hello guys this is chapter 2.
"Ruka… go with them." Hotaru called over her shoulders.
"… I can't… you need to be taken care of more than them, besides you bought me Hotaru- sama. I will stay by your side until you throw me away." He smiled.
"hmph. Suit your self…" she said as they watch Mikan and Natsume walk their path towards the palace.
And so, their adventure begins.
Upon reaching the palace, Natsume ordered the guards to let them in, of course using his identity as the crown prince of the fire kingdom. But unbelievably, the guards have never heard of the fire kingdom! It seems that Persona had also erased its existence from the whole world, for they can't even find it in the map; and so, both of them were arrested for fraud.
The prison cell they've been thrown to, apparently, was underground; meaning, there is no sun, meaning Natsume has to turn to a cat, a talking cat, and he would be powerless if anything happens to Mikan! And to add to that, they also have another person with them locked in the room: and that is Misaki, a red-haired, pretty, young girl with an optimistic and lively attitude.
"… and what about you, Misaki- nee, why are you locked up here?" Mikan asked after informing her of what has happened to them up until now.
"Well… my problem is probably not as serious as yours because I don't have to deal with demented wizards and what-nots, but I have a step mother and two step sisters who told everybody that I can weave these into gold." She said picking up a bundle of straws from the floor. "When the KING was informed of my ability, he just laughed at the rumors and said it was not true, so the guards arrested me for lying!"
"How did the king know it was not true?" mikan asked.
"Well, my dad used to work in the palace when he was still alive and I used to play with King Tsubasa when we were young, so he pretty much knows me. When my dad remarried, my step mom locked me up in the house and made me do chores. Tragic huh?" Misaki explained.
"Well no matter what, we have to get out of this dungeon." Natsume finally spoke, visibly showing his indifference to misaki's story while he is leisurely rested at mikan's lap as she gently strokes his fur.
"Well then rude cat think of a way to get us out and I'll help you find the gem Amirah, I know my way through the palace, you know." Misaki compromised. Suddenly, they heard a strange noise.
"Huhuhuhuhu" it said, and out of nowhere, a little elf appeared.
"Well I have heard thy misery,
and truthfully I am sorry,
but I will promise to help thee,
if thou canst guess my identity." The elf said to the three.
"Natsume, natsume! Did you hear that, he just said a rhyme!" Mikan beamed and clapped her hands, totally amused by the elf's little 'performance.'
"Is she an idiot?" the elf sweat dropped, and Misaki laughed.
"Well, you certainly are amusing; so tell us what you want." She said, patting the little elf's head.
"I just told YOU! I'll help you get out of this prison if you tell me my name." the elf explained.
"When did you ever tell us?" Mikan complained.
"A while ago…" He said but mikan and misaki just stared at him blankly, "… the rhyme..." he persisted. But the two only looked at each other, "What was the rhyme again…?" they asked, and managed to blow the elf off the top.
"Just tell me my name and I'll get you out!" he snapped.
"Sure. So what is your name?" misaki asked.
"UGH! YOU HAVE TO GUESS!"
"You're so weird, you know. Why would you want us to tell you your name when we don't even know you?" Mikan retorted.
"IT'S A FREAKIN' GAME! YOU TELL ME MY NAME AND I'LL GET YOU OUT! COMPRENDE?" he finally exploded, he just can't take the idiocy of the two!
"So what is your name, little guy? If you tell us, then we would know, wouldn't we? And there won't be a need for us to guess." They noted making the elf even more annoyed than ever. He can't communicate with stupid people!
"FINE! Fine, I'll get to the point. If you don't know my name, then I'll just get something from you two and I'll let you out of here." He offered. Finally Misaki and Mikan understood but they don't have anything valuable to them, even the little ring that Mikan has was not enough for the elf.
"Well, well, How about that pretty little kitty." He said motioning to natsume, who has been watching from the sidelines since the beginning.
"NNNNooooooo! NATSUME!" Mikan screamed, but when the elf was only an arm's length away from the cat, Natsume muttered.
"Rumpelstiltskin" he said, and everybody paused.
"What?" the elf asked, looking as pale as ever.
"That's your name right? Rumpelstiltskin?" He uttered again and the elf collapsed to the floor, not believing his ear.
"How—How did you know?" He asked, kneeling on the floor on all fours.
"… You have a name-tag on, Stupid. Now get us out of here." Natsume informed, nonchalantly. Nametag they thought, and they all looked at his chest; and just on the top right corner of his shirt, there really was a name-tag: a flower shaped sticker with 'my name is Rumplestiltskin' written on it.
"AAAAAAHHHHH! It must be when I went to the dentist! Stupid tooth Fairy thought I was a kid and put it on me!" the elf bellowed while Mikan and Misaki laughed.
"HAHAHAHA! STUPID! HE HAS A NAMETAG! Hahaha!" they teased.
"Shut it kid or I'll kill 'ya!" he threatened, but Mikan laughed harder, so the angry elf started to attack her, but when he was about to touch her, a murderous aura made him turn his head towards Natsume's direction and he found him glaring at him with his haunting crimson eyes and a "touch-her-and-die" expression written all over his face.
"Will you PLEASE get us out?" He muttered coolly and the elf immediately complied.
"don't u ever mention my name t'anyone! Got it?" he said once they're all finally outside, and with that he disappeared.
"That was one heck of a weird guy. But I liked him. He's funny." Misaki commented and Mikan giggled.
"so what are we going to do now?" Misaki smiled.
"Take us to the palace." Natsume ordered while he adjusted his clothes.
"I could take you there but I don't think I could get you in."
"So what do you suggest?"
"Well… Maybe we could get some help from Granny Serina. She's a fortuneteller who knows everything. Maybe we could ask her how to get inside. We might need some weapons too. She lives in the middle of the Northern Woods and I heard there are wolves lurking around the area, though I've never seen one whenever I go visit her. Oh, and natsume, you can't use your powers too. We don't want to cause a forest fire. "
They first visited the marketplace to buy food and the things they would need. At the center though, there was a pavilion where a huge crowd gathered so they went to check it out themselves.
"Oh it's the Sword in the Stone competition. You see, there's this sword that was stuck in a stone over there. It was said that it belonged to the strongest person in the universe, and when the owner of the sword died, it stuck itself on that stone and waited for another person strong enough to wield it. Fighters all over the world came just to take it out but apparently no one can." Misaki explained.
"Hmmm…" Natsume replied and walked over to the stone.
"Natsume…" Mikan cautioned but he was already there and before they knew it, Natsume pulled out the sword and returned back to Mikan, not caring at all at the crowd's wide-eyed-and-opened-mouth shocked expressions
"I have a weapon now, so let's get going before the sun sets." Said Natsume as he pulled the shocked Mikan out of the crowd. Misaki snapped out of her reverie and ran after them. She then led them into the Northern Woods, and since the sun is still high, Natsume didn't turn into cat, but Mikan on the other hand can't help admiring him all the way to their destination.
"We're here!" Misaki smiled as she entered the small cottage. Inside, they found Granny Serena sleeping on the bed covered with layers and layers of blankets.
"Grandma? Are you okay? You look a bit weird?" Misaki sat beside her, concern obvious in her eyes.
"w-weird? How so?" Her grandmother asked.
"Well… Your arms are somewhat bigger!"
"All the better to hug you with, my dear."
"But, what big legs you have!"
"All the better to run with, my child."
"And, what big ears you have!"
"All the better to hear with, my child."
"Grandmother, what big eyes you have!"
"All the better to see with, my child."
"AND YOU'VE GOT SOME HECK OF BIG TEETH!"
"ALL THE BETTER TO EAT YOU UP WITH."
And with that, the wolf who disguised as her granny Serena jumped out of the bed and attacked Misaki while mikan screamed at the sight, but before the wolf could touch her, Natsume was already in front of him and sliced his stomach open. Then suddenly, a blond skinny woman came out of its belly and tumbled on the floor. The three of them was shocked but Misaki quickly hugged the woman after recognizing it was her granny Serena. The two had their reunion, and a couple of minutes later, Serena went and took a bath and joined them again in the living room where they explained what had happened to them until now.
"So you need help in getting inside the palace, ey? It is certainly not easy but… I think I know how. You see, there is this secret event at the palace. Apparently, the king's mother invited women inside the castle without the king knowing; and from them, she would choose an appropriate bride for her son. I'm sure that Misaki is invited as well but that mother of yours kept it from you. "
"I told you she knows everything." Misaki whispered.
"The plan is: you two will disguise as her guests. Misaki will dress like a princess. And cover your face with a mask all the time too; because of that 'weave into gold' incident people might recognize you. The Amirah will find you, so you don't have to look. Once you've gotten hold of it, everything will soon be over. Trust me."
And with all that in mind the three slept soundly knowing that tomorrow their adventure will continue.
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