I had been at home for six months and still hadn't heard anything from Prince Izana. I was starting to lose the confidence he had given me. He had promised more opportunities to get to know each other, but none had arisen yet. The kiss he had given me was still fresh in my mind. Perhaps it was the reason why I wasn't able to focus.
"You're off your game today, Lady Rin. Focus!" Hiroto corrected as a dummy struck me in the back.
He was an older man now, he had a slender frame for a man, but his still strong muscles filled him out a little. He had shaggy gray hair and full beard he had decided to grow out in the past year.
I could feel his brown eyes watch me as I struggled with my training. When I was finished I leaned down and place my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. Hiroto came over to me and crossed his arms.
"Did you want to talk about it?"
"Prince Izana still hasn't sent for me again."
"I'm sure he just got caught up with what's going on with his brother."
"Something's going on with Prince Zen?" I asked as I stood back up.
"My old contacts have told me, that he's befriended a red haired common girl. So, by Prince Izana's reputation, he's probably got a plan that will either drive them apart or bring them together."
"Red hair? I would like to see it some day."
"When things progress with you and Prince Izana, then I'm sure you will."
"Yeah, if they progress."
"Sorry to interrupt, but your father has asked to see you, m'lady." one of the servants informed me, as he entered the barn.
"Alright. Let's go."
I followed the messenger to my father's office and when we arrived, he was absorbed in his paperwork as always. The messenger turned around and left right away.
"You wanted to see me, Dad?"
"Yes. I wanted to let you know… Akira is pregnant."
"Really?! That's so amazing! Congratulations!" I was so overjoyed. I didn't have much to say in the way of words except what I already said.
"Now don't get too excited. It's still early so there is a chance she could lose it, but I wanted to let you know… Also, this came for you."
I took the letter that my father handed me and almost let out a squeal when I saw the royal seal on the back. I quickly opened the letter and my eyes soaked in every word.
"Well? Is it good news?"
"Yes! Prince Izana wants me to live at the castle in Wistal, so he can court me. He says he wants me to 'make the castle my new home for the time being'."
"I guess you'd better get packing then." I saw Dad give me his I'm-proud-of-you smile.
"Yes! I'm going to do that right now!"
I ran out of the room and packed everything I could think of to make the new room feel like home so my nightmares might not be so bad. It took me the rest of the day to pack and the next morning I left for the castle.
When I arrived at the castle, I was greeted by Prince Izana and led to the extravagant garden. As we entered the center of the garden, there was a man with platinum blonde hair and the woman with red hair that I had heard about.
"Zen."
Both turned to greet us.
"Lord Brother."
"I would like to introduce, Lady Rin, daughter of Lord Takashi."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Rin."
"Likewise, Prince Zen." I gave him a curtsy.
I tried my best not to stare at the woman's red hair, but it simply cried out for attention. I almost didn't even notice a server bring drinks into the garden. It wasn't till Prince Izana offered me one, that I snapped out of it.
"It's nice to meet you, Lady Rin. My name is Shirayuki."
At the moment, I had forgotten that she had been a common girl and was curious as to why she didn't introduce herself with her title.
"Forgive my forwardness, but may I ask what your title is?"
"It's 'Friend of The Crown' from Tanbarun."
I burst out laughing but did my best to compose myself quickly.
"I'm sorry, I've just never heard that title before."
"And you wouldn't have. Shirayuki is the only one to hold the title. I found it amusing myself when I first heard it." Prince Izana explained as he smiled.
I again found myself distracted by Shirayuki's red hair.
"Something wrong, Lady Rin?" Shirayuki asked.
"I'm sorry, I'm just fascinated by your hair. I've never seen anything like it, even in all my travels."
"It's alright, I get that a lot. What kind of traveling did you do?"
"It's a long story, I'll save it for another time." I figured it would be best to save the tale of my pirating days for another time. I didn't know if this courtship with Prince Izana would last, so, for now, I wanted to keep it to myself.
"We have time. Please, I would like to hear it."
I didn't know what to do. I looked a Prince Izana for some sort of clue, but he gave none. I took a bigger drink of my wine, then I normally did and looked back at Prince Zen. I took a deep breath and explained everything that happened, from my mom and sister being killed to the end of my life on the pirate ship.
I saw Prince Izana out of the corner of my eye, he was smiling. No doubt, it was from his brother's reaction. Prince Zen choked on his drink when I first mentioned pirates and Shirayuki were wide-eyed.
"Lord Brother, may I speak with you a moment?" Zen requested with irritation in his voice.
"Of course."
The two men walked off around a corner and out of earshot.
"Finally. Now I can take this stupid thing off." I pulled the dress off in one smooth motion revealing the men's clothes underneath. I grabbed Shirayuki's hand. "Let's go eavesdrop." I heard a slight squeak out of her when I dragged her behind me, but she was quiet when she needed to be. It didn't take long to find the two brothers, but we, of course, stayed hidden around the corner.
"After all the grief you gave me about Shirayuki, you go and court a girl like that?!"
"She is nobility, and I've had a physician look at her. There are no remnants of her life on the pirate ship."
"Then let me ask you this, Lord Brother. What does she have to offer the kingdom?"
Izana chuckled. "She's very good at handling sticky situations. You could learn a thing or two."
"Why would you say that?"
"That's something I'm going to let you find out for yourself, Zen. As you get to know her, I'm sure you'll find her almost as interesting."
There was a silence.
"Well, then if you have no further questions, we should return."
When I heard this, I quickly dragged Shirayuki back with me and quickly slipped my dress back on. I was smoothing out the wrinkles when the Princes returned.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Prince Izana said.
"It's perfectly fine, your highness."
I had to do everything I could, to stop myself from laughing at the expression on Shirayuki's face. I guess I must have startled her with my quick and unusual actions.
"Is something wrong, Shirayuki?" Prince Zen asked in confusion.
"Oh, no. It's nothing. I've just been getting to know Lady Rin better, that's all."
I almost lost it, but I did manage to keep it together. I also had to hand it to Shirayuki, she could compose herself almost as well as any noble.
"If I may, Prince Izana, I would like to go unpack my things now. I brought quite a bit and I'd like to be unpacked before dinner this evening."
"Yes, of course, I have some things to attend to anyway. We'll see you at dinner Zen."
"Yes, Lord brother."
As soon as I entered my new room, I burst out laughing. The whole situation had been rather priceless. Depending on how close Prince Zen and Shirayuki were would decide if she told him about their eavesdropping. As for Prince Izana, I was pretty sure he knew I was there, but I wasn't too worried. Prince Izana already had a taste of what I was like, so anything I did now probably wouldn't have surprised him that much.
Once I had a good laugh, I pulled my dress off and put my hair into a simple ponytail as I worked on setting up my room exactly as it was back home. The shape of the room was a little different, but I did my best. When I was finished, it looked almost exactly like my room at home.
"Excuse me. Can you tell me where I can find Lady Rin?"
I turned around and saw a man with turquoise hair and brown eyes.
"You're looking at her."
He looked a little shocked but collected himself quickly.
"Prince Zen would like to see you."
"Alright, let's go."
"Don't you want to change first, Lady Rin?"
"No. The formal introductions are done, so now it's time for Prince Zen to see the real me."
"Alright then. My name is Mitsuhide, by the way."
"It's nice to meet you, Mitsuhide."
The two of us walked to the training courtyard. As soon as I saw the area, I figured that Prince Zen would want to know how good I really was with a sword. I went over to where the training swords were and grabbed one.
"Mitsuhide, I thought I asked you to get Lady Rin." Prince Zen said sarcastically with distaste.
I was still in front of the practice swords, so I grabbed a second one. "I'm right here, Your Highness." I snapped back as I turned to face him. I grabbed one of the swords by the base of the fake blade and passed it to Prince Zen, then I readied my stance. "Now, shall we start?"
"Yes, let's."
I let Prince Zen make the first attack. He wasn't as fast as his older brother, but he was still quite a challenge to me. Our swords clashed and I had to incorporate some of the fancier footwork I had been taught while on the pirate ship in order to keep up.
After about an hour of intense sparring, Prince Zen caught me on a careless mistake. This ended up giving him the upper hand and he won our duel.
I glanced over at Mitsuhide, who was now watching with a blonde woman and Shirayuki, and I could see the shock on their faces. I'm guessing it was because I held my own against Prince Zen for so long. I turned my attention back to Prince Zen.
"I may have spent time on a pirate ship, Your Highness, but I assure you that I am still an honorable woman. I could have chosen to lie and keep my past hidden from you, but I chose, to be honest. I need you to see me as who I am and not some misconception, from the point of a pirate or a Lady."
Prince Zen was silent.
"As you get to know me, I hope you can see the real me and nothing else." I tossed my sword to him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready for dinner."