Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, apart from this writer's block. *thwacks writer's block over the head* Writer's block: Ouch!
Author's Note: Hello! Back again, after another wait- sorry about that. Been very busy lately. Anyhoo, thank you for all of your wonderful reviews, and your patience.
Today, I do something mean ie. leaving Kenshin's storyline behind for a moment to catch up with Kaoru. Aren't I nasty? *grins wickedly*
Enjoy!
The Princess Bride: Kenshin StyleChapter Twenty-Five
Kaoru had been through more than any of the people who saw her smile and bow at parties would ever know. She had gatherings and presentations to attend almost every single day for weeks, but still, behind her lovely smile, she had a mind full of worry and pain.
She told herself it wasn't her fault that she and Kenshin had been separated; that she couldn't have done anything, for anything else she could have done would probably have ended with Kenshin being dead. At least, this way, she could go on knowing he was still alive somewhere in the world: he was no longer dead as she had believed for so long before.
But he was as good as dead to her.
And deep down, she still roiled in guilt, blaming herself for letting him go- for pushing him away, and choosing the Prince, even if it had been a choice of desperation and selflessness.
"Smile, Kaoru!" whispered Yumi in Kaoru's ear. The Princess quickly straightened her slightly slumping shoulders, and fetched out her best smile. She heard someone gasp in delight nearby, but she didn't care.
Yumi, stood near her, sighed in frustration. "Come with me, Princess," she muttered quietly, and, smiling prettily at the crowd of the grand gathering, the fourth that week in the palace, she guided Kaoru from the great, glittering room and out into a lesser hallway, where they could talk undisturbed.
Once alone, Yumi turned on Kaoru, hands on hips. "This can't go on, Princess. The Prince may not have the time to take you to task, but I do- it's my job to- and you need to do a more convincing job of looking happy!"
Kaoru slumped back against the wall, and stared miserably at Yumi. And somehow, just that action of being able to show how she really felt to another person helped a little. She'd grown so tired of pretending to every single person she saw that she was happy.
"So you know it's fake- you know I'm unhappy?"
Yumi frowned slightly. "Of course I do, I know you well enough by now to know that. And you've always had a problem with this marriage. Didn't we agree, though, back before the kidnapping, that you would try harder to actually appreciate all of this, not just pretend to? What?"
For Yumi noticed Kaoru flinch at the word 'kidnapping'.
"Was it that awful, Kaoru?" she asked quietly, her frown turning from one of annoyance into one of concern.
Kaoru bit down on her lip heavily, staring intently at the ceiling and willing away the tears that threatened her eyes. Not in the way you think, but it was more than awful…
"I'm sorry, Princess, I didn't realise…" Yumi broke off as she found herself suddenly, and for almost the first time in her life, out of things to say.
Kaoru hadn't had the luxury of crying in front of another person in months.
She broke down suddenly and completely.
Yumi caught her in an embrace, one that reminded Kaoru of her mother, whom she hadn't seen in so long.
"Oh, Kaoru, it's okay, you're safe now, nothing bad will happen to you again, the Prince will take care of you," Yumi murmured soothingly, as she stroked Kaoru's hair. For, brusque and independent as Yumi was, she also had a maternal side to her, and an instinct to protect people close to her when they were in pain.
After a few minutes, Kaoru had regained control of herself, and her tears finally stopped.
Yumi, as she set Kaoru properly on her feet, watched the Princess with concern. "You'll be all right now?" she asked. "It's all these parties and things as well, you know. It's enough to tire anyone out, and being tired always makes everything ten times more difficult.
"Now, show your strength, Kaoru. And I know you have it. Be the Princess I've taught you to be." Yumi's usual no-nonsense manner was back, and Kaoru was glad. She didn't like to feel pitied.
"If only there were some way to stop you having to go to all these gatherings…" Yumi mused to herself.
At that very moment, a young man came rushing into the hallway, panting and looking very flustered.
"Princess! I found you! You have to… Be informed…" he panted, staggering closer. Yumi eyed him with mild distaste. "The King… Dead!"
Yumi exclaimed in surprise. "The King is dead? When? What happened?" she demanded.
The young man shook his head. "Don't know… Details… Party called off for evening… Prince asking for Princess…"
Yumi pursed her lips. "Fine. This works well for you, I suppose, Princess- there won't be much celebrating after this, not until the wedding, at least."
Kaoru nodded numbly.
"Well, go on, then! I'm sure you have other tasks to attend to!" Yumi ordered, turning back to the servant. He nodded, hesitated, and strode off towards the kitchens.
"Well, well. I thought they should have kept the miracle man on. He did better than any of the other healers and doctors they tried," remarked Yumi as she led Kaoru to the Prince's chambers. "He was the last miracle man in the country. Not that he'll get any work, after the Prince fired him." Yumi shrugged.
"Here we are," she added, steering Kaoru into her chambers.
She helped Kaoru to change out of her formal kimono into something more comfortable. "You can go right to bed after you've seen the Prince. No one will ask anything more of you tonight," Yumi said, and Kaoru felt comforted by the prospect of an earlier night than she'd had in weeks- though she felt guilty only a moment later, that she was grateful for something that came of the King's death.
Yumi left Kaoru at the door to the Prince's chambers, some time later. All the guests had gone, after many words of regret being offered, and messages of consolation to the Prince and Princess, and the Queen. Kaoru couldn't be bothered with any of it. She just wanted to get some sleep.
The Prince opened the door himself; he was alone in his rooms.
Kaoru stared up into the Prince's face for a moment, before he gestured impatiently for her to enter, which she did, finding herself in a warm, fire lit sitting room, which seemed to double up as a study, for rows and rows of books lined the walls, and there was a large, imposing desk in front of one window. Several swords decorated the wall over the fireplace.
"My father is dead," Shishio said. He didn't sound sad at all. Kaoru hadn't really expected him to be.
"I know," she said simply in reply.
Shishio glanced at her, before striding over to the fireplace, and gazing thoughtfully into the flames.
"I will be king in a matter of weeks, even days," he added, seemingly to himself.
"Yes."
Neither of them said anything else for a few minutes, as Kaoru listened to the low crackling of the fire, and the Prince continued to stand still, watching the flames' dance.
Finally, the Prince spoke again.
"We will be married in four weeks. You will be Queen on that day. You will be my wife."
Kaoru nodded mutely, not really caring if he saw her silent reply or not. He never turned his face to her.
"You may go."
Kaoru blinked a couple of times, before sighing quietly. She turned to go, and closed the door quietly behind her.
All she wanted was some sleep.
The Prince's coronation went off without any trouble, and the wedding followed not long after, still on the date set at the beginning- it did not do to have something as festive as a wedding straight after the ruling monarch's death, after all.
Kaoru was dressed in the most magnificent kimono she had ever seen for the ceremony, and when she emerged in front of the people for the second time in her life, she was presented to them as their Queen, no longer their Princess.
Kaoru wasn't even quite sure herself how it had all gone so fast, everything that had led up to right now, her standing in front of so many people, all of them cheering and calling her their Queen, and the King, Shishio, stood up high on a balcony gazing down at her with an avaricious look she did not wish to see.
For she had requested to walk among them again, as she had when she had been presented as Princess, and Shishio had agreed.
She walked alone into the crowd, which parted as before, and cheered as before, masses of smiling faces and laughter and happiness.
Many voices called out congratulations and blessings; close to her, people murmured remarks on her beauty, and commented on how happy she must be. Several children beamed up at her as she passed, and their childish faces reminded Kaoru of all the innocence and happiness she had left behind, back when she had been growing up on her parents' farm. She smiled fondly at the children, hoping they would not see the tears threatening to gather in her sparkling blue eyes.
Suddenly, as Kaoru walked further into the crowd, the sounds of happiness and cheering was abruptly overridden by a loud, hoarse voice shouting, "Boo! Boo! Booooo!"
The people nearby fell silent, and everyone looked around for the source of the booing. Kaoru suddenly felt anxious, and scanned the crowd, who parted to show her the person who had been yelling.
"Booooo!" yelled the voice again. There stood an old woman, her face wrinkled and weathered, but, rather than an ugly face, rather it reminded Kaoru of her own mother, though an aged version. It was a face that must have had a great ability to look kind; only it didn't. The woman looked stern, angry, and somehow disappointed.
Kaoru stared at the woman, her brows drawing together.
"Oh yes, all of you cheer for her!" cried the woman, looking around at the people surrounding her. "Cheer for your Queen! Smile for the Queen of Filth, the Ruler of Garbage, shout for joy that you have a Queen of Betrayal!"
Kaoru felt anger take her over. "Why are you saying this?" she demanded. The crowd seemed completely taken aback, and it was still eerily quiet in the courtyard, save for Kaoru's voice and the words of the old woman.
"Why? WHY? Because you had love, and you threw it away! You had the greatest, purest love anyone could hope to wish for, and you betrayed it, threw it away like garbage!" She turned back to the crowd. "So bow down to her, go on, bow down to the Queen of Dirt! Boo! Boooooo!"
Kaoru staggered.
She'd betrayed Kenshin… She'd thrown him away…
She'd made a choice she could never go back on…
She'd done something that could never be corrected…
She'd done a thing that could never be taken back…
Kenshin…
Kenshin…
"KENSHIN!"
Kaoru flew upright, panting and sweating.
She looked around, disorientated and full of pain. "What…?" She was in her bed, in her room. It had all been a dream.
The King hadn't died. The wedding was still weeks away.
Kaoru put a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes. Tears gathered in her eyes, and flowed from under her lowered lashes, streaming down her cheeks.
She sobbed once.
And in that moment, she made her decision.
"I can't go on like this," she whispered to the shadows in her room, blinking the tears from her eyes. "I can't live like this."
The darkness did not answer her, but Kaoru needed no answer. She had made up her mind.
She would go to the Prince tomorrow.
She lay back down, and closed her eyes once more.
Author's note: Another dream sequence! *gasp!* But this one was actually in the book, so you can forgive me. *puts hands up in the air* Don't kill me!!
Thank you all again for your reviews and encouragement! You guys are all amazing! *hands out cookies to everyone* Yay! Chapter Twenty-Five: another landmark passed! Though I honestly don't think this story is going to require fifty chapters, so I'd say we're easily past the halfway point. Is that a happy or sad thing? *wonders*
Koryu: It's a good thing. This stupid story will be done sooner.
Akari: Go away! *mutters* Stupid writer's block…
Koryu: Who are you calling stupid? You're the one who can't even write a story properly!
Akari: *cries*
Koryu: *pretends he doesn't care* Hey, stop that! You don't have to cry about it! Geez! Stop!
Akari: *sniff*
Koryu: Ugh, look at you. You're pathetic.
Akari: *angry glint in her eyes* That's IT! Take THAT! *thwacks Koryu over the head with one of Kamatari's cookbooks* And THAT! And THAT!!
Koryu: @_@
Akari: ^_^ Until next time then!
Thank you to Azura Dea (Thanks, it was! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can ^_^), LSR-7 (The movie is pretty faithful to the book- it just lacks some of the details. So the general storyline will be the same here as in the movie and book. ^_^), SulliMike23 (Yeah, Inigo was drunk- but I didn't think Sou would really do that, and I want to avoid as much OCCness as possible.. Thanks, I will keep writing!), Cherry Delight, kamiya kaoru (Waaah! No, don't do that! *starts piling hundreds of pillows under kaoru's head* No, no! Eat cookies to pass the time!), Mewberries, Chiki (Hi Chiki-san! ^_^ Canada? @_@ Cool! I'd love to visit that country.. Yes, England ^_^ It can be pretty cool now and then *laugh* Hope you enjoy the rest of the story), Shadowfax (Yeh, it was more of a filler chaptr- but they have their place in the scheme of things, too. *shrug* Yellin? *goes to check Princess Bride* ^_^), MiraiGurl (Hey, thanks for reviewing so many of the chapters as you went! That's really cool of you. Yeh, I decided to go with Battousai, because it's more akin to the Dread Pirate- kind of a reputation of killing and evil, you know? It fitted. I'll certainly take a look at your stories when I get a chance ^_^), flirting with incoherence, insert catchy name here (*still laughing* Sorry, sorry, I'm not laughing at your pain! Just your way of describing it! *laughs again* I don't think you could ever end up like Enishi.. He's too evil. *glares at Enishi* Mean, mean man! Want a cookie? *offers* ^_^ I'll try to update more often.. *guilty*), Ame Kurayami (Well, difficult to say without giving out spoilers... But yes, Sou and Sano have rather major parts left to play in the lives of Kenshin and Kaoru. And yes, there'll be some angst ahead *smile*), CurlsofSerenity (Awww, sweetie! *glomp* He'll be okay!), yuhi (*offers a lollipop to Yuhi* Will this help, Shinta? *wink*), Silent angel20, MP1, Vash-chan AKA Makoto Almasy (IT doesn't actually have a full name: it's just called 'the Machine'. Kinda foreboding, really… *shivers*), Boomerang-chan, holly (It'll keep it a surprise, though, not knowing what happens… *smile* Thank you- I'll continue as soon as I can ^_^), Queen of Shadows (*giggles* He's too cool not to have a cameo!), ^_^ (That's half the fun! *laughs*), Zeh Wulf (Yeh, it's that time of year- peeps on holiday n' all. But I'm back! Yay! Thanks for the note on Kamatari, too: I was so hoping other people would see him in that part the way I did ^_^), Califpinay3001, Sailor Shiroi Cosmos, elyssalyn, lilk0k0 (Thanks!! ^_^), Silver Eyes Bright, EvilPrincessMelphis (Glad you liked it, Misty ^_^ And cheer up, Melly- have some cookies. *gomps Melly*), Ethelflaed (No! Kamatari isn't scary! Kamatari is cuddly! *cuddles Kamatari* See? ^_^), Mikazuki no Miko, Little Yahiko (*backs slowly away* Noooooo!), Papaya! (Papaya my dear, check my bio if you haven't already, and you shall find my reply to your review ^_^ So glad you're there! *glomp glomp*), Burning Forever (I couldn't really get away with that, because it isn't in the book at all, but I have been thinking of adding a very slight Enishi/Kaoru element to it… *shrug* Not sure if it'll make it into the final edit, though), Tevrah, Ryani, DarkElf6 (*eats all the M&Ms with a very big smile* Mmmmm… I like the brown M&Ms best), Elf Fanatic Lark, Corran Nackatori (*thwacks Machine* It is, very evil!! It's good that you like school- I always hated it. Though I loved college. More independence. ^_^), no-one-of-impotance, ElvenRanger (I don't think I can get away with getting Soujiro drunk and have him be in-character, so no, I don't think that parallel to Inigo will hold... but there'll be some wallowing of sorts…), Vashthedonuttheif, i won't tell, genocide ex-sync*in (hehe, yes, I'm back! Don't worry, I'll take care of Kamatari as best I can: he's just too cool to be left to flounder ^_^), Lil summoner yuna, dunkmoonX, Celeste Rose (The Machine will definitely be in it, as it was in the book to a larger extent than the film. ^_^), DarkAngel004 (Yes, I really appreciated the background of Soujiro in those episodes of the series- and that battle is my favourite part of the whole series! I'm very much looking forward to the 'To the pain!' scene myself, though I don't know how much I'll be able to lift word-for-word and keep Kenshin in-character… We'll see. *smile* Thank you for your review!), Ariel, Lizzy44, Amaya Ona, rurouni247, Alec Ikiiki (*falling about laughing* Well, *wipes tear from eyes* I'm glad someone has volunteered to take care of Kamatari when he's off-set! Though I imagine from your review that your house must be turning into something of a people-menagerie! *looks sternly at Sano* Now you'd best be taking very good care of Alec-san! She's been looking after you all this time, and making sure you're fed and given somewhere to sleep, so be grateful! *winks at Alec* I had no idea Kamatari was such a good cook- I guess that's payment enough for him being there, really… *tucks into the food offered* Wow, he really is good! *beams at Kamatari* You can visit me sometime, too! ^_^ Take care, Alec-san), Leina, Deuce of Spades (*feels the snuggle-factor and smiles happily* Thank you ^_^ ), yuu lover94, YAHHIKO –CHAN, Onichan (I can't put in all the characters, because there simply aren't enough parts for all of them- but there are a couple left up my sleeve, just keep an eye out in the next few chapters *smile* And thanks for the note on Sano's casting: I was a little uncertain about it at the start, but he seems to fit the part pretty well after all ^_^) and Kris (It's fun to write, too ^_^ I'll keep going as fast as I can- provided Koryu doesn't keep blapping me over the head).
Thank you all again! And please do leave a review!