In a quiet part of town, a small blonde girl was playing all alone, her brown cape billowing and her eyes shining with the freedom she'd rarely had.
When the dying sun shone its red rays all over her, she pulled the hood of the cape over her head and started walking.
She was about to walk into the street when something gripped her arm and tugged her back hard, causing her to fall. A car whizzed by, only missing her hand by a few inches.
The girl turned around. Behind her, a slightly older girl held onto her arm.
"Thank you." She said quietly to her savior. Her savior smiled and walked away. The blonde girl wasn't done, though.
"What's your name?" She shouted to the retreating figure. The girl stopped.
"It's Nadeshiko-" She said without turning, her purple ponytail swinging as she started walking away, "-be safe now."
Rima's upper body shot out of her bed, eyes open wide. She'd been having this dream for the past week and it was unnerving. Just living through it once was bad enough.
After the incident, she had tried to find Nadeshiko with all means she had, and she had many as she was the king's daughter, but it had been futile. It was like the purple-haired girl had disappeared of the face of the earth.
Rima shifted the curtain on her four-poster bed and glanced at her clock. It read 5:45.Rima sighed but daintily slipped her feet over the side.
'Princesses must always rise early and quickly' she thought dully. Rima wondered wistfully what it would be like to wake up at nine o clock and stay in bed for another hour. She shook her head and repeated her morning mantra. Thinking about waking up late wouldn't make it come true.
A knock on the door disturbed her mantra.
"You may enter." Rima spoke softly. She hated how familiar it felt on her tongue.
The door opened to Rima's lady-in-waiting, Sheema. She closed the door as soon as she was in the room.
Almost robotically, Rima's arms rose so Sheema could remove her nightgown.
After Rima was dressed in appropriate breakfast attire, she walked gracefully to the dining hall.
Even though she had woken up earlier than her usual rising time, she still arrived to breakfast later than the queen.
Rima greeted her mother before carefully moved her chair out so it made no noise and she sat down.
"Where is Father?" she asked.
"Your father is still feeling unwell. Thankfully, Houshina-san is taking care of him." Rima shivered. Hoshina Kazoumi was the King's closest friend and he always gave her the creeps. On days where the King was unable to rule the country, Houshina-san would be acting king-
The door opened and broke her train of thought.
"Good morning Mother… Rima-chan." Rima's twin brother, Tadase spoke. Tadase was really the only person who was casual with Rima.
The blonde princess smiled at her brother and continued eating her wished everyone in the castle could be as laid-back as him.
After breakfast, Rima's normal Princess duties began. She learnt French and English. She learnt where North America was in the world, she even learnt how to put down a glass without making any noise.
Unlike normal, she was happy doing all her duties. While Rima was very polite princess, she did share her discontent with her brother sometimes. It really was her only way to vent.
When Rima returned to her room in the afternoon, she was smiling so much that she scared the prince.
"Why are you so happy?" Tadase asked. Rima shrugged.
"I just am." Rima replied with a grin, making him cringe away.
The truth was that today was the day she was going to sneak out of the castle, just for a little bit. She'd done it a few times ago and she loved visiting normal people and just feeling normal. She would be back before anyone looked into her room and all would be well.
"You have a boyfriend, don't you?" Tadase whispered loudly.
"Nah-" She shook her head slightly," I'm just going out today."
Tadase caught the meaning quickly and nodded.
"'Kay, have fun."
Rima draped her cape and rucksack on her back, tied one side of her bedsheet-rope to a bedpost and threw the rest out the window. She climbed down and Tadase pulled the rope back inside.
"Bye Rima-chan." Tadase whispered and waved. Rima returned the wave and walked off.
15 minutes and one scraped knee later, Rima had made it over the castle walls and was facing the start of a sunset.
A smile spread over her face and she ran as fast as she could towards the lights in the town.
She stopped outside a shop which caught her eye. It was small and cozy looking ramen shop with a colorful sign. She decided this would be her first stopover for the night.
Inside, the air felt warm and, unlike the castle, friendly. Most of the stools by the counter were full but found a free one next to a blonde-haired girl.
"What can I help you with?" A brown-haired man behind the bar asked.
"Whatever she's having, please…" She said, thinking quickly without forgetting her manners.
She sat in the vacant seat and a few moments when a bowl of piping hot noodles landed in front of her.
"Thank you." She picked up her chopsticks and stared at them, befuddled. How do you even use them?
She glanced at the blonde's hands and tried to hold her chopsticks the same way. She then attempted to grip a few strands of ramen in her quivering chopsticks. Needless to say, it was a failure.
She tried again… and again… and again…
The blonde laughed and Rima glared.
"That glare would've scared me if it wasn't from such a small person." Rima's scowl became more vicious and all elegance disappeared.
"Relax, princess-" Rima's narrowed eyes widened. Was she really so easy to see through? "-So what's your name, Chibi?"
So she hadn't known. Rima nearly sighed in relief.
"It's Mira." She replied shortly.
"Nice to meet you, Mira. I'm Hoshina Utau. You from around here?"
"No, this is the first time I've been here." And probably the last time too.
"I noticed." She said while eyeing the limp chopsticks in Rima's right hand.
"So I come from a fork family," Rima crossed her arms defensively,"I've never used these in my life."
"Don't worry. It takes time to master these. You want a hand?"
Yes, please. "No thanks. I'll work them out by myself."
Rima tried again and she managed to pull a strand all the way to her mouth. Rima shot a triumphant look at Utau.
"You'll be with those noodles all night."
Rima contradicted her by scooping a whole lot in between the sticks.
Ten minutes later, Rima had finished with her bowl. With another smug look at Utau, she left some money for the ramen on the counter.
Outside, night had set in. Rima dug out a flashlight from her bag and continued forward.
Suddenly, a sharp pain seized her leg. She turned the beam of light to shine on her leg.
A dart?
She flashed the beam upwards to see a dark figure grab her. She tried to fight them off but she was too dizzy.
Blackness took over.
I hope you enjoyed this first installment of Princess and the Kidnapper.
Please review if you like this... or if you don't...