scent she always carried, one of flowers. And one note.
Dear Zen,
I am sorry for my actions to come. I regret that I had to do this, but my final words are goodbye. It would be best if I call you by the name I always should have. I love you, Prince.
Shirayuki
With that, she was gone. Mitsuhide and Kiki worried for him. He hadn't come out of his room for days. After a month of doing basically no work or anything else really, he decided to just immerse himself in his duties. He wouldn't spare a single more thought on his apple that broke his heart.
Zen wasn't completely heartless now. He still joked with anyone. But those who knew him well enough, knew not to mention Shirayuki or anything in his love life. At least for a while. After the first year was over, Zen's brother, now king, had started pestering him again for a wife. As usual, Zen declined.
Zen got up from his desk, moving tiredly towards the door. When he opened it, there was Kiki. She looked as if she had been about to open the door.
"Good morning, Kiki." Zen began
"Morning to you. Although it looks as if you didn't sleep again. Sucks for you." She spoke with no emotion as usual.
"And why is that? Is there something we have to do today?"
"Yes, we have to visit prince Raj for another greeting. You weren't in your room so I came to see if you were here. We are leaving soon."
Uh, great. Now Zen had to deal with Raj. Something had felt off about today. Now it made sense why he had a bad feeling.
Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki were walking through the shop ways in Tanbarun. They had just finished their meeting with Raj and were planning on leaving, but they wanted to get a look of the town. Zen sadly remembered that Shirayuki must have walked through these streets hundreds of times.
As Zen remembered this, he saw a fleeting glimpse of dark, rich blues. He whipped his head around, seeing it move just around a corner. It was an article of clothing or something that whizzed by, something much fancier than what was around the other street occupants. He called to Mitsuhide and Kiki to come with him as he went after it.
Zen and the rest finally caught up with the blue he had seen. It was a young girl. The clothing he had seen turned out to be a cloak on her body, one that reached just above her heels.. As she turned to look at Zen, he found that she looked quite similar to Shirayuki, in a strange, too close way.
Her eyes were a crystalight, royal blue. He knew he'd seen that color somewhere before, but couldn't depict it. She was not tall, maybe just higher than Zen's waist. The girl was wearing a Light, puffy shirt over top a black, cuffed one, going just to the short, knee length skirt that adorned her legging clad legs. She wore short, brown boots, her body surrounded by the blue cloak. The cloak's hood settled up over her head, a pink rose in hand. The clothing choice was of someone who ran around often, one who would not want constricting items or to be recognized. Almost like a bandit.
What is going on here?
"Akamori! Where did you go?" An all too familiar voice called out.
The girl turned her head to the other side of the alley. There, cloaked in a matching dark blue cloak was Shirayuki. She was wearing a light, almost white, dress with large, long, flat sleeves. Black leggings and arm cuffs underneath. She had black flats on and a brown bag on her shoulder. The cloak she wore was short, just reaching her waist, It's hood was pulled onto her head, hiding the red that should be there. The seams and ends of the cloak were adorned by golden pieces, making it seem of very high quality.
The girl looked overjoyed at seeing Shirayuki and sprinted to her. She was very fast, surprising Zen when she crashed into Shirayuki, maker the red-head's hood fall off. Her hair, while restrained, was much longer than he had ever seen it. The young girl smothered herself into Shirayuki's torso, giving the impression that she knew and loved Shirayuki very much.
"You worried me. I hadn't seen where you ran off to. You can't ever just stay where you're supposed to, can you? Always running around, jumping on and off of things." Shirayuki playfully admonished the small child, who was wrapped in a loose embrace.
"Shira...yuki?" Zen gasped.
Shirayuki's eyes went wide, as she turned her head and gaped. There, about 10 feet from her was Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki. Not good.
"Shirayuki. It is you." Zen froze.
After so many years, here she was. Yet, something wasn't right. Then, as the little girl in Shirayuki's arms spoke, Zen nearly fainted.
"Mommy? do you know them or something?"
