AN
(Author's Note): Thanks to ALLLL who reviewed!!!!!!! Especially Crystal
Renee!!!!! I will use the idea! Thank you so much!
Oh yea. I'm not very good with dialogue so I'm sorry! ^^"
I
plan to make this chapter longer since most of you are asking for that.
Enjoy!!!
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is not mine. Nor is the story Cinderella or Ella
Enchanted or Ever after. (Which is all a version of Cinderella, and if you
don't like it then don't read)
-Chapter 13-
Dinner ended, and Kaoru, Misao, and Dee had time to wander about the mansion, getting familiar with the territory. The next day, they will begin the 'training'.
Dee had a very fair complexion, and had a slight tan that matched well with her chocolate eyes. Her dark brown hair flowed freely down her back until her waist, and was slender and kind looking. She was gentle, and spoke in a soft voice and politely, which reminded Kaoru of Tomoe, her older stepsister.
Misao, usually chatty, stayed quiet, listening to Dee's soft voice talk about her background. As Kaoru, Misao, and Dee walked through the vast garden behind the mansion, Dee talked about her family. "My family… had left…" said Dee, with a sad tint in her voice. She continued. "I never knew my real parents that well. They had died in a fire when I was 9 and so the only home I had was the forest until a man picked me up, since my home had burned down."
Dee looked away, and Kaoru noticed that she didn't want to talk about it, so she didn't press the subject any further. Misao got Dee's hint also, and so she sat down under a big tree, and Kaoru and Dee followed. They all sat in silence for a while, thinking their own thoughts.
Kaoru's mind wandered off to Kenshin and his cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. Her own hand unconsciously lifted up and touched her own left cheek as Misao waved her hand in front of Kaoru's face.
She snapped out of her daze and stared blankly at Misao. "Do you want to go back inside?" asked Misao, partly yawning. Nodding, Kaoru got up and patted her Yukata, getting off the grass that clung to her new Yukata. They made their way inside and let the day pass.
~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ At the Palace ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~
Something was bothering him, gnawing at him, but the question was…what??? Kenshin paced back and forth, knowing something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. Is it someone's birthday?? Thought Kenshin. No, it can't be… then what IS IT?!?!?! In a desperate attempt to take whatever it was off his mind, he picked up his sword and went outside to practice.
He swung boldly and elegantly, strong but gentle at the same time. His mind was focused on the sword as he practiced in the hot sun, and his forehead was beaded with sweat. Kenshin was so concentrated, that he didn't notice someone coming behind him until he heard a cough. Though Kenshin isn't jumpy, he was still startled a bit and flinched. Then he looked back to find his father standing as tall as ever, with an omnipotent air around him.
His father, Hiko, was standing with a blade in one hand, and the iron sheath in the other. Hiko set down the sheath, and looked Kenshin in the eye. Kenshin accepted his challenge. For a while, nobody moved, and they each focused on one another. Then, there was nothing.
Hiko had swished to attack, his cape trailing behind him as he ran toward Kenshin. Kenshin, knowingly ready, blocked the attack and lunged for one of his own, but his father easily dodged it. Kenshin and Hiko continued to fight, until Kenshin collapsed to the floor.
His father was never easy on him, especially when it came to fighting with the sword. Kenshin was taught, ever since he was little, to respect the sword, and learn to use it to help his people. Though Kenshin never forgot that, he still turned out arrogant and self-centered.
Hiko smiled. He always loved embarrassing his son, his baka deshi. He left his sword sheathed on the floor, leaving his son alone.
Kenshin was breathing heavily as he let himself rest, knowing that his father was leaving. His mind wandered to the sky, watching the clouds pass. I haven't done this in a long time… and it was true. He was always busy, learning how to take over Hiko's rein, so he never had time for daydreaming, so Kenshin took his chance.
He breathed in the gentle breeze and continued staring at the sky, letting his mind wander off to a certain pair of blue eyes. They stared at him and made him restless. Kenshin quickly got up and made his way over to Kaoru's house, just to see how the family was doing after Tomoe's death, but he knew why he went.
When he got there, Megumi had just come into the hallway and wasted no time fawning over him. Megumi giggled, making Kenshin wince. "Oh, what are you doing here your Majesty?" she asked Kenshin.
He pushed Megumi off of him and politely asked, "I just dropped by to see how you were dealing with Tomoe's death."
Megumi looked him straight in the eye, and backed off. Suddenly polite, she said, "We're doing fine."
She faded away, uncomfortably looking at the tapestries that hung elegantly over the windowsill.
Kenshin, eager to see Kaoru, asked Megumi to see the servants.
"What for??" she asked, suspicious.
"I just think that… umm…" Kenshin racked his mind for an excuse, "I think that one of them had maybe seen my coat. I think I left it here the other day." He offered, lamely.
Megumi, still unsatisfied, rang for all the servants to line up anyways, and left toward her room in a huff. Kenshin breathed a sigh of relief as the servants scrambled out and lined up nervously in 6 neat rows. Kenshin looked them over, scanning for a mop of dark long hair and the blue eyes that captivated him, but he found none.
He asked one of the servants and told her what Kaoru looked like, she blushed while shyly answering, "Kaoru? Your majesty, I'm sorry to say but she left a day ago. She was sold to lord Shishio to become one of his geisha's."
She dared not look him in the eye, for it was status that kept her from doing so. Kenshin growled in annoyance, and the girl flinched, startled and frightened that he might lose his temper and hit her, for the prince was known for his rage and temper tantrums. But instead, Kenshin haughtily made his was out without even saying goodbye, and the servants murmured behind their hands.
I have to see her again… thought Kenshin. And indeed, he was true to his word.
~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ At the School ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~
Kaoru had trouble sleeping in the sleepwear she had to wear. It was so lacy and full of ribbons that whenever she turned, there were bumps where the ribbons lay. In fury, she tossed and turned and twisted in her blanket. The others were asleep, so Kaoru tried not to make a lot of noise. She decided instead to think of good memories that had happened, and Kaoru's mind flashed back to the day when she was swimming in the lake and caught Kenshin looking at her.
Instead of his usually arrogant face, Kaoru saw Kenshin with a gentle kind face, with a genuine smile. Kaoru smiled at the flashback, and she felt her cheeks warm when she remembered how close his face was to hers. She shook her head to rid of such thoughts, but they were burned in her mind and she couldn't shake them away.
As she thought of those purple eyes that had gazed at her, she fell into a restless slumber, dreaming only of Kenshin and his curious eyes.
To be Continued…
I hope you guys liked this chapter! It might not be a cliffhanger but that's ok! *smile* It was a little bit longer but I guess not enough huh? I put the sentences in paragraphs instead so that's why it probably looks shorter. But there are more words! - Nonetheless. I will try to update soon but I have to update my other stories too, but I always love reviews!! XDD
All flames are welcome, and if you asked a question before, could you ask again because I accidentally wiped my entire collection of fanfiction reviews away… gomen for the inconvenience, but I want to answer the questions~
Review Please!!!!