Nagisa stared intently at the portrait of the boy that was sitting in front of her. He looked funny. He had a very round face, she thought; his eyes were such a bright blue. His mousy brown hair framed his grinning face. The boy looked very happy, Nagisa thought. As she studied him, she decided that she would like to play with him some time soon.
The little girl turned and looked at her mother, who was kneeling behind her, watching her only daughter lovingly. Her mother was a little sad, but she smiled nonetheless. Just looking at the boy in the portrait made her think of the future and what was going to happen to her tiny ray of sunlight of a daughter. She didn't have to let her go yet, though. The young woman smiled at Nagisa.
"What is it, my darling?" she asked.
"Can I play with this boy, mama?" responded Nagisa, crawling into her mother's lap. "He looks funny. I think I'd like to play with him."
"I'm afraid not, Nagisa. This little boy lives far away, and I don't think we will be able to meet him for a long time. You'll be able to meet him one day though, I'm sure."
"Oh," replied Nagisa, her face falling momentarily. But she was a bright little toddler. Almost as fast as her mood had fallen, she perked back up again, smiling widely as she gazed at her mother's face. "What's his name?"
"He's a prince from a big country, just like you're a princess! His name is Youhei Sunohara. I'm sure he asked about your name, too!"
"Really? So he wants to play with me as well?"
"Oh, yes. I'm positive he does." Sanae lightly touched a hand to her daughter's head, pushing back her hair slightly. "Your head is still warm. You need to get back to bed, my darling."
"But mama, I feel fine..." Nagisa said, burying her face into her mother's chest. "I don't wanna go back to bed..."
"You must. You want to grow up to be a big, strong princess, don't you? That won't happen if you don't get better!"
Nagisa sniffled and didn't respond. After a few seconds, Sanae gently lifted her up into her arms and turned to walk out of the room, taking one last glance at the boy in the painting. Youhei Sunohara. Her daughter's future husband. She shook her head and nodded to the maid who pulled the door open for her.
"I can take the princess back to her room if you'd like, Your Highness," offered the maid.
"No thank you, I'm alright for now," said Sanae with a smile. Nagisa's room wasn't far away, but even so, by the time her mother had laid her back down on her bed, she was sound asleep.
Akio set down a new portrait next to the one from five years earlier. It had been a long time since the Furukawa family had last been contacted by the Sunohara family. He glared at the boy in the portrait. He had met neither him nor his parents, yet he hated him already. Maybe it was the prospect of his precious daughter being taken away from him some day in the future. She was worth so, so much to him.
"Honey, is it ready?" Sanae called from just outside the room. She was hand-in-hand with Nagisa.
"Yeah. Come on in."
Sanae led Nagisa into the small room, where at one end, two paintings were positioned. Eight-year-old Nagisa tilted her head as she looked between the two boys in the paintings. "Are they the same person?"
"That's right. Those two are both the same boys," replied Sanae quietly.
Youhei Sunohara looked essentially the same as he did in the first painting. His brown hair was slightly darker than it used to be, and ever so slightly longer, but it was in the same style as the first one. His eyes were still that bright, bright blue, and he was still grinning. Even his face was still baby-like.
"He looks very friendly," commented Nagisa. But really, that was all she had to say.
"Do you like the look of him?" asked Akio tentatively.
"Yes, of course! I think he looks like a very nice person. That's why he seems friendly," Nagisa said, looking up at her father with a smile.
"I see," said Akio indifferently. He looked back at the painting. "What do you think, Sanae?"
"I think he looks like a very nice... friend... for Nagisa," Sanae said hesitantly.
Nagisa looked at her parents in confusion. They were acting quite strangely today, it seemed.
The maid girl was laughing as Nagisa ran around the garden with her. They were both barefoot, skipping on the soft, dry, green grass of the summer. The girl had dark purple, even blue-ish hair, some of it tied into two bunches at the top sides of her head. She and the younger, silver-haired girl watching by the sidelines both wore the same creamy white coloured dress uniform that hung heavy from their bodies. The running girl didn't seem to mind.
"Nagisa! That's enough playing for now. It's time for Ichinose and Sakagami to go back to classes, anyway," called Sanae from the steps of the huge palace.
The girls stopped running and Nagisa frowned. Generally, though, Nagisa didn't throw temper tantrums. Especially not at her age. She turned and smiled at the purple-haired girl. "I have to go now. I hope you and Sakagami-san enjoy your classes. See you later, Kotomi-chan!"
Kotomi nodded and walked over to the younger girl, taking her hand to lead her across the gardens towards a building on the opposite side of a path of cherry blossom trees. Nagisa skipped over to where her mother was standing, waiting patiently for her.
"What is it, mom?"
"Well, another painting of the boy has arrived. And your father and I have something important to talk to you about."
Thirteen-year-old Nagisa knew exactly who her mother was referring to as 'the boy'. She had sat in the little room studying him at random occasions for many years now. She often wondered why he was so important, why she didn't get to be friends with any other princes, and why her parents seemed to get so pensive whenever the boy was talked about across the years. She let her mother lead her into the house and back into the little room.
Youhei Sunohara looked a little different this time, but only for one reason. His hair was no longer a mousy brown but a bright blonde. Other than that he looked largely the same, only older. Another thing Nagisa noted was that he didn't have as much of a grin this time. He was merely smiling. Despite this, he still looked happy.
The family stood staring at the painting in silence this time. Nagisa wasn't entirely sure what was happening. She waited for a while, and then decided it was time she spoke up. "You wanted to talk to me about something, mom?"
"Oh, yes. Of course," her mother said quickly, almost as if she was snapping out of a trance. "Akio! How about you do the honours?"
"What?! Sanae, why me? You know I'm not good at this kind of thing-"
"Remember what you said about my attempt at baking last week?" Sanae interrupted brightly.
Akio coughed slightly, raising a hand to rub the back of his neck. He had insulted the food Sanae had tried to help the Cook to bake, and she had run off crying. When he thought about it, he figured he probably should do something to make up for it. If this had to be what that was, then he had to do it.
"Well, Nagisa, you see..." Akio began. He paused to think about what he was supposed to say. "This boy is not just supposed to be a friend of yours."
"Sunohara's not supposed to be my friend?" Nagisa repeated, confused.
"W-well, not exactly. He's more of a... let's see... well, he's supposed to be how I am to your mother, to you."
Nagisa narrowed her eyes, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. "But dad, you and mom are married and in love, aren't you?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Well, yes, my darling... that's kind of what your father means," said Sanae hesitantly.
"Oh." Nagisa turned to look at the painting of the young prince. "But... I'm not in love with Sunohara."
"You don't really know that, my darling. You've never even met him," Sanae said.
"Well, I suppose so..." Nagisa responded unsurely, looking back at her parents. "When will I get to meet him, then?"
"We've arranged to visit them in four years' time. We think that would be best for you," Akio said.
"When I'm seventeen? That's an awfully long time away."
"Yes, honey. But it's okay, don't worry. The time will go by fast," Sanae assured her with a smile.
Nagisa grinned back, but her smile wasn't truly genuine. She didn't want the time to go fast. She wanted all the time in the world to go by before she had to meet her future husband.