The next morning, the entire Yagami kingdom was in complete chaos, as Princess Hikari was no where to be found.
King Yagami had already assigned areas of the kingdom for thorough searching, but at the end of the day, no one had found her. All kingdom's people had been asked, and searched occasionally; if they looked like a rough bunch, but they had all come back empty handed.
Taichi had been ordered to travel the Ishida Kingdom with his father, and they left early that evening. It would take them at least three days to get there on horseback…
~*~
…Three days later…
~*~
"Takeru, this isn't a cottage!" Hikari exclaimed, as they finally came towards the house. "It's more like a miniature palace itself!"
He shrugged. "Yeah, my grandfather was a big spender, I guess."
Indeed he was right, as the house rose three stories high, which was really nothing in comparison to the trees surrounding it. The forest was thick, Takeru was right in saying that it was very secluded. It was made of marble, with pillars in the front, and a pool in the front yard. There was a high iron gate surrounding it, with a heavy lock securing it.
"So…" Hikari said slowly. "Is it ours?"
"It is." Takeru said, "My grandfather legally gave it to me when he passed away. It's furnished and everything, I took care of that before we came here."
The two linked hands, their golden wedding bands glittering in the sunlight. "Can we take a look?" Hikari squealed, excitedly. "I love it, Takeru!"
He laughed, and nodded to her. "Sure, I'll take you for the royal tour."
They both laughed this time.
~*~
"Here it is, Taichi, your first time in the Ishida kingdom." King Yagami said, thrusting his arms out towards the city before them.
Taichi nodded. "Finally."
They rode quietly towards the palace, the village people looking curiously at them.
"Yagami? Is that you?" The outline of the Ishida King was visible from the palace steps. Yamato came out with his father to greet their neighboring rulers. "What brings you here?"
Taichi sighed. "Hikari has gone missing."
"WHAT?" King Ishida exclaimed, as the party went up the steps. Their coats were taken by a pretty servant girl that Taichi looked at a bit longer than necessary. She wasn't dressed like a servant girl though; for she had a simple red dress on, rather than the traditional white. She followed them into the dining area.
"She ran away this morning," King Yagami said, looking at his alternate King guiltily. "I don't know how long she'll be gone, for she ran after I told her about the …marriage…"
"My fiancée ran away?" Yamato exclaimed, looking at the two in rage. They nodded.
"Would you like anything to drink, or to eat? You must be tired and hungry from your long trip." The girl asked, her crimson eyes wide in question.
"Just some water, please." Yagami said airily, as he went back into conversation with Yamato and his father.
"Water, please." Taichi said, captivated by her still. She had shoulder length copper hair, which was rare to see on a woman these days.
She smiled shyly. "Sure."
"Well, do you plan to look for her?" Ishida said incredulously.
"We have looked for her," Taichi said easily. "I'm not worried. She'll be back – she's been gone before."
"My fiancée? Uncivilized?" Yamato said harshly. "Father, I'm not sure this will work."
The Yagami father and son pair looked at each other. She was with Takeru, Taichi was sure of it. She wasn't in any danger, she had been gone with Takeru before, and she always came back alive.
"Here you are," The girl said.
"Thanks," Taichi said, grinning at her.
"We've got to call off the wedding, Father." Yamato said, flipping his blonde hair out of the way.
"Sire! Sire!" A red haired boy came rushing into the dining area.
"What is it, Koushiro?" The King said, standing up.
"Your son, Takeru? He's gone!"
Taichi smirked to himself. One for him, zero for Yamato.
The Kings looked at each other, and Yagami said, "Ishida, my daughter came up to me a couple of days back, and asked if she could marry the second Ishida son instead of the first."
"Do you think they ran away together?" Ishida asked.
The other King nodded. "What'll we do?"
The girl made a move to sit down, as the Kings did as well.
"Sora," Ishida barked. "You are dismissed."
Sora looked down, evidently feeling ashamed and replied in a whisper, "Yes, father."
"FATHER?" Both Yagami and Taichi exclaimed.
"How else are we going to unite the Kingdoms? Without Yamato and Hikari, there is no hope!" Ishida said, flailing his arms around, trying to captivate their attention again.
Yagami looked over to his son, who was still looking after Sora.
"Taichi, Yamato, can you leave us alone for a minute?" Yagami requested. The two boys nodded and left the area together.
"Ishida," said the Yagami King slowly, "I want to know who that girl is."
"Well, as you already know, she is my daughter." The King said, his face flushed a bit.
"She is going to marry Taichi." Yagami said. "My son has already taken a liking to her, I can see."
"She can't do that." Ishida said. "You see, she isn't…well…she isn't Nancy's."
They were lost in silence.
"Then whose is she?"
"The woman that I had on the side. That's the reason my wife and I broke up." Ishida said.
"…"
"…"
"Why can't she marry Taichi again?" Yagami said, not really understanding where his fellow ruler was coming from.
"You mean, you would want her to marry Taichi? They would rule someday, you know. Together, the Prince and the "Princess". She isn't exactly pure royalty."
"Who was the woman, Ishida?"
"She was a," here his voice dropped to a whisper. "Lady of the Night."
"WHAT?"
"She died during child birth. Sora's an angel though, she is the sweetest girl I've ever known. She's a damn obstacle though, I'm here without Nancy because of the little wretch."
"She is marrying Taichi. You don't treat her exceptionally well, and she can't stay here forever to get pushed around. She's coming home with us, to marry Taichi."
"Fine. I'll be glad to get her off my property."
END OF CHAPTER TWO. Yeah, King Ishida is a bastard, eh? PG – 13 for the whole 'Lady of the Night' thing. Can you believe I wrote that? Read and review.