Akane had awoken to breakfast in bed, which she enjoyed very much. Afterwards, she got dressed in her school uniform; it had been brought along with her bag; and she started for the armorists. She stopped just outside her bedchambers, not knowing which way to go. She looked up the hall to see Prince Tshugo coming towards her.
"Lost?" he asked.
She nodded yes.
"Please allow me to show you the way," he said.
"Thank you," she replied.
They arrived at the armory to find Captain Johza there waiting. "May I speak with you, my lord?" he asked.
"Yes you may, my friend," answered the Prince. "Akane, follow this man around to the other side so he may get your measurements for your armor," the Prince told her, pointing at the armor maker.
When she was out of range of their voices the Captain asked, "What are you doing? Why did you send a challenge to that girl's family?"
"Calm down, Johza. Remember, when she puts on the armor she won't recollect anything, except her loyalty to her kingdom. The challenge is to show her family that she doesn't want to go back," Tshugo tells him.
"But, sire, what if this fiance is her true love?" wondered Johza.
"Not even the presence of her true love can break the spell I will have my top wizard place on the armor," answered the Prince, "Just because I can't interfere with the challenge, doesn't mean I won't tip the scales to my advantage."
Akane returns to find Captain Johza and Prince Tshugo inches from each other.
"Ah, I hope all went well. May I ask you to join me in a tour of my castle?" he asked.
She nodded yes.
"Farewell, Captain," called Tshugo.
"Goodbye, my lord," he replies, 'And may the gods have mercy on the people you may ruin.'
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Ryoga had just told the Tendo's what Ranma had to do to get Kuno to agree.
"Are you serious? He had to kiss Kuno?" asked Nabiki.
She, Ryoga, and Soun started laughing.
Kasumi on the other hand was not laughing, she says, "I think Ranma had no choice but to do what he did. It shows he wants Akane back more than anything else." Almost immediately they stopped.
"You're right, Kasumi, (snicker)," agreed Nabiki.
"Yes, that was a very noble thing to do, son," said Soun.
"Thank you, sir. But I'm going to be reliving that moment for a good long while," replied the red-faced, red-head.
Nabiki starts laughing again, and Ryoga joins her. "Sorry, sorry, its just so funny when you think about it," apologized the middle sister.
"Jeez, I'm going to take a bath," Ranma tells them, fed up with the laughing.
"You might want to get some sleep too," added Kasumi.
"Yeah sure, wake me in about eight hours, so I have enough time to get ready," agreed the girl.
"Me too. Mr. Tendo, do you mind if I take a nap in the dojo?" asked the lost boy.
"No, I don't mind," answered Soun.
"How about you, daddy? You going to your room to sleep too?" asked his oldest daughter.
"Yes, I might as well, we have a lot to do in a few hours," he said, standing up.
The two girls watched the three guys head off in different directions before they continued to talk.
"Are you worried?" asked Kasumi.
"Me? Not really, I mean as long as Ranma stays at top form, Akane'll be home in no time," answered Nabiki, "Why do you ask, Kasumi?"
"Because, I was thinking, what if he couldn't bring Akane home, or if one of them died, or they couldn't get back? What would happen to us? And Auntie Saotome for that matter?" she wondered.
"If it came to any of that, I guess we'll have to face it together head on," said the younger of the two.
"Yes, I guess so," responded the older sister. "Do you think they are ready for something like this?" she added.
"I don't know how to answer that. I think they're physically ready, but not mentally ready. To be truthful, I'm afraid for Ranma. He almost lost Akane once before and I don't think he would take it well if she died. The same goes for Akane, I don't think she'd take it well if he died, either," explained the middle sister.
"Do you think it will help if we prayed?" asked Kasumi.
"I think its the only thing we can do to help them," said Nabiki.
Both girls thought the same thing: 'Be careful, little sister and little brother.'
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Akane's tour of the castle had taken her on a stunning ride. With the Prince leading, they visited the market closest to the castle. There he purchased an elegant silk scarf to match Akane's school uniform. The villagers bowed to the Prince and to her as well.
"Why are they bowing at me?" she asked.
"I think its because they believe you are royalty," he told her.
After the market they visited the royal flower gardens.
"Its so beautiful!" exclaimed the girl.
"Yes it is, the gardener has been letting me take care of a small patch of it, right over there," he said, pointing to a patch of red and white roses overrun with weeds. "I've been meaning to work on that," he added. They both laughed at his comment.
'He's not at all what I pictured him to be. He is sensitive, respectful, nice and caring. Everything Ranma isn't, but why do I feel like something is wrong? Like something else is missing?' she thought.
"Akane, if you like, we could have lunch in the courtyard overlooking the gardens?" he asked.
"That would be terrific," she replied.
Lunch consisted of hand-made noodles. When the cook brought it to them, Akane couldn't help but ask, "Why noodles?"
"This looked so easy to make, so I make it," answered the cook.
"Ask a stupid question," laughed the girl, and the Prince joined in.
"Excuse me, sire," said a boy, about eleven years old.
"Yes, page," replied Tshugo.
The page leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Sire, I've been sent to tell you that the armor is ready."
"Good, take it to my top wizard and tell him to put his best loyalty spell on it, along with the other champion spells he uses," said the Prince, barely audible.
"Thank you, sire," said the page. The boy was gone in a flash.
"What was that all about?" asked Akane.
The Prince replied, "Oh nothing really, just some normal things I do all day."
After lunch came tea time. Again a different page, interrupted them.
"Yes?" asked the Prince.
"Sire, the dungeon keeper wants to know what you wanted to do with the villager," said the boy, whispering like the first page did.
"Have the dungeon keeper release him, we have the dagger so he is of no use to me anymore," whispered Tshugo.
"Yes, sire," said the page, leaving.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Business dealing with a prisoner that's all, nothing for you to worry about," he told her.
When tea time was done, the Prince took Akane to his personal library; the observatory; his parent's favorite ballroom; and the training hall. They were heading outside, when Tshugo pointed and said, "And over there are the stables. Would you like to look at the horses?"
"Sure," she answered.
The stables housed over thirty different horses and colts. All the horses were of different colors. Beautiful chestnuts, blacks, browns, and white horses everywhere. One horse seemed to take a liking to Akane, he was a deep brown color, with white 'socks' on his hooves. "How would you like to ride him?" asked Prince Tshugo.
"I don't know, I've never ridden a horse before," she confessed.
"Never? Well then, I guess I'll have to teach you," he said.
The Prince helped her get settled in the saddle on the horse before he mounted his own; a majestic-looking white horse. He started her off on a trot, keeping up with her. The bouncing felt comical to her, she laughed every time she looked at the Prince. He showed her what his horse could do by streaking ahead and jumping a three foot bush. She cheered for him as he came back to her side.
"That was amazing!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands.
"Thank you. Why don't you try it?" he asked.
"You've got to be kiddDDIIINNNNGGGG!!" she screamed, after the Prince slapped her horse's behind to make him gallop towards the same bush. Akane was holding on for dear life, even after the horse jumped. As the horse trotted back, she saw Prince Tshugo laughing at the spectacle she made of herself.
"Why did you do that?" she hollered.
"Ha.. I'm sorry... Ha... but you wouldn't have jumped unless... unless I gave the horse... a little slap on the back," said the Prince, out of breath.
"What would you have done if I had fallen off?!" she yelled.
Calming down, he answered, "I would've called for my medics to aid you." "
You're lucky I didn't fall, or else the medical help would've been for you," she told him.
"Once again, I'm sorry," he apologized, "let us head back, your armor should be ready."
"Then I can go home, right?" she asked.
"Absolutely, along with my best wishes on a long and happy life," he replied.
They returned the horses to the stables, and were headed back to the armory when Captain Johza joined them halfway there. "My lord, are you positive this will work?" he asked with a low whisper.
"Yes, Johza, I am," replied the Prince, barely audible.
The door to the armory opened and the man who had gotten Akane's measurements earlier appeared. "Ahh... my lord, along with the young miss, welcome," he said, bowing to them.
"Hello, armor maker, is it ready?" asked the Prince.
"Yes! Yes it is! If the young lady would like to try it on-" he started.
"No, thank you, but I would like to go home now," interrupted the girl.
"Why not try it on? At least to see if they got it right?" asked Tshugo.
She reluctantly agrees.
"Excellent miss, your gi is here too, so you can slip into the armor better," explained the armorist.
She follows the armor maker around behind the door to a changing room. He comes back out to see Prince Tshugo waiting, he says," Yes, my lord, it is finished, including all the enhancements you wanted."
"Good, very good," replied the Prince.
"I still don't think it is a good idea to challenge her family," said the Captain.
"My friend, just because; by some fluke no less; she beat you, doesn't mean her family will be able to stop you and twenty of your men from arresting them when they get here," he explained. He added, "Speaking of her family, they should be arriving here in a few hours. So take the dagger to where she appeared, and do everything we planned. Understood?"
"Yes, sire," replied Johza, adding, "As you wish."
"Ready miss?' asked the armorist.
"Yes I am," she answered, coming out of the changing room.
Her armor was formfitting, it covered her chest, and her stomach, along with her back. The boots she had on went up to her knees, and the gloves, up to her elbows. The belt she had on was attached to a small cow-hide skirt. The skirt resembled the armor the Roman gladiators used to wear. "It's a little different than the Captain's," she said.
"Yes it is," explained the armorist, "At first I couldn't decide if I should've made the skirt or not, but concluded I should, just to be thorough."
"How do you like it?" asked the Prince.
"I like it," she admitted.
"I'm glad you do. Now, do you still want to go home?" he wondered.
When asked the question, Akane's eyes seemed to glaze over. She spoke in an almost monotone voice, "This is my home, my lord."
"And who are you?" asked the Prince.
"I am Akane, second best fighter of Nyajan and Champion of Prince Tshugo's kingdom," she replied in the same monotone.
"Excellent," said the Prince, smiling.