Okay, here's the second part and you'd better like it because I woke up at 6:15 am this morning, Monday, the first official day of March Break (and someone is going to pay for it), and couldn't seem to get back to sleep, so I wrote this instead. Appreciate it! The mood I was in almost made me throw this stupid laptop down the stairs. Anyways, enjoy Part II!

The ARROW, the STAFF &the SHIELD
Part 2
By Android Eleven

The Crown Prince, Taichi of Kamiya, was gazing out of the west window, wishing that he could jump out of it, into the fresh air, the pleasant breezes and into freedom. If this meeting went on much longer he probably would have, had the aforesaid window not been on the fifth floor. For the meeting in which he sat was yet another gathering of the assorted nobles who were trying to arrange Taichi's upcoming coronation. Taichi wished he could be anywhere else than where he was. He didn't care whether the wall tapestries were lined with gold velvet or silver. He just wanted to make sure that no one forgot to bring the crown.

Only one person seemed to notice the Prince's boredom. His name was Koushiro, the Grand Duke d'Izumi, and he was the Prince's close friend, most trusted advisor and cousin. Koushiro's parents had died when he was very young and the Queen, his mother's sister, had taken him in as her ward, to be raised alongside her own children. And so, Koushiro, having known Taichi most of his life, could tell that the Prince was weary of all this and decided to adjourn the meeting.

"Yes, uh, thank you, kind lords and ladies, for all of your suggestions. We shall take them into account and discuss them again at our next meeting. You are all dismissed," Koushiro stood from his chair while saying this, signifying that they could leave. Slowly the nobles all stood and walked out the door, still speaking to each other quietly about different flower arrangements and embroidered carpeting. Koushiro watched the last of them go before shutting the door and turning to Taichi. "Everything all right, your majesty?"

"Oh, come on Koushiro," Taichi said, trying to cheer himself up, "We've known each too long. Don't call me that, there's no one else here."

"Okay then, Taichi, is something bothering you?" Koushiro didn't really need to ask. He could tell that something had been on Taichi's mind for the past few days. He had been very quiet and hadn't wanted to participate in their usual activities, such as horseback riding or fencing, things that Taichi loved and excelled at and Koushiro, who didn't, usually got his face rubbed in it. But not lately. Koushiro wondered only about what could possibly worry the Prince so much.

Taichi sighed. 'No sense in keeping it from him,' he thought. 'Besides, maybe Koushiro, of all people, can help me decide.' Taichi took a deep breath before speaking. "Yes, as a matter of fact, something is bothering me. Perhaps you could help me make up my mind about it?" Taichi didn't wait for Koushiro to answer. He seemed to want to say something and to get it over with. "For my coronation, I... I'm thinking of inviting the royals from Ishida and Tachikawa." 'There,' he thought, 'I said it.'

Koushiro didn't know what to say to that. He could see Taichi's dilemma. Everyone, for thousands of miles around, knew of the Prince's upcoming coronation. If he invited the other royals, the Kamiya citizens might cause an uproar, and perhaps a revolution that would throw Taichi from the throne before he had even reached it. But if he didn't invite them it could cause great anger from the other kingdoms and all hope of having a treaty signed under his reign would be diminished.

Taichi become even more nervous because of Koushiro's silence. "Well," he said uneasily, "What do think?"

Koushiro continued to stare at his cousin wordlessly.

********************

"Why is everything I own so fancy?"

Princess Hikari was trying to pick out a dress for the afternoon. She was planning to go into the village for a few hours today, to clear her head and drop the responsibilities of being a princess for a little while, and didn't want anyone to recognize her. But she was having difficulty, as nothing she had ever owned could be described as plain. They were especially designed to be just the opposite. Hikari threw down a pink satin dress with short puffed sleeves and stomped across her room to her closest yet again.

"Your Highness, why not wear your yellow silk with the white roses embroidered into the skirt?" a voice said from the direction of Hikari's window. The voice belonged to Lady Sora of Takenouchi, a close friend of Princess Hikari's and an even closer one of her brother, Taichi's. Lady Sora, daughter of the Countess of Takenouchi, had lived at the palace for several years, after her drunken father had left her mother and herself, and the Countess could no longer stand the solitude of the Takenouchi family manor.

Lady Sora, who was sitting on the corner of the Princess's bed, next to the mountain of tried clothes, had been making suggestions such as this for the past half hour, but to no avail. Hikari shook her head.

"I can't. That one has pearls and diamonds sewn into the bodice, remember? It would stand out far too much. If only I had a cloak that did not have the crest of the royal family of Kamiya on it, then I might be able to..." Sora ears perked up at these words.

She grinned at the Princess.

"Hold on your Highness, I believe I may have what you're looking for," With these words Sora left Hikari's chambers, heading for her own. Hikari sighed and sat in the place Sora had vacated. She had been feeling melancholy as of late, having been pushed into the background while arrangements were being made for her brother's coming coronation. It wasn't the lack of attention that was bothering her though; she'd never liked being in the limelight. It was the lack of companionship, for Hikari was a very affectionate and caring person, and being alone so much was hard on her. Especially since her parents' deaths a month before. Hikari was almost scared to be alone.

Hikari walked over to her window, looking out at the capital. All of those little people out there each had their own problems. Many which were probably far graver than her own. Aside from her parents' deaths, after which she had locked herself in her room and cried for days, she was actually a fairly lucky person, being a princess and all. And so, remembering that, Hikari decided to appreciate her station for a while, smiled to herself and went to her closet to look for the yellow silk dress she and Sora had talked about.

A few moments later Lady Sora reappeared with a frown on her face. She carried with her a brown bundle, which she quickly handed to the Princess before bowing. "I apologize, Highness, but it seems I am needed elsewhere at this moment," Sora paused then so as to glare at something in the corridor, "and I will be unable to accompany you to the village. However, I've spoken to your cousin, the Grand Duke d'Izumi, and he has agreed to accompany you in my place." With that statement Lady Sora bowed again and left the room. Hikari could hear the click of her shoes going down the corridor and also the clunk of a pair of boots that could only belong to one of Taichi's guards alongside her. There was also the sound of arguing, but the door blocked Hikari from hearing what the argument was about.

'Great,' she thought, unfolding the brown bundle, 'I get to go sight-seeing with Koushiro.' Not that Hikari disliked Koushiro in any way, but she had been looking forward to going out to the village with Sora. Indeed, the girl was the best friend Hikari had ever had. But life was like that sometimes. All anyone could do was keep on living.

She finished unfolding the bundle and, once she saw what it was, grinned in spite of herself. It was a plain, hooded, brown cloak that was just the right shade to go with her yellow silk dress and would still cover the jewels in the bodice. "Lady Sora, you are a gem!"

********************

Back in the kingdom of Tachikawa, the King had told his wife of his plans to have Princess Mimi married to Jyuu. She had approved whole-heartedly, as their next choice would have been an earl whom Mimi had never met, was almost ten years older than her and whom she most certainly would not get along with. But there was still the matter of speaking of it to Sir Jyuu and Mimi. The King decided he should mention it to Jyuu first, to see what his opinion would be.

And so that was how Sir Jyuu, of the House of Kido, found himself outside the royal chambers one stormy day, patiently, yet nervously, waiting to be called in. He had no idea why the King would want to see him. He raked his mind for things he may have broken or spilled something on or lost, but he came up with nothing important enough to matter to the King of Tachikawa. Finally, after torturing himself with the numerous possibilities of things that the King may have wanted him punished for, Jyuu heard a voice call for him to enter.
As he walked through the doorway, Jyuu tripped on the threshold. He grabbed the doorknob to keep himself from falling on his face. His glasses slid to the end of his nose, dangling from one ear. The King saw this and tried to suppress a chuckle. Jyuu was far from perfect, but Mimi could only benefit from his example.

When Jyuu had managed to stop blushing and had taken a seat near the table by which the King was now standing, the King dismissed all the attendants in room. Jyuu was surprised by this, and even more confused then ever. But then, he had no idea that the King wanted to discuss with him matters that no one else was to know just yet.

"You... you sent for me, sire?" Jyuu questioned, trying his best to be polite.
"Yes, Jyuu, I did. But first, have a drink?" the King held up an empty glass and a bottle of whiskey. Under normal circumstances Jyuu would have refused, but he figured that now a little bit would probably do wonders for his nerves. He nodded and the King passed him the glass before continuing.

"I suppose that you are wondering why I've asked you to come here today." He paused to pour his own drink and take a sip from it. "Tell me Jyuu, what do you think of my daughter, Princess Mimi?"

********************

Prince Takeru of the kingdom of Ishida was bored. It was a stormy day and he was cooped up inside. There was nothing to do in the palace but read and he wasn't a big book person. He supposed he could keep his friend Iori, the young Count Hida, company in the library, but that was pretty much his only choice, other than sitting on his bed and staring at the ceiling. He could have gone to the training room to fence, but, as Yamato was having a meeting at the moment, he had no one to fence with. The only person who would have had the time was his other companion, Daisuke, the Baron of the province of Motomiya. But he and Daisuke had had an argument that morning and, both of them being as stubborn as they were, neither would let himself be the one to apologize first.

But Takeru didn't want to go to the library and, even if he was a prince, he wouldn't order Iori to fence with him. One, because he just wasn't that bossy and two, although he was quite good, Iori was quite a bit shorter than himself, making him a difficult fencing partner. So Takeru decided to go for a walk.
He ran across very few people as he made his way around. It was almost spooky, the way the shadows were cast and the sound of the thunder and the flashes of lightning. After a while, Takeru found himself on the sixth floor. It was one of the top floors and not often visited, probably because of all the stairs. But it was also home to what Yamato and Takeru referred to as "the Corridor of Memories".

Along its walls were portraits of the former royalty. A brown haired man with Yamato's chin. Another who had Takeru's nose. There were even a few faces that possessed the two brothers' brilliant, ice water blue eyes. And there, near the end, was the portrait of their own mother and father.

He stood in front of it for a while, just looking at it, but inside he was shifting through turmoil. His mother had died when he was eight and he had never gotten over it, for Takeru had loved his mother more than the sun. She was always there to tuck him into bed, hug him when he felt lonely or sad and to kiss scrapes and cuts to make them better. And, dumb kid that he was, Takeru had always been sure that the cuts didn't seem to hurt as much after she'd kissed them.

Takeru had loved his father too, of course, but he was too much like Yamato, the born fighter. And no one could ever replace his mother. But it didn't matter either way any more. They were both gone and nothing would ever change that. Ever.

Takeru fought to hold back tears for a brief moment before deciding to go back downstairs. But as he turned to go something caught his eye. As he went to see what it was, he was surprised to find that the back of his parents' portrait was not touching the wall. 'No,' he discovered, 'the painting's touching the wall, but that bit of wall has been pushed out!'

And so it had been. Upon further investigation, Takeru discovered, after taking down his parents' portrait, that the wall panel behind it could open up. The "door", which was much taller than it was wide and was, by far, too small for Takeru to fit through, didn't even open up to a real room. It was more of a hole than anything else, but it had been lined with velvet, like a coffin. And inside it was a staff.

It was made mostly of gold and had disks of diamond at certain points, but other than that it seemed quite normal. Takeru didn't know who would have gone through the trouble to have such an instrument made for themselves, for this was most certainly custom made, and then have it hidden away, but it seemed like a waste.

Though it varied a bit from Takeru's usual tastes, for some reason he couldn't bring himself to leave the staff behind. He took it from its hiding place and set it on the floor while he closed the panel and put his parents' portrait back in place. Then he picked it up and examined it once again. If he learned how to use it properly it could make a reliable weapon. He headed downstairs, wondering if Yamato's meeting was over yet so he could ask him if he knew anything about using a staff.

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Author's notes: Well, how do you like it? It took a while to write so I hope it's good. Oh, I'm proud to say that my muse came home from vacation two days ago, allowing me to finally start this story. I had a horrible case of writer's block until then and this is the result of finally getting over it. Yeh for me! Anyway, yes, the staff Takeru just found is the same one I'm talking about in the title. Is there something wrong with that? There better not be, 'cause I'm not going change it. Anyways, hope you enjoyed, Part III will be out soon and ^_^ Toodles!