Mio stepped out of her carriage. Krad, the blonde headed guy, followed her. They followed a butler into the castle and were greeted by the king himself. "Ah! Mio! Krad! How are you?" he asked walking toward them. Mio curtsied while Krad bowed low. "And may I ask where the lovely queen is?" Krad asked him. "She couldn't be here to meet you. Royal duties that only involve the queen herself." He answered. Krad nodded with a slight look of displeasure. The queen should be there to greet her future daughter in law. Oh well. They would have to meet sometime. Whether she liked it or not.
Riku busily chopped some cabbage for a stew she was making for the guests. It was getting cold outside and people would want something to warm them up. She finished and slid it into the pot. Risa hovered by her watching her every move. Risa had been quite annoying lately. She started chopping carrots as Risa shuffled closer. "Could you go somewhere?" she asked her. "Risa looked at her and smiled. "No. I have nothing to do until dinner is served." She answered. "Go get a head start on tomorrow's laundry or something because you're annoying me." She said, wiping her hands on her apron after she dumped the carrots in. Risa gave an unhappy whine. Riku only glared at her sister. Risa winced slightly at the familiar look. She had been getting that a lot lately. Risa walked out sulking. Riku sighed in relief. She leaned on the counter edge, crossing her arms. Her thought wandered to a week ago when Daisuke had hugged her. She shook her mind clear. She would not think about it.
Daisuke stared at his father in disbelief. Fiancée? His father had arranged a marriage. He was mad. He looked at the girl sitting across on the other couch. She was his Fiancée. He didn't even try to smile at her. Koske looked at his son. He knew how mad he would be. He would have to avoid the boy for a couple of weeks until he cooled down. And to make matters worse, he would marry her on his birthday. He crossed his arms and looked at the ground. A thought came to his head. Riku. He had told her he wouldn't walk out on her. But then he remembered he barley knew her. He grimaced. Suddenly, he stood up and walked out. No one even followed him.
Mio stared after her new fiancée as the father started to blurt out apologies to her and Krad. She got up and followed him. She found him in the garden sitting on a tree branch, one leg hanging lazily down while the other was pulled up close to him. He was looking at the town below them. "Um…Daisuke?" she said looking up at him. He glanced down at her before looking at the town again. "Please. Just talk to me." She said. He climbed up to a higher branch in the tree and took his lazy position again. She sighed and decided to give up for the day. He would warm up to her.
"Did you hear? Prince Daisuke has a fiancée!" shouted an over excited Risa. Riku didn't even look up from folding the laundry. Risa bounded over to Riku and pulled the towel she folding from her hands. "Give that back!" she demanded. "But don't you even care that he has a fiancée?" Risa asked as Riku snatched the towel back. "I could care less about other people's lives!" she exclaimed, refolding the towel and setting it in the pile. Risa sighed and turned on her heel. Riku finished folding the laundry in peace and took it inside. What's the big deal anyway? So what. He was getting married. Just another stuck up royal who would abuse her power and over tax people. She sighed as she flopped onto her bed. No use in worrying about it.
Daisuke tied the bandana on his head. It was the middle of the night. He wanted to go see Riku and he couldn't wait till morning. Father had put extra guards around the castle to try and stop him from walking among the commoners. He slipped by them anyway. He tip toed through the halls, exiting the castle without being noticed. He jogged through the streets towards the cabin. He walked in to see a very tired Mrs. Sakai. She looked at him questioningly. "I just came to visit Riku." He said as he turned into the hallway and knocked on her door. A very annoyed looking Riku opened the door in her night wear. "What are you doing here so late?" she asked. 'I just needed to talk to someone." He said. "Hold on. I'll be on the porch in a minute. I just need to change." She said and closed the door. He hurriedly walked out onto the porch. He kept pacing and was interrupted by Riku laying a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?" she asked, letting a worried look slide onto her face. He sat down in the nearest chair and buried his face into his hands. She kneeled by him her hand resting on his back. "My father is such an idiot! They decided that since we're going so poor to arrange a marriage with some rich family so we can get by! I don't want it!" he said. Riku only looked at him, her face falling slightly. She patted his back lightly as he let out his frustration by kicking the railings. She didn't know why it affected her so much. She got up and left him looking after her as she walked inside to her room and shut the door.
This chapter took me awhile to type because I kept stopping to think about how I wanted things said. I eventually figured it out.
