Chapter 1
The Leak of Death
Rin's POV:
I sat at the royal dining table, moving my fork of food to my mouth only occasionally. Angry tears streamed silently down my cheeks as I attempted to eat my dinner, blurring my vision. Only my royal head maid, Luka, had noticed my tears.
"Your highness, what would be troubling you today?" Luka asked me politely while curtsying down low to the ground.
"Luka, I requested you to address me by my own name. 'Your highness' is much too formal for your level in the kingdom. And I have tried to remind you time and time again-I dislike people curtsying and bowing to me when asking such simple questions. It annoys me, Luka." I managed to spit out some words through my silent tears.
"Yes, Rin. If you wish," Luka replied immediately, stressing my name. "What is troubling you today, Rin?" Luka stood up from her curtsy promptly.
"I have heard news of my father's recent condition." I sniffled quietly.
"Ah, yes?" Luka was pretending, obviously. Nobody could lie to me.
"What do you know about this?" I questioned Luka gently.
"He's-I've heard... I..." Luka stammered, uncertain of what to say.
"Is he well? How is he doing? Is he recovered now from his illness?" I inquired Luka, concerned.
"I-uh...Well... he's..." She still couldn't complete half a sentence.
"Yes?" I waited patiently for an answer from Luka.
"He's not suffering...Your father has been better these days..." Luka rubbed her forehead nervously, unsure of how to respond.
A common maid walked by my dinner seat and blurted out the obvious news. "He's dead," she said plainly, unsurprised and bored by the news, strutting swiftly away.
Luka seemed to find her lost voice then. "Is that what was troubling you?"
"What?" I asked Luka again.
"You father has passed-is that what you were mourning over?" she wondered aloud to me, seeming to ponder the thought.
"No." I firmly replied to Luka, my tears finally having dissipated, replaced by seriousness.
"Then...what..." Luka sounded confused.
"I am angry. I am crying upset tears, not tears of grief for my father's unfortunate demise."
Luka didn't respond to my statement, but just stood there instead and continued to wait for me to continue speaking, paying attention to me.
"I know my father has been assassinated by the neighboring kingdom. Have us meet with them tomorrow, Luka. Arrange a ship for me. I will speak to the ruler's messenger. I do not wish to meet the ruler who so plainly killed my father, or gave orders to do so."
"Yes, Rin. It appears that the information of your father's death has leaked out, reaching you. I assume that we will be holding the funeral after we return?"
"Yes. We shall stay on the mainland for one week to settle this problem. And please inform the mainland of my arrival in advance."
Luka also worked as my cook, my assistance lady, my chaperone, and my guardian as well when my father went away on a trip for business. Now that I had lost my father to death, Luka now posed as a kind of guardian to me.
"And, Luka?"
"Yes?"
"What is the name of the ruler of the mainland bay?"
"Len Kagamine, Rin."
"Thank you, Luka. You may go now." I promptly dismissed her with a wave of my right hand.
Luka rushed swiftly away, her pink hair trailing behind her as she went. I left the table, which still had full dishes of food on it and my half-eaten meal,ordered a maid to clean it up, then walked to my quarters all by myself. I usually had an escort who walked me around the castle, but he had to attend to preparing my ship for today.
I dressed myself after taking a bath by myself, as Luka still had to help organize my trip, and slid into my covers in my bed. I gazed at the ceiling before drifting off into a dreamless sleep. Not only would I meet with the ruler's messenger, but I would pay a little secret visit to the ruler as well.
"Rin! We must depart early! The trip will take several hours, and we shall arrive by afternoon!"
My eyes popped open, and I yanked myself out of bed, letting Luka dress me for my journey. Before I knew it, I had boarded the ship and bid farewell to all the nice commoners in my kingdom. Kindness and politeness existed as the commoners' main morals. I loved my people.
Our ship set off towards the mainland, soon leaving behind the vast shore of my kingdom island. It disappeared from sight altogether later on, signaling that we had been moving rather quickly. The ship had been designed by one of my best engineers, containing advanced, new, never-before-seen mechanical parts, allowing it to run on steam. Marvelous was the word to describe my engineer and his designs.
Time skip
I stepped easily off the ship onto the mainland docks. The town had no bustling and busy crowds, but citizens walked about the area, enjoying themselves amongst each other. I scanned the large docks for the mainland bay ruler's right-hand man. His close friend, assistant, and a partner who almost was a brother to the ruler. Rei Kagene.
A flash of amber caught my eyes, and I turned to find the bearer of that color. I found myself staring into the golden-amber eyes of the most handsome boy I had ever seen. Black hair, a tall figure, and a warm smile instantly made my heart flutter. He wore simple clothes that looked like they were peasants' garments, but he clearly looked like he was comfortable in them. For a moment, I had forgotten why I had been standing where I was.
I snapped myself back to reality suddenly and tried to stop myself from ogling the boy, tearing my gaze away only to have it later return to him every time. Luka noticed I had been acting strange and asked me if I was feeling well. I dismissed her question with a simple nod and turned back to look at the boy, but only, this time, he was inches away from me. I could smell him and hear him breathe.
I yelped like a little girl and jumped away, getting a minor heart attack. I clutched my chest tightly and took a deep breath.
I regained my composture and stepped confidently towards the charming boy. I stood a few inches shorter than him, and he had the sweet and rather pleasant smell of vanilla lingering around him, for some strange reason.
The boy spoke aloud to me in a kind, gentle voice. "Are you Rin Kagamine?"
"Yes." My one word trembled from my nervousness.
"May I call you...Rin?" he bowed down low to me respectfully as he spoke, keeping his eyes trained on me.
"Yes. No need to bow," I added quickly. I tried to pull him up from his bow.
He held my hand and planted a quick kiss on it, looking up at me to see my reaction. The boy smiled warmly at me. "Of course," he continued as he stood up again.
"And would you be Rei Kagene?"
"Yes, I would be him. At your service as my ruler's right hand man, close friend, and partner, Rin."
"Will you show me where I am to stay for the night, Rei?"
"Yes, Rin. I will lead you. And as for your chaperone here, she can stay in the town's hotel here, free of charge." Rei gestured to an extravagant building situated in the center of a large plot of land, with beautiful gardens and lush greenery. Luka wouldn't be able to refuse some time off. I nodded to Luka as she waited for my approval, and she waltzed away towards the hotel joyfully, leaving me to Rei.
"And follow me, Rin." Rei led me into the large gates of what seemed like a royal residence in the mainland bay kingdom.
"It's my ruler's castle," Rei explained briefly to me, leading me into the enormous castle.
I nodded, absorbing each piece of information he talked about, pointing out certain places in the castle for me to see as we strolled by.
"And my ruler's name is Len. He looks an awful lot like you. You both share the same hair color, surname, and eye color, as well as being similar heights. Len is a bit shorter than me, though. He's the same age as you, as well," Rei described to me upon arriving at my quarters' doors.
"Ah, we've arrived. These are to be your quarters, Rin." Rei opened the door to a fair-sized bedroom complete with furniture and a fireplace. There were a desk and a lamp in the corner of the room, five windows that allowed plenty of sunlight to stream into the room, a wardrobe space, and a bathroom fit for a princess, which, in this case, was me.
"The ruler wishes to meet with you tonight. Len says that although you are here on... terms of foreign affairs, he also would like all his guests to have a good time. I will be leaving now, Rin. I hope you find everything to fit your needs," Rei told me kindly. "And Rin."
I looked at Rei with an expression that told him I was listening.
"If you ever need anything, just call me and I'll be there." And with that, handsome Rei exited my room quickly, leaving me on my own. While I had some time, I would do a little exploring. I changed into a different set of garments meant for trekking, and left my quarters to see the castle.
Or, it was more of me going to my balcony and climbing off of it. I stepped very carefully onto the surprisingly firm roof and minutes later, I had jumped safely all the way down to the ground, which was when I noticed I was not alone.
Short chapter-sorry! I hope you enjoyed this so far! It'll be a competition: Rei against Len for Rin! That was Chapter 1. I'm planning on 8 chapters tops for this.
