I'm so glad that people are still interesting in reading this after it took me such a long time to update last time..sorry about that. Anyway, here's the next chapter that was originally going to be put in with the 2nd chapterEnjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own RK
"speech"
'thoughts'
you know the deal..
Chapter 3: Conditions May Apply
Kaoru was enraged as she stormed through the halls. Luckily, she had been able to remain calm and contain her rage until she was out of view. The Prince had probably wanted her to make some king of scene. Well she had showed him! She was lost in her thoughts as her feet carried her to her favorite place in this castle, the Princess Garden. Millions of natural and imported plants and flowers placed in breathtaking designs, numerous grand fountains, and a quiet atmosphere. Kaoru's favorite part, though, was the fact that a natural waterfall came crashing down into the garden, carrying water throughout the garden and to a small body of water. Water was one of the things that could calm the temperamental princess down, and luckily for her, water was plentiful around the castle. Another thing she enjoyed about the garden was that it was private. Only the royal family members and a few people of great importance were allowed in. Due to this, Kaoru, Megumi, Sano, and Misao had spent many days and even nights conversing in the garden. She had memorized the many paths and hidden spots in the garden years ago, and Kaoru found herself down one of the path lost deep in thought. Her feet carried her to her favorite bench on which she absentmindedly sat down. Roses surrounded her, giving off their sweet smell while the gentle noise from the nearby waterfall danced around her. Coming back to reality, Kaoru took this time to relax in her favorite spot. The others would find her back here soon.
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Kenshin was a bit disappointed. He had at least expected more of an outburst from the girl. Last night she had seemed unable to hold her temper and keep her mouth shut. Pity that she hadn't done that. The only comfort that Kenshin had taken from the event was that he could sense the anger radiating of the girl. Well, at least she was mad. His eyes flickered with amusement for a moment before returning to their emotionless expression. The King had been shocked at Kenshin's terms, to say the least. Immediately excusing himself from the room, the King walk quickly away with his High Lord without a polite good-bye or excuse me. No doubt to discuss the event. So there Kenshin was, alone and bored, in the Great Hall without a thing to do. Tired of just sitting down, the prince found himself looking at the items around the room. Behind where the king had sat a large tapestry was hung on the wall, bearing the Kamiya crest in colors of gold and blue. Scattered around the room were numerous suits of armor, no doubt each holding some importance to the Kamiyas and their kingdom. On the left side of the room, a large set of doors opened up to a balcony. Upon stepping out onto it, Kenshin was greeted with an incredible view. Off into the distance was a town, which seemed to be busy and full of life, as smoke rose out of the homes and dots moved along the streets. Looking closer to the castle, there lay the body of water that surrounded the castle, peaceful and blue. Trees were everywhere, and random fields of flowers provided many colors that were scattered all around. It was like a painting. Taking one last look around, Kenshin returned inside. On the opposite wall, it looked like there were some kind of paintings. They turned out to be portraits. Looking near the bottom, Kenshin found what he was interested in. There the two sisters were. Megumi followed by Kaoru. Another lady's portrait hung to the left of these two, and Kenshin guessed it was their mother, the deceased queen. She had lovely raven hair, much like Kaoru's, that went well past her shoulders. The only difference in their hair was that Kaoru's was straight and the queen's was wavy. Her face was structured the same as Kaoru's and they also shared the same creamy skin. Funny, Kenshin had thought that the mother would look more like Megumi. It was obvious that Kaoru took after her father. They had the same blue eyes and they both had the Kamiya nose. Kenshin's eyes searched the rest of the portraits. None of them looked anything like Megumi at all. He frowned. 'How odd'
Kenshin was interrupted from his thoughts as a voice suddenly spoke to him, "Sorry to make you wait Prince," Kamiya said, "There were a few things that needed to be discussed. Now if you'll follow me, we shall talk about some conditions."
'Conditions?' Nodding silently, Kenshin followed the king down the corridor and to another room. 'What type of conditions?'
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Megumi stood shaking her head at the conversation being held between Kaoru and Misao. She wondered how much longer the two were going to keep up the silly conversation, it was just wasting time.
"I'm sorry to ruin your fun and disappoint you, but plotting to kill the prince is out of the question. Both of you need to come out of your fantasy worlds so we can all discuss this."
Kaoru and Misao paused for a moment before reluctantly agreeing.
"You're right Megumi, as usual," Kaoru replied in defeat, "But what else can we do about it. There's no use discussing it when father will be the one making the decisions."
"True," Megumi said agreeing, "How very true."
"Hey," Misao chirped, "Do you thinkthat Kenshin somehowknows aboutKaoru?"
"No way!" Sano said voicing his opinion, "How can he if most of our staff doesn't know?"
"Good point," Misao said agreeing, "Hey Kaoru?"
"What Misao?"
"Do you think we can gohorseback riding?"
"Sure Misao!" Kaoru replied as she thought about the last ride they had taken. Misao had managed to get off the trail as they raced to see who was the fastest. She ended up falling off the horse and into a stream, only to become soaking wet. On top of that, she had lost the race, "Just don't fall off this time Misao."
Misao shook her head, "Don't remind me"
"Excuse me" a voice rang out. It was a servant, "The King requests your presence Princess Kaoru."
Kaoru sighed. She had no choice but to go, "Already? Very Sano.."
"And High Lord Aoshi requests your presence too M'Lady," he said turning to Misao.
"Me?"
"Yes M'Lady. Now if you'll kindly follow me"
"Go on now," Megumi said, offering a small smile, "I'll be in my room reading a book. Come find me there when you finish. Maybe we con ride horses then."
Slowly the three followed the servant, wasting as much time as possible. None of them looked forward to entering that room. Kaoru, concerned about her father's decision, Misao puzzled as to why Aoshi had summoned her, and Sano, who never liked meetings.
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Kamiya, Aoshi, and Kenshin sat in silence, waiting for the arrival of those requested. They made no eye contact with each other, and each man seemed to be deep in thought. There was a knock on the door, before it cracked open and a head appeared, "Your Majesty, they are here."
"Good. Send them in."
The door open al the way to reveal Kaoru, Sano, and Misao. They all came in swiftly, quietly sitting down in a seat.
Kenshin broke the silence. "I thought this was to be a private meeting between the four of us," he said, gesturing towards Kaoru and the two other men. He looked at Misao and Sano, "What are they doing here?"
Kamiya opened his mouth to reply, but his daughter beat him to it, "Sanosuke is my personal guard. He is to be with me at all times and is to go where I go. Misao is here because she was summoned by Aoshi."
Kenshin gave a small nod to show he understood, "Now what are these conditions you mentioned?"
"First and foremost," Kamiya began, "I want to make it clear that I will not force my daughter into this. This will be her choice, and her choice alone. She will decide and do as she wants."
"Fair enough," Kenshin said with a frown. 'I was hoping to make this quick and easy. Now it's going to be dragged out'
"Secondly," the king continued, "If the Princess decides to accept, Sanosuke will accompany her as her personal guard."
Kenshin nodded. He had figured that someone would be sent with the girl. However, he had figured it would be a maid to help her out. What could he do about it though? Nothing. If he wanted the girl, he would have to accept the conditions. Besides, they weren't that bad.
"Is that all?"
"No," Aoshi spoke up, placing a hand on Misao's shoulder, "Misao will also accompany the Princess to Edo."
"Right!" Misao said cheerfully, "WaitHuh?"
The grip on her shoulder tighten and Aoshi gave Misao a stern look. Misao quickly shut her mouth. They would discuss this later, she guessed.
"These are the conditions Kenshin," the king said, "Do you accept them?"
"Yes, I will accept these conditions."
Kamiya nodded, "Very well then. Now the rest is up to Kaoru. She must make the decision."
All eyes turned to Kaoru, who was lost in deep thought, "I will require some time to think."
"You'll have until dinner tonight," Kenshin said coldly, "Word must reach my father by tomorrow morning."
Kaoru nodded, leaving immediately with Sano. Misao began to follow, but was directed down another corridor by Aoshi. Kamiya and Kenshin bid each other farewell, each going to their respective rooms.
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Aoshi quickly led Misao to his private library where most of his work was done. Misao gasped as she stepped foot into it for the first time. The room was grand. Thousands, if not millions of books filled the shelves built into all the walls. A lovely imported mahogany desk sat in the center on a specially made carpet. A collection of swords filled many display cases scattered about the room.
"Nice room," Misao muttered under her breath.
"Hmmm?" Aoshi asked.
"Oh nothing," Misao replied turning a bit pink, "Aoshi-sama, why must I accompany Kaoru?" 'Maybe he no longer needs me around'
"I would have thought that to be obvious," Aoshi stated, "Kaoru will require a friend while she is in Edo, Misao. More importantly, there are some places that Sano will not be able to follow her. Therefore, you will go as her consort, able to go anywhere the Princess goes."
"OhhhhhhI see," Misao said enlightened, "Aoshi-sama?"
"Yes Misao?"
"Do you think Kaoru will agree to it?"
Aoshi looked her straight in the eyes, "I do not know Misao."
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Megumi was shocked. Well shocked was an understatement. When Kaoru had rushed in and told he the news she had become speechless. Father was letting Kaoru decide? It was unheard of. What's more, she couldn't believe the Prince had agreed to it. If Kaoru did accept, she would be here all alone. With Kaoru, Sano, and Misao gone, she would have nobody to talk to or visit with. What would she do. 'Wait. Why am I so concerned about myself. Poor Kaoru. She has a big decision to make.'
Right now, Kaoru sat in Megumi's favorite chair, staring into nothingness. Sano stood next to her, a worried look on his face. Megumi stood up, walked over to where Kaoru was, and then violently shook her.
"And what was that for?" a grumpy Kaoru asked.
"Come on and snap out of it. You can decide later. Right now we're going to ride horses."
"No Megumi. I don't feel like it," Kaoru said coldly. All she wanted to do was curl up on her bed and go to sleep. There was too much to think about.
"Horseback riding?" an excited voice said from the door. It was Misao, "Let's go!"
Megumi looked at Sano and Misao, smiling evilly. Together, the three grabbed the fighting Kaoru, and dragged her down to the horse stables. Reluctantly, Kaoru mounted her horse.
"Only to make you stop bothering me."
After that, the four enjoyed a nice ride across the open fields and through the woods. Misao managed to fall off her horse only once, just missing falling into the river. Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, a servant had come on horseback to tell them supper was ready. All eyes turned to Kaoru as they put their horses back in the stable. Her eyes were clouded over, and it was hard to read her emotions. Half heatedly, Kaoru walked towards dinner with her friends, who walked silently by her side. In a matter of minutes she would have to make her decision. A decision that she had not had time to think about. They entered the room to see only Kamiya, Aoshi, and the Prince at the table.
"I figured a private dinner was needed for tonight," Kamiya said to his daughters.
They only nodded.
Kenshin wasted no time. As soon as Kaoru had sat down, he asked the question, "So Princess, what is your decision?"
Nobody moved or made a sound as Kaoru meet Kenshin's eyes. Her mouth opened and everybody waited for the words to come out, "
And that's the end of this chapter. Sorry to leave it hanging at this point, but I love the suspense. Sadly, I won't be able to update until the first week in August. I have Band Camp all next week, and I don't have access to a computer. SorryI didn't mean to leave it like this for so long..that's all. Hope you like it!
-Les723