Author's Note: I really want to get this ficlet over with so I could start thinking about my new one, Midsummer Night's Escape. I hope that this chapter is to your likings and that you (hopefully) review. I love seeing new reviews and a flame won't hurt me, so send those too if you want. I'm not really one who would cry over a flame. I might get angry for a few minutes then brush it off… Yup, that's me! ALSO, I like long reviews! Constructive criticism is what I look forwards to the most because they help me improve my writing skills, and we all know that I need it. Again, I ask: should I or should I not include Tomoe in this fic? Oh well, I'm putting her in anyway! Oh yeah… sorry you guys haven't seen much of Aoshi or Misao… in all honesty, I forgot that I put them in the fic… :'( Bad me… Oh well, THANK YOU MY LOVELY REVIEWERS, INCLUDING MY DEAR FRIEND SSSRoaB!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Summary: Kaoru, once a princess, grows up to become a skilled thief. Her world is once again turned upside down when she meets the prince of a neighboring kingdom… and get this; he's forced to court her sister! Will this chaos ever be solved?

Disclaimer: Yet another mission to convince the world that I own Rurouni Kenshin has failed… I WILL be back… dun dun dun…

A Thief's Dream

Chapter Twelve: A chance meeting…

"Kenshin…"

The person in question just stared down at the (supposedly) slumbering girl. Kenshin's eyes widened as he began to realize that she was still unconscious and that meant that she was dreaming about… him….

"I – I t-think…" Kenshin tried to resist the urge of covering his ears. He shouldn't be taking advantage of the situation, especially since she was asleep. Just because she was dreaming about him didn't mean he had the right to listen to what she was dreaming about. Kenshin looked down at Kaoru's lips, had he really been kissing her just moments before? Was this moment real, or was he just dreaming? Kenshin gently drew Kaoru's head onto his lap and let her use his lap as her pillow. Kaoru smiled slightly in her sleep, "Ken… shin…"

Kenshin felt his face start to get warm and knew that he was blushing, but why would he be blushing? Wasn't she just a servant to him? Kaoru sighed loudly and all Kenshin's worries were diminished…

W-what's wrong with me…?  

Kenshin looked down at Kaoru once again and felt something deep inside him burn… She was so beautiful… She was here, with him.

Oh Kami… please no… not again…

Kenshin covered his face with his hands. How could he? Wasn't Tomoe enough happiness? It would be selfish of him just to… She was so young.

Am I in love again?

Kenshin peeked at Kaoru through his fingers, Yes, I am.

"Kenshin… I think I…" Kenshin smiled down at her and gently swooped down to kiss her cheek. He inhaled her scent, vanilla, and sighed contently before getting up. Kenshin exited the room to contemplate his new found emotions and therefore didn't hear what Kaoru said.

"I think I love you."

Kenshin was walking around the village thinking about… Tomoe… It's been a long time since he last saw her and the feelings he had for her never died, so was it so bad that he loved Kaoru as well?

I don't know what to do…

Tomoe would always be his first true love, but what if he were to see her again? Would that renew the passion for her? Kenshin's mind drifted to Kaoru. Her scent, her smile, her laugh, her voice… everything about her made his heart soar.

She was so different from Tomoe, but in a way they were still the same. They gave him a reason for living and ignited a different passion that he had never felt before.

I have loved before... would it be selfish of me to have another?

Kenshin shook his head in a fruitless attempt to clear his head. Kaoru's face kept popping up in his mind and all he wanted to do was think about her.

She was a nuisance, but yet she was his redemption… just like Tomoe had been.

Kaoru never knew, but Kenshin had once been the Hitokiri Battousai. He had been called three names in his life; Shinta the scrawny farm boy, the legendary Hitokiri Battousai, and now Kenshin Himura the future king.

He had three different lives and now two loves of his life; the only problem was if he was ready to welcome a new love. Was his heart ready for Kaoru? Could it accept her?

Could he accept her? Could his kingdom accept her?

This was not only a choice of the heart, but one of duty as well. Who did he owe more to, his kingdom or himself?

Kenshin was walking around, too deep in thought, that he didn't notice a young girl running towards him. Since it was too dark for either of them to see, they crashed into each other causing both of them to fall to the ground.

Why does this seem so familiar?

Kenshin looked up and his eyes met bright green ones. Kenshin looked deep into them before speaking.

"Who are you?"

"…"

Kenshin noticed her hesitance to answer him, so he just smiled encouragingly.

"I'm Misao Makimachi…"

The young girl, Misao, was a rather short woman. She was a few inches shorter than himself, she may even be shorter than Kaoru. Kenshin noticed that her dark black hair was pulled back into a long braid.

Misao looked up at the stranger impatiently. She just told him her name, so wasn't he going to tell her his name as well? It was only fair, but seeing as things were it didn't seem like she was getting any feedback soon.

Kenshin noticed that Misao seemed somewhat frustrated…

"My name is Kenshin Himura."

With that said, Misao seemed to relax a little and he noticed that her shoulders dropped and her stance seemed to loosen. Then, just as her figure relaxed, it was stiff once more.

"She went this way…" was heard in the distance. Kenshin then knew immediately that she was running away from someone. Kenshin looked around; they weren't that far from the castle… if she would trust him enough, he may be able to save her… possibly himself as well.

"Follow me!" Kenshin immediately began to lead the way towards the castle. Misao seemed to hang back awhile, as if she had been stricken with fear. Not knowing what else to do, Kenshin grabbed her hand and urged her forwards. Misao snapped out of her momentary trance and began to race after Kenshin. Unfortunately for Misao, she was much too slow to match Kenshin's pace and this resulted in Kenshin carrying Misao all the way to the castle.

Everything was a blur because of Kenshin's remarkable speed. Kenshin stealthily sneaked into the castle and slowly walked towards his room. Once they were in the castle, Kenshin settle Misao back on her feet. Kenshin slowly opened the door of his room; the hinges creaked as it was being pulled on. Kenshin pulled the door open and before he was able to walk into the room, a big, hard object was hurled towards his head.

"Holy SHIT!" Kenshin had managed to exclaim as his reflexes took over. He quickly grabbed the vase in midair. He looked at the other side of the room and saw Kaoru slumped against the closet. It was evident that the liquor still hasn't given up its hold on the young girl, but that didn't matter. What mattered now was the fact that Kaoru had almost succeeded in knocking out the prince, but thank Kami that he had exceptionally fast reflexes.

"I thought you were… someone else…"

Kenshin understood why she would be afraid that they were someone else. Because they were kidnapped before and escaped didn't mean that they were free yet. They had been kidnapped in Kenshin's room and neither of them had sensed the person's ki, so this would lead to Kaoru's anxiety.

Misao had witnessed the scene before her in silence and almost laughed as the young girl (she did not know) faint. It must have been because she was drunk, she did seem that way when they entered the room.

How long does liquor affect the mind…? This thought kept on running through Kenshin's mind. It has been about an hour and a half since they had been drinking and yet Kaoru was still drunk. That just goes to show that she can't hold her liquor very well.

When Kenshin brought Kaoru back to her little cot on the floor, she couldn't help but notice how gentle he was with her. Suddenly, Misao's mind wandered to her beloved Aoshi-sama. How was he doing? Was he alright? Questions flooded into Misao's mind that she swore it might explode from an overload.

"You can stay here the night… you're lucky I have a knack for saving people…"

The Next Day

Kaoru woke up with a pounding head ache. Not knowing what to do for it, Kaoru sat up despite the pain that it caused her. She grasped her head as pain shot through her body. Suddenly, a pair of hands was pushing her down onto her cot. Feeling this, Kaoru cracked her eyes opened, but was greeted with a bright light that just served to help her already pounding headache.

"Don't worry, Himura said to just lie down in bed for a while." Kaoru noticed (with dismay) that it was a girl who had said that. She didn't understand why the thought of Kenshin with another girl made her fume.  All her thoughts were diminished, however, when the door slid open to reveal the man of her previous thoughts.

Kenshin Himura stood at the doorway looking down at Kaoru, but what was in his eyes was what made Kaoru confused. He looked down at her as if he was looking down at his prized possession, but at the same time he seemed to be cursing her in his mind.

What could he be thinking?

"Ah! Himura-sama you're finally back! Kaoru-san has just awoken!" Misao chirped as she gestured to the woman besides her. Kaoru looked at Misao for the first time and found her rather sweet looking. She had large green eyes and a long black braid, but that's not what caught Kaoru's attention. It was Misao's clothes because they weren't servant's clothes, but men's clothes similar to the ones Kaoru was wearing.

"Um… who are you?"

"Kaoru-san, I'm Misao Makimachi!"

"…" Kaoru just remained silent as she tried to ignore her pounding headache… Kaoru tried desperately to remember last night's events, but nothing came to mind. Everything was so fizzy that she was about to give up when Sanosuke's face appeared in Kaoru's mind.

"Sano…"

"Oh, the rooster head from yesterday?"

"We saw him yesterday?"

"Yes, but you were still drunk." Kenshin looked down at Misao, then to Kaoru.

"Oh…" Kaoru felt a blush rise up to her cheeks, how tomboyish she must have seemed to Kenshin! Wait a minute! Why should I care what the baka thinks?!

Kaoru suppressed the blush, "What did we talk about?"

Kenshin scratched the back of his head, an old habit he had when he was thinking about something. "Well, stuff I guess."

Kaoru clenched her fist, "What kind of stuff?" Her question sounded more like a demand than anything else.

"Princess Megumi and such…" Suddenly a thought came to Kenshin's mind; yesterday Kaoru asked Sano if he wanted Megumi to meet him… Could that mean Kaoru is somehow connected to Megumi? Could she have been one of her servants? Kenshin didn't know why he hadn't realized this till now, but the mere thought was now driving him mad.

"That's it?"

"Well, he did say something about you guys being good friends."

"It's nice he still considers us friends."

"He also said that you could be joining the jousting tournament…"

"Really?!"

"Well, he said since no one knew you were here and that you're really a woman…"

Kaoru took a quick glance at Misao and sure enough, a confused glint was in her eyes. Kaoru sat up and grabbed her scarf to wrap her hair up. Footsteps were heard nearing Kenshin's room. Kaoru began to put away her small cot as Misao hid beneath the bed.

"Prince Kenshin, the queen is wondering if you are going to participate in the jousting tournament this afternoon."

Kenshin looked at Kaoru as she stared at the servant, "Of course we'll participate, my servant and I."

The messenger looked at Kaoru with what seemed to be disgust and ran off.

"Did I do something?"

"It's just that you look too weak to actually cause any harm to any of the contestants."

Kaoru grew red with anger, "What's that suppose to mean?!"

Without warning, Kaoru's fist bashed into the back of Kenshin's head sending him falling onto the ground with remarkable speed. Misao, who was getting out from under the bed, almost collapsed laughing because the prince was just beaten up by his woman servant.

Kaoru smiled instantly and mock bowed. Misao smiled as Kaoru started to talk happily with her.

"So, what brings you to this village?"

Suddenly, Misao seemed sad… Aoshi-sama, we've been separated for almost two days… I wonder how you're doing, what you're doing, what you're thinking? Aoshi-sama… I want to be near you…

"Oh nothing!" Misao smiled as she tried to cover her sadness. Kaoru knew immediately that something was wrong, but didn't say anything about it. They had just met that day and it would be inappropriate for her to pry into Misao's life.

"Do you want to join the jousting tournament as well?"

"No, I'll just be there to root you guys on!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

I think this chapter was kind of rushed, but I needed to get this jousting tournament in.

Someone reviewed asking what a jousting tournament is… well, it's kind of hard to explain, but it's a competition with certain weapons including the joust and sword.

I think the first part of a jousting tournament is the unseating or whatever you call it (I'll have to look up the name) when men are on the horses and try to unseat the others by pushing them off their horses. I believe the remaining few go on to the later events.

Then there are the medieval part with the long sticks called 'jousts' and well you probably know the rest. They charge towards each other and try to unseat the opponent. Then, if both are unseated, they try to eliminate the other by defeating them in a sword fight.

But, in this story I'll be adding some Greek games and probably some archery and such.

I hope you guys don't mind me changing the whole jousting tournament because I just need something to fill the chapters. Also I was thinking of two plots for future stories… one of them was the Midsummer Night's Escape and I explained that in the previous chappie, but the other could be called Message on a Cell Phone. The summery to that one would be something along the lines of… 'Kaoru is an irresponsible teen who has just been given a cell phone. When Kaoru looses the phone, she decides to call it to see if anyone would answer. Someone does and it happens to be Kenshin, who works at the Akebeko. What happens when Kaoru gets 'addicted' to the restaurant?'

I'm not sure which one to do next since this story is nearing the end… Yup that's right. I think there are about three to four more chapters left… I don't know.