Ichigo was lying on her bed, contemplating the hectic day that she'd had. She closed her eyes and sighed wearily as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Oh Masaya, I'm so sorry. I love you so much." She whispered to herself. The prince that she had once had so much hope for, the prince that she had admired, the son of her beloved king, was now her worst enemy. He could not you proclaim that they were to be married! It just wasn't right.
"Congrats on finding a wife, Kish!" Tart winked and gave the prince a light tap on the shoulder. Kish grinned and pushed him away.
"That was exceptional, finding a wife on such short notice, Kishu," Pie said as Kish winced, " seeing as in most were turned away." Kish grinned.
"Let's just say, she was more than willing to marry me." He said. Pie gave him a suddenly stern look.
"How did you get her to fall in love with you? Forget that, marrying the prince is a give-in, but why Ichigo Momomiya? She's so ordinary." Tart said, circling Kish with a look of amazement.
"I stopped to help her pick up some food and it was like love at first sight." Kish half-lied. Pie raised his eyebrows. Kish had never been a fan of love at first sight, but maybe the prince had changed after meeting Ichigo.
The next day, Kish decided to go see his beloved Ichigo and give her some wedding attire (which he was lugging around in a bag). Tart had decided to accompany him for "security purposes". All he really wanted to do was buy some food, but security purposes sounded more important.
"And then I appeared and called Ichigo Zoey! I kissed her and spoke while I was kissing her. Then I introduced myself as Dren and I had a nerdy voice! It was awful!" Kish exclaimed, vividly describing a nightmare that he'd had that night. Tart nodded sympathetically as Kish glared at a gaping passerby.
"I know how you feel. Once, I dreamed that I was named Tarb and-" Tart was cut off by a high pitched scream.
Pudding backed slowly away from the viper slithering along the ground of her play area. The snake flicked its tongue and followed, keeping a steady pace. Pudding suddenly tripped on a pebble and stumbled onto backwards. She screamed and fell onto her butt. The snake continued its steady advance as Pudding attempted to stand up. However, the snake took advantage of her weakness and shot forward as quickly as a bolt of lightning. However, before it could bite her, an unknown figure scooped her up and threw her out of the way.
"Are you okay, miss?" the figure's voice asked. Pudding opened her eyes cautiously. Tart was standing over her, looking anxious. Pudding nodded and clambered to her feet.
"Did you save me?" she asked, staring innocently at the brown-haired servant. Tart nodded.
"I'm glad that you're okay." Tart said, his face expressionless. He turned to walk away when something attacked him from behind.
"Thank you! You're a great friend! My name's Pudding, what's yours?" Tart's "attacker" exclaimed, hugging the poor servant tightly.
"Tart." Tart gasped as he pushed the yellow-haired girl away. He floated above the trees and looked around wildly for his master.
"Good-bye, Tar-Tar!" Pudding cried, waving extravagantly as Tart flew in the opposite direction.
"Tart!" was the last thing she heard from him.
"Tart, where were you?" Kish asked as Tart landed beside him on Ichigo's doorstep.
"I was saving the Fong family's daughter. Thinking on it now, I regret it." Tart grumbled. Kish laughed and knocked on Ichigo's door. There was a lot of grumbling and finally Mint approached the door, hopefully about to open it.
"What do you want?" she snapped as she finally swung the door open. Kish raised an eyebrow. Mint's eyes widened as she got a good look at who was at her door. "Prince Kishu-dono! I'm so sorry! I thought that you were somebody else!" she gasped apologetically.
"I hope that you don't greet everyone like this. And please, call me Kish. We're almost related anyways." Kish reasoned as he let himself in.
"Ichigo, Prince Ki- I mean, Kish is here to see you!" Mint's voice rang into Ichigo's bedroom.
"I'm not home!" she yelled back and pulled her thin covers over her head. The covers being yanked down followed the sound of footsteps entering her room.
"Ichigo, you baka! The prince has you're wedding things. He's your future husband!" Mint yelled.
"I don't want to marry that jerk. I want to marry Masaya." Ichigo sighed sadly and attempted to replace her covers. This resulted in Mint grabbing her wrist and pulling her from bed.
"There are millions of girls who wish that they were in your place. Think, Ichigo! If you marry him, you get money! We can pick this family up again! Mom can get a real job, Ichigo. Don't you care about the family?" she asked.
Ten minutes later, Ichigo was standing her poor excuse for a living room. Kish smiled and walked up to her.
"Ohayo, kitten. Did you decide to take a catnap?" he asked joking. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled Masaya's ring off of Ichigo's finger, and attempted to kiss her. Ichigo pushed him away forcefully.
"I was trying to avoid seeing you!" Ichigo snapped. Mint and Lettuce rushed forward and clamped their hands over her mouth.
"Don't blow it, Ichigo. Think about the family." Mint said. Ichigo's shoulders drooped in defeat, and her sisters pulled away.
"What did you put in this bag?" Ichigo gasped as she took the bag from Kish and dragged it along the ground towards her room.
"A dress." Kish stated simply. "Try it on." He suggested. Ichigo gave him a –not-in-your-life look and hurled the bag onto her bed.
"Okay, I have your junk. You can leave now." She stated, sauntering over to the door and throwing it open.
"Momomiya family, I'm leaving now, but tomorrow, Ichigo and I will be married at the church by the river at nine in the morning. Don't be late, kitty." He winked and closed the door behind him.
Hours later, Kish and Pie were discussing the next day's wedding. Well, Pie was discussing and Kish was nodding when he thought was appropriate.
"Are you nervous at all, Kish?" Pie asked. Kish nodded slowly. "All you've been doing is nodding. Please, Kish, respond. Unless you are bacteria, you can respond. I know for a fact that you are not bacteria." Pie said.
"Yes, I'm a little nervous. However, once the wedding is over, Ichigo will be mine forever." Kish stated.
"Do you really love her?" Pie asked.
Kish thought hard about this question. Did he really love Ichigo? They had just met the other day, yet it seemed like he'd known her forever. He was silent for several minutes.
" I love her." Kish said slowly. "However, this love is like a cat's love for a toy. I want to love her deeply, like my father loved my mother, but it's too soon. I want to know her, but she hates me. I-" he stopped, guilt overpowering his previous ecstasy.
"What?" Pie asked seriously. Kish stared at his hands.
"I took her away from her true lover. She loves him so much. Why doesn't she love me?" Kish asked.
"You came so suddenly, Kishu. She must have been startled. Also, if she had to give up her true love for you, she's not going to forgive you easily." Pie said sternly. Kish sighed and walked to his room.
The next day came all too quickly for Ichigo. She was standing in her living room, putting on the white dress that Kish had brought for her. The dress was so tight that she could barely breath.
"Lettuce, I can't breath." Ichigo gasped as Lettuce tied the strings in the back. She attempted to breathe in deeply and immediately felt dizzy.
"I'm so sorry Ichigo. I'm doing the best that I can." Lettuce said apologetically. Suddenly, Mint appeared in the room, wearing a dress that Ichigo could never imagine wearing.
"The Fongs are coming to the wedding. So are Ryou Shirogane, Keiichiro Akasaka, the Aoyama's, and Zakuro onee-sama." Mint said, her eyes shining with joy.
"Did you say that Masaya is coming?" Ichigo gasped. Mint nodded and went to work with Ichigo's veil.
"Okay, Kish, you're about to get married. Any last words as a single prince?" Tart asked, bouncing around Kish like a rabbit approaching a carrot.
"It was fun while it lasted." Kish joked. Tart chuckled, then glanced out the door and at the previously empty seats. An all-too-familiar yellow haired girl smiled and waved exuberantly at Tart. Tart rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Kish.
"Anyways, you should probably get a move on, Kishu." Tart snickered. Kish smacked Tart on the back of the head and walked over to discuss a few things with his father.
Meanwhile, Ichigo was searching frantically for her beloved Masaya. It was hard, because it seemed like the entire kingdom wanted to see Prince Kish get married. Finally, she spotted him standing next to a few small children. She rushed over to him.
"Masaya!" she cried happily, throwing her arms around his shoulders. Masaya hugged her back halfheartedly.
"Congratulations on marrying the prince." He said edgily. Ichigo pulled away and looked him in the eye.
"Don't be silly, Masaya. You know that I wish that it was you and I getting married today." She whispered softly. She stood on tiptoe to kiss him, but Masaya dodged, looking away into the grass.
"Of course you do. Good luck." Masaya said, pulling Ichigo's arms off of his shoulders.
"Masaya, wait! I love you, and you know that!" She whispered, attempting to keep their conversation privet. The kingdom would explode if they found out that their queen loved another man.
"Goodbye, Momomiya-san." Masaya said and went to join Ryou and Keiichiro, leaving Ichigo distressed.
About an hour later, Kish was standing at the front of the altar, watching Ichigo walk slowly up the aisle. She looked sad, but Kish dismissed this as difficulty seeing through the veil. As soon as she stopped in front of them, the minister busied himself with starting the ceremony. Kish grinned at Ichigo, but all she did was stare at him sadly.
"Kishu Clorith, do you promise to love and cherish Ichigo Momomiya for the rest of your life?" he asked.
"I promise, and my promise shall be kept." Kish replied automatically. The minister asked Ichigo the same question. Ichigo hesitated, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I promise, and- and my promise shall be kept." Ichigo stuttered, trying not to sob.
"You are bound to your promises. Love shall guide you throughout the rest of your lives." The minister proclaimed. He took a small knife and made a small cut on Kish and Ichigo's outstretched wrists. He allowed them to drip into two cups of foul-smelling liquid, and handed each one a cup. Ichigo and Kish exchanged glasses and Kish downed the one handed to him. He grimaced inwardly, but did not show it on the outside.
"Two as one." Ichigo and Kish said in unison. They set their glasses on the altar and the minister took them in his hands.
"One forever. The promise is complete. You may kiss the bride." He said loudly. Kish flipped Ichigo's veil up and kissed her passionately. The red haired girl did not return the kiss.
A/N It's done! Sorry the "ceremony" sucked almost as much as Mew Mew Power, but it was the best I could do. I took one line from the lioness quartet, and I don't own that either. Thanks for reading. The next chapter will be up soon. Nya!
