Her Silk Gown
Tohru was walking at the courtyard when she noticed a little girl reading a thick book under the shade of the cherryblossom tree. The lass' eyes were intensely concentrating on the words of the book that Tohru discovered upon closer inspection was a bible.
Smiling, she strode towards her and sat down beside her. "Is this seat taken?" she asked smilingly.
Startled, the girl shut her bible and inched away from her fearfully.
"Ah, don't let me scare you! I-I just want to see what you were reading." She looked at the maroon cover of the book. "A bible, huh? I have a favorite verse in there. I forgot what scripture it was taken from, but it goes like this: Light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart"
"I-It's from the book of Psalms 97:18," said the girl quietly.
"Yes, you're right! That's so cool!" She held out her hand. "My name is Honda Tohru, and I work here in the palace as a maid."
The girl merely gazed at her.
"And you are…?" Tohru paused when she heard her name being called by the head of the maids. She stood up and waved at her. "I must go. I'm glad to meet you anyway!" She gathered her skirts and hurried into the palace again.
The little girl stood up, watching the maid go.
"H-Honda Tohru…"
"Well, that took you long enough!" snapped Yuki when Tohru arrived in his bedroom. "If I didn't summon Hinata to call you, you won't hear me. Where were you anyway?"
"Ah, I was walking in the courtyard because Prince Momiji told me to get his bamboo sword."
"And you think that the sword is in the courtyard?" asked Yuki impatiently.
"Nah, I was taking the longer path to the training hall. The breeze is too wonderful not to enjoy," she reasoned.
"And in the process, you are slacking off on your duties."
"Huh? But I told you, I'm going to fetch Prince Momiji's sword!"
"Never mind," he groaned. "I need you to look after my cousin."
"Prince Kyo?" she asked.
He rolled his eyes. "Where is your brain when I need one? Why do you think would I want you to look after my nemesis?"
"Um, good point."
Yuki sighed again. "OK, can I put my trust on you that you can take care of them while they go to the park?"
She raised her fists. "Ah, I won't let you down, Prince Yuki! I'll do my best! I'll show you that you didn't make a mistake entrusting me such an important and challenging job!"
He sweatdropped. "Uh, right."
Tohru sorted her clothes in the cabinet but discovered that she had only two outfits: the clothes she wore when she came to the palace and her reserve maid outfit. Nothing nice enough for a stroll in the park. Sighing, she went out of her room.
"Why such a long face, Kirei-san?" asked a voice suavely.
She turned around and found Shigure standing behind her, smiling.
"Prince Shigure!" She bowed. "It's nothing."
"Oh! The weather outside is very nice, and such a sad look on your face does not fit in it. Tell me, what's the problem."
She looked at his sympathetic face then burst her dilemma out. He nodded. "I see." He took her hand and pulled her with him. "Come, I'll solve your problem."
"H-Huh?" She had no choice but to follow him.
"'Gure!!" greeted a tall, slim and longhaired man when she and Shigure entered another room.
"Aya!" Shigure waved.
Aya looked at her curiously. "Who is she?" He looked back at Shigure and flashed him a sexy smile. "I sure hope you're not cheating on me."
"You know me better than that, Aya!" laughed Shigure, eyes twinkling as Tohru watched them, stunned.
Huh?
"Oh, by the way, this is Honda Tohru. She's the new palace maid," introduced Shigure. "Tohru-kun, this is Ayame, another Sohma. He is Yuki's elder brother."
Hontou?
Ayame looked at her intently. "Really? You're too cute to be a maid!"
Tohru wanted to faint.
These men…I can never understand their criteria in calling a woman 'cute'.
Shigure wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Anyway, she's got a problem, and she needs your help."
"Really? What can I do for you, my dear?"
"She needs a decent outfit when she chaperones Kisa and Hiro to the park this afternoon," explained Shigure.
"Is that so?" Aya snapped his fingers. "No problem! Dressing up such a pretty thing is no problem at all!" He sorted his cabinet smilingly. "It's been quite awhile since I tried my creations on a live model, and a very cute model at that."
Tohru and Shigure watched as pile after pile of gowns and outfits landed on the floor.
"Um, he's taking this a little bit too seriously, isn't he?" she whispered.
"That's Aya! A passionate advocate of the right to dress fashionably and to peek into women's baths."
"I FOUND IT!!!" Ayame took out a baby pink gown cut simply but elegantly. "This will do."
Shigure nodded in agreement. "Decent enough."
Tohru however was stunned. "It's…beautiful!" She touched the soft silk material delicately. "I've never seen anything this gorgeous in my whole life!"
"And yes, dear, you are going to wear this piece," said Ayame, escorting her to the full-length mirror and placing the outfit on top of her maid outfit.
Kisa closed her bible as Hiro argued with his elder cousin.
"I don't want any stranger to accompany me and Kisa!" yelled Hiro. "I want this date to be private."
Yuki groaned. "Don't act so grown-up! There are assassins everywhere! And what will you do when that happens, cry?"
"Those assassins may be on a day-off too, strolling in the park, just like me and Kisa! Will you stop acting so imposing! God, you're worse than Akito!"
"Don't you compare me to anyone else!" snapped the Ice Prince. "Besides, you can't do anything about it. I already told her to get ready."
"I'm a prince. I can tell her that we don't need her anymore," retorted Hiro.
"Try doing that and I'll ground you!"
"You're not my mother!"
"But I'm older than you are, so learn to abide by my rules, or else-"
Kisa stood up. "Hiro, let's go. The coach is waiting outside."
The boy clenched his fists, but he nodded. "I'll tell the horseman to leave without that chaperone." He pulled Kisa grumpily outside the palace.
"Brats," muttered Yuki. He looked at his schedule. "I still have to humor the princess who will visit here. Damn. If only our alliance with that princess' kingdom is not that important…" He proceeded to the library where he was going to wait for her.
"Wow! Aya, forgive me for saying this, but I think I'm tempted to cheat on you!" gushed Shigure as Tohru rotated around the mirror, the skirt of her gown fluttering perfectly around her tiny waist.
Aya laughed. "I forgive you. After all, she's wearing one of my creations." He finished braiding Tohru's hair and he was now placing fresh flowers on the brim of the hat she was going to wear. "The outfit enhanced your natural beauty, Tohru-chan!"
She was on the verge of tears. "I feel like…a princess!"
"You are! You are!" agreed Shigure heartily.
Aya placed the hat carefully on Tohru's French braided-hair. "Shigure's right. Now leave, for your wards are waiting for you."
"Thank you again, you guys. You're like my fairy godfathers!" she cried happily before curtsying and leaving Aya's room.
"Aya?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you like her?"
"Yes, why?"
"How would you like to help me make her stay permanently here?"
"Would you like me to talk to 'Tori to let her keep Hanajima 's post?"
"No, I have something else in mind." He leaned over his cousin's ear and whispered to him his plans as Aya nodded smilingly.
Yuki left the library, annoyed. "What's taking that princess so long?" He leaned on the railing in front of him and saw that Kisa and Hiro's couch was still there.
"Ah! Women, they're problems! Both that maid and the princess are late!" he groaned.
"Excuse me, make way!" cried a female voice. He turned to his left and found a girl dressed in a simple but stylish pink gown making her way towards him.
The princess?
He gazed at her as she drew closer to him.
Not bad. She's a little more decent than all the other princesses I've met at least when it comes to her taste with outfits. The other princesses would have been struggling with the weight of the rubies, pearls, and diamonds around their neck and on their wrists.
Suddenly, she stumbled on her wobbling high heels, and she was about to land on the floor had Yuki not been quick enough to catch her waist.
"Oops." Yuki steadied her. "Why in such a hurry?"
"Ah, Prince Yuki!" She bowed. "I'm sorry I'm late!"
He was stunned. A princess who acknowledges her mistake and bows in apology? This is rare.
"It's alright. Welcome to the palace of Kaibara." As the tradition dictates, he bent down and kissed her gloved hand.
He looked up at her and found the princess looking down at him, face flushed.
Tohru's heart skipped a beat.
Oh Kami-sama, he kissed my hand! The Ice Prince! Ah, don't wake me up if this is just a dream!
He straightened and gentlemanly escorted her into the library but she quickly pulled her hand away from his grasp.
"What is the problem?" he asked gently.
"A-Ah, you see, I must go to the park and-"
"I see." He nodded. "As the beautiful lady wishes, we shall go to the park." He escorted her down the stairs. "I hope you don't mind if we have to hitch a ride with my cousins."
"Not at all, Prince Yuki! In fact…" She paused when she noticed how intent Yuki's gaze was on her. "Uh, is there dirt in my face or something?"
He blinked. "N-No, but…"
"I'm glad, or I would have embarrassed myself in front of you again."
"Again?" he asked.
She's so…natural and unaffected.
She's too simple and artless.
I like her. A little.
"So your so-called chaperone didn't show up, but you brought her along, huh?" snapped Hiro.
Tohru was surprised to see the bible-reading girl she met in the courtyard awhile ago. "It's you!"
The lass recognized her too. "You're the lady I met awhile ago! Honda Tohru!"
Yuki blinked, then gasped. "Y-You're mistaken. T-This is…" He looked at her quizzically again. "You're Princess Murasaki, right?"
Tohru took her hat off. "Um, you mistook me for a princess, Prince Yuki."
"W-Why didn't you say so earlier?" he asked, freaking out.
"B-Because you never gave me the chance to explain!" she cried.
Yuki didn't know how to react, so he retreated from the couch angrily instead.
Kisa looked at her. "You're the one who's suppose to escort us, right?"
She nodded.
"You dress too elegantly," said Hiro. "Where did you steal your clothes?"
"Hiro!" said Kisa warningly.
But Tohru wasn't fazed. "Prince Ayame was kind enough to lend me his creation."
"Hmm? Is he your lover?" asked Hiro.
"Hiro, stop it!" said Kisa again.
"No, but he is a very lovable person," said Tohru, beaming. "He's a Juunishi Sohma too, right? And both of you are too!"
"How did you know?" asked Kisa, mystified.
"Well, so what?" snapped Hiro.
Tohru waved her fingers playfully at Hiro. "You are a lovable kid too, so I hope you forgive me for finding you too lovable to resist." With that, she hugged him. Instantly, he poofed into a sheep.
Hiro rolled his eyes. "Women are so annoying! You did that on purpose, Honda Tohru."
She smiled. "I did, so we can all go stroll in peace."
"I'll 'meeeh' all the way!" threatened Hiro the sheep.
"Go on," said Tohru. "And Kisa-chan and I will meeh along with you too!"
"Never mind!" grumbled Hiro, sitting down the carpeted floor of the coach.
Yuki was walking back to the library when he saw Shigure and stout, freckled girl dressed lavishly in rubies and flaming red gown waiting for him.
"Where were you, Yuki?" asked Shigure.
"I-I…" His cheeks turned red faintly. "Never mind." He escorted the impatient princess into the library.
"Oh yeah, have you seen Tohru-kun?" asked Shigure casually.
"Shut up!" he yelled.
"I'll take that as a resounding yes!" said Shigure, grinning. He felt that he already knew more or less what caused Yuki's unusual tardiness in his appointment and how it was related to Tohru.
"Have fun, little ones," he murmured as he grinned. He had to tell this to Ayame.
Yuki nodded politely as the princess bragged on and on about her father's riches everyone knew very well. His mind was on someone else…
Stop it, Sohma Yuki! You were just struck by her silk gown and that's it. It's because of the clothes…
Everything was just a misunderstanding. Forget it.
But…
His mind kept on replaying the beautifully dressed maid over and over.
"Prince Yuki?" prompted the freckled princess.
"Yes?"
"Are you still listening?"
"Yes, but well…I think I don't feel too well. Must be a cold."
"Oh!"
"It's a highly contagious cold that may be a sign of bubonic fever," he continued, not caring whether there was a fever actually named like that.
"Really?" The girl clamped her hand over her mouth and stood up. "C-Come to think of it, it's getting late already. I gotta go." She was out of the library before Yuki could reply.
He smiled wanly. "I need to unwind." He picked his coat up and went out of the library too.
Tohru, Kisa, and sheep Hiro decided to walk home instead of riding on the coach. As they were walking out of the gate of the park, they saw Yuki standing by the fountain, waiting for them.
"P-Prince Yuki!" exclaimed Tohru.
Did he follow me here because he doesn't trust me enough to keep his cousins safe?
"I came to pick you guys up," he explained. He turned his back on her abruptly.
She smiled. "Thank you, Prince Yuki."
"Whatever."
Okaasan, so many things happened today. The Ice Prince thought I was a princess!
But wow, at least, I felt what it was like to be a princess even for a day!
tsuzuku