I'm just about finished writing this fic and ooooooooooo it was so much fun. I'll be uploading every other day now. I'm trying to brainstorm my next fic. I'm considering writing outside of the Vocaloid fandom, so I might do that (especially for some video games that I have been obsessed with lately), but I also want to write a completely original book, which I also might start working on. I'm not sure. Whatever it is, I don't really like working on multiple projects at once, so this might be my last full-length RinLen fic for a while :( But we'll see! If you guys want more, or have any requests, let me know! I'm always looking for inspiration :)

Anyways, enjoy!

Breakfast the next morning was extremely awkward for Lillian Brighton.

Her husband, partly out of humiliation for his actions and partly due to his still-residing anger, had decided not to join them. And the princess was forced to dine alone.

So, in their places, she sat at the head of the table with the full Kagamine family in front of her. She was surprised to see the boy come in as well, looking as stoic as ever. She had been certain he would refuse to dine with her. For the first time since they had arrived, she felt pity for him.

They all took their seats, the girls keeping their eyes low along with their parents, who did not cast Lily a single glance.

What could she say to them that she hadn't said already? Her husband's actions had mortified her, and never in her life had she apologized as much as she had the night before. They could not even speak of the festival before the incident. What did they normally speak of?

"The weather will be warm today," she tried as she poked at her food. "A perfect day for a stroll through the gardens. Or even a horseback ride."

Even Lenka, who loved horses, did not look up from her food. She was not sure was had happened last night, but her older siblings all looked really sad when they came back to their room that night, and she wanted to see the princess.

The queen was adamant in refusing to acknowledge the events of last night. Len wished for nothing else than for her to do exactly that. He was tired of how everyone danced around subjects so carefully in an effort to be polite. He didn't want politeness, he wanted discussion. What happens now? Where is the princess dining? How could he get to her?

The only person in this godforsaken hellhole that didn't sugarcoat anything was Rin. The only person keeping him sane was Rin. The only reason he had attended breakfast this morning was in the hope that the king would have a change of heart, and she would be here. But she wasn't.

No one responded to Lily's greeting, and her head dropped. They did not wish to speak, and she knew that healing took time. So she allowed the meal to go on in silence.

A few minutes had passed with the door directly across from Len opened. He sat tall at Rin's usual entrance, a glimmer of hope flashing through him, but it wasn't the princess who walked through the doors. It was her pink-haired maid, alone, with a grim look on her face.

She scampered over to the queen, trying, and failing, to avoid the eyes in the room.

Lily nearly started crying at the sight of the maid. She knew they would not bother her unless it was something serious, and her mind began to ponder what dire news the servant girl was delivering.

Luka leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"The princess refuses to get out of bed," she informed her with a whisper. She tried to be quiet enough so the others would not hear, but the absolute silence of the room made it extremely difficult.

Len heard her words from across the table, returning to his meal with a frown.

Lily almost felt relieved, assuming much worse had happened. "Leave her be," she told the maid gently. "Let her have the day to herself."

Luka nodded. "Yes, my queen." She glided out, her worried expression stronger than ever.

Len, in a sudden burst of anger, stabbed his slice of boar with the knife, standing from his chair and leaving the room.

"Was he there?"

The three words were Rin's first for the day, despite the coaxing of her maids to rise from her bed. She asked them as the door to her chambers opened and closed, most likely Luka returning from the dining hall.

She hesitated in answering, flashing Miku a concerned glance. Normally, this would be her day off, but once the two had heard what happened, she insisted on coming today.

"Yes," Luka answered. "He was."

Rin faced away from them, the comforter of her bed swallowing every part of her except for her red, puffy eyes, which stared out her windows. "How was he?"

Miku sat on the edge of her bed, casting an uneasy look towards the princess' outline next to her.

Luka hesitated again. "Upset," she finally answered, though she had avoided looking at the prince on purpose during her visit. "But don't worry about him, Rin."

"I will," she answered, deciding that was the extent of the conversation.

She hadn't slept a wink that night, her mind fumbling over the events of the festival, the events after the festival, and the tortures still to come. Her betrothed was on his way. Her future was coming much sooner than she had hoped.

But the longer she thought about it, the more she remembered the prince, turning on his heels and running into the night, leaving her. He didn't have a choice, she told herself over and over again. She had spent the night bundled under her covers, door unlocked, in hopes that he was merely hiding out until her father left. And then he would return.

He didn't return. She had spent the night alone, miserable, in her bed. And that was exactly how she planned on spending the day, as well.

Her maids, despite being dismissed by the queen herself, did not wish to leave. "Are… are you hungry, princess?" Miku offered. "Perhaps we can bring your meals to you."

Rin said nothing, her dead eyes continuing to watch the gardens.

"We cannot let you go without your meals-" Miku continued, cutting herself off as Luka put a hand on her shoulder.

"The queen said to let her be," she informed her, defeated. "We should let her be." Then, to Rin: "Your mother wants you to take the day for yourself. A… break."

Merely out of guilt, Rin thought angrily. Guilt for watching father and doing nothing.

"So… so we will leave you," Luka continued slowly. "But if you need us, please… call for us. One of your guards will fetch us."

The guards, right. Her father had already assigned a unit of guards to stand watch outside her door, while the rest patrolled the halls near her chambers. The only place she was safe from them was her gardens, only because it was inappropriate for them to cross her room to get to their stations. And her father still did not know about the secret gate, only her mother.

Which means she had not told him.

The realization was meaningless, her mother could do nothing to stop what was about to come, but it was comforting to know that she had at least chosen her over her father this time.

The fact that she still had one advantage over her father's demands was another of the few beacons of hope that littered her mind. If she wished, she could leave. She could run away. She could purchase a boat from the docks and sail after the paper lantern from the night before.

But where would she go? How would she survive? She could take Len with her, but it was likely he didn't know much more than her about surviving in the wilderness. Sure, he went hunting often in Acacia Bay, but he was always home before nightfall or sleeping in a tent built by his guards. They would both be dead within a week.

It was beginning to seem like the better option.

Rin was so lost in her thoughts, she did not notice her maids leave the room. Once again, as she had been for so long, she was alone.

She had no more tears left to cry, so she simply rested her head on her pillow, looking out into her gardens, dead to the world.

Unlike the princess, Len was not inclined to emerge from his room every day. He had no duties, to people to attend to, and only meals that he was expected to attend. Before, he had, but now, he would not. He knew now that he had no hope of seeing the princess unless he found her himself.

So he retreated to his room, choosing to spend his day with his books. He was at least able to escape the world he was in by losing himself in the fairy tales and stories he had chosen on his last trip to the library. He remained so long, he did not notice the light of his window shift and eventually begin to fade.

The sun was beginning to set when a knock sounded from his door.

"What is it?" He asked, annoyed. His current story, a tale about a boy with the ability to speak to animals, was a real page-turner. He had been so engrossed in it that he felt disoriented returning back to the real world.

Kokone opened his door.

He let out a huff, letting his eyes return to the words. It was unfair to blame her, but he couldn't help but feel that, if they hadn't followed her, they would have been able to sneak back in undetected.

Kokone felt this, too. And the guilt she had suppressed from their walk back to the castle had bubbled to the surface throughout the day. She wanted to apologize to the princess, but she was not allowed to see her, either. None of the children were.

"I…" Kokone couldn't find her words. "I'm sorry," she offered, her voice merely more than a squeak.

He didn't look up from his book.

She rubbed her hands together nervously. "She won't come out of her room," she continued.

"Yeah. I know. I was at breakfast, too."

"She hasn't come out all day."

He whirled around in his chair. "And yet you came to tell me that you were right, that you knew this was going to happen, and that I should just sit in my room like a good little prince," he spat.

"That's not what I'm here to say at all!" She defended, casting a look over her shoulder towards the door. She gently pushed it closed. "What I'm here to say," she continued, lowering her voice once again. "Is that you need to go talk to her."

Len raised his eyebrows.

"I… I know she doesn't want to leave," Kokone spoke, gazing out the darkening window. "But she's going to, and she's going to regret spending her last days at home locked in her room. If mother and father or the guards or anyone asks, I'll cover for you."

"You want me to go tell her to just pretend like she isn't being sent away?"

"You're the only one who can," she insisted. "She doesn't need to pretend anything. Just… ignore it. While she still can."

Len looked back towards his books, pondering her words. Rin would definitely regret never setting foot in the library again, or refusing to dine on her veranda, or keeping herself locked away from the townsfolk. "Do the people know that Casburg Bay is coming?"

Kokone shrugged. "I am sure word has gotten around. I don't think it's a secret."

He leaned back in his chair. "I bet they will want to see her before she leaves."

"Before her wedding," Kokone corrected softly.

Len winced at the word. The fire crackled in the hearth next to him. "I'll go talk to her."

"When?"

He stood, glancing out the window. "Right now."

Rin had not moved from her bed.

An ignored tray of food sat on her bedside table, delivered by Luka for dinner. It was untouched, just as the breakfast tray and the lunch tray had both been as well.

The stars shined outside, but there was no moon. Usually, Rin fell asleep to the dimly-lit sight of the river with the forest and rolling hills in the background, but she could not see them today. She could only see the faintest hint of stars in the sky above.

She closed her eyes, willing sleep to come to her once more. Tomorrow, they would make her leave her room. The last thing she wanted to do was as her father wished, so she was determined to make a scene if they did choose to force her out of her room.

Most of the day she had spent falling in and out of sleep, waking when her maids entered to bring her food and check on her, and then drifting off again.

Her thoughts slowly began to dip into unconsciousness when a light tap sounded from her door.

She sat straight up, startled out of sleep, catching sight of a dark shadow standing on her balcony. Her heart froze for a moment, before recognizing him. Her legs swung over the side of the bed, stomping over to the door in anger. They ached at the sudden movement.

"What are you doing here?" she asked the prince in a whisper as she opened the door. "There are guards at my door. If they hear you, father will-"

"I had to come," he interrupted.

"He will throw you in the dungeons!"

Len said nothing. If not for his voice, Rin would not be sure it was even him.

She let out a shaky breath, looking back towards the door to the hall. It was firmly shut. "...How did you get back here?"

"I left the gate open," he explained. "Last night."

Despite all of the events over the past few days, Rin couldn't help the small smile that crept over her face. "You endangered the safety of the princess just so you could sneak around in my gardens?"

He grinned. "You know me so well."

She let out a single laugh, lowering her head. A sudden feeling of guilt overcame her, for being so angry with him for leaving her the night before.

"...What are you doing?" He asked, any trace of amusement in his voice lost.

Rin furrowed her brow. "I'm… standing here, with you-"

"I mean locking yourself in your room all day."

She frowned. "I won't go about like my father's little puppet, waiting for some stranger to whisk me away."

"So instead you will isolate yourself and throw a fit when someone tries to stop you?"

Her anger returned full force. "You don't know what it's like-"

"I don't?" He raised an eyebrow. "You're right. I've never been ripped away from my home before."

"That's not fair-"

"Life isn't fair, Rin! This isn't one of the fairy tales in the library! There are things we must do, whether we like it or not!"

Her shoulders heaved with every breath. Silence fell between them.

"I… I didn't come here to yell at you," he finally spoke.

"Then what did you come here for?" she spat.

He hesitated. "Everyone is worried about you."

She said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

"You… you don't need to do what the king tells you, but you should escape from your room and live in your home. Experience it. While you still can."

Still, nothing.

He swallowed. "It would be a shame if you… if you left for your new home-" He was surprised at how difficult it was to gather his words. "-without enjoying the library once more. Or the people. They… they know you're leaving."

Her anger began to simmer down.

"They will miss you."

Rin's eyes fell to the marble deck below them.

"I will miss you," he added softly.

It was so easy to retreat into the only place where she felt safe. But the thought of leaving her people behind without even saying goodbye…

"I will miss you, too," she replied, not meeting his eyes. "Perhaps… perhaps you are right."

"Will you leave your room tomorrow?"

She hesitated. The thought of giving her father any solace in the fact that she had recovered from the night before disgusted her. But she was not doing this for him. She had to do it for herself.

"I will," she promised.

He smiled sadly. "Okay."

With nothing else to say, she draped her arms over his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry for yelling," she whimpered, enjoying the feeling of his arms wrapped around her waist. His hair poked at her face.

"I'm sorry for leaving."

They remained that way long into the night.