A/N: To avoid any further confusion, let me clarify. Princess Retasu is Lettuce—Prince Kisshu's sister. Princess Minto is the younger sister of Prince Masaya. (Yes, I did base it on hair color. I'm not trying to be color-ist or anything; I just thought it would make more sense.)

Chapter Two: Childhood Memories

The head of the royal guard bowed low. "Prince Kisshu, we have arrived."

"Hn" was the bored response. The teenage prince didn't even turn to acknowledge the man.

"K-kisshu-nii? Do you th-think Prince R-ryou will be nice?" the princess asked tentatively.

"Does it matter? I will win this tournament, so it does not make a difference—except to Princess Minto." There was plenty of derision in the way Prince Kisshu pronounced the name. After all, everyone knew that dark-haired princess was a snob.

"I suppose so," mused Retasu. She knew better than to mention Prince Masaya.

"Prince Masaya, welcome. Right this way, please."

The black-haired prince smiled charmingly. Oh, they really didn't exaggerate about his good looks, swooned the maidservant.

Once he was led into a chamber to prepare himself for the coming challenge, Masaya immediately let his elegant red-lined cloak fall to the ground.

"Onii-sama! It will get dirty if you do that," huffed his younger sister, who had special-ordered the cloak after poring over fabrics and patterns for weeks.

The fourteen-year-old heir to the throne sighed, a tolerantly exasperated look in his golden-brown eyes. "My apologies, Minto. Have you seen the prince yet? The other one, I mean?"

"Yes. He is absolutely gorgeous," breathed the girl. "His blond hair that is too long, but it looks so good on him. Those breathtaking sky-blue eyes. That tragic, forced-to-grow-up to fast expression..."

The prince turned to frown at her. "Who are you talking about, again?"

"Prince Ryou, of course. I have no doubt that you will win. And when you win, Prince Ryou will become my betrothed, will he not?"

Her brother turned this over in his mind. "I guess so."

Trumpeters announced the four royals as they entered the throne room. Only a select few members of their guard were allowed; this was supposed to be a friendly, peaceful gathering. Bringing many guards would signal distrust; bringing too few guards was like wearing a sign saying "Please attack me."

"Prince Kisshu, Prince Masaya, Princess Retasu, Princess Minto—welcome," Queen Zakuro greeted the guests.

The princes bowed and the princesses curtsied. Prince Ryou whispered something to the king, who shook his head apologetically.

"So what will the challenges be?" Prince Kisshu asked politely.

Princess Ichigo jumped in before her mother could say anything. "A series of physical tests, and a few of deportment." Her eyes met his. I feel like I know him...from somewhere...

"I see. Thank you, princess." She looks really familiar. Wait...! Could it be...?

Ryou stepped closer to his sister to whisper in her ear. "Do you think it's him?"

"Who?" she breathed curiously.

"The boy...the one you used to pick wild strawberries with...?"

Seven years ago

A redheaded girl ran through the sun-soaked forest. Her fancy slippers were safely stashed in a tree, and it felt so good to be barefooted. Admittedly she was still wearing that fussy, fancy-shmancy gold-edged white summer gown. But it had been one of her brother's conditions: if she didn't wear it, he wouldn't let him come with him.

Speaking of her brother... "Ryou, hurry up!"

"I'm coming!" came the slightly-irritated response. Normally the blonde was hotheaded, but no one could be angry in this forest. It was just too... magical. It just had some sort of charm that made you want to shut up and just savor the moment.

"Oof! Oh, I'm so sorry!" The girl had run into someone—another girl about her own age, with pale green hair and big blue eyes, sparkling behind large round glasses. Ichigo noticed that the other girl's dress was too fancy to be a peasant's. Maybe she was a merchant's daughter—surely even craftsmen couldn't afford such nice cloth?

"It's okay," replied the mysterious green-haired girl. "What are you doing here?" Her tone wasn't cautious or demanding—it was simply the innocent curiosity natural to most children her age.

Ryou came up behind his sister. "Oh, hello. We come here a lot," he lied. Immediately sensing (with his child's instinct) that he could trust her with everything he held dear—his sister and his secrets—he confided, "There's a really amazing patch of wild strawberries. I can show you where it is."

"Really?" Their new friend's eyes lit up.

He smiled—a real, true smile. The kind that usually only his younger sister could coax him into. "Yeah."

The other girl hesitated. "Um...can I bring my brother?" She glanced deeper into the forest. "He's off exploring somewhere...he loves strawberries."

The red-haired princess glanced at her brother. Ryou barely hesitated before replying, "Sure."

The girl ran off, reappearing a few minutes later with a boy about a head taller than her. He had green hair too, but it was darker than hers. As for his eyes, they were completely different—a clear, brilliant amber. "Yo."

"Hi, I'm Ichigo," chirped the white-gowned princess. "What's your name?"

The boy's cheerful, friendly expression became a bit more guarded. "I'm Kish. This is my sister Reta."

The bespectacled girl's blue eyes looked a little uncomfortable. "So..." she turned to Ryou. "What's your name?"

"Shiro." It wasn't exactly a lie—his last name was Shirogane, after all. But even though he knew this girl wouldn't harm him on purpose, he was less sure about her brother.

There was an awkward pause of the species almost foreign to such young children.

"Well, anyway... I promised Ichigo and Reta I'd show them the best strawberry patch in the forest," Ryou told Kish. "Wanna come?"

From the way the other four looked at each other—with diplomatically guarded expressions and a hint of familiarity—Masaya and Minto could guess that something was up.

"What do you think is going on, Onii-sama?" The dark-haired princess whispered to her brother.

The brown-eyed prince didn't answer. His brow was furrowed as he looked at the red-haired princess for the first time.

Well, it wasn't exactly the first time. He'd seen her before—but he hadn't known she was a princess, just like she hadn't known he was a prince.

He heard Prince Ryou murmur something about picking strawberries, and scowled. Ichigo... don't you remember me? Your friend Aoyama?

Ichigo covertly—well, it was covert in her opinion at least—stared at the green-haired prince until the other boy caught her eye.

Dark hair, brown eyes, tanned skin... Surely it wasn't him? It couldn't be!

Noticing the focus of his sister's attention, Ryou contained a sigh. If he'd known today was going to be so full of surprises, he'd have told Ichigo more about the pendant he'd given her—and, more importantly, what it could do.

A/N: As always, review please, ideas welcome. (Flames and anonymous reviews are okay too.) Sorry to all Mint/Minto fans; I like her too and I know she's not really like that. But she's the most likely to be bratty, and I really wanted to throw in a character like that. Their dialogue is fun to write, after all ^^

Thanks for reading. Oh and before I end—if you've got ideas for the kingdom names, by all means please tell me! I have no clue what to call the kingdoms!