Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.
Author's notes: I'm sorry for the previous chapter, because it was kind of short. I'll try to make them , here's chapter 2.
Chapter 2
"Thank you," said Klaud to Miranda for helping her get dressed.
"You're welcome," replied happily Miranda.
Klaud turned to Lau Shimin. "How do I look, Lau?"
Said monkey, turned and saw the simple light blue dress she was wearing. Even though it was quite simple, it accentuated her curves perfectly.
"Kiki," he answered as if to appraise her. Klaud smiled at him.
"Well, that's all thanks to Miranda's hard work. Right, Lau?"
It took a little time for Miranda to process Klaud's words, but once they sank in, she blushed. With her cheeks still red she said "T-That's not true at all. It's because you're the one wearing it. You're naturally beautiful. If I were to wear it, it would look ugly on me," she ended in a sad voice.
"Miranda! Please, don't ever say that again. You're beautiful as well. Don't let other people demean you. You may not see what you possess, but I can. And I can assure you, it is far from what you think of yourself."
"Kiki!" added in Lau Shimin while jumping up and down on the bed in order to prove his point.
Miranda thinking that she had made both of them angry, bowed. "I'M SORRY!"
Klaud sighed, but nonetheless smiled at her. "I guess that habit of yours will never change."
"I'm sorry," she said while giving her an apologetic look.
"Anyway, let's go downstairs and have breakfast."
At the mention of breakfast, Lau Shimin quickly stood up from the bed and jumped on Klaud's shoulder.
"I can see that somebody is eager to eat," said Klaud while smirking at him. If monkeys could blush, he would have been red on the face by now. He just huffed indignantly and turned away his head.
The girls couldn't take it any longer and burst out laughing. Suddenly the girls' stomach growled and they stopped laughing. This time, Lau Shimin looked at them, his eyebrow raised, as if to ask 'Who's hungry now?' Both girls blushed hard.
"Anyway, let's go. I'm sure father is down by now." Klaud said in order to avoid looking at his slightly smirking face. (A/N: You could say she knows him very well in order to be able to tell apart his expressions :P). Miranda nodded as well for she was still embarrassed about it.
All of them exited the room and started heading for the dining room. Miranda, however, headed the opposite direction.
"Now, all I have to do is find Cross. That's easier said than done. The castle is freakin' huge. Besides, what if he's not here?" thought the young prince while walking down numerous corridors.
"Seriously, what keeps him away all the time? Oh yeah, I know! It's because he's a conniving flirt and enjoys the company of beautiful women!The first time I met him, had left quite a scar on me."
Flashback, Ichirou's POV
"Ichirou, I need you to go and find General Cross. IF you manage to find him, tell him that he is in charge of your training. Understood?"
At that time, I didn't understand what he meant by 'if'. So being the foolish one, I agreed. I never expected that I would regret it afterwards.
"Yes, father. Could you tell me how he looks like?"
"He's tall with long red hair."
"I see. It will be a piece of cake." His appearance was a dead giveaway.
"We will see if you will continue thinking this way when you find him."
The next day…
The next day, I set out to find him while still pondering over my father's words.
After two days, I finally found him in an inn. He was chugging down wine, with one woman at each side of his.
"General Cross, I need to talk to you," I said. What I didn't expect however, was that he would push me out of the way in order to escape. I quickly pushed myself up. Ignoring the people's angry remarks, I chased after him.
"Hey wait, I just need to talk to you," but it was no use. He continued running as if he had never heard me. Then, I lost sight of him. That's what father meant when he said if I could find him.
Two weeks later, I was ready to give up when I finally found him. I was passing by a house, when I heard some strange noises. Thinking that somebody was in danger, I barged in the house without giving it much thought. What I saw left me completely scarred. I saw him naked and on top of a woman, who was naked as well. The woman quickly got up and went to the bathroom. He quickly put his clothes on and went outside. I followed soon after, still not able to speak. Once we were outside, he snapped at me.
"What do you want, brat?" he asked impatiently while glaring at me as if I was wasting his precious time. "Hey! It was not my fault that father asked you to do this. If I knew, I wouldn't have gone all the way to find you". That's what I wanted to say, but seeing him so angry, I decided to keep my mouth shut. Instead, I quickly got straight to the point.
"The king said that from now on you are in charge of my training."
He seemed quite shocked. "Ha! Take that!" I thought. He quickly regained his composure and nodded. He entered the house again and exchanged a few words with her. She pointed a finger at me and gave me an accusing look. "Don't look and point at me like that, lady. It's rude. I would hardly call you a lady though. It's not my fault that father wanted me to be trained by the best," was what I wanted to say to her.
I quickly averted my gaze as she kissed him goodbye. After that I vowed to always get full details on someone before I go to look for them.
End of flashback
"Not only he's a womanizer, he has drinking problems, smoking habits and a very short temper. Aside from all of that, he can be a good friend. I guess.
Ichirou reached the training field and saw some knights training. "Have you seen General Cross?"
"I'm afraid not, your highness. I haven't seen him since you went to speak to the king. In fact, I doubt he will return tonight," replied Allen, one of the knights.
"Dammit! Wait a minute, how do you know he will not come early?"
Allen smiled wryly at the prince. "I just know it. And I think you know him just as well as I do your highness."
The prince sighed, knowing what he meant by that. "Fine then, inform me when he returns."
"Of course," replied the knights while bowing at him.
The prince turned the way he came from and left the training field. "It's no use looking for him anyway. What to do now?"
They ate in silence. The clanking sound of their forks was the only sound they ever made. The king turned his gaze towards his only daughter. She was eating with a neutral expression on her face. The king couldn't help the sigh that came out from his lips. His daughter was probably angry at him.
Klaud noticed her father's distraught gaze and asked worriedly "Is something wrong, father?"
"Nothing's wrong, daughter."
"Um, about yesterday -" she started.
The king cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about it. I didn't want to upset you. The thought of having grandchildren thrilled me and I didn't pay attention to your feelings. That's why, I decided that you will go there and befriend him. If you don't like him, then you can come back after two months pass and you won't need to marry him."
Klaud's jaw would have dropped, had she not been taught proper etiquette. "Really, father?" she asked still astounded.
"Of course. I don't want my only daughter to be unhappy. Besides, your mother would have killed me, if I forced you to marry someone you don't love. You know how much she loved you. I'm sure she's watching over us right now."
Klaud quickly got up from her seat and hugged him, throwing him over his seat as well. "Thank you, father!" she said as she kissed him on the cheek.
The king just chuckled. "So now, this old man is worthy of your kisses? Anyway, you should go out for a walk before the week comes to an end."
"Ok. Let's go, Lau" she replied happily.
Lau Shimin quickly swallowed the last bits of his food and followed her. The king smiled once again. Seeing her so happy, made him happy too.
The young prince was panting hard. He was in a clearing, training by himself for quite a long time. He decided that it was enough for today and sat down near the lake. He splashed some water to his face in order to cool himself. He looked at his reflection. Blue eyes stared back at him and water dripped from his chin. His short tousled blond hair looked as it was windswept. He lay on the soft and green grass and allowed himself to relax.
Klaud quickly strode past the corridors and headed straight to the kitchen, where Miranda was, eating with the other maids. The maids were talking among themselves.
"I heard the princess is getting married to the prince of Aureliun," said a maid.
"Yeah, and I heard that he's very handsome."
"Lucky! I want to meet him as well."
"I bet she's so happy getting married to somebody as handsome as him. Not to mention that both of them are of royal bloodline."
"~ It is going to be a royal wedding ~ Isn't it wonderful?"
"I-I don't think the princess wants to marry him," Miranda said.
All the maids turned their heads and looked at her as if she had grown another head.
"How do you know that?" finally one of them asked.
Another maid snorted. "Of course she knows. Miranda has always been her favorite."
"T-That's not true at all," replied Miranda.
The rest of the girls glared at her. "Seriously, I don't know what she sees in you. You're a klutz and misfortune seems to be on your trail. I don't know what you did to earn her favor, but I don't like you. If she doesn't see that, then her eyesight must have a problem."
Tears brimmed at the corner of Miranda's eyes, but she held them back and instead said to them in a firm voice "I don't care how much you insult me, but I can't tolerate someone who insults the princess. Her majesty was very kind to me and I'm sure she had been kind to you as well," all the maids lowered their gazes ashamed of badmouthing their princess. Well, almost everyone. Leonora still didn't feel any remorse for what she said.
"I don't care how kind she had been to you or anyone else for that matter. The only thing I know is that you should have been fired years ago, because you are completely useless. If I were her, I would have fired you without a second thought," she said spitefully.
"Good thing you're not me then," came a calm voice.
Everybody turned around shocked. They saw the princess leaning against the wall as if nothing unfolded before her eyes. Her visible eye, however, told another story. It seemed that she was trying her hardest to stay calm. Her purple orb that usually reflected warmth, was now reflecting coldness. Lau Shimin was on her left shoulder, as always. They recovered from their shock and bowed at her.
"How long had you been standing there?" asked Leonora, although the answer was obvious.
"Long enough," came her simple reply.
Leonora gritted her teeth. "Isn't it rude to eavesdrop on other people's conversation?"
"Isn't it rude to talk about other people behind their backs?" Klaud countered.
This time, Leonora was smart enough to keep her mouth shut. Lau Shimin snickered. She glared at him and he just flipped her off.
"Is there something that you need, your majesty?" asked one of the maids.
"I just wanted to talk to Miranda. Let's go, Miranda."
"As you wish, your highness."
Klaud turned and left the kitchen. Miranda soon followed after her. However, they didn't notice the little present Lau Shimin left behind as the rest of the maids resumed their duties.
Leonora quickly stormed out of the kitchen. "Who does she think she is, humiliating me like this? Just because she is the princess, it doesn't mean she can talk to me like that. And she prefers that useless Miranda over me. I had been training my whole life, only to lose my rightful position to that bitch! Someday, I'll get my revenge on both of them. What to do with her monkey though? From the moment she made herself known, he couldn't stop mocking me. No matter. I don't think it would be worth my time to get my revenge on him."
Leonora was so angry that she didn't notice where she was walking. That's why she slipped and fell on her butt. Hard. She rubbed her sore spot for it was throbbing painfully. Some servants that were passing by saw her and snickered at her for being inadvertent. Her cheeks heated up and she glared at them. She was ready to get up, when she noticed something yellow on the ground. Frowning, she picked it up and inspected it. It was… a banana peel. She scowled.
"He is definitely on my 'Most hated animals' list," she thought as she threw away the banana peel. "If it is war what he wants, then war it is what he shall get."
Author's notes: Whew. This is the end of chapter 2. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors. English is my second language. I'm also sorry for little-to-nothing Cross appearances. Anyway, I have to write chapter 3. Please bear with me a little longer.