- THE NEXT MORNING –
Rin's POV
There was a loud knock at the door, which woke me up. Who could it be this early in the morning? I slowly got out of bed and trudged over to the door. When I opened it, I was surprised to see Luka standing there. She looked a little worried. "Could I trouble for something?" she asked politely. "Of course," I nodded. "What do you need?"
"Yuki is running a small fever, but I don't have enough of the herbs I need to make her medicine. Could you please run out and get some for me. They grow in that forest nearby. I would go and get them myself, but I don't want to leave Yuki alone, just in case she gets any sicker."
"I'm happy to help!" I smiled. Luka explained to me what the plant looked like and where it grew in the forest. Then she left to go check on Yuki, who was sleeping at Luka's house. I grabbed my brown cloak, since it was a bit chilly in the morning, and my sword, just in case. I started walking towards the forest, hoping to be back within an hour or two. That would give me time to take the herbs to Luka and finish up the cake from yesterday. I didn't feel like grabbing a horse to travel out to the forest. The trip was only two miles after all, a mere walk. I asked Neru, who was sitting outside working on her garden, if she could watch the house for a bit. She happily agreed and then returned to her flowers.
After about 15 minutes of walking, I arrived in the forest. The forest was beautiful. Wildflowers of every color grew alongside trees that seemed to touch the sky. A clear, blue river ran through the center and I could hear the sounds of the insects and animals of the forest. It was a peaceful scene and I felt a bit guilty for disturbing it. I tried to search for the herb Luka needed. It was green, which would make it difficult to find among all the other plants, but it had funny shaped leaves. She also said it smelled like mint, but a bit different. I trudged deeper into the forest, since the herb didn't appear to grow near the edge. I kneeled down on the ground, searching close for it.
Suddenly, a loud noise shot through the forest's silence. It was coming from the opposite direction and sounded like a horse. Standing up, I began to walk in the direction of the sound. If there was a horse, there had to be a rider. Who would be out this far? Could it be one of the prince's men? I unsheathed my sword and began to run. A fight might be necessary to protect the village. A swift and surprise attack would be the most effective on whoever was around. I ran to a small pond, where I found a horse drinking. Its mane was brushed nicely and it had an expensive saddle. The rider had to be well-to-do, but where was he? I approached the horse, almost to the point where I was touching it.
"Where's your rider?" I asked, reaching my hand out to the horse's head. I slowly stroked its head and spoke to it in a calm voice. The horse gave a snort and turned around. Was it trying to show me something? The horse nudged me with its head, and gave another snort. I patted its head with a smile. "You're a pretty nice horse," I laughed. "If you want, you can come home with me. We have plenty of carrots and apples for you." The horse nodded its head, almost as if it was agreeing with me. "I'll have to give you a name though," I said. While thinking of names, I remembered that the first priority was finding the horse's rider.
I jumped on the horse and gripped the reins. "Can you show me your rider?" I asked. The horse began to walk through the forest, until we reached a small clearing. To my surprise, a boy about my age was lying on the ground, asleep. Who would sleep in a place like this? I dismounted from the horse and walked over to the boy. His hair was pulled into a small ponytail, but most of his hair had fallen out of it. His face was scratched up and he had small cuts all over his legs. His clothes looked fancy, but they were ripped and covered in dirt. He must be from a wealthy family to afford clothes like that. He looked like he could live in one of those manors out by the castle. He looked like how I imagined a prince to be. Not our prince though. I always imagined our prince as older and less good-looking than this boy. He was kinda cute.
I poked the boy in the cheek. He looked harmless and he wasn't armed. He didn't react, so I poked his nose. His nose scrunched up, which made me giggle, so I poked him again. This time he awoke. When he opened his eyes, I noticed they were a stunning, but cold blue. He shot up and pointed his finger at me. "What are you doing?" he demanded to know. "You were asleep," I explained. "I was trying to wake you up. Why are you sleeping in a place like this?" The boy took a moment to observe his surroundings. It was like he didn't know he was sitting in a forest. "That's none of your business," he said defensively. Someone is keeping secrets, and he's not very nice ether. I assumed that he was afraid, so I didn't get too mad at him.
"You should come with me," I offered, sticking out my hand. "You look cold and hungry. I can get you something good to eat and also a change of clothes."
"Fine," the boy simply said. He stood up and I helped him get on the horse. His legs seemed to be a bit weak. I jumped onto the horse and told him to hold on tight to avoid him falling off, but he refused. We were about to leave, when I remembered the herbs. "Sorry," I apologized. "I have to grab something real quick before we go back." I looked through some of the shrubbery and quickly found the herb I was looking for. I picked a handful and put them in the pocket of my cloak. "Sorry," I apologized again, as I remounted the horse. "A friend of mine needs these."
"As if I care," the boy replied coldly. His reply took me aback. He was awfully rude. Maybe he did have a bad personality. I offered to bring him to my home and give him food and clothing, and this was how he acted? I suppose he does come from a wealthy family. He must be used to being waited on hand and foot. What a lucky boy. I decided to ignore his reply and rode the horse back home. The ride back was quick since we were on a horse. As I expected, the boy almost fell off. Each time, he barely stayed on by grabbing my cloak. Though he tried to seem tough, he just looked silly. The two of us didn't talk much. The boy didn't seem to have much to say.
"You remind me of a prince, you know?" I told the boy as we entered the village. The boy was silent. "Good thing you aren't though," I laughed. "Then I'd have to kill you."
Len's POV
I sat behind the peasant girl on my horse. Needless to say, I had little to say to her. I didn't want to talk with someone like her. Her white bow bobbed up and down as the horse moved. To many, she would have been a pretty girl, but she was still a disgusting peasant. I suppose I seem rude for not thanking her, but in actuality, she should be thanking me. She is in the presence of royalty, which most commoners never get the chance of. Besides, why should I even have to thank her?
"You remind me of a prince, you know?" she said. Her stupidity amazed me. Did she not even recognize her own prince? I said nothing in reply. "It's a good thing you aren't though," she continued with a small laugh. "Then I would have to kill you." My jaw tightened and I leaned away from her. What nonsense was she talking about? Kill me? Who would kill their own prince? That's the highest form of treason and would result in the death penalty. I decided not to say anything. This girl was crazy.
We had arrived in a small village filled with people running around. There was a woman working in a garden and a disfigured child sitting by a well. He was covered in bandages. There were some men practicing sword fighting. It was very lively and radiated happiness. How disgusting. The horse stopped in front of a small house, and the girl got off. She reached her hand out to me to help me get off. I refused it and got off on my own. I didn't need her help. The girl gave me an odd look and opened the door to the house. The 2 of us walked in. The house was not as nice as the palace, but that was to be expected. It was a commoner's home. I noticed that there was a large oven in the kitchen.
"What would you like?" the girl asked. "Whatever," I replied, emotionlessly. All food was bland and terrible. There was no point in even making a recommendation. The girl set to work in the kitchen. She pulled out lots of vegetables and put a pot of water in the fire. As she cooked, she tried to have a conversation with me. "We never properly introduced ourselves," she said. "I'm Rin."
"Len," I said, taking a seat on a small chair next to the table. "That's a nice name," Rin said, as she threw some of the vegetables into the pot. "What were you doing out there in the forest? You don't seem like you want to share, but I'd like to know. You don't have to tell me though if you don't want to." I said nothing, and looked down at my feet. Rin laughed a bit. "You're pretty quiet. Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait to have my questions answered. I used to be quiet like you, but now I've opened up a lot." She continued to laugh and started to stir whatever she was making.
After a few minutes, Rin poured a bowl of soup for me. She set the bowl in front of me and told me to eat it. She gave me a spoon, and with a sigh, I took a bite. To my surprise, it tasted good. It was unlike any of the food I had eaten at the palace. This soup actually tasted good. I quickly finished my bowl. It had been a long time since I had tasted anything with any flavor.
"I guess you liked it?" Rin smiled, grabbing my bowl. "Do you want some more?" I nodded and she poured more soup into my bowl. I ate the entire thing again. "You're really interesting," Rin said, taking a seat next to me. She was eating her own bowl of soup. "You don't say much, but you certainly have a big appetite. You're also pretty cute," she added. For a moment, I felt my face heat up. A wave of heat must have come from the fire. It was impossible for me, a great prince, to feel flustered. There was also that whole curse thing. Rin finished her soup and took both our bowls away. As she started to clean them out, there was a knock at the door. Rin quickly walked over and answered it.
There was a woman with a long, pink hair standing in the doorway. "Do you have the herbs?" she asked. Rin nodded and grabbed her cloak. She reached into its pockets and pulled out a handful of green leaves. She gave them all to the woman. "Thank you," the woman smiled. "Hopefully, Yuki will feel better after I get her some medicine." The woman looked at me and turned back to Rin. "Who's that?"
"That's Len," Rin explained. "I found him sleeping the forest. He's a quiet one. He's only told me his name."
"Maybe he should talk to Kaito," the woman smiled. "That would liven anyone up."
"That's a good idea!" Rin shouted. "Wait, I have something for you first." Rin grabbed something from beneath her counter. It was a cake. She grabbed a couple strawberries from a basket and set them on top. "This is for Yuki and Oliver. I thought they needed something sweet."
"They'll love it," the woman smiled, taking the cake. When the woman left, Rin ran over to me and grabbed my arm. "I want you to meet someone!" she smiled. She pulled me out the door and towards the center of the small village. The same men from before were gathered there. There was a man with dark blue hair sparing with a man with long purple hair. A teal haired man was sitting on the sidelines, talking to a man in glasses. He looked like an old tutor of mine, Kiyoteru, who I had fired a long time ago.
"Hey guys!" Rin shouted. All the men turned to face her with a smile. "Yo!" the blue haired boy said, setting his sword down. I noticed the man with glasses give me a wary look. He mumbled something to himself, and took off his glasses. He rubbed his eyes and put them back on. He seemed a bit confused. The blue haired boy approached Rin and me. "Who's your friend?" he asked. "I don't think I've ever seen him before."
"This is Len," Rin replied. "Len, this is my friend, Kaito." The man named Kaito glanced at me suspiciously. In one swift motion, Kaito, who had been standing a few meters away from me, picked up his sword and lunged towards me with his sword up against my neck.
