Thanks to all of the reviewers!

Amai Youkaiko

Ritu

akadabra-kaching

Violet spirit

bunnyjumps

Fan Girl of Lots of Stuff

Emmoria

Evermore888

And because a lot of people asked, yup, this is based on the goose girl! First person to guess was Rissi-chan, although I think that l3vA was pretty close!

The Usurper

Chapter 4

Mikan's legs were sore. Her back was sore. Her feet were sore. After 3 days of constant walking, following after Luna who was mounted on Arrow, catching sight of the capital should have been a relief, a mercy. But it wasn't. At that moment Mikan would have preferred to walk on, forever chasing the distant horizon. She watched from a distance as Luna rode up to a pair of guards patrolling the city entrances and started to converse with them. Mikan took the chance to rest, and knelt on the ground, waiting for them to finish.

"Come, Jun." called Luna, who was preparing to follow the guards. Mikan sighed before pulling herself up and slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Jun is the only other survivor." Luna explained to the guards. "We were already on the other side when the bridge collapsed."

The late afternoon sky started to rain. Heavy, cold drops showered down. Mikan lifted her face to the sky and felt the water caress her face. It whispered to her, telling her stories of wide open skies and of the deep ocean waves. She widened her link with Arrow, showing him the wonder of the falling rain, soothing his deep regret.

"We'll be fine, Arrow, somehow."

"That's easy for you to say, at least you don't have Luna on her back; she's a terrible rider." Mikan smiled sadly at Arrow's attempt at cheering her up. By now there were a dozen guardsmen escorting Luna, and a tarp was being held over her head to keep her out of the rain. Mikan looked up and saw citizens watching from their windows as the procession wound down the wide road towards the palace. One or two threw flowers from overhead as they passed.

Soon the wooden buildings and shopfronts gave way to finer looking houses and tree-lined avenues, until at last the palace gates were in view, towering 10 metres high and shimmering as the light from the mounted torches reflected off the streaming wet gates. As Mikan passed through, she felt herself shiver, but not from the cold, or from fear. She stopped, straining her eyes, trying to see through the slating rain.

"Mikan?" Arrow questioned.

"Can you hear it? The music?"

"What music?"

"It's strange…I'm sure I've never heard it before, but it's somehow nostalgic. It's calling to me." Mikan could feel herself being pulled towards the strange song. It seemed slightly sad, yet at the same time it promised so much.

"Mikan! Where are you going?" With a jolt Mikan realised that she had started to turn off the path. Up ahead she could see Arrow glancing back, worried. The entire party had moved ahead of her, and no one seemed to notice that she had fallen behind. She should catch up to them, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Here no one was watching her. It was quiet, except for the song that floated in the damp air.

"Arrow. I think I'll leave now. It's better than waiting around for Luna to dismiss me." Mikan felt Arrow accept this. She stepped off the path and started to follow the music, walking through thick woods echoing with the sounds of dripping water. As she walked the rain came down harder, and dark storm clouds blocked out any sunlight that tried to reach her. The rain was violent, but Mikan couldn't help but to raise her eyes to the sky, feeling the water streaming over her face. It made her feel alive.

Eventually the woods thinned and gave way to gentle grassland. The music was louder, and seemed to be coming from a large lake. The skies were lit up by a flash of lightning, and seconds later thunder roared. Mikan didn't notice any of it, she was focused on the music coming from that lake. She didn't stop when she reached the banks, and started to wade through the water, pushing aside the violently swaying rushes. The water was up to her ankles, then up to her knees, then she was waist-deep. The music was echoing in her mind, until she couldn't even hear the thunder. Then suddenly, something grabbed her wrist. Warmth broke through the icy numbness that had spread over her body.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mikan turned her head in surprise. A man who looked to be a little older that her stood in the water with a furious expression on his face. "Are you trying to kill yourself?" Mikan wasn't sure if he was raising his voice because he was angry or because the falling rain was almost deafening. Probably both.

"No!" said Mikan, shaking her head vehemently. "I was just following the music!" The man shook his head to indicate that he couldn't hear and moved his head closer. Mikan repeated what she had said louder. He looked puzzled.

"What music? How could you even hear music over this?"

"I don't know, but I did!" He shook his head in disbelief before leading her back towards the banks.

"And you weren't cold at all?"

"I didn't notice it, but now that you mention it, I'm freezing." He pulled her closer.

"Is that better?"

"We're in the middle of a lake, I don't think I'm going to warm up anytime soon." The man stopped and looked at Mikan. Water dripped from his black hair and streamed down his face. Mikan gasped when their eyes met. His eyes were a deep red, the colour of firestones. She was transfixed for a moment.

"Wow. Your eyes are really pretty." He laughed and splashed her.

"What was that for?"

"You're not supposed to say that a guy's eyes are pretty."

"But they are!" she complained, splashing him back. "They're such a beautiful colour."

"Fine then. Your eyes are handsome; they're such a dashing colour."

"No, you can't say that! It sounds stupid when you say that to a girl!"

"It's the same as calling a guy's eyes pretty."

"Fine then! Your eyes are very handsome."

"And your eyes are beautiful." For some reason the way he said it made Mikan feel uncomfortable. She absentmindedly started to float on her back, staring up at the falling rain.

"Hey, didn't you just say that you were cold?"

"I was, but for some reason I feel warm now. But if you're cold you can go back to the shore."

"Me? Cold? As if." Mikan felt him float on his back beside her.

"What's your name?" he asked

"…"

"What-is-your-name?" he asked again, stressing each syllable.

"…Jun. What's yours?"

"Natsu." Mikan laughed.

"That sounds like a girl's name!"

"Well your name isn't all that great either."

"I know. I hate it." There was a bitter edge to her words.

"Okay, if you hate it so much, pick a new one."

"What? I can't do that!"

"Just do it."

"Fine. Sakura." She said thinking of her Jii-chan whose family name was Sakura.

"Sakura." said Natsu, trying out her new name. "It'll do. So Sakura, do you work here?"

"No. I was Princess Mikan's servant, but I was only supposed to be in her service until she reached the palace."

"Oh." He was silent for a while. "So what will you do now? Apart from float around in lakes on royal property." Mikan laughed.

"Find work in the city, find a place to stay. I'll make it work somehow."

"Sakura, how old are you?"

"16, but I'm turning 17 soon. You?" Natsu ignored her question.

"And how is a 16 year old girl going to find work in the city? Especially considering that she has not, as of yet, proven that she has any common sense, or any skills apart from floating on her back."

"I'm good with animals! I'm sure I'll find somewhere. And what does a however-old-you-are person such as yourself do to make a living?"

"I'm 17."

"And?"

"I work in the palace as a servant."

"You? A servant? I'd like to see that!" laughed Mikan.

"Luckily, you never will." Natsu stood back up and held his hand out to Mikan. "Come on, I want to introduce you to someone."

"Who?" asked Mikan reaching up for his hand.

"A friend, he'll help you get a job."

"You don't need to! I'll find one myself." Natsu pulled her up and spun her around so that she was facing him.

"Sakura, you are a 16 year old girl all alone in an unfamiliar city. Even if you do manage to find a job you'll just be taken advantage of. So just let me do this one thing."

"Don't be such a drama queen, Natsu. I won't be-"

"Sakura." he gripped her shoulders. "Don't make me kneel and beg."

"Fine, but only because if you knelt here you would probably drown." Natsu laughed and let go of her shoulders before they waded to the shore. He led her around the lake to a small cluster of wooden buildings that looked to be stables. Mikan reached out for Arrow but was disappointed to find that he wasn't nearby.

"Arrow, where are you?"

"Some sort of private stable. And you? She tried to hide it, but Luna was pretty annoyed when she found out you disappeared. Actually, knowing you you're probably wandering around in those woods, lost…"

"I'm fine! I'm not that silly!"

"Oh? Would've fooled me." Mikan stuck out her tongue.

"Did you just stick out your tongue at me?" asked Natsu, amused

"Huh? Oh sorry, I was just thinking about something unpleasant."

"You really do act like an idiot sometimes." Mikan hit him in the arm, but she wasn't sure if he even felt it. By the time they reached the stables it was already dark. The building was lit by torches, and smelt comfortable, of horses and hay and oats.

"RUKA!" shouted Natsu.

"Nat? Why're you so wet? Did you jump into the lake or something?" Mikan saw a golden haired boy emerge from one of the far stalls, a wire brush and bucket in his hands.

"Actually, I did, thanks to a certain someone." He said, mockingly pulling at Mikan's hair.

"Ow, Natsu! It's not like I asked you to help me, I wasn't even in any trouble!" she protested.

"This is Sakura, I met her half an hour ago." explained Natsu.

"Oh. Sakura, I'm Ruka, the stable-master." he looked at Mikan curiously.

"Aren't you a little young to be a stable-master?" asked Mikan. Ruka shrugged.

"I'm just really good with animals."

"Anyways, Ruka," interrupted Natsu, "Sakura needs a job and a place to stay and she says she's good with animals. So just say she's your sister and let her be your assistant."

"You can't just ask him to do that, Natsu!" hissed Mikan. "I told you that I'd find work myself. Sorry for interrupting your work, Ruka."

"Ignore her, Ruka. So, where does she stay?"

"Sakura, you can stay in one of the spare rooms behind the stable."

"Really? I don't want to be a bother or anything."

"It's fine, you can help me take care of the geese; I usually don't have enough time for them."

"Okay, now that that's settled, I'm going back to the palace." said Natsu, wringing some of the water out of his shirt.

"Wait, it's not like I've accepted yet!"

"Do you have any better job offers?"

"No…"

"Then what are you complaining about? It's okay to accept help sometimes." Mikan was silent for a moment before sighing.

"I guess I have no choice."

"Took you a while to figure that out." Mikan rolled her eyes and, ignoring him, walked over to one of the horses. Natsu watched her in the firelight. She seemed comfortable, whispering to the horse as she brushed its fur.

"Nat," said Ruka quietly, "You're engaged, you're fiancé is right now in the palace wondering where you are."

"Sakura's just a friend, it's not like I'm in love with her."

"I just hope you know what you're doing."

"Well I don't." said Natsu before walking off into the coming night.

I hope you liked it, please review, because I like this story and think it deserves more than some of my other ones, but that doesn't seem to be happening. Ah well, I always did like fantasy a bit too much :)