AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hey guys! Well, Chapter Two came faster than I expected. I guess I just got really in to it. I know that a lot of this fic involves parts from the episode, and I kind of feel awful for it. I'm just going to say this now, not all parts of this chapter are my idea or words. This part of the anime partly followed Raj and partly followed Zen, so I decided to write out my idea of the parts that the anime didn't show centering around Raj. I really hope that made sense, haha. Not much spanking in this chapter, though there's the occasional swat. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading. By the way, thank you to the person that recently reviewed! I would have messaged to thank you, but it wouldn't allow me.
This chapter contains spoilers for episodes 17, 18, and 19.
"Kazuki was a slave to The Claw before he joined with us," Itoya bit out, eyeing Zen and Raj up angrily, "after they had enough of 'em, they sold him to some nobles that only kept him around because he was pretty. They treated him like a living doll. That's why, when Kazuki heard Shirayuki's story, he identified with an unfortunate girl who's stolen by a prince against her will just because her red hair caught his eye! He wanted to take her to a place where such fools couldn't find her."
Prince Raj stared in shock at one of the Lions of the Mountain as he angrily spat his story out to Zen. He swallowed hard, looking down. Sakaki immediately glanced at Raj, assessing his wellbeing. Raj slowly looked over at Kiki, "would you excuse me for a moment?" She gave him a strange look, but nodded, her attention more focused on Zen than anywhere else. She didn't find it that odd that Raj needed a moment alone after hearing what they'd just heard. She knew Sakaki would keep him safe. Raj slowly steered his horse off the road and in to the forest, moving a lot faster once he was out of eyesight. Oh God, this was all his fault. All of this could have been avoided if he'd just been a decent human being. On top of that, it was a kidnapping within a kidnapping. Kazuki and Shirayuki had been kidnapped by the Claw of the Sea. They were famous for their cruelty and their sales in human cargo. Oh God... what was going to happen to her?
Once Raj was far enough away from them, he stopped his horse, immediately hopping off of it and keeling over, hands on his knees. He shook, his skin going clammy and his insides catching fire. He started breathing heavily to try to fight it, mouth filling with thick saliva as he failed. He shook harder, not able to hold it back any longer and heaving, vomiting some of the meek lunch he'd eaten earlier. By the second heave he'd fallen down to his knees, groping around the ground for something to hang on to. He dug his fingers in to the dirt, yanking on the grass and vomiting. He whimpered, feeling some of the bile shoot up his nasal passages with the last wave.
Raj suddenly became vaguely aware of someone's hand rubbing up and down his back. It was hard to focus too strongly on it, his mind preoccupied by the fact that he was losing his lunch... though he was sure he knew who it was. "Sa-Sakak-" he started, gagging at the end of his name and spitting up more bile. He started dry heaving, not having much food on his stomach. He'd hardly been able to eat ever since he'd found out about Shirayuki. The dry heaving was so painful, the inside of his stomach was on fire and his abdominal muscles were screaming. He started sobbing defeatedly between heaves, starting to breathe heavily and quickly, hyperventilating. The prince could feel the beads of sweat dripping down his face and neck, not sure how he could feel so hot and cold all at once.
"Shhh, it's alright, highness," Sakaki murmured, continuing to rub his hand up and down his back. "I'm here, you're going to be alright." He frowned at the crying and hyperventilation... the poor boy sounded so tired. He was sure that the crying was a mix of the vomiting and the guilt.
Raj sobbed harder for a short moment, retching up another small portion of his lunch that he hadn't known was still there. He didn't deserve the affection that Sakaki had been showering him with all day. He shook, yanking grass from the ground with the dirt still attached, clumsily throwing it back at Sakaki and saying pathetically, "g-go away!" The dirt easily missed Sakaki, just landing in front of him. He sobbed, dry heaving some more before expelling more bile, mucus running out of his nose and dripping to the ground. On top of the crying, his eyes watered a bit with each heave.
"I'll do no such thing," Sakaki said firmly, keeping a hand on Raj's back and letting him vomit what he needed to up.
The prince's hyperventilation quickly got more severe. "Go a-away!" he shouted, vomiting again, but less bile coming out, now. "Leave me alone, you... y-you don't have to be here!" he shouted, his voice filled with venom. Of course he didn't actually want his advisor to leave, but he was swimming in a pool of self pity right now and he felt very strongly that Sakaki was being way too good to him.
Sakaki kept his hand right where it was, his tone very serious, "I'm not going anywhere, Prince Raj." He could see through the younger man, knowing exactly what he was attempting. He put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing firmly and saying, "it's not your fault."
The nausea was finally beginning to dissipate enough for him to move. Raj's stomach still felt like it was going to melt from the heat, though. He dug his fingers in to the dirt, ripping himself up to his feet and away from Sakaki, dirt and grass filling his fists. It took a moment to get his feet properly underneath him, swaying side to side for a moment before he raised his fist weakly above his head, throwing the dirt down at Sakaki, just missing him again. Sakaki got up to his feet, and before he could say anything the prince began yelling, "are you really that stupid?!"
"Raj," Sakaki warned him, voice hardening as he dropped the prefix.
"Or are you just deaf? Because I heard them say very clearly that they kidnapped her because of what I did. So please, enlighten me! Explain your foolish logic to me!" Raj shouted, lifting his other fist in to the air and throwing that handful of soil and grass with more enthusiasm, hitting Sakaki right on his left cheek. He was seething, and in the heat of the moment, he fell back on his oldest coping mechanism - making others look stupid so he would feel less stupid.
Sakaki hardly flinched, his left eye shutting a bit before quickly reopening. He slowly reached up, wiping the residue off of his face. He looked at Raj with dangerously calm eyes for just a moment, taking just two quick strides to get to the prince's side. Raj's eyes widened a bit when he realized just what he had done and just who he had done it to. His advisor reared his hand back, landing it with a firm crack over one of his undoubtedly still sore under-curves. Raj yelped loudly, jumping a bit and immediately moving both hands back to cover his backside, looking up at his advisor in shock. Sakaki gave Raj a very firm look, explaining in an even but stern tone, "while your actions did indeed set the ball in to motion, that was several months ago and these people were beyond ridiculous to have not checked their facts. What's more, they took her against her will when they very well could have just spoken to her and gotten the truth. What they did was no better than what you had done. Now, unless you'd like to take another good, long trip over my knee when we get back home, you had better learn to never treat me that way again, or anyone else for that matter. Have I made myself perfectly clear, young man?"
Raj stared at the older man with wide, shocked eyes. He'd never been scolded like that before. Sakaki had not been kidding when he said he wouldn't allow Raj to turn back in to what he once was. It was actually comforting on a certain level, but the younger man was so absolutely exhausted and raw from the last two days that he couldn't help but tear up. He played with the hem of his vest, looking down at his feet. "Y-Yes, sir," the prince murmured, voice watery as he bit his lip to hold back tears, "I... I'm s-sorry."
Sakaki's face softened when he heard the quiet apology. He slowly reached out and pulled Raj back toward him, saying gently, "how about we get you cleaned up, hm?" Raj nodded, letting out a choked sob and trying to hold himself together. Sakaki looked back at the road - they were too close for comfort. "Come with me," Sakaki instructed gently, leading him behind a large, oversized tree. "Sit down," he said softly, trying to give the prince simple, easy to follow instructions since he was obviously panicking. Raj slowly lowered himself to the ground with Sakaki's help, the advisor not far behind, joining him under the tree. Not long after sitting down, the younger man's shoulders started shaking. Before he knew it he was sobbing quietly, slowly leaning in Sakaki's general direction, hoping for some of that affection and comfort he'd rejected earlier. Sakaki wrapped an arm around the prince, pulling him in closely against him. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, wiping up the mucus under Raj's nose.
Raj sniffled, crying a little harder and pressing himself more firmly in to Sakaki's side, whispering, "I'm s-sorry..."
"Shhh, it's alright," Sakaki crooned, holding him tighter and dabbing at the vomit on his lips, "you're working on just one hour of sleep, I know it's not easy." As much as he'd wanted to go easy on the exhausted prince, he'd made a promise to him earlier that morning. He'd never let him slip back in to his old ways.
"I... I threw d-dirt at your fa-haaace," the prince sobbed, really breaking down at the end of that sentence. He turned and buried his face in to Sakaki's cloak once all of the mucus and vomit were off of his face.
Sakaki smiled sadly, wrapping both arms supportively around the younger man and letting him cry. "I know, shhh..." he crooned, "I forgive you." That only elicited harder sobbing, and so Sakaki slowly reached over with his left hand, slipping it underneath Raj's knees and lifting them a bit. He swung his legs up and over his lap, so he was almost sitting on his lap, but not quite, his backside still on the ground. Raj bit down on his lip when he realized what Sakaki had done, going silent for a moment before literally throwing his arms up and around his advisor's neck, hanging on for dear life and sobbing quietly. Sakaki was actually a little shocked, but he quickly wrapped both arms around the prince, murmuring, "shhh, I'm right here. I've got you... I'll take care of you."
"I'm s-scared!" Raj announced, face buried in to Sakaki's neck as he did his best to keep his crying under control. He didn't want to spook the horses and draw attention to them.
Sakaki was so proud of the prince for admitting that. "I know, and that's alright," he reassured him, reaching up with one hand and carding his fingers through his hair. "We're going to find her, kiddo," he promised, "we're going to bring her home."
"H-How?" Raj asked, trying to keep his crying in check enough to talk, "I've hardly ever left my castle, I... I don't know how I'm going to fix anything." He buried his face further in to Sakaki's neck, growling quietly in frustration, "but... but I can't do nothing!"
Sakaki squeezed him closer, murmuring, "you won't do nothing. We've not been out here very long, you have to give it a chance. You and Prince Zen are going to figure this out. You're not stupid, Raj... don't underestimate yourself, alright?" Raj sniffled, trying very hard to listen to what Sakaki was saying. His arms loosened a bit around the older man's neck, and he pulled back just enough to nod. Sakaki smiled, petting his hair back and praising, "good boy."
Raj took a deep, shaky breath... letting it out slowly and crying in a more calm fashion. He was confident that he'd never get tired of hearing that. He finally relaxed a bit, crying slowly calming in to sniffles. "Here, Raj..." Sakaki said softly, unclasping his canteen and unscrewing the top. He offered it to the younger man, "why don't you rinse your mouth out, you'll feel better."
Raj sniffled, slowly taking the canteen and shakily raising it to his lips. He took a few sips, swishing it around in his mouth and slowly pulling his legs off of Sakaki's legs so he could spit away from him, in to the grass. He didn't even contemplate what to do next, putting his legs right back on top of Sakaki's and handing him the canteen, saying quietly, "...thank y-you." It was a relief to have some of that nasty taste gone from his mouth.
The advisor's heart swelled at how the younger man went right back to sitting on his lap. He took the canteen, screwing it shut and re-attaching it to his belt. Raj slowly laid his head down on Sakaki's shoulder, and Sakaki wrapped his arms back around him and gave him a squeeze. Raj cried for only a minute or so longer, slowly calming down in to a few sniffles here and there. Once it seemed the younger man was mostly done crying, Sakaki folded up the handkerchief so it was clean. He carefully began cleaning Raj's face of the tears, and Raj let him, just keeping his head rested on his shoulder.
"Good boy," Sakaki said softly again, putting his handkerchief back in his pocket and petting the younger man's hair back. Raj took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and melting against his advisor. Yeah, he'd never get tired of hearing that.
After just taking a moment to breathe, Raj finally said softly, "Sakaki, I... I'm sorry I called you stupid. I don't think you're stupid." He kept his eyes shut tightly, not wanting to look the older man in the eyes as he said that... ashamed of how he'd acted.
Sakaki smiled softly at the younger man, squeezing him tightly and reassuring him, "it's alright, I know. You're tired, and you're sick with worry."
Raj bit down on his lip, nodding quietly before saying, "we have to get back to join the others, I... I want to know where The Claw has taken her."
The older man nodded, helping Raj swing his legs back on to the ground. He got to his own feet, reaching down and helping the prince up. He made sure Raj was steady on his feet before helping him back around the tree and to his horse. Raj got one foot in the stirrup but struggled to raise himself up on to the saddle, feeling very weak from all of the vomiting, crying, lack of eating and lack of sleep. Sakaki manually helped him get his other leg over the horse, making sure he was properly seated before going to his own horse and climbing on. He headed back toward the road, Raj quickly joining him. He made sure his horse was right next to Sakaki's, feeling more than a bit clingy.
As they made it back to join the others, they'd found that the others had somewhat come to a truce. Zen saw Raj and Sakaki returning, and so he led his horse over to them to talk, Kiki and Mitsuhide not far behind. When he finally got face to face, Zen almost immediately noticed the other prince's red, puffy eyes and pale face. The Lions of the Mountain's reason for abducting Shirayuki must have been too much for him to take, he assumed. Zen actually found that Raj's obviously awful emotional state almost immediately caused him to respect the other man a lot more than he had just a bit earlier. "Raj, the Lions have proposed that we look for Kazuki and Shirayuki together, since we have a common goal," Zen explained, "the Lions are asking if we're willing to forget what has happened with Shirayuki in order to work together. They're technically in Tanbarun territory, so this really isn't my call."
Raj didn't want to forget about what had happened. He wanted to beat their freaking faces in for what they'd gotten Shirayuki into. However, all he wanted to do right now was find her... and if teaming up with the Lions found her faster, then he would do it. He took a deep breath, attempting to say pleasantly, "I guess, sure." The Lions had always worked independently of the king's rules. They helped travelers and fought off bandits, so the king turned a blind eye to the fact that they didn't follow his laws. In the end, Raj wouldn't have been able to change that even if he'd wanted to.
Zen nodded, turning his horse around and approaching the leader of the Lions, the one they'd all been calling Pops. He raised his hand, colliding it in the air with Pops' hand and saying, "then it's a deal."
An hour or so later they found themselves in the forest just outside of a small port town. The entire town was working for the Claw, according to the Lions. It was most likely the best place to begin looking for Shirayuki. Obi had just gotten back from inside the gates and informed them that a man had seen someone fitting Kazuki's description. No one would have suspected Obi of working for royalty. This truly was like a hostage situation. If they tried to pick a fight, either Shirayuki or Kazuki could get hurt, or worse.
The truth was, Raj was beginning to zone out. He was exhausted, and all he could think about was Shirayuki. He put his left hand up against a tree, leaning against it. He was vaguely aware of Mitsuhide shouting, "you want to pretend to be a criminal and get sold to the Claw?!" Raj finally started listening, listening to Kiki explain that they would be less suspicious of a woman and that at least Shirayuki would have a friend to protect her. Mitsuhide was losing his mind - he did not like the idea of sending his partner on to that ship. He listened to Kiki and Mitsuhide argue back and forth, each one trying to convince Zen to pick their side.
"Your highness, I have some information you might want," Mihaya interjected.
"What is it?" Zen asked cautiously, still not trusting the other man. Only a few months back he had also kidnapped Shirayuki in an attempt to sell her red hair. He was so obsessed with becoming rich again, that he'd abandoned all morals. He was despicable. He was only helping now because they were forcing him to.
Mihaya rested his chin in his fingers, thinking for a moment before going on, "their base would be weak right now with the boss and their crew at sea. You remember that my father was a count and that he circulated with all kinds of people?"
"I do," Zen said cautiously.
Mihaya held up his hand, counting down on his fingers, "the pirates, the female leader, the backroom deals." He shrugged, "memories are flooding back about my crooked father and ruined older brother. I think they were in business with the Claw." The man's face said more than he could verbally - he was ashamed of what he'd just remembered. The Lions looked absolutely shocked as Mihaya went on to explain, "in fact, my family was in so deep with them that we were once invited back to the main base of their operations."
"Wait," Zen asked, taking a step forward, "are you saying you remember how to find it...?" Raj could see Zen's heart practically climbing in to his throat. Zen would do absolutely anything to find Shirayuki. Mihaya looked up at Zen, nodding.
"Impressive," Pops exclaimed, "we've been searching for years and I don't think we've come close to locating their mansion."
Mihaya smirked a bit, "I probably wouldn't have mentioned it if the situation wasn't so desperate... but this information will cost you."
Zen looked like he was about ready to march over there and wring Mihaya's neck. This man had done nothing but try to extort money from them since they'd met him. "Why am I surprised, of course you'd say that!" he said, frustration dripping from his voice.
"Mihaya will you please tell us wh-" Mitsuhide began, Mihaya holding up his hand to cut him off.
"This actually doesn't concern Prince Zen or Clarines," Mihaya explained, "the Claw of the Sea's base is in Tanbarun territory." He looked back at Raj and Sakaki, "and that means it concerns you, Prince Raj. This is technically your problem. Are you willing to give me what I want in exchange for the information?"
"Very well," Raj said right away, not even questioning it. He didn't even look like the question had phased him.
Mihaya stared at him in complete and utter shock. "Seriously?!" he yelled, not having expected it to be that easy.
"You're certainly not the first scoundrel to sell information to Tanbarun," Sakaki mused.
Raj crossed his arms, locking eyes with Mihaya, "and I want to save Shirayuki. If in the process you can help us root out a festering scourge on our kingdom, I'd be grateful. Such a gift warrants a handsome reward... right Sakaki?" At this point, he would agree to almost anything to find Shirayuki... but ridding Tanbarun of the Claw of the Sea would most definitely be a bonus. It would save countless lives in the future, and he knew that. Giving Mihaya the money he wanted would be worth it.
"Indeed," the advisor agreed, nodding his head.
Without another word, Kiki walked over to Mitsuhide, handing him her sword and smiling gently, "keep it safe." She knew this was hard for her partner. He'd be worried sick about her the entire time she'd be on that ship.
He took the sword regretfully, saying solemnly, "I will."
Over the next hour they went over their plan meticulously. They would dress Kiki up as a prisoner and take her aboard the Claw's ship in hopes of 'selling' her to them. While on the ship, she would make sure Shirayuki was safe. She would also give Shirayuki the walnut stone necklace that Kihal has left for her. Prince Zen currently had one of Clarines' new messenger birds with him. With the help of the walnut stone whistle and the walnut stone necklace, the bird would be able to keep them versed on the location of the ship. Meanwhile, Prince Zen, Mitsuhide, Obi, Mihaya, and the Lions would head toward the Claw's base to take them out ahead of time. They would be vulnerable without their leader and crew. While they did that, Prince Raj and Sakaki would go to the nearest port town inside of Tanbarun to rally up men and ships to follow the Claw to sea. They would trick the Claw in to retreating to their home base, and they would all corner the Claw at their own base, on all sides and even from the inside out.
Raj Shenazard had to talk to his people. He was terrified. As he'd recently learned from Shirayuki, the good majority of his people were less than happy with him as a prince. Raj did his best to keep face in front of everyone, but Sakaki could see easily how worried the Prince of Tanbarun was. After going over the plan multiple times, they began packing to go to their specific targets. As Raj was heading toward his horse, he heard Zen call out, "Raj!"
Raj froze, turning around to look at Zen. The Second Prince of Clarines smiled confidently at him, "I know you can do this." Zen had been able to tell just how concerned Raj was about speaking to his people. He didn't blame him for being concerned - Raj's people hated him, and Zen didn't blame them for hating him. Hell, Zen wasn't too fond of Raj, himself. However, it was never too late to change that opinion.
Raj blinked, not having expected that. He smiled, nodding and saying solemnly, "let's bring her back together." He bowed, before turning back around and returning to his horse. He struggled for a moment to get back on it, but Sakaki couldn't very well boost him on to his horse in front of all these people like he had earlier. He eventually got up on his horse, nodding to Sakaki and directing his horse toward the port town, as quickly as the animal could take him.
After another hour or so of riding, Sakaki and Raj found themselves at the center of the port town. The guards were about to announce to the people that they were gathering people to chase the Claw, and Raj and Sakaki were waiting underneath the stage. The people had no clue that the prince was actually there, within earshot. They could hear the crowd in front of the stage buzzing, "what? Prince Raj is here? Right now? Why would that idiot prince even come to the port town?" Raj clenched his fists at his sides, beginning to get angry but quickly stopping. He deserved the things they were saying. "That brat is such a pain. You know he's just going to demand a bunch of women and wine," another man called out. There was immediate laughter. Raj wrapped his arms around his waist, looking down at the ground. He couldn't get mad at that either, considering he'd actually done that in the past. That had not been one of his finer moments. Sakaki saw that the prince had most definitely heard their comments, so he slowly walked over to join him, just standing next to him. He hoped his presence would be enough to comfort him, even a bit, since he couldn't hug him right now.
After enough people had gathered, the guards had finally announced that they were going after the Claw of the Sea. After a very long silence, people began gasping and murmuring to each other. Suddenly a man called out, "that's a great story and all, but we have cargo to move!" Now they were yelling all types of things like "that's right, we've got our own work! What the hell is Prince Raj thinking? He has to know he's no match for a pirate!" Raj held his hands up to his ears, trying to drown out the noise. He was feeling extremely sensitive to light and sound right now - he was beginning to get a headache. "Why are they just standing around? We do not have time for this," he grumbled, staring up at Sakaki for a moment before marching off toward the stairs.
"Are you going out there, highness?" Sakaki asked cautiously, "you know they might not take too kindly to orders from you." He didn't want the younger man to get hurt. He knew how raw and ill Raj was feeling.
Raj bit down on his lip, trying to say with confidence, "don't underestimate me." Sakaki smiled, noticing the deliberate echo of what he'd said to the prince earlier. Raj made his way up the steps and on to the stage, noticing right away how the crowd went quiet with shock.
Some of them were whispering to each other, "that's him, that's Prince Raj."
He made it to the center of the stage, looking out at the crowd and immediately noticing how many of them there were. The second thing he noticed was how angry half of them looked. The other half of them looked like, well... they looked like they weren't taking him seriously. Oh God, they hated him. How the hell was he going to pull this off? The longer he stared at the angry faces the more anxious he got, and he started to feel like he might vomit again. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to stabilize himself. Sakaki had followed behind the prince, standing about ten feet away and watching the younger man closely.
Raj was really beginning to question if he could do this. His stomach was burning and he was beginning to feel dizzy. Suddenly Zen's words started playing in his head. 'I know you can do this.' His eyes shot open - maybe he could do this. Zen has never been his biggest fan, so if he thought he could do this, then maybe he could. "Listen, I uh..." he started loudly, stumbling over his words, "I-I mean we, we cannot allow the Claw of the Sea to escape us! So please, I ask you to lend me your strength."
They really didn't look impressed... it was like they could smell his fear. Of course they weren't taking him seriously. He had his arms crossed across his chest, hanging on to his arms nervously. It wasn't exactly a confident posture. Then again, he'd never really given them a reason to take him seriously, either. He had to give them a reason - Shirayuki was depending on it. Still, looking at all of their angry faces, he couldn't help but begin to wonder if he could do this. On top of the disapproving glares in the audience, though, Raj could also feel Sakaki staring a hole in the back of his head. Sakaki thought he could do this. Raj straightened his back, moving his arms down to his sides and snapping his chin up to hold his head up high. He had to get them to take him seriously. The only people that had ever taken him seriously had been Shirayuki and Sakaki. They'd only begun taking him seriously once he began admitting his faults.
Raj took a deep breath, looking out at the crowd and saying, "I know I've never given any of you any reason to take me seriously." He saw at least a few jaws drop, and he could practically feel Sakaki's eyebrows about to fly up and off of his face, even though he was facing away from him. Oh, his father wasn't going to like this. Even if he was ashamed of Raj's previous behavior, admitting fault so publicly and on such a large scale was not something they would normally do. He'd deal with his father later... right now all that mattered was getting Shirayuki back. "I've not taken my role seriously at all, and for that I am sorry. If you'd let me, I'd start changing that right now." He looked around at the crowd, noticing at least a few faces becoming less apprehensive. "The Claw of the Sea has been a scourge on Tanbarun for too long. They have been exploiting our ships, kidnapping our people, and ripping families apart!" he shouted. It was easy for Raj to speak so passionately about this subject, considering one of those kidnapped people was the one person that had shocked him in to his senses. "As the First Prince of Tanbarun, I cannot stand idly by while these mongrels exploit my people! Will you help me?" There was a long, uncomfortable pause. Oh God... he felt like he was going to vomit, again. Just as Raj was about to give up and turn around, one of the groups started cheering. Raj's eyes shot open wider as even more of the groups began cheering, and the people began lining up to sign up for the hunt for the Claw. He stared in shock, not sure what to do or how to respond for a brief moment. He quickly bowed, something he would have never thought to do in front of commoners before... but he was so grateful. His eyes had grown glassy with tears, closing his eyes while bowing to get it under control. He was just unbelievably relieved. Once he was confident that he had it controlled, Raj stood back up straight, turning around and heading back toward Sakaki.
Sakaki smiled proudly at the prince, whispering, "well done, sir," as they made their way back down the stairs. Raj smiled up at him, letting out a happy but watery laugh. He was so damn relieved, and kind of proud of himself. They made their way back to their horses, about to head to the docks. Both Sakaki and Raj climbed up on to their horses, Raj still struggling a bit to get up. "Have you ever been on a ship before, Prince Raj?" Sakaki asked. The older man had helped to raise the Shenazard children for years, and that didn't only include Raj. Sakaki had no memory of the prince having ever been on a ship, but he may have missed it while he was with Rona and Eugena, especially when they were very small.
"Only once when I was a child," Raj explained, a bit embarrassed by his inexperience. "But I have studied them recently!" he said quickly. The prince had been studying very hard for the past month or so.
"That much is good," Sakaki mused, tutting a bit to get his horse going. It didn't take long to get to the docks. Raj got off of his horse, Sakaki soon following. The younger man stared up at the ship for a moment, marveling at how huge it was.
"Shall we board then, highness?" Sakaki suggested, walking up the wooden plank. Raj followed, hopping down in to the ship, looking around for a moment. It was ginormous, and a bit overwhelming. Sakaki entered as well, saying quietly, "highness, would you please follow me?"
Raj blinked, nodding and following Sakaki to the captain's quarters. They went inside and Sakaki closed the door behind them. Raj was slightly surprised by how nice the room was, considering they were on a ship. There was a desk, a gorgeous rug, several cabinets, and a comfortable looking chaise. He supposed it wasn't that odd, after all it was a royal vessel. "I want you to rest while they prepare the ships, Prince Raj," Sakaki instructed.
"Rest?" Raj asked in disbelief, almost whining, "but I should be out there helping!"
Sakaki gave Raj a stern look and the prince immediately shrunk. "Your enthusiasm is wonderful, Raj, but you've had only one hour of sleep in the past day and a half, and you got very ill earlier. These men are depending on you to lead them, so you're going to lay down and sleep, am I understood?"
Raj noticed the deliberate drop of the word 'prince', knowing that it wouldn't end well for him if he kept pushing Sakaki. He shuffled in place awkwardly for a bit, nodding quietly and going over to the chaise to lay down. As he laid down, Sakaki walked over to stand next to him, petting his hair back and praising, "good boy." Raj immediately melted, closing his eyes and leaning his head in to his advisor's hand. Sakaki wouldn't normally be so controlling with the younger man, even with the new relationship they'd come to have. Usually, he would follow the majority of Raj's orders, even the ones he deemed a bit silly. However, right now the prince was working on little to no sleep, an empty stomach, and very raw emotions. He wasn't going to be able to make good judgement calls right now... and so Sakaki would make those calls for him.
He kept carding his fingers through Raj's hair, explaining softly, "I'll stay here while you fall asleep, and then I'll find someone to get you some food." The younger man groaned softly at the idea of eating. "I know, you don't want to," Sakaki said sympathetically, "but you've hardly eaten, and what you had eaten earlier was lost. You need your strength."
"I don't want to," Raj grumbled.
Sakaki kept his voice as firm as possible while still showing compassion for his situation, "I know you don't want to, but you have to."
"Says who?" Raj humphed, curling up on his side and facing away from Sakaki, "I don't have to do anything." The prince was not thinking straightly at all. His exhaustion, hunger and stress kept occasionally pushing him in to a very pompous mood. He had literally just thought that it would be a bad idea to push Sakaki, and here he was, pushing him so brazenly.
When Raj curled up on to his side and said those arrogant words, Sakaki pulled his hand back and landed it firmly on one of his under-curves. No one was going to notice a single smack in a sea of people talking and preparing ship equipment. Raj gasped, yelping and immediately flipping back on to his back, and looking up at Sakaki in shock. The prince still wasn't completely used to being held accountable for his bratty, childish behavior. Sakaki looked him in the eyes sternly, saying in an even voice, "says who? Says me, young man. If you want to act like a spoiled, stubborn little boy, that's fine with me... but you can expect to be a very sore spoiled, stubborn little boy once we return to the castle. Or, you could decide to listen to me when I tell you that you need food to keep your strength up and lead these men. It's your choice, Raj."
Raj swallowed hard, eyes darting away from Sakaki's and settling on his own hands... not knowing what else to look at. He never seemed to be able to fight back when Sakaki scolded him this way. Maybe it was because he knew he deserved it. He cringed when Sakaki called him a spoiled, stubborn little boy. He felt his chest tighten and his face heat up. He bit down on his lip, saying very quietly, "I'll... I'll eat."
Sakaki let out a silent sigh of relief before lowering himself down to take a seat on the edge of the chaise. "Good boy," he praised, wanting to encourage the younger man. "Raj..." Sakaki started gently, needing this to be said, "one day, you're going to be the King of Tanbarun. Moments like this are going to help shape you in to that king. If you want to be a leader of your people, you have to take care of yourself. How can you lead them if you're weak from hunger?" He needed the prince to understand that he had a reason for making him eat. Raj's eyes darted even further away, not able to look at Sakaki. He really had acted like a spoiled brat, just now. He'd been trying so hard not to, too. The advisor could see what was running through Raj's head. "Raj, look at me," Sakaki ordered, albeit gently. It took a moment for the prince to will his eyes up to lock with Sakaki's. The older man said gently, "it's alright to not know how to act right now, kiddo. I know you're exhausted and on edge, and that things like that are going to happen. I might not put up with it, but that doesn't mean that I don't understand, alright?" Raj's shoulders finally relaxed a bit, slowly nodding his head.
"Good," Sakaki smiled softly, reaching out and ruffling Raj's hair a bit.
Raj gave him a slightly annoyed look when he ruffled his hair, though the truth was he actually sort of liked it. He slowly looked up at his advisor and asked softly, "do you have to leave the room?"
Sakaki smiled sadly, "I'm afraid I do. We need to get that food in you, and I also need to know when we'll be leaving so I can wake you." Raj nodded, looking a little disappointed. "Don't worry," Sakaki said, pointing to the door, "I'll stay here while you fall asleep, and when I leave, I'll be standing right outside, in front of that door the entire time. I promise." The prince nodded, seeming to relax a bit at that thought. He didn't usually feel so clingy, but right now, his nerves were completely raw and he wasn't really sure if he could accomplish all of this on his own. He'd hardly ever left his castle and here he was, about to direct a fleet of over a dozen ships. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes again and trying to fall asleep. He struggled at first, but it became a lot easier once Sakaki began carding his fingers through his hair again. The prince soon found himself quickly drifting off to sleep, his body absolutely exhausted.
Two and a half hours later, Raj was awoken with a gentle hand petting his hair back. "Raj," Sakaki said gently, not wanting to jolt him out of sleep too quickly. The prince slowly opened his eyes, looking up at Sakaki with confusion at first before his eyes finally focused. "I've brought you some food," Sakaki said softly. Raj slowly sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the chaise. Sakaki joined him, sitting down next to him. He handed the prince a small plate with a sandwich on it. "It's not exactly what you're used to... it's from one of the nearby shops," Sakaki explained.
The last thing Raj felt like being right now was stuck up. He took the plate, saying sleepily, "thank you." He stared at the sandwich for a moment, absolutely revolted - not because the sandwich was revolting, but because the idea of eating was revolting. He'd gone so long without eating that the hunger was replaced with nausea. He picked the sandwich up, taking a slow bite of it and immediately gagging. Sakaki frowned, reaching his hand up and gently rubbing the younger man's back. Raj finally swallowed the first bite, immediately cringing as a wave of severe nausea washed over him. He tensed up, breathing more quickly for a moment in an effort to calm the awful feeling. After around thirty seconds he looked up at Sakaki and said tiredly, "I don't feel very good."
Sakaki frowned more deeply, continuing to rub his back in large circles. "I know, kiddo," he said quietly, "just take your time. We set sail in about an hour, I woke you up earlier to give you time to process the food." He meant both eating and digesting. He was almost certain the prince would throw up again once they were at sea and he wanted him to actually digest his food before that happened, this time.
Raj was amazed by how quickly they'd gotten so many ships ready. He slowly turned his head to face his food again, staring at it forlornly. He raised it to his mouth, taking another bite and shuddering, involuntarily leaning in toward Sakaki. The older man wrapped his arm around him, pulling him in closely. "You're doing great, Raj," Sakaki praised. He knew that while the nap will have helped in the long run, it was going to make the poor kid miserable in the short run. He had to feel absolutely disgusting.
The prince leaned more heavily on Sakaki when he praised him, raising the sandwich back up to his lips and taking another bite. He cringed... it was disgusting, but not as bad this time. There was no crippling nausea anymore. He sat it back down on the plate, taking a moment to breathe. After a few minutes, the smell of the sandwich finally became somewhat appealing, so he took another bite. Okay, this was becoming less awful. Sakaki smiled as the prince began eating more quickly, finishing the sandwich in just a few more bites. He gave Raj a squeeze, taking the plate from him and setting it on the desk. "Well done," he praised, getting up and helping Raj to lay back down. "Try to rest some more," he instructed.
Raj wanted to argue, just for the sake of arguing, but he was so damn tired. After sleeping for two hours or so, refusing to sleep some more was a lot harder than he thought it would be. He allowed himself to be laid down, looking up at Sakaki and asking, "do you have to go, this time?"
Sakaki sat back down on the edge of the chaise, "not if you want me to stay. They said they'd knock on the door when they were ready."
When Sakaki said he'd stay if Raj wanted him to, Raj's hand darted out and hung on to Sakaki's cloak. The prince's eyes were already closed, but he was hanging on for dear life to the older man. "It's alright," the advisor said, "I'll stay... just get some more sleep, now." Raj drifted off almost the moment he'd heard the words 'I'll stay.' Sakaki smiled just a bit, turning in his seat to face the prince and petting his hair back just a few times. He got comfortable, preparing to wait a while more.
Around forty-five minutes later, two loud knocks came at the door. Sakaki reached out and gently patted Raj's shoulder. "Raj," he said gently, "it's time to wake up now."
The prince groaned a bit as he came to, opening his eyes and looking around the room clumsily for a moment. Oh God, he was exhausted. He had to go find Shirayuki, though. He didn't hesitate, sitting up on the chaise and saying in a rather burnt-out voice, "lets go."
Sakaki stood up, reaching a hand out to help the younger man stand up. Raj took his hand, allowing his advisor to help him to his feet. Sakaki looked the prince over for a moment, reaching out and gently fixing his hair. His hair had shifted while he'd slept, and Sakaki ruffling it earlier hadn't helped, either. Raj let him fix his hair, wanting to look as normal as possible when he exited the room. Sakaki finished adjusting his hair, going to the door and opening it for Raj, motioning for him to go ahead. The prince took a deep breath, steadying himself before walking out the door and on to the deck. It took a short moment for his eyes to adjust to the light. He squinted a bit, seeing the crew run to their stations when they saw him.
Raj looked behind him just once to make sure Sakaki was there. As always, the older man was right behind him, watching silently. The truth was, Sakaki was on high alert. They were on a ship with multiple people that the prince had potentially hurt in the past. Any one of them could be planning something. He hated to think of these people that were helping them in such a horrible way, but Sakaki's first priority was always Raj.
Raj took a step forward, and then another and another, heading to the center of the deck. "Good afternoon, gentlemen!" he called out, making sure he was loud enough to be heard by all of them, "thank you for choosing to accompany me! We're setting out to the north to pursue the Claw of the Sea. When you are ready, set sail!" Raj may have been in charge of this mission, but he was no sailor. One of the professionals stepped up, now, beginning to shout orders to the crew. The crew got straight to work, slowly raising the anchor and beginning to separate from the dock.
As the ship began moving, Raj made his way up and on to the forecastle deck. Sakaki was close behind, watching how Raj struggled to walk with the ship's movements. He didn't reach out to help him, though, knowing that Raj had to save face in front of the others, and also knowing that it was important that the younger man learn to do this on his own. Raj hung on to the edge, steadying his footing. They knew that this could take a good while. They had no way of knowing when the Claw had left their port, so it could take hours to find them. It was time to get comfortable.
Around an hour in to the search, Raj's stomach was beginning to disagree with the ground that was moving below him. Sakaki noticed how the younger man's face was going pale and that his stance was drooping. "Are you feeling seasick, sir?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Raj denied, hanging on tighter to the edge of the ship. As a gust of wind hit the ship Raj's head spun, making the nausea that much worse.
Sakaki walked up beside him, saying as casually as possible, "it's alright if you're seasick, Prince Raj. No one's judging you for it."
Raj was about to argue when another gust of wind came. His head span, body a confused mix of hot and cold. This had become a too familiar feeling, today. This wasn't like the nausea from before... no amount of breathing was helping. Motion sickness had its own set of troubles. He closed his eyes, trying to stop the spinning. It was futile - the prince immediately leaned over the side of the ship, heaving harshly and retching the contents of his stomach in to the sea. Sakaki frowned, walking over and standing as close to him as society would allow. He looked behind himself to see if anyone was within earshot, before turning back to face Raj. "It's alright, highness," he crooned quietly, "I'm right here. I promise, it'll pass." He wished he could at least put his hand on his back. He watched as the prince vomited, happy, at least to see that the good majority of his dinner had digested.
Raj heaved harder - this time was different, it didn't come in waves. It was all coming fast and hard. His body shook hard with each heave, and his eyes watered, though he didn't cry. After what felt like a very long time, his stomach finally calmed down enough to stop vomiting. He shakily pulled himself away from the side of the ship, looking up at Sakaki with exhausted eyes for a short moment. Sakaki reached under his cloak and in to his pocket, pulling out another handkerchief and handing it to the prince. Raj reached a shaky hand out, taking the handkerchief and beginning to clean his face off. He began to wonder just how many handkerchiefs Sakaki had. Once Raj was done cleaning his nose and mouth, Sakaki reached out to take it back. Raj hadn't planned on giving it back until later, figuring he should wash it first. When he wasn't having a meltdown, he actually bothered to think about things like that. It seemed that Sakaki didn't care, though. "Thank you," the prince said quietly, allowing Sakaki to take the handkerchief.
Another two hours or so passed, and there were a few close calls with Raj's nausea, but he held it together. Suddenly, the crewman in the crow's nest cried out, "your highness!"
Raj jumped a bit, turning around, looking up at him and calling, "yes, what is it?"
"Look, over there!" he shouted, pointing out to sea.
The prince took out his scope and focused on what the man had pointed at, seeing a ship. He immediately noticed the gorgeous blue bird from Clarines circling the ship in question. "Sakaki, that's the one!" Raj exclaimed.
"Yes sir," Sakaki responded, getting ready for what would most likely be an exhausting chase. He looked over at the younger man, watching him slowly lower his scope and scowl at the ship angrily.
"Prince Raj!" another man approached him, "we have a confirmed sighting of Shirayuki aboard the Claw's vessel."
Raj immediately seemed to perk up. "Is she alright?" he asked, eager to know the answer.
"Appears to be," the man answered, and Raj could feel an immediate wave of relief wash over him. He turned back to face the Claw of the Sea's ship, staring a nasty hole through it. Their fleet began approaching the Claw's ship - it was slow and deliberate. They wanted them to see them coming. It was part of the plan.
"So Shirayuki and Kiki, as well as the boy, Kazuki..." Sakaki started, assessing the situation, "they're all being held as prisoners aboard that ship?"
Raj didn't even seem to notice his advisor's question. "Sakaki," he suddenly murmured.
Sakaki looked Raj over, wondering what had him so deep in thought, "sir?"
"I've always considered myself to be a pitiful prince," Raj repeated what he'd said earlier that day. Suddenly his voice got dangerously low and serious, "but now that I'm so mad... I don't feel all that pitiful anymore." Sakaki stared at the prince with a mixed look of shock and pride. Coming face to face with the people that were holding Shirayuki against her will had given the younger man a second wind. He didn't look exhausted at all, in fact he looked almost ready to jump off the ship, swim over there and stab one of them in the throat.
They finally came within shouting distance of the ship. Before Sakaki could respond to Raj's statement, the younger man began shouting, "pirates! Can you hear me? I am the First Prince of Tanbarun, Raj Shenazard! The redheaded girl you have taken is special!" Raj's voice was getting more and more angry, "in Tanbarun she is held in high regard! The only person to hold the title 'Friend of the Crown!' Understand that we will not allow you to get away from us!"
Suddenly, the enemy ship turned themselves around and began heading west. There was no way the Claw would be able to take on all of the ships that Raj had collected. Raj was relieved when they began heading west. Perfect. Right where they wanted them to go! The Claw's ship was headed right toward Prince Zen, Mitsuhide, Obi, and the Lions.
"Friend of the Crown?" Sakaki asked, amusement in his voice, "that's the first I've heard of such a title. And when was this decided?"
"Just now in fact!" Raj said proudly, turning around to face him. He smiled, putting his hands on his hips and saying, "I thought it would make them nervous!" Sakaki blinked, realizing how damn smart that was. He smiled proudly at the prince for thinking so quickly on his feet. Raj noticed the proud look, blushing. When not having an emotional breakdown, Raj wasn't exactly sure how to handle that look. He stumbled for his words, scratching at his face a bit and looking away, "u-uh... I mean, it's true though." He slowly looked back up at his advisor, wondering what he would say.
Sakaki kept that same stupid, proud grin on his face. "Well congratulations, your highness," he said, meaning every word of that.
Raj actually smiled just a bit, but it was short lasting. As they followed the Claw to their destination, he suddenly heard one of the men shouting, "hey, what's that?" Raj turned to the front of the ship, staring at the now extremely turbulent waters not far in front of their ship. There were multiple nasty undercurrents. They tried to stop the ship in time, but it was a very large object moving at a very fast speed. "It's too late!" someone cried out as the ship began colliding with the choppy water.
Sakaki immediately grabbed Raj's upper arm, pulling him away from the side of the ship and off of the forecastle. Raj gasped in surprise but followed his advisor, figuring if he was grabbing him like this in front of others that his life must be in immediate danger. That made his heart climb in to his throat, this was terrifying. Every step they took was more and more shaky, the ship rocking in a violent fashion. Sakaki got them on to the main deck, quickly tucking the younger man next to the stair case and saying firmly, "hang on tightly, highness." Raj looked up at him with eyes that said what he couldn't say out loud with all of these people here - he was terrified. Sakaki wished he could take the time to comfort the younger man, but the ship was beginning to rock more violently. Sakaki threw himself on to the other side of the stairs, wedging himself up against them to keep his body stationary.
"Will someone cut the rudder?" The man that had been in charge of the crew began shouting, "NOW, as in RIGHT NOW! We're getting sucked in!" The crew was scrambling all over the ship, trying to keep it in place.
"It's no use your highness, we can't move in any closer!" another man called out.
"We can't? Tell me why!" Raj shouted out, despite his fear. All he could think about was getting to Shirayuki, even with the ship rocking around like this. The Claw was getting away, and they were heading for Zen without him. They needed him to trap the Claw.
"It's the Blue Vortex. A cluster of maelstroms that randomly appears in Tanbarun's seas," Sakaki shouted, the waves getting louder and louder. Raj's eyes widened - he remembered reading about the Blue Vortex just a few weeks ago. "Unless one knows the currents inside and out, it's impossible to traverse. If we simply plunged in, the ship would be smashed to splinters!" Sakaki explained, leaning harder in to the stairs to try to stay in place. Raj hung on tighter to the stairs, frowning deeply and falling deep in to thought.
After only a few minutes of clinging on to the staircase, Raj was getting anxious to follow after the Claw's ship. He couldn't let them slip away with Shirayuki. "Are we gonna make it? Because this ship sure is rocking a lot!"
"Didn't I say we shouldn't just plunge in?" Sakaki asked in disbelief. He couldn't believe the prince was so eager to jump right in to a sea of maelstroms. The same prince that had been calling himself a coward just earlier that day.
"Oh shut up!" Raj said, almost immediately realizing what he'd just said and shrinking a bit. Sakaki gave him a short, firm look from across the staircase, but left it at that. He knew they were in a terrifying situation and he wasn't expecting Raj to behave perfectly. Raj tried to explain, "I know you saw it too, that stupid pirate lady sneered at me! How can a person look that arrogant while they're retreating?" About half way through that sentence, Raj began to notice that Sakaki was just kind of staring at nothing. "Are you even listening Sakaki?!" he asked, beginning to sound a bit panicked.
"Sire, I just remembered..." Sakaki mused, remembering something he'd once read in the castle's never ending library. "The blue vortex will shift. It changes direction every ten seconds. If we go with the current instead of against it, then maybe..." he suggested, not even knowing for sure that it would work.
"Every ten seconds?" Raj asked softly, thinking to himself for a moment before asking, "so any idea when we should start counting for the next shift change?"
"No," Sakaki said, sighing. This was not going to be easy.
"Right..." Raj murmured, getting up off of the deck and to his feet. He threw himself forward to hang on to the banister, shouting, "listen up men! Move the rudder left and right! That should get us past this vortex to calm waters!"
"Yes sir!" The crew called out, beginning to do as he said. "Left!" the man in charge of the crew shouted, and they shouted it right back. They repeated the same thing with the right.
Raj stared in amazement as it actually began to work. "Yes..." he murmured under his breath, feeling unbelievably relieved.
Sakaki got to his feet and shakily walked across the deck to join him, also hanging on to the banister. "You were just making random things up, weren't you prince?" he asked, a completely serious look on his face.
"At times like this it's sink or swim," Raj explained. The ship hit a particularly rough patch and Raj ran to the side of the boat again. Sakaki followed him, actually hanging on to the prince's waist this time. No one would question it now, they were in such harsh waters that the prince could fall overboard if Sakaki didn't hang on to him. Raj heaved, throwing up for the nth time that day.
Sakaki frowned, squeezing Raj's waist and saying, "you've done amazingly well, highness." He really was proud of the younger man.
Raj stood up straight, thinking he was done. "Don't underestimate..." he went pale, "Tanbarun." He leaned back over the edge and heaved again, vomiting just once more. Sakaki smiled at how the prince immediately gave the credit to the crew. He squeezed his waist, just letting him finish. He finished vomiting, wiping his mouth with his hand this time... he was not going to ask Sakaki for yet another handkerchief. He finally straightened himself out, turning around to face the crew.
As they traversed the field of maelstroms, the ship was tossed about even more severely. Raj flew backward, almost flying overboard. He yelped, upper half of his body flying right over the side. Sakaki shot his arms out, catching the prince and setting him back on his feet. "Are you alright, your highness?" he asked. Sakaki's heart had dropped in to his stomach when the prince almost flew overboard. He could feel his hands shaking as he stabilized Raj's balance.
Raj's heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest, that had scared him so badly. He took a deep breath, letting Sakaki stabilize him before saying quietly, "I'm fine, thank you." He headed straight for the forecastle. Sakaki wasn't far behind him, both of them struggling to walk on the shaky ground. They eventually made it, clinging on to the side of the ship. Raj refused to hide like a coward while the crew members worked their asses of to get them through this mine field of maelstroms. He was going to be at the very front of the ship, facing this head on. Sakaki knew exactly why Raj was doing this, and he couldn't have been more proud, and also terrified.
They clung tighter to the side of the ship, and Raj let out a short shout of surprise when he heard the sails rip and watched wooden debris from the ship fly around them. Raj's eyes widened when he saw how close they were to escaping the maelstroms. "We're nearly there, men!" Raj shouted, "we're so close, keep going!"
The crew shouted and cheered, pushing their way through the last small section of the turbulent waters. Raj hung on tightly to the side of the ship, closing his eyes tightly as they passed the last bit of danger. When they hit calm water, Raj slumped over for just a short moment, catching his breath. After a few short moments the prince stood back up, smiling and crossing his arms over his chest. He couldn't believe that had actually worked.
"We did it, we caught up with them, highness," Sakaki exclaimed.
Raj grinned, saying tiredly but confidently, "yes we did." Sakaki could see how happy and relieved the prince was, but he could also see how exhausted and ill he felt. The younger man's face had grown extremely pale, and dark circles were now forming under his eyes. Raj took a deep breath, turning around and addressing the crew. "Thank you for your hard work! Without all of you we would have never survived!" he shouted, meaning every word. "However, I'm afraid I must ask for your help again," Raj exclaimed, turning and pointing at the cave the Claw's ship had escaped to. He snapped his fingers, like he often did when he felt confident, "forward ho brave gentlemen! Destroy the pirate ship and cut off their escape route at once!"
The crew cheered - these men had grown more than sick and tired of the Claw controlling their trade routes and threatening their loved ones. They quickly steered toward the cave at top speeds, slipping inside and heading right for the pirates' ship. They were going to ram it. They could see crew from the Claw's ship frantically jumping off of the ship in anticipation. "Do not falter!" Raj cried out, hanging on to the ship and bracing for impact. Sakaki was also preparing himself, thinking of all of the different things that could fall and possibly hurt Raj. Finally, their ship rammed in to the side of the Claw's vessel, quickly reducing a good chunk of it to splinters. As the ship impacted, Raj couldn't hang on any longer and he fell backward, landing sprawled out on his back, on the deck. Just as he landed and looked up, his eyes widened - the figurehead from their ship had broken off and was flying right toward him. There wasn't even any time to try to move. The prince gasped, covering his face with his arms and trying to turn away. Sakaki immediately threw himself in front of Raj, sword already unsheathed. He used all of his strength to extend his sword forward, crashing in to the figurehead and sending it flying. The older man looked down at Raj worriedly, asking, "are you alright, prince?"
Raj stared up in shock at Sakaki for a moment. He'd practically planned his own funeral in that half of a second, but here he was in one piece. He felt like throwing up from the rush of adrenaline, but he smiled up at Sakaki and laughed lightly from relief. "Of course I am," he said casually, before admitting, "just a little terrified." Sakaki smiled approvingly at the prince, reaching down and helping him up to his feet.
Just as he got up, he heard the familiar voice of Kiki shouting, "you two, get inside!" He climbed down clumsily on to the Claw's ship to get a better view, looking on in horror as the Claw's leader threw the blunt end of her kusarigama and trapped Shirayuki in its chains.
"Shirayuki!" Kiki shouted, breaking her wrists free rather easily from their bonds and slamming her body in to one of her 'captors' to try to go to Shirayuki's aid.
Suddenly another familiar voice chimed in, "Kiki!" Kiki's sword was tossed right in to her hands, and she quickly slammed its handle right in to the gut of the other man that was by her. Another man charged at her, but Mitsuhide jumped down and swiftly kicked him in the face. Raj stared in horror as he saw the Claw's leader, Umihebi, holding the very sharp end of her kusarigama to Shirayuki's throat. He was about to jump down when finally, he saw Zen step out from the shadows. Oh, thank God.
"Stay on the ship, men!" Raj shouted back to his own ship, "you have done what we have set out to do - we have destroyed the Claw's ship! I know you must want justice, but I promise you justice will be done if you just wait!" He didn't want his people to be in any more danger than they'd already been in. Most of them weren't swordsmen, they were fishermen. He was beyond relieved when they actually listened to him. Maybe he had gained some respect from them.
He looked back down just in time to see one of Obi's throwing daggers fly down from the ceiling, distracting Umihebi just long enough for Shirayuki to bite Umihebi's forearm. He gasped as Umihebi reared the large, blunt end of her weapon back and smacked Shirayuki to the ground with it. That's when he saw Obi fall from the ceiling, landing confidently on both feet between Shirayuki and Umihebi. Raj sighed in relief when he saw Zen rush to her aid, helping her up and taking her far away from the horrible bitch that had taken her.
As the Claw was about to chase them, the Lions swooped in. Pops landed a swift punch to one of their faces, knocking them out cold. "What's wrong Umihebi?" Pops asked, "you look rather flustered. Are you worried about your castle on the other side of this cave? Don't be, we already paid it a visit." Raj had barely heard that, but when he did it was like a huge weight was lifted off of his chest. That meant that the passageway he had just watched Zen take Shirayuki and Kazuki to was safe. Shirayuki was safe.
It was like nothing mattered for the next few moments. Raj stood there and watched as the Lions and Zen's crew quickly surrounded the Claw. The pirates had never had a chance, really. They were drastically outnumbered, and it took them less than two minutes to be subdued. It all ended with Umihebi casting her kusarigama out to slice in to Pops. He ducked back just in time, reaching out and grabbing ahold of the chain. "DAMN YOU!" she shrieked, trying to yank back on her weapon, but it wasn't budging. It was over.
Raj could have cried from relief, but instead he shouted, "all clear!" to his men, running forward and climbing down and off of the ship. Sakaki was quick to follow behind him. Even if the Claw was subdued, he had no intention of letting Raj down there with them without him.
About half way down the side of the ship, Raj lost his ability to hang on to the ropes, falling down to the ground and landing hard. "Prince Raj!" Sakaki shouted, immediately letting go and jumping down after him... only he landed on his feet. Raj groaned a bit, sitting up slowly and trying to get up. He got up to his feet, swaying back and forth for a moment before almost falling. Sakaki caught the younger man, frowning and propping him up against the ship. He went to stand in front of Raj, crouching down and putting both arms behind him. He was offering to carry Raj on his back.
"Sakaki," Raj said quietly, unsure about this.
Sakaki looked back at him, saying just as quietly, "it's alright, they'll just assume I'm carrying you because you injured your leg in the fall. It's our job to round the Claw up and take them back to the prison." They didn't need to know that the prince's exhausted body had finally just given out - it had no strength left. Raj sighed, nodding. He took one step forward, muscles in his legs quivering. He positioned himself over Sakaki's back, and the older man immediately stood back up, hooking his arms under Raj's legs to keep him supported. Raj held on tightly to Sakaki's shoulders as he stood so he wouldn't fall. The advisor headed toward the mess of people, and Raj began shouting orders to his officers. "Bind them, and do it well!" the prince called out, "we can't have them escaping during transit!"
"Yes sir!" they called out, rushing to grab the ropes. It looked like Sakaki was right, they all thought he'd injured his leg. Raj watched as they made sure to tie both their upper arms and their wrists, feeling a huge wave of relief wash over him when he saw them finish Umihebi's binds.
Raj pointed to a small group, saying, "you, check upstairs for any stragglers. I'm sure Prince Zen's people got them all, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious." The officers immediately ran up the stairs to check the small castle over for more people. The younger man pointed to another group... some of the stronger men, "meet up with Prince Zen and his people out front. I'd like you to accompany them back to Tanbarun." They bowed to the prince, turning and heading upstairs to do as they were told. Raj looked back at the men on the ship, also thinking about the fleet that was still left behind the Blue Vortex. He had one more thing to do. He pointed to the many crates surrounding the walls, ordering, "make sure you collect all of the food, clothing and tools! I want it given to the people of the port town we set sail from." He could hear the men on the boat cheering. He felt his face heat up, not used to people cheering for him like this.
Sakaki smiled, squeezing his arms tighter around the prince's legs for a short moment and saying, "phenomenal idea, your highness."
Raj blushed even deeper, saying under his breath, "it's only right. They should be paid for their time." Sakaki smiled, nodding and continuing to carry the prince around to different parts of the cave, letting him give orders to his officers. Within an hour they had finished collecting the crates and the members of the Claw. They finally made their way up the stairs and out of the humble castle. When they got outside, Raj sighed a bit.
"Something the matter, sir?" Sakaki asked.
Raj shook his head, "it's nothing. I just wish I could have spoken to Shirayuki before they left."
"Don't worry, we'll see them tomorrow, highness," Sakaki reminded him.
Raj nodded, "yes." He looked back at his officers, "are we all prepared to head back to the castle?"
When the officers gave the affirmative, Sakaki carried Raj to his horse. "Do you think you can sit up on the horse, sire?" he asked, concerned. Luckily Zen and his people had left them these horses for the trek home.
"I think so, yes..." Raj said quietly, "I think it's just my legs." Sakaki found that doubtful - he was sure his entire body was fatigued.
"I think it would be better if you rode on my horse with me," Sakaki suggested, sounding very serious.
Raj was about to argue, but then he felt a nasty pain climb up his back and to his neck - now the idea of supporting his own torso sounded just awful. He let out a loud huff, saying quietly, "alright." At least this way the officers had one more horse to get home.
Sakaki smiled, calling an officer over and pointing to one of the horses. "Please take this horse back to the castle. I must accompany the prince due to his injury," he explained. The officer nodded, taking the reigns and leading the horse over to the others. Sakaki headed back toward their horse, slowly crouching to the ground to let Raj off of his back. It took the prince a moment to get his footing, swaying side to side for a moment. The advisor wedged his foot in to the stirrup, swinging himself up and on to the horse. He reached a hand down for Raj, and the prince took it, allowing Sakaki to help him up on to the horse. It was honestly a bit of a struggle, but they achieved their goal.
Sakaki made sure to begin heading home a few minutes before the rest, wanting to be decently ahead of the group so Raj could say and do anything he felt he needed to. After riding for a short while, the prince leaned forward and rested his head against Sakaki's back. "Is your back okay?" Raj asked, "you carried me for a long time."
The advisor smiled softly - he was sure the prince was physically miserable, and here he was worrying about him. "I'm fine, kiddo," Sakaki promised, "don't worry about me."
There was another long pause, and Raj said softly, "Sakaki."
"Mm?" Sakaki asked, feeling the prince hang on tighter to his waist for a moment.
Raj took a deep breath, finally saying, "thank you. I would have never survived today without you..."
"Nonsense," Sakaki immediately said, looking back at the younger man for a short moment and reminding him, "don't underestimate yourself."
Raj blinked, not having expected that response. He hung on tighter, thinking for a moment and saying quietly, "still, I'm... I'm glad you were there."
"Always, Prince Raj," Sakaki promised, "that will never change." He felt Raj finally relax his hold on his waist, and felt him nuzzle in to his back a bit. He wouldn't be surprised if the prince was currently battling his urge to sleep. Unfortunately, they couldn't stop at an inn because of the prisoners. "Don't worry, highness," Sakaki murmured, "only a few hours, and then we can get you to bed." Raj didn't even respond, beginning to zone out. Without the adrenaline of searching for Shirayuki, his body was shutting down very quickly.
It took around four hours for them to get back home to the castle. It would have usually taken less time, but it was slow moving with the cart of prisoners. Raj and Sakaki made sure the Claw was safely behind bars before heading inside the castle. By the time they'd arrived, it was very late... around one'o'clock in the morning. Sakaki was carrying the prince on his back again, going up to the bedroom door and struggling to open it for a moment. He eventually got it open, going inside and shutting the door with his foot. He went over to Raj's bed and stood next to it, turning so his back was to the bed and taking a seat. Once they were sitting, Raj let go of Sakaki's shoulders and Sakaki let go of the prince's legs, standing back up.
Raj almost immediately collapsed back on to the bed as Sakaki went over to the armoire to search for some pajamas for the prince. When he turned back around with the pajamas, the younger man was already asleep, still where Sakaki had left him. Sakaki smiled softly, going over to the bed and gently shaking Raj's shoulder. "Kiddo, wake up," the older man said softly.
The prince whimpered, groaning and opening his eyes. "I want to sleep," he whined.
"I know you do, buddy, but you need to change in to these," Sakaki said, holding up his pajamas. "You've been wearing those clothes in the forest and on the ship," Sakaki explained, "they're sweaty, dirty, and all around not comfortable to sleep in. Now, come on, sit up for me."
Raj groaned, sitting up slowly and staring at the pajamas. Sakaki handed them over to the prince, saying softly, "I'll be right outside, I'll be back in a few minutes." Raj really didn't want Sakaki to go, but he also had no plans on changing in front of him, so he nodded. Sakaki headed outside, and Raj stood up, beginning to very slowly change. Every move was excruciating and exhausting. He slowly undid his scarf, taking it off and setting it on his dresser. He unfastened his cape, setting it on the dresser as well before lifting his vest over his head. Oh God, why were there so many layers? He groaned in frustration, fumbling with his buttons on his blouse and ripping it off, unceremoniously dropping it to the floor. He was done being proper. He undid his belt, unbuttoned his pants and quickly shimmied them off, groaning louder when he realized the pants were caught on the boots that he'd forgotten to take off. "Aaaagh!" he shouted frustratedly, kicking the boots off and finally kicking his pants off along with them. Oh thank God, he was almost done. He quickly slipped his pajama pants on, and then slowly put both arms through the arms of his top, clumsily buttoning it up. He stumbled back to his bad, collapsing down on to it.
After Sakaki gave the prince a decent amount of time to redress and then some, he finally came back in to the room. He looked down at the bed, chuckling a bit at how Raj was laying. He'd fallen on to the bed, but he was laying on it length wise. Well, he couldn't leave him like this. "Highness," Sakaki said gently, petting his hair back, "wake up, we need to get you in to bed."
The prince groaned, not wanting to move. "I am in bed," Raj murmured, covering his eyes with his arm and trying to fall back to sleep.
Sakaki tried not to laugh, trying to pull Raj up to a sitting position, "we need to get you under the covers."
"I'm fine without the covers," Raj tried, falling back on to the bed. He whimpered a bit, "at least then I won't have to move." The prince had never been so fatigued in his entire life.
Sakaki sighed, staring at the younger man for a moment. "Alright, lets get you to bed," he said, pulling back the covers just enough. It was hard to do with Raj laying on the bed. He leaned over, scooping the prince up and in to his arms, one arm behind his shoulders and the other under his knees. Raj gasped a bit, half asleep, eyes flying open for just a moment in surprise. When he saw that it was Sakaki his eyes fluttered shut again, trusting the older man to get him where he needed to be. Sakaki carefully laid the prince down in the correct part of his bed, gently pulling some of the covers out from under his legs afterward. He pulled the covers up and over the younger man, laying them just below his chin. Sakaki sat down on the side of the bed, at the head of the bed. He had no intention of leaving the prince until he was completely sure he was asleep. Raj melted under the blankets, definitely enjoying how it felt. Sometimes, nothing beat laying down in your own bed.
Raj rolled over on to his side, opening his eyes the slightest bit and looking up at Sakaki. Sakaki reached out and carded his fingers through his hair, murmuring, "you did great today, kiddo... now, it's time to get some sleep." Raj would have been smiling so brightly right now if he wasn't so tired - even before the past day's events, Raj had always secretly loved when Sakaki praised him. He supposed that it probably wasn't all that secret to Sakaki anymore. Raj looked up at his advisor for a moment, just thinking. He took a deep breath, collecting all of his strength together and slowly shifting his upper half over toward Sakaki. He very slowly moved his head on to Sakaki's lap, trying to move slowly enough for the older man to move or say something if he was uncomfortable. Raj was immediately relieved when his advisor allowed him to lay his head down and began carding his fingers through his hair. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and closing his eyes. He was quickly beginning to drift, just focusing on Sakaki's fingers in his hair.
Sakaki watched as the prince began to drift off on his lap. He smiled when he realized that it had only been two or three minutes and that Raj was already out cold. He stayed with the younger man for a while longer, knowing that it's what Raj would want. He gave it another ten minutes, just petting his hair and thinking. He slid out from underneath Raj's head, very carefully. He probably didn't have to be so careful - the prince was completely out, and likely would be for many hours. Sakaki smiled, gently moving the younger man's head back to the pillow. He fixed the covers around Raj, petting his hair for a moment before finally heading to the door. He very carefully turned the handle, not wanting to wake Raj up. The prince slept right through it, and Sakaki slipped out of the room.
Around ten hours later, Raj finally began stirring. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting a bit as his eyes adjusted to the light. He groaned a bit, stretching out and slowly peeling the covers off of himself. He slowly sat up, wincing as he did - his muscles ached horribly. To be fair, he had been on a ship that had crashed in to another ship. He slowly made his way to the dresser, taking a good ten minutes to change in to his clothes for the day. It was an excruciating process, but he eventually finished. He picked up his hairbrush, slowly running it through his hair and dropping it back on to the dresser. He stretched one more time, his tense muscles straining - it hurt, but it felt good at the same time.
The prince went to his door, opening it and heading out in to his study. He looked to his left, blinking when he saw Sakaki standing there. "Good morning, sir," Sakaki greeted him, "how did you sleep?"
"Very well, thank you," Raj said, "to be honest with you, I don't really remember getting in to bed last night."
Sakaki chuckled, "that doesn't really surprise me - you were exhausted."
"Sakaki," Raj said, looking worriedly at the older man.
The advisor wondered why the prince looked so concerned, "yes your highness?"
"You haven't been standing there long, have you?" Raj asked.
The older man smiled, Raj had actually been worried about him. Honestly, seeing the prince worried about people other than himself was still a relatively new development... the first instance in a very long time was only a few months back. "No, Prince Raj," he assured him, "I've only been here an hour, maybe two. Don't worry yourself, I slept in my bed, not in front of your door."
Raj looked like he was relieved by that. The prince knew that Sakaki would, at times, push himself too far when it came to Raj's wellbeing. Raj knew that he wasn't the only one that had been on that ship... he knew Sakaki had to be very sore as well. "Good," Raj exclaimed, brow furrowing for a moment before asking, "is Shirayuki returning tonight?"
"She is, highness" Sakaki nodded, "in fact your father is throwing another ball, tonight. It seems he's pleased that you've found her."
Raj blinked, looking shocked, "he... he is?" He looked like he almost didn't believe him.
"Indeed," Sakaki said, smiling when he saw the look on the younger man's face. Raj had never really seen his father go out of his way to do something nice for him. Or perhaps he was doing this to ensure their kingdom's relationship with Clarines. Either way, Raj was ecstatic that the ball was going to be tonight.
A smile slowly crept across Raj's face, and he excitedly ran back in to his room. "I need to prepare an outfit for tonight," he exclaimed.
Sakaki grinned, asking, "don't you already have one prepared from the night of the original ball, sir?" Raj couldn't be more excited to see Shirayuki, again.
Raj stopped in his tracks, frowning, "oh, I suppose you're right."
"She should be back very soon, you know," Sakaki said, hoping that would perk the prince up a bit.
Raj blinked, looking panicked for a moment and saying, "she... she what?" He scrambled out in to his study, "I should be preparing to welcome her back!"
"Calm down, your highness," Sakaki soothed, following behind him, "you don't need to prepare for anything. Shirayuki will just be happy to see you."
Raj looked over at Sakaki worriedly, "you don't think she'll be angry with me?"
"Angry? Highness," Sakaki sighed, guiding Raj over to the couch and sitting him down. He sat down next to him, insisting, "Shirayuki is an intelligent young lady... she wouldn't blame what had happened on you, or anyone here for that matter."
Raj stared at Sakaki for a moment, really studying his face, wanting to know if he meant that. When he could find no lies in his face, he relaxed a bit, hesitantly murmuring, "alright." He still wasn't sure if he completely believed him... but he would try.
"Until she arrives, just try to take it easy... maybe have some breakfast," Sakaki suggested, "I'm sure you're sore and tired from yesterday." This time it really was just a suggestion. Now that Raj had gotten a decent night's sleep, Sakaki felt like he could rely on Raj's judgement.
Raj thought about it for a moment, still feeling a bit sick. Considering he'd vomited one of his two meals yesterday, he'd only really had one meal all day. His blood sugar was still low and the idea of eating sounded awful. Still, though... he knew he'd only get sicker and sicker until he ate something. It was a lot easier to be logical about this situation now that he knew Shirayuki was safe, and now that he'd gotten sleep. "Very well," the prince agreed, looking up at Sakaki and amending, "but... something light. I'm still not feeling so well."
"Yes sir," Sakaki said, getting up and heading out of the study. While his advisor went to find him a maid to get him some food, Raj tried to relax back in to the couch. Even with ten hours of sleep, he was exhausted. He supposed he would be for a couple days. It wasn't long before Sakaki returned, sitting down on the couch opposite of the prince. "They'll bring you something in a few minutes," he informed him.
Raj nodded, saying quietly, "thank you." He was glad Sakaki had convinced him to relax, because now that he was sitting, he was quickly fading in to minor exhaustion.
Within a few minutes, a maid entered the room. She nervously brought a large platter of fruit to the coffee table between the couches, setting it down. "Here... here you are, your highness," she stuttered, looking like she really didn't want to be there.
Raj wondered why she looked so damn worried. He searched her face for a moment, eyes widening as he realized who she was. This particular maid had suffered Raj's previously disgusting attitude before. He had blown up so badly on her once before, that the older, more experienced maids had ended up taking over her duties, afterward. He'd even tried to have her fired, but Sakaki had talked him out of it. He supposed that ever since the current staff had seen a change in him, they'd decided to put her back on her original shift. The young woman noticed the prince staring at her strangely, asking uncomfortably, "h-highness?"
The prince finally snapped out of it, quickly stuttering out, "o-oh, thank you!" She nodded, bowing for a moment before quickly turning and heading for the door.
"Wait, miss," Raj called out.
She froze, looking like she wanted to leave the room rather badly. She turned around, looking cautiously at Raj while also trying to look professional. "Yes, your highness?" she asked.
He stared at her for a while longer, trying to build up enough courage to speak. He looked at Sakaki for a moment, and his advisor gave him an encouraging nod. He took a deep breath, finally spitting out quickly, "I'm sorry."
The maid blinked, looking at him in confusion for a moment, "I... what did you say, sir?"
"I... I said I'm sorry," Raj said quietly, hating that he had to say it twice, "for what happened before."
She blinked, absolutely shocked. This time it was the maid that looked over to Sakaki for affirmation. He nodded, trying to let her know that the prince was serious.
"Oh, no, highness," she hurried, knowing what was expected of her in a situation like this, "I should be sorry, I-"
"No," Raj cut her off, "please, don't apologize. It wasn't your fault." She stared at him in shock for a while longer, and Raj finally said, "thank you for my breakfast."
She stared at him for a while longer, before murmuring, "yes, of course. You're... you're welcome. Enjoy, your highness." She took one more confused look at him, before turning and making her way out of the room, a lot less rushed this time.
Raj could feel Sakaki giving him that stupid, proud smile. He reached out for a grape, popping it in to his mouth and trying to pretend he hadn't noticed Sakaki. The advisor waited until the woman had left the room, "well done, highness."
"Oh, shut up," Raj murmured, shoving more grapes in his mouth so he wouldn't have to speak. Sakaki chuckled, knowing Raj had only said it out of embarrassment and not to be malicious.
An hour or two passed, and Eugena and Rona had come in to Raj's study to see him. They wanted to hear stories about the pirate ship and how Raj, Sakaki and Zen had teamed up with the Lions of the Mountain. More than anything, though, the children were excited to see Shirayuki, again. They had become quite fond of her during her stay, and had tried to get her and Raj romantically involved more than once. They had taken notice to the fact that Shirayuki had been the one to cause their brother to begin changing in to a decent human being. The prince couldn't deny he had some semblance of feelings for Shirayuki - it was hard not to after all she'd done for him. However, he knew that she loved Zen... and all he wanted for her at this point was for her to be happy. For her to be happy, she had to live in Clarines.
Raj was staring out the window as Sakaki told the twins all kinds of stories about Umihebi and her ship, and the Lions of the Mountain. The older man had always been very good with children, and knew exactly how to entertain them. Suddenly, Raj saw several horses riding up the path. He put both hands up to the window excitedly, watching intently to see who it was. When they got closer, Raj finally saw some very distinct red hair. He almost began bouncing up and down as they finally stopped at the door, but he kept himself in check. The moment they got off of their horses, Raj shouted, "Shirayuki's here!" He whizzed past Sakaki and between the twins, out in to the hall and toward the stairs. Sakaki stayed where he was for a moment, just smiling to himself at Raj's excitement before following. The prince almost fell down four stories of stairs, gasping and flailing his arms in circles for a moment to get his balance back. "Shirayuki!" he shouted as he saw Shirayuki and the others enter the castle. The twins were close behind Raj, also extremely excited to see her.
Shirayuki stepped up to the bottom of the stairs, smiling, "hello Prince Raj!"
Raj looked down at her for a moment, just smiling. She was here. She was right here, alive and in one piece. He started down the stairs, taking very little time to get his sore body to the bottom of them. When he saw the partially healed cut on her face, he immediately felt some anger rising up in his chest. He frowned, asking first and foremost, "are you alright? Did that awful wretch do that to your face?"
Shirayuki smiled softly at him, "I'm fine, don't worry. It's already almost healed."
The prince looked unconvinced for a short moment, looking her over from head to toe for any signs that she might be injured. All he could find was the cut on her right cheek. He took a deep breath, relieved. He just stared at her for a moment, before saying solemnly, "Shirayuki."
"What is it?" she asked, big green eyes looking at him in curiosity.
Raj frowned, hesitating for a moment before saying, "I... I'm sorry. You were a guest at my castle and I... I couldn't protect you."
"That's ridiculous," Shirayuki said immediately, looking like she was almost angry at him for suggesting such a thing, "this had nothing to do with you, Prince Raj."
His eyes widened, just staring at her in shock for a moment before his face softened. "If you say so," he answered, knowing better than to argue with Shirayuki. He wouldn't win. It looked like Sakaki had been right, she wasn't angry with him. She smiled when he said that, and Raj blushed just a bit, coughing and looking away, "I'm sure you're all tired from travel. I'll let you rest, and maybe have something to eat." He slowly looked back at her, "I'll see you tonight?"
"That sounds good," the herbalist said, smiling and turning back around to walk back toward Zen and the others. Raj watched her for a while longer, just so relieved to see that she was here, and okay. He turned back around after a while, heading back up the stairs to Sakaki and his younger siblings.
As he approached the top, he could hear his brother and sister scheming - another plan to convince Shirayuki to stay in Tanbarun. He frowned, marching up the stairs and up to them, hands on his hips, "you little brats are scheming again, aren't you?!"
"Don't start with us!" Rona pouted, "you know you want Shirayuki to stay here in the castle!"
Raj hardened his voice, saying very seriously, "I do not." It was a half truth. Of course he wanted her to stay, but he wanted her to be happy more than he wanted her to stay.
"What, why?!" Rona asked, confused.
Raj sighed. He had to get the two of them to leave Shirayuki alone tonight. She'd been through enough, the past few days. She deserved to have a good night, free of the duo's shenanigans. He thought for a short moment, before deciding to give them a dose of old Raj to throw them off. He smiled, standing up straight and snapping his fingers, "a Shirayuki that stays with me on purpose? Boring." He grinned and walked away, back to his study. Rona stared at him angrily, confused as to if he meant that or if he was trying to shake them. Eugena just looked confused, looking over at Rona for an explanation. Sakaki chuckled, following after the prince.
Later that night, hundreds of people were lining up outside to attend the ball. Raj and Sakaki were both already by the orchestra, waiting for Shirayuki to arrive. The room was already filled with lots of people - prominent politicians, wealthy contributors, and beautiful women. The prince was only interested in one person, though. He was obviously a bit nervous, but Sakaki thought he was doing rather well. The prince immediately perked up when he saw Shirayuki enter the room, blushing just a bit when he saw her dress. Sakaki went to the violinist, informing them to play the music that Raj had chosen.
The prince slowly made his way through the crowd, watching as Shirayuki finally realized that familiar music was playing. "It's the song," she murmured, listening closely.
"It is," Raj said, finally making it over to her. Shirayuki had only recently learned how to dance, so Raj had her select a slow song that would be easy for her to dance to. "You should have the opportunity to dance to the song you chose," he said.
"Well then" she said, smiling and reaching a hand out, "want to have a go?"
The prince smiled, saying nervously, "when you say it that way, it sounds like you want to fight."
"Does it?" Shirayuki asked, laughing a bit. She could tell that Raj was still nervous about their friendship. "What do you think?" she asked, and he looked at her in confusion. "Were we finally able to become friends?" Shirayuki asked, more specific that time.
Raj's eyes widened, and he finally reached out and took her hand, beginning to dance slowly. "I believe so..." he said quietly, "and I'm clearly the one that got the better deal."
Sakaki watched from a distance, smiling just slightly as he watched Raj and Shirayuki dance. The advisor could not have been more grateful to Shirayuki for being the final kick in the pants that Raj had needed to begin taking himself seriously. He divided his attention between Raj and the twins. He could see them watching the dance from across the room, and he wasn't completely sure if they were scheming or not. When he returned his attention to Raj, he noticed a surprised look on his face, followed by the most genuine smile he'd ever seen on the younger man. He wondered what Shirayuki had said to get that smile from him.
Soon, the song ended, and Shirayuki and Raj parted ways. As he made his way back to his advisor, he couldn't hide the stupid grin on his face. Sakaki didn't even have to ask what had happened, since as soon as the prince made it back to his side he announced, "she called me her friend! And, and said she wants me to visit her in Clarines, and wants to come back to Tanbarun sometimes, too!" It seemed so childish, but Sakaki knew it was a huge deal to Raj. This was the first time she had called him that, and honestly, she was probably the first genuine friend Raj had made on his own.
"That's fantastic, highness," Sakaki said, meaning every word. He noticed a big difference between Raj's disposition now and just a few weeks ago. Gone was the self-loathing and insecurity, replaced with confidence. The past few days had been an emotional rollercoaster for the younger man, but it had caused him to grow leaps and bounds in a rather short amount of time. There would still be some days where the prince would be unsure or need guidance, but he was definitely on the road to becoming the future King of Tanbarun.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Thank you for reading! It turned out a lot longer than I had expected it to. There might be a chapter three, but I mostly doubt it.
Johnna
