Thirteen

Chapter Five: Princess

I'm not asking to be treated like a princess.

-Megan Marie

xxXxx

Night Six

Haru knew better than to complain about her blessings. She knew full well that when life granted you a little happiness, you take it while you have the chance.

But this was making her nervous.

After two blissful nights of not having to have anything to do with Lord Maliss, she was seated across from him at the absurdly long dinner table again. Although the marks he had left on her neck and shoulder had scabbed over again and were in plain view, Haru had opted to have black gloves made so that the wizard wouldn't see or ask questions about the bandages still on her right hand.

This dinner was the quietest one yet, mostly due to the fact that Lord Maliss wasn't saying anything to her. His dark eyes were narrowed and thoughtful as he chewed and drank. He would occasionally look at her with calculation but didn't say anything to initiate one of their grudging conversations.

He'd even had one of the monsters help her get into her seat instead of doing it himself. For someone that took every excuse to sneak a touch, that was extremely suspicious behavior.

'If he's waiting for me to start a conversation this time, he's going to die from old age first.' More to keep him from putting another surprise in her dinner than anything else, she kept one eye on him as she ate in near perfect silence. 'It's too bad he won't always be this distant. He's easier to put up with when his mind's on something that isn't me.'

She was still startled when Lord Maliss put down his wine goblet a bit more firmly than his usual way, as if it were the equivalent of clearing his throat for her attention.

"I'm terribly sorry for not indulging in our usual game, dear, but I have certain business that is commanding my attention for the moment."

Haru looked up at him with a certain boldness. "You know full well I'm not offended by that."

The scabs and bruises on her neck and shoulder throbbed as if in agreement.

He managed a small smile at her honesty before excusing himself from the table. "Duty calls." He walked around the table from her side so that he could take a kiss from her cringing cheek before leaving. His staff continued to make that clockwork tick every time it touched the stone floor, reminding her that she was already at the half-way point of her life expectancy.

Just before he reached the heavy doors, Haru finally thought of something to say. "Is there a rule against me exploring the castle?" she called after him.

He wheeled around in complete surprise. "You actually want to?" he asked like that was one thing he had never heard from anyone before, let alone a bride.

She gripped her goblet from nerves. "Mostly for the exercise. Spending most of the time cooped up in my room is starting to give me cabin fever. Are there any places you'd rather I didn't go near?"

At this point, it wasn't even about finding a rule to break. It was about breaking up her boring routine.

Lord Maliss played with one side of his long pointy mustache in thought. "Any rooms I don't want disturbed are locked in more ways than one," he decided, turning back to the door with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Enjoy yourself. Any one of the servants can return you to your room when you're done."

"Thank you," Haru responded, more than a little surprised that an occasion had arrived for her to use that phrase with him.

He must have been surprised too, because he stopped cold for a long moment at the door before continuing through like he had heard nothing.

Deciding that she was also done with dinner, she set down her fork and made to get out of her chair.

"Allow me, my lady," the green ox monster told her while scooting her chair away from the table a little harder than needed.

But Haru didn't take offense. She could see that he was on the edge of his nerves as well.

"Thank you, Brick," she told him as well before walking out of the dining hall.

Felix also looked flabbergasted as he had to hurry to keep up with her long strides. "He didn't even insist on someone to guide you."

"I know," Haru agreed, since she didn't think she was going to get away without that detail. "But I won't mind if you want to come along. I'm just going to wash my face and put on a cowl before starting."

He rubbed one side of his long jaw with a worried expression. "I might have other duties. If I'm not outside your room by the time you're done, you'll know I can't. Can you find your way to your room from here?" he asked while taking a torch from one of the rings on the wall and using his own flame to light it.

"I'm pretty sure I can manage if you'd like to check that," she told him with a small smile, accepting the new torch without any trouble.

Felix gave her a sharp-toothed smile that almost managed to be adorable before scuttling off down a different hall.

Haru climbed the stairs, feeling a little silly for it since she was planning on starting on the ground floor and working her way up. 'Of course, I'm just glad Maliss didn't cancel his plans to give me a tour himself. The last stop probably would have been his bedroom.' She shuddered at the idea before getting to her big heavy door.

Blondie bobbed her head in approval as their mistress came in. "No new marks today!"

"Kind of sad that's a special occasion," Haru replied dryly as she handed off the torch and headed for the wash basin. "Don't bother closing the door, Agnes; I'll be leaving as soon as I get cleaned up and put on a cowl."

Agnes stopped just short of closing the big door. "Why?"

Haru started washing off her makeup with relief. "I got permission to explore the castle. I only came back for a cowl since there's no good reason for me to flash his marks at everybody."

While she was burying her face in a fluffy towel, the three ladies in waiting gave each other wary looks.

"The permission was from Lord Maliss himself?" Red asked like she believed it was a trick.

"Who else would have that kind of authority here?" Haru asked before marching over to the trunk. "I was really surprised that he didn't even insist on me taking anyone along. So you girls can enjoy the night as you want, I'll probably be gone for hours." 'Long enough in case a 'rescuer' tries to get through my balcony door again.'

She had been expecting one for the last two nights but wasn't all that disappointed that no one else showed up. It could have been the end of those late-night visitors, but it also could have only been a break between the travelers. Either way, Haru definitely wouldn't complain if those curtains stayed shut until after a 'rescuer' found out that he was trying to win over one of her ladies in waiting instead of herself. She pulled out one cowl with a button closer that would reach up her neck. She smiled and immediately wrapped it around her shoulders, missing the comprehension on her servants' faces.

"Here, my lady," Agnes insisted, drawing close enough to work the amulet over the cowl before taking over the buttons.

Haru scowled down at the heavy piece of rock while flicking her shoulder-length hair out of the way. "Is it really that important that it's always out in the open?"

Red answered as she and her sister finished smoothing out Haru's brown locks. "Lord Maliss prefers it that way. More than one bride has complained that he only ripped away whatever they were covering their marks with because he couldn't see the amulet."

Haru briefly considered wearing a thick scarf under the amulet the next night, but ruefully concluded that he'd probably rip it off anyway, even if he couldn't think up a good reason to. "Better?" she sighed while looking down.

It was obvious that the new covering wasn't meant as part of the dress, but at least she got to keep part of her dignity.

Agnes nodded while looking at Red and Blondie. "We'll find something to do. One of us will probably hear you no matter where you are in the castle."

Haru gave her a rueful smile, thinking about how long she screamed on the way to the castle. "That probably goes without saying. I'll see you later." She eagerly stepped to the door and gripped the fancy handle.

"Wait!" Blondie cried out, nearly making the girl jump out of her skin with surprise.

Haru wheeled around to see that Red had a hand encircling her sister's beak.

"You have a spider on you," she hurriedly explained with a shrill smile. "Agnes?"

"I got it," the other monster said while hurriedly moving forward and brushing her webbed hands over the back of the blue dress as Haru stayed completely still. "There we are, my lady," Agnes crooned while stomping her foot hard on the stone floor peaking between the thick carpets. "You're free to go."

Haru smiled with relief while giving a sly smile to Blondie, who still looked shaken. 'Imagine that. A monster afraid of spiders.' "Try saving that tone for when someone's in real danger, Blondie," she teased warmly before letting herself out and closing the door behind her.

Agnes immediately set her head against the solid wood to listen for those gentle footsteps to retreat. Once she was certain that their current mistress was out of earshot, she stood up to her full height and crossed her arms at the other monster.

Red glared at her other head. "Are you trying to get us killed?!" she hissed, switching the grip from her sister's beak to her sister's neck. "What if Lord Maliss saw that?! Remember what happened to Ratina?"

Big tears escaped Blondie's eyes as she used her own hand to fight off Red's. "I like this one! Why can't we keep her a little longer before having to get used to a new mistress again?"

Agnes tiredly slumped to the floor next to the door, looking less than thrilled herself. "It's not like this is a surprise. We all know the fate of Lady Maliss, no matter who she is."

ooOoo

Haru could immediately tell that she had been right about the castle being too big. Most of the rooms she inspected on the ground floor were nearly carpeted in dust and similar signs of disuse. She held up the lantern a little higher but could still see little else but tattered rags and broken furniture.

She sighed and left that room as well. Fourth one in a row that had nothing of interest. 'No wonder Lord Maliss didn't care if I poked around.'

Still, for all the effort it must have taken to make the castle and surrounding realm his own, one would think he would at least make the monsters keep the place in shape out of pride if nothing else.

Then again, pride was the only reason he laid claim on it. Where did he live before beginning his reign of terror?

Haru tried opening a large door that looked important, but the hinges that held it steady were too old and worn to hold the weight. With a metallic tearing sound, the door that was easily three times as tall as her fell inward with a loud crash, sending up a blizzard of dust.

Haru forced herself to retreat backward almost to the end of the hall to keep herself from inhaling the awful stuff and so that her lantern's light wouldn't be snuffed out. 'Tomorrow, I am definitely bringing handkerchiefs.' Keeping one flowing sleeve over her mouth, she couldn't help wishing that she knew where some cleaning supplies were in this castle. Even if it wouldn't mean anything in a month, cleaning would at least help her pass the time, and it was something she already knew how to do.

Once the dust finally settled, she poked her head into a huge room that she thought might have been for dancing until she saw the large thrones on the far side.

'Then again, it's not that likely that he'll ever have enough wanted guests to make cleaning the castle worth the trouble. I wonder how many of those sieges even got as far as the castle.' Since there wasn't any reason not to, Haru stepped carefully across the door she had accidentally damaged until she was standing on much-disturbed dust again.

This room seemed to be the embodiment of the ruined parts of the castle. A metal chandelier had long since fallen, making Haru step carefully around the shattered glass while holding the lantern up to look at everything she could. She still kept one flowing sleeve to her mouth to keep the dust from entering her lungs, but that didn't distract her from the fact that the remaining tapestries on the walls and the cushioning of the thrones were in dark jewel tones. Haru hated to admit it to herself, but she could easily see Maliss sitting on the largest throne; legs apart to show off his thigh-high boots, holding his dragon staff perfectly erect as a warning to all, but resting his head on the other hand in complete boredom as he waited for an excuse to use his magic.

Haru couldn't picture anyone in the slightly smaller throne next to him. Especially not herself; she'd probably look like the scullery maid 'giving herself airs' when she thought no one was looking.

She looked around the huge room again, picturing it filled to the brim with nobles and aristocrats. There was a slightly raised spot behind a half-fallen curtain rod that reminded her of Momo's favorite spot to play music whenever the village had a dance or a festival that required his talents.

Suddenly by the light of her lantern, Haru noticed colors that weren't dulled by dust or decay. She looked up at that portrait while drawing closer, not needing an introduction for the woman within.

She had to be the most beautiful woman Haru had ever laid eyes on, but since she had never left her village until now and there were very few visitors, and less that were women, even Haru had to admit that it wasn't saying much.

Her long hair was darker than night, but her eyes seemed darker still, and colder than all of winter. Her hair was expertly styled upward, and a silver crown was set in her raven locks. Her gown was probably the fanciest to be had as her arms seemed to poise themselves perfectly to give everyone the best look at her. Just to be sure that everyone knew how rich this woman was, most of that dress had been dyed in purple with blue accents.

In all honesty, the peasant girl didn't think even royalty had more than one piece of purple clothing a person. The dyeing process was just too expensive.

Haru drew a little closer while lifting the lantern a little higher just to be sure that it wasn't her eyes playing tricks on her.

It wasn't. That proud queen had the same pale skin as Lord Maliss. The green undertone was a bit lighter than her brother's but was impossible to miss, as well as the familiar cheekbones. If that weren't enough to announce her identity, the fact that the portrait was the only thing in the ridiculously huge room that seemed new and completely dust-free would have done the trick.

'That skin tone really should have tipped off Princess Snow White's father,' Haru couldn't resist thinking while shaking her head sadly.

As far away as she lived from this horrible ghost kingdom, even she knew about the tragedy that started Lord Maliss onto his path of punishing every royal house he could, in the most painful way anyone could have imagined. All for being related in some way to the princess he felt responsible for his sister's death. That princess was not only dead by his hand, but his very first victim.

When he accomplished punishing the royalty, he moved on to the nobility. After enough time had passed, he staggered himself between the royalty and nobility, taking every girl with any royal blood in her veins for his own almost as soon as they came of age.

Until Haru. There was absolutely no connection to her and that princess other than being female, but he claimed her anyway. She sighed tiredly and pulled a fallen curtain off a bench so that she could have somewhere clean to sit. She sat the lantern next to her feet in order to absorb the full horror of her situation.

'It's not even about vengeance to him anymore. It's about a record that's only going to build on itself until he dies. If he has enough humanity left in him to die. When was the last time he even really thought about the sister he lost?'

If someone had ever become responsible for Hiromi's death, Haru would have absolutely been interested in doing something about it. She couldn't imagine anyone having anything that serious against her oldest and dearest friend, but anything was possible.

Haru gripped herself by the arms from a sudden chill as she looked up at Queen Malissa's portrait again.

If anything could inspire Hiromi to kill, it would be what happened to Haru. Knowing that a hero was on their way to rescue you wasn't very much assurance when it was nearly guaranteed that you would be dead before the help even arrived.

Hiromi wouldn't come, Haru was sure of it. Her best friend could talk big when she felt the need, but as she well remembered, Haru was actually the better fighter of the two even if it had been almost a decade since she's needed to prove it.

A naughty smirk crossed her lips as she held her injured hand in a fist. She still wasn't sure how the pain of slamming her fist into solid stone didn't wake her up that night, but she was still grateful for what that dream had shown her.

There had never been a future with Machida. She would have done herself a big favor if she had simply talked her father into moving somewhere that wasn't so full of memories after her mother died, or maybe struck out on her own about the same time that Sakura moved in. That way she could have still at least had the option of visiting Hiromi and have a chance at a future of her own.

A future. Haru closed her eyes in agony and breathed a deep sigh of regret.

"Beautiful," a strange voice reverently echoed into the room.

Haru stood up from her seat like it had been setting her dress on fire while gasping in fright, and she grabbed the lantern for a makeshift weapon before holding it ready to see the intruder.

The stranger held up his hands both to prove that he was unarmed and that he meant no harm. "Shh, it's fine. I'm a-"

"Rescuer?" Haru asked while trying not to roll her eyes in disgust.

He was a little too far away for her to see his expression, but he did seem taken aback by her attitude. "You could show a little more enthusiasm about this," he grumbled while moving more into the cavernous room.

Not feeling safe about the lack of a glass door between them, Haru swiftly looked around for something to use as a weapon in case he didn't understand a simple 'no'. About all she could find at a first glance was a fireplace poker. Never minding the rust stains it would leave on her black glove, she grabbed it and held it ready.

He was much closer now and giving the poker a somewhat more nervous glance than she thought it deserved, considering the crossbow hanging at his side. "Is that really necessary?" he pleaded with her, though staying a good ten paces away.

"I'd rather not find out the hard way," she informed the man while looking at him curiously.

He looked a bit more respectable than her first visitors, and his simple brown tights and red tunic seemed to say that this wasn't some common workman. That seemed reinforced by how neatly his orange hair was trimmed to just below his earlobes.

Haru took in a long breath, wishing she didn't have to deal with this. "My name's Haru Yoshioka, and before you get any ideas, I'm a peasant girl Lord Maliss took because he doesn't want to admit he's running out of blue blood stock. Who are you?"

He seemed shocked at how frank she was being. But he recovered before giving her the most polished bow she had ever seen. "I am Prince Florian of Swynol, and I'm here to rescue you from Lord Maliss."

'Well, maybe he's better prepared than the others.' "All right, what's your plan?" she asked in a very business-like tone.

That smile flickered as if he hadn't expected the question. "Plan?"

Haru groaned, wishing that her hands weren't full so that she could rub at her headache. "Yes, plan. You don't just walk into the Realm of Doom to challenge the most powerful wizard in at least a century unless you have a plan. Also back up plans for 'when' not 'if' something goes wrong with your plan. Believe me, this isn't someone you want to face without some tricks up both of your sleeves."

She wanted to be nicer about it, she really did. But if pointing out the obvious was all it took to keep this fool from getting needlessly killed, so be it.

"I-I didn't say that I was here to challenge Lord Maliss," Prince Florian hastily corrected her with a nervous smile that looked strangely pleased. "I said I was here to rescue you."

Haru looked up at the portrait, feeling even more angry at her husband than she had when he stole her second kiss as well as her first. Taking in a deep breath, she placed the lantern on the bench so that she could hold up the amulet at her throat for emphasis. "Do you see this?" she demanded. "It means I'm stuck here. I can't leave, I can't kill myself, I can't even be near a window when the sun's out thanks to that creep. Even if you found a way to get this thing off me, what would you do then? Take me to your kingdom as fast as your horse can carry us?"

She gave a loud scoff to make sure he didn't actually answer that. "That won't work, you know. Lord Maliss only sees me as his new favorite toy, but I promise you that he'll be offended enough to burn your whole kingdom to the ground with everyone still in it, kill me after making sure I know how angry he is, and just replace me with another girl. The only thing that your actions would change is that monster's body count. If you're serious about rescuing me, you're going to have to rescue all the girls that will follow me when I no longer amuse him."

He had literally been struck dumb by her speech.

Haru sighed and reminded herself that he probably meant well. "I know the old stories, too, but I think you'll find me a disappointment as a reward. The only dowry I've collected would barely qualify as pocket change for one of your servants if you bothered to go all the way back to Jilash for it. I have no rank, and the only skill I have that's remotely noble is embroidery. Not even Lord Maliss has any interest in a real relationship with me; I'm a possession for the moment and nothing more. But if you see any rescuers heading this way on your trip home, go ahead and let them know that directly approaching me isn't going to do a thing. Get rid of Lord Maliss. That's what's going to mean something."

Prince Florian was gaping at her like an idiot.

"Just get out of here," Haru sighed while holding her head with one hand and the poker in the other. "Before I have to prove I'm not above calling for help with an intruder."

"B-But… surely you don't want to spend the rest of your life here!" the prince tried to reason while holding out his arms in a pleading gesture and taking one step closer.

But Haru was unmoved and holding the poker ready in case the strange man got too close. "The only thing that will please me more than quitting this place for good, is knowing that no other girls will be forced to come. You have until the count of ten."

ooOoo

"You're back!" Blondie squealed with delight maybe two hours later.

Haru gave her a curious glance while setting the lantern and poker aside and trying to brush off the remaining dust with one gloved hand. "You say that like I was going to encounter something dangerous. Does Lord Maliss have another pet roaming the halls?"

"No, my lady," Agnes assured her while helping their mistress to her favorite chair. "But we were expecting to hear you call for help at some point."

Haru laughed while leaning back into the comfortable upholstery. "Like you would have heard me from here."

"We usually can," Red muttered under her breath while offering their lady a dainty cup of water.

Haru sipped it thankfully. "But no, I found nothing I couldn't handle. I mostly came back this early to get away from how the wind was howling."

Her ladies in waiting gave each other worried expressions.

"Was the sound terrifying?" Agnes asked while fetching a blanket to cover their lady's legs, since she was shivering slightly.

Haru couldn't fight back a small laugh. "More like it was annoying. If that sound had come from a living thing, I'd have to scold someone to get off whatever tail they're stepping on."

Blondie couldn't resist a guilty giggle as she fluffed a pillow with her disapproving sister.

Night Seven

There were two more heroes the next night when she went exploring. Lord Maliss had sent word that whatever business had been distracting him now required a bit of traveling, but Haru should have known that annoyance had to come from another source as long as she lives in his castle.

The first one had managed to find a vine so that he could swing in from a hallway window that had long been shattered, startling Haru enough to raise her poker at the ready. The stranger was covered from head to toe in thick furs, so all she could see was an earnest face peeking out from under his thick winter hat as he bowed to her. As he did so, the long spear strapped to his back came down to cross against her poker in a very odd salute.

Haru backed away just in case as the tall man stood to his full height to smile at her around his closely cropped black beard.

"Your highness, I am Prince Ivan of Volk, and-"

"Did you really just swing in here?" Haru asked while hardly believing the level of dramatics he had pulled out. "We're on the ground floor, you could have just climbed through the window."

Wow. How many men had she struck dumb since she got here? This had to be the fourth or fifth one. The third one at the very least.

Haru sidestepped to the window for a glance but couldn't even find a bush as the reason he had to literally swing by. The window hadn't even been that high up. She gave the prince a flat look that spoke volumes. "That would have been a lot more impressive if you had better timing."

That made him shut his mouth and shake his head as if reminding himself that he needed to make a good impression on her. "So, do you want to go to the ballroom so I can try again? What about the throne room?"

"Most of the important rooms with windows are trashed," Haru reported while doing her best not to scream at his priorities. "Besides, don't you have anything better to do than try to impress another man's wife? Oh, I don't know, like maybe killing the husband?"

He gave a shudder while taking a step back from her. "That's the most cold-blooded thing I've ever heard a woman say."

"Must be the company I've been keeping," Haru responded dryly before continuing down the hallway. "But I mean it. Either kill Maliss or get out. Nothing's going to get better until he's gone."

By the time Prince Ivan shuddered again, she had already rounded a corner.

ooOoo

The second one found her in one room that had more signs of use, and far less dust than the other places she had visited in the castle.

Haru hefted one mace experimentally. 'You could crack a man's head like an egg with this thing!' The very thought made her want to try it, but she knew better. She was on pretty good terms with the regular variety of monsters, and the only one she had any interest of practicing on was the only one that could literally stop her in her tracks.

Despite promises from the guards that they would let her explore in peace since she couldn't harm herself on anything, the door creaked open loudly enough to make the peasant girl switch around her grip on the mace before looking at the latest intruder on her life.

This one was also tall, not as much muscle on him as Ivan but nowhere near as lean as Tack had been. He was dressed like a soldier and had a red cape with the clasp over his right shoulder for a roguish look, but he had to take off the helmet and attached veil for her to get a good look at him.

His long face was plain but pleasant.

"You know, this is the last place I would have expected to find a princess," he said conversationally, though he was at least smart enough to stay on his side of the door. Considering the sword at his belt, he was looking at the mace in her hands with some nervousness and just a trace of shock that she was able to lift it.

Haru rolled her eyes but decided to get it over with. "Then I've got good news for you; I'm a bagmaker's daughter, not a princess. If you're looking for extra weapons to challenge Lord Maliss with, you've got some extra time to think over what you need. I just don't recommend staying in here too long. This is one of the rooms that's actually put in use. Hiding out in one of the studies next to the throne room would be a much better idea."

That made him light up like the sun. "Then you have no objections to me staying around?"

Haru gripped her lantern with one hand and forced herself to put back the mace so that she could grip her poker again. If this one was sneakier than the others, she'd need speed more than the brink of her strength.

She used her poker to encourage him to keep a certain distance away so that she could slip through the door. "As long as you keep a healthy distance from me and don't hurt the servants, you can do whatever you want. Especially if your presence is going to end with Lord Maliss as a corpse." She began backing down the hallway so she could keep an eye on him, still holding up the poker as a warning.

"But if you're just here to rescue me without challenging him, then go home. I don't care about your rank, your name, or anything else. I'm off limits until that creep is dead. Understand?"

"A-Aren't you being a little harsh?" he tried to reason through his shaken nerves.

But Haru could only smile thinly at the word. "If I'm 'harsh', go ahead and spread that around. Make it clear that the only reason for coming here should be getting rid of the real monster since I'm not worth the hassle." Then she stopped backing up to look at him suspiciously. "How are all of you slipping past the defenses? Lord Maliss made absolutely sure I knew that every entrance is guarded when he first brought me here, plus he implied that the horned wolves enjoy human flesh."

That just made the young man even more nervous. "All right, all right, I can take a hint," he muttered, turning to go the other way without answering her question. But he turned around to look at her with a melting expression just before putting on his helmet. "But bagmaker's daughter or not, I would have courted you with more grace if I knew how."

Haru held up the red amulet resting on top of her cowl with one pinky to illustrate her point. "I'm a little tied up at the moment, and I'm too upset to even think about that sort of thing."

"But if you weren't tied up, you'd think about it?" he tried to clarify, lowering his helmet instead of putting it on to make sure he could hear her response.

Haru closed her eyes and mouthed counting to ten before turning her back and just walking away to another area she hadn't explored yet. "I just said I'm too upset. Try listening to the whole thing instead of just the part you want to hear."

She never saw how that plain simple face became twisted into demonic fury, and the blue eyes turn redder than the cloak around his shoulders.

'There is no pleasing this one!' Then he forced himself to calm down, turning the other way and keeping the helmet under one arm. 'Very well, dear. If it's a corpse you want, a corpse you'll have.'