Chapter 4: The Ambiance of an Affection's Aria

(Narrator change from last chapter.)

The morning sun was shining its bright glow upon the early daytime sky. Just the birds' faint melodies, which were playing sweetly outside, were enough to wake me from my slumber. My amethyst eyes, resembling gems so I was told, fluttered open as a smile curved upon my lips. Stretching my limbs to wake them up as well, I felt my muscles repel me from my comfortable bed. It was like I was a new person, I felt so rejuvenated.

The foremost thing I did before anything else was grab another robe from the set I had, keeping the one I had slept with on. My feet seemed to happily stroll along with me; they were in agreement with my mood. There was just something in the atmosphere today that was lifting. There was something about the air that seemed it could make anyone smile. On my way to the hot springs to bathe, I met up with Mako-chan in the streets.

"Hey Himeko!" She called out gleefully, running towards me full throttle. I was aware of Mako's capability, as well as dexterity, to control her feet to stop but, I still worried that she would crash into my body and we'd both fall over.

"Hello Mako-chan. Ohaiyo." I smiled, greeting her.

"Hey. Were you just on your way to the hot springs?" She had managed to perform the mini miracle of stopping right before me.

"Yes. Did you want to come with me?" I questioned. By the look on her face, I could tell she did want some time to spend with me. I was slightly amused by this.

"Definitely!" She replied and confirmed my guess as we headed out for the bathhouse. This facility was to put our stuff away securely first, then it would be on to our main destination. The hot springs and the bathhouse were two locations to bathe, but, more of the common folk bathed in the hot springs designated for them and more of the rich folk, or those who could afford to get into the bathhouse, went there to bathe. However, there was a section that a commoner could reserve to hold their stuff and that is precisely what Mako-chan and I decided to do.

"So, have you heard anymore from your secret admirer?" Makoto asked gleefully with a small wink added in to give emphasis to the question. I blushed at her teasing comment.

"No, unfortunately, I haven't. I'm sorry Mako-chan." I couldn't look her straight in the eye, I just couldn't.

"Alright, I'll let you off easy this once, Himeko, but, don't think that I'll let it slide again." She said, grabbing me by the head and messing up my hair. I thought that this kind of "friendly gesture" could be considered torture.

"A-alright Mako-chan. I promise, it'll never happen again." I said while giggling happily. We were truly best friends, from the bond we shared to the silly behavior we exhibited, most definitely friends. And it seemed we would always be, till the very ends of time themselves.

"Ohaiyo Kurusugawa-san." A male voice seemed to sound suddenly as my head went forward in response. Mako's did too but, to see who called my name.

"Ohaiyo Oogami-kun." I replied shyly, not making much eye contact with him as well. There was a pink color in my cheeks that retained its position for a while. The boy I was speaking to had brown hair and caramel chocolate brown eyes. He was very handsome, I will admit; he always had been. At even age 7, he had girls of all kinds falling all over him and yet he didn't seem to notice. He was oblivious. But, then again I guess you're oblivious to most things concerning love at that age. Along with being handsome, he was noble. He was almost like a prince, in a way. Well, he was as much a prince to me as he was a good friend. Although we've known each other for quite some time, he still always addressed me formally. I found that only the least bit strange. It was his choice though, I didn't mind it much anyway. But, in some ways, it confused others and made me feel uncomfortable. But, as usual, I learned to live with others' choices.

"How are you today?" He asked, his voice a bit gentler in tone.

"I'm fine. T-thank you. How about yourself?" I asked back, looking for a moment into his eyes. He quickly noticed this and broke our connection and found, suddenly, an interesting sign to look at. His hand began to rise to rub the back of his head, fussing with his hair.

"Oh, I... I'm great. Thanks. So, I see you're off to the hot springs? Oh Ohaiyo, Saotome-san." He nodded in Mako's direction briefly before turning his full attention back to me. Suddenly, upon his face, appeared a small blush which formed on his cheeks rather quickly. I'd completely forgotten about the fact he'd confessed his love to me the other day. It just didn't seem that important at that time, and I couldn't help but feel horrible for the fact that I forgot as well the fact I deemed it unimportant. Actually, a part of me wanted to believe he was joking, and so that is what I was made to believe..for now. But, he looked at us nervously. He was acting rather anxiously... he was asking many questions...: Did he like Mako-chan too?

"Hey." She answered.

"Yes. That was where we were going so, um, maybe we'll see you later, Souma-kun?" I could never look anyone in the eyes, especially when I got the least bit nervous. What was wrong with me?

"Yes. We'll see each other sometime soon again. Sorry to have disturbed you. For now, farewell." He said, bowing. His face was as red as a ripe tomato. For a minute there, I thought he was going to explode. But, nonetheless, he walked away, regaining his composure.

"Himeko Kurusugawa..." I turned with a confused, yet, somewhat frightened look on my face to Mako-chan. I could tell it was her who spoke my name, but she'd never said it like this before. Her voice must have dropped a few octaves and it sounded serious, I instantly became afraid. But, because Mako was my friend, it made me a little worried as well.

"Y-yes?" I answered, meekly.

"Why... don't... you... go for it? He was right there! And right under your nose he went! You're such an airhead!" She pouted and crossed her arms, obviously disappointed in me. This was something she always did when disappointed with me, for whatever reason.

"I'm sorry Mako-chan. It's just... my mind is someplace else today." I looked down. I was unable to obviously look her in the eyes. It was true I didn't like confrontation, perhaps that's the reason I can't hold eye contact?

"Oh? Like where? Wanna fill me in?" She angrily addressed me. I couldn't cope with an angry Mako, especially if her anger was caused from my own fault. I sighed. Makoto was my best friend; I guess it wouldn't do me any good to keep secrets from her.

"Well I had this dream last night and I've been thinking about it ever since. It just seemed so real, you know?" I didn't realize it, but, my expression had a dreamy quality to it and Mako now seemed puzzled. There was a brief moment of silence before she spoke quizzically.

"Wellllllllllllllllllllllll, okay. Because you're being honest with me, I won't press you anymore. I mean, if you're really that uncomfortable, I won't talk about it anymore. I won't even ask about it. Deal?" She semi-smiled. She was returning to her old self slowly and it was then that a twinge of relief surged through my veins.

"Thank you Mako-chan." We both smiled, in full now, and continued on our way.

MEANWHILE... (Narrator change)

"Chikane, dear, are you excited? You're finally going to have a voice and soon! Soon! Isn't that wonderful?" My mother stated with glee. She seemed to be more excited for herself than for me, personally. I wondered where she stored all that enthusiasm she had and why it burst free at sporadic times. Again, with no voice, I could only nod in response. In my personal opinion anyway, agreeing is much simpler than disagreeing and it saves a lot more energy.

"Marvelous! I'm so glad you're just as excited as I am!" She grabbed her carefully carved and specially crafted mug filled with her favorite drink and elegantly exited the room. To be honest, I also did believe that my mother's "enthusiasm" was a bit fake. She seemed to be acting or putting on a facade and I could tell why. It was all a show, just for me. But, I'll get into that sometime later. As she left, I sighed. I wonder what my voice will sound like...

Once again, there was nothing to do but anticipate boredom, boredom and even more boredom. No thoughts would dare to reverberate in my mind; my body sitting in a gigantic, but, lonesome estate. Having such a spacious house was nice, but at times, it did get lonely. That was the only disadvantage that bothered me at all. But, it was a beautifully desolate castle; an elegant but solemn place. A place where my dreams were kept safe in the rooms I inhabited with my presence. A place I called home.

"Chikane, my girl, how are you?" My father's booming voice called out to me, an instant smile forming on my face. I ran to hug him, his bulky arms encasing me in a secure way that always made me feel so safe. "I love you too. And I take it that means you're doing just fine. That's good. I'll tell you something Chikane, my sweet daughter; It's really a shame that you were born without a larynx. I would have loved to hear your voice. It is a very blissful moment when a father is able to hear his daughter's voice for the first time. And it is a beautiful but sad thing when that same little voice matures and says something that may even break your heart. But, that's the risk of being a parent, you know you're going to get hurt at some point in your life, the most important thing for me right now is to not let you get hurt." He paused for a moment and then continued, my sapphire eyes meeting his in a gaze. "I predict your voice would be much like your mother's. Sweet and soft yet powerful and strong, commanding even. She has a sort of unique tone to her voice that I love so much. I bet you you could even sing. I am praying, really, that this surgery works. I'm rooting for you." He smiled and kissed my forehead, then taking a longer pause and switching to look out the window nearest him. Of course, his giant arms still encased me while he spoke. "Your voice, I have honestly, longed to hear and now that I'm finally getting the chance to, I will. I'm sure of it. And of course, I'm excited as well. Good luck, my dear Chikane." He tightened the hug we were exchanging to a firm pressure before releasing me with a gentle smile. Love is a very rare thing when it's real and the bond between my father and I was certainly real and eternally strong. Someone once said that the only man a girl can ever really trust in her life is her father. They were right. My father just had this way of making me feel loved, like I was significant and not worthless because of my condition. I could tell, he had a true enthusiasm about him. His words held nothing but the truth. Because of his enthusiasm, I then became enthusiastic about the surgery and it's outcome. Any worries or doubts I had were eased by the courageousness and braveness I was feeling at the very moment. I wanted to know its outcome! I felt as if I could do anything! To this empowering feeling within me, I smiled sincerely to myself. Thinking of my dad and our small conversation I realized how truly great he was; not only as a king, but as a father as well..

But, even with the approaching surgery, my mind couldn't focus on anything else but the dream I had last night. It was mysteriously no, ominously picturesque. It was of me dancing, I remember it vividly...

I was dancing like I had, the other night. Though, now, I was in a mist, a cloud of fog that blocked my vision from seeing anything past the area immediate to me. But, the thing I found most interesting was, no matter how much tired I got, I couldn't stop dancing. It was as if in this dream world, fatigue didn't exist. It was as if there was a spell put upon me that prevented me from ever stopping. At first, it was silent. An acapella dance, no music or sound, no nothing. But, suddenly, a voice, a lovely voice, began to sing. The sound was very faint and in the distance, it seemed. But, it started to grow louder and louder. I noticed from its sound that it was getting closer to me. It fueled my energy even more to continue dancing. The sound was heavenly, almost as if the angels were singing to me. Now, I was beginning to wonder: Was this beautifully melodic chorus of a voice meant for me, to give me momentum to dance? Or was it that, from this mysterious but, wonderful voice alone, I was falling in love with the person who possessed it? Many thoughts were now racing in my mind and it became very confusing for me. But, amidst this wonderfully frenetic dream, I awoke in a cold sweat, panting. The moon's light was shining through the "window" upon my skin. It was shimmering on it so delicately it made it appear as though I were a porcelain doll. Taking a moment to breathe, I composed myself and relaxed back into slumber. It was a rather vivid but, strangely realistic dream...

I recalled it like a scene in a movie I'd just recently watched. It was a dream that brought me great happiness, as I found my lips curving into a smile. It fluttered my heart in all the right places. It truly set me free from this downtrodden reality of mine. It facilitated, for me, an escape. Escapes I couldn't seem to find enough of for me to fully enjoy the splendor life has to offer. My voice was never there for me, and so to communicate, it was never normal. The curse put upon me was also a blessing in disguise, I suppose. For, I had never been able to before speak, and I found my talent for dancing. It always does make me rethink things; What if I had been able to speak? Would I not have been able to dance? There were still so many questions left lingering in my mind and none of them had a sure answer.

And yet all my thoughts could focus on was not just the dream I had, but the voice within it. Whatever the price, whatever I had to go through to get the knowledge I desired; I needed to know who that voice belonged. Who the lovely angel was that possessed the voice in my dream, if it were a thing that existed in reality. I'd search throughout the entire kingdom and that of our mother country to find her and know her identity, for she is someone I would surely never forget.

Now I just needed a plan; It didn't seem likely that I was able to walk out in the streets so casually and find the one that this angelic voice belonged to. I'd have to search through every female in the population of this kingdom and only Kami knows how long that would take. Not only that, but I'd have to be able to communicate in some way with them which just wasn't possible; And according to my mother's rules, I was not to leave the grounds of the palace for the sole reason of exposing myself and my family's secret of the "royal family having a princess who is voiceless". Sometimes, I thought she was more concerned with saving face than her actual flesh and blood offspring.

..So how was I to go about this? I'd need a clever way of doing so. Most of the population works in the daytime and so I assume that most would take turns in the hot springs during nights. That was it! All I'd have to do is disguise myself as a commoner and walk the night streets to the hot springs that the common folk used. If I could sneak out of my palace for a week of consecutive nights, I'd get most of the majority of the female population down and be able to draw my conclusion on who the voiced belonged to. And of course, perhaps there was a chance of seeing that other girl again, the blonde who had a radiance like the sun itself. Perhaps she was the reason the sun always rose in this kingdom. I smiled secretly to myself, my plans would finally work and I'd finally get to meet this voice in my dreams. And you know, thinking about it more deeply; We were a match. My dancing to her unbelievable singing, it seemed fate couldn't have decided it better if it wanted to. So, a pair were we; A silent dancer and a mysterious singer.

[END OF CHAPTER 4.]