A/N: hey all my readers and reviewers! How have you all been? A nice summer for most of you I hope. Anyways, a while ago I got a review asking if I was going to update. And I thought about it and was like, well as long as people are reading my story, I might as well. I'm so sorry for the wait too. I didn't think very many people were interested in this story so I had no intentions of continuing it but now I know some people are so I guess I'll continue it.
… Chapter four…
Ichigo let out a loud yet nervous laugh, "Of course not!" she shouted. Pudding stared at Ichigo unbelieving. "Well let's get a move on to that town." Ichigo exclaimed ignoring Pudding's stare. Pudding grabbed onto Ichigo's dress sleeve and tugged it slightly.
"Ichigo," Pudding started, "It's alright to tell me. I promise I won't tell no one! Not… not even Hisa! I promise!" Pudding said, her eyes growing wide and innocent. Ichigo swallowed, how on Earth could she get out of this one? She looked at Pudding again then grinned. Maybe she could trust this girl.
Leaning down so that she was face to face with Pudding she quietly whispered, "If you tell anyone, I'm going to be in big trouble. So you cant say anything! You promise?" Pudding's eyes light up and she smiled happily.
"Promise!" she assured with an enthusiastic nod. Ichigo smiled, patted Puddings head, and turned back to the forest.
"Okay lets get a move on then." She said and started walking towards their destination. Pudding slowly walked next to Ichigo and looked up at her, "Hey Ichigo?"
Ichigo looked down at Pudding, "Yeah?"
"Is it true when you're a princess you get to marry the prince?"
Ichigo stared at Pudding then rolled her eyes, "Yes. It is true."
Pudding giggled with a slight blush, "Wow! You sure are lucky that you get to marry Prince Masaya then."
"If you want to call that lucky." Ichigo continued walking…
"This Ryou Shirogane for sure can't be trusted." Masaya convinced himself as he started to gather stuff in his room. The crisp coolness of the morning began to coast in through his window and he glanced out it, watching the blond haired boy make his way into the town. Another growl of anger grew in his throat and he hurriedly finished packing what he needed into his small bag. "I'm going to make sure he really finds Ichigo." He inhaled deeply and swung the bag over his shoulder, quickly grabbing his cloak as he walked out of the room. Though following this boy may have been harder then he thought…
The mornings sunlight rays began to peak over the straw roofed houses as Ryou Shirogane made his way into the town. He watched a few children run in circles after each other for a moment then glanced at an older looking man sitting against one of the stone houses. He approached the man without caution and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. When the old man just continued to snore Ryou sighed, turning to the children without any other choice.
"Hey." He whistled at the kids and they froze, turning to look at Ryou, their innocent eyes wide with speculation. Ryou smirked slightly then nodded for the kids to come over. They warily walked over to him and continued to stare, all the fun they were having slowly dripping away as their attention was now focused on Ryou. After a few minutes of no one speaking, Ryou sighed with annoyance.
"Do you know where the forbidden forest is?" he asked, staring at the kids uninterestedly. They all nodded in unison and this amused Ryou slightly as he cocked an eyebrow. Their mouths dangled open naively and their eyes stayed glued to him as if he were their new god. Ryou ran his hand over his face, his long day starting to set in.
"Will you tell me?" He asked, his voice tinted with annoyance. One of the kids lifted his hand, pointing it in front of him, his mouth still dangling open. "That way." The boy said quietly. Ryou looked in the direction and nodded thanks, leaving quickly. An enthusiastic mumble of admiration broke out between the kids as they watched Ryou go.
Ryou managed to catch a few words that they kids were exchanging and he grinned at their childish veneration. "Cool?" he wondered momentarily as he approached the line of trees that started the forbidden forest. He let out a quiet chuckle and started to walk into the jumble of trees.
"Yes, that is exactly what I am."…
Ichigo pushed her way through the tangled shrubbery, ignoring the scrapes and cuts she got from the sharp twigs and branches. It had been like that for almost an hour and the further she walked into the forest with Pudding; the more she noticed the forest was becoming thicker with plants.
"You know Princess Ichigo, I can hold those bushes back for you." Pudding stated as she walked behind Ichigo. She finished plucking out the splinters on her left arm and she was beginning to work on her right arm. Digging her nails under the sliver of wood she quickly pulled it out and dropped it to the ground.
Ichigo sighed with irritation and rubbed her temples as if she had a headache. That had been the most annoying thing she'd heard all day, Princess Ichigo. She turned to Pudding and gave a slight exasperated look. "Look," she started, waving her hands like she was trying to clear the air, "from now on don't call me Princess Ichigo just Ichigo ok?"
Pudding stared at Ichigo blankly and tilted her head, "Huh?" Ichigo rolled her eyes again, this had been the third time all morning.
"Remember? I can't be found out? My identity has to stay a secret? Ring any bells?" Ichigo stared at Pudding, waiting for the answer.
"Oh! Oh ya!" Pudding exaggerated as she remembered. She held her fingers to her lips as if she going to "shh" and nodded. "Talk about your delayed reaction." Ichigo thought.
"But it is a bad habit." Pudding shrugged, shaking her head ingenuously. "You're royalty and everyone was taught that you call royalty by their stance. Like Prince and Princess and King and Joker."
"I don't think Joker is royalty Pudding and please just pretend that I'm not royalty." Ichigo started and began to trudge through the thick vegetation, "I'm just like everyone else, a simple commoner. Try to think of me more as that."
"Well I can do that easier now that your crown is gone." Pudding pulled another splinter out of her arm, flinching as she did so.
"Oh, that is right huh?" Ichigo paused a second. She had felt beyond horrible about losing that crown and her heart tightened whenever she thought about it. "Maybe I should have just placed it in a bag? It would have been quite safer." She thought over and over again. Grief and regret of not doing that settled in and she sighed. There wasn't much she could do about it now and she stepped over another plant, cracking a branch under her shoe.
Hisa from the top of the tree branches squeaked at the noise and soared down close to Pudding. Ichigo glanced back at the small, silver dragon and shivered, the memory of it turning into different animals scared her slightly. Where did Pudding get such an animal? Pudding lightly held out her splinter-less arm for the dragon and it softly landed on it, squeaking again.
"Hisa and I are hungry Ichigo." Pudding complained, carefully stepping over a bush. Her legs and arms were still sore but as she continued to walk and move the pain started to gradually go away.
Ichigo pulled out her map and stared at it, "Ok just another few yards away and we should be in the next town. From there we'll get food, water, and other supplies." She rolled the map back up and placed it in the belt loop around her waist.
Pudding ran her hand over Hisa's head and continued to follow Ichigo, "Hey Pri…I mean Ichigo, did you even tell Prince Masaya that you were leaving?"
Ichigo laughed a bit angrily and kicked a bush, breaking its small branches and sending its leaves everywhere, "Yes. Yes I did!" Pudding looked taken aback at Ichigo's anger and paused a second before asking another question.
"Then why didn't he come with you?" Pudding looked at Hisa.
"Prince Masaya doesn't have time to accompany me on such a trip." Ichigo ducked under a low branch.
"Then why do you have to keep your identity a secret?" Pudding narrowed her eyes slightly. Curiosity and interest sparked in her and she followed closer to Ichigo, wanting to hear more.
Ichigo swallowed nervously. "I must remember to remind myself not to talk to strangers any longer. Especially younger girls who ask too many questions." She thought and stepped through another bush.
"Because Pudding, I'm not allowed to be doing this. I wasn't allowed to go but I need to go!" Ichigo whirled around so that she was facing Pudding. "I need to see my family before I actually go on with the wedding! You don't realize how hard it is even knowing that your family isn't going to see their only daughter go down the aisle. I miss them too much to do this without seeing them."
Ichigo began to hyperventilate slightly and she pressed her hand to her chest, a sobbing sound catching in her throat. Pudding's mouth went agape and she stepped back to examine what she had in front of her: a princess that was having a miniature panic attack. Pudding swallowed and set her hand up on Ichigo's shoulder, which was now trembling excessively.
"I understand Ichigo, I mean, I don't even have a family." Pudding grinned weakly, tears catching in her big brown eyes. Ichigo stopped and stared down at Pudding. Her heart tightened again in her chest and she felt tears coming to her own eyes. Dropping to her knees, Ichigo wrapped her arms tightly around Pudding.
"I'm sorry." She quietly said into Pudding's hair. "I'm really, really sorry."…
…The forbidden forest, Masaya noticed, was apparently not an easy place to find someone. The trees towered over him, higher than his castle he presumed at one point and the shrubbery was higher than his knees.
"How come I was not aware of the dangers of this forest before? Anyone who could perhaps wonder into here would most likely get lost. It is only common sense to know that this place is hazardous though. But even then, a mere child could amble into here and not have realized that he would be lost." Masaya became then cautious of his surroundings and shivered with uneasiness.
It was going to take him a while to find the precise way that Shirogane had taken. Hell, he didn't even know if he could find his way out of the Forbidden Forest if he got lost. But then again, he did forewarn a few close guards that if he did not return within a few days that he was most likely lost. Lost was such a strong word though, he had used a word like mislaid.
"Plus," he added quietly to himself, "I am a man. I will never get lost." With that, he trudged deeper into the Forbidden Forest, his manliness obviously showing but with no one to see. "As long as I am apparent that I am strong and fearless, I can do this on my own then." He thought with a sly grin.
His own personal gloating though, blinded his vision of the large spider dangling from a tree branch and he hit it unintentionally. It flew back on its thin yet strong, long thread of web and came flying back towards Masaya's face in one swinging motion. Before it even got two inches in front of Masaya's face though, there was a shrill scream from his mouth.
Terror struck him harder then ever and he stumbled back, running away from the spider at such a fast speed that he brought up some of the shrubbery and grass. There was a snicker from behind the tree and the blond haired bounty hunter stepped out from behind it.
"What a man." He smirked, "So much for trust. I guess I'm actually going to have to search for this girl in order to get paid. Princey boy will be on my tail the entire time." He watched Masaya run until he was out of site then turned back to the small golden crown resting on the ground under some leaves. He squatted down next to it and brushed away some of the foliage.
Picking up the crown, Ryou peered in the direction of a broken log. He scratched his chin in wonder and proposed he was on the right trail. Taking out the picture of Ichigo he smiled slightly to himself.
"Well she won't be too hard to find in this forest." He laughed quietly, "She's too pretty to not be noticed."
A/N: I know. I suck at updating. But I actually wasn't going to update this story if you read the top authors note. But I guess I am now. I'll try more. But till the next chapter- KTHM