Hey guys! So one of my reviewers (Min, thank you so much) pointed out that I had "Moderate Guest Reviews" on, and I didn't even know this feature existed, so a lot of reviews from you guys might not have been showing up :( I have turned it off and "approved" all reviews that were in my queue. Thank you so much for pointing that out, because I would have never figured that out by myself lol.
Enjoy!
P.S. I completely forgot about this line formatting feature. Ugh. I am actually the epitome of professionalism.
It was a warm morning, with the beaming sun shining brightly down on the crowded courtyard of Khaesea Palace. The guards posted at the edges of the city had spotted Tohoku's guards first, signaling to the rest of the kingdom that the queen and her son were merely a few minutes away.
Rin stood at the top of the steps with her hands folded behind her back. No one could see her nervously fidgeting with them as she awaited her betrothed's arrival.
Her father, who she had not spoken a word to since the night of the festival, stood proudly beside her, smiling down at his people. Her mother, on the other hand, was almost as nervous as Rin herself. She, too, had not entirely forgiven her husband for his rashness. She did not think she would be saying goodbye to her daughter for another year. With this new turn of events, Rin's courtship would last merely a week or so before she left for her new home.
On the opposite side of the stairs stood the Kagamines. If there was one person who was just as unhappy with Tohoku's arrival than Rin, it was the prince. He did not want to attend this welcoming ceremony, especially because his family played no purpose in it whatsoever, but he felt he had to. The princess did not have anyone else to share her burdens with but him.
The two families had been standing in the heat for more than ten minutes before the first of the guards finally poked through the open gates. The crowds began to cheer.
The first thing the prince noticed about the Tohokus, before he even laid eyes on them, was the ridiculous amount of guards that led and followed their carriage. Traveling during times of war was certainly not safe, but it seemed like the entire kingdom had followed the mother and son across the country. The strategist in Len kicked in, and he wondered how in the world Brighton was going to manage to feed all of these people.
The second thing he noticed was the excessively elaborate ornaments decorating the soldiers, their horses, and the carriage itself. The wave of soldiers felt like a dam had overflowed, flooding the palace courtyards with blue and green. If anyone had not been aware of their house colors before, they surely were now.
The third thing he noticed, as the carriage slowed to a halt and the doors slowly opened to reveal Queen Tohoku herself, was she strongly resembled a cat. Her expression was sly, even in the midst of all this commotion. Her disturbingly bright eyes flickered from side to side as she surveyed the scene in front of her. An ornate dress of blues and greens flowed from her shoulders, perfectly matching the ostentatious nature of her guards. She was small, shorter than Len, and thin. Her years were beginning to show through the slight wrinkles peeking out from the edges of her face, hidden mostly under her deep green hair.
If there was one thing Casburg Bay was plentiful in, it was dyes. The prince followed his mother onto the stone walkway of the courtyard, donning bright blue hair.
Len scoffed at the sight of him.
Rin, despite her displeasure with the situation, could not help but feel a tinge of curiosity at the sight of her new family. The intense glare of the queen was enough to make her shake in her shoes, but the prince did not share the queen's sly nature. In fact, she was surprised to see him refrain from looking into the crowds for too long, as if he was just as nervous as her. She didn't want to feel sympathy for him, but she realized it would be unfair not to. It was not him who arranged this marriage, it was his mother.
His mother, who's crafty eyes had fallen on Rin. The queen's expression did not change in the slightest at the sight of her future daughter-in-law.
Rin gulped as they began their ascent of the stairs.
Their guards completely filled the walkway of the courtyard, leaving no room whatsoever in front of her. For the first time in her life, the princess felt a tinge of claustrophobia.
"Zunko!" Her father greeted, grinning from ear to ear. He gently lifted one of her thin wrists and offered a kiss on her hand.
Zunko allowed him to do so, a forced smile at her lips. "So nice to see you," she purred. Even her voice dripped with vicious authority.
Rin took a deep breath. The queen would have to be intimidating, obviously. How would a woman alone be able to run a kingdom otherwise? From what Rin had heard, no one in Casburg Bay had ever even dared question her reign, even after her husband had died.
"Lily," the queen grinned at Rin's mother. "I'm so glad to finally meet you."
"Likewise," the blonde answered, offering her a small curtsey. Lily's movements were rigid, only performing the courtesy because her husband had begged of it. In her opinion, a queen who bows is no queen. And yet, here she was.
Tohoku watched her with a pleased expression, not returning the gesture. With merely a nod, she passed on to Rin.
"And, finally, the princess."
She found herself unable to speak as if her tongue had swelled up in her mouth and was suffocating her. "Queen Tohoku," was all she was able to mutter. It was a miracle she didn't stumble over her words.
She looked the girl up and down, as if sizing up a pig she was about to purchase. "I must admit, I was doubtful of the stories they tell of you. And your beauty," she offered after an uncomfortable silence. "But you do not disappoint."
Rin's eyes snapped to the ground. "Th-thank you."
"Please," she began, holding out her arm towards the prince, who had followed her introductions quietly. "Meet my son."
She didn't want to look up from her shoes, but she knew she did not have a choice. Her timid eyes met that of prince Tohoku, who looked just as uncomfortable as she did.
He was taller than her by quite a bit, possibly a few years older as well. The entire courtyard held their breath at their meeting, before the prince slowly lowered himself to one knee.
Rin's mouth hung open as he took one of her hands in his, kissing it.
"My lady," he said, loudly.
Across the stairs, Len's belled fists shook from their place behind his back. Kokone offered him a sympathetic glance, but he did not notice.
This time, it was Rin's turn to force a smile. "My prince."
"The bell blossoms are wonderful this time of year," Zunko declared, using her fork to turn over a slightly burnt piece of ham. "I cannot wait for you to see them. The Bay is absolutely the best in the world when it comes to flowers."
It was the first time since the festival that Rin and Len were allowed to dine together. However, Len was seated at the far end of the table, right next to Tohoku, while Rin remained in the middle of the table. The seat next to her was occupied by no other than her prince, who also poked at his food, unimpressed.
"I'm sure they are wonderful," Rin answered. She had hoped her worries would be assuaged at the arrival of the Tohoku's, but she had no such luck. A brick lay heavy in her stomach.
The queen sighed, unconvinced of Rin's enthusiasm. "Tell her, Kaito," she demanded.
From his seat next to her, the prince swallowed, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief. "It is not the flower you should be excited for, it is the ocean. And the food." Rin attributed his previous shyness to the shock of seeing the crowds, because ever since they had retreated back into the palace, she could not get the prince to shut his mouth. "Do you have fish here?" He asked, looking first at Rin and then towards her father.
He straightened under the prince's stare. "Only from the river, my prince," he answered.
Len resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Brighton's valiant efforts to kiss the prince's ass.
Kaito frowned, glancing disapprovingly back down at his food.
"We hunt boars as well," Tohoku added. She leaned against the arm of her chair, legs crossed, as she spoke. "If fish is not to your liking, princess."
"I'm sure I will love it," she reassured her.
Tohoku nodded, her narrowed gaze still present. Rin wondered if she always looked like that.
"The trails are amazing as well," Kaito continued. "Probably the best horse-riding trails in all of the kingdoms."
Rin dabbed at her chin with her handkerchief, even though she hadn't swallowed a single bite of food since dinner began. "I have heard stories of your skills with horses."
He let out a laugh. A loud, booming laugh that gave even the king a jump. "You've heard nothing until you see it in person," he claimed. "That is the first thing we will do when we arrive home," he promised. "I'll take you on the best trails."
"Don't force your silly hobbies on the girl," his mother scolded. "Dear, is there anything you would like to see from Casburg Bay?"
All eyes were on her. She was not prepared for the question, finding simple answers to be completely adequate until this moment. Rin's mind raced to think of something, anything to say. She remembered her lessons with Mei, who had told her about Casburg Bay so many weeks ago. What had she said?
Rin opened her mouth, taking a deep breath. "I want to see the mermaids," she finally offered.
Both the queen and her son looked incredulously at the girl, before Tohoku erupted in laughter. The sharp sound of her cackles was nearly enough to break Rin's small smile.
"She is witty," Tohoku pointed out to no one in particular. "Brighton, you did not tell me your daughter was beautiful and smart."
Her father answered, but Rin did not hear him. Her smile disappeared as they talked about her like a piece of livestock.
A servant appeared between Kaito and Rin, gently picking up his goblet and refilling it with wine. He did not take any notice until he turned to speak to the princess, his eyes instead finding the servant girl.
"What are you doing?" He asked in annoyance.
The servant froze halfway through filling his goblet. "F-Filling your wine, my prince."
"Do you not see that you are standing between me and my lady?" He asked, his tone growing harsher by the moment.
Rin watched in absolute horror as the maid shook her head furiously. "I- I'm sorry-" she set the goblet back down quickly, a few drops landing on the white tablecloth.
Kaito turned back to the table with a scowl, meeting the eyes of all its occupants. "If I had known how inexperienced your servants were, I would have gifted you some of ours," he said, drinking from his wine. "Look at this mess! It's everywhere."
Rin could not help but glare at him. Luckily for her, he didn't notice.
"We are very attentive in training our servants," Tohoku informed clamly, turning the attention away from her son. "It is the only way to keep them in line."
The king smiled, completely unconcerned by the event.
She took a sip of her wine as well. "I must say, I am sorry for the loss of your kingdom, Ken." Len's father jumped at the sound of his name coming from Tohoku's lips. "It is a tragedy."
The Acacia Bay King nodded. "Yes."
"But I am surprised at the resiliency of your people," she offered. "It cannot be easy relocating so far away from home."
He sat up straighter. Apparently, Rin was not the only one intimidated by the queen. "My people are stronger than even they know."
"That much is clear." She swirled her wine in her cup. Next to her, Len watched intently. "I imagine you will retaliate?"
Len frowned.
"I cannot bear knowing the people of Acacia Bay were so easily forced from their homes."
Even Kaito let out an uncomfortable sigh at the topic.
Len narrowed his eyes. "It wasn't easy," he sneered.
The sound of his voice was enough to concern everyone at the table.
Tohoku raised an eyebrow at him. "No?"
"More of their men died than ours," he informed her.
Across the table, Brighton watched their exchange, petrified.
Tohoku nodded her head. "Oh?"
"They outnumbered us five to one. It didn't matter how many casualties they suffered, they had the advantage of surprise."
"It doesn't matter why they had the advantage," she argued. "Only that they had it."
"You say that like we simply opened our front gates to Yukari himself and showed ourselves out," he growled.
"I implied no such thing."
"Please," Kaori suddenly interrupted. "It is inappropriate to speak of politics at the dinner table."
The only person unbothered by the silence that followed was Tohoku herself.
"No," Ken finally answered. "We don't have plans to retaliate."
His family's eyes shot to him.
He did not look up from his plate. "We sent scouts to Acacia Bay a couple of weeks ago. All those who returned told us that… that there is nothing left to defend."
"What?" Kokone nearly screamed. Her sisters followed suit, despair overcoming them all. Even Kaori looked at her husband, stunned.
Ken and Bruno exchanged somber looks. "Acacia Bay is nothing but ash."
Rin's stomach dropped, casting Len a devastated look. But he merely stared down at his half-eaten plate of food.
Even Tohoku herself was silent, taking in a sharp inhale of breath and looking away from the table in shame. Ken had clearly not yet revealed this news to his family; maybe he chose to do so now to silence her offensive speech. It worked.
The dinner was silent after that.
As much as Rin insisted she was fine with her maids, she found herself beside Kaito after their meal as he escorted her to her room. Miku and Luka trailed several paces behind them, obviously frightened of upsetting him.
"It's cold here," he broke the silence as they walked.
"You think so?" She was still unable to tear her mind from the knowledge that Len's home was no more. There was nothing she wanted more than to speak with him, alone.
"It is never cold in Casburg Bay," he continued. "You will wish to swim in the ocean just to escape the sun."
Rin said nothing, mentally exhausted from the day.
He took a deep breath. "I must say, I was… uneasy on the journey here."
"Why is that?"
He paused, thinking of how to answer. "My mother has spoken about our marriage for a long time."
Rin's face flushed red, and she was suddenly thankful for the dark halls. "So have my parents."
"I wasn't sure about meeting you. How it would go."
"I believe it went fine."
He paused. "It will be better when we leave this place."
Rin was very aware of her maids behind her. Kai ignored them as if they were rats crossing the streets.
"I didn't want this," he said after another pause, finally getting to the point. "I knew it would come someday, but…"
It hit her that both of them were equally unhappy with this arrangement. She wanted to marry out of love, he did not seem like he wanted to be married at all. "Me neither," she answered honestly.
"But… but we can make it work. They say marriage is a partnership, after all."
Marriage without love sounded more like slavery to Rin, but she didn't voice these concerns. "Perhaps."
"It would be easier," he continued, stopping in his path. "For both of us, I think, if we were to spend a lot of time together."
Rin furrowed her brow, unable to hide her skepticism. "Why is that?"
"To get to know each other."
Spending more time with him sounded nearly as pleasing as sleeping on the stable floors, but deep down, Rin found some truth to his words. If she did not learn to live with him now, perhaps she would never. That would make Casburg Bay feel even more like a prison than it already did.
She nodded. "I'd like that," she lied.
I love seeing how all the vocaloids can sort of take on entirely different personalities, and I think thats my favorite part about writing fanfics with them. Since they really have no "canon" personality, I can do whatever the hell I want, and I LOVE sneaky Tohoku and assholing Kaito (even though I also love them when they're sweet and nice). Ah. The more I write this fic, the more I love it.
Thanks for reading! :)