King Hayate rallied Nanashi and Hiei to get dressed faster than Nanashi would have liked. She would have rather much prefer to lay back down with him and doze in the gazebo. That, or maybe something more if he was up for it. Likely he of all people would be.
Nanashi could hardly walk fast enough with her dress's skirt tripping her up. If it was not for it being Asa's dress, she would have torn the thing on purpose a long time ago. King Hayate rushed them to his presence chamber to meet with them, sending a servant to run and fetch Queen Minha, who was still sleeping.
Nanashi stood there waiting next to Hiei, shifting her weight from one foot to another. Her hair felt like a rat's nest more than anything else. If Sayuri saw it, she would be ashamed of what became of her work. She felt so thirsty that her head pounded in reminder. She also had a sweet soreness within her. A cup of coffee would not hurt either, or a nap. Even a chair to sit in at the moment would do in the short term.
Queen Minha finally arrived in a fury. "What's going on?" she asked as she stepped passed Nanashi and Hiei and up to King Hayate to stand with him.
"They've married," King Hayate dead panned.
Queen Minha's eyes went wide. "When?" she asked aghast.
"Last night. A small, country bumpkin style of a wedding in the oak tree garden," King Hayate answered. A servant saw some people go into the garden, but all but two come out. Didn't say anything until this morning though."
"Which servant?" the queen pressed. The king named a name Nanashi did not know. "I can speak to them later." Nanashi felt pity for them. Nanashi did however dislike how King Hayate used the term 'country bumpkin.' It could be construed as an insult to either one of them.
"You only had the king's permission and agreement yesterday," Queen Minha pointed out. "How could you have managed this?" Queen Minha looked so offended at the thought that it made Nanashi feel almost like a scolded child. "I haven't hardly started planning half of the wedding we were going to have for you next week."
Nanashi could only begin to imagine how extravagant Queen Minha would have made that one. The idea of going through that kind of dog and pony show made her stomach flip. Queen Minha's eyes seem to bore into her. She could feel Hiei's side ways glance on her as well. She stealed her breath, not wanting to crumble from the gazes of either of them.
Hiei spoke up, "Nanashi was more than willing to wait for what ever extravagant wedding you were planning, but I was not." She looked over at him, surprised he was trying to draw all the blame. "She's mine and I made her mine last night. I planned it all. She had no clue what was happening until she entered the garden."
"Mine?" Queen Minha repeated the word with a puzzled face.
"It's a term of endearment in the demon culture," King Hayate explained. "They also partly mate claimed each other. Both of them bit each other on the neck."
Queen Minha's eyes went wide. "That I know about. That is outlawed. Hayate's grandfather, your great grandfather outlawed that for how violent and forceful it can be. People had died in that process. It's the death penalty for doing it."
Nanashi resisted the temptation to reach up and touch her neck where Hiei had bit her last night. It was rather aggressive, but she took it in stride. He certainly enjoyed her doing it back to him. She recalled him saying one bite was fine, but three were not. "One bite isn't outlawed," she voiced.
"Let me guess," King Hayate drawled out, "his idea as well?"
"Yes," Hiei answered.
Queen Minha gave the two of them a shrewd look. "Was it a legitimate wedding ceremony?" she pressed.
"Yes," Nanashi answered in time with Hiei.
"Priest?" Queen Minha asked.
"Yes," Hiei said, naming him.
"Consummated?" she asked.
"I found them naked in the gazebo," King Hayate answered for them.
"She isn't a virgin, so it could be hard to prove," Queen Minha said confidently.
"It was," Hiei growled out. Nanashi felt herself blush. "Would the king like to read my memories on the incident?" Nanashi did not think the king would be much willing for that with how standoffish he suddenly seemed. King Hayate did not respond to Hiei. Small victory.
"You both had family there?" Queen Minha asked. "An elvish wedding done appropriately has at least one family member from the bride and one from the groom there."
Nanashi looked over at Hiei, knowing he would never want Yukina's connection to him revealed to the king. "No," she lied, looking down at the ground.
"Yes," Hiei said firmly, giving her a sharp look. She returned it with a confused look.
"You can't reveal..." she started, but hummed in finish.
"Can't reveal what?" King Hayate asked, suddenly intrigued.
Hiei answered, "her father and cousin were there as her kin. Prince Takashi was there as mine."
"What?" King Hayate gasped.
"That's where he was at dinner? He lied to me and said he wasn't hungry," Queen Minha scold in a way only a mother could.
Hiei laughed out loud at that, sounding so out of place in the midst of the current conversation. "That child complained about waiting to eat until after the ceremony and then complained about the lack of dancing."
Nanashi looked at Hiei, trying to look more affronted by Hiei telling on Prince Takashi, even though the boy had been petrified by the idea of his mother finding out he had been in the garden climbing.
"Was he climbing the trees at all?" Queen Minha asked in a huff.
"No," Nanashi lied, shaking her head.
"What do you think?" Hiei answered with sass.
Nanashi frowned over at him, genuinely annoyed that he would give up the prince so easily for no reason at all.
"He won't be seeing the light of day for the week," Queen Minha promised.
"The wedding last night was valid, accept it," Hiei insisted.
In a surprising act, he then grabbed Nanashi by the hand, pulling with her with him towards the door. "You don't have our leave to go," King Hayate called after them.
Hiei stopped with his hand at the door. "Excuse us, your graces, my wife is quite tired from last night." He lead her out of the door with him without another word.
He lead them to her rooms, which were bigger and more spacious than his. She saw a breakfast tray sitting on her small table. Either Sayuri or Midori were a genius at planning ahead. She made a bee line for the tray, pouring herself a glass of water and draining it thirstily.
After pouring herself a second glass, she sipped from it. She sat down her couch, feeling relieved to rest her weary self. She looked around the room, noticing something was missing. "You need to move your stuff in with mine," she mused. He stepped over to the tray, grabbing himself something to eat. He gave her a curious look. "I assume we're live in these rooms now, instead of your small one," she said with a small smile. "I was given the third best rooms in the castle after all."
"Taken from Jiro?" Hiei mused, small smile on his face. Nanashi felt her headache starting to dissipate. She looked at the food on the plate, not feeling hungry quite yet. "Eat," he told her, pushing a the tray towards her.
She looked at the food, deciding on pouring herself a cup of coffee first. "Why did you tell the queen the prince was with us last night?" she asked, speaking the question on her mind.
He clicked his teeth. "Would have made the wedding invalid in their eyes if I didn't."
She shook her head. "No, it wouldn't. And you know why..." she hinted without saying.
"He shouldn't have been there in the first place," he replied.
She hissed through her own teeth, feeling testy. She took another sip of her coffee. Even just the smell seemed to wake her up. "He didn't need betrayed like that," she grumbled, quietly standing her ground.
"Hn," he grunted at her, looking at her without blinking. She resisted the urge the blink first. It was a rather tense staring contest. "Who else's name did you write down for the king and queen?" he dead panned.
She blinked, sitting her coffee cup down. She tried to will her breathing to stay natural. "I only wanted to give your name," she said down to the coffee cup. "They insisted and insisted I gave them another name." Her voice cracked, giving way that she was nervous. Her breathing got faster and she felt her face flush. She could not name Jin, she could not name Jin.
"Who else did you write down?" he asked softly. The lack of insistence or bite in his tone was worse than if there was any.
She stood up, walking away from him. She bumped her leg into the chair, but did not react to it. She could feel his eyes on her. "I didn't want to write anyone else down," she grumbled, plopping down on her bed tiredly. It was like he never needed to blink. She looked down at her floor. "Yasha," she choked out, trying not to let herself crack under the pressure.
He looked at her disbelievingly. He laughed at her, making her jump. She blinked, trying to keep herself under control. He rose up from the couch, walking over to her. "He's not threat. Besides, Kurama would eat you alive if you tried. Also, you're missing a few bits he likes to play with," he teased. She knew she was breathing too quickly still. She did not dare to look at him yet. "Red hair especially," he teased. His hand come over to her, but she flinched away. "What's wrong?"
"Tired," she murmured.
He huffed, laughing quietly to himself at her. "Worn out?" he asked her. "Or unsure how to handle how I took your answer to my question? Yasha," he laughed at the name. "We'll keep that between us, by the way. Kurama might get territorial. Not worth the risk." She sighed under her breath. He had believed her, which itself was unbelievable. He stepped over to the bathroom, gesturing her to join him. "Shower?" he asked her.
Not wanting anything to seem amiss, she rolled herself off of the bed, trailing after him. "Just a shower though," she requested groggily.