The Way Fate Works…

Plug-in: Thank you so very very much to the readers who continue to read my work. I'm so happy that I make you guys happy even in such a simple way. Neko no Baka, Christie, Z.A Franks, the kind reviewer who calls me "the best writer ever" *blushes*, Agent cloud skimmer, and the other reviewers that I cannot recall the names but I am very grateful to. I promise to give more effort in producing likable fics for you guys. This chapter is for you guys!

God bless!

Syaoran no Hime

Yuki watched as Tohru took the plates away.

I can't believe that I mistook this girl for a princess! Geez, that was so humiliating!

Feeling his gaze, she looked at him inquiringly. "Do you have orders for me, Your Highness?"

He looked away, face slightly flushed. "No."

She shrugged then continued doing her job.

Just then, Shigure entered the room, holding a letter. "Great news, Yuki!"

"What?" he asked, looking bored.

The elder Sohma immediately noticed the maid. "Oh, Tohru-kun! You're here! How are you?"

"Ah, Prince Shigure!" She bowed respectfully. "Good morning. I am fine!"

"There is something you want to tell me, Shigure, remember?" snapped Yuki.

"Oh yeah!" Shigure held up a small piece of scroll. "Our cousin, Haru, announced that he's going to come visit the palace tomorrow! He finally found his way home!"

"Well it's about time!" muttered Yuki. "He left to visit the park three months ago, and it certainly took him long enough to go back."

"Huh?" Tohru was stunned. "Huh?"

Shigure laughed. "Don't look too surprised, Tohru-kun. Each of us has his or her own hang-ups in life." He pulled her to the window. "Take for instance, Kagura there."

Tohru looked out at the window and saw Kagura chasing the rattled Kyo around the courtyard.

"She loves that neko so much, to the point that she gets destructive. And I mean, destructive," said Shigure.

Right on cue, Kagura took Kyo by the collar of his shirt and strangled him.

"I LOVE YOU KYO SO VERY MUCH SO WHY ARE YOU EXHAUSTING ME BY MAKING ME CHASE YOU????!!!!!!!" screamed the woman.

"Lemme go! Please, I don't want to die yet!" screamed the orange-haired prince in desperation.

"Hey, make sure you paid your life insurance this month!" yelled Shigure. "You'll need it, Kyo!"

"Shut up, damn dog!" yelled Kyo.

Yuki yawned. "Shigure, will you get out of my room? First of all, I didn't allow you to enter it in the first place. I can have you punished for trespassing."

"Right, right! You and Tohru-kun needs privacy." Shigure held his hands up in mock surrender. "Bye, little cousin." He winked at the maid. "Bye, Kirei-san."

She blushed.

"Get OUT!" yelled Yuki.

As soon as the door shut, the prince glared at Tohru. "That was shameless flirting!" he yelled. "He's already old enough to be your father!"

"B-But…" Why is he so mad at me?

"And right in front of me?" continued Yuki angrily. "Have you no shame?"

Tohru bowed. "I'm sorry…but Your Highness, I do not understand why you are so furious at me." With that, she took the tray of food out of his room and left.

The prince was stunned.

Why was I so mad at her anyway?

Shigure always flirts with our maids…it's a fact of life just like breathing is.

But somehow, it disturbs me to see her and Shigure playing that stupid game.

He shook his head vehemently.

I'm driving myself nuts. Her personal affairs should not concern me.

His heart, however, was stubborn.

But it does.

Tohru sighed for the nth time.

"What's wrong, onee-chan?" asked Kisa softly, closing the bible. She and the little girl were doing a bible-reading session under the cherryblossom tree since her job was finished for the morning. However, she couldn't concentrate because the Ice Prince' anger at her was bothering her.

But she gave the girl a weak smile. "I'm fine. I just don't like it when I know there's someone who harbors ill feelings for me."

"Let me guess. Yuki is still mad at you for the clothes mix-up, is that it?" she guessed.

She shook her head. "I don't know. But he also got mad at me because he thought that Prince Shigure was flirting with me, when it is actually just his ordinary way of talking to me."

"Maybe he's jealous," guessed Momiji, joining them.

"Jealous of what?" exclaimed Tohru.

Kisa sighed. "Besides, Yuki does not care about anyone else but himself. I guess Akito's attitude rubbed on him."

"Akito?" asked the maid.

"Our clan head and the king of Kaibara," explained the blond. "Don't tell me you don't know him!"

Tohru laughed uneasily. "Er…"

"Akito is a very mysterious person, but we do know that he's not the type of person you should interact with often. Shigure always says so," said Momiji. "I saw him once or twice in family gatherings, but most of the time, he's in his room. Hatori does the exposure job for him, and he runs things from behind."

"Oh!" Tohru gasped.

"Not a very normal family to serve, right, Tohru-chan?" said Momiji, smiling.

She laughed. "Yet I still love my job!" Her eyes saddened. "Although I only have ten more days left to stay here."

"Ten days?" echoed Kisa.

"I'm just taking Hana-chan's place here."

Momiji frowned. "No way! I hardly noticed that four days already flew by! "

Tohru messed his hair fondly.

That afternoon, Tohru was walking around the palace when once again, she noticed the wall she entered the first time she arrived in the palace. She decided to come inside.

Her eyes widened when she saw the change in the garden. Some of the flowers were lying scattered on the ground with the leaves, as if it wasn't swept for days already.

When was the last time Yuki-kun visited the garden?

She decided to take the broom sitting on the corner and get to work.

"I'm going out, Hatori," said Yuki as he put on his gardener's hat.

"Alright."

Yuki went to the secret entrance to his garden. It had been days since he last checked on his plants. He had been so busy these past few days. Worse, not much rain fell, so he was pretty sure that it looked like a disaster now.

But on the contrary, he found the leaves properly swept together in one corner, and most of the plants look like they were just watered. He frowned.

Impossible. Only one person knows where my garden is.

He walked towards the fountain at the middle of his garden and sat down, thinking.

Did she…do this?

Automatically, he remembered how he first met the maid. He was naked, and she didn't know he was a prince. She was the first person to treat him with no respect for his title, but for himself being a human. Then they met again, in this very same garden.

He smiled when he remembered that she told him she loved plants too. She even asked for one rose, which he gave. He himself was surprised by what he did, because he loved those flowers more than any other plant in his garden.

But I could not possibly say no to her, not when she was smiling that brightly at me. The first sunny smile I received in whole life, and that took me by surprise, since I was so used to those rehearsed cold, polite smiles the people of royal blood always exchange.

He groaned.

How I wish I can find my princess already! So I'll stop this absurdity of fantasizing on a lowly maid.

Lowly?

Heck, he even mistook her for a princess!

Who was he trying to lie to, to himself? If only Tohru was born with royal blood, she would be the loveliest, finest princess he would have ever met.

And she wasn't.

Yuki stood up and turned to the fountain, looking at the Juunishi statues on the fountain.

They told me once that if I make a wish in this fountain, it will come true. Heck, why don't I give it a try?

He picked up his coin.

I wish to find my princess.

He threw a coin on the water and opened his eyes.

And found Tohru standing right in front of him.

Tohru stood up from sitting on the cemented seat of the Juunishi fountain when she heard a coin splash behind her. She turned around, and on the other side of the huge Juunishi statue was Yuki, gaping at her.

"Your Highness?" she asked.

His face was unreadable.

"Er, I'm sorry for trespassing in your garden again. I just want to take a look around, but then I noticed how disorganized the place was, so I took the initiative of cleaning the place. Please don't get mad!" she cried frantically.

"Do you…believe in a string of coincidences that people call 'fate'?" asked Yuki slowly.

She was caught off guard by his question. For a moment, she groped for words helplessly.

The gentle breeze breathed on them, playing with the strands of their hair.

"Do you?" he asked again.

"Y-Yes," she said at last. "Although we can choose how we should live our lives, it is undeniable that some unseen forces work magic in our lives too. They work on making strangers be our closest friends, or…"

"…making unlikely people meet," continued the prince. His face at last relaxed into a small smile. "I used to look at that belief with sarcasm, but then…after today, I think I would have to reconsider my convictions on that matter."

She couldn't understand him, but she nodded.

He turned around. "I'm sorry about what happened this morning."

"Oh!" Her heart jumped.

The Ice Prince…apologized!

"I'll see you tomorrow, Honda-san," he bade before leaving.

Okaasan, I would never have imagined this even in my wildest dreams!

But then, I'm glad. He called me at last by my name.

Honda-san. As if I'm also a fine lady.

Maybe it's not bad to wish that after this day, we can take the first step in being friends.

Tsuzuku