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The next day arrived with the rising of the sun. The light revealed a young man with fiery read hair standing under a Sakura tree with a haversack slung on one shoulder. The redhead had his eyes closed and he was breathing in the sweet smell of the Sakura flowers. In his current pose, he was the epitome of innocent beauty and serenity.
Rukawa slipped out from his room and silently made his way out of the castle. He was greeted with the sight of a beautiful redheaded man with his eyes closed, looking upwards to the sky. He felt something stir deep inside him, but he could not decipher what this emotion was. He was not used to feeling. He never cared enough to feel. He pushed the feeling aside and made his way up to the redhead. As if on cue, the gardener opened his eyes and turned to face the Prince. " All set to go, your highness?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. Kaede just glared at the man and started walking ahead of him.
Hanamichi followed the Prince to the stables to select his horse. He was rather surprised to see that the man had only brought one haversack with him. He supposed the Prince wasn't as stupid as he had originally thought him to be. He grinned to himself as he made his way into the stables. His eyes widened when he saw the number of horses kept there. All the horses were beautifully groomed and looked extremely healthy. He turned as he heard a voice behind him. " Choose a horse for yourself, gardener! You can pick any horse except that black mare over there." Hanamichi turned to look at the black horse that the Prince had been talking about. It was exquisitely beautiful and it reminded Hanamichi of his horse back home. He turned to one of the stable boys and asked, " What's his name?" Rukawa overheard the gardener's question and replied, " His name is Wind". Hanamichi nodded and murmured, " He's beautiful." The stoic prince turned to Hanamichi and replied, " Hurry up and choose a horse, we don't have all day" The redhead rolled his eyes and started examining the other horses in the stable. He walked around the stable, but couldn't find any horse that captured his attention. Suddenly, a soft whine coming from one corner of the stable caught his attention. He moved towards the area where he had heard the noise. He found an exquisite caramel coloured horse whining piteously. The horse stopped whining the minute it saw Hanamichi. The horse's mane shimmered like molten gold. He grinned and turned to the stable master, " This is the horse that I want." The stable master turned pale and replied in a terrified voice, " You don't want this horse. He's a complete beast. He's thrown off all the riders who tried to ride him." Hanamichi turned to the horse and stared at it, " What's his name?" " Blaze" came the whisper from the stable master. Hanamichi stared intently at the stallion and whispered, " He's perfect. I will take him." The stable master gave a sigh of resignation but he nodded. Hanamichi smiled and said, " I'll saddle him up myself." The stable master heaved a silent sigh of relief. Thank God, he didn't have to go near that beast. The last time he had tried, he had got a kick in the ass. He quickly moved towards the Prince's horse and started attending to it.
Kaede watched as the gardener grabbed the saddle from the one of the stable boys and moved towards Blaze. The Prince sniggered inwardly; he was pretty sure Hanamichi was going to get his ass kicked by that horse. So far no one had been able to go near that horse, including himself. The gardener stood directly in front of the horse and stared intently at it. There seemed to be a staring contest going on between the horse and the man. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the man broke the stare and moved closer to the stallion. He gently placed his hand on the horse's golden mane and stroked it. The horse stepped forward and nuzzled Hanamichi. The redheaded man quickly placed the saddle on the horse's back , while continuing to stroke its mane. Even after the saddle was placed on it's back, Blaze continued to nuzzle Hanamichi. The stable masters stared in complete shock at the scene. Even Rukawa looked a little stunned. He however quickly masked his expression with his usual cold glare.
Hanamichi grinned in delight that Blaze had accepted him as its master. The horse had actually appraised him and realizing his nature, it had accepted Hanamichi. The redhead turned around with a smirk on his face. He took in the shocked faces of the stable masters and turned to the prince, only to find the blue-eyed man wearing his usual expressionless mask. It disappointed him that the Prince was unimpressed but he was not one to dwell in self-pity. Instead he took pride in the expressions on the other men's faces. After both the horses were saddled up, the two men mounted their horses' and set out on their journey.
Kaede sneaked a few glances at his companion from under his lashes. The gardener had been extremely quiet and for some reason, that unnerved him. He was a man who appreciated silence, but somehow coming from the redheaded man, it didn't seem right. They had managed to cover quite a bit of distance and were two days away from reaching the first princess's kingdom. They had traveled together for approximately six hours, and not once had the gardener opened his mouth. He turned and glared at the man, " What's wrong with you? Are you sick or something?" The redhead gave him a blank look and replied, " There's nothing wrong with me. Why do you ask?" Rukawa didn't bother to reply. Why wasn't the redheaded idiot talking!! It was driving him crazy.
Hanamichi hid his grin as he took in the irritated expression on the Prince's face. He had purposely kept his mouth shut, firstly to irritate the Prince and secondly to prevent him from asking too many questions. He had realized that the blue- eyed man was suspicious of him and knew he was hiding secrets. What he didn't understand was why the Prince wanted to unveil his secrets. He barely knew the guy after all. He sincerely hoped that the Prince never found out his secret or there would be grave consequences. Right now, the Prince and him were practically strangers to each other and hopefully he would keep it that way.
The next day arrived with the rising of the sun. The light revealed a young man with fiery read hair standing under a Sakura tree with a haversack slung on one shoulder. The redhead had his eyes closed and he was breathing in the sweet smell of the Sakura flowers. In his current pose, he was the epitome of innocent beauty and serenity.
Rukawa slipped out from his room and silently made his way out of the castle. He was greeted with the sight of a beautiful redheaded man with his eyes closed, looking upwards to the sky. He felt something stir deep inside him, but he could not decipher what this emotion was. He was not used to feeling. He never cared enough to feel. He pushed the feeling aside and made his way up to the redhead. As if on cue, the gardener opened his eyes and turned to face the Prince. " All set to go, your highness?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. Kaede just glared at the man and started walking ahead of him.
Hanamichi followed the Prince to the stables to select his horse. He was rather surprised to see that the man had only brought one haversack with him. He supposed the Prince wasn't as stupid as he had originally thought him to be. He grinned to himself as he made his way into the stables. His eyes widened when he saw the number of horses kept there. All the horses were beautifully groomed and looked extremely healthy. He turned as he heard a voice behind him. " Choose a horse for yourself, gardener! You can pick any horse except that black mare over there." Hanamichi turned to look at the black horse that the Prince had been talking about. It was exquisitely beautiful and it reminded Hanamichi of his horse back home. He turned to one of the stable boys and asked, " What's his name?" Rukawa overheard the gardener's question and replied, " His name is Wind". Hanamichi nodded and murmured, " He's beautiful." The stoic prince turned to Hanamichi and replied, " Hurry up and choose a horse, we don't have all day" The redhead rolled his eyes and started examining the other horses in the stable. He walked around the stable, but couldn't find any horse that captured his attention. Suddenly, a soft whine coming from one corner of the stable caught his attention. He moved towards the area where he had heard the noise. He found an exquisite caramel coloured horse whining piteously. The horse stopped whining the minute it saw Hanamichi. The horse's mane shimmered like molten gold. He grinned and turned to the stable master, " This is the horse that I want." The stable master turned pale and replied in a terrified voice, " You don't want this horse. He's a complete beast. He's thrown off all the riders who tried to ride him." Hanamichi turned to the horse and stared at it, " What's his name?" " Blaze" came the whisper from the stable master. Hanamichi stared intently at the stallion and whispered, " He's perfect. I will take him." The stable master gave a sigh of resignation but he nodded. Hanamichi smiled and said, " I'll saddle him up myself." The stable master heaved a silent sigh of relief. Thank God, he didn't have to go near that beast. The last time he had tried, he had got a kick in the ass. He quickly moved towards the Prince's horse and started attending to it.
Kaede watched as the gardener grabbed the saddle from the one of the stable boys and moved towards Blaze. The Prince sniggered inwardly; he was pretty sure Hanamichi was going to get his ass kicked by that horse. So far no one had been able to go near that horse, including himself. The gardener stood directly in front of the horse and stared intently at it. There seemed to be a staring contest going on between the horse and the man. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the man broke the stare and moved closer to the stallion. He gently placed his hand on the horse's golden mane and stroked it. The horse stepped forward and nuzzled Hanamichi. The redheaded man quickly placed the saddle on the horse's back , while continuing to stroke its mane. Even after the saddle was placed on it's back, Blaze continued to nuzzle Hanamichi. The stable masters stared in complete shock at the scene. Even Rukawa looked a little stunned. He however quickly masked his expression with his usual cold glare.
Hanamichi grinned in delight that Blaze had accepted him as its master. The horse had actually appraised him and realizing his nature, it had accepted Hanamichi. The redhead turned around with a smirk on his face. He took in the shocked faces of the stable masters and turned to the prince, only to find the blue-eyed man wearing his usual expressionless mask. It disappointed him that the Prince was unimpressed but he was not one to dwell in self-pity. Instead he took pride in the expressions on the other men's faces. After both the horses were saddled up, the two men mounted their horses' and set out on their journey.
Kaede sneaked a few glances at his companion from under his lashes. The gardener had been extremely quiet and for some reason, that unnerved him. He was a man who appreciated silence, but somehow coming from the redheaded man, it didn't seem right. They had managed to cover quite a bit of distance and were two days away from reaching the first princess's kingdom. They had traveled together for approximately six hours, and not once had the gardener opened his mouth. He turned and glared at the man, " What's wrong with you? Are you sick or something?" The redhead gave him a blank look and replied, " There's nothing wrong with me. Why do you ask?" Rukawa didn't bother to reply. Why wasn't the redheaded idiot talking!! It was driving him crazy.
Hanamichi hid his grin as he took in the irritated expression on the Prince's face. He had purposely kept his mouth shut, firstly to irritate the Prince and secondly to prevent him from asking too many questions. He had realized that the blue- eyed man was suspicious of him and knew he was hiding secrets. What he didn't understand was why the Prince wanted to unveil his secrets. He barely knew the guy after all. He sincerely hoped that the Prince never found out his secret or there would be grave consequences. Right now, the Prince and him were practically strangers to each other and hopefully he would keep it that way.