Author's Note: OMG! I have 109 reviews! Pinch me! I MUST be dreaming!! *pinches herself* OUCH! I guess I'm not… unless my vision is getting worse… WAH! TELL ME I'M NOT CRAZY AND REVIEW! Thanks to people who sent me info on horses. I don't ride, nor do I really know a lot about them… I just assumed that they would be that way… -_- No, that's not true. I actually typed down what I had read in books and stuff like that. Most books I read are about
Summary: Kenshin is a lonely prince who has been kidnapped… Kaoru is a thief that saves his life, is a relationship between royalty and criminals possible? Can Kaoru be what Kenshin was waiting for…?
Disclaimer: I don't own a private jet and I don't own Rurouni Kenshin… WAH!!!!
A Thief's Dream
Chapter Fifteen: The Race Begins
It takes a million snowflakes to make a blanket of snow.
It takes a billion stars to light up the darkest skies.
But, it just takes a single rose to fall in love with you.
'Must win this damn race!'
Kaoru looked up at Kenshin and saw that he was grinning arrogantly down at her. She resisted the urge to punch him really hard. Kaoru angrily wrung her gloves before pulling them on. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest. She didn't want to lose. Kaoru's first kiss… she wanted it to be with someone special…
Kaoru pursed her lips in frustration.
"Are you practicing for that kiss I'm going to win?"
Kaoru glared at Kenshin and stuck her tongue out at him. Why did he have to be so cocky? Kaoru turned her head away and saw that her horse, Apples, was running along the plains with Kenshin's horse, Yu. She smiled as the horses gently brushed against each other and neighed softly.
"When will the race start?"
"When I say it will."
Kaoru crossed her arms over her chest. He was so arrogant… she wondered if he had any friends. She wondered if he was… lonely.
"Are you lonely sometimes?"
"No, I'm the prince. Why would I be?"
"It's just that you're an arrogant bastard that doesn't care who he hurts just to get what he wants."
"You're just trying to weasel your way out of the bet because you know I'm going to win."
"You're mean."
"That is a hurtful insult, you wound me."
Kaoru huffed and turned her head away. 'Evil…'
She cracked open one eye and saw Kenshin staring straight ahead. She opened both her eyes and followed his gaze. He was staring at the sun as it slowly dipped downward.
"Let's get our horses."
******
"Mother!"
"Megumi, dear… what's wrong?"
"Pardon me, mother, but I've been troubled as of late."
"What troubles you?"
"Must I marry this Prince Himura?"
"You must carry on the royal line and produce an heir for the throne."
"But, mother… he's…"
"I don't see what's wrong with the prince."
"But, he's… sh-"
"You haven't met him, yet. Please don't make assumptions that are not needed. I've heard that he is a very…"
"Mother! He's short!"
"Megumi!"
"Mother!"
"Megumi!" Her mother was shaking by now. How dare she mock the prince?! Would he want to marry such an insolent woman?!
"Mother!"
"Megumi! This is childish!"
"Mother! This is so unreasonable!"
"Megumi…"
The moment suddenly tensed and neither spoke a word. Megumi glanced warily at her mother and was ready to run out if her mother tried anything strange. Megumi was suddenly scared that her mother would force her to marry Prince Himura…
"Megumi…. He is a prince of high esteem! Their country is rich in all it's imports AND exports! Don't mess this up, my dear…"
The way she said 'dear' made her suddenly remembers her younger sister Kaoru. It's been a while since she last seen Kaoru. Last year her mother had told her that Kaoru went to their uncle to 'calm down' as her mother would say. Kaoru wasn't as mature as Megumi and so scared off her tutors and most of her suitors.
"You shouldn't immediately hate him because of that. It's not even a reason why you shouldn't marry him. I've heard that he is very intelligent, you can talk to him about… stuff you know."
Inside her head Megumi scowled and mocked her mother, but her face showed no sign of distaste. She only frowned slightly.
Megumi pouted suddenly and seemed to revert back to her childish times. She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her bottom lip out.
"This stinks…"
"Megumi, not stinks. Use horrid."
"This is absolutely horrid." Megumi replied, stretching out the word to make sure her mother understood her frustration and impatience.
Megumi wondered why Kaoru didn't come back home yet… she kind of missed picking on her… okay, okay. She DID miss picking on her.
******
"Are you ready?"
Kaoru just nodded as she mounted her horse. Kenshin got one of the servants to draw a starting line.
"Here are the rules. No cheating, a clean race. The inns are the checkpoints. If you are in the lead, you must leave some kind of token to signify that you were there. We race till the inn at Yokohama. The first one there wins."
Kaoru nodded. She knew that there was no way that she could back down from this race. She knew that Kenshin would make sure she raced against him… it was times like this when Kaoru wished she didn't fight back. Kaoru's fingers wandered to her lips. She didn't want him to have her lips. She didn't want him to have anything dealing with her.
Kenshin just grinned at her. See you in Yokohama!"
And the race began. Kenshin spurred his horse forwards before Kaoru could do anything. She turned red with anger and pressed her horse forwards. She could feel Apple's muscles contracting with every step as her horse ran with her hooves beating against the hard stone.
Kaoru concentrated on the dirt road and smiled when Kenshin and his pure white horse came into view. They were so close… she could feel victory looming over her, but then again… it was just the start of the race. Might as well as pace yourself.
She looked to the side and saw the forest, then a thought popped into her mind. He never said you couldn't cheat. Kaoru pulled the reigns of her horse and dashed through the forest. She smiled as she rode through the trees, bushes, and shrubbery in the forest. Kaoru felt so open when she was there because there was no one to see her. No one around to tell her what she was doing wrong. She smiled as she pushed her horse faster.
Kenshin looked behind him to make sure that Kaoru was still there, but when he did… she was no where in sight. This confusion slowed Kenshin down and then, out of no where, Kaoru popped out of the forest in all her glory and sped past a very confused Kenshin. When the idea finally dawned on him, he grinned and continued to ride.
They rode hard till finally they made it to the first checkpoint. Kaoru checked into the inn and walked up the stairs to her room. She smiled and collapsed on the bed. Tomorrow would be a new day and they had two more checkpoints before making it to Yokohama.
Looking forward to tomorrow, she fell asleep as she smiled at her near 'victory.'
******
"Is everything ready?"
"Yes."
"Where is he?"
"He is nearing Yokohama. He has no servants with him."
"No one is with him...?"
"No sir. He's with a woman…"
"Who?"
The man grinned and whispered her name.
"Things are falling into place."
A cold grin danced on his lips and he dispatched a few archers and footmen to Yokohama.
"Yes, everything is perfect."
"Lord, do you think he will put up a struggle?"
"Yes… but we will be victorious."
"Yes, my liege."
TO BE CONTINUED…
I hope you liked it… a little shorter than usual… -_- I'm so sorry about that, but I just wanted to update soon. LOL!
I hope to see a new review! Just hit that little button down there! *smiles*
Happy days! ^_^