Here's Chapter 3.…and I re-uploaded chapter 2 so it wouldn't be 'invisible'…..

Kosher has to put me back in her story after this x]

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It had been three months since the incident of the exchange between Ikuto and Tadase.

Tadase was probably the most respected King in years.

Ikuto worked in the chicken pens, stables and did handiwork around the castle. Everyone had forgotten his previous status as the most skilled Knight of the Egg shaped-table. However, he still visited conferences and his opinion was heard, but rarely valued.

Amu was upset with Tadase, but loved him the same. She often visited Ikuto as he worked, and they talked. They had merely grown closer after the incident. If Ikuto had an idea about something, he could tell Amu and it would usually get done, rather than him telling Tadase.

Ikuto, in fact, was probably running the entire show behind the scenes. The entire infrastructure of the kingdom was now based on his original plans. The guards were posted at critical points in the castle, so spying was virtually impossible. There was a new tax system that allowed for public services, and he had allied the kingdom so that everyone had a common enemy.

But he couldn't have done it without Amu.

She graced him with her presence, and he graced her with a better home. Tadase loved Amu even more; she was all he could have asked for and more. He was peeved with the fact she visited Ikuto so much, but he knew their relationship was strictly friendly. Besides, you can't have it all.

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One day, Amu came to visit Ikuto in his house near the city. There was a horse cart in front of it. Odd, she thought.

She knocked on the door, and Ikuto appeared in the doorway. He was dressed in a black, high collared shirt and there was a gold band around his third finger.

A ring?

"Ikuto!"

"Amu," Ikuto said with a toothy grin, embracing her. "There's someone I want you to meet."

She glanced knowingly at his ring. He grinned wider and led her inside.

"This is Tulsia," He said, walking next to a girl. She had olive skin and dark hair, almost as stunning as Ikuto himself. She had a ring around her finger, as well, and couldn't have looked happier next to Ikuto.

"I met her at the chicken pen," he explained. "We're engaged."

Amu hesitated for a fraction of a second. "That's great! You should have the wedding at the castle! I'll take care of all the arrangements!"

He grinned. "Join us for a drink."

Amu smiled, and sat at the simple table while Ikuto poured a bottle of wine.

"So where do you work?" Amu asked Tulsia.

"Well, I volunteer at the animal pens. I love working with the chickens. But I run a store near here as well."

"That's nice," said Amu. At the corner of her eye, she could see Ikuto staring at her intently.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing."

"I've never met a queen before," Tulsia gushed. They carried on normal conversation for a while.

"By the way, Amu, did you pass on the new plans to his highness?" He said Tadase's title with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"He said he didn't want to do that."

"There's been a lot of foreigners around lately. A lot of them I can tell are trained professionals, probably assassins or spies. If he doesn't defend the castle properly, he'll be dead before he knows it."

"He just refused to do it. He said things were fine as they were."

Ikuto's forehead lined up. Tulsia put her hand on his shoulder, and he instantly calmed down.

"Don't worry," she said. He nodded.

"Well, I should get going now." Amu walked out the door.

"Bye!" The couple waved, and Amu left.

Was she really happy Ikuto was engaged?

She didn't know the answer herself.