Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, if I did, I wouldn't really be writing fan fiction on here, now would I?
Chapter 1: Alliances
Kunimitsu, or as his friends knew him, Tezuka, hated being a prince. It was too much effort, really. He had to make sure his kingdom was well protected, especially when his father, King Nanjiroh, was too lazy to take care of himself. His younger brother, Ryoma, wasn't as lazy as their father, but he didn't care as much as Tezuka did, which made him less willing to help run the country, Seidonku.
And right now it was in desperate need of looking after. They were at war against the kingdom that sat across Large Lake, Satrudolph. The new king, King Mizuki, wasn't very well liked, even by his own people. But no one cared about that. Well, no one except Tezuka. So Tezuka took it on himself to go to war against Satrudolph. Unfortunately, neither of Seidonku's neighbours wanted to help them in their fight. There were six kingdoms all together, spread around across the lake, only separated on the northern side by the Rokanan Forest, who didn't belong to anyone, because it was said to be haunted. On one side of the forest sat Satrudolph, while on the other sat the kingdom of Rikinlai. Next to Rikinlai sat Hiyonten, and then next to that sat Seidonku. On the other side of Seidonku sat Fudomlin, and then between Fudomlin and Satrudolph sat Yamakibun. The only kingdom who even thought about helping Seidonku in their ploy against Satrudolph were Fudomlin. And it came at a price.
Tezuka would have to marry the king's younger sister.
King Tachibana was only slightly older then Tezuka, having become a king at a young age, and his younger sister, Princess Ann, was his pride and joy. Nothing but the best for his sister, and Tachibana considered Tezuka the best. Even though he wasn't king yet, he ruled in his father's place, and Seidonku prospered.
That was why King Mizuki wanted it for himself.
"You're highness?" came a voice, and Tezuka turned around in his chair, to find his head guard, Shuichiro Oishi, standing in the doorway, watching him.
"Oishi, what is it?" he asked, a sigh escaping his lips.
"King Tachibana and Princess Ann have arrived," he announced solemnly. He knew how much his friend hated the idea of an arranged marriage, but Tezuka had never really been fond of anyone, so it didn't surprise him that the prince agreed to it so readily.
"Very well, Oishi. Send them in," he said, turning back to the letter he was writing to his cousin.
Moments passed before another knock was heard on the door. This time, Tezuka stood, waiting for the visitors, as Oishi opened the door yet again.
"Announcing King Tachibana of Fudomlin, and his sister, Princess Ann," he said courtly, as the two walked into the room. The male looked around the study with a curios eye, his dark hair sitting almost roughly on his head. His smile seemed genuine, as it always had to Tezuka every time the two had met.
Next to him stood a small girl, the smile on her face seemingly plastered there. Her eyes were warm, but seemed to look straight through Tezuka as she watched him. He brown hair fell slightly to her white clad shoulders, and her slim frame gave much to the imagination.
But to his own dismay, it did nothing for Tezuka's. Even this beautiful girl could not sway his cold heart.
"Your majesty," Tezuka said, bowing slightly. Tachibana returned the bow, before grasping his old friend in a hug.
"Too long has it been, Tezuka," he said, pulling away, and Tezuka nodded. It had been too long.
Tezuka ordered Oishi to send up a servant with food, before offering seats to both the king and the princess.
"Now, about Satrudolph..." started Tezuka, and Tachibana sighed.
"Tezuka, you know better than anyone of Fudomlin's problems with Yamakibun," Tachibana said with a sigh. "I'm just not sure we can spare the men to help fight against Satrudolph aswell as Yamakibun."
"But Hiyonten is refusing to help. That king of theirs is much to wound up in himself to care about other's well being. And Rikinlai is under threat from Satrudolph themselves, being closer to them than the rest of us."
"I understand, Prince Tezuka. And I've said it before; the only way I can see how we can help you is if we are given proof of your alliance."
Tezuka sighed, his eyes turning back to the princess. All his life, he'd had to give up his own comforts to allow for his father's kingdom to prosper. Why was now any different? It wasn't like he loved another. The only people in the world that he even remotely loved were his brother, his father and Oishi, and only because they were the closest to him, Oishi being like a brother himself.
Finally reaching his decision, Tezuka nodded, standing.
"You've said what you want," Tezuka said aloud, and Tachibana nodded. "Do you agree, your highness?" he asked, turning to the princess. The young girl bit her bottom lip in such an endearing way that Tezuka almost had to chuckle, before slowly nodding her head. Tezuka sighed, before nodding.
"It is done then."
Tachibana and his sister left not long after, Princess Ann falling behind her brother in what looked to be a slump. Tezuka sighed, falling back into his chair. This wasn't what he wanted. Surely there had to be some other way to get Satrudolph to stop this silly fighting.
"Your highness?" came a voice, and Tezuka turned around to find Oishi in the doorway.
"Oishi. They are safely housed?"
"Of course. In the Western rooms."
"Thank you. You may retire," he said, turning back to his desk. When he realised his head guard was not leaving, he turned around to see him watching him. "Oishi?"
"Must you marry her?" his guard asked, looking at Tezuka with such a sorrowful look.
"You know I must, Oishi. It is what's best for the land."
"But you do not love her."
"Nor do I love anyone else. Not in the way you say, anyway. I do not know what love is; yet I know that when I look at the princess, all I feel is brotherly affection like I feel for you and Ryoma."
Oishi nodded, secretly pleased that his master would refer to him on the same line as the younger prince.
"Your highness... If there was another way to secure the war against Satrudolph..."
"There isn't, Oishi."
"But if there was?"
Tezuka sighed, turning back to the letter to his cousin, the king of Rikinlai. Even he would not help them.
"I still need a good alliance with Fudomlin, Oishi," he said, not looking back at his guard.
"What if you could have both?"
Tezuka stood, looking his guard in the eyes.
"Enough. Your romantic notions are fine for stable boys and kitchen girls, and even knights such as yourself. Kings do not marry for love. We marry for allies. It's the way it is."
"Your cousin didn't..." Oishi hissed under his breath, causing Tezuka to slap him. Oishi recoiled, looking his prince in the eye.
"Don't you dare speak of my cousin like that! Yes, he married for love, and that's exactly why Satrudolph is going after him aswell as us!" Tezuka watched as his guard raised a hand to his face, a red mark growing there. Tezuka turned away, not wanting to look at his guard. "I apologise. Please leave," he muttered under his breath, and didn't look up as the door finally closed. He sighed. He hated it when he got mad. It was something that very rarely happened, especially when it came to his guards and servants. The people he most often got mad at were his father and brother, and even that was a rare occasion.
But his cousin was a sore subject. His cousin had married the only child of the previous King of Rikinlai, much to the disgust of everyone, including his own father, and King Nanjiroh. Everyone had opposed the marriage for one simple reason.
Seiichi Yukimura was a man.
Yukimura was the eldest son of the old king of Rikinlai. Tezuka's cousin, Prince Genichirou Sanada, had journeyed to Rikinlai on a peace mission between Seidonku and Rikinlai, because of the problems with Satrudolph. It had worked; a little too well. Sanada fell in love with Yukimura, and his father allowed them to marry, even though they were both male. It was common place in these times, though still frowned upon.
Tezuka didn't care. Tezuka was happy his cousin had found happiness, even if it was far away. The problem was, when Sanada became king (Yukimura wasn't king material, everyone called him the 'queen') he tended to forget his Seidonku heritage. He kept his word, keeping the alliance with Seidonku, but it put a toll on him to choose between his family and the man he loved.
Tezuka sighed. It would be easier if Sanada could send troops of his own to help them, but that would put Rikinlai in trouble. Why did it have to be so hard?
Oishi walked away from Tezuka's room. There had to be something he could do for his long time friend. Something more than just sit there and watch him give his happiness away. But who could he turn to? His knights would be no help; they were good men, but they could not help him in matters concerning the kingdom...
Then it hit him.
The king's chief advisor could help them. If anyone knew a way around the problem, it would definitely be Sadaharu Inui. He was smart, initiative, and one of the most trusted people in the kingdom. He made his way down to the library, where he was sure to find the advisor in one of his back rooms, working on some new concoction of his.
The doors to the library swung open easily, and Oishi made his way through the lines of books. The Seidonku Crown Library was one of the best libraries in the world, and scholars came from all over to read there. It was often filled with scholars learning new things, but with the snow from the winter closing the path towards Hiyonten, less people have been coming over.
"Mr. Oishi?" came a cold voice, and Oishi turned to see the advisor standing there. He was tall; taller than the prince himself, and his face was almost colder then the prince's. He wore square spectacles, mirrored lenses so people couldn't see the emotion in his bright green eyes. His dark hair was always messy, not caring what others thought of him, and he always watched you like he could read even your deepest darkest secrets.
"Inui! Can I talk to you?" Oishi asked.
"Of course. What is it you had in mind?" Inui replied, leading the way back to his study, situated in the back of library. As they entered, Oishi sat down in a comfy chair, while Inui sat in his normal stool, looking over his books.
"It's about the prince. You've heard, no doubt, about the arranged marriage..."
"Between him and Princess Ann, yes, I've heard," Inui informed him, shuffling through the papers.
"Then have you heard of the reluctance of both sides?" Oishi tried again, and Inui nodded his head.
"I am aware of his highness' reluctance, but it is his decision. His father would not force it upon him."
"But he's only doing this to save Seidonku!"
Inui sighed, standing, before heading to a shelf, and pulling down a book. He handed it to Oishi, who took it with a questioning glance. "You want to find a way to save Seidonku without forcing His highness to marry the princess, yes?"
Oishi nodded.
"This is the answer. This book records my time in the Rokanan forest. You will find what you need in there."
"But..."
Inui shook his head. "This is the only way."
"Wow, Inui really has been everywhere!" shouted an amazed boy sitting across the table from Oishi. Oishi sat in his quarters with his three knights, Takeshi Momoshiro, Takashi Kawamura, and Choutarou Ootori. Together they were reading over Inui's account of the Rokanan forest.
"But I still don't see what this has to do with us..." asked the silver haired Ootori. He was the youngest of the four, and not the best knight. But Oishi had trained with all three of them since they were young, and they were as close as four friends could get.
"Isn't it obvious, Ootori? We need to go to the Rokanan forest to find something!" yelled the spiky haired man next to him. The energetic yet kind Takeshi Momoshiro, or Momo to friends, jumped up and down in his seat. "It's been forever since we went on a mission!"
"Calm down, Momo. We don't even know why Inui gave us the book yet," said the fourth and last knight of the group, the brown haired Takashi, or Taka as he was known to friends.
"O.k., guys, calm down. Let's continue reading, ok?" Oishi asked, and the other three nodded. Oishi turned the page, to find the next page had a title.
The Lost Princess
"The lost princess?" asked Ootori, looking down at the page.
"Who's that?" asked Momo.
"I've never heard of her," replied Taka, as Oishi began to read again
Tuesday, 21st day of my journey from Rikinlai to Rokanan Forest
Saeki seems to believe that there's a lost princess in the village on the edge of the forest, before the mountain. He told me the story of how the princess' great great grandfather was the king of Satrudolph, from the old Fuji clan. Apparently, the people in the village and those in the surrounding forest are all from either Satrudolph or Rikinlai, and the ones from Satrudolph are all part of the royal line. But then Mizuki's ancestor killed the king, and his descendants fled to the forest. Most were killed, or died off over the years. But when Mizuki's father found out that there were still some living in the forest, he sent out his son to kill him. But Mizuki didn't kill him. I'm not sure of exactly what happened, because Saeki was young at the time, and doesn't remember all the details. But from what I could gather, Mizuki would kill the brother and sister. He captured the brother, and sealed the sister in the tower at the village, vowing that no one could capture her.
I checked it out. It is quite impossible that the spell cannot be broken. There is always an exception to every spell. I will look into it further, maybe speak to Saeki about it more...
"That's it?!" asked Momo, grabbing the book from Oishi's hand.
"After that, it tells of the journey out of the Rokanan forest," Oishi replied, carefully taking the book back from Momo's hand.
"I don't get it," said Taka, scratching his head. "How is that supposed save Seidonku from Satrudolph?"
Momo promptly hit him on the head. "That's obvious! It's... well, it's..."
"Because the princess and her brother are the rightful rulers of Satrudolph," explained Ootori, and the other two looked at him surprised.
"Wow, Ootori, you're smart," muttered Momo, and Taka nodded his agreement. Ootori blushed, causing Oishi to chuckle at his friends.
"But wait, doesn't that mean we have to go find the lost princess?" asked Momo, and Oishi nodded.
"We should probably find this Saeki person, in the Rokanan forest. He seems to know a lot," replied Oishi, and the others nodded.
"So we have to go to the Rokanan forest?" asked Ootori, his voice shaking. The rumours about the Rokanan forest were not pretty.
"Don't worry, Ootori," said Momo, placing a calming hand on his friend's shoulder. "We'll protect you!"
"Some how that doesn't comfort me..." Ootori muttered, not looking up into Momo's face.
"I'm not asking you all to come," reminded Oishi. "I'll be going, it's your choice to come with me."
"I have to come," replied Momo, smiling. "You'd get lost without me."
"More like he'll get lost with you," Taka muttered, causing Momo to glare at him. "I'll come, to keep Momo in line. Besides, there's absolutely no way I'm being left behind."
They turned to Ootori, who seemed to have found a fascination with the table.
"You don't have to, Ootori," Oishi said again, and Ootori looked up at him, before turning to the other two.
"No way am I being left here. Besides, whose gonna get you through Hiyonten otherwise?"
"I guess we're just lucky you were born there, then," muttered Momo, rolling his eyes at Taka, who chuckled. Ootori turned to glare at them, as Oishi laughed.
"Alright then, let's get going!"
AN: Well, there you go! The first chapter of my first POT story! I keep starting to write them, but this is the first one I've actually, you know, gotten anywhere with. Also it's the first one the plot is actually forming in my head, so it will be long! Yay! Please R&R? I'll be your friend!