The journey to the capital was, at best, incredibly awkward. T he carriage Lord Norman had ordered was comfortable and luxurious , and best of all cool in the hot sun . However after last night's dinner and his early morning good byes, Kiku was not in mood to carry a conversation with the lord or his wife, no matter how hard they tried. To him , the plush seats and the silk head cushions were just walls in an expensive jail cell. And in a way it was, even though Kiku enjoyed looking at Heart's country side and mountains through the coach windows.

I've never been this far away before, he thought to himself, Hearts is really very beautiful.

"Do you see that lake your majesty? " Lord Norman's wife chirped, breaking Kiku out of his thoughts . He almost sighed, at must have been the sixth time they had tried to engage him in conversation. He wondered if there was a polite way to tell them to leave him alone, but he couldn't find one.

It wasn't as if he didn't like her , in fact he liked her more than Lord Norman. When she arrived at the mansion after his parents left and before dinner the previous night, she was polite and respectful even before she was told who he was. She was barely older than Kiku and quite lovely but unfortunately carried an air of obliviousness around her. She was completely unselfaware. While Lord Norman at least sensed some reluctance in Kiku, his wife remained blissfully unaware of his attempts to put her off.

But ever the gentleman, Kiku replied, trying to feign interest.

"Yes. It's very nice."

"Oh I'm so glad you like it!" the wife said, eyes brightening, "My family has a summer house there. It is a wonderful place. If you ever have time in the summer, we would be more than happy to have you! Oh and also in the winter, the lake freezes and you can ice skate and the house is always war m. And in the spring when the flowers bloom, it smells so pretty! And in the autumn too when the leaves turn, I had many peaceful and relaxing days there! My parents in particular are very fond of that property. "

Kiku winced at the word "parents" . The gnawing feeling in his stomach that had developed at the beginning of his journey made itself known again. He resisted the urge to close his eyes and turn away.

The whole goodbye had been an awful, heart breaking affair . His parents came early in the morning, not comfortable enough to stay at the nobleman's house, much to Kiku's displeasure since he himself was forced to stay. The tree traveled from the farm well before sunrise to see him off. When they did get there, faces a peculiar mixture of solemn and proud, they couldn't even do a proper goodbye as the Lord and his wife were waiting for Kiku in their lavish carriage. But still, they made do. His mother held him for a long time silently, and so did his aunt who left tear stains on his white suit. Kiku hoped they were tears of happiness.

"We 'll see you soon son. Don't worry about us too much, we'll be fine. Just work hard like you always do." his father told him shaking his hand and grasping his shoulder Kiku just shook back, nodding, pretending he didn't hear his father's voice break.

"We are all ready to go have your majesty." Lord Norman's voice cut clear through the moment, " We should start moving before sunrise if we want to take a rest at midday, which we will need in this heat." His eyes were focused carefully latched on the horizon line. "And we really should get to the capital before night falls, they are expecting us."

Kiku's father sighed and let go of his son's hand before stepping back and putting an arm around his wife. "It's time to go now son," he said, looking at him expectantly, eyes glassy.

Kiku nodded, afraid to speak , afraid to break the mask he had prepared for this moment. Afraid that he would break and not his father's words nor his mother's kiss nor his aunts tears could fix him. He understood now what was going to happen. He was going to the capital , to be trained to be the queen. He was going to help rule the country of Hearts, become a symbol of hope, the rest of his life spent in grand mansion and parties and expensive clothes. He would have to rule a country and make important decisions and meet the most important people in the five kingdoms. Oh and how could he forget, he was to be married to a man he never even met.

None of that was even remotely close to the life he wanted, or a life he even could dream of. He was Kiku Honda, the rice farmer, the dutiful son, who liked being alone and his small, comfortable life. What was he going to do?

"Are you alright your majesty?" a high, airy voice pulled him back to the present. Kiku looked over at the noble couple watching him with concern.

"My apologies," Kiku said slightly embarrassed . "It sees I am slightly out of wits today."

"Would you like to sleep?" Lord Norman asked, eyes alight with worry. "I'll be alright, I'm feeling a bit fatigued myself."

"Oh no it's- " Kiku started, then paused. A nap did sound appealing. It may help his nerves and at the very least he wouldn't have to talk to either of them anymore. "Actually yes, I think that would be good, thank you."

"Very well. Rest well your majesty ." Lord Norman said, but Kiku wasn't listening. He had already turned away and closed his eyes, trying to calm his thoughts and feelings, hoping the beautiful surroundings outside would seep into his dreams, until he finally succumbed to sleep.

I'll just leave this here and pray someone is still following this...