CHAPTER FIVE
Prince Edward?
Van recuperated in his private quarters and proved to be a cantankerous patient. He wasn't allowed to see Hitomi as it was deemed inappropriate by his generals that a stranger from the Mystic Moon have access to the king's inner most sanctum. Van was ready to kill someone after a week of his isolation from her. Allen tried to visit him and keep him company while the king was laid up, but Allen had troubles of his own these days. He sat quietly and pondered the problem of the prince.
Training the young Prince was becoming a full time job. The most bizarre things were happening because of the young prince. Allen was utterly confused by him. Just this morning when Allen was warming up with exercises before Prince Edward's wrestling lesson, he noticed the boy staring at him with an odd expression on his face. Allen felt exposed somehow and caught himself wanting to cover up and put his shirt back on as he realized Prince Edward was breathing in an irregular fashion.
Yesterday's lesson was just as odd. When he threw Prince Edward to the ground, the boy had tears of pain in his eyes and Allen found himself comforting him! Prince Edward had the darkest purple eyes Allen had ever seen. His eyelashes were impossibly long and it would probably be an entire decade before the boy would need to start shaving by the looks of his baby smooth soft facial skin.
A soldier threw a sword towards Prince Edward in the practice field and Prince Edward tried to catch it, (like the idiot is supposed to try to catch the damn thing!) squealing like a girl again. When was the boy's voice ever going to change? Allen shook his head as he recalled last week when he undressed to bathe and clean himself up in the men's common after a hard training session. How rosy red the boy's cheeks were as he stared at Allen's naked form. That was when Allen began to feel self-conscious about feeling exposed around him.
And then there was Merle trying to monopolize the boy's time when such pressing matters needed to be addressed. For that matter, since Yukari and Hitomi had arrived they all flocked around the Prince Edward like cackling chickens. At first Allen applauded Hitomi's maternal instinct, but something was off. He was beyond feeling puzzled when he realized that he caught himself appreciating Prince Edward's features during dinner two nights ago. Allen wasn't sure he was worried about the boy or himself.
The only way to cure that was to find a beautiful woman and spend a pleasurable evening alone with her. Which was just what he intended to do with that comely wench that turned his bed down at night. He was nibbling her neck as she sat on his lap when he was rudely interrupted by the annoying young prince. The urchin had some lame excuse about having a nightmare, but Allen had the feeling that Prince Edward had been spying on him and wasn't about to let Allen recover some peace of mind. He barked at the boy, but the boy wouldn't back down. Allen had no choice but to dismiss his sweet distraction and deal with the boy.
He had to find a way to motivate the boy so that he could learn to be strong as a man should be. He was less than an athlete, but very intelligent when he wanted to be. Prince Edward's laugh sounded just like his sister's laugh. He decided he needed to get good and drunk.
Prince Edward and Merle were in the garden outside the palace walls sitting on a blanket scheming. Hitomi and Yukari soon joined them with a basket of food. It was a picnic that left the guards watching over them baffled. How a boy could stomach so much female lollygaging was beyond them. Trilladen must be a strange place indeed!
"You've got to insist that we all go! I am starting to see things again, and I know that if anyone of us stays behind, it'll be really bad. We have to convince Allen and Van to take us with them, that it is for our own safety. I don't exactly know what my last vision meant. All I saw was a stream of colors in a doorway and we each appeared before it and screamed for help and no one was there to help us." Hitomi said.
Merle hugged her legs and twitched her tail as if preoccupied. She started rocking back and forth. Then she stopped and exclaimed; "I know what we can do! They are going to turn a flying fortress into a cargo transport. We will simply stow away. That way we can keep Princess Edwina's secret from the men, and make sure none of us fall into the color stream door."
"Why must you stay disguised anyway, Princess? If you told Allen he would be mad, but at least you could stop training. Doesn't every muscle in your body ache?" Yukari asked.
"No, I can't. I am a female of royal blood of the ancient house of Atlantis. I have been dressing as a boy since I can remember, my parents insisted! Mugwa has been carefully manipulating the people of Trilladen into believing that a human sacrifice is necessary to fulfill our destiny. He has recruited a sect of priests who agree that they are better then all of Gaea and entitled to rule Gaea, because it was Atlantis that created our world. We were once a righteous people, but pride has seeped into our hearts. It is easy to let your judgment be clouded when you live the letter of the law while ignoring the spirit of the law." Princess Edwina said solemnly. "Besides, if they find out I am deceiving them, they may not trust me when I need them to." She added.
All the girls agreed. It was going to be a slippery situation when the journey was underway. Princess Edwina would need all the help she could get on the way back to her island. As Merle and Princess Edwina were planning away, Hitomi and Yukari had a private moment to talk.
"I miss Amano. Ever since we got here he has been training very hard to fight. General Shinyo is impressed with his form and thinks he can become a great warrior. I never get a chance to see him anymore and when I do he's exhausted." Yukari complained.
"I know what you mean. I have wanted to be with Van for over two years, and now that I am back in Gaea, I can't even talk to him. I don't think the new generals like me. At least with Balgus I felt accepted and valued. These new ones treat me like I am an interloper in their private world of royal duties. At other times I feel like they are constantly watching me. In fact, I feel like I'm never alone since I got here. It's as is they don't want me out of their sight because they don't trust me." Hitomi said.