Here more for those who reviewed! hope you like it, I still don't own them!

Chap 2: Memories of a mother

Herb's POV Master Herb's eyebrow went up slightly in surprise, and his voice grew slightly warmer. Just slightly. He couldn't help but notice that this person had not taken off his cloak, and that was beginning to bother the prince. Why was he not showing his face? "What business do you have here, in my domain?"

"I am a messenger, sent from His Majesty, Emperor Thyme. I bear letters from the General, Lord Pepper to the Lord Counsilor Sage. I also come with a gift to you, my lord prince, from your lady mother, Queen Anise." He motioned to the pack that one of the border guards still held and he brought it to him. He rummaged through it until he found a large wrapped package. Taking it from his things, he peeled off most of the protective paper and set the gift down at the prince's feet. An attendant quickly picked it up and brought it to the prince.

Herb was surprised, to say the least. His mother...Anise. Her name was Anise. He had forgotten that. He barely remembered the woman at all, and now she had sent him a gift. A gift from his mother..he stilled his hands and forced himself to open the parcel slowly. It wouldn't do to show such emotion in front of his subjects. As he opened the lid, a soft wave of scent came from the box.

It was of lavender, light and delicate, and it brought back a memory. Of his mother, holding him in her arms. For the first time in many years, he saw the face of his mother. she was tall and slender, with soft pink hair held in pretty emerald clips. she'd had wide blue eyes, and she always smelled nice. his two year old mind couldn't remember more than that yet, but he knew that she'd always smelled nice.

It had been the last time he'd ever seen her, and she'd held him tightly for a whole minute. She'd been crying. Crying at being apart from him, for what would be most of his childhood life. She hadn't wanted him to go- He shook his head hard to clear it of such thoughts and looked at his gift. He lifted it slowly from the box.

It was a suit, a formal suit for his wedding. Deep, deep emerald green with gold cuffs and collar. The embroidery was hand stitched, gold vines with small ruby leaves down one sleeve and part of the chest. The pants were worked with the design as well, on the opposite side. It must have taken days, weeks even to make such a piece. Herb swallowed before looking back up at the messenger.

"You have done well." He swallowed once more before speaking again. For the first time, Herb was hungry to hear about his mother. "You know my lady mother?"

The messenger smiled at him, "I am her personal messenger, Your Highness, and am constantly at her side."

He frowned at that. What was this man doing with the Queen? "And just who are you? You never gave me your name."

He saw the young man hesitate, and began to get more annoyed. "Surely you have one. Most men do."

"I'm not a-! Forgive me, Your highness, but I'm a little nervous to say it. I guess I have no choice now," he muttered under his breath. Taking a deep breath, he brought up his hands, (oddly small and graceful hands, Herb noted), and pulled back his hood.

Revealing a soft jaw and baby pink lips, delicate cheekbones, and large eyes of deep purple. His lashes-her, Herb thought in a daze-her lashes were long, almost an inch and formed russet half moons on her cheeks, her eyebrows arched perfectly. Her hair was a dazzling shade of cherry red, and as she took the rest of her cape off, he saw that her clothing complimented her perfectly. She wore a plain red tunic that hugged her perfectly, and black traveling pants. Her boots were red, and he couldn't stop staring.

"My name is Lady Cinnamon of the House of Spice."

An older man, not quite so stunned by the appearance of a woman, stood shakily. "Lady Cinnamon?"

She turned to meet the amber gaze of the man. he was dressed in the long robes of a noble, and two long pheasent feathers trailed down from his head piece. "Lord Councilor Sage?"

He smiled warmly at her with a polite bow. "Welcome to the training grounds, my dear lady." She bowed deeply in respect, looked up smiling, then ran and jumped up in his arms. "Grandfather Sage! I've missed you."

"And I you, dear one. How have you been?"

"Oh, quite fine, grandfather, your wife sends her love and your daughters as well. Carmel and Angelica miss you so much, they can't wait for when you can come back home."

"I hope to return to the capitol within the year.

"Wonderful! They'll be so happy-"

"Lord Sage?" Both of them froze at the prince's voice. "You know this- girl?"

"Yes, your highness. She's the daughter of Lord Celery and Lady Nutmeg. Both of them were accomplished matchmakers, and helped your father arrange your marriage. But due to our kingdom's nature of men and women not seeing each other"-

"They thought it best if I helped prepare you for being dealing with women," Cinnamon finished. she smiled, and about 99% of the room was temporarily robbed of speech. "I've been sent by your mother and father to help train you for your courtship of the Lady Vanilla. Your future wife."

The prince went deathly still. "You mean to tell me, you had someone in mind to teach me about women," he almost hissed at the advisor, who cringed at what was coming next, "and yet you let me go off to Jusenkyo to learn about women? You chose not to tell me?"

Sage nearly swallowed his own tongue in fright. "My lord p-prince, I was away at the time you left, I had had no idea of your intentions, or I would have informed you of such a development. I assumed you knew you father would send you a teacher."

"How was I to know of such arrangements?" Herb's voice had gone from icy to hissing outright.

"My lord?" Both of them turned to face the young girl before them. "does it really matter so much? I'm sorry for being so tardy, I was supposed to have arrived over a month ago. I was delayed by."she hesitated, "by a village of Amazons. They insisted I become one of them after they saw some of my fighting skills."

He looked at her with surprise. "You are a fighter?"

She looked at him in complete surprise at his tone. "Of course I am! You don't really expect your mother to send me off without teaching me a few of her best tricks? She taught me as well as most of the palace guard. Your mother is a very fierce warrior when she wishes to be."

He tried to feign disinterest at the news. "She is?"

Cinnamon couldn't hide the slight shock in her voice. "You really didn't know that?"

Herb looked away as he answered quietly, "I know very little of my mother."

Cinnamon could have smacked herself. she kept forgetting that he couldn't have had any knowledge of women at all, let alone his mother. "I apologize, my lord prince, i-"

"Call me Master Herb, it simplifies things."

"Y-yes. Master Herb."

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this is going to take awhile, but I intend to have fun while doing it! please review!