Chapter 3 - A Troubled Future


Despite assurances from the royal healer, Sheza, that there were no ill-effects from the attack of the space-time distortion, I could not qualm the clouds swirling in my heart. By the end of the day, the king showed no signs of waking from his deep and uneasy sleep. Throughout the afternoon I watched him grimace as he dozed and occasionally wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

I would need to return home soon for dinner and so I prayed that he would open his eyes before the sun had set.


"Munto, I have to leave now." In an inky darkness, he could make out the figure of his love, shining. Yumemi turned to face him with a wistful expression on her face. "Good-bye, Munto."

"Wait! Don't go!" He reached out to grab her arm, but she dissolved into a vortex of glimmering lights that shimmered and faded away.

"Yumemi!" Munto sat up in bed, breathing heavily, heart pounding, looking around wildly for any sign of the girl. At first glimpse he saw nothing beyond his room: stone floor, wooden latticework by the windows, embroidered fabrics hanging from the walls, with plants scattered throughout.

As his eyes roved around the room, he found her, standing at his bedside. Healthy. Whole. Just Yumemi.

She smiled and began to say something, but he could no longer hold back.

He reached out once again and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Crushing her against his chest, he tried to sooth his hard heartbeats.

Although she was initially stiff from surprise, Munto felt her soften. With her physical proximity to his heart, no doubt she had seen the raw emotions coursing through his mind and sensed his need for tranquility. Her small arms looped around his back, completing the link that encircled them both, trapping them in their own world.

"Munto?" She asked quietly after a few minutes.

Pulling away from her slightly, the young man responded. "I am sorry for startling you. I had a bad dream."

Her laughter cut through the tension, forcing his tightly wound emotions to slowly uncurl. "Thank goodness! Sheza said that you were alright, but you were sleeping so fitfully and I was worried that I would need to leave before your woke."

"Need to leave?" One look out of the window confirmed that the last few rays of light were fading for the day. "Your curfew?" he asked worriedly.

The girl smiled wistfully; remembering his recent dream, a pang ran through his heart. She was not disappearing from his life, but shaking the anxiety from his thoughts was proving difficult.

"I do need to hurry home, but I am happy that I got to see you wake up." Relief was written all over her face.

"Let me take you home." Munto started getting out of bed, but Yumemi pushed him back down with a frown on her face.

"No you don't!" She scolded him with a finger pointed in his direction. "You were just attacked by a strange thing that we don't understand and then you were asleep for eight hours! You will stay in bed."

She grabbed her bag. "I will ask Akuto-san to take me home and then I will come back tomorrow."

"Akuto-san?" The young ruler was trying to cope with having been pushed down onto his bed by a very pretty girl, and then promptly chastised as though he was a small child.

"Yes. Akuto-san. The akuto doll with wings. He was so kind as to bring me here this morning. I got the sense that it would be no trouble for him to bring me home." She blushed. "After all, my attempts at flying haven't met with great success."

Munto suddenly found himself overwhelmed with exhaustion; maybe she had a point. He had dispersed a distortion in the space-time reality, hadn't he? Stubbornly trying to ignore the sleep that was creeping back on him, he offered once more to take her home.

"I told you, I am fine." She brushed her hand against his cheek. "Rest for now. I will return."

Trying to hide his pout, the ruler of the Magical Kingdom and bringer of salvation to the Heavens allowed himself to be tucked into bed by a teenage human girl and was lulled to sleep.

It wasn't until sometime later that his eyes snapped open. "What does she mean her attempts at flying haven't met with great success?!"


Despite fulfilling her promise to return, Yumemi was unable to see Munto. As king, his schedule was completely packed - a problem that was only compounded by the time he had spent away from that schedule dealing with the time-space anomaly and subsequently recovering. Louie had apologized to her repeatedly, but in the same breath left to usher his lord to the next conference meeting.

Each day, the middle-schooler returned to the Magical Kingdom, only to find its king engaged in matters of national importance. She happily passed the hours in the company of Lady Ryuely, Toche, Tail, Marty, and occasionally Harka, but her heart had started a slow, burning ache to see the one she was coming to treasure the most.

On the evening of the last day of summer vacation, after the akuto doll had returned her home, Yumemi sat at her desk in her part of the loft and sighed. It would have been good to see him at least once more before school started and she had to resume her entrance exam prep.

A rap against her bedside window startled her. She looked up to see Munto floating outside, knuckle against the glass.

Yumemi quickly jumped up from her desk and crawled over the top of her bed to unlock the window. "What are you doing here?" She whispered this query in her case parents or brother overheard.

"Come, Yumemi." He floated, extending his hands: an open embrace, an open invitation.

She silently slid outside her house and into his awaiting arms. He cradled her gently, with her head nestled under his chin.

The ground slowly started to fall away. "Where are we going?"

With a slight smirk, the Heavenly Being replied, "We are going to fly."

That was the last thing she heard as he accelerated and the wind started to whistle around her ears, hair whipping around her face. Higher and higher they climbed, faster and faster until Yumemi started to feel breathless. She scrunched her eyes and held on tight.

"Don't close your eyes, Yumemi!" Munto smiled with a childlike innocence, his red hair also being tossed around.

Following his order, she forced herself to watch as the lights in her town shrunk to small, twinkling dots against a dark, velvet landscape.

Without warning, the pair spun rapidly, still soaring higher into the skies, bringing them ever closer to the wispy, clouds that swirled around the moon. Flying with the akuto doll did not even begin to approach the wild sensation of blasting through air at breakneck speeds. Tears streamed down her face from the wind as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

Then everything was still.

They drifted, basking in the moonlight, beneath the stars that glittered far above the floating islands of the Heavens. Down below, the town was serene, all of its citizens completely unaware of the couple, floating above their heads.

"Yumemi."

She looked up and into his eyes. Their gazes held and the hundreds of thoughts that raced through her mind each night as she tried to fall asleep now resurfaced. Did he feel the same way that she did about him? What exactly was she to him? Were they ready-

He leaned down and kissed her softly.

Her mind went blank.

When he pulled away, the warmth from his lips lingered, especially around the edge of her mouth where he had missed ever so slightly. Her senses and mind became aware of the world again: the cool air, the slight dampness of the clouds, the heat that was seeping through his form-fitting jacket. Her nerves tingled and her eyes were wide from surprise.

"Come live with me, at the palace."

In the spring, the answer to that request had come quickly and clearly. Now, months later, other thoughts threatened to upheave that resolute response. But she had made a promise: a promise to her friends, to her family, and most importantly, to herself.

Shaking her head, she gave him an equally serious response. "Munto, you know I can't do that."

At this he let out an exasperated sigh, his face and his shoulders sagging in mild defeat. He rallied himself admirably and looked her straight in the eye, a competitive glint shining through. "At least, not yet."

Suddenly the combined happiness and sheer silliness of the situation overwhelmed her. Here they were, thousands of feet in the air, her first kiss had come and gone in a blink of an eye, the man that she was almost certain she loved was attempting to propose to her again (sort of), and her parents had absolutely no idea.

Throwing her arms around his neck, she pulled herself in close, and giggled. "I think I love you."

"You think?" Mildly offended, he tried to extract himself from her grasp, but she maintained her death grip, trapping him in her arms. "Well, then I only think I love you too," he scoffed. He wasn't really upset, but he needed to put up a front - he was a king with a certain degree of pride, after all.

She ran her fingers through his red hair, momentarily surprised by the soft and silky texture. "Once I am done with school, I will think about your offer."

Another sigh from the young man. "Three and half years is a long time to wait."

Yumemi couldn't help but feel mischievous. "Three years? Munto, what if I want to go to college? That's another four years. And then graduate school? That might be another few years. All in all, I think it'll be about 10 years before I can really consider making a life with you."

This time he managed to pull himself back so he could see her face. Panic and confusion were rampant in his features as he tried to work out if she was joking or not.

To relieve his worries, she placed her hand against his cheek. "Even if I decide to go to college or graduate school, I will still seriously consider your offer once I graduate from high school. So, only three and half years." His relief was swift and he relaxed once again.

"You have the ring." This might have been a question if either of them thought there were a chance that she wouldn't have the ring on her at all times.

She reached into the neckline of her blouse and pulled out the gold chain that had once borne the ring of the old king, but now carried the ring of the previous queen. The delicate gold details seemed to glow in the light of the moon and stars.

He took the small piece of jewelry and cupped it in his palm. "My mother and father were bonded together using these rings. If you wear this ring on your finger, it will strengthen your connection with me - beyond any that we already have." A tiny tendril of red light snaked from her ring to the one around his finger. "The effect will only be pronounced if both rings are worn."

Smiling slightly, he dropped the chain and the red line between the rings disappeared. He held up his hand with his father's ring. "For my people, I wear the ring as a symbol of my lineage and my promise to them as a ruler." His eyes softened. "For you, I wear the ring for a different sort of promise, but I swear that I will always wear this ring."

Although there was no need for this sort of ceremony or solidified validation of the special attachment they had formed, Yumemi had always sensed that Munto needed tangible evidence of their future together. Back when their worlds were in danger of colliding, he had been terrified when the light joining their worlds vanished and he needed to take a giant leap of faith when a small human girl told him that the bridge was there, even if it was no longer visible.

But she was more than happy to provide these assurances to the man that she loved.


The journey back to Yumemi's house was serene and uneventful. Munto brought her back to her bedroom window and watched as she climbed back inside. As she finally left his side, he reached out to grasp her hand once more in his. He raised her hand and lightly brushed his lips against her knuckles before elegantly releasing her.

"Good night." With a slight bow and a smile, he started to fly back to his kingdom.

He was almost home when a whirlwind of emotion hit him all at once and he dropped several feet in freefall until he could get his bearings back. Gasping and trying to cope with the radiant happiness, warmth, affection, and love that was streaming into his heart, Munto took several deep breaths.

Good night, Munto. A small voice echoed in his head as though the words had been spoken in his presence.

Just as soon as they had started, the flow of emotions ceased, leaving behind a bit of a hole. But the gap in the king's heart was quickly filled by the tide of excitement and joy that came with discovering that Yumemi had tried wearing his mother's ring.

Furthermore, he finally had confirmation that she did indeed love him. She was so quiet and gentle that he sometimes wondered if she was merely appeasing his dominant and selfish whims. He had been extremely nervous about kissing her, especially given that he had no prior experience with that sort of thing.

But strong, powerful feelings that had surged through the connection when she had worn the ring were just as big as his own.

The after-effects of the emotional transfer did not dissipate, even in the following days as the king once again resumed his duties. His countenance was markedly more cheerful, a change that was welcomed by Heavenly Beings and humans alike in the ongoing conferences and discussions.

This extraordinary transformation was of particular interest to his trusted vassals, who had long hoped that the impatient and short-tempered ruler would find someone who could provide stability and balance to his life.

"Do you think it is the princess?" Marty asked Tail as they sat around a courtyard table with Harka, Sheza, and Louie.

"There's no one else it could be, is there?" Tail responded. "The king hasn't exactly taken notice of any Heavenly girls."

"I doubt our lord would be happy to hear you gossiping about his love life," Louie said coolly with his arms crossed.

"And you are absolutely right, as usual."

All five spun around rapidly to find their lord and master, king of the Magical Kingdom, standing behind them with a bemused expression on his face. He raised a brow and leaned into their circle, placing his hands on the table.

"I am keenly interested to know what it is that you have been chattering about."

Then a wave of pain washed over him. He clutched at his side and crumbled onto the table.


Yumemi felt uneasy.

Throughout all her morning classes, she knew something was wrong. All of her sleeping or daydream visions of Munto had shown the king in best of health, going about his royal responsibilities. But she was unable to shake the sense that something was terribly and horribly wrong.

At the very start of the lunchtime break, before anyone else had a chance, she made her way to the rooftop of the school. She found a corner where she would not be interrupted or spied upon and slipped on her ring.

The first sensation was: pain. So much pain.

It flared up in her abdomen and traveled along her entire side. She curled into a little ball, but did not remove the ring - she needed to know: what was causing Munto this much pain?

Yumemi? Munto's voice, weak and strained, cut through the fire that was lacing through her body.

Before she could respond, the pain stopped. In fact, everything stopped. There was nothing.

She scrambled to her feet. She was still wearing her ring, so if the connection had ceased functioning, then the king or someone else had removed the other ring.

Unless there was another reason why Munto would no longer have any emotions to share across the link.

Without a second thought, she raced off the rooftop and down the stairs.

Please let him be safe!


A/N: Thank you so much for all your support and kind words so far! Please enjoy this new chapter and let me know what you think.

Update: This chapter has been edited with minor corrections since the initial release.