She knew what she was about to do was against the kingdom rules. Unless you were the King or Queen, the royal family was not allowed to leave palace grounds. She sat on the red velvet cushioned chair with a book in hand; she was turning over her thoughts in her head when her servant girl entered the room.
"Madame," The little plain creature spoke. "I've come to inform you that it is very late and it is wise that you get some sleep."
The girl bowed her head towards the sitting Princess. Her curly brown hair fell over her shoulders and she lowered her eyes, obviously afraid of the Princess though she had nothing to be frightened of. Princess Kaji never raised her hand towards her, or to any of the other servants. But for some reason these meek imports from Jupiter were always frightened of the strong willed Martian women. Kaji nodded her head towards the girl.
"Very well then, I think I shall retire for the night." Kaji said. The girl curtseyed then rushed out the room.
When she was gone, Kaji raised off her cushioned lounge chair and sat in front of her amour. She picked up a golden brush with the symbol of mars engraved into it and began to slowly brush her dark hair, examining herself in the large mirror. She had butterflies in her stomach. She had never been nervous before. She never had reason too be. She was used to everything here. She had never left the palace walls. She was the only daughter of the Queen of Mars, Queen Hisaki and it was there duty to make sure she would be healthy when it came her time to rule. But how could she rule fairly if she knew nothing of the outside world? She knew nothing new, nothing exciting. This feeling she had excited her. It made her feel alive.
She put down the brush slowly. It was time. She stood up and walked over to her large closet. Instead of pulling out her long red silk nightgown, she pulled out a long black coat with long sleeves and a wide hood. It looked about five sizes to big for her. She pilled the coat into a red tote bag, along with some gold coins, candles, extra clothes and various other items. She turned and headed for the door, shutting off all the lights. She walked out her room, shutting the door behind her then tip toed down the long corridors. She walked until she arrived into kitchen. It was empty, since most of the servant would have reported to their quarters over and hour ago. She walked over to the large black stove. She felt up and down the sides, obviously looking for something. She furrowed her brow and she reached as far behind as she could reach. She felt a large bump on the back, and pushed it down with her fingers. There was a low rumble and the black stove sunk into the wall, leaving a dark passage. Kaji took a deep breath. There was no turning back now. She pulled out the candle and lit it then dipped her head and headed inside.
The passage was old escape passage that the first Queen when the kingdom was young and venerable to attacks.. No one was supposed to know about it except the Queen and the head servants but when you had as much time on your hands and she did, you found things out. It was obvious it hadn't been used in quite sometime. It was stone on all side. It was cold, and damp and full of all kinds of crawling creatures. She was frightened to look down to see the kinds of things that were crawling around her feet. After 5 minutes of walking in the tunnel she reached the end. It was nothing but a solid stone wall. She felt along the wall, trying to find some kind of button but there was none. For a moment she was scared she would have to turn back, but she felt a hard bump under her shoe. She put her weight on it and felt it sink down. The wall slid open, revealing a dark path in the woods. It was night and the sky was bright with stars. She walked into the heavy woods. These had to be the only green woods on the planet. All the tress in the courtyard were just brown with orange leaves. She absorbed her surrounding and walked on, taking every thing in. All the animals, planets and flowers. All these beautiful things she had been denied all her life. She saw a clearing ahead. She walked up to the edge of the thick woods. Nothing but red sand from there on. A small trail poked through it. She followed it with her eyes to a small cluster a huts and houses in the distant. She could barley make out the people walking from place to place, but she could definitely hear the voices. Her eyes brightened, and she walked toward the town.
The long silver jet soared through the air. It U-turned sharply in the dark reddish sky then hovered in the air for a few seconds before slowly lowering itself to ground. The doors of the sleek vehicle opened slowly as a pair of long stairs rolled to the entrance. The people started to exit, talking loudly amongst themselves. Jet 201 en route from Jupiter to Mars had just arrived. Hinsei stepped out among all the people. She took a curious glance around before making her way down the stairs. Her father followed her, close behind. After weeks of nagging and begging, her father finally agreed to Take Hinsei on his next visit to Mars. Mostly just to shut her up. But he only let her come on one condition.
"Don't expect this to turn into a family trip." He said rather blatantly at the dinner table one day. He looked up from his plate and harshly into Hinsei's light brown eyes. "Stay out of my way"
So Hinsei knew what was coming next. As soon as he feet touched the red Martian sand, her father threw a red velvet pouch at her. She caught it, barley, and opened it. It was full of small golden coins.
"Martian Money." Her father said. "Spend it wisely cause that's all you get. Don't come to me looking for more." With that, he walked away. Hinsei watched him disappear into the crowds of people. For the first time, Hinsei gave a good look around. The jet seemed like it landed in the middle of a large village. Even at such a late hour of night, people were everywhere. She watched them rush in and out of little red stone huts, with straw roofs. There were children, adults, and animals. All wandering around, talking and laughing loudly. Hinsei passed a small hut where two older women stared at her as she walked by. Two young black haired girls ran right in front of her, chasing some unfortunate little dog. That's when it hit her. Hinsei realized that all the rumors she had heard about Martians were true. The cobble stone street was full of women. The majority of them were tall and thin, excepts the occasional chubby old women, and they all had black hair and dark eyes. They were all stunningly beautiful.
Hinsei made her way awkwardly to the nearest hut. He plain and obvious Jovian looks were starting to draw funny looks for the women in the street. She ran her hands through her hair as if it would make it magically change from being limp, thin and brown to thick and dark. She hugged herself and rushed into a place she thought would be empty but was full of life. She had walked right into a lively pub. This is where she caught her first glimpse of a man. Though Martian men did exist, all these men were from Jupiter. Dotted here and there was a Jovian man sitting at a table surrounded by beautiful women who hung on their every word. The pub was plain looking. The floor was a cobble stone just like that road and the walls were stone. The tables were bare and looked as if they, along with the stools, were chiseled out of the floor. A Martian woman rushed by Hinsei, obviously a waitress as she was carrying a tray of drinks. She was wearing a short brown leather skirt with a sleeveless leather corset-looking top. Her hair was tied back, and her skin glistened with sweat.
"Sit wherever you like." She said on passing. "I will be with you in a sec."
Hinsei walked through the maze of women and spotted an empty table near the back. She was also starting to sweat. She pulled off her long brown wool overcoat that she had worn on the jet. Space was cold but Mars's weather was hot and dry. Jupiter weather was dry, but not as hot. Hinsei hadn't entirely dressed for Martian Weather. Under her coat she wore an itchy brown woolen shirt. She had cut the sleeves off of it year ago, so it was a bit frayed. Her long brown leather pants hugged her slender hips and her chunky brown boots clunked loudly on the floor.
Hinsei draped her coat over the table and sat and waited for a waitress. The same women that passed her walked quickly to her table.
"What can I get for you," She asked, not looking up from her notepad. Hinsei had no idea.
"I've never been here before." Hinsei said uncertainly. "What do you serve?"
The waitress lifted her eyes to Hinsei. She sighed, lowered her eyes to her notepad again and rattled off a list of drinks and meals that was longer then Hinsei thought a little pub like this was capable of serving. She even mentioned some things Hinsei had never heard of. When she was finished, Hinsei ordered some rum drink she had never heard of but sounded interesting. The waitress rushed off. Hinsei was left alone in her little corner of the pub. She sat quietly, curiously watching these strange people. A figure caught her eye. They were coming through the entrance of the pub. Hinsei couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, since it wore a thick black cloak with the hood covering its face. The figure seemed to glide rather then walk to the nearest waitress. They began to talk, but Hinsei was to far away to hear what they were saying. The waitress started to survey the room and caught Hinsei by surprise when she pointed at her. The figure nodded, then made its was slowly to Hinsei's table. Hinsei watched it with wide eyes as it stopped right in front of her. It put down the red tote bag it was carrying next to the table. Without a word, it raised its hands and grasped the hood tightly in its hands and pulled it down, leaving the young head of a beautiful Martian woman. She unwrapped the cloak from her body and draped it on the edge of the table, reveling a plain but richly made silk red dress. The thin straps hung off her narrow shoulders and she nonchalantly pulled them back in place. Her hair was as black as night and hung straight down to her waist. Her dark eyes had a strange light to them as she smiled upon Hinsei.
"The waitress said they were full so I should share a table with someone." She said. "You looked like you could use some company."
She sat down on the stool, grinning widely and faced Hinsei, who was still staring wide eyed. The girl didn't seem to mind, and she stared right back.
"You are from Jupiter, aren't you?" The girl said suddenly. Hinsei nodded dumbly, not able to speak from some strange reason.
The girl clapped her hand together. "I knew it!" She exclaimed. "From the moment I looked at you. I can tell by your features. And by the way you aren't speaking much."
Hinsei blinked, and look down nervously at the table.
"I'm..I'm sorry. I just...um.." She stuttered.
The girl chuckled.
"Oh, it's quite all right. I'm pretty used to it. No one ever talked to me much." The girl looked off. "I was just kind of...there." She looked back at Hinsei with a strange kind of of smirk on her face. Hinsei blushed and looked down at the table again.
"Well, what about you? What is your name?" She asked.
"Hinsei."
"That's a pretty name. Why are you on Mars?"
"My father is here on business." She said, unable to hide her bitterness. "He brought me a long."
"Your father?" The girl said, her eyes widening. "You...you know him?"
Hinsei looked up.
"Well...yes. We have enough Men on Jupiter to go around."
"I'd love to see your father!" Where is he?" She said, and began searching the faces of the Jovian men.
"Well, he isn't here..." Hinsei trailed off and look at the table again.
The girl frowned a bit as she noticed the sensitivity of the subject. She looked off as if she was thinking hard. She looked back at Hinsei with a curious look on her face.
"I would like to tell you a secret." She said, leaning in a bit. "Before tonight, I'd never seen a man."
Hinsei couldn't help but feel a little surprised. She knew about the lack of men on Mar's but there were plenty of Jovian men coming and going.
"Never?" Hinsei said?
"No, never. They are awfully funny looking." She said, looking at the various men around the bar. "They seem so rigid and...hard." She looked back to Hinsei. "You learn to appreciate the softness of women by looking at them." she said laughing.
Hinsei was starting to get curious. This girl was so strange. There was something about her that just didn't blend in with the crowd. Was it her rich dress? Her bright eyes? The happy smile she wore? Hinsei realized she didn't even know the girl's name.
"What is your name?" Hinsei asked, looking the girl in the eye for the first time.
The girl looked proud to be asked such a question.
"My name is Kaji." She said. She reached her hand out towards Hinsei.
"I'm very glad to have met you."
Hinsei smiled at Kaji and took her hand.
At that moment the waitress appeared with Hines's drink. She plopped the glass down in front of Hinsei and turned to the Kaji.
"Nice." She said, looking the Kaji up and down, obviously disapproving of her silk in this room full of wool and leather. She narrowed her eyes harshly. "Can I get you anything, princess?"
For the first time Hinsei saw that elegant smile fall from Kaji's face. Her eyes widened and she looked nervously around the room.
"I-I have to go." She said suddenly, and jumped up from the table. She grabbed her cloak and her bag and before Hinsei could say a word, she was running out the door.
"Well then." Said the waitress before walking off.
Hinsei sat dumbfounded for a moment. What go into her, she thought. Why did she suddenly rush from the room like that? Hinsei sat back and took a long drink from her cup. The drink was a bit sour and felt as if it had been sitting open in a poorly ventilated cellar but she didn't really notice. She was still thinking about Kaji. She would be thinking about Kaji long after that incident. But it wouldn't take to long for her to find out who she was actually talking to.
