"Boy! Get over here now!" the slave trader shouted. The little red haired boy stood up and walked over to him.
"Y-yes?" he replied nervously.
"Eh…follow me. The princess of Edo needs more servants. You'll be serving her starting tomorrow so get ready." He explained gruffly. The little boy nodded. His name was Himura Kenshin. How did he end up with slave traders? His parents had died of cholera and slave traders and came to their village. They picked up the people left behind from the others diseased with cholera. Those with the disease were burned in a fire after having gas poured all over them.
The next morning, Kenshin woke up to find himself in a wagon. He looked around to see where he was and saw that same slave trader again. He remembered where he was going and stayed quiet for the whole trip. It was a very bumpy ride and Kenshin occasionally bumped into one side. He realized he was starving and hungry. Ever since the slave traders had picked him up, he'd only eaten a slice of bread and about two onigiri. He realized how incredibly dry his mouth was and how thirsty he was. He law down on the hard wooden bottom of the wagon and fell asleep.
"Hey! Wake up you lil' runt! You have some nerve sleeping after I went through all the trouble to get you here!" The slave trader named Momoshiro kicked Kenshin hard on his side. Kenshin grunted and groaned from the pain coming from his hip. He sat up and drowsily rubbed his eyes.
"Lil' bastard," Momoshiro muttered under his breath. "Get up!" he yelled as he started beating Kenshin. Kenshin got up painfully, wincing with every move he made. He followed Momoshiro who was now walking into the castle. He was talking to the huge guard at the castle gates.
"State your business!" he ordered.
"I am a slave trader and was asked to bring one more servant for your majesty's daughter. He is it. I thought it'd be better to have one of the same age." He said smiling a fake smile and bowing. The big guard thought for a while and then, opened the gates. "Approved," he said.
Momoshiro bowed in gratitude and went into the castle walls. Kenshin followed closely, scared of his surroundings which had guards patrolling every hallway they passed through. Finally, they made it to the throne room.
"Ah. Thank you, Momoshiro. I'm sorry for asking you for such a big thing so out of the blue." The king apologized.
"Think nothing of it, your majesty." Momoshiro replied. He put on his fake smile again and accepted the money back the king had in his hand. Momoshiro left the room and probably out of the castle. Kenshin stood there in front of the king, trembling.
"Well, aren't you a little young?" he questioned. "How old are you, son?" Kenshin didn't answer. He was scared, hungry, and sore all over.
"Poor little boy. Escort him to a room of his own and give him a bath. Change his clothes as well." The king ordered his guards standing next to him.
"Hai, Kamiya-sama." They answered almost immediately. One of them carried Kenshin and the other led the way. Kenshin was escorted to a big, nicely furnished room with a humongous, soft bed and a closet full of clothes. Two old women maids came in and took over. The guards left and Kenshin was taken to the bathroom for a bath.
"What a cute little boy!" one of the maids shrieked. The other older one smiled and showed him the tub. They expected Kenshin to go in after taking his clothes off but he didn't move an inch.
"Oh! Do you want some privacy?" the younger maid asked, amused. Kenshin, blushing furiously red, nodded and the two maids walked out of the bathroom. Kenshin took off his clothes and stepped into the tub.
"YEOW!" he yelled as he touched the water. The water was stone cold and Kenshin was freezing his butt off in there. The two maids burst in through the door. They laughed as they saw Kenshin blush a very dark red after seeing them. They stepped forward with two sponges and some soap. They giggled as Kenshin looked down from embarrassment as they scrubbed Kenshin in his dirty spots. He took control after to clean his…bottom half and the two maids chuckled as they excused themselves from the bathroom. He heard them talking to each other and one maid stuck her head inside the bathroom.
"Your clothes are outside. We'll leave you to some privacy. Get dressed and when you come out, a guard will escort you to the king. Alright?" she said. Kenshin nodded and she left. He heard the door closing and he got up from the tub and started drying himself off with a towel. He walked out and there were the clothes on the bed, waiting for him. He wore the dark blue gi and the white hakama and slipped some dark blue tabi on. He tied his hair in the usual small ponytail, allowing his long and some short bangs to fall over his face. He stepped out the door and saw the guard standing there.
He looked at Kenshin and ordered, "Follow me, kid." He started walking through the long hallway and Kenshin had to take huge steps to keep up. Finally they reached a gigantic red oak door that had been polished to shine in the small candle lights that were there. The guards patrolling the door opened them and one of them led Kenshin in. There sat the king on his gold throne, waiting for him.
"Hello, young boy. What is your name?" he asked.
Kenshin murmured something but it was too soft for the king to hear him. All he could make up was Ken---.
"You must speak up, young one."
"Kenshin." He said a little louder.
"Very well, Kenshin. This is my daughter, Kamiya Kaoru. And I have King Kamiya of the Edo province.
He looked up to see a young girl, probably younger than him, dressed in a blue dress sitting on a smaller throne to his side.
"You look worthy of being a knight." He commented. Kenshin stayed silent as the king thought and thought.
He snapped his fingers. "Ah. I've got it. You will train with my friend, the swords master, for 8 years. Then you will come back and will be my highest ranking knight. However, that is only if you prove to be worthy enough." He said. Kenshin's eyes widened.
"Me? S-swords?" he stuttered. The king smiled and nodded slightly.
"I expect you to come back being a great fighter. Your master-to-be also is a master of martial arts."
Kenshin thought for a while. He had no choice, as he was a servant. So he accepted and the king ordered one of his guards to escort Kenshin to this master.