Angel of Light: Let's get, emotional girls to all wear mood rings, so we'll be tipped off, to when they're ticked off. And we'll know just what they're thinking, just what they're thinking…

Cody: What are you doing?!?

Angel of Light: I'm singing! She's so pretty, but she doesn't always act that way. Her moods out swinging on the swing set almost everyday. She said to me that she's so happy it's depressing, and all I said was someone get that girl a mood ring.

Cody: STOP! YOU'RE KILLING MY EARS! I DON'T THINK THE READERS ARE VERY HAPPY EITHER! *mutters* Geez, she's gone for a month, comes back and scares all the readers away!

Angel of Light: By the way, that song is 'mood rings' by Reliant K ((love those guys)). I don't own it.

Cody: I don't think they care. Just get on with the story.

Within minutes, Takeru and the unicorns had reached the city gates. He stared at then with awe as he took a moment to catch his breath. He didn't even notice when the guard started to talk to him.

"Hey, are you listening to me, young man?" The guard said after he noticed that the Prince was spaced out.

"Huh?" Takeru blushed slightly, "Oh, sorry. I'm listening now."

"As I said before, who are you, and why are you here?" The guard look suspiciously at him, as he noticed the girl in his arms.

"I am Prince Takeru, and this is Princess Hikari…but she's slightly out of commission at the moment. We were attacked on our way here. I cannot state out business here, as that is for the King's ears only."

Still suspicious, the guard motioned for the others to open the gate.

"Wait here. Don't move until I say so."

Takeru nodded understandingly.

Another man left on horseback, and returned a few minutes later. He whispered a few things to the guard that they had met first, and he turned back to them.

"You will be escorted to the King's throne room. If you could please dismount, and follow me, the horses will be taken to the stables. Don't worry about them. Follow me." With that, he turned and left.

Prince Takeru dismounted quickly and quietly. With Kari in his arms, he followed the man.

~*~

The Prince was led through the winding streets of the village. It was a lot longer then it really looked. Maybe it was because the road wound its way through the town, instead of going strait through.

He watched as the people carried on with their lives, taking no mind to the newcomer, as if they were used to it. He was amazed at how similar this town was to the one in his own kingdom. He had to admit though; it was a nice change from the one they had past visited. He got shudders from the memories.

Then, something hit him. What about the others who had been travelling with them? What had become of them? Not that he really liked them; just that he was worried what they might do. They all knew who they were, and what they were doing.

For a moment, he got mad at the Princess for blowing their cover, but then realized it wasn't all her fault. Seeing her so helpless in his arms made him feel differently towards her. Maybe she wasn't as bad as he had first thought. Maybe he was actually beginning to like her. Maybe he was…

His thought was interrupted by the soundings of a trumpet. Takeru looked up at the immense white walls before him. They had stopped in front of yet another gate. This too was opened for them, and they were led through.

They passed through a courtyard, different, but very much the same to the one that surrounded his own castle.

Finally, they reached the entrance to the castle. The drawbridge was lowered, and they went across into the front room. Up ahead, Takeru could see some more wooden doors. The King was behind these ones.

At this point, Kari was beginning to come to.

"Ugh", she groaned, "where are we?"

"We're in the castle in Asterix. We're about to see the King." he whispered softly.

Her eyes shot wide with surprise. "What?!"

"Shh, it's alright. Just leave it to me."

"Ha." she smirked.

He only shook his head.

Before either of them knew it, they were before King Philip, King of Asterix.

Philip looked down at the two. The boy, cloak tattered and torn, armour and shield dented and stained with the blood of who-knows-what. Sword broken and chipped, most likely dull by the looks of it. His hair was a mess, and he was covered in dirt. He looked like he hadn't bathed in days.

The girl in his arms, looking worse than the boy who carried her. She was pale, and extremely thin. Her breath was laboured, and she had cuts and bruises strewn across her body. Her clothes were also torn and battered. She looked like she had been thrown multiple times, from some thing. He guessed that she couldn't walk, buy the fact that she wasn't. She also had a look of confusion and disarray on her face, like she had just woken up. Judging by the circumstances, she probably just had.

"You wanted to see me?" King Philip asked.

"Yes. I am Prince Takeru, and this is Princess Hikari, from out east."

The King pondered for a moment, and then his face lit up in recollection.

"Yes, I know your fathers. Now, what brings you all the way out here?"

"Well, I'm sure that you know of the war that has been forced upon us. I don't know what the situation is now, but when we left, it was pretty bad. I can only assume that it's gotten worse.

"All of the kingdoms involved have banded together to make one massive army. It seemed to work for a while, but then the enemy just wouldn't fall in numbers. They seemed to multiply. Kill one, and five more would sprout up in its place. We began to fall in numbers."

Very carefully, as not to cause the Princess any more pain than she was already in, she knelt down before the King.

"The journey has been long and treacherous. If our kingdoms fall, I can guarantee that they'll move across the lands, and you will be attacked too. Please, if you could help us. We desperately need help. No one wants to lose their kingdom. I beg you to please have mercy on us, and send some troops to help."

King Philip looked down upon them. They were two lost children, in a war-torn land. They looked at him with pleading eyes, and he could not refuse.

"I will send some troops."

The two were overcome with joy, and they hugged each other. Realizing this, Kari let go instantly, and let herself drop to the floor beside him. There was then an awkward silence that followed. The king only chuckled.

"Come, you two look like you haven't eaten in weeks. I'll have a feast prepared for tonight. You can stay here as long as you wish."

"Oh, no, we can't stay" Hikari informed him.

"Why not?"

"Because we must go on to the Kingdom of Tohuw. We need all the help we can get."

"I'm afraid I can't let you. You two have taken enough beatings. In a coupe of days you-"

Kari cut him off. Despite her weakness, she stood up,

"NO! I can't let my kingdom fall. I can't lose what little I have left. If you won't let us leave, then we'll leave by force!"

The King noticed a fire in her eyes, and he admired her for her courage and passion for her kingdom. She also won the admiration of every other person in that room, including the Prince.

The King sighed. "I'll tell you what. I still think that you are in no shape to go; therefore I will send a messenger out, so that you can rest. I am good friends with the King form there, and I'm sure he'll agree as well. You can stay here until the army is sent back. I can't tell you how long it will take, though. It all depends on the weather and such.

Kari collapsed to her knees, but looked up at the King.

"I cannot even begin to thank you for your kindness."

"To tell you the truth, if you weren't so young and reckless, I probably wouldn't have agreed. Also, I know that we would only end up fighting them in the near future, and it's better to fight in bigger numbers.

"A servant will show you to your rooms. I'll send someone to let you know when dinner is ready."

The two bowed, and were led off.

~*~

They were taken to the second level, to where the guest rooms were. They weren't as nice as their own, but they would do. The two rooms were across from one another.

Princess Hikari lay on the bed. It was like heaven. She had forgotten how comfortable a bed could really be. She had just gotten out from a hot bath, and was in an evening gown that the King had, from when his own daughter was her age.

She felt a lot better, but her mind was still spinning. She went over and over the events that had just taken place. She couldn't believe that she was getting so close to the one person she hated most in this world. Kari couldn't understand what she was feeling. Her emotions were scattered and strewn about, and it would take a million years just to get them back in order, or so it seemed. Her thoughts once again turned to the Prince. It seemed that her mind had been on him a lot lately.

Princess Hikari sighed. Life was so complicated.

A knock on the door disrupted her thoughts. She stared at it a moment, half expecting the Prince to just barge right in. It's what he always did. When the door didn't open, she got up off the bed, and slowly hobbled over. She was reminded of how much pain she was still in.

Finally, she reached the door, and opened it.

"It's time for dinner, m'lady."

It was one of the King's servants.

Kari smiled politely, and nodded. "I'll be right down."

The servant nodded, and left. The Princess closed the door, and sighed. She didn't feel like facing reality just yet, but she really had no choice. What would they think of her if she didn't show up? They'd think she was a rude snob.

Despite what she wanted, she opened the door once moor. She was given quite a fright when the servant was still standing at her door. This was something she was not expecting. After recovering, Kari figured that this was an escort. Great, now they were watching her every move.

The servant girl led the Princess down to the dining room. It seemed that everyone else was already there. She felt slightly embarrassed at being the last one, but she shrugged it off. She was much too tired to be bothered by such a thing.

There was an empty chair beside the King, and across from Takeru. Assuming it was for her, she quietly sat down.

"Now that we're all here", the King announced, "We can eat."

Dinner was long and boring for Kari. She was tired, and couldn't think of much else but sleep. Her mind drifted to the war and her homeland. She wondered what was going on. She wondered if there was even anything left. This didn't help her situation at all.

"My my, dear Princess, you don't look so good. Why don't you go up to bed? Maybe you'll feel better in the morning." King Philip told her.

Kari nodded weakly, and stood up.

"Thank you for everything, your Majesty. The meal was wonderful."

Slowly, she went back up to her room.

Prince Takeru couldn't help but worry, but he shook these thoughts from his mind as he once again engaged in a conversation with the King.

Not long after Kari had left, the others finished dinner. Takeru stayed a while longer to talk with the King before he left. He figured that it'd be good to establish a friendship with the King, instead of ignoring him. The Prince found himself annoyed with the Princess, and the fact that she hadn't said a word to anyone all dinner. He thought that this wasn't good for their relationship with the King.

After the conversation was over, Takeru too went upstairs. He was about to go into his room, when he stopped and thought about the Princess. He really hadn't looked all that well when she left. Maybe she did have an excuse for not talking. Sighing, he turned and went across the hall. Lightly, he knocked on her door.

Inside, Hikari heard a light tap. She didn't want to be bothered at the moment. She ignored it.

The Prince knocked again. If she didn't answer, he'd go in.

She heard it again, and got up. Instead of going to the door though, she went out on the balcony. If anyone asked, she could use the excuse 'I didn't hear it.'

The Prince knocked once more, and waited. It then hit him that she wasn't going to answer. Slowly, he opened the door. He went in to see the Princess staring out into the city from the balcony. He paused a moment before approaching.

The princess heard the person enter, and was disgusted. 'Who in their right mind would barge in on someone like this?' she really wasn't thinking strait. Hearing footsteps, she wheeled around, expecting to see a servant. Who she saw, of course, wasn't a servant.

"Oh, it's you."

"You don't seem all that happy to see me."

"You can't just barge in on someone like that, it's rude." she scolded.

"Well, I just did", he answered with a smirk.

Hikari rolled her eyes, and turned back around. She planned on ignoring whatever he had to say.

Very quickly, her mind drifted. She watched the people in the courtyard, and in the markets beyond that. She watched as the crowd slowly trickled from the streets, leaving them completely abandoned. It amazed her how quickly this can happen.

"It's nice out tonight."

Kari turned and looked at the Prince. He had moved to just beside her on the balcony, and was looking out too. She gave him a disgusted look.

He turned and looked at her, an innocent look on his face. "What?"

Something struck her as she stared at him. She noticed for the first time that his eyes were blue. They were piercing, but had a gentle look in them. There was also a mischievous look to them too. Nevertheless, they were captivating. She found herself unable to break the stare.

Her eyes widened as she realized what she was thinking. She quickly turned away. Heart beating fast, she tried to hide the pink tinge to her cheeks.

When their eyes had locked, the Prince noticed something about her too. No matter what a person does or how they act, the eyes always give away the true story. He noticed that they were brown, but had just a touch of crimson red to them. That wasn't really what struck him though. It was the emotion that they held. Her eyes looked more like those of a lost girl. Everything that she said, the show she put on, was just that. A show. They were full of sadness and worry. Now that he thought about it, she always looked to be on the verge of tears.

"It'll be alright, you know. These Kings are very strong, and have incredible armies. The Dark Lord won't stand a chance."

Once again, he surprised her. This time, she didn't look at him. Instead, small tears began to form in her eyes. It seemed that he had found her out. Slowly, the small tears became bigger, and they streamed down her face. She had cried earlier, but not like this. That was out of shock, this was out of her true emotions.

The Prince really didn't know what to do at this point. He was afraid of what she would do if he tried to comfort her. But, what did it matter to him what she thought? He didn't care, right? Still, he was afraid.

After watching her sob for a few minutes, he couldn't take it. He couldn't watch her cry like this. She was torn and broken, and he was watching and letting it get worse. He turned to her, and wrapped his arms around her. For a moment she didn't react, but she then buried her face into him, and cried even more.

The two stood like that for a while, neither of them really knowing how long. But after a while, they parted.

Still sniffling a little, she managed to say one thing. "Thanks." Though she wasn't looking at him.

"I should let you get some rest." Takeru told her, and then he left.

Hikari stood there for a while, staring at the floor. Slowly, she then made her way to the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

~*~

The Prince, on the other hand, couldn't find sleep sp easily. He was thinking about what had happened. He had a new respect for her, and he also…he didn't know. There was something there, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Finally, he too drifted to sleep.

Angel of Light: He, there's the next one. Sorry if it dragged out and got a little sappy…really. But, it was kind of important…right?

Cody: *to himself* At least she's not singing.

Angel of Light: *hears him, and starts singing* mood ring, oh mood ring please tell me with you bring the key to unlock this mystery. Of girls and their emotions plat it back in slow-motion so that I may understand the complex infrastructure known as the female mind…

Cody: AHHHHHHHHHHH!