Okay so once again I am updating early…

I don't have an excuse this time…not really. It's finished, edited, and ready to be posted, so why not?

A big shout out to J.D, the new and awesome beta! She did a wonderful job and will be collaborating with me on several other stories, helping with both plot and grammar. Isn't she lovely?

Ravyn

There will be an epilogue posted next week. So this is not the last chapter.

Remember I do now own the Kenshin-gumi.

The guards where posted in front of the doors to the royal chamber shivered. Their Queen was in a sunny mood. Which meant she was either going to have someone killed, or had found a helpless animal and was torturing it.

They would never say, think, or allow it to linger in their minds near the woman whose beauty had enthralled their kingdom, but they wished for the return of the princess. Anything to rid themselves of the terror that held their country in a frozen state of agony; in truth, they almost welcomed the red-haired demon that entered their city.

Perhaps he could find Princess Kaoru.

Yumi's smile was sunny. Bright. Tempered only with the slight edge of madness. In her hand, she held an apple.

Not just any fruit, not just any apple. This one was special.

Half poisoned with her careful witchery, half perfect and golden; so innocent in the eyes of a naive stepdaughter. But the other half was red as blood, dark and glistening. It called to the darker passions of a woman.

Perhaps someone would call it a wishing apple. Yumi called it the end to her torment.

Laughing, she danced her way to her mirror. Her skirts swirled around her ankles like a child's.

It was so simple. After so long it was -so- simple. The months of plotting, twisting events to her control, it was perhaps an almost anti-climatic moment in which her little stepchild would die too.

Watching the mirror focus she waited, patiently. Tsubame always found fruit for Kaoru the morning before they left. Yumi had watched that habit carefully for the past week.

Her –daughter- always started breakfast dishes early, and Tsubame would go and collect the apples or pears that her friend had asked for.

It had become a habit. There was a saying that a bad habit could kill you.

Tsubame had chosen apples this day, due to a careful manipulation spell. It took precious energy; she was a long ways off.

But Tsubame neither questioned it nor had a reason to wonder at her change of thought. Yumi's smile widened in delight.

Once the girl had collected a basket full, she started to walk back. That was when Yumi acted. Reaching forward, muttering under her breath, she threw the apple at the mirror.

It melted into the glass. Yumi watched hungrily as the apple appeared in the girl's basket, half hidden by the other fruits. The compulsion she had buried in the apple would force Kaoru to pick it out from among the rest.

She would not underestimate the luck her insolent mage-child seemed to exude.

Giggling like a child she waited. She would watch this time, making sure that there was not a mistake. Yumi cared little for the noise, sounds, and ruckus that came from around her. Her universe was centered on one apple. One girl-child. One problem solved.

In her obsession she missed the horn blowing its warning. She missed the sounds of warfare outside of her window. In fact, she be-spelled her room to keep all noise out, for she wanted no distractions.

But Kaoru was not the only woman being hunted.

Kenshin swept through the minimal resistance easily. He and his own were rather surprised at the sudden ease with which the guard gave.

There was almost relief on their faces.

Kenshin felt the itching in his Ki sense that told him something was wrong. Raising his face to the noon sun he frowned.

"Talk."

Aoshi was there with him, his own expression dark with something akin to disbelief.

"Apparently the Queen has locked herself into her chamber; some reason other than our attack. The guards think it has something to do with this Princess."

Kenshin frowned. "I think we should go and have a talk with Yumi, don't you?" Mage barriers were dismantled as easily as breathing for the King.

But he had the strangest feeling that he might be too late.

For something.

Kaoru swore violently as she cracked her toe against the table. Jumping up and down she threw the broom as far from her as she could.

She was taking a break if it killed her. With the way her toe hurt, however, it just might.

Grumbling, she headed to where Tsubame had left her daily offering of fruit and grabbed the first apple she saw. It was a strangely colored apple for area. Half of the apple shone a healthy gold, while the other half was a darker colors, rich red. Almost the color of fresh blood.

Kaoru frowned at it for a moment, wondering where Tsubame had found it, as most of the apples around the cottage were green. She hesitated, wondering if perhaps it was another trick.

But then the nagging sensations smoothed over and she shrugged. Yahiko had told her nothing dangerous could get through Yutaro's wards, and she would believe him.

Yumi broke a sweat at the sheer power it took to force her stepdaughter to lose her distrust. The young mage had strong wards, and she had to take down her own to use the energy as a type of boost.

"Eat it." Yumi hissed, her eyes glowing.

The door burst open, and Yumi turned to stare at the one man who had always managed to destroy her. She hissed in rage, her eyes wild.

"You're too late!"

Kaoru wiped the apple clean on her apron and wrinkled her nose. Something was still off. Shrugging she bit into the darker side first, sick of the tang of the green apples; wanting the smoother feel of the red that she had lost when she ran away.

It was slightly different than what she was used to, and Kaoru briefly wondered where the faint acidic taste had come from.

Kenshin froze at the scene in front of him.

Yumi was laughing, the sound grating on his frayed nerves. But in the mirror on her stand stood Kaoru. Her eyes were bluer than he remembered, her hair was tied up into a high ponytail, and she was wearing an apron.

She was eating an apple.

Kenshin felt something go cold in his stomach as he caught the touch of madness in Yumi's laughter. "What have you done?" Kenshin questioned, his voice dark with the shadows of his past.

"I killed her." Her voice was high and delighted. "It's over. She is finally dead. Dead!"

Kenshin frowned darkly, attempting to figure out what she was getting at.

"The girl..." Aoshi murmured, a mix of awe and horror darkening his voice.

Kenshin's eyes went back to Kaoru and something broke inside him, shadows twisting up in his eyes, tempered only by the fire that dictated his life.

Kaoru was holding her throat, her eyes wide. It appeared she was choking.

"My sweet, darling apple." Yumi cooed. "Still the breath in her body. Freeze those looks and may she enjoy her beauty in eternal death."

Kaoru struggled to find the energy to spit the apple from her mouth. Her hand went to her throat as her vision swam. Of all the times she had been placed under a spell, this one was the worst.

Slowly sinking to her knees she let the apple roll from her fingertips.

She heard it then.

A woman's laughter, and then his fury, his terrible fury wrapping around her; but Kaoru just wanted to sleep, to slip away.

Slumping over, she fell sideways, her head cradled awkwardly on her arm. Her lashes fluttered closed.

Before she slipped into the cold void that seemed to call for her, she swore she heard her name ripped from his throat.

Kaoru.

When Kenshin regained control of his sanity, his sword dripped with Yumi's blood. Aoshi was standing next to him and looked…apprehensive.

"Kenshin, who was that girl? Was that your mind shadow?" Soujiro questioned, his voice shaking slightly at the display of both temper and power Kenshin had just demonstrated.

Kenshin's hand tightened on his sword. He could feel her form, unmoving, unconscious in his mind.

"Was." Kenshin murmured, his face blank and dark.

"I am sorry." Aoshi informed him, hiding the banked anger in his gaze. "It must be painful losing her touch in your mind."

Kenshin frowned. She was still there, a form so still he almost missed her. The spell was indeed strong if it locked her magic form in with her in her death.

Locked her…

Kenshin's eyes widened when he realized the truth. If she was in his mind, even in the appearance of death, she was alive.

"She lives." Kenshin snapped. "I want this place searched for some way of finding her. Yumi must have somewhere to keep her magic; find it."

Spinning he headed back into the dead Queen's chamber. He would start there. The mirror had shattered, so there were no clues in that route, but perhaps somewhere else.

Tsubame wept into Yahiko and Yutaro's arms as she stared at the still, cold form they had moved onto the bed.

"It's all my fault." Tsubame whispered, her face tear- streaked, her eyes red. They had found the apple on the floor next to Kaoru's body.

"She isn't dead Tsubame." Yutaro soothed. "You know that."

"She looks it." Yahiko muttered.

Yutaro nodded. "Lucky I have heard of this spell or we would have buried her. No, it's just a sleep of sorts."

Tsubame sniffled. "How do we wake her?"

Yutaro wilted then. "I don't know. My old master never told me that."

They huddled together, watching Kaoru's pale face, wishing for a sign.

Misao swore at she raced through the streams of the gods-forsaken land that Yumi ruled. She had felt the disturbance in the waters, the lack of control, and knew Yumi was dead and the missing Princess unable –unwilling- to take control.

She came out of the stream running. She had to find Aoshi. She had this nasty feeling that Kaoru was in danger and that Kenshin sensed it too.

Damn men. She could have found them days ago but they had forgotten to mention the fact that they were leaving to go and take this damn place over.

Misao tore by the startled guards. Castle, they had to be in the castle.

She didn't slow until she caught the feeling of Aoshi's Ki. It was sad, torn, and she wondered at it.

Aoshi looked up when he felt Misao enter the castle. He knew she would find him, she always did.

"Aoshi." Misao said as she flew around the corner. "I know where she is."

And all hell broke loose.

Kenshin was buried deeply in his mind, his finger brushing her smooth mouth. He had created a place for her to rest comfortably, her magical form no longer in an undignified sprawl on the 'floor'.

The bed he had crafted glinted gold. It was cold, the way her skin felt under his hands.

"I will find you."

If he could find her physical form, he could somehow break the spell. He knew it. It wasn't a matter of ego, but of confidence.

Himura Kenshin would never let anything like a weak spell keep him from what he wanted.

He had admitted some time ago that he wanted Kaoru. He didn't care if she was peasant-born, although he suspected she was this missing Princess.

Kenshin allowed himself to leave her, safe in his mind, when he heard Aoshi's normally frozen force tinged with impatience.

"What?" Kenshin asked when he opened his eyes. He blinked.

Next to Aoshi stood a very attractive nymph, her eyes flashing with excitement. She looked familiar and Kenshin had a suspicion that she was Aoshi's lover. Her Ki practically reeked of Aoshi.

"I know where she is."

That was all he needed to know.

Yahiko sighed as he watched the way the leaves turned. It had been a week since they had come home to Kaoru's still form. He worried that the spell would cause her to waste away, but she was perfectly healthy, in appearance. If you didn't count her pale skin, her lack of breathing, and the icy feel of her fingers and cheeks.

Yahiko looked up and watched two birds chase themselves across the sky, and when his eyes went back to the path to the cottage, there were people breaking the tree line.

Yahiko slipped back inside to warn the others.

Kenshin looked around, attempting to find some sort of marker that proved Misao's directions. The nymph was waiting for them; she had taken the river as a means of transportation, muttering something about smelly horses.

Kenshin slide out of his saddle in a well-practiced move. Looking around, he started to walk to the cottage.

"Who are you?" The voice was suspicious and held no small amount of hostility. There was an edge to the tone that promised violence if he wasn't careful.

Kenshin frowned at the three children who stood in front of him. Misao hadn't mentioned children.

"We are looking for someone." Kenshin softly answered, his natural care for children coming to the fore.

"Why?"

Kenshin looked at the little girl. She was no more than twelve and looked worried.

"Because I think I can help her."

They all knew whom they were talking about, so Kenshin saw no reason to mince words.

"Promise." The boy, who practically radiated mage powers, demanded.

Both he and Kenshin knew that by doing so, he would be bound by his word.

A mage's word was his binding.

"Promise." Kenshin replied, his eyes flashing gold.

"She is in there." Yutaro answered, motioning to the cottage. "But only you."

Kenshin motioned for everyone else to stay, and walked inside. Even the children stayed out.

He found her laid out on one of the only beds. Her hair gleamed due to the sunlight filtering into the room via a window. Her long lashes covered her dark eyes, and her mouth was soft in sleep.

Kenshin sat down on the side of the bed, his weight dipping the straw mattress. Her body tilted slightly into his weight, and he brushed a hand down her cheek.

He had never seen a spell so complicated. There was a way to remove it, but he couldn't see it. If he simply ripped the spell to shreds, it would possibly destroy her.

Kenshin sighed and smoothed her bangs, the movement far gentler than he had intended. He wanted to yell at her, but her face was so…vulnerable…any thought of being angry with her flew out his mind. Her skin was frigid under his hands.

She was untrained. Frowning, he realized that he was going to have to take her home with him so he could keep her safe, and, once he figured out how to break the spell, train her in how to use her talent.

He turned to go and gather his companions, but turned back at the last second. Reaching down –he couldn't help himself- he brushed her vulnerable mouth with his.

She tasted better in the flesh than she did in his mind.

Tracing her bottom lip with his thumb he turned to leave.

"Ohhh."

Kenshin went stock-still, his eyes widening at the sound.

"I think I –detest- apples now." Her voice was dry, weak and rusty from lack of use.

Turning he watched as her eyes fluttered open, the sea-dark gaze glittering up at him with surprise.

"Don't tell me I am still unconscious?"

Kenshin laughed.

Kaoru wasn't sure what happened next. One minute she was gawking at the man in front of her –him, again- and finding she loved his laugh, and then three figures had burst into the room.

Then more people she didn't know –all except Misao- thundered in and everyone started asking millions of questions. That had been hours ago. Now everyone had pitched in to make dinner and the sun had set minutes ago.

Kaoru was attempting to avoid any contact with any of them. She needed time to think. It was one thing to deal with this Kenshin on a short-term basis, strictly at night; it was another to have him physically in front of her.

And looking as if he could eat her to boot, and Kaoru didn't know if was fear or something else that stirred her blood.

Kaoru hugged the branch of her favorite tree, a pear tree at that. She had climbed up it for security reasons. She had the nasty feeling it was safer in the branches than on the ground where he could see her.

Kaoru watched the moon rise above the branches. She wasn't sure what she thought about the situation. Everyone calling her Princess and discussing her going back to Kenshin's country for training, so that she could rule here, with the knowledge she currently lacked.

Alone.

Kaoru hated to be alone.

She didn't want to rule her father's country alone. She hated the dark, hated the knowledge that she went to bed and woke alone.

That's why she loved the cottage. Tsubame, Yahiko, and Yutaro had taken the bite of loneliness out of her heart. She was no longer a stranger amount the servants, or a mage in a royal family. She had decided a long time ago they were her family now, so wherever she went she was going to drag them.

She was Kaoru to them. A priceless gift she could never replace.

And she might start to hate those who rescued her if they took it away.

"Tsubame said you might be up there." Silk and sin, there was no other description.

Kaoru looked down and found herself staring at a different type of moonlight. The moon cast shadows and relief onto his features, and Kaoru's breath froze at the picture he made.

"So what ran you into a tree?" Kenshin questioned, leaning against the bark comfortably. His expression was hidden behind the shadow of his bangs, but Kaoru could see all too clearly the burning of his eyes.

"I needed to think."

"Sulk." Kenshin corrected.

"I am not sulking. What exactly is there to sulk about?" Having a pity party was not sulking. If she had a stick she would have hit him with it. Her mouth pursed in irritation, lighting a spark of fire in his eyes.

They both sat in silence, analyzing each other's Ki and attempting to read into it. Kenshin reached up and swung himself near her; her feet now even with his thighs. He was almost eye level with her now.

Maybe climbing into a tree and taking shelter in the thick branches had been a bad idea.

"Don't hide from me, Kaoru." His voice was dark chocolate. All rich and smooth, but forbidden as well. Everything about him was forbidden. He was everything her father never would have accepted, but all she wanted.

His magic. His touch. The way his voice created shivers down her spine. His husky laugh, the way he looked at her. But all of it was so far away from her reaching hands and heart.

"Hide?" Kaoru echoed thoughtfully. Her eyes were averted, her secrets safe.

Kenshin grasped her ankle. "I lied in there." His voice was nonchalant, but his eyes bright.

Kaoru's eyes drifted to his in surprise. "About?" She was weary, there had been too many traps sprung. Too much chaos for her to simply accept, and he was the heart of the storm.

His eyes glittered. "You remember when Yutaro was talking about the spell Yumi had you under? Aoshi said it sounded like a type of poison and Misao made the comment about an old spell she had once heard of?"

Kaoru nodded slowly, mentally filling in the details. Misao had asked Kenshin how he broke the spell. He had simply told them that he had found the trigger and broken it. He had kept any and all details to himself. For her.

Misao's eyes had glittered, but she had held her peace.

"The trigger, Kaoru, wasn't in words. More of a gesture."

Kaoru pulled at her foot, the intimate gesture unsettling her, but he refused to let go.

"I kissed you." His voice was smoky and dangerous, a blend of the night and the moon.

Kaoru went still. "What?" Half a whisper, half a strangled squeak, her face pale in the moonlight.

Kenshin stood then, balancing on his branch easily, bringing himself to eye level. His posture demanded her attention.

"The trigger to breaking the spell occurred when I kissed you. There was probably some meaning to it. Something sappy like 'true love' or whatnot. Ridiculous, and totally disregarding the laws of nature; it's most likely more along the lines of matching Ki or chemistry."

Kaoru gaped at him.

"See, the difficulty with breaking a spell like that is finding the person of affection, one who you can bond with through your magic or Ki. Not as easy as it sounds. I imagine there is also some time limit."

Kaoru was making a wonderful impression of a fish out of water.

"Utterly ridiculous way to create a spell, but there you have it." Kenshin drawled. "You do know what that means don't you?"

Kaoru slowly shook her head, her voice box still frozen.

He leaned forward till their noses were touching. "You're mine. You are meant to be my Queen. To be my equal; there is no mistaking the fact that you are magic-born. I believe the saying goes 'we are meant for each other.'" His tone was dry, but the underlying smoky tone curled her toes.

"Our Ki might match, little Kaoru, but I am more interested in the fire you light in my blood every meeting we have. I won't let you go."

Kaoru's eyes widened to saucers. He tweaked her nose then, his amber gaze dancing. Kaoru had a feeling that she was the only one who saw this side, the playful part of the dreaded Battousai.

It was that alone that stilled the frantic pounding of her heart. She searched his eyes, and found enough to give her a sense of peace.

Passion. Banked desire. Want. It didn't matter what name she put to it, he wanted her. Kaoru. Not anyone else.

Perhaps he wouldn't leave her alone either.

Kaoru licked her dry lips. "So were do we go from here?" She had to ask, had to know before she committed to a life she was going to know nothing about.

"Come back with me. Marry me. We can call the shots from there. I can't promise that living with me is going to be easy, Kaoru. I am violent, stubborn and have a nasty temper. I can promise, however, that I won't raise a hand against you."

Kaoru traced his mouth with her fingertip. "Will you leave me alone? To face my shadows by myself?"

Kenshin leaned forward, sucking the gentle digit into his mouth, nipping at the tip before running his tongue along the end of it, soothing the small hurt.

Pulling back he shook his head. "Never."

Kaoru nodded, her eyes shadowed. "Then I would be honored to go back with you and be your bride," to be taken care of, and to take care of him.

Kenshin paused. "Let's get out of this tree so I can kiss you." His voice was suggestive, offering more than a chaste kiss if she let him. Unspeakable things.

Kaoru blushed. Dropping down she tossed a glance of pure mischief at him. "Not if you don't catch me." Playing with fire was dangerous, and Kaoru wondered if she was going to get burned, but decided, for once, not to worry.

Kenshin grinned predatorily at her back. She wasn't running towards the cottage.

He gave chase.

So that was how Kamiya Kaoru, Heir to the Third Kingdom of the realm, became Queen Himura Kaoru, of the Third and Fifth Kingdoms.

The Himura's ruled wisely, with a mage power that not only lent their laws strength, but fairness.

As for themselves…they were very happy. Happily Ever After Happy, you could say.

There you guys go. See you all next week.