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Author Note: Thanks for all the reviews :) Also I am now thinking that this story is close to an end. Anyone have anything they wanna see happen before that? Do lemme know. Oh and I know someone asked about Natsume's family before, and thats why I brought them in. JUst figured I should tell them that doing so for them was a lot of fun. Especially when I was trying to figure out names for everyone :)
oh and I'll try to update soon again.
Mikan's POV:
"Its over!" I cried out in relief. "Dear God I cannot believe its finally over!"
Before I could say anymore, Natsume was there and he pulled me into a bear hug, lifting me off the ground, and whirling me around and around. I was laughing when he finally put me down, but the look in his eyes, made my laughter stop, and my breath hitch. Then he bent down and gently kissed me. It was a mere brush of his lips against mine, but I understood it for the promise that it was.
"I love you Princess." Natsume whispered against my lips, before finally letting go of me and stepping away. I smiled at him, letting all my love for him show on my face.
Tsubasa cleared his throat and I grinned at him.
"You're going to be even more smitten with your wife after you meet her." I told him and I saw his eyes widen, and he shut his mouth, not saying the teasing words that he had been about to. Good for him.
"Now you're covered in blood too." Ruka said calmly as he eyed me. I looked down, and sure enough, Natsume had gotten blood on me, when he had hugged me. I shrugged.
"I fit in." I answered him and he stared at me before throwing his head back and laughing uproariously. I do NOT understand the sense of humor of a God.
"Thank you." Prince Levin said, coming to stand in front of me. He too was covered in blood. They all were. I had been serious about fitting right in.
"Accepted." I answered him formally and he smiled at me.
"Pity you are already Natsume's Princess." he said with a mournful sigh and I laughed.
"Even if I wasn't, you had no hope." I told him, making all the men laugh.
I closed my eyes and focused on Tyria's future. I could see it clearly, and Natsume was not a part of it. Neither was I. But it was a good future, and I smiled, before turning to Prince Jari, who had joined the fight in spite of his condition.
"You are now King, and you will make a good king. Your rule will be prosperous, and the country will thrive." I told him and he gave me a smile. Then I gave him an impish smile. "You should also marry the one you love. You will eventually, anyways, so save yourself the worry and indecision. She will be an amazing Queen." I said before heading back to my Natsume.
Jari was still gaping at me, while Natsume and Levin were laughing.
Slowly, together, still covered in blood, but laughing, accompanied by most of the city, we made our way to the Palace, to usher in a new era for Tyria.
Next Day
Afternoon:
"Yesterday was a very intersting day." I murmured to Natsume, as we sat together in his room.
"That is one way of saying it." he answered. He was holding my hand, but that was too mundane an explanation. His fingers were playing on my palm, his thumb stroking my knuckles, his whole arm was touching mine.
"Lets see, Prince Levin declared your claiming of your rights in front of everyone, the courtiers supported him, and so did the people. Keeran almost had them subdued by the army when you got there, and then most of the army refused to interfere, because you are their commander. Then you fought through Prime Minister Keeran's personal guards to get to him, and finally killed him. It was only when you were finished that you realized, that Crown Prince Jari had also joined the fight on your behalf." I summarized succintly and he chuckled, but I was not done.
"Then I saw that an assassin would try for Jari's life, and I rushed to warn you, and succeeded so Jari lived, and all your enemies were destroyed. We won the war, without the whole scale slaughter you had been worried about. Your father is still ill, and so he has made Jari the King, and you are no longer exiled. How does that make it anything but interesting?"
Natsume laughed, and hugged me to his side.
"All that makes it a miracle, and not the least because of you. I am so glad to have you at my side." he said gently in my ear, his breath tickling me. I turned to him, but before anything else could happen Natsume's father cleared his throat.
I blushed bright red, as I realized I had forgotten that we were sitting there with his family, and Yuu, and Ruka, and Zaik, and Tsubasa. Sigh. Natsume had that effect on me, but he had been using it a LOT more than usual in front of his family.
"Please continue by all means." Levin said with a devilish twinkle in his eyes, while Jari just smiled. Natsume's father was too ill to leave his rooms, so we had all had our meal with him here. Now we were sitting together, just talking. Or had been, until my warrior had made me take leave of my senses.
"You're just jealous." Natsume retorted and Levin grinned.
"Look at her. How can I be anything but jealous?" he said, but he was teasing, and we all knew it.
I just shook my head. I was not wearing my veil, and so they could see my face. There was no reason to be jealous, and I knew it very well.
"You are beautiful Lady Sakura, even if you do not see it." and to my absolute amazement, the comment had come from Prince Jari.
I just smiled, taking the compliment, even though I did not really believe it.
"So what do you intend to do now?" The King asked Natsume.
I felt Natsume shrug next to me.
"By rights, you should be King now, little brother." Jari said softly.
"I do not want to be King. What I want is my freedom, and I will lose that if I become King." Natsume answered and for some reason Zaik laughed. When we all stared at him, he just shook his head, and waved his hand to tell us to continue.
"I thought you would like to be King so no one could order you around." the King said with a frown. I laughed, and he scowled at me.
"No one orders Natsume around, and I am saying that as Lady to his Warrior." I said, still chuckling. Tsubasa also looked highly amused. The King though, was still scowling.
"We were told that you are the daughter of the Prime Minister of Slana, not that you had made my son your warrior." He said, sounding offended.
"And?" Natsume said calmly, and the King seemed to lose his offended air.
"A prince should not pledge his loyalty to a noble." he answered, but I could see that he had realized his mistake. Natsume had been exiled when I had met him, and his father had been the one who had done the exiling, no matter what his reason for it.
"Pledging my life to my Princess is the best decision of my life." Natsume answered calmly, completely ignoring everything but the words directly said.
"Of course." The King said inclining his head. I think that was as close to an apology as he was ever going to give anyone.
"We got distracted form the main topic though. If you will not be King, will you at least become the Commander of the army again?" Jari asked, and I heard the desperation that he was trying to hide. He wanted to keep Natsume here. Natsume seemed to have sensed the same thing.
"My home is at my Princess's side, brother. I will live where ever she finds happiness and peace. That is all I wish." Natsume said quietly, but in a voice that would allow no arguments.
"I remember you being a bit more ambitious than that." Levin could not resist saying.
"You remember what you want to." Natsume said, and an edge had crawled into his voice.
"I am afraid so brother." Levin said, lowering his eyes.
"Remember this from now on then, I did claim my rights, but only because I needed to do it to protect this country. I have no intention of ruling Tyria and now I do not even wish to stay here. I think no one will mind if we leave tomorrow." he said coldly.
"I will mind." the King said coolly.
"No one whose opinion counts." Natsume specified as he stood up and pulled me along with him. His eyes were still on his father though.
"You may have my forgiveness, but you do not have my trust. This is not my home, and has not been since the day Aoi died. In my happiness at seeing all of you alive I had forgotten that, but my gratitude to you Father for reminding me again. We will leave tomorrow, and none of you have any say in it." Natsume said icily, before glancing at me.
"Can we take our leave Princess?" he asked, his voice holding nothing but deference. He was just rubbing it in for his father, but that made no difference. I was just as loyal to him, and so I nodded.
We left the room together, and I knew without looking that Tsubasa, Zaik and Ruka were right behind us. But when I did finally look back, Yuu was with us too. The preparations were made, and we all left the next morning for Slana. We refused the caravan Jari offered us, and Natsume spent a minute with his father as goodbye, but that was all. We had about all the Tyrian hospitality that we could take.
Yuu came with us, but parted ways when we reached Slana. To my surprise, parting with him mattered more than leaving Tyria had, and not just to me, but to Natsume as well. He just told us that he would visit when he could, and left.
The rest of the journey was like most of my journeys, except I could feel the edge of something. Something huge was coming, but all I could see so far was the edge of it.
Two Months Later:
I was sitting with Natsume in the terrace garden in my room. He was officially my Fiancé now, not my warrior, or not just my warrior. When I had been asked to free him of his warrior's oath so we could be equals, he had told the Priest (who had performed the engagement ceremony) that he was staying as my warrior, and no one but me had any say in the matter. The Priest had kept his mouth shut afterwards.
Now we sat together, talking about random things, watching the city, and holding hands all at the same time. He had also told everyone his true identity, but he still lived here, having refused the Slanish King's offer of staying in his palace. I was just glad to have him at my side.
"Have I told you recently that I love you?" I asked him suddenly, startling him.
He smiled. "You have, Princess." he said softly.
"Have I told you that I love annoying you?" I asked impishly now. He frowned, as if knowing that what came next could not be good for him. Smart man.
Then before he could really react or brace himself, I jumped to my feet and ran back into my rooms. He was only a heartbeat behind me, but that was enough, and he ran smack into Tsubasa, and both of them went tumbling down. I was laughing as they tried to get away from each other and the drapes that they had fallen into, and were now entangled in. Ruka and Zaik, who had come with Tsubasa were watching with amused and bemused expressions respectively.
Finally Natsume and Tsubasa were away from each other, and Natsume was looming in front of me.
"That would never have happened if you hadn't planned it." he told me, and I giggled.
He leaned in, and ran his palms up my arms, making my breath catch in my throat.
"Princess, you should not start something you are not willing to finish." Natsume purred, as his hands came to rest on my shoulders and he pulled me close. I thought he would kiss me, but at the last minute, he took mercy on me, and just held me close to him.
"He never could keep his hands off her." Zaik observed calmly, and I blushed while Ruka chuckled. Tsubasa wisely, gave no reaction. Just for that, I figured he deserved something.
"Tsubasa, you should visit the temple early in the morning everyday for a while. You will find your blessing there. She has hair that is a mix between pink and brown, and light brown eyes. Oh and start the conversation by talking about flowers." I told him and I saw his eyes widen before he nodded. I leaned even more into Natsume, smiling happily.
Both the Gods were staring at me.
"What? He would have met her there eventually. Maybe I was always the cause of it." I said, and Natsume chuckled, while the Gods shook their heads. Natsume and I sat together on the cushions and the other three men seated themselves in front of us.
"I came here, because according to Ruka, I needed some change, and your life is very interesting. He was right. It is definitely amusing." Zaik said calmly and I smiled. Next to me, Natsume nodded.
"I am thinking of going back now, since you have now solved most of your..." he kept on talking but I could no longer hear him. I was caught in a vision so real, that reality was gone for the time being.
I could hear Natsume calling to me, but all I could really see, really hear, really feel was the place where I was in my vision. I saw it all, and when I finally came to, I was in Natsume's arms, his face frantic.
"I'm fine." I told him and moved away. He looked worried but he let me do what I wanted. I looked straight at Zaik, but I was talking to Ruka.
"Ruka, have you ever been to a tavern run by a single mother in the foothills of some snowy mountains?" I asked softly, and there was a sharp intake of breath from Natsume. (Refer Chapter 15)
"Yes." Ruka answered.
"How long ago were you last there?" I asked.
"A few months." Ruka answered, but I kept looking at Zaik.
"Will you please describe that single mother? Kisha's mom, is a unique lady, is she not?" I said, my voice still soft, but my words made Natsume flinch for some reason. I ignored it. I was onto something very important right now.
"She is indeed." Ruka agreed. His voice showed clearly that he wanted to see where this was going, but he complied without my having to ask again. "She is tall for a woman from that area. Her skin is white like fine porcelain, almost translucent but beautiful. Her waist long hair seems dark brown, but it is a mixture of all colors from blonde to auburn, to dark brown." Ruka said, and I saw Zaik's eyes widen.
"What color are her eyes?" I asked softly and Ruka let out his breath in a sigh.
"A deep purple." he answered me, and Zaik jerked back as if he had been hit.
"I believe that you made a promise to the little girl to visit her again. I think we should go visit. All of us." I said softly.
"Very well." Ruka said coolly, affronted that I was not telling him what was going on.
"So be it." Zaik said softly.
"When do we leave?" Natsume asked me.
"As soon as we can." I answered him, and he nodded. Always my warrior, prepared for whatever I threw his way.