Two Days Later
~*~*~
Today
was the day that the two princesses were to arrive. The whole castle was
buzzing, busy as bees. The King was making sure the few good knights he had
were in full armor, standing at ease in the hallway of the thrones. This group included
Sir. Taichi, and the newly appointed knight (and Taichi's favorite) Sir.
Daisuke.
The
Queen had her best maids do her hair in the finest way. Her blonde locks were
piled on top of her head in little curls, making her look ten years younger;
which is exactly what she wanted. She had these same maids fix up the princes,
making them look more handsome then they already had, although they made quite
a fuss while the girls combed their hair.
Whereas
the whole town had smiles upon their faces, thinking of how their princes are
soon to be married, Takeru and Yamato looked as if they were heading towards a
funeral.
"Come
on boys!" The King called, banging on Yamato's door where the two princes had
hidden. "Time to meet your ladies!"
"We've
already met them though!" Takeru whispered to Yamato, which cause the older
prince to laugh.
~*~*~
In
the courtroom, The King and Queen sat in their thrones, while a prince stood on
each side. The knights were in line on the right side of the room (Yamato's
side) and the nobles were on the left (Takeru's side.).
Takeru
saw out of the corner of his eye, Hikari in the far corner, behind the knights,
looking not too happy. He tried to let her see that he saw her, but his mother
grabbed his arm and kept him from moving.
The
doors swung open and there stood Koushirou, standing tall and regal.
"Your
highnesses and nobles. Knights and ladies! I present to you, the princesses
from the kingdoms of Takenouchi and Inoue! Princess Sora and Princess Miyako!"
He bowed down as two beautiful young ladies walked in.
The
older one, which had to be Princess Sora, had short reddish hair, and large
brown eyes. She had a sad face on, showing quite clearly that she did not want
to be here.
The
other princess, Miyako, however, was more then pleased having to be married to
one of the handsome Ishida princes. She looked around, her purple hair swinging
in front of her face, for her prince. She turned towards her friend and
advisor, Count Iori Hida.
"Which
one is mine?" She whispered. Iori sighed and looked towards the two princes.
"The
shorter one, my lady." Miyako frowned at his remark, and looked towards the
royal family.
"AH!"
The King exclaimed. "Welcome ladies, to my kingdom!" When the two were close
enough, they each curtseyed.
"It's
an…honor." Sora whispered, looking away from The King and towards Yamato.
"It
is such a pleasure to be here!" Miyako exclaimed shooting a perfect smile
towards Takeru, who darted his eyes away.
The
King and Queen got down from their thrones, and shook hands with the
princesses. Then they each shot one of their sons a look, and the princes came
over and bowed in front of their 'chosen lady'.
Hikari
wasn't paying attention to anything. Not the King, not the Lord, just Takeru
and the purple haired princess. She could have died at the way Miyako was
staring at her Takeru. The purple
haired princess had her arm around Takeru's and was giving him googly eyes
times five! Hikari looked away and bit the inside of her cheek.
"My
lady?" Hikari looked up and there was the knight Taichi had introduced her to,
Sir. Daisuke. She rolled her eyes and looked up at him.
"Yes
Daisuke?" He smiled, happy that she remembered his name.
"You
seem…upset, what in the world is the matter?" How dumb can this boy be? Hikari
thought. She sighed and looked away.
"Um,
it's that time of the month." She shot him a satisfied look, pleased with her
lie. Daisuke nodded, understanding her because his older sister was often
saying the exact same phrase.
"Now,
my two sons will take their ladies off, you know, to get to know each other!"
The King stated, sending Yamato a look 'You
better treat her right'. Yamato sighed and showed Sora out the door. The
Queen pushed Takeru and Miyako out the other door, happy that her sons didn't
make scene.
Taichi
came up to his sister and took her hand.
"Come
on, we have to get home…we are no longer needed." His voice seemed sad and far
away. Hikari noticed this and stood up.
"What's
the matter with you? Why are you so pale? Did you see a ghost?" Taichi nodded
his head dreamily,
"I
think…I did…" He sighed and pulled Hikari out the door, not allowing her to
think about what he was saying.
~*~*~
"So,
Takeru, what do you enjoy?" Miyako was literally ripping Takeru's arm out of
its socket. Takeru didn't want to be rude, but he pulled his arm out of her
grasp and stuck his hand in his pockets.
"Archery."
He said simply. Miyako's eyes shined.
"Ooh!
That's wonderful! I also enjoy archery! Are you any good? As my father always
says, a good archer always has a good
eye. You know, in the sense of finding a lady?"
Takeru stopped dead in his tracks. This girl has every intention of marrying
him, unlike what he had thought. He took in a deep breath, and he was about to
tell her the truth, when Sir. Daisuke ran up towards the two.
"I'm…so,
sorry your highnesses." He looked up towards Miyako and stopped for a second,
entranced by her beauty. Miyako also caught his stare and blushed furiously,
turning away.
"As
you were saying?" Takeru asked, noticing the connection the two had just made.
Daisuke shook his head.
"So
sorry. Lord Koushirou needs to speak with you immediately, your majesty."
Takeru thought for a moment, why would Koushirou need him? The prince nodded to
the knight, and then looked at the princess.
"Please
excuse me," He said, bowing towards Miyako. "Sir. Daisuke here will keep you
company until I return." Miyako nodded, not paying attention to Takeru at all;
rather her eyes were set on Daisuke.
~*~*~
Takeru
made his way to Koushirou's house. He walked up the familiar path, and knocked
on the door. Mimi opened the door.
Her
face was tear stained and she was hiccupping. Her pink hair was a mess behind
her handkerchief.
"Oh
Takeru!" Mimi cried, falling into his arms, crying hysterically. "Yama's
princess is so beautiful! He's going to fall in love with her! He's going to
leave me!" Takeru picked her up, hands on her shoulders.
"No
he's not." He whispered. "He loves you too much to ever forget you! You are his
wife. There's not a chance in hell that he will leave you!" Mimi's sobs slowed
down, and she nodded.
"Thank
you, come, come inside." She fixed her handkerchief.
"Is
there a reason that Koushirou called for me?" Takeru asked, taking a seat at
the table. Mimi came back from the fireplace with a teapot. She poured the tea
in two cups and handed Takeru it. She smiled.
"He
has an idea. Hikari helped him think it up." Takeru smiled and took a sip of
his tea.
~Meanwhile~
"I'm
sorry your highness if I don't seem like I'm enjoying this trip." Sora said to
Yamato. She pushed some of her hair behind her ear. "I'm still getting over the
loss of my…my one true love." Yamato turned to her, looking into her tear
filled eyes.
"If
you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Sora bit the inside of her cheek.
"A
few months ago…I was in love. This young knight stole my heart…he was so kind
and brave, he was everything I ever wanted." She held back her tears. "Then our
town was burned to the ground by the raiders from the unknown lands, hundreds
died…including my love and his family." She looked up at Yamato who was
watching her intensely. "I can't marry you. I'm sorry, I don't love you."
Yamato nodded.
"No
offense, but it's the same problem here. I married my true love two days ago."
Sora's eyes widened and Yamato looked towards the ground. "No matter how
wonderful, or beautiful you are, there's no way that I could ever love anyone
other then she." Sora nodded and sighed.
"What's
going to happen? My father wants me married, if I'm not, then it's war." Yamato
nodded.
"We'll
have to find you a husband." He said simply. Sora sighed.
"But
I can't love anyone else like I did my knight. And my father knows that! He's
just so intent on not going to war that he sent me away to some unknown kingdom!
At this very moment I hate him."
Yamato and Sora sat down on the grass of the vast fields of the castle.
"Yes,
my father isn't one of my favorite people either. I know that he doesn't love
me…at least not as much as Takeru." Sora put his hand on his knee.
"Oh,
don't believe that. I suppose our fathers both love us very much, but they are
being blinded by the threat of war…they can't see anything else but hatred."
~On the other
side of the castle~
"Are
you serious?" Daisuke asked Miyako. "You ate ten apple pies?!" Miyako nodded proudly.
"All
by myself. Of course, my parents don't know this. They would've have tightened
my girdle five notches!" The two laughed as they walked the fields on castle.
"I
can't believe that! You're so pretty and petite, I can't believe you did that."
He stopped himself and blushed, looking away. Miyako bit her lip. He was more
amusing then Takeru was, the prince hadn't seemed interested in her at all.
"Thank
you…you talk a lot more then the prince, he was totally oblivious to me."
Daisuke nodded.
"I'm
pretty sure I know why." Miyako turned to him, interested. "He has a thing with a lady in the Lord's manor."
Daisuke sighed. "She's really pretty and nice, but she's totally in love with
the prince. I have no chance." Miyako nodded.
"So
if we were married, it wouldn't be a happy marriage?" Daisuke nodded. Miyako
sighed. "And I was so intent on marrying. He's very handsome; I couldn't
believe that I was going to marry an Ishida prince. That was like a dream come
true." Daisuke looked down.
"Love
is more complicated then good looks." He said softly, turning towards Miyako
who was thinking. "The two people have to get along. They have to be able to
laugh together, and be able to be around each other all the time and not get
annoyed with each other. They have to be able to talk to each other and never
run out of things to say." He stopped and looked out towards the pastures. He
saw the town that he now defends and the fields beyond that. If he squinted his
eyes he could see the hotel that he lived, with the other knights.
"How
do you know so much about love?" Miyako asked, looking out towards the town.
Daisuke shrugged.
"I've
had a few experiences…I guess you can say that I get…um, obsessive. Not to the
point where I hurt the lady, but I get as if I can't live without them, and
they all end up hating to live with me…" He sighed at the sad memories. Miyako
wondered, is he one to fall in love easily? That's not good, but she's never
had such butterflies in her stomach before. Could she take the chance?
"I
think I'd be able to spend a day with you, and not get annoyed." She said
softly, turning to the knight. Daisuke's neck turned red and he looked at the
princess.
"Really?
I do tend to get annoying." Miyako smiled and nodded.
"Yeah…I
seem to fall for the annoying ones." She bit her lip and looked Daisuke right
in the eyes. Daisuke smiled and he leaned in and the two kissed softly.
They
pulled apart and Miyako bit her lips.
"This
is not good, what are the Kings going to say?" Daisuke thought about this, the
Kings were going to be furious.
~Back at
Koushirou's House~
"So
where is Hikari?" Takeru asked; looking at some of the paintings Koushirou had
on his walls. Mimi was sitting at the table, her head in her hands. Her head was
throbbing and her stomach…
"Excuse
me your highness…" She choked out, running outside and soon Takeru heard her
vomiting. He ran outside and found her, behind the bushes. She had stopped and
was just sitting there, looking tired.
"Are
you alright?" Takeru asked her nervously, helping her to her feet. Mimi sighed.
"I'm
not sure…I've been feeling nauseous all week." She wiped her forehead and
turned to Takeru. "Probably just a virus." Takeru nodded and helped her into
the house.
"I
want you to go to bed, I'll tell the doctor that you are sick, and he'll come
over." Mimi smiled and nodded.
"Thank
you your highness." She whispered, breathing in deeply. Takeru smiled at her
and helped her up the stairs.
"Hey, we're family now. You can call me TK." She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
