The Four Kingdoms

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King

Chapter LII: The Royal Wedding

Queen Anna stared at the mirror as the palace maids fixed the train of her wedding gown. She wore her blond hair in a bun with a few strands framing her face. A tiara with the biggest blue diamond she had ever seen adorned her head. She thought it was totally unnecessary for her to have something so frivolous after the third war but it was a gift from the Kouri king so she had to wear it out of respect. The last time she was staring at herself this long was during her engagement ball with Ren. Now, she was going to marry him.

"Your Grace, I think it would be better if you wear something around your neck." A palace maid suggested as she handed her several jewelry boxes.

The blond queen opened each box and handed back the ones that she did not like. She never cared for jewelry anymore so she was having a hard time choosing. Finally, she came to the last box which contained two necklaces: one with a single-rose pendant and another that looks similar but has a three-rose pendant. She almost laughed. Even for something as simple as a piece of jewelry, she just had to choose between these two. She snapped the box shut and gave it back to the palace maid.

"Thank you but I think I am good. You have dressed me up rather elegantly." She gave the servant a smile so she won't feel rejected.

One of the palace maids rushed to the door when they all heard someone knocked. "Your Highness, someone wants to talk with you. He says he's the king of Kasai."

Queen Anna tried to keep her cool. It was Ren's idea to provide guest rooms for other royal bloods in the Kaminari palace in case they arrive early for the wedding. Now she's being pestered by her least favorite monarch.

"Tell him, I'm busy and I'll just talk to him during the wedding feast."

The palace servant nodded and opened the door again. The queen could hear her apologizing to Hao who did not insist and just went away. It seemed like he easily gave up. It was so uncharacteristic of him but maybe he had another plan brewing. Perhaps she would ask Ryuu to observe his king for the rest of the day.

King Ren was fixing his hair in front of a mirror in his chamber. He had sent the palace servants away as soon as he had fully suited up. He needed that time alone to think. Lyserg asked him something about Jeanne two weeks ago and it had been bothering him ever since. His friend did not elaborate probably out of guilt but he had this sickening feeling that he knew what it was. He had tried to shut out the thoughts in his head but they were haunting him especially when he was with Anna. He had not told her about that particular night of the Royal Friendship Ball while she had told him everything about Yoh Asakura minus the part where she fell in love with him. His fiancée never admitted her true feelings for the Kasai prince but he knew anyway. Still, they were both keeping secrets from each other. It's definitely not a good way to start a marriage.

His musings was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. "Your Highness, Her Majesty, the queen of Kouku is here." The palace guard stationed by his room announced.

"Let her in, please..."

The door was slowly opened and the beautiful Queen Anna made a glamorous entrance in her wedding gown. King Ren ogled at her for a minute.

"The ceremony will start soon. What's keeping you here?" The Kouku royal placed her hands on her hips. "I am the one wearing this dress so I needed more preparation time than you. Wait... are you having second thoughts?" his wife-to-be teased him.

"Of course not. Shall we?" The Tao king offered his arm which she took.

They walked towards the Kaminari throne room where the ceremony will be held. During the wedding rites, Anna would be crowned as queen of Kaminari and Ren as king of Kouku. As decreed, the would rule their respective kingdoms side by side.

The wooden doors of the throne room were closed behind them as soon as the couple entered. Court musicians began to play a solemn hymn. They walked slowly towards the throne where the former Kouri king, Lycan Usui stood. He would be the officiator of today's ceremony. As per tradition, this should have been one of their fathers but Hideki Kyouyama had been dead for more than a year while Yuan Tao had been exiled from Kaminari.

Anna and Ren spotted their friends and family seated on both sides of the room. The Usui siblings, Lyserg, Chocolove and Tamao were beaming at them from the right. The Kouku queen was especially surprised that Tamao was there. She had not expected that the girl would accept the invitation. It was the first time that Yoh's ex-fiancee smiled at her, too.

Anna saw Queen Keiko Asakura, her parents, Manta and Ryuu on the left. They returned her smile when their eyes met. Three rows from behind them sat King Hao Asakura who appeared to be sleeping even though the weddings rites have not yet started! The blond girl clicked her tongue. There's no way he's going to ruin her mood.

King Ren's mother, Queen Regent Ran Tao sat in front of the aisle with her daughter, Princess Jun. They were wiping what she believed were happy tears from their eyes. The rest of the guests were composed of military generals and heads of affluent clans all over the four kingdoms.

"Your Majesties, ladies, and gentlemen, may I present to you, Queen Anna Kyouyama of Kouku, and King Ren Tao of Kaminari." Lycan Usui began the ceremony as soon as the couple have reached the throne. "We are here today to witness their union in front of the Great Spirit. Before I start the rites, could anyone against this marriage please stand up?"

Lycan Usui scanned the room with his eyes. The wedding guests remained seated. "Since everyone's pleased with this union, I will continue--".

"Wait!" King Hao finally woke up from his nap.

The blond bride rolled her eyes. She knew he would make a commotion. Yet everyone's attention was diverted from the Kasai king to the raucous from behind the throne room doors. It sounded like someone was trying to get in but the palace guards won't let him. The doors flung open as they were kicked by the intruder in the form of a blond man wearing glasses. The guards were dragging him towards the exit but he was a man of great strength. He had managed to take one step at a time as he pulled the guards clinging on to his torso.

"Marco?" Lyserg stood up looking bewildered. "What are you doing here?"

"Release him!" King Ren ordered his men after realizing who it was.

The palace guards bowed down and left the throne room in a hurry.

Marco smoothened the wrinkles on his coat before walking towards the couple. People were staring at him with distaste.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry to interrupt your wedding but I've been trying to reach out to you since morning. I'm not being allowed inside the palace as I cannot present an invitation letter."

"Have you heard of RSVP?" Chocolove asked out loud.

"What is going on, Ren? Who is he?" Queen Anna grabbed her husband-to-be's arm and gave him a confused look.

"Your Majesties, my apologies for causing a commotion... My name is Marco Lasso, butler to Duchess Jeanne of Mont St. Michel. I would like to inform you that she had given birth two weeks ago... to your son..." Marco eyed the Kaminari king.

The throne room was filled with gasps. The bride slowly removed her grip of the groom's arm. "You had someone else...?" she whispered.

"I'm sorry..." Ren avoided her gaze. His suspicions were confirmed at such an awful timing. He wasn't prepared to face it yet.

"I am not here to stop you from marrying your fiancée, Your Highness. But I need you to know that if this union pushes through, your son will become an illegitimate child. Perhaps even an orphan soon... My sick mistress does not know that I am here. Her and the young master's best interests are the reason I have come."

The Kaminari king spoke. "Let's talk alone, Marco. We need not involve our guests here."

"How about we proceed with the wedding reception? I am famished! I think I can smell the food!" King Horo Horo suggested. He was lying of course. He just wanted to get out of the awkward situation.

"Probably not a bad idea. Everyone, thank you for coming to our wedding. Please go to the ballroom and enjoy the feast we have prepared for you." Anna pointed at the opened doors.

People followed the bride's request and lined up to the exit. They would probably be talking about this for months. When the final guests have left, the queen turned to the bewildered groom, "Ren, I am not here to judge whatever you did while I was gone but I would have appreciated honesty. Please deal with this as a man. I'll be waiting at the palace garden if you need me. Let's talk later..."

Queen Anna let the train of her gown sweep up the dirt from the stone path in the Kaminari palace garden. She wouldn't be attending a wedding that day, that's for sure. She threw the bouquet of roses at the side and stopped in front of the statue of Ren's grandfather. She folded her arms across her chest and stared at it for a while.

"I promised to be a good wife to your grandson... But in reality, I was not sure if that is what I want. Ren owes me an explanation. He was keeping a secret from me all this time... but I wasn't totally honest with him either..."

"Why are you talking to the statue?" A familiar voice asked from behind her.

It was the Kasai king. "Go away, Hao. It's none of your business."

"Er... I am not actually my brother..." The royal grinned at her sheepishly. "Faust let me pack a suit before we left in case I needed it in a mission. You look so beautiful, Anna..."

The blonde did not respond right away. She gazed at him from head to foot. He looked more mature now. They all were actually. She shortened the distance between them then caressed his cheek as she stared at his face. She was trying to figure out if it's really her Yoh or it's just Hao playing a prank on her. There was only one way to find out... Without warning, she slapped him hard.

"Ouch!" Prince Yoh rubbed his red cheek. "I think I deserve that..."

"Must you always pretend to be someone else when you come to Kaminari? I hate your hair. Why did you let it grow that long? You look like your brother."

"Well... we are identical twins... That's why I was able to enter the palace without presenting any invitation letter."

Another slap.

"Being cheeky, huh. That's for dozing off like an idiot on my wedding."

"I'm sorry! I didn't have enough sleep last night. I was practicing what I would say to stop the wedding."

"That was all for nothing now because you did not get to say it. Someone else stopped the wedding." The Kouku queen scoffed at him.

"You're right... I'm a total idiot, Anna... I'm a self-righteous royal blood who thought I carried the whole weight of the kingdom on my shoulders. I am sorry that I didn't even try to fight for you..." Prince Yoh lowered his head.

"Well, why didn't you?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Because I felt guilty... Ren had searched far and wide for you and had gone great lengths just to be with you... He would be heart broken if... you would end up with someone else..."

"You almost died for me, stupid. Give yourself some credit." Anna mumbled.

"I also felt unworthy... I have been trained to be king since I was ten years old... and then all of a sudden, I did not become one... I thought I wasn't worth waiting for and that you would be better off with someone in a position of power like the ruler of Kaminari..."

"Since when did you become so political, Yoh? I felt guilty about Ren, too and I admit that I was a little mean when we last spoke... But let me be the person to determine who is worthy of my affection or not. I want to have a say in this... You just don't go on deciding what's best for me. The choice had to be from the both of us. I got so emotional when you said you had to leave... That was a mistake and another one is expecting you to at least fight for me..."

"I apologize, Anna... I was such a wreck that day... Each day that we were miles apart, I realized how much I love you and I can't bear to let you go..." The Kasai prince tried to enclose her in an embrace but Anna moved one step back.

"Yoh, please understand... The man who I love left me and did not attempt to even write a letter while he was away. Then he showed up after almost a year telling me that he did not fight for me because he thought he had the sole right to decide that I would live a better life with someone else. Then that someone else who happened to be my best friend and fiancé from an arranged marriage, had sex with another girl and kept it as a secret. Then on my wedding day, a stranger barged in announcing to all our guests that he had a son with her! I don't think I'm ready to forgive and forget all of that in an instant... This whole love and arranged marriage thing have been too exhausting for me. I want to do it on my own terms and right now I just want to take a break from it all."

"You.. love me?" The prince grinned at her.

"Have you even heard the rest of my sentences?" Anna wanted to scream out in frustration.

"Please let me make it up to you... I want to make you fall in love with me again..." The Kasai royal took her hand.

"While you're on a mission?" The queen raised an eyebrow. "Let's see if that's even possible."

"I'll do it anyway, even if you tell me not to."

"Argh, now I know why Hao is persistent. You two are of the same material."

King Hao Asakura peered through the throne room. Nobody was there so that meant the wedding ceremony was finished. The two palace guards stationed at the door were discussing about the events that had transpired earlier. It sounded like the wedding did not happen after all.

"I should have been here, you know. That would have been too awesome to let pass." He told the blond medicine man accompanying him.

"I had a lot to report, Your Highness. Surely, you would be interested about our exploits for almost a year long." Faust had detailed what happened to their mission to the king the whole morning. King Hao was about to leave the Kasai palace for Kaminari when his right hand man showed up at the front door.

"You could have sent a telegram that you would be going home." The monarch told him as they strolled down the hallway to the grand ballroom.

"My apologies. I was just excited to come back for a vacation..."

"Without my brother? That seems odd though... You don't have to lie to me, Faust. I know that was just a delaying tactic so Yoh can sneak into the Kaminari palace." King Hao grinned at him.

The medicine man dropped his jaw. "Are you spying on us in Morphia?"

"No, it's just that my brain's far superior than yours. I knew about Jeanne being pregnant with the Tao's child. I may have told Marco about it..."

"What?!?"

Flashback

King Hao laid down on the mat while Kanna, Marion and Matilda were setting up the food on the table. It was the first time he had been this carefree ever since he became king. He needed to relax from all the royal responsibilities thrown at him. That was one of the many differences between him and Yoh. His brother was as lazy as him but he was that twin who takes up responsibility more seriously. Yoh was so uptight and relentless in making Kasai a better kingdom that he did not know how to slow down or make compromises.

"I hope you are satisfied with the accommodation?" Tamao appeared from the door. She reserved for him this private villa that was especially built for high-profile guests.

"Horo Horo wanted to book this but I told him it's still being renovated."

"Well, it's my brother's house after all. I get first dibs on any room in this inn."

"Of course, anything for my king although Horo Horo would have brought in more income. Anyway, I will leave you now. That goofball might start exploring the inn. We wouldn't want him to disturb your peace, would we?" Tamao beckoned her employees to follow her out and leave their distinguished guest.

A few minutes after the staff had left, King Hao heard familiar voices conversing in front of the private villa. He peered outside the window and saw silhouettes of what seemed like two girls. They were seated on the chairs in the front porch. When his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he realized that it was Pirika with his ex-fiancée's cousin called... Never mind... He cannot remember something unimportant.

"This place is huge! Tamao even had an exclusive villa built. I'm really glad she's doing well." Pirika gazed at the hotspring in front of her. "Hey, Lyserg... I've been meaning to tell you this earlier..."

"What is it, my dear?" The future Duke of Morphia lovingly asked his girlfriend.

"I don't want you keeping secrets from me."

The boy was clearly startled. "I'm not.. I swear Pirika!"

"Then what about Jeanne? You've been keeping mum about what happened to her..."

Yeah... What about your cousin? Hao thought from behind the wall. He had known that she had been taking medicines because she got the same disease as her father. It was hereditary they said. Had it progressed?

Lyserg sighed. "Don't tell this to anyone especially your brother... Jeanne is pregnant..."

Pirika covered her mouth. "Who is the father? Is it Hao?"

"No!" Lyserg exclaimed.

No! The Kasai king screamed silently at them. He may be a pervert but he had never laid a finger on Jeanne. She was more like a sister to him - - - a sister that was always confined to a room and he would often forget she existed.

"She wouldn't tell..." Lyserg whispered. "But I think it's Ren..."

The Kouri princess gasped.

Interesting... King Hao grinned to himself.

"I think something happened between them the night of the Friendship Ball... I wanted to ask Ren but I don't want to ruin his chances at happiness. He was elated to find, Anna. I saw it with my own two eyes. On the other hand, I feel guilty because Jeanne is family. I should have been looking out for her especially now that she is carrying a child in spite of her sickness..."

"Ohhh Lyserg..." Pirika hugged him tight. "I know you're torn but Ren has to know. What if he finds out from someone else? He would think that you have betrayed his trust once more. I am sorry to hear about Jeanne... I was hoping that her medications were working well for her..."

Ohhh? The girlfriend knows about the disease? That was a secret within the clan. Good for you. You're now part of the family. And thank you, Lizard. This is some information I could use. King Hao snickered and gave a thumbs up to Lyserg from behind the window.

End of flashback

"So what did you do to that information?" Faust inquired.

"I've been writing letters about the trade deal to Jeanne before. Like I mentioned in my telegram to you, she wasn't replying. That time I sent one to Marco. The guy loathes me so much so he would immediately notice if I've sent him one that's addressed to him and not to his mistress. I knew that he is desperate given the duchess' condition. I told him that I had information about the real father of Jeanne's baby. I would gladly disclose it to him in exchange for his assistance in convincing the Kasai clans to come back."

"So how did he do it?" Faust asked with great curiosity.

"I instructed him to bring a copy of the trade agreement to the Tamamura and Sugimoto clan heads. There's an existing one, you know. Father had been friends with the Duke for years but they were both dead so there was an opportunity to update the terms and conditions. I specified there that the Dukedom of Mont St. Michel would only do trade with businesses located in Kasai."

"Oh... You sneaky bastard." Faust chuckled. "That would mean the Kasai clans can no longer continue their newly established businesses in Mont St. Michel."

"And in Morphia, Comedia, and the Royal Patch Academy. Those four are a trade bloc. One agreement applies to all." Hao waved a finger. "So Marco made it sure that the clans were present during the signing at the mansion so they would know they had no other place to go but home. Those two clans have no network outside Kasai and Mont St. Michel so it was too risky and costly to establish a new business again in another land."

"I had to give it to you, Hao but not entirely... I think they were also moved by Jeanne's speech and Yoh's persistence."

"You think highly of people, Faust. That's why you're friends with my brother. But no, I don't think they were moved at all. To continue with my story, after receiving your telegram about the clans' decision to go back to Kasai, I sent one to Marco right away. I told him the truth."

"What if you were wrong and it wasn't Ren Tao all along?"

"Then I destroyed someone's life but saved my brother's. That's all that matters to me."

Later that night...

King Ren sat on the balcony of his chamber and stared at the sea. This view always had a calming effect on him. He had spent almost an hour there listening to the waves as they crashed on the shore, contemplating about the recent turn out of events that had crashed his future plans. He was exhausted mentally and physically. He spent the whole day speaking with different people explaining what just happened at the disastrous royal wedding.

Lyserg approached him to beg his forgiveness once more after his closed door meeting with Marco. He couldn't stay angry at his friend. The poor guy did try to tell him but he was always shutting him down. He was too afraid to know the truth especially when his dream of marrying Anna was almost at his fingertips.

A few minutes after speaking to Lyserg, his mother and his sister found him down the hallway and cornered him to demand for answers. They cried and hugged him after hearing his story. They wanted to come to Mont St. Michel to see the baby. Regardless of the circumstances that brought him to the world, the baby was his own flesh and blood. The Taos would exalt a son above anyone else because it would ensure the continuity of their clan.

Then he had to announce to the guests at the ballroom that the wedding would not push through anymore but they could still enjoy the food and drinks prepared for the feast. The cooks would be utterly displeased if the food would not be served as they had been putting so much effort into preparing the meal since morning. Kaminari had spent a lot for the wedding celebration and it would be such a waste of time and money if their guests would not at least partake of the refreshments. Extra people were hired to help with the food service, music, decorations and security. All of them would be expecting to get paid by the end of the day with or without a wedding. So, no, he did not have the time to nurture a broken heart.

Night came and he wasn't able to talk yet to the most important person who needed his explanation. Ren did go to the royal palace garden to check on Anna but he saw her with Yoh Asakura. He was certain it was him although he was dressed like his brother. He spotted the other twin drinking with the medicine man called Faust in the Kaminari palace ballroom. There's no way Yoh would have checked out the bosoms of their female guests.

"Your Highness, your wife er... fiancée.. er... the Kouku queen is here to see you." A palace guard rapped at his door. He had just started his shift that night and might have heard rumors about what had transpired at the wedding earlier.

"Let her in." He called out.

Anna came inside wearing her night gown. "So you've been hiding in your room the whole day?" she asked.

"I thought you went back to Kouku..." He said without looking at her.

"Well, I was supposed to stay here had things not gone awry... Besides, I don't want to leave you in this wretched state." Queen Anna stood next to him. They stared up at the sky in silence.

"I thought you were her when we did it..." The Kaminari king whispered. "I was not in the right mind when it happened."

"Ren, stop... I did not come for your explanation. Your mother and sister went to me separately and told me the same story so I believe them. I believe you... I had to let my anger pass before I can see you."

"Then why are you still here? Yoh went back for you." There was some bitterness in his voice.

"Because my best friend needs me..." The Kouku queen took his hand. The Kaminari king intertwined his fingers with hers.

"So what's your plan?" Anna asked.

"I'll be sailing for Mont St. Michel in two days. I will go see my son and Jeanne. Mother and Jun will be the advance party. They will leave tomorrow morning with Marco. They will be stopping by Jun's place first so Mother can visit Father."

"Ren, let me come with you... You don't have to do this alone... I may have not been a lover to you most of the time but I have and will always be your best friend..."

The king nodded and kissed her hand. And for the rest of the night, they sat next to each other staring up at the starry sky.

End of Chapter 52

A/N: This is the second to the final chapter. I did consider writing two endings. One for RenxAnna fans and the other for YohxAnna shippers. But... I'm planning to write a finale that would satisfy both fandoms (I hope) and would be closing the curtains on this very long story for good. Thank you for all your support!