Princess, a Prince, Knights and... Tennis?

Chapter Two: The Story Goes On

The next Day

It was her Birthday Today and she was pretty excited. After all she'd met Ryoma last night. Just the thought made her heart beat in a crescendo of thumps. Then she had another thought, Ryoma didn't even know it was her birthday, and this saddened her. It would be been wonderful to have been able to spend it with him. Then she had an idea, they'd be meeting Saturday and she could tell him then. Sakuno smiled happily and rushed to get dressed, it was time she went for breakfast with father.

Ryoma woke to an incessant prodding from behind him. Groaning Ryoma tried to swat away the hand, but it was persistent. Finally Ryoma squinted in the sunlight and rolled over and came face to face with his Father, Nanjiroh. Now he really wanted to groan, he did not want to see his father right now. He'd been having a good dream about Saku, the girl from last night. The memory brought an involuntary smile to his face. If it wasn't such a rarity around his father, Nanjiroh wouldn't have been in the mood to poke for information. As Nanjiroh started in on why Ryoma was smiling, Ryoma decided to change the subject.

"What are you doing here so early; I wasn't to meet you for practice until after training today." Ryoma sat up and started to get out of his bed. He'd been staying with his mother in her suite of rooms, until the dorms were reopened. It had something to do with a cat and mouse problem that ended up with the whole dorm in a mess.

Nanjiroh watched his son go to his closet, and pull out his clean squire's outfit. Nanjiroh wouldn't admit it, but Ryoma reminded him of himself a lot. Watching his son change and get ready for practice reminded him of his younger days and memories of laughter. He was still amazed that the skinny wimps he and his friends used to be, had grown into what they were, and they were still together, and kicking.

Ryoma noticed his father, and arched an eyebrow; his father had a funny look on his face. "Well, what are you doing here?" That seemed to bring his father back from where ever it had gone. Nanjiroh looked at him and his goofy smile returned to grace his face. Nanjiroh stood and headed to the table where food was laying and sat to eat.

"Well, I came to tell you that I won't be able to make it to our practice today. The King has requested my services and I'm to report to him after breakfast. So I decided we'd eat together and then I'd help you with your stuff. After all you'll be moving back to the dorms today." Nanjiroh took a big gulp of the watered down wine, before starting in on his food. Ryoma rolled his eyes and sat across from him. He figured his father had already eaten with his mother and was just there to eat his share of Ryoma's food, too.

"So what does the King want?" He asked as he spooned a mouth full of broth soup and bread.

Shrugging Nanjiroh answered. "I'm not sure; he just asked the members of the Royal Guard to meet him in the throne room after breakfast was over."

"Do you have an idea what it could be about?"

"I'm guessing it has something to do with the princess's birthday being today." At Ryoma's questioning look he furthered his explanation. "You know we're her protector's, and you know that she isn't allowed to see anyone outside her guard and family?"

Ryoma nodded. "Of course, how else are you to protect her successfully? With the castle grounds being so open, and with all the trading and open acceptance of applicants into the military, it's never really secure enough to let the crown princess to wonder around. And it's the Royal Guards top priority to see to their majesties safety at all times. But what has that to do with her highnesses birthday?"

"Because she is so secluded, she doesn't have many friends, she's come to think of the Royal Guards as part of her family. She's always felt close to us and us to her. She trusts us and yet she rarely gets to see us, do to our duties that the King felt it would be a nice surprise to have us come and spend the day with her. At least that is what I'm guessing." Because Ryoma knew his father so well, and in turn Nanjiroh knew the King so well, Ryoma figured it was more fact than guess work.

Ryoma nodded his understanding. He'd never personally meet her highness; he'd only known her through his father and the other guards. He known about her since before he could walk. He knew his father was soft when it came to her, but he'd never felt jealousy towards her. It just made him wonder what kind of person she was to deliver such fierce pride and affection towards her from the fiercest group of warriors in the kingdom. Because of his father's reactions towards the royal family, Ryoma also wanted to feel that kind of pride. So had decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become the next Captain of the Royal Guards.

They continued to talk as they ate, before they headed out for the dorms, Ryoma's things in hand. After placing everything in its place, they said their goodbyes and separated to go onwards with their day. Ryoma walked towards the training grounds and towards a particularly large group of young men around his age. They were all squires, and they all came from different backgrounds with one similarity they all wanted to be in the Royal Guards. They were a tight nit group of friends, and if rumors were to be believed the best choices for the next Royal Guard.

When they saw him approach they turned slightly away from the fencing pages in front of them to him. First among them was the second youngest in the group Momoshiro Takishi, but they all called him Momo for short. He was the son of the head Blacksmith, here at the castle, and Momo could tell the difference between different swords-smith's works. Standing next to him was Kikamaru Eiji, the 3rd son of a nobleman, Suruju Eiji. Suruju was also a Royal Guard with Ryoma's father, he was fast and agile. Behind them were twin brothers Tezuka and Fuji Mitsuji. They were paternal twins, not identical, and their personalities were polar opposites. Fuji was the younger of the two and also the shorter one, he was always smiling and took after his mother more than his father, but he was furiously loyal to his friends and country and though his smile hid it, he had a bit of a sadistic streak in him if angered. Tezuka was the older, taller one. He took after his father in both height and build. He was smart, thoughtful of all his actions and you could never tell what he was thinking unless he said it out loud. He had a stern look to his facial features but Ryoma didn't think there was a person alive who could match his determination and strength in a tight spot. Their father was also part of the Royal Guard he while their mother was a scholar and friend of the Queen.

Standing beside Tezuka was Suichi Oishi, he was the son of the Castle doctor and he was very good at bandaging and had great precision with a bow and arrow. Next was Takashi (?) Minaru the son of the castle chef, he was also a very bulky youth with a shy demeanor and a gift with throwing knives. Beside him were bothers Inui and Kaidoh Kaishiro, they were a year apart and their looks were strikingly different from each other. Inui was the oldest and the tallest of the group; he was the only one who wore glasses. But his gangly look only made his opponents misjudge his ability with a sword and his calculating mind, if you needed a plan, and in a hurry, Inui was your guy. Kaidoh was actual the shortest of the group with Ryoma being two inches taller and Fuji an inch. His face was fierce and often times scary; but he was actually a very sweet boy, with Momo being the only one he fought with. He was very good at spears, lances, and horse riding. Kaidoh and Inui's father was the stable master. Ryoma nodded to them and they in-turn nodded as well. They had all bonded over the past four years of their training together and their different backgrounds didn't seem to matter at all.

"So you already move back in?" Momo asked. Ryoma nodded.

"You?"

"Yep, all of us got back at dawn. Have a good break, anything interesting happen?" Ryoma's mind jumped back to Saku and he grinned.

"You could say that." Ryoma replied. Momo turned to him a grin on his face, before he turned to the rest of the group.

"Well look at that face, it seems Ryoma has something he'd like to share." Momo swung his arm around Ryoma's shoulders and nudged him. Ryoma smirked, they others weren't too far behind in their teasing.

"That kind of face only means one thing." Eiji said.

"A girl." The group replied.

"Well who is she? When did you meet? Is she good looking?" Momo and Eiji bombarded him with questions, but Ryoma just smirked and shook off their arms. Straightening his clothes he replied.

"Her name is Saku, and she lives up at the castle." Ryoma replied. The others crowded in; their youngest member was finally getting interested in girls.

"How did you meet?" Oishi re-asked. Ryoma paused, he didn't want Saku or himself to get in trouble, but he trusted his friends to keep his secret.

"You can't tell anyone." Ryoma said, the others nodded, so Ryoma continued. "We met in the Princess's garden."

"Ryoma what were you doing there, if you'd have been caught, you'd have been in big trouble." Oishi said. Ryoma rolled his eyes.

"I know, but that just makes it more fun." Ryoma said. The others chuckled at him, it was Ryoma for you.

"So what happened?" Kaidoh asked.

"Well I couldn't sleep last night, and I was bored. So I decided…"

"Do break the rules and enter her royal highnesses gardens." Tezuka said an eyebrow rose at that. Ryoma nodded.

"Of course. So I was walking around, when I felt someone was hiding behind a pillar. I readied myself for attack and told them to come out." 'Of course he would, Ryoma never stands down from a fight' the others thought. "And then she appeared." Ryoma got a bit of a goofy look to his face, and that surprised the others, 'that must be some girl' they thought. "She was sneaking around the gardens too. When I told her she wasn't supposed to be there, she actually scolded me for being there too. 'You're not supposed to be here either. You certainly don't look like a girl to me.' That's what she said." The group smirked; there weren't many people after all who would stand up to Ryoma, he was the best swordsmen in the squad and also the next in line for Captain of the Royal guard. "So we said we wouldn't tell anyone we'd seen each other. She was really shy, and…"

"You couldn't help but tease her." Taka said.

"Just a little, I couldn't help myself. But our conversation was cut short when a guard approached. We hid in an alcove together until he passed." Ryoma's mind was wondering back to last night when Saku's breasts had been pressed against him, feeling a blush coming on, Ryoma coughed it down. "Anyway we parted, saying we'd meet again." Ryoma finished. His friends were all smirking at him, and knocking him around good naturedly as they teased him.

"So Ryoma's got himself a girlfriend does he?" Eiji said. "It's about time." Now Ryoma did blush, he was known for being dense around girls. He'd never paid any attention to them, didn't matter if they were aristocrats or maids, they were all treated with the same amount of respect and ignorance. Ryoma had been more focused on training than romancing.

The others joked some more before they saw their teacher heading their way, and they knew it was time for training. As they moved onto the open field Fuji asked, "So when are you meeting again?" Ryoma smirked.

"Saturday." This gained more hoots and hollers as the group continued their joking.

Lined up in formation they awaited orders. They had a long day ahead of them.