Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hi everyone! Pinkshuchan here! I'm sure the prologue was boring, but this chapter will be better. Sorry if the characters end up a little OCC. I tried to make them as close to their character as possible but if they don't, I'm sorry. I also want to warn you that throughout the whole story, Yuki is called Eiri because that is his real name. I was trying to find a way to have him remain as Yuki but I could not think how. So, throughout the whole story, Yuki is Eiri. Now without adieu, I give you the true first chapter of The Pissed Prince and the Perverted Pauper. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
A Wish For Freedom
Sixteen years had passed since the Hikari Kingdom and the Kage Kingdom began their conflict and the war still raged on. The Kage Kingdom ended up in poverty by all the tax that was called for in the king's name. By the time winter came, the kingdom barely had enough money to buy food. Not even the orphanage due to the fact that people couldn't pay and keep a child while the war was going on.
K, captain of the Kage Kingdom's royal knights was also husband to the orphanage's owner, Judy. He left along with some of the strongest knights in the kingdom to fight the Hikari Kingdom; leaving Judy to take care of all the orphans herself. However, she was glad that she had three older orphans who had not been adopted to help her out as well as work around the streets to get some money to help the orphanage. First, there was Hiroshi or Hiro as everyone knew him as. He was the oldest of the three and everyone looked up to him like he was their big brother. Shuichi was the second. Everyone very close to him and knew him very well believed that he must've hit his head very hard as a baby. Why? Because he seemed to think like he was a woman. He would always dress in any dress he could find and he always called himself a girl. They realized that it was pointless to tell him that he was a boy so they just kept it silent about it. No one couldn't tell the difference anyway due to his feminine appearance and his high pitched voice. And then, there was the third orphan.
Tatsuha was the laziest of the three. He didn't want to work. He hated it. All he wanted to do was either sit on his lazy ass all day or walk around the street for any beautiful girl to come along. It was known in the streets of the Kage Kingdom that he is the famous pervert that any woman needed to look out for. He would always try to look under a girl's skirt no matter where he was and he would always peek in the change rooms to look at the girls changing. Yes, he was that much of a menace.
One day, Tatsuha was wandering around the streets to find a girl who would be naive enough to be with him. He eventually found a girl who could possibly be it. He was about to walk over to her until he ended up tackled onto the cold winter snow.
"I finally caught your scheming ass, Tatsuha." said a familiar voice Tatsuha recognized very well. He looked up.
"Aww, Hiro! I was about to score with a hot babe." Tatsuha whined.
"I don't care." said Hiro "You have work to do and I'm going to make sure you do it."
"Can't I just try to get a date with her?"
"No. You have a job to do. Now go do it!"
Tatsuha sighed. "Ok. You win. I'll go do my job." He then walked away. Hiro began to believe that he finally managed to convince Tatsuha to work. That was until he saw something flying in the sky; landing in the snow pile next to him. It was Tatsuha. A familiar figure who was the cause of Tatsuha's high landing was walking over to him.
"Tatsuha! What the hell are you trying to do?" yelled the familiar figure's voice "You're supposed to help get money for the orphanage, not go feeling me up."
"I can't help it, Shuichi." said Tatsuha after he got his head out of the snow pile "It's just too easy with you."
Hiro glared at him. "I thought you said you were going to do your job?"
"I was. My job is to annoy the hell out of Shuichi."
"TATSUHA!" Both Hiro and Shuichi yelled at the same time.
"What? Am I supposed to do something else?"
"How about helping the people that got caught in the surprise attack fix their houses." said Hiro.
"Or help clean broken glass from the floors." said Shuichi.
"Carry raw materials to the shops."
"Deliver messages to people who are too busy to do it themselves."
"Plow snow off the ground."
"Get firewood for everyone."
"I GET IT!" Tatsuha was tired of being told what to do. "You want me to work. I can understand that. But why am I getting scolded for this? Shuichi doesn't do any work either."
"Yes I do." said Shuichi, feeling outraged "I've been working day and night to help Miss Judy earn some money for the orphanage."
"Yeah, when you're not daydreaming that 'your prince will come for you'." As he said that, he leaned forward towards Shuichi and batted his eyelashes. Shuichi was ready to smack him until Hiro stopped the both of them from hurting each other.
"Knock it off you two." said Hiro "Shuichi, don't you have to go help clean everywhere in the kingdom?"
"Yes I do." said Shuichi "Hiro, please do something about Tatsuha. Women, including myself, can't feel safe in this town if he's always going around like this."
"I promise, Shuichi. You have nothing to worry about." said Hiro. Feeling assured, Shuichi left; leaving Tatsuha and Hiro to talk.
"Hiro, why do you do this?" asked Tatsuha.
"Because I'm responsible unlike a certain someone." said Hiro.
"No, I mean why do you always treat Shuichi like he is a girl? He's going to find out that he's male someday and he's going to feel embarassed."
"I didn't know you cared about him."
"Woah! Don't get the wrong idea Hiro. I don't have any feelings for him. I just don't understand why you let this charade go on?"
"Well, you'd have to ask Miss Judy. She was the one who said we should keep it a secret for now. Anyways, you should be getting to work. Weren't you supposed to help out the blacksmith? She's gonna throw a fit when you get over there."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Tatsuha just began walking away while waving his hand to Hiro. After a little walk, he finally made it to the blacksmith. A woman with fiery red hair stood there waiting for him.
"You're late, Tatsuha." said the woman "Judy will be angry to hear that you came late."
"Yeah, yeah! I know, Reiji." said Tatsuha "What do you need help with?"
"I need you to get this fresh made horseshoes onto the soldiers' horses. They need it quickly before they go back to the war. And don't slack off! I'm still mad at you for trying to feel me up last week."
And so, Tatsuha got to work. However, the horses didn't really like him and it made the job hard. He couldn't take anymore when he got kicked by the fifth horse.
"I hate this life." he said "I'm tired of all the work I do day and night."
"What are you talking about?" asked Reiji as she came into the stable with some meat, bread and water "This is the first work you've ever really done. Everyday, you've done nothing but slack off and flirt with women."
"Well, I'm tired of this life. Period. I don't want to work for the rest of my life. I want to just sit on my butt all day eating junk food until I throw up and relax by a nice warm fire than walk around in the bitter cold. I want to live like a prince."
Reiji began to laugh her head off. "You... you want to be... giggle... a prince?" She began laughing harder if that was possible "You'll never last a week as a prince." She walked away still laughing from what Tatsuha said. Tatsuha just ignored her and began dreaming about what it would be like to live as a prince.
Meanwhile in the castle, Prince Eiri sat at his desk as he listened to his lesson for the day. At least, he tried to listen. However, he couldn't get his mind out of the clouds as he stared out at the window. He was tired of staying inside the castle day and night. All he really wanted was to leave and see what it was like out there. For some reason, he felt like there was something he was missing that was out there somewhere. In his dreams, he would always see a beautiful maiden standing in front of them and they would be dancing in nothing but the air. As he was pondering through his thoughts, a smack on the desk brought him back to his senses to see his tutor, Master Kitazawa, glaring down at him.
"What?" the prince snapped at the older man.
"Listen Your Highness." said Kitazawa "I know you don't like this but at least pay attention. You need to know all of this when you eventually become king."
"It's not my fault you're repeating the same lessons over and over again. There's not much to learn. I've already memorized everything. If I try thinking about it any more, my head will explode from it screaming in my ears. Besides, it's not like I'll be king any day soon."
Sakano, the royal advisor, walked over to Eiri. "But Your Highness. You must be ready in case that time does come. One day you will be king. And you will have to marry Princess Ayaka."
Eiri groaned. "Not Princess Ayaka! Why her?"
"Why not? She's kind, intelligent, beautiful. What could she lack?"
"How about the size of her breasts?"
"THERE'S MORE TO A WOMAN THAN BREAST SIZE! YOU ARE TO MARRY HER AND THAT'S FINAL!"
Eiri got out of his seat. "I'm getting tired of this." he said "I'm going back to my chambers. Don't follow me unless you want an early grave."
No one ever knew why Prince Eiri of the Kage Kingdom was so angry all the time. Some people believed it was because he was stressed from all the work he was given. Others believed he just didn't like anybody or life for that matter. However, when anyone asks about his temper, he clearly explains that he was missing something that kept his anger out of control and kept him sane. As he walked through the halls to his bedroom, he heard voices from outside.
"What the hell is a peasant like you doing here at the castle? Shouldn't you go do whatever it is that peasants do?"
"I'm sorry sir. I was just here to check if the castle needed an extra hand with cleaning."
Eiri walked over the closest window he could get to to see one of the guards holding the arm of a peasant girl at the gate. She wore a long ocean blue dress with some colorful patches sewn on the dress to cover up holes and a light blue hood and cape. From where he was standing, her hood covered his sight of her face. He watched as the guard pushed her down onto the snow. As soon as he saw that, Eiri ran down to the door and walked out to see the guard kicking snow at the girl.
"Stop that right this instant!" he commanded the guard. The guard looked over at the prince and bowed; forgetting about the girl.
"Good day Your Highness." he said "What can I do to serve you?"
"What were you doing to that girl?"
The guard looked over at the girl. "Well, she was causing trouble so I was giving her her proper punishment."
"Really? Because from what I saw, you physically abused her because she came to help with cleaning. And you do not have authority over who should be punished and who should not. That is for either me or my father to decide."
"But Your Highness! I've seen the castle. It's completely clean. And how can you know she's telling the truth? She could be a thief trying to steal money."
"I would never!" said the girl "I'd rather sell myself and work hand and foot for all my life than steal from His Highness and his father. I need the money but I'm not going to take it instead of earn it."
"Well, there you go." said Eiri "And by the way, the castle may be clean but the knights' quarters looks like a pig sty. I shall escort her there to help clean since you're obviously busy to do it yourself."
"But Your Highness..."
"I don't care what you say. If you hurt her or anyone like this again, I won't hesitate to have you executed. Is that clear?"
The guard bowed. "Yes Your Highness."
Eiri grabbed the girl's wrist and they left to go to the knight's quarters. As they walked, he could not believe the actions that guard was doing. It made him furious. Then again, everything in his life made him furious. As his anger built up, he didn't notice that his grip on the girl's wrist became tighter.
"Your Highness?" asked the girl.
"WHAT?" he snapped with all his anger as he turned around to face her. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. There in front of him was a face far beautiful than he had ever seen before. She had big wide violet eyes with long perfectly curved eyelashes framing them. Her cheeks were a rosy pink and her skin looked so soft. Short pink locks framed her face. The prince found himself in a trance as his eyes never left her face. He realized how he sounded earlier to her and cleared his throat. "I mean, yes? What can I do for you?"
"Um..." She glanced down at his wrist. Eiri looked down and realized his grip. He let go.
"I'm really sorry about that." he said "I let my anger get the better of me."
"No. It's my fault." said the girl "I'm the one who caused this mess in the first place. You were only trying to help me."
"But a prince must always watch over his people for without them, a kingdom would cease to be. So I must take the responsibility of what happened."
"But..."
"I'M AT FAULT AND THAT'S THAT!"
Silence began to flood the area. "Anyways." said the girl "Where can I find the knights' quarters?"
"What?" Then, Eiri remembered. "Oh, that's right! You're here to clean it." He felt so embarassed. He's never been out of anything unless it was on purpose. So why now? "I'll escort you. You're safe as long as you're with me."
He lent his arm to the girl. She wrapped her atm around his. "Thank you, Your Highness. But won't you get in trouble?"
"If it's to help someone such as yourself, I don't give a damn about what everyone else says."
They began walking to where knights' quarters. As they walked, Eiri couldn't get over the girl's beauty. How could someone like that be a peasant girl? That was a mystery. Eventually, they made it to the knights' quarters and walked in to find nothing but dirt and garbage everywhere.
"Do you need any cleaning supplies?" Eiri asked.
"No thank you." said the girl "There are usually some cleaning supplies in the closet." She walked over to the closet and inside were the cleaning supplies just like she said there was. Eiri watched as the girl was trying to clean the whole room by herself. He felt like he was in pain watching her clean alone. He grabbed a broom and began sweeping. The girl became shocked.
"Your Highness. You shouldn't be doing this?" she said.
"It's all right." said Eiri "I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. Besides, it'll be done quicker with two people."
The girl decided that it was best not to argue with him and continued cleaning. By the time they were finished, night fell. The prince escorted the girl to the gate for he worried that she wouldn't find her way out in the darkness. When they made it, the girl walked forward and faced him. Eiri couldn't get over how angelic she looked under the moon. The light made it look like her skin was glowing white.
"Well, thank you for everything Your Highness." she said.
"You don't need to thank me." said Eiri "I needed to do something other than reading history books and sitting to lectures all day. Besides, I needed the workout." He took out a small bag and gave it to her. "Here. This is for your hard work."
The girl looked at him; not believing everything he was doing. "Your Highness. That bag has so much money in it. I can't take it."
"You earned it. I want you to have it. After all, you said you needed it, right?"
"But I didn't expect to be given so much."
"Please take it. I really want you too."
The girl honestly couldn't say no so she took the bag. "Thank you Your Highness. You don't know how much this means to me!"
"I'm glad." He looked up at the sky. "Can you just answer one question?"
"Anything, Your Highness."
"What is it like to live outside the castle walls?"
"Honestly? It's a living hell. It's hard to live out there. Working day and night, having to sleep in the cold with nothing but a hard bed and worn out blankets. It's terrible."
"I would rather that than this. To tell you the truth, I'm tired of my life as a prince. I want to be out there and have a little fun for once in my life. No lessons to sit to, no schedules, I could just sleep in all day and no one would care, and I could be with anyone I want to be."
The girl walked over to the prince so they are very close to each other. "You're very unusual Your Highness. But, it's a good unusual."
He leaned close to her ready to kiss her. "I'd like you to call me Eiri."
She moved back from him; her face cherry red. "I cannot. A peasant girl such as myself should never call His Highness by his name. It's improper."
"Then can I at least have your name?"
"Your Highness! Where are you Your Highness?"
Eiri cursed Sakano for noticing his disappearance. He was about to know the girl's name too. Suddenly, he noticed the girl was leaving.
"I should get going." she said "You don't want to worry your servants any longer." She curtsied. "Thank you Your Highness. It was a pleasure meeting you." Without another word, she opened the gate and slipped out; hiding herself in darkness. Eiri felt his anger rising out of him. If it wasn't for Sakano, he would have the girl's name. Then, he began to realize something. He didn't feel a single bit angry when he was with the girl, and now he felt like he wanted to murder someone. He's always been angry but he was always calm near her. He began to think if maybe she was what he was missing. He had to find her again. But first, he walked back inside the castle, assured everyone that he was alright, went to his bedroom, went to the balcony and looked up at the stars; wondering where the beautiful maiden could be.
Meanwhile at the orphanage, Shuichi managed to make it back without getting hurt. The orphanage was a big building but not as bif as the castle. It had many rooms; most of them were bedroom for the orphans. When he made it inside and walked to his room, he was greeted by a tiny meow. He knew that meow very well.
"Mr. Meow! Were you waiting for me to come home?" he asked.
The cat responded with another meow. Shuichi picked him up and twirled around with him in his arms. Every time he got home, he would always love to tell Mr. Meow everything that happened that day. In a way, Mr. Meow was like his diary.
"Oh Mr. Meow. I had the most wonderful day today. I got to meet His Highness Prince Eiri today." Mr. Meow meowed in confusion. "I know that everyone says that he's supposed to be cruel and ruthless like his father but he's far from it. He's sweet and kind and gentle and he even helped me clean part of the castle." Mr. Meow meowed again. "I know. I shouldn't get my hopes up. After all, I'm nothing but a lowly peasant girl and he is the prince. Besides, he's already engaged to Princess Ayaka. I've heard that she's very beautiful." Shuichi began to cry as he walked to his bedroom window with Mr. Meow in his arms. "I don't know what to do, Mr. Meow. I've fallen for him, but I know I can never be with him." He looked up at the stars. "I just wish that I can be free of this harsh reality and forever be in my dream world where I'm a princess and where there are no wars. To be in a place where I can marry someone like Prince Eiri. But I don't think it'll come true." He walked over to his bed, placed Mr. Meow down, and began crying himself to sleep.
Pinkshuchan: Well, that's Chapter 1. It's a really long chapter but I couldn't help it. I've mentioned some of the characters but more will be mentioned in the next chapter. Read and Review!
