Onto the interesting part! Or at least, the start of the interesting stuff~ hehe~

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Chapter 8

Misaki sighed as she continued to wander aimlessly in the woods. When she was starting to get discouraged, she reminded herself of Saitou's plight. Compared to what he had been through, this was nothing. Sometimes it was necessary for them as rulers to struggle on behalf of their citizens. She was sure her mother would have done the same.

It hadn't been so bad at first, but as the journey seemed to stretch on endlessly, hunger started to settle in the pit of her stomach. She should have been sitting at the dining room table with her father and Brita… Misaki was curious as to how Brita would explain her absence since her father would be worried if she didn't appear.

Being hungry was a new experience and she wondered how anyone could survive like this. Shivers went up her spine at the thought that she would be stranded and die where no one would find her. Thankful for Saitou's jacket, she wrapped it more tightly around herself.

First, she just needed to find something to eat. After that, she would have more energy to continue on her way. With that thought in mind, she glanced around to see what there was around her. When she had originally walked away from Saitou, that thought had never entered her mind. Perhaps there were wild berries or fruits somewhere.

Looking up and down, left and right, she couldn't tell how long it had been until she finally spotted white sprouts growing from the green and brown of the earth. Rushing towards them, she knelt down without regard for her dress. It wasn't time to think about that when there was food in front of her.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," she heard as she reached out a hand to pluck the mushrooms she had found.

Startled by the sound of another person, she fell backwards onto her bottom. Glancing around, she didn't see anyone! She would have heard if there was someone nearby, but she hadn't seen a single soul during her walk. There hadn't even been any wild animals, a fact that she had been both disappointed and thankful for at the same time.

"W – Who's there?" she called out nervously.

She continued to look around until she finally heard a soft thud on the ground beside her. When she turned towards the noise, she saw a black cat sitting next to her. It startled her, but that didn't explain the voice that she had heard.

"Those mushrooms are poisonous."

"W – What? Who's there?" she asked again.

"I'm right here," he responded when she started looking around again.

Misaki was shocked as it seemed like the voice had come from the cat. How was that even possible? And what was a cat doing out here in the forest anyways? It seemed relatively far for a stray to go on its own. As she stared at it, it seemed to understand her as it lifted up a paw like it was waving. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Hello there," it said. "I was just telling you that the mushrooms are poisonous."

Like any reasonable person would do when they came across a talking cat, Misaki fainted. It was a reaction that was caused by both her hunger and the disbelief of meeting a cat who knew how to speak. Unfortunately, that left her new friend in a dilemma as there was no way he could care for her as she had passed out on the forest ground.

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"Mao! What did I tell you?!"

Mao groaned as she was yelling at him for coming in through the window after he had been taking a walk in the forest. It wasn't like it was that bad… Just a bit of dirt and he never went out when it was raining. Even so, he didn't have time for this as he remembered the girl.

"Not now!" he snapped back at Carmine. "I need you to come with me right now."

"What did you do now?"

"I saved her life! And she fainted on me!"

"Who wouldn't faint if they met you for the first time?" she retorted. "Great… And he's out hunting too…"

"Then get the others. We need to bring her back here!"

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"Who do you think she is?"

"I have no idea. I just heard her walking in the forest while I was trying to take a nap. The next thing I know, she was trying to eat the poisonous mushrooms."

"Hm…"

"What?! You don't know who she is? Are you living under a rock or something? She's Princess Misaki!"

"Oh my God… Are you serious?!"

Misaki struggled to open her eyes as she heard people talking all around her. Her memory was a little fuzzy. The last thing she remembered clearly was trying to find food in the forest. It took her a few more minutes to remember the talking cat. By the time she managed to get her eyes open, it was to find that there were seven faces staring down at her – one of them belonging to the very cat she had first met.

"She's awake!"

"Okay, okay! There's no need to crowd her anymore!"

The others seemed like they wanted to complain, but the lady only had to give them a glance and the rest of them dispersed. When Misaki tried to sit up, she was the one who had gone to help her up. Smiling weakly in response, she murmured her thanks.

"You don't have to thank me. I should be apologizing to you since Mao was the one who startled you. I'm Carmine," she said, introducing herself. "Are you really Princess Misaki?"

"Ah… Well…"

"Sorry, I won't pry."

"Where am I anyways?" Misaki asked softly.

"At our house. We're an odd group, I will admit… But we're kind of like a family. It seems like I have to do everything around here though. I wish they would do more to pitch in."

"I'm sorry I startled you," Mao said, landing on the seat next to her. "I just didn't want you to eat those mushrooms."

"Thank you. I apologize as well. I must have startled you when I fainted."

He seemed to shrug in response before he jumped back down to the floor and headed towards the kitchen. Misaki couldn't help giggling as she was talking to a cat like she was talking to anyone else. It was such a weird experience; not to mention that she still didn't know who these people were.

"So what would you like to eat?" Carmine asked her.

"Anything is fine. I apologize for the inconvenience."

Shaking her head in response, she smiled and left her on the sofa while she followed Mao to the kitchen. This gave her time to glance around the house. She never imagined that she would find a place like this to stay. She wasn't even sure what she would find despite her words to Saitou. Even so, if they were willing to put up with her for the night, she wasn't going to complain.

Finally, she noticed two heads poking out from behind one of the walls, one on top of the other. Misaki giggled again as they looked so adorable. The girl was taller with her silver hair tied up in the back while the boy had blonde hair. So far, no one looked like they were related and she couldn't help wondering where they had come from.

"Yin, July, don't just hide there. Go greet our guest," Carmine stated as she returned with a bowl of thick soup.

The two of them slowly shuffled towards her in complete harmony and Misaki grinned. She had never seen anything like it. The expression on their faces was relatively blank, but their eyes spoke volumes. They glanced at everything curiously and she seemed to be their newest fascination. It took them a while, but they eventually made their way to the couch and took a seat on one end.

"This is Yin and July," Carmine said as she took a seat on the other side. "They like to stick together and they don't really talk much. But they're really sweet. They just need some time to get used to you."

"Hello Yin, July," replied Misaki. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

They both nodded in response and continued to glance at her. July seemed to be staring at the jacket that she was wearing and Yin was staring at her hair. Even so, it wasn't like they had any ill-intent and it couldn't be any worse than how she felt walking into the throne room during her coming of age ceremony. That was just in a league of its own.

"I'll have a bed and a change of clothes ready for you. If there's anything else you need, feel free to let me know. If you need more food, have one of these two get it for you."

"No, I'm fine. Thank you," Misaki said.

"Don't worry about it. You must be tired after all that walking."

"I've been better, yes. Not to be nosy, but who were the others?"

"Ah, I guess I sent them all away before I introduced everyone. There are seven of us here all together. There's me, Mao, who you already met, Yin, July, Kiko, Mayu and Wei. Kiko and Mayu are usually together… You don't even want to know what they do since they're usually in their own little world. Wei is usually outside since he's the one who hunts for us," Carmine explained.

"How was it that you came together in a place like this?" Misaki asked curiously. "I am still in the forest, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are. We live here. I don't even remember how we all came to be together. We make a trip to the nearest town each week to buy the supplies we need. Mostly, everything is taken care of between me and Wei. Not because I wanted it to be like this, but Kiko and Mayu never listen. Mao isn't really good for much when it comes to housework. And these two… Well, I couldn't possibly ask them to do too much!"

"Ah, I see. Then starting tomorrow, I shall do my best to help you how I can. That is, if I can stay here with you."

"Of course!" she exclaimed. "That would be wonderful. I need all the help I can get. You're welcome to stay as long as you like."

"Thank you."

"Okay, so I'll let you finish your meal before it gets cold. Yin, July, please keep her company. When she's finished, can you lead her up to the spare bedroom?"

The two of them nodded in unison and Misaki couldn't help grinning. She had to agree with Carmine that they were just too cute to ask them to do much. They turned to watch her again, their expressions relaxed.

"More?" Yin asked when she had finished eating.

"No thank you. I've had enough."

"Bowl."

Since July held out his hands to take the utensils from her, Misaki thanked him as well and watched as he hopped off the sofa and went to the kitchen to put the dirty dishes in the sink. If it hadn't been for Brita, she wouldn't even have known that such a place like this existed. It would serve its purpose for hiding out since Carmine had been kind enough to say that she could stay indefinitely.

"Upstairs."

Yin pointed towards the stairs when July had rejoined them and Misaki nodded in response. This would take some time to get used to as each of them had such different personalities. But hopefully, they could all get along. Otherwise, she didn't know where else to go…

They brought her to the guest room and they entered it to find that Carmine was just putting the blankets in order. She thanked the two and they scampered off without another word. When she was finished, she pushed a stack of clothes into Misaki's hands and directed her to the bathroom.

"You'll have to share with the girls if you don't mind."

"No, that shouldn't be a problem," she replied.

"Alright. Then I'll let you get ready for bed. It has been a long day, especially for you. Get a good night's rest and we can speak more in the morning."

"Okay. Good night."

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A/N: Anyone unexpected appear? Knowing me, 3 of the 7 shouldn't have been that difficult to guess!! XD But more love to some of the minor characters~