A/N: Hello, my lovely readers! I know it's been a while, but of course it would just be rude of me to leave this story with Yui's fate in the balance. We've got one more chapter to go after this!

Chapter 6: Return of the King

The cottagers didn't have the heart to just bury Yui in a hole in the ground. With the help of their blacksmith and jeweler friends, they constructed a special casket with a glass lid edged with silver and studded with blue sapphires, the gems that Yui had loved most of all. It was rested on a stone bier in her favorite clearing in the forest, surrounding the cottage. An elegant canopy was created to protect it from the elements and one of the cottagers stood guard over it every day, most often Suboshi.

Word quickly spread through the nearby village about the beautiful maiden lying in a glass coffin in the forest. Of course, they were careful to keep it secret from the court, for they knew the queen was a vain and jealous woman. People who chanced to see her said the maiden was so beautiful she could only be a princess.

Months went by; winter came, and then turned into spring. Many changes happened in the lives of the cottagers, the most notable being Soi and Nakago's marrying, and Soi quickly becoming with child shortly after the wedding. But to everyone's astonishment, there was no change in the maiden's appearance whatsoever. She did not decay as corpses did; rather, she seemed frozen in time.

Finally, not long after spring began, the king, Yui's father, returned from his journeys abroad. He passed through the village near where the cottagers lived, and one of his guards heard the rumors flying amongst the townsfolk. Curious, the king decided to see this sight for himself.

When he arrived in the clearing, all seven of the cottagers had gathered to keep vigil by Yui's side. The king approached and, to his grief and horror, recognized his only daughter, who strongly resembled his beloved late wife.

"Yui… how… how could this have happened?" he exclaimed in disbelief as Soi confirmed that the girl lying in the glass coffin was his daughter.

"It was the queen's doing, Sire. She became consumed with hated for the princess. After you left, she forced her to become a servant in the palace, and then one day she ordered one of her guards to murder the princess. He let her escape, and she fled into the woods and we agreed to shelter her until your return. Somehow the queen discovered her and she tried several times to kill the princess; we were able to save her twice from the queen's attempts on her life, but the last time we were not so fortunate," Nakago explained.

The king dropped to his knees in grief, resting his head against the glass of the casket. "Yui… forgive me, child. I was your father, I was supposed to keep you safe. And instead I left you in the hands of the woman who murdered you. I failed you," he lamented. Then his sorrow turned to rage. "Curse the day I brought that wretched Taiitsukun into our lives…. by Seiryu, I'll see her hanged for this," he growled, standing to his feet.

Sighing, he turned to face Nakago and the other cottagers. "I thank you for all that you did for my daughter. Yui's murderer will be punished, but her friends and protectors shall be well rewarded for their kindnesses to her in her time of danger. Whatever riches I give you, as a father who loved his daughter, I could never reward you all half as much as I could wish."

Nakago bowed. "You honor us, Sire. But I assure you, Princess Yui's friendship was reward in itself; she was the greatest jewel the kingdom ever boasted," he told the king.

The king smiled sadly. "Yes, she was… as was my late wife. And now, good cottagers, I am afraid to tell you the time has come to bid the Princess farewell. My guards and I shall return her to the capital, to be laid to rest in the royal mausoleum."

Suboshi started to protest, but Amiboshi cut him off. "Peace, Brother. Princess Yui's proper resting place is with her mother and the rest of her family. She should be buried like the princess she is," he told him sternly. Suboshi hung his head.

"He's right, Suboshi. Princess Yui should be given all the honors she deserves," Soi agreed.

The king nodded, and sent his guards forward to remove the casket from its bier. Then, a strange and miraculous thing happened.

As Yui's casket was being lifted to be placed in the royal wagons, it slipped out of the hands of the guards. Rushing forward, Suboshi quickly pulled her away from the shattered glass as quickly as he could, while Soi and Amiboshi joined him to help tend to the wounds the broken glass had caused.

Now, it so happens that when Yui had bitten into the apple, the small piece she had bitten off had become stuck in her throat, allowing the magic to do its work. But, because the apple had become stuck in her throat and she had not fully digested it, the spell's effectiveness had been lessened; she had slept, frozen in time, as long as the apple remained there. The fall caused the piece of apple to become dislodged; slowly, she began to awaken.

"Where… where am I? What happened?" Yui asked as she began to take in her surroundings.

"Oh, Princess Yui… you're alive! I can't believe it!" Soi exclaimed, throwing her arms around the young princess. Tomo and Amiboshi looked stunned, Ashitare burst out laughing, while Nakago and Miboshi uttered silent prayers of thanks to Seiryu for this most astounding miracle.

The king rushed forward and embraced his daughter, relieved that she was alive. The others retreated, allowing father and daughter some time to talk in private. The cottagers led the king's small entourage back to their cottage, where they combined their supplies to prepare a small meal for the evening's repast. The king's party passed the night at the cottage, eager to rest before the last leg of their journey.

Finally, when dawn broke, it was time for the royal party to return to the palace. The grateful king invited the cottagers to come to court, offering them positions as Yui's attendants. Not wishing to be parted from her dear friends, Yui convinced them to accept and they all prepared to go to the court.

There was no disguising Yui's fear and unease as they approached the palace gate. "Be not afraid child. Your stepmother will not harm you any further," the king assured her, seeing how apprehensive she seemed. "I will see her given the direst punishments possible for what she has done."

Queen Taiitsukun was immediately arrested for her crimes against Princess Yui, and for her mismanagement of the kingdom. The king showed her no mercy and she was publicly executed, hanged like a common criminal.

Being back at the palace, and being a princess rather than a servant, was a big adjustment for Yui. She kept expecting people to bark orders at her, not wait on her hand and foot. She was especially pleased that her father had followed through on his promises to her friends; Soi now served as her principal lady-in-waiting, while Nakago and the others were knighted and served as Yui's personal guards.

* End Chapter *