"Your Highness."

Nel dropped into a deep bow as soon as Orihime's feet came into view and did not move from that position. Orihime looked at her, trying to swallow the pounding of her heart. It was not the first time people had bowed to her. People had been bowing to her for longer than she could really remember. But this felt different. The King was not standing nearby, there were no guards or courtiers. No, there was no one there but her. Her and the Duchess standing there bowing to her. Orihime was painfully aware of the simple white dress she was wearing, one that she had found laid at the foot of her bed. She knew she had no ornaments of her station, nothing to say that she was worthy of such a gesture.

And yet it was being offered, to her alone.

It was not that she had forgotten what had happened to the palace not so long ago. She hadn't. But the world had moved so fast that dwelling on the past seemed to be something that she could not do. But the past, all that had been taken from her, it was standing, there bowing to her. Offering her loyalty. When she had done nothing but run. She had felt as if she had done nothing to deserve the loyalty being offered. For a moment she felt that on her face, that insecurity, that fear, that self hatred. But only for a moment.

In the next her eyes found Ulquiorra's. He looked back at her, his gaze calm and unwavering, the same way he had always looked at her. He too was dressed not as he should have been, no marks of his station or finery that he was supposed to be in. And yet, he was unmistakable. He still carried himself like a man who knew exactly what his purpose was. Like a man who knew who he was, what he could do. Orihime looked back at Nel and quickly smoothed her features out, doing her best to look at her like she thought a monarch should look at a subject. But when Nel's eyes rose and met hers, Orihime couldn't help the smile that came to her face.

"Your Grace," she said, "its so good to see you again."

"As it is you, Your Highness," she said, "I hope I find you well."

"You do," Orihime said, "how did you find me?"

"I was led to you by the Harusaki," Nel explained, "and brought into Kishobu by Renji Abarai."

"Renji?!" Orihime's eyes widened as she sucked in her breath.

Nel frowned at her reaction, slightly confused. Though he seemed the type to have interacted with nobility, the way he had spoken about the Princess made her think hat he simply carried the same opinion about her that everyone else in Soul Society seemed to do. But the way Orihime had just reacted, it seemed as if they had known each other. Or, at the very least, that they had interacted, enough that Orihime didn't address him with any sort of formality.

"Do you know Renji?" Nel asked.

"Not very well," Orihime said wit a smile, "but I do know him. Is he here?"

"Outside, with the Pirate King," she said.

Orihime glanced outside. She heard Ulquiorra move forward, placing himself closer to the two of them. Her eyes immediately went to him. He looked at her and then over at Nel, his message clear. Orihime quickly turned her gaze back to Nel, whose own gaze was on the window. She quickly looked back at Orihime, both women silent. Ulquiorra walked forward, standing where the two of them were. He looked at Orihime and Nel before he spoke.

"The Duchess has been charged with protection by the Harsuaki," Ulquiorra said, "she will be traveling with us until we are back in the Capital."

"Alright," Orihime said.

Nel looked at him Ulquiora met her inquisitive gaze. She realized that Ulquiorra was not going to tell Orihime what was really going on. Nel almost opened her mouth to tell her what exactly she had been charged with but she stopped. If there was one thing that she knew Ulquiorra would do, it was protect the Princess. In any way that he could. This was just another way of protecting her. In a sickening sort of way it was sweet that he did not want her to worry about him, about the fact that he was in a massive amount of danger himself. About how, if he died, so much would be lost. So, instead of telling her, Nel smiled and turned to Orihime.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will be assisting in your protection from now until this crisis is over."

Orihime nodded.

"Do you have any word from the Capital?" she asked, her eyes anxious.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but the Capital has been sealed off. It seems that Soul Society and Karakura were working together. As far as I know, Prince Ichigo is living in the Palace with Ambassador Kuchiki. They are looking for you."

"And the King?"

"I do not know, Your Highness," Nel said.

Orihime bowed her head. She knew as well as Nel that the likelihood of the King having survived the attack was almost nothing. Still she had known the King to do the impossible. A small part of her prayed that he had done it once more, though the sensible part of her knew that was impossible he had survived. Quickly she raised her head, trying to smile in Nel's direction, though the Duchess was not fooled. Still she found herself returning the gesture, though the truth was Nel had never really felt less like smiling. Finally, unable to resist, she asked the question plaguing her.

"How do you know Renji?" she asked.

"I only knew Renji through the peace conferences a few years ago," she said, "but after what happened--"

"What happened?" Nel asked sharply, "i thought he simply died, killed by the Prince of Roku."

"Dying, unfortunately isn't simple," she said, "especially not when it came to Renji and the House of Roku."

Ulquiorra was half ready to object to Orihime giving a history lesson. But as Orihime walked over to one of the tables and Nel followed her, Ulquiorra realized that perhaps speaking about something other than the events that had taken over their lives was what she needed. The fire, the fall of the palace, it had been there through everything they had done. So instead of objecting, Ulquiorra held his tongue and stood nearby as Orihime began to explain Renji Abarai's strange behavior to Nel.

"It was a very long time ago," Orihime said, smoothing her skirt, "but Renji was a General in the armies of Soul Society. He live in Roku, that's where he was born anyway. And because he rose so fast, because he was so good, Prince Byakuya took an interest in him."

"Alright," Nel said leaning her hands on her chin, "but then--"

"Ambassador Kuchiki," Orihime said, "he, he fell in love with her. True and deeply in love. And they began--" color blossomed on the Princess's cheeks, "they began to see each other, without her brother's knowledge. I don't know when, but eventually Renji approached the subject of marrying his sister to the Prince."

"I bet that went badly," Nel said.

"Yes," Orihime said with a weak smile, "but you don't understand how badly. At the time there was a minor rebellion going on. Renji loved Rukia enough that he was willing to try and change the world so they could be together. So, against everything he had fought for, he went and joined the very rebellion he had been sent to quiet."

Nel sat there, breathless. Renji had rebelled? She didn't know which was more unfathomable that he had rebelled or that he had once been so incredibly loyal. Orihime looked at her hands.

"What happened?" Nel questioned.

"Well, the rebellion was successful enough that they reached the castle in Roku. And that was where it all went badly. The rebels wanted one thing: success and they were willing to do anything to get it. Anything including injuring the Ambassador. The Princess would have done anything to keep his sister safe and so he fought. I think he single handedly killed most of the rebels. He and the Princess fought each other as well. But while they were fighting--" Orihime shook her head sadly, "the Ambassador came in. She screamed for Renji to stop."

"And he did," Nel said.

"Yes," Orihime said, "he did. the Prince did not."

"But--"

"Yes," Orihime said sadly, "the Prince is an excellent fighter but he did not have to be. Even as he lay there dying, Rukia ran to her brother's side. So while Renji had fallen in love with Rukia, she hadn't fallen in love with him."

Nel stared. She had met Ambassador Kuchiki once or twice but the woman had not struck her as the type to lead a person on. Maybe she had fallen in love with Renji as well, but not enough to choose him over her brother. Nel moved her gaze over to the window. Through the slightly distorted reflection she could see the city as the sun rose higher in the sky. Somewhere out there was Renji. Inwardly Nel felt bad for the way she had treated him. No wonder he spoke with such disdain towards the nobility. If that had happened to her, she didn't know what she would do. Only that she would certainly hate the people who had caused so much pain to her. Slowly Nel pushed herself up.

"Excuse me, Your Highness," she said, bowing before walking out of the room.

Orihime sat at the table, silent. Now that they were alone, Orihime wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do. The problem was that while she was drunk she had felt incredibly free, as though her inhibitions had been removed. Unfortunately her memories had not. She remembered making a complete fool of herself, with Ulquiorra of all people. Things had been going so very well, considering the circumstances, but she had to go and ruin everything. All because she was a Princess who had never quite learned to hold her liquor. She took a deep breath, her fingers tightening around themselves before she glanced over at Ulquiorra.

He looked as he always did. His eyes were scanning the room and the surrounding area. Though it was obvious there were only a handful of people in Kishobu who would be even capable of attacking her at the moment, if they were foolish enough to attempt such a thing, Ulquiorra would be ready for them. It was comforting, if not a little humiliating, to know that no matter what happened he would always be there, always protecting her. She just wished that maybe he wouldn't be so cool about it, that he wouldn't pretend that what had happened last night had not. Maybe then she wouldn't feel quite so foolish. Orihime took a deep breath, turning her head to see Ulquiorra.

"He's dead," Orihime said softly. Ulquiorra looked at her, "I didn't want to believe--I hoped he wasn't but--" she stopped, "but he's dead."

"I know," Ulquiorra replied.

He knew the King had been dead from the moment he had fled with the Princess. But his priority had been to get her out of there, to protect the thing that had to be protected above all others. The King was the King but Orihime Inoue was his heir. She had to be protected above all costs. He knew he had done what he had been tasked to do, by the very King that was now dead. But the King had been his monarch as well and the idea that him and his guards had failed so completely was one that left a bitter taste in his mouth. But not so much as when he saw the desperate look in the Princess's eyes. He knew, somewhere deep inside, she had known that the King was dead. But clearly this was the first time it hit her fully.

"You have my deepest condolences, Your Highness," he said, "he was a good King."

"Sometimes," she said softly, "sometimes not," she looked at her hands, "but he was the only King I ever knew," she shook her head, "I just don't know what he did to deserve it--what any of us did to warrant this. The war's over, its been over. Did the King do something?"

"Your Highness, what happened is not important," he said, "what is important is what you will do."

"What I will do?" she asked and a part of him wanted to weep for the innocence he saw in her eyes.

Innocence that would be useless.

He had to protect her, of that he was certain, but he could not indulge her innocence. Not anymore. Especially not if Nel had been telling the truth when she said that so much would be lost with his death. He would have liked to chalk it up to simple vanity on his part but he knew it was not the case. It was more than that. Much much more than that. The way she looked at him, he knew the Princess trusted him implicitly. She trusted him more than she trusted herself. And he could assist her in the illusion no longer. Not if they were to get out of this mess without being forced into an alliance with two countries that had attacked them.

"You will act as you see fit," he said, "and with the best interests of the people."

Outside, Nel walked across the narrow street, her eyes scanning for any sight of the elusive red head.

Fortunately he was easy to spot, even in the cloak that hid the tattoos that covered his skin. She saw him easily, his head bent as he talked to Shinji and a woman dressed in the shortest dress Nel had ever seen in her entire life. The three clearly knew each other, their body language saying it all. For a moment Nel wondered if he had slept with the ebony haired woman before she quickly decided that it was ridiculous to even think about such a thing and there was certainly no need to dwell on it. She had come to do the one thing she hated more than any other in the world: admit she was wrong.

"Ah, Your Grace, done so soon?" Shinji asked, smile not slipping.

"Yes," Nel said quickly, "can I talk to you?" she asked looking at Renji.

The red haired man nodded and moved away from the other two. He walked past the two others, leaving Nel to follow him. She did as he took her clear past the building. Nel glanced behind her at the building that had the Princess and the Captain in it before she followed him. He led her around the back of the building, through a narrow alleyway between that one and another. Not breaking a beat, he turned to the ladder let haphazardly against the wall and began to climb. Nel raised an eyebrow at his antics before she forced herself to follow him. It was a fair amount to go through, especially when all she wanted to do was try to apologize for her behavior earlier. He disappeared over the top of the roof and Nel found herself climbing a bit faster. Finally she crested the roof. Before he could offer his hand she jumped down onto the top of the building.

"This is a far way to go for a simple exchange of words," she told him.

"Well I imagined you would be leaving Kishobu soon," he told her, "I thought it only fair you see every viewpoint this place has to offer."

"Every viewpoint--" Nel trailed off.

At the lower level, standing on one of the buildings in center of the city, the view was equally incredible. Especially with the sun now properly in the sky. The buildings below her were all roughly as tall as this one. Behind her she saw the cliffs rise sharply up, as though the entire world was cradling her. Past that she could see the wood of the docks and the waters they cradled. The ships were there but past them she could see the infamous gates, gates that had been a gift from the last Wizard himself. Every time she saw the city from a different angle, in a different light, it amazed her. The beauty of a place with such a terrible reputation made her spellbound.

"Surprised?" Renji asked.

"I--yes," Nel said tearing her eyes away to look at him, "about many things."

Renji looked at her, his heart sinking. She knew. There was only one reason anyone gave him that sort of look and it was because they had learned. If there was one thing Renji hated more than anything else it was that look. It was the worst thing in the world to think that for the rest of his life, maybe even beyond that, he was going to be remembered for one deed. For a deed that he wished nothing more than he had not done. It was bad enough when people looked at him that way but when people who he had fought besides gave him that look--people like Nel, it was the worst.

"Was it the Princess or the Captain?"

"Her Highness," Nel said, "how did you escape?"

"The Harsuaki," he said, "they saw fit to save me after what happened. I made it out of Roku and the next thing I knew I woke up just outside the one place His Highness couldn't get me. Full diplomatic immunity, all I had to do was stay within the walls."

"And so you went into the city," Nel finished. Renji nodded, "I had no idea that was what happened--"

"Well that was kind of the point," Renji cut her off, his voice tight.

Nel looked at him, suddenly getting the strong sense that the loss of such a fight was not the sole reason Renji was so tight lipped about what happened. She looked around the city, realizing that the place was incredibly peaceful. The kind of place that someone would stay in forever. Her eyes went back to Renji whose own gaze was out on the horizon.

"You have been hiding here since it happened," she said. His gaze went to her, "that is why you're ashamed. Because you haven't gone anywhere near Roku since that night--"

"You don't know the first thing about me," Renji snapped.

"I know you aren't the kind of man to hide here like some coward," Nel said as he turned away, "I heard of you, before I heard of what happened. Everyone heard of you. Every army I've led, every warrior I've trained alongside, we were all taught to look out for you. The tattooed red haired man," she glared at the back of his head, "you and a handful of others, those were the ones were supposed to watch out for if we ever found ourselves fighting people from your land."

"I'm hardly interested--"

"Well you had better get interested," Nel cut him off, "because my homeland was just attacked by Soul Society and Karakura. We need all the help that we can get."

"And you want me to help?" he snorted, "listen, Duchess, I might be a coward and I might have betrayed the Prince of Roku but I sure as hell ain't going to betray my homeland."

"If you will not stand up for what is right--"

"Right is a matter of who won, Your Grace," he said turning around and heading for the ladder, "you've got a war on your hands," he told her, "win or loose what's right doesn't really matter anymore."

"You know, if you stop being so violent, we can find somewhere more comfortable for you to ride."

Yoruichi furiously glared at Urahara. They had been riding for a day before Urahara had reached the edge of his patience with his companion. Yoruichi didn't know why he didn't use magic, all she knew was that with the strips of fabric binding her paws and the smaller strips covering her mouth, she was unable to talk, scratch or do any of the things that she had to annoy him and eventually let him go. There had to be someone who would be willing to believe that a talking, male cat was actually her. Someone, preferably, who could undo the strongest magic in the three Kingdoms and get her free. Unfortunately it seemed that Urahara had a few tricks up his sleeves and from her current position in a sack tied to the horn of the saddle, she had no hope of getting free.

"Suit yourself," Urahara said, looking ahead, "it will be a few more days before we reach our destination."

The cat hissed in a very cat-like way that only made Urahara smile wider. The horse he rode gave a derogatory snort as he turned her down the path. He had left Ururu in the care of the village women, knowing the girl would be taken care of and then he had set out. If anyone were to look at him they wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary, certainly nothing to denote a Wizard. He was dressed in comfortable but sturdy cloths, all half hidden by the dark green cloak he wore over his garb. His saddlebags were full of food and supplies that he would need when he got to where he was going. The mare he rode had simply given him a withering look when he had harnessed her, but she hadn't put up the fight that she was prone to doing.

He could have made the journey instantaneously but Urahara did not want to get there too quickly. At the moment, he had nothing to go on. He certainly could not just snap his fingers and find the errant Princess. Magic did not work like that and certainly not the magic that he was going to be using. No, Urahara needed information and though he did not like the source he was going to use, it was the only one he had at the moment. So he was using the journey to think, observe and, with any luck, to convince the assassin-turned-cat that he was a man she did not want to kill. The horse continued down the path with a steady pace. Urahara did not rush her. She could gallop when she needed to but he had the sneaking suspicion that he was going to need that ability. No sense in wearing her out on the ride to their destination.

Yoruichi continued to glare. She was trained to find a way. When no-one else could she could. And yet she could see absolutely no way out of her current predicament. She had struggled, she had scratched, hell she had managed to scream once or twice--thought it was decidedly far more yowl-like than it should have been. But nothing worked. No-one believed what she truly was--no-one believed who she was. All they saw was some stupid green cloak-wearing man who could easily just be another traveler going down the road. And that seemed to be what people mistook him for. Everyone they passed had simply nodded to him, a gesture he had returned as they continued down the road.

Was this how people usually traveled?

Yoruichi was always either with a convoy of men or she was alone, riding through thick woods trying not to be seen at all. She did not think she had ridden a horse so slowly in many years. But Urahara didn't seem rushed. He seemed content to ride slowly, moving his eyes around the landscape that they found themselves in. The world was ending and he was happy to just look at the flowers. It was wildly infuriating. Especially to someone who understood the urgency of the situation. But far worse than that was the helplessness she felt. No amount of creativity or of willpower would let her become human again. To make matters worse, all he could think about was how nice it would be if the hand resting close to her would just reach up and scratch the spot behind her left ear.

"Now, if you promise not to scream, I will take this off," he said motioning to her mouth. Yoruichi managed to nod, "alright but I will not hesitate to put it back on," he said tapping her nose.

"By the Gods," Yoruichi gasped, "that fabric smell vile. Where did you find that?"

"Parts of a potato sack," he said shifting, "now would you like to try finding somewhere more comfortable for you to ride?"

"I would like for us to try you untying me," she snapped up at him.

"Ah but then you would run away and I would have to bring you back with more magic," he shrugged, "that would be rather annoying."

"You are a Wizard," Yoruichi growled, "using magic is kind of what you do."

"Yes, though it might stun you to know that it is not the only thing I do," he said smiling down at her.

Yoruichi snorted, looking out at the landscape, wondering if it was possible for a man to be any stupider than him. She doubted it. The foolishness of people amazed her, especially when it came to people like the Wizard. People who should have known better. She had heard tales of the Old Man, that Heikichi could have talked an assassin off a cliff. But this guy seemed to be completely foolish, a total idiot, if he was revealing so much about himself.

"How many years ago did he find you?" she asked. Urahara looked down at her, "you were old enough to have a skill, old enough to be roaming around," she looked at him, "you are a trained Wizard, you weren't born to the craft."

Urahara smiled, letting out a breath.

"And you got all that from me telling you I had another talent," he said with a smile down at her, "you must have been trained from a very young age," he looked ahead, "born to it."

"As anyone to a Noble House would be," she told him haughtily.

"As an man born to a Noble House would be," he looked down at her, "I'm getting the feeling that you weren't entirely planned to be a girl," he smiled, "I'm going to guess that your father was rather angry with his Fortune Tellers. Perhaps he should have called a Wizard."

"Perhaps he knew that Wizards are nothing but arrogant fools!" she threw back at him, "someone---!!!!"

The next instant she found herself unable to talk. Furiously she glared at the finger that had tapped her nose, bandages winding around it to the point where speech was impossible. She tried to shake her head but nothing happened, the spell holding her silence perfectly. She turned her head back up to Urahara.

"I told you I would do it," he said reaching down and scratching her head, "we'll try again soon."

Yoruichi would have cursed him out if she had been able too.

And if he had not found the spot behind her ear.

She must have dozed off because the next moment they were riding into a village and it was dark out. Yoruichi looked around, trying to get her bearings but she could not for the life of her figure out where they were. The landscape was alien to her, something she never liked. She looked around as they moved forward into the better lit parts of the sleepy town. She looked up at the Wizard as they moved forward. He had said days. But it had not been days, not unless he had put her under another spell.

"We are simply making a detour," he said, "we will arrive at our destination soon enough."

He stopped at one of the larger, more brightly lit buildings. Easily he jumped off his horse, leading her into the barn with the ease of one who had stayed in such a place before. A place where placing a horse in a barn before payment had been discussed was not strange. He looked at Yoruichi.

"Now, if you promise to behave, I will take you with me. If not, you can stay out here. Its up to you," he touched her nose.

"I will behave," she said through gritted teeth.

"Excellent choice," he said picking her up, "now, I suggest you do not go around telling people who you are. I'm afraid the people of Soul Society are not the most well liked."

"Where are we?" she questioned as he moved back to the main part of the tavern.

"That, my dear Yoruichi, would spoil the surprise," he said pushing open the doors of the brightly lit tavern.

It was predictable that he would head towards the far table, the one where the only occupant was a man with silver hair looking at the bound book in front of him. He was clearly Noble enough to know how to read and to be dressed as finely as he was, though his cloths gave no clear indication as to who he was. Though he did not look as they approached, Yoruichi got the distinct impression that he was more than aware of their presence. Urahara sat down easily across from him, placing Yorucihi on the table. The man gave her no more than a passing glance before focusing his eyes on Urahara.

"What do you want?" he asked icily, as if the idea that someone would ride as far as they did to see him was an insult.

"Its wonderful to see you too!" Urahara said with a grin, "I think we need to have a little talk, don't you?"

The man looked at him for a moment before closing the book and folding his hands on its surface. It was clear that he was going to talk but he did not for a moment, seemingly content to glare at Urahara. The Wizard rested his hands on his knees and returned the look, his smile not slipping for an instant. She would never admit it but a part of Yoruichi felt a sort of triumph when the silver haired man looked down first, his eyes settling on her instead. Yoruichi drew herself up with as much dignity as her cat form would allow and returned the look he gave her. The man turned his head back to Urahara and gave a curt nod, telling them both that he would discuss what they wished to know.

"Who is the cat?" he asked, "she looks haughty."

"Like you would not believe," Urahara said, "but she can be amusing," Yoruichi glared at him, "she is no-one you need to shield your words from."

"Very well," he said, "what do you need to know?"

"What do you know about the attack on the Capital?"

Oh Renji and Nel, those two are in for a time. And Urahara and Yoruichi, I like what's in store for them as well.

Please review!