Devotion
by
Nana
Chapter 1
Hime
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Author's Note: What happens when you throw in fatigue, a nasty bout of flu and a killer exam gone wrong? Why, the creation of a fanfic, of course!
The story will probably occur in the Sengoku Jidai--sort of like a mini AU-- and guess whose story this will be??! Please Read and Review!
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The girl made it safely to the crowded market place in the heart of the small town, scarcely believing her luck.
There was always a first time for everything, she thought. Only, who would have believed it possible that everything she had done in the past hour was an unprecedented string of first-time events that were unlikely to happen again if she were to get caught?
And get caught she will, in the end. She was sure of it.
With a touch of guilt, she wondered briefly what was going on in the daimyo's palace right now.
Pandemonium? Most likely.
How long would the ladies leave her room alone? How long before they would begin to wonder at the silence in the Hime's quarters? And how long before they entered to find it empty?
More importantly, how long before the alarm could be sounded?
Well, it would serve them right, she thought grimly.
Only, her impulsive action to get away from it all would damage whatever fragile bond her father had been trying to cultivate with the daimyo. This escape was a breach of confidence--a most deplorable proof of a diplomatic error.
It had all the makings of a disaster waiting to happen, but at this point the girl could not possibly care less.
It had been a shock today to discover that this trip--supposedly a treat, as the Hime rarely had the opportunity to travel--had served dual purposes. Apart from a chance to see this end of the country with its scenic mountains on one end and the vast expanse of the ocean on another, the Hime had been aghast when one of the ladies attending to her finally leaked out the awful news.
This trip to visit the daimyo--a close friend of her father--had been nothing more than a wedding arrangement.
A wedding arrangement, of all things!
She was going to be given away! It was just too much!
But her father had no choice, whispered her attendant in a comforting voice. After all, he was only thinking of her future when he promised her away…
To add to this was the appalling, vague description of her intended. Based on what she had heard, the character of the daimyo's son was not something she found appealing.
Shady, inconsistent and definitely unsavory, a cad by all accounts--a shameless womanizer!--just the mere thought of meeting such a creature was enough to make the Hime grow faint.
So of course she had to do something.
And so it was when the ladies left her alone to collect herself that a thought occurred to her…
The windows were wide open, and there, not far from the pool of water lilies in the vast garden of the daimyo's estate, was the gate leading…outside.
Outside…
She had never been outside. At least, not on her own…what would it be like to be out there and be one's own mistress?
At any rate, it was either that or the prospect of meeting the faceless, loathsome creature that she would be forced to marry…
In the end, there was really not much choice.
****************************
Daimyo-warlord
by
Nana
Chapter 1
Hime
***************************
Author's Note: What happens when you throw in fatigue, a nasty bout of flu and a killer exam gone wrong? Why, the creation of a fanfic, of course!
The story will probably occur in the Sengoku Jidai--sort of like a mini AU-- and guess whose story this will be??! Please Read and Review!
*************************
The girl made it safely to the crowded market place in the heart of the small town, scarcely believing her luck.
There was always a first time for everything, she thought. Only, who would have believed it possible that everything she had done in the past hour was an unprecedented string of first-time events that were unlikely to happen again if she were to get caught?
And get caught she will, in the end. She was sure of it.
With a touch of guilt, she wondered briefly what was going on in the daimyo's palace right now.
Pandemonium? Most likely.
How long would the ladies leave her room alone? How long before they would begin to wonder at the silence in the Hime's quarters? And how long before they entered to find it empty?
More importantly, how long before the alarm could be sounded?
Well, it would serve them right, she thought grimly.
Only, her impulsive action to get away from it all would damage whatever fragile bond her father had been trying to cultivate with the daimyo. This escape was a breach of confidence--a most deplorable proof of a diplomatic error.
It had all the makings of a disaster waiting to happen, but at this point the girl could not possibly care less.
It had been a shock today to discover that this trip--supposedly a treat, as the Hime rarely had the opportunity to travel--had served dual purposes. Apart from a chance to see this end of the country with its scenic mountains on one end and the vast expanse of the ocean on another, the Hime had been aghast when one of the ladies attending to her finally leaked out the awful news.
This trip to visit the daimyo--a close friend of her father--had been nothing more than a wedding arrangement.
A wedding arrangement, of all things!
She was going to be given away! It was just too much!
But her father had no choice, whispered her attendant in a comforting voice. After all, he was only thinking of her future when he promised her away…
To add to this was the appalling, vague description of her intended. Based on what she had heard, the character of the daimyo's son was not something she found appealing.
Shady, inconsistent and definitely unsavory, a cad by all accounts--a shameless womanizer!--just the mere thought of meeting such a creature was enough to make the Hime grow faint.
So of course she had to do something.
And so it was when the ladies left her alone to collect herself that a thought occurred to her…
The windows were wide open, and there, not far from the pool of water lilies in the vast garden of the daimyo's estate, was the gate leading…outside.
Outside…
She had never been outside. At least, not on her own…what would it be like to be out there and be one's own mistress?
At any rate, it was either that or the prospect of meeting the faceless, loathsome creature that she would be forced to marry…
In the end, there was really not much choice.
****************************
Daimyo-warlord