A/N: So, I have a new request, that I shall start after I post the second installment of Banished. But, this is not the second part of Banished. If anyone remembers, this is the fourth part of a tale about a kind princess and a cold prince, forced to marry for the sakes of their people. Plus, I'M SO EXCITED FOR IKARISHIPPING DAY~! YEAH~!
Hikari Hikuru 4
Tears fell down her porcelain cheeks, as the helpless Piplup rubbed against the leg of the crying princess, in a sad attempt to comfort her. She looked up, wiped away the tears with the heel of her hand and pat the penguin on the top of his head. Never more did she miss Kengo, and how he had a matching penguin.
"Kari," she could almost hear him say. "You have to be strong."
Which had been the thing he had told her when they were six and she had fallen down and scraped her knees.
Well, if that experience was anything to go by, crying didn't help her when she was six, and it wouldn't help her now.
And if her tutor had taught her anything, it was that research was key to every problem. And where was the best place to conduct research? The old room with all the pictures.
~o0o~
As Hikari turned the corner and entered the dusty room, she was met by a mauve-haired boy. She flinched, thinking it was Shinji, but as the boy turned around, she exhaled in relief. Reiji smiled back at the princess, as he pulled down a box from a stack in the back corner.
"Princess." He greeted warmly. "Are you here to learn of the Prince's past?"
"I-I," Hikari had wondered how Reiji could've possible guessed that, but the brother of the Prince smiled sadly.
"Sometimes he comes here to remember his past. And, seeing you're such a curious and adventurous girl, I figured you'd make your way to this room." Reiji explained.
Hikari flushed, but her curiosity burned brighter. "Who is the girl?" she asked. She didn't specify, but she knew she didn't need to.
"Was. Hikari, was." Reiki corrected. "Sakura was her name. She was once the best friend of the Prince. They had spent their whole lives together. They had been friends since they were born. Shinji wanted desperately to marry her. Hikari, dear, was there anyone like that in your life?"
Hikari didn't nod, but she could tell the Reiji took her silence as a 'yes'.
"And didn't it break your heart when you found out that you were betrothed to someone else?"
More silence.
"Well, Shinji wasn't betrothed to you until after he lost her."
"Lost?"
"Sakura, died."
The Princess gasped, dread filling her. "Wha-what happened?"
"She grew terribly sick, and one day, she just…. Died." Reiji sighed. "It was a horrible sickness, call the Black Ash. It's so rare now, that we don't even carry the medicine. And no one remembers the steps needed to create the ancient medicine. And, so, we didn't have the medicine needed to keep Sakura alive. It was only a matter of time before, she coughed one last time."
"I'm so sorry." Hikari mumbled.
"Let's go for a walk, clear your thoughts." Reiji offered.
The Princess agreed, and together the two found themselves outside. The garden was beautiful as ever, the flowers blooming and the birds trilling. None of it made sense to belong to Shinji. But, suddenly, a gray smoke curled around the Princess and brother.
"What is this?" Hikari coughed.
"Looks as if the other servants are having their weekly bonfire, to celebrate not getting fired." Reiji contemplated. Hikari giggled, but stopped as she saw how serious Reiji's face was.
"I, I think I'm going to stick around for a bit more." Hikari muttered, pausing at the great tree she had fled from this morning.
"Suit yourself." Reiji shrugged and carried on his way until the smoke enveloped his body, no longer visible to Hikari.
The Princess sighed as sat down, reminiscing about her previous failure. She looked up at the sky as specks of black began to descend. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. This didn't look like regular bonfire smoke.
Deciding not to spend any longer in the strange ash, she ran from the garden to her room, determined to escape the black ash.
Once she closed her bedroom door, she sank down to her knees, now shaking. Her confused Piplup raced over to her, concerned for his friend.
Once she had managed to get up her position on the ground, she raced to her bathroom. Kneeling over her toilet, she wretched. The foul stuff was black and sickly looking. The Princess gasped, but was over taken by a bout of coughs, sinking to the floor once more. She couldn't stop coughing.
"Get…. Help…" she managed to tell the Piplup before her vision ringed with black and she slowly faded from the world.
