Look here, gentle reader, I have Chapter Four all typed for you! Gee, I must be obsessed with writing if I began writing this the moment I got back from my little vacation. Anyhoo, I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the Duchy of Longgalia is in Austuria. Like the Duchy of Freid is. I just thought I'd explain that if I forgot to mention it before. Onward….
Ditto. Although, I do feel the need to say that I own Neicole, Balthazar, Neicodemus, Mahalia, and Chekov. You'll know who they are when you read this chapter.
~*Chapter Four: Uptown Girl*~
"I'll take
that one…that one…and ooo! That
one….oh, I must have this one too!"
"As you
wish, Duchess," replied the jeweler.
"I simply
adore these Fanelian marketplace shops!" squealed the Duchess. "They're so quaint! A jewelry-lover's paradise!" Turning to the man standing beside her, she
inquired, "Tell me, Balthazar, why is it that we're here in Fanelia
again?—besides the great shops, I mean."
"Well, my
dear Neicole, we are here in Fanelia because your father arranged with the
Fanelian Council for you to have a little holiday outside of Longgalia,"
Balthazar answered. "Enjoying yourself
so far?" he asked as his light brown eyes glowed with amusement.
Neicole
snorted. "I always enjoy myself when I
am shopping!" she declared proudly, sticking her nose in the air. "What I don't enjoy is seeing that stupid
mustache on your face. It doesn't suit
you, and I don't like seeing it, so shave. Please."
Balthazar
chuckled. "As you wish, my dear
Neicole." He turned to the counter as
the jeweler placed the Duchess's selected earrings, necklaces, and bracelets in
a box.
"That'll be
$500," the jeweler stated.
Neicole
hastily grabbed the box and said, "Send the bill to my father!" And with that, she scampered off down Main
Street in hopes of finding more 'quaint shops'.
Still at
the counter, Balthazar grinned. "No
need to send the bill to Duke Neicodemus," he told the jeweler. Laying the appropriate amount of cash down
on the counter, he continued, "I will pay for her."
Thrust. Thrust. Slash. Twirl. Slash. Run. Spin. Thrust. Thrust. Slash.
Van panted
as he halted the movements of his sword. His naked chest—naked except for the pendant—glistened with sweat after
his daily hour of sword practice. After
he sheathed his sword at his side, he padded over to the railing of the
training room and picked up a small white towel. First he wiped his face, then the back of his neck. Gathering his trademark red shirt, he exited
the training room and began to make his way to his bedchamber to take a bath.
It had been
three days since his outburst during the weekly council meeting. Yesterday, Duchess Neicole de Longg of
Longgalia had arrived. Yes, he had seen
her. He had seen her as she stepped out
of her carriage. But he had skillfully
managed to avoid her thus far.
Lethargically
climbing a flight of stairs on his way to his bedchamber, he admitted to
himself that the Duchess did indeed resemble Hitomi quite a bit. Just about the only differences are hair
and age, he thought to himself. Whereas
my Hitomi has that sexy short cut, the Duchess's is long and piled on either
side of her head in two buns with three braids coming out of each. His eyes narrowed in anger. She's just a child herself. The dirty, dirty swine that make up my
Council are trying to marry me off to a thirteen-year-old—Merle's age!
Van knew
that Merle wasn't a child, because so many things had happened to her which
forced her to grow up early on. But the
Duchess…she had the easy life. She was
sheltered, pampered, and babied. Her
mother, the Duchess Mahalia de Longg—formerly Mahalia dar Freid (younger sister
to Duke Mahad dar Freid)—,had died when Neicole was an infant. Since Duke Neicodemus no longer had a wife
to dote on and buy jewelry for, he doted on and bought jewelry for his only
child and only heir. Van had never met
him, but from what he heard by means of general gossip was that Neicodemus was
usually a kind man, but he could be extremely cunning when he wanted to
be. And Neicole? Clueless and fickle.
Van groaned
as he plopped onto his bed. "I should
take a bath," he told himself aloud. "Every ounce of royal etiquette demands that I take a bath."
"Which
presents every reason why you shouldn't," commented Merle as she again entered
Van's bedchamber without knocking.
Van raised
an eyebrow.
Merle
sighed in exasperation. "Must I explain
everything to you, Van-sama? You'll
most likely run into the Duchess today. Why not stay all stinky and sweaty so that you can scare her off? Better yet, don't put your shirt back
on. She'll be sure to run out of the
castle, dragging that hunk-of-a-bodyguard with her, yelling 'Omigod!! He's, like, so uncouth!'."
Van
chuckled quietly. Although Merle's
comment helped the situation somewhat, he wasn't too eager to discuss the
matter any further. Changing the
subject, he asked, "So, have you found out the name of that cat-boy you've been
eyeing?"
Merle
swooned. "He's got the best name!! Chekov! Doesn't that sound so romantic? And he's so cute!! I just want
to wrap him up and take him home in a little box!"
Van smiled
devilishly. "Don't you mean: 'unwrap
him and take him home to your little bed'?" he teased.
Merle's
eyes went wide and her cheeks went red, despite the orange/white fur that
covered them. "I…uh…Hey!! Look who's talking, mister! YOU'RE the one who's sex-crazy here!" she
accused. "I don't astral-project myself
at night to sleep with my lover, who's pregnant with my child by the way, and
is a psychic alien to top it all off!"
Van
growled, almost animalistically, as he hastily stood. His eyes narrowed as he spoke, "Not that it is any of your
business, but I made love to her because I loved her and still do, not because
I wanted some one-night thrill. If I
had known that she would have become pregnant, well…I still would have made
love to her. I regret that it caused
her to have to sever her relations with her family and friends; and I know very
well that she and I are young to be parents. But, Merle…I…" he paused as a tear, which he was attempting to hold
back, escaped.
Merle
instinctively glomped Van. "I'm
sorry. I didn't mean it," she
apologized.
Van said
nothing.
"If it
helps, you were really scary until you started crying," Merle added with a
grin.
"Umm, am I
interrupting something?" asked a new voice.
Both Van
and Merle quickly separated from each other, and turned to see who the new
voice belonged to. It turned out to be
none other than Duchess Neicole de Longg herself.
"What do you
want?" asked Van, trying to not sound too annoyed with her presence.
Neicole's
bright green eyes sparkled. "Well, I
was just so eager to meet you, King Van!" she squealed.
Van winced
at the shrillness of her voice. "Uh,
yeah. The feeling's mutual…I guess."
Neicole
smiled girlishly. Holding up her hand,
which was adorned with jewels, she asked, "Like my pretty jewelry?" She pointed to the ruby with her other hand. "I bought this one in your very
marketplace! Isn't it lovely?"
"Ravishing,"
Van lied. The ruby ring was beautiful,
but on the Duchess? Van inwardly
groaned. Hitomi, I humbly ask for
you to pray for me and lend me strength to survive however long this Duchess
stays here… "Merle, why don't you
go…help the chef make dinner? I'm sure
that the Duchess is hungry."
"Of course,
Van-sama," Merle agreed. As she passed
Van, she whispered, "She's hungry alright. Hungry for YOU." And with that,
she left the room.
AFTER DINNER
"Oh, he's
just so handsome!" squealed Neicole as she undressed.
Balthazar scurried across the room,
catching her discarded garments. He had
seen her completely naked on many occasions, since he was her personal
bodyguard. Though she was young, a mere
thirteen years of age, she was very curvaceous. Balthazar let his eyes roam over Neicole's body. Snapping his thoughts back into their proper
place as she concealed his eye-candy with a nightgown, he asked, "My dear
Neicole, whom may I ask is 'just so handsome'?"
"King Van, of course! I even had the luck of seeing him shirtless
today, no doubt coming back from manly and Kingly stuff." Suddenly, Neicole grinned. "Balthazar! You actually shaved that silly mustache off!"
Balthazar nodded. "You are my mistress, my dear Neicole. I obey your every wish."
Neicole smiled. "Thank you." Yawning, she said, "Well, I guess it's bedtime. Sweet dreams, Balthazar!" And with that, she snuggled into the sheets
of her bed.
Balthazar smiled wistfully. "Yes, my dear Neicole. Sweet dreams." He exited, and closed the door behind him. He sighed as he leaned against the back of the door. Closing his eyes with emotional distress, he whispered aloud, "Why? Why must I love the only girl I can never be with? Why must I love Neicole?"