Chapter Three – Finally, They Meet!
After Nicol regained consciousness, they decided to move forward their plan with a few modifications. With a flashlight on Yzak's hand and a map on the other, they crept silently on the hallways and proceeded to the Princess' chambers. The castle was quiet and they didn't (thankfully for them) meet any of the roaming guards.
"Hey, Yzak, are we there yet?" Nicol whined.
"Shut the hell up! If you didn't mess up, we'd be at home by now!" Yzak hissed.
Dearka sighed and pointed at a door. "Don't you think it would be wiser to keep silent now that we're –finally- here?" he whispered irritably. "If she wakes up and we mess up, we'd best say goodbye to Timbuktu!"
Yzak muttered something inaudible while Nicol just sighed.
"Okay, who knows how to pick a lock?" Yzak asked. He was met with two blank stares.
Nicol raised his hand. "Why don't we just knock? It would be more polite, not to mention time-efficient."
Dearka rolled his eyes and Yzak growled. "Why the hell do I even bother?"
Nicol sighed and proceeded to knock on the door. His head was promptly bonked by Yzak's fist. Dearka, on the other hand glowered at him.
"Why the hell did you do that?" Yzak hissed.
Nicol was about to answer when the door opened. The three froze and looked at the person who greeted them. "What the heck do you want? It's freakin' two in the morning! Wait…Do I even know you?"
"The hell? We're looking for the princess! This isn't her room!" Dearka said through clenched teeth. He glared at Yzak.
"This –is- the princess' room, you morons!" the blond person growled. "And I –am- the princess! A mad one! Get it through your thick skulls that people usually sleep at this ungodly hour!"
"Huh?" Yzak looked skeptically at the blond boy in the doorway. "You're a guy," he said pointedly.
The 'Princess' snarled and pointed to her chest. "I'm freakin' female! Get it?"
Dearka nodded and said, "Well, if that's the case…" then he thrust a handkerchief in the princess' shocked mouth and then she fell unconscious. "Mission accomplished!" he grinned.
Lacus Clyne pursed her lips. She had to remind Cagalli that a lady is always punctual. She had been waiting in the library for quite some time now. They always had lessons at promptly nine o'clock in the morning. Cagalli knew that, she didn't need to be reminded every single time.
Finally deciding that Cagalli needed some telling to, Lacus got up and proceeded to Cagalli's room. She knocked, but there was no answer. 'She probably slept late last night,' she reasoned. She sighed and twisted the doorknob, thankful that it was open.
She frowned when she saw that the bed was empty. She then proceeded to look for the Princess in the bathroom. She looked around the whole room but Cagalli was there.
She was now worried more than she was annoyed. They would be meeting with the Prince later in the afternoon and it would be bad if Cagalli didn't show up. She bit her lip worriedly.
'I know that Cagalli doesn't want to get married with someone she barely knows! But she wouldn't dare run away. She cares for Orb more than she cares for her own happiness. Something is wrong…' she thought anxiously. She needed to do something. She couldn't tell the King! It would cause uproar. No, it was best to keep it quiet for now.
In the meantime, she had to find a suitable replacement. Then it hit her. 'Kira!'
Kira looked around excitedly. He was going to the palace! He was going to see Lacus again! It was a stroke of luck that Flay had a family affair that day. He honestly couldn't understand what it was that made him say yes to every damn thing that Flay asked him to do. Maybe it just wasn't in his nature to say no.
He stood up abruptly when he caught sight of a pink-haired lady walking briskly in his direction. He tried to give her a smile, but it was replaced by a worried look when he saw the look on Lacus face. It was a mixture of anxiety, desperation and something else he couldn't decipher. Whatever it was that was troubling the young tutor, it definitely wasn't good.
"What's the matter, Lacus?" he asked, concerned. He led her to the bench and they sat down.
She looked up at him. "Cagalli is missing! She was supposed to meet her fiancé today and if she doesn't show up, the other King would think that she doesn't want to get married and would most likely call off the wedding! We can't have that! He's the last hope of Orb!"
"That's…that's bad," Kira commented while frowning. "Is there anything that I could do to help?"
Lacus' face became unreadable and she smiled eerily. "Yes, there is something you could do and I would appreciate it greatly if you would help me."
Kira smiled, glad that Lacus thought of him. "What can I do?"
"Pretend to be Cagalli."
He couldn't take it anymore. He -just- couldn't take it anymore. About a couple of hours ago, he didn't believe in hell. But after experiencing just -ten- hours with a certain blonde she-devil, he honestly believed that hell existed after all, and it was right here on earth.
It existed, all right, in the form of one royally pissed off Princess of Orb, Cagalli Yula Athha.
Dearka shuddered at the deadly glare that was coming from Her Majesty. He still could not honestly believe that this was -the- Princess of Orb. She looked much feminine in the pictures, that was for sure.
And the pictures didn't try to kick him in the groin every time he got within a leg's reach.
"How are you going to eat if you keep on kicking me?" he asked helplessly. He indicated the food-laden tray on the table beside him for emphasis.
The Princess snarled and he heard muffled swear words. She was tied to a chair near the wall, her hands tied behind her and her mouth gagged. They forgot to tie her feet together, never knowing that it could possibly lead to their downfall. Literally speaking. Actually, it was Yzak who forgot to tie her feet, but after a few choice (curse) words from their silver-haired comrade, Nicol and Dearka took the initiative to shut up.
Well, it led to Nicol's downfall, that's for sure.
Nicol was just standing guard there and peering at the Princess' seemingly sleeping face when suddenly, - WHAM! –
Now they were one person short as Nicol was spending the night at the hospital. He only hoped that Nicol's hopes to procreate were not dashed. If he hadn't seen the pain in Nicol's face, he would've taken pictures of it…for blackmail purposes of course! Nicol's eyes actually -crossed-.
His shift should've ended a few hours ago, but now, he was still stuck in the basement, filling in for Nicol. Dearka looked at his watch and gave a little frustrated noise. Two more hours. Two more friggin' hours of watching the groin-kicking, she-devil.
Rau Le Creuset, being the supposed genius that he claimed to be, gave them specific instructions to never, -ever-, leave Cagalli out of their sight. Not even for a nanosecond. Dearka snickered when he remembered that Nicol actually asked Rau if they were allowed to blink. He wasn't sure if the green-haired boy was being sarcastic or not, but sarcasm was lost in Nicol. He looked much too girlish and innocent.
The Princess was still cursing him.
Dearka snorted. The she-devil was even manlier than Nicol was. "Keep cursing, you won't be eating!" he warned in a sing-song voice.
Just a simple word. Just one measly word brought him to his current predicament.
"Yes, yes, we have to choose carefully. Cagalli always looks great in green."
He sighed in relief. Well, at least it wasn't a girly color. Like pink. He looked at Lacus. She was just so… -pink-. 'Well, it's not like pink is a bad color. It just doesn't suit – er – manly men! Like me!'
He looked around Cagalli's room and snorted inwardly. 'Well, manly men like me and Cagalli.'
Lacus had smuggled him inside the castle and if he wasn't a little dazed from his decision to act like a girl for several days, he would have actually appreciated it. Lacus wasted no time showing her the sights and instead hurriedly led him to the Princess' chambers. If he hadn't known better, he would say that a boy lived in it. It was messy, there was a basketball hoop behind the door (for god's sake!), there were no make up or beauty products on the table, there was even a metal baseball bat beside the bed. Cagalli's bed was messy (for lack of better word) and it wasn't frilly and lacy, unlike girls' beds.
Lacus took out a green dress from the closet.
He gulped. This was it. "A-a d-dress?"
"Yes," Lacus answered vaguely. "A dress. And a wig, too. A blonde wig…"
"A -blonde- wig?" he whispered nervously.
Lacus flashed him a weird look. Kira blushed and smiled apologetically. He had been repeating every single word that Lacus was saying. 'How embarrassing.' "I'm sorry. It's just that, it's not everyday that you dress up as a girl and impersonate someone you've just met."
Lacus smiled encouragingly at him. "Don't worry. It's easier than it looks. You just have to wear this dress when Cagalli's fiancé gets here. As for everyday clothes, well, you saw how impossibly boyish Cagalli is."
Kira suppressed his laughter. Cagalli didn't act anything like a princess. Something was bothering him though… "Have you seen her fiancé?"
"No," Lacus answered sadly. "This is the first time that they will meet, I'm afraid."
Kira knew he should mind his own business, but he had to know. "Well, how does she feel about this?"
"Cagalli knows her responsibilities as the Princess of Orb," Lacus said vaguely. She continued fixing everything that Kira would need: the green dress, the blonde wig, the amber-colored contact lenses, the stilettos ('How do they wear that?') and the ('gulp!') make-up.
Kira sighed. "Well, I -did- promise to help you out… so, I guess that's my responsibility, huh?" Well, in reality, he just said that in the hopes of seeing Lacus smile again. For some reason, whenever she smiled, it seemed like he can endure dressing up as a tomboyish princess over and over again.
And he wasn't disappointed. Lacus smiled. "Thanks a lot, Kira. I really appreciate this."
Rau Le Creuset was extremely happy. His plans were going right for once. He had one minion down. Thanks to the Princess, he wouldn't have to dirty his hands to kill them. Well, 'extremely happy' was an understatement. He was feeling deliriously cheerful.
He glanced at the worried face of Uzumi Nala Athha. Yes, yes. 'Worried' was the appropriate word for him. He looked ready to jump at any given moment. And the reason for the soon-to-be ex-King's predicament was not even in the room.
The Princess' royal fiancé did not even bother to show up and left everything to his assistant. Rau snorted inwardly, 'That goes to show how much he cares. NOT. HAHAHA! Even better!'
But there was something suspicious about the way the assistant kept on glancing at the guard beside him… Oh well, it wasn't any of his business.
His business involved getting things running! He was in heaven! Just a couple more minutes… Just a couple more and he would be crowned KING! His dreams were finally coming true!
He wanted so -badly- to laugh out loud. But no, he had enormous self-control. He felt his mouth twitch in a sneer. Well, he'll settle for that. But -after- he gets crowned, he'll laugh all he wants! However loud he wants! HAHA!
They can search for the Princess all they want. They'll never find her!
His feet were cursing him. He could almost hear it. He didn't know why he chose to dress up like this. He only just realized that being a guard was -hard-. He vowed to give the guards back home a raise. He fought the urge to sigh. He had heard from the princes from other lands that his journey would be futile. The Princess of Orb was just too much for words.
He found her fascinating. From what he had heard, Princess Cagalli Yula Athha was no ordinary princess. For one, she loathed all things girly. Like gowns for example. She didn't care much for pleasantries and frankly said what was on her mind.
She was unlike any girl that he had ever met. And that made him all the more determined to meet the Princess.
But it appeared like the Princess was not showing up. His assistant gave him a subtle glance. He could clearly read the disbelief and impatience on Arthur Trine's face. He turned his head a little to the side to indicate that they were going to wait for a couple more minutes.
"King Uzumi, we will wait until five o'clock in the afternoon. If the Princess does not show up, the wedding will be postponed," Arthur explained tartly.
The King glanced warily at the person on his right and whispered fiercely. The tall man nodded and exited the room without another word. Then, the King straightened up and turned to Arthur. "Don't worry Mr. Trine. I'm sure that Cagalli has a very good reason as to why she is late."
"She'd better," Arthur whispered inaudibly. He gave a tight smile and then, kept his silence.
He shifted his foot from one foot to another. He, too, had to agree with Arthur on that one. He chanced a glance at the person on his right with the funny-looking mask. Talk about a fashion statement. Still, no matter how funny the mask looked, he found the person creepy and suspicious. Maybe it was that sneer…
His musings were interrupted by the loud opening of the door. He saw three people enter the room. One was the tall man who exited the room a while ago, the other was a pink-haired lady, and the third one was, there was just no mistaking it. She was even prettier in person than in the pictures. He stopped his mouth from dropping wide open.
"May I present to you, Princess Cagalli Yula Athha of Orb."
The Princess gave a fleeting smile as she proceeded to walk towards her father…
And promptly tripped on her shoes, falling flat on her face.
He stifled a laugh, he felt like his stomach would burst. Yes, Princess Cagalli Yula Athha of Orb was -not- an ordinary princess.
Next Chapter: Will Kira ever get up? Will Cagalli escape? Will Nicol recover and have kids? And will the author finally -name- the not-so-mystery King? Watch out for the next chapter of 'The Princess and the Pauper'!
Author's Notes: A big THANK YOU to all those who reviewed! I thought that maybe you'd have forgotten about this little fic that I started a couple of months ago… It must be a miracle! I updated on -time-! Well, I didn't actually state that I would update after a week, but nevertheless! It is a huge step for me. Maybe I'd finally get my juices flowing for 'Escape…' haha. I wish. I've been meaning to ask, what the heck does IMAO, RTFLMAO, etc. etc. The only abbreviation that I know is 'LOL'. I really wish you could help me with that one. Thanks!
Shameless Plug: Check out my other fic, 'Seasonal Changes'! It's slightly different from what I usually write… Okay, okay! It's -very- different, since it's an Athrun-Lacus fic. But, well, I'd just like to know what other people think. Maybe it's crap. Maybe it isn't. I'm planning another Athrun-Cagalli fic to assure myself that they -are- made for each other. Just -planning-. Okay, I confess, just -plotting-. I don't know why! I'm terribly traumatized by the events in GSEED Destiny! Phase 30 is the furthest that I got. Just a question. What the heck is happening to Athrun and Cagalli! I have to know! I have to! Heh. Pardon my temporary insanity…
Bonus: Yes, yes, I know it's been done before…but if you'd like to see some 'bloopers' that I wrote, please indicate it in your review and I will be adding them at the end of each chapter as a sort of 'bonus.' I'm not going to upload it in a new story… I have plenty of 'works in progress' and I wouldn't want to burden myself more. It's just a sort of, omake. Here's a sample…
-
Phase 20 – On a Calm Day
Scene where Athrun visits Lacus.
Lacus: I'm rather fond of him (Kira), actually.
Athrun: (eyes open wide in shock) You're fond of him?
Lacus: (puzzled) Yes…
Athrun: (sighs in relief) Phew! Great! I'm rather fond of his sister, too, actually.
Director: (frustrated) CUT! Athrun! You haven't met with Cagalli yet! Technically, you and Lacus are still supposed to be together!
Athrun: (pouts) I just thought I'd make things clear with her...