"It's not the Duke - he has already said that he does not want you. Instead you have a new suitor which will be coming over tomorrow night," Lord Aguria inhales, eyes steely. "You are engaged to Lord Cheney's son, Rogue."

Time stops. Yukino can hear her heart beating inside her chest, pumping her blood to her brain as the words sink in. Her mouth opens, her lips forming the words. "Rogue Cheney…"

Chapter 2 - Her Sixth Birthday

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Come in, Frederick." No sooner has Lord Aguria muttered the words than Frederick rushes to Lord Aguria's side, whispering more urgent words.

"I see…" Lord Aguria's face twists in worry. "Excuse me once more, my darlings. And Yukino, please don't make it hard for us."

As if in a dream, Yukino nods vaguely. In her vision, the shapes have blurred and her parents and Frederick are simply fuzzy figures around her.

She lifts a finger to her lips.

Rogue Cheney…

Where have I heard that name before?

Her mind races back in time, to that day when she turned six and was taken out to town for a treat…

-o0o-

"Yukino! Wake up, it's your birthday!"

A small girl rolls over under her comfortable bed sheets. "I don't wanna, Sorano neesan..."

A ten year old Sorano grins and yanks the covers off. "Up you go!" she sings.

Yukino reaches blindly for the bedsheets. "Oi, Sorano nee san, give me back my blanket.."

"No! Because today," Sorano cheers, "is your sixth birthday! Congratulations, Yukino, you're six years old now!"

Yukino rubs her eyes sleepily. "My birthday is on the summer solstice... nymphs will dance with the faeries because it has been six years since I have been born."

"You're not a summer fairy, idiot! Now get up, we're having a day in town!"

Yukino shoots up in bed. "Mama and Papa allowed us?"

"Only cuz it's your birthday! And I have to accompany you but I don't care. A day in town is special - I know! Let's have breakfast at a restaurant in the village!"

Excited at the prospect of a 'commoner meal', both sisters dress in their simplest clothing and then rush out of the four-room bedroom, racing each other down the grand stairs, through the foyer and down the front steps...

They stop at the gate, panting. Sorano and Yukino share mischievous grins.

"Sorano," Yukino puffs, "race you to the village!"

Both girls giggle and continue running in the direction of the village.

They arrive, out of breath, and look around themselves in awe.

"Last time I came here was when I was a toddler!" Yukino says, amazed at the rows of small houses and market stalls. The noise is astounding - vendors calling out advertisements of their fish, produce and grain; chattering boys and girls their ages; and gossiping housewives that have taken a break after the breakfast cleanup was done. No one seems at all surprised that two young girls are exploring the town on their own - many other children run energetically around the village without guardians or young adults to guide them.

"Well then, shall we head forth?" Sorano asks in a regal tone. Both of them laugh and Yukino nods.

"Yes, Miss Sorano, that sounds pleasant. Be sure not to get your skirt rumpled!"

For the next hour they run around town, bumping into cheerful grownups and children alike that wish them a happy morning; they greet them back.

Fairly soon, Yukino notices something and pulls Sorano behind a barber's shop.

"Huh, Sorano-neesan? There's an awful lot of shops here - it would take more than a day to explore them all..." she says, crestfallen.

"You're right. I thought it wouldn't be that big but... hey how about we separate? In a couple hours we shall meet at this, ah, hairdresser's. Then we can compare what things we like about the town and show each other the worthwhile places! We can also have lunch at that time as well."

Yukino grins. "You think it's really okay? We're not supposed to walk around alone, though, right?"

Sorano shakes her head. "Mama and Papa told me to accompany you so we wouldn't get lost or kidnapped. But everyone here is so friendly - surely we won't get into any trouble, right?"

Ecstatic and slightly scared of the prospect of walking around alone, Sorano takes the west side of the village and Yukino heads east, wishing each other a temporary goodbye and saying to meet each other at noon.

"I still - can't - believe Mama and Papa allowed us to-" Sorano stops, gesturing around them,-"enjoy, well, all this! It's beautiful!" They sit together on a bench with swinging legs, overjoyed at their reunion.

"I know! I wish my birthday was everyday!" Yukino cheers.

"What about me?" Both girls giggle.

"Then yours is the first half of the year, and mine is the second!"

Sorano laughs at Yukino's reply, spreading her arms wide as if embracing the sun.

Yukino watches her older sister's contented face thoughtfully. "Sorano."

"Hm?"

"Do you ever wish that we were just common girls? Born to a peasant family and growing up in the village? Then we could do this every day - for real, go to school with other children and play without getting scolded for being dir-"

"Yukino!" Sorano interrupts her, glaring.

"S-Sorano!?"

"Don't ever say something like that again! We're Lord and Lady Aguria's children! Not common girls!" Sorano waves her arms about frantically, an angry tone to her voice. "Papa has a good job, and Mama raises us up in a ladylike way! I forbid you to ever, ever say something like that again!" she repeats.

Yukino sits, awed and fearsome, until Sorano calms down.

"Gomenasai, Yukino... I did not mean to-"

"No." Yukino bows her head in shame. "You are right, Sorano-neesan. Mama and Papa work hard to raise us well."

They sit in silence for a moment.

"Sorano?"

"Yes Yukino?"

"I saw a boy in town today...

"A boy? Meaning like Prince Alexander?"

It makes Yukino laugh to see Sorano's wrinkled nose. "No, Prince is tall and gangly. This one was more like... Jack's height. And just as nice!"

"You mean the Jack-kun who takes care of the horses? Isn't he just a servant boy?"

"They're really nice. We've talked!" Yukino says indignantly. "Anyways, he's a bit shorter than Jack. He asked me for my name!" Yukino giggles.

Sorano leans in eagerly. "And? What'd you say?"

"I don't want anyone to know our identity and he was so much like Jack so I said Jackie!"

Sorano fell back squealing as Yukino's face turned red. "What? Was that stupid?"

"Nooooooooooo! But it's still a boy's nickname!" Yukino huffed, so Sorano added, "But you look enough like a girl to make it obvious. Short for Jacqueline, then?"

Yukino's white hair dangled over a tilted head. "Hmmm...I guess, if he thinks that way!"

Sorano nodded, "A boy... what was he like?"

"He was crying when I first saw him, sitting on a log in a solitary street."

"That's impossible! Boys don't cry..."

"But-"

"..Or else he's not manly like Father!"

Yukino huffed, "Or Jack. Jack's manly, right?"

"I don't know. I've only seen him once or twice, and a kid like him can't be that manly."

"How about me?"

"What about you?"

"Am I manly?!"

"Of course not. You never cry but you're still a girl," Sorano scoffed, giggling impishly. "So, this boy who was crying, didja talk to him much?"

Yukino shrugged, shaking her head. "I tried, but I didn't want to bother him. I told him my name but he didn't tell me his. Tears were streaking down this boy's face, so I pulled him into my lap. He is shorter than me," said Yukino at Sorano's flabbergasted expression.

"YUKINO! THAT'S CRAZY! YOU DON'T PULL PEOPLE INTO YOUR LAP!"

"I wasn't pulling him, really it was more like guiding him. Gently."

"That is not the point, so don't be dense. Now, what else happened?" Yukino was surprised at Sorano's suspicious tone, and thought of how quickly Sorano changed moods to defend their status.

"You know how Nurse strokes our hair when we can't sleep? I did that to him. He had eye bags."

"And... WHAT else?" Sorano said high-pitched. "Please don't tell me he hugged you!"

"No way!" It is Yukino's turn to be flabbergasted. "Why'd you come up with something like that? He got up after a while when some guards, much like ours, yelled for a 'Master Cheney'."

Sorano, nodding, is relieved. "Oohh... so then that boy's rich!" Sorano exclaims.

"I guess. What does it mean when a boy puts his mouth on yours?"

-o0o-

Yukino blushes.

"-kino, he will be coming in half an hour. Yukino, Yukino?"

Yukino blinks as Lady Aguria waves her hand in front of her face.

"Sorry, yes, Mother?"

"I said, you have an appointment with the Seamstress in thirty minutes. All right?"

"Why?" Yukino's ears turn red the moment she says this. Of course, she needs new clothes for the visitor tomorrow.

"Don't snap at me, darling. It will be the finest material as usual, and the Seamstress has an outstanding reputation. She is my tailor but as you are now an adult, she will measure you."

"Sorano?"

"What about your sister?"

"Won't she be measured as well?"

Lady Aguria blinks. "N-no. No! She already has good dresses." Yukino tries not to hear the words next. Lady Aguria's tone softens. "The suitor tomorrow is for you, after all."

Yukino is dismissed to her room, where the Seamstress will head upon her arrival.

Forty-five minutes later

"I'm finished, Mademoiselle Aguria. How many dresses will that be?" The Seamstress bends and straightens, a measuring string looping around her experienced fingers as she packs away the last of her supplies.

"I don't know. Mother shall, though I think she is in the parlor. Shall I call a maid to bring you?" Yukino says breathlessly.

"No thanks. I know my way around this house." The Seamstress looks in pity towards Yukino. "You are so young, aren't you? I had thought it would be your lovely older sister, Sorano, when I first got the call." She clucks her tongue and looks Yukino up and down once more. "Such a virgin."

"I'm sorry." Yukino resists the urge to shuffle her feet. The Seamstress's comments make her feel uncomfortable.

"Oh." The Seamstress sits herself down on Yukino's fluffy bed. "I'm not going to say sorry if that's what you're staring at me for, so don't do that to me, either. It's your father who should do the apologizing. Don't you agree?"

"Y-yes."

"Then lighten up. From what I hear, that boy is a sweet little gentleman. His father's an angel with the face of a mongrel and the brains of a fox. If there's anybody to be scared of, it's the mother."

"Lady Cheney?"

The older woman shakes her head. "She likes to be addressed as Mother Skiadrum, or rather, the Shadow Dragon."

"Dragon? But why a mythical beast?"

"I dunno." The Seamstress shrugs. "She fancies being treated like a higher-up nun, which I think she was at one point in her younger years. Skiadrum is her maiden name, and rumour has it she breathes fire when she's very angry. Of course, a smart girl like you would never believe such tales," the Seamstress leans forwards, "now would you?"

"Err... why a Shadow Dragon?"

"Sticks to the shadows, she does." The Seamstress breathes in deeply. "That regal lady is the tallest, most proper woman I have ever seen, yet refuses to go out in public without a wide parosol - with black feathers! With a bust like Cleopatra's and the most graceful steps ever, I swear she must have a corset made of ir-"

"Enough!" Yukino's mother sweeps into the door. "Seamstress, I dare say you have finished a long time ago. I don't know who you are talking about, but if you plan on showing young Yukino an iron corset I beg to differ."

The Seamstress gets up. "Sorry about that. Until next time," she winks at Yukino. "I'll have the dress finished and delivered tomorrow morning."

Without waiting for a cue, the Seamstress sashays out the door with her measuring kit. Yukino grins behind her mother's back.

Dinner that night is quiet, unsociable. Lord Aguria arrives late and leaves early to speak more with Frederick, who hangs about the house like a bad omen. Frederick, with his round sharp monocle and flapping tailcoat which makes him appear like a black raven hopping from one foot to the other in distraught, stays in Lord Aguria's den to sort out money issues, declining the offer for dinner. Yukino is still forbidden to use the word 'debt', but secretly she thinks that the expensive dress she is to receive will be made in top quality in hopes that she and her gender will be the solution to this problem.

Yukino clenches her fist. Her nails dig into her palms but she doesn't care, and all her muscles tense. Her nose burns, like she needs to desperately sneeze away all the bad fortune.

Gosh, I wish I wasn't born into such a suckish life!

"Yukino-imouto? Are you not hungry any more?"

With awe, Yukino realizes she is squeezing her eyelids shut. She quickly opens them and lifts her head to see Sorano's concerned face.

"Sorano-nee... you said you wanted to talk to me?" Yukino wipes her mouth with a cloth and sets it back down. "Come, my room will be good enough."

Sorano nods and sets down her fork.

Yukino narrows her eyes suspiciously. Whatever Sorano wants to say, it must be worth enough to give up dinner. She sticks out a hand to help Sorano out of her chair.

"Ah! Sorano-nee, I also have something to say to you!"

Remember, Sorano-nee? Have you forgotten how I got my first kiss?

A/N Hey y'all ;) Next chapter, finally done! I'll try to update at least once a week but there can be no guarantee... Until next time! :3

~suzukanachronicles