Disclaimer: Kenshin's mine… mine, mine, mine! (Looks at angry mob surrounding her!) I mean NOT mine… (Geez! Whew!)
A/N:I am so sorry i hadn't noticed that my change scene format wasn't recognized. I'm glad that you still understood the story though!
SUMMARY:
Kaoru is the princess of the Kamiya kingdom, she is the only daughter of King Kamiya, her older brother is Aoshi but he stepped down from the role of being the next heir to the throne because he wanted to become a better swordsman than the legendary Battousai. Thus leaving the throne to her sister when she comes of age. What would happen if Battousai were to kidnap the princess?
CHAPTER TWO
"We've tried many times to escape it but we cannot prevent it from happening…" Aoshi trailed off not knowing how to comfort his younger sister. "Your birthday is coming in a few days and… well…" not knowing how to ease her sisters discomfort he continued to lay out the facts. "We've decided to let you marry Enishi." Although he did not approve of the lad, he had no choice for this was the only way they could prevent it from happening.
"What!" Kaoru looked at him incredulously. "But I do not love him, I have no intentions of marrying someone I do not love." Ever since she was young she had dreamt of who his prince charming would be. 'He'd have violet eyes that were mellow and…' her thoughts trailed off. 'She absolutely will not, shall not, could not marry someone she did not love. There was no way they were gonna force her.' She fumed at her thoughts.
Aoshi seeing the display of emotions on Kaoru's face, "It's for your own good, kao-chan."
Kaoru hearing her brother was snapped out of her thoughts. She felt her brother mellow even if he still maintained his icy façade; his eyes were showing his concern. Even with Aoshi's façade she knew that he would never let anything happen to to to her. They had this mutual understanding that only they could understand, even if he was always silent they always understood each other's pain. "Is there really no other way Aoshi?" she asked hoping to find another way to try to escape her situation.
Seeing her apparent discomfort, "No I believe there is no other way Kaoru. The oracle said that as soon as you come of age you would be faced with intense sorrow and misery. We're afraid that you may not be able to face it." He knew that his sister was a strong person and knew that she had the courage but…
"I can't see how marrying Enishi is going to solve our problems, the oracle said nothing about me marrying… him." She whined, trying to get out of her current situation.
"Kao-chan, we can't risk it not with Battousai lurking in the shadows. We thought that maybe if you married Enishi you would be safe in their kingdom." Aoshi said looking away from Kaoru, he couldn't bear to see his little sister in pain, he couldn't bear the thought of Enishi being her husband. But they had to do it, at least just for the mean time…
"You mean I'm going to stay at his kingdom? But I'm supposed to be the crowned princess, I don't understand Aoshi."
"After you marry Enishi, you will move to his palace temporarily, then when all's clear you will both move back here to the castle and proceed with your duties as the crowned princess and future queen of our kingdom." Aoshi replied.
"But I don't wanna leave you and daddy alone. I don't want to be married to someone I don't love. Besides, isn't it obvious that Enishi only wants to marry me so he could be king of our kingdom and so that he'd be able to corrupt all our fortune? I mean really Aoshi…" she looked at her brother as if he'd grown another head. She hoped that her reason would get through to the other.
Aoshi just kept his silence observing his sister and pondering upon her words. He knew it was true. Heck it was all true, but he also knew of the king's fears in losing his only daughter. She studied her for a while, her dark raven hair pulled up into a long ponytail, her sapphire eyes slightly covered by her bangs. Her face was angelic, she was the only one who could give life to the palace grounds. She looked more and more like their mother through the years.
At her brothers sudden silence, she found herself pondering on the fact that he was just thinking of what would be best for her own sake. She knew Aoshi would never lead her astray…. still… 'Would you really want to marry Enishi just to escape some stupid oracle? I mean really kaoru…' a little voice within her kept saying.
"Is there no other way Aoshi? Can't we fix this in another way? Onegai? There must be another way, there must be…" she trailed off, utterly confused. She raised her teary eyes only to face her brother's back to her.
Unable to bear Kaoru's pain, he turned to face the window. He sighed heavily, and stared at the stars in the sky. "Wakaranai kaoru, wakaranai." He whispered. He silently left the room, leaving kaoru to think about her current situation.
……………………………………….
"Here's your last assignment Battousai." Katsura handed him the black envelope. It would be his last assignment for the week.
"You are to kidnap the princess of the Kamiya kingdom and do whatever you please with her." Katsura said eyeing him thoroughly. "I trust it's as good as done?" he asked eyeing him again warily.
The man nodded, his bangs covering his eyes so that they couldn't see Them turn to molten amber. The man rose abruptly and strode to the door and closed it behind him.
……………………………………………….
'I have to do something fast or else I might not be able to escape.' Kaoru thought as she paced the room. She's been thinking of a way to get out of her particular position ever since Aoshi left her a few hours ago. ' I must think of a plan… but what!' she ran her fingers through her hair subconsciously. Just then, the ever-energetic Misao came bouncing in to announce that dinner was to be in a few hours. Misao was her best friend ever since they were kids, she became one of Kaoru's maidens as they grew up. And now more than ever she needed Misao to support her. She told Misao all that's happened from the oracle to her marriage to Enishi.
"Wait, so you're telling me that on the day you were born an oracle foretold that on the day that you would come of age you will be taken away from your family by someone or something and leave you to face great sorrow and pain?" Misao said slightly confused. Kaoru nodded.
"But what does that have to do with you marrying Enishi?"
"They think it will probably stop the oracle. If we get married and hide off to his kingdom for a year or so then maybe I can escape the oracle and come back here and rule the kingdom as the queen with Enishi by my side." Kaoru said bluntly. "I don't understand why they can't just let me make my own decisions!"
"So what are you gonna do? It's not like you can escape it by running away or something…" Misao started as she strode to the closet to help Kaoru get ready for dinner. Kaoru turned to face her best friend abruptly, a smile slowly spreading across her features.
"Misao that's it! You're a genius!" Kaoru said her eyes sparkling with the new hope.
"I am? I mean yeah I am… Now how exactly did I become a genius?" Misao asked unable to follow Kaoru's train of thought.
"I'll runaway so that they won't be worried about me and my stupid oracle. Then I'll come back when I'm mature enough to rule the kingdom as their queen. You could come with me and it would be like an adventure." Kaoru said excitedly.
"Oh! Okay…" then when Kaoru's words sank in she paled.
"Matte! NOOOOHH! This not a good idea kao-chan! We can't just leave the palace, what about your father, Aoshi… and besides we both know you don't runaway from your problems you face them." Misao said hurriedly trying to convince Kaoru the best way she could.
"You're right Misao but desperate people go to desperate measures, and right now Misao I'm pretty desperate. Now if you don't want to come to this adventure with me I don't care I just have to get out of here and fast. Besides you suggested it." Kaoru said stubbornly as she went to the closet and searched for a bag to pack her things in. She grabbed several of her training gi and pants together with her bokken she put her clothes in the bag and changed into a set of gi and pants. "So are you with me or not? Coz I'm not kidding Misao I really am going and no one can stop me." She said with such a conviction.
"Why can't I just keep my big mouth shut…" Misao muttered inwardly. "Alright! Alright! I'm in! Geez Kaoru give a girl a break will you? You know how I love adventures. It's what we've been dreaming of ever since we were kids. Besides I know the countryside better than you do. And at least I could find us somewhere decent to live in ok!" the younger girl sighed in defeat.
"Sugoii! We're going on a real adventure… hurry up Misao let's go before somebody spots us." Kaoru said anxious to get away from the castle as soon as possible.
"Kaoru? Shouldn't you at least leave a note or something? I mean your father and brother might get worried…"
"You really think I should? I… guess I could just leave a note…" she scribbled onto a paper. "Done. Now let's get going!"
"Ok Kao-chan no need to hurry we'll get out of here soon enough."
They walked out the door casually and through the gate with servants greeting them on their way. They wanted it to look like they were just gonna practice some of their techniques in the garden. Once they were out of sight they quickly ran to the nearest wall and climbed their way out.
"Remind me again why were climbin' a 30-foot wall? Why can't we just go out the gate?" Kaoru whined.
"Well princess it was your idea to have an adventure, and besides, when we go through the gate the guards will ask why we want to go you know they're guarding you tightly because of that stupid oracle." Misao told her as she climbed her way up but stopped when she felt a barrier.
"Kao-chan there's a barrier I can't seem to get through." Misao said as she tried to go over the wall.
"Oh no! I forgot about the barrier… Oh what are we gonna do now?" Kaoru said as she rested on a branch of a tree near the wall.
"Hey kao, remember that thing you used to do when we were kids and you wanted to get through somethin' what was that again? Maybe you could do that with this barrier." Misao asked thoughtfully.
"Oh yeah, Aoshi taught me that trick he said I just have to meditate and do this," Kaoru said as she tried to clear her mind of all thoughts and try to calm herself , she reached up to the barrier and as soon as she touched it her hand went through. "Hurry Misao, I can't keep this up for long!" Misao hurriedly climbed through the wall as kaoru followed suit.
"how do you do that?" Misao asked her friend.
"Do what?" Kaoru looked at her confused.
"You know ward off magical spells?" Misao asked utterly confused. She knew that her friend did not posses magical abilities or else she would have known since they were practically sisters.
"Oh that! Aoshi taught me how to ward off spells by meditating since they were afraid that the person the oracle mentioned would be a wizard. But that's practically all I can do." Kaoru answered casually. "Well come on, we've got an adventure to face!" Kaoru said as Misao tried to comprehend what her best friend explained. Then followed the princess as they both ran into the woods so as not to be seen by the guards, or anybody else for that matter.
…………………………………………………
Battousai watched the princess pace from one point to another in her room as he sat perched in a branch near her room. He stayed there ready to make his attack when another girl entered the room. He watched them in amusement as the girl tried in vain to stop the princess from going. 'This is good. She's making it much easier for me to take her.' He thought as he watched the girls slip out of the room and out the main door.
'This is good, very good…' Battousai thought as he followed them swiftly through the walls of the castle. He grinned inwardly.
'Perfect just perfect…'
………………………………………………..
Kaoru was thrilled at the thought that her plan was working and that they haven't even noticed that they had left. She was marveling at the thought that they had escaped that she had failed to notice that they were headed straight for the black forest, south of the castle. She and Misao knew the woods like the back of their hands but they never went past the black forest for it was said that it was dangerous there and although they had once tried to sneak through, but Aoshi wouldn't let them since, he was always watching them. She looked over at Misao who was just as entranced as she was at the thought that they had escaped the palace guards. However as she turned to face Misao she suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark shadow in one of the trees. She listened intently at the sound and tried to sense the ki of this mysterious shadow. Suddenly a raccoon came down from the tree and she released a sigh of relief.
Misao on the other hand still hasn't stopped babbling about their "great escape". And she grinned at the girl's enthusiasm. They went on their way happily and set out for the outskirts of Japan trying their best to get through the black forest. Somehow Kaoru still could not shake the fact that someone was watching her. Because of this she kept her guard.
………………………………………………….
Battousai followed them in the shadows unknown to the two women that were trying so hard at not being caught. He kept moving swiftly through the trees of the forest not wanting them to sense his presence lest he presents himself. He noticed Kaoru's bokken from earlier was hidden in her gi. He also sensed that Kaoru guarded her every move but quickly dismissed it. 'They're escaping of course she'll be on guard.' He remembered his promise that he will never again kill women and children and so he will wait till they fell asleep when their guard was down to avoid being seen and before kidnapping the princess. This is going to take longer than I thought…
……………………………………….
Misao sensed that Kaoru was uneasy about something. At first she tried to dismiss it as jitters from their escape, but then as they went further and further into the forest she became more and more tensed.
"Kaoru, is something wrong?" Misao asked genuinely concerned about her friend.
Kaoru eyed Misao wearily, she had been thinking whether or not to tell her about her feeling.
"I'm fine I guess I'm still having the jitters from our escape that I've been having this feeling of being watched. Besides we've been walking for hours we would be far from the castle now right? I think we should rest awhile." Kaoru sighed.
"Okay, let's find a nice spot for us to camp in." Misao replied. She was still worried about Kaoru. After all she was a princess and not at all accustomed to this kind of life.
"Wait here, while I go and get some firewood okay? You rest a while you look like you need it. I'll be back." Misao said as she headed towards some bushes leaving Kaoru alone.
When Kaoru was alone, she let her guard down and waited for the stranger in the shadows to attack. When it didn't she stood up and whispered "You can come out now, I know your there! And you're supposed to fulfill the prophecy so come out there's no use hiding in the shadows when I can sense you." She waited until she heard the leaves of a nearby tree rustle and prepared herself for her abductor. She had known about this when she thought of running away. She didn't understand why her father and Aoshi were so caught in preventing the oracle when all of them knew that it wouldn't be so. She decided to face whatever it was that they have feared for a long time. Suddenly a she saw a blur of red quickly approaching her.
Battousai knocked her off her feet with just the pressure of the wind and quickly carried her and slumped her to one of his shoulders and went his way. Kaoru lay motionless on his shoulders as he took off with such speed.
Unbeknownst to them Misao saw the whole thing of how Kaoru waited for her abductor though she wanted to help her she knew Kaoru knew what she was doing. And with just a blink of an eye they were gone. As reality dawned upon her, she quickly decided to head back to the castle to tell everybody what happened although she did have to leave some parts. 'I am so dead when the King finds out' Misao thought as she followed the path back to the palace. She needed to get there before dawn.
………………………………………….
Back at the palace Aoshi was starting to feel uneasy by the fact that Kaoru and Misao didn't come to dinner. He figured that Kaoru was still upset about the news about Enishi and that must be in her room comforting her sister. He watched his father and Enishi talk about political plans for both kingdoms and he lost interest on their topic. He saw his father send up a servant to Kaoru's room. A few minutes later the servant came rushing down almost falling down the stairs of the huge castle and stumbled across the hallway to the dining area.
"YOUR HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS…" The servant sobbed as she tried to breathe. "THE princess she's…" the servant continued crying. "She's gone…"
"WHAT!" The king burst in outrage. His worst fears were coming to life. His little girl was gone… "Call all the guards and soldiers we have I want all of them searching for my daughter. You," he turned to another servant. "I want you to call all my advisers to my office. NOW!" the king's voice boomed with uncontrolled fury.
Aoshi remained silent, as he silently thought of all the things he would do to the person who abducted his sister. He knew only one person could be able to abduct her without any trace… BATTOUSAI. 'You're gonna pay dearly for what you have done.' Aoshi thought as he glanced at Enishi who was pretty much having the same sentiments.
"Do not worry your highness I will send my troops looking for her as well. And I will not rest until I have found her. Rest assured she'll be safe." Enishi said as he tried to calm the king, which seemed to have the opposite effect.
"I'm in no mood for your kiss up and games right now Yukishiro. If you wish to help then that's fine with me. As long as we find my daughter." The king bellowed surprising Enishi. Aoshi smirked inwardly at this. 'At least the king's already aware that he's a kiss up!'
Enishi recovered from his shock only to be faced with a brooding Aoshi. 'Ungrateful bastards' Enishi muttered inwardly. Just then one of the soldiers burst into the room carrying a note. "Your highness we found this in her room." he said passing the note to the king who looked at it as if it were a foreign object. Aoshi stood up and took the note from the guard and read it slowly surprise and worry registered on his face as he read on. The king frowned. "Well, what does it say?" Aoshi was dumbfounded for the first time but quickly recovered his composure. He passed the note to the king who eyed the note wearily. He read the note and was just as surprised as Aoshi. It read:
Daddy and Aoshi,
I'm sorry if I runaway but I really cannot bear the thought of marrying Enishi and making him my king. For we all know what he wants. And I cannot bear the thought of our kingdom that Father and our ancestors have built going down just because of that selfish and greedy Enishi. So Dad please don't come after me just take care of the kingdom as you were supposed to. I'm doing this knowing that the oracle will be fulfilled no matter what we do to escape it so I have come to face it and get it over with. Oh and don't worry I have Misao with me. I'll be back I promise and by then I guess the oracle would have been fulfilled. I love you all so much. Aoshi I hope you take care of Daddy while I'm away. Think of me as if I was only in vacation.
Kaoru
The king was dumfounded, he didn't know whether to be proud or angry. He was definitely surprised at how she thought of the way to solve her problems. He was proud because no Kamiya ever runs away from their problems although they really didn't want anything to happen to her for she was young, smart, and brave. He felt that he had raised his daughter right. On the other hand, he couldn't help but get angry for her foolishness for she didn't know the harshness of the real world and now she would have to learn it the hard way. He was worried about her but it was evident that she would be going through a whole lot of hardships. He snapped out of his thoughts when another soldier came in to announce that the men were ready and waiting for his command.
He looked up to see Aoshi telling the guard to wait. Enishi on the other hand was baffled by what was happening. "Well aren't you going to send them off to find Kaoru?" he asked as he absently raked his fingers through his silvery hair.
"We would appreciate it if you didn't tell us what to do." Aoshi replied eyeing him coldly. "This is a family problem, so I advice you to stay out of it." Enishi glared at him and glanced at the king who was sharing the same sentiments as his son at the moment. He stood up and slowly exited the room while muttering some incoherent words to himself.
"So what do you think we should do?" Aoshi asked his father.
"I want to have a talk with some of our seers and wizards before I make my decision. It seems as though destiny has planned its way." The king said frowning. "I want you to keep an eye on Yukishiro for me, I think he might be planning something up that sleeve of his. While I gather all the seers and wizards of our kingdom for a secret meeting."
"Hai! I will have our best men watch after him discreetly." Aoshi answered as he opened the door and paused at the doorframe to look back at his father, "Don't worry, she'll be okay, she's a Kamiya."
………………………………………………
A pair of amber eyes watched silently as a young woman with raven black hair started to open her eyes and rub the sleep out of them. He observed silently as the young woman adjusted her eyes to the darkness and take in the room she was in.
"Where am I?" she whispered to no one in particular not knowing that someone was watching her. Just then her memory of the night before came back to her mind. She searched the room for her abductor and focused her eyes on the dark side of the room and sat up properly on the futon. "Who are you? I know you're there." She stated. She always has this funny feeling about where her abductor could be although she couldn't see him. In fact she hasn't even seen his face yet. The room remained silent. "Oh well, its okay if you don't want to show yourself." She whispered once again into the darkness. Then out of nowhere a man with crimson hair and amber eyes came into her view. Although it was dark in the room she could see his hair and eyes through the light provided by the moon in the window. She gasped when he came nearer and held the hilt of his sword. "Are you going to kill me?" she asked unbelievingly. Then the blade of the sword came slashing down. Pools of crimson blood filled the room…
………………………………………………
Aoshi woke up with a start. He knew it was only a dream, but he couldn't help feeling agitated about it. His dreams always meant something and hopefully this one would not be like the others. He felt helpless because he couldn't protect his sister as much as he wanted to. He blamed himself for agreeing to let her marry that cocky duke. If he hadn't then maybe she wouldn't have ran away then he would still be able to protect her. His mind was filled with all kinds of what if questions. He stood and ran his hands through his hair.
He paced across his room, he had a feeling that something was wrong but he could not place his finger on it. As if he'd forgotten something very important. He was worried for his sister's safety but he needed to be strong for his father. He knew that both of them were experiencing an inner turmoil unlike any other. He thought of just about anything that could help to bring back his sister. He knew that the entire kingdom was suffering the loss of the princess, it felt empty when Kaoru wasn't within the palace grounds. He remembered how her smile could make a room light up and how she could make everyone smile just by being her natural self. He smiled at the thought. He smiled at the fact that Kaoru was the only one who could make his icy façade melt. Even the gardens seemed to mourn the loss of the princess. A lone tear fell from his eyes. He missed her terribly. He walked towards the window and stared up at the moon as he sat on a nearby chair. He blamed that stupid oracle for causing her sister's disappearance. He wouldn't rest until his sister was safe and he was going to make the person who abducted her sister pay.
His thoughts were interrupted when a group of guards flocked towards the gate. 'who would come to the castle at this time of the night?' he wondered. Just then he caught sight of the person trying to get through the gate. He saw emerald eyes stare directly into his, "Misao…?"
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A/N: Well I hope that was to your liking. I made it longer like you wanted and I wanted to make up for being so very, very, very late in updating. I know it's been a long time and I really considered deleting it but my best friend wanted me to finish it. Don't worry I have lots of free time now so I'll try not to slack off. And please review… it motivates me to continue writing and I can't believe you actually gave my story a chance thanks to everyone who reviewed they mean a heck of a lot to me. Please it would really make my day if you review my work just push that button okay! See yah next chap!
