Su Kaolla - With a license to thrill
Su Kaolla - With a license to thrill[PG-13]
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson
Summary: The Crimson Moon is about to appear and the time for Kaolla's change is imminent. Amalla remembers about it in time and Kaolla is called back home, to ensure that the foreigners she's living about doesn't find out about her condition. However, Kaolla believes that she might be bored without her usual playmates around and thus arranges for Keitaro to go to Molmol with her, which causes all kinds of havoc!
Disclaimer: Love Hina, Hinata Sou and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine.
Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860 or through e-mail as , more stories are available at my nifty lil' site at or by clicking on my handle up above.
"speech"
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers
/thoughts/
/telepathy/
translation
soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV
Previously, on 'Su Kaolla - With a license to thrill'
Razor didn't have time to be confused, as he was busy making his way away from the royal gymnasium, with several weights in his mouth. He had taken one whiff of the morning breeze coming from the airport and felt the fur at the back of his neck rise. Without hesitation, he'd hastily dug a hole underneath his den and was now busy lining it with whatever hard objects he could find.
Now all he needed was a supply of water and some sort of lid, to drag over the pit and then stay down there until the danger was over.
Roll credits
Chapter Four:
"Prince Su. May I have a few words with you?" a calm and collected voice inquired, causing Keitaro to look away from the clouds in the skies, in order to focus at Lu Rawan, the Royal Chancellor.
"Of course, Chancellor." Keitaro replied.
"I just received a troubling call from the international airport. It would appear as if there are several individuals in three groups who have just arrived, who all wants to have word with you. All three parties are currently detained at the airport." Rawan responded.
"Who... Who are they?" Keitaro inquired, swallowing nervously. He had a faint feeling that he knew at least two of the groups, had expected two groups actually. But just who were the ones in the third party?
"Your parents, your sister, your grandmother, your aunt and the tenants from Hinata Sou." Rawan answered, causing Keitaro to pale.
"It's worse then I feared..." Keitaro muttered, swallowing nervously. He'd only expected the tenants, perhaps along with Haruka, as well as his parents, not Kanako and grandma. This was worse then he'd feared. "How soon can you get me out of the country?" he asked.
"Where do you wish to go?" Rawan inquired curiously.
"Anywhere that's not here." Keitaro replied.
'Not here', was good. Going from 'here' to 'not here' as soon as humanly possible, was better.
"Well, we haven't been on our honeymoon yet. I was thinking Hawaii. What do you think about that, Keitaro?" Kaolla asked, her head popping out of a nearby bush, startling the hell out of Keitaro. Rawan took it in his stride, however.
"Sure. Fine. Whatever." Keitaro agreed enthusiastically, not really hearing anything other then Hawaii. "Can we go now?" he pleaded anxiously.
"Sure thing, honey! Rawan, have the jet prepared, would you? And get a car ready to take us to the airport. Have the prisoners released once we're in the air." Kaolla ordered, clambering out of the bush and brushing leaves off her clothes.
"It shall be as you say, Princess." Rawan agreed, bowing faintly to her Royal Highness, Su Kaolla, then again, to his Royal Highness, Su Keitaro.
"Master." a woman stated, opening the door to the small, cramped office.
"Yes, Miss Doughcent?" the evil mastermind responded.
"Cashdollar." Miss Cashdollar reminded her absent-minded evil employer. Of course, her tight white top, generous cleavage, firm nipples pushing outwards towards the tight top, bare midriff, an indecently short black miniminiminiskirt, polka-dot panties peeking out from underneath the miniminiminiskirt and nylons sensuously clinging to her well-shaped legs, might have something to do with his complete incapability to recall her name whenever she was physically present.
"Of course, Miss Greenpound." he agreed, his gaze going from chest to groin area, never stopping long at any one point, before moving on to the next and then back again, in a never-ending cycle.
"Never mind." she sighed. "Prince Su survived the bombing. Unfortunately, we now have reports stating that the princess jet is being prepared and our mole reports that the newlyweds are going on their honeymoon."
"What?! Are you certain, Miss Buckyen?" the evil mastermind demanded.
"We have confirmed it, yes." she repeated, rubbing her temples.
"Prepare our jet and scramble the assassins, Miss Clamcrown. We're going on a little journey!" the evil mastermind exclaimed.
"We don't have a jet, Master. Nor any more assassins. Budget cuts." Miss Cashdollar explained. "I'll find out where they're going and get us some tickets."
"Very well, Miss Greasemark." the evil mastermind replied, jumping up onto his chair and putting his right foot onto the desk, pointing his right arm straight ahead. "We will rid the world of the unwholesome beast who dared to sully my Princess. Then I can marry her and we'll live happily ever after, having 2,4 kids and a nice house with a little picket fence. And a dog, a Shetland Sheepdog!" he gushed.
"Wouldn't you rather live in the royal palace?" Miss Cashdollar asked curiously.
"The palace! Yes, of course! We'll live in the house on the summers." the evil mastermind responded, amending his scheme somewhat. "And she'll bake me cakes and I'll eat them and I'll compliment her and she'll blush cutely and then we can hold hands as we watch the sunset..." he ranted happily.
"I'll go order those tickets now, master." she said and turned around. "Don't trip and fall off the desk again, master." Miss Cashdollar advised as she made her way back out of the office.
BARUMPH CRASH
"Never mind..." Miss Cashdollar muttered as she seated herself at her desk and got to work.
"Ahhh... Safe!" Keitaro exclaimed as he stepped off the plane in Hawaii.
"Ahhh... Honeymoon!" Kaolla exclaimed as she stopped next to him, wrapping an arm around him.
"Ack! Not safe!" Keitaro exclaimed and took several steps side-ways, twisting out of her grasp.
"Calm down, hubby. I 'aint gonna bite ya." Kaolla said and smiled at him. "But we are just married, we are on a vacation together to an exotic location. Weather you want to admit it or not, we are on our honeymoon."
"But..." Keitaro started, then sighed and rubbed both his temples. "Things have been so busy, that I haven't actually had time to ask you what you think of all this yet. Why did you go along with this whole marriage thing?" Keitaro inquired, deciding to ask a question that had been heavy on his mind ever since Queen Tamawa announced that there would be a wedding.
"I like you, Keitaro." Kaolla admitted without hesitation. "You're fun to be with, you're always very kind to everybody, weather they deserve such kindness or not, you are determined, you're very comfy to sleep with and you're very cute."
"You... Have a crush on me?" Keitaro asked with a tone of disbelief in his voice. "That's why you married me?"
"Please, give me some credit here, Keitaro. I'm not like Shinobu, with her constant hero worship of you that causes her to view everything about you with rose-colored glasses." Kaolla responded. "I like her and she is my friend, but if you're looking for someone with a schoolgirl crush on you, look no further then Shinobu. I like you, nothing more, nothing less. I might even love you, but I'll get back to you on that later when I've had some time to find out for sure." she continued and looked over at Keitaro with an oddly mature look on her young face. "A crush is not the reason I married you. What I feel certainly isn't true love either, at least not yet. But, I think that one day, it could be. That was why I was willing to go along with the wedding. Well, that and there were some other reasons too, which made the whole arrangement an offer that I just couldn't turn down."
"Other reaso... Oh, that thing your brother... Cousin... Adopted brother... That Lu Lamba, mentioned about you being his fiancée?" Keitaro responded as the two of them strolled into the waiting limousine, while the stewardesses packed the royal couples' luggage in the trunk.
"That is one of the reasons, yeah. I love my brother, don't get me wrong. But it isn't a marrying kind of love and I doubt that it ever will be. He watched me grow up, Keitaro. He's been around me for as long as I can remember. I love Lamba in ways I'll probably never love anyone else, but I don't want to marry him. Not now, not ever." Kaolla explained, then grinned. "Besides, Amalla has a crush on him, so she would have resented me for it if I had married him. Now she's free to make a move, unless she changes her mind."
"That sort of thing doesn't bother you?" Keitaro inquired as he tried to picture himself together with his own adopted sister Kanako. The imagery was... Disturbing.
While he could privately in his own mind admit that Kanako was a pretty girl and probably only would have become even more so since last he saw her, there wasn't anything in him that made the notion of a liaison with her an attractive one. He could certainly understand why Kaolla wasn't interested in marrying her adoptive brother. What he couldn't understand, was that Amalla seemed to be.
"If that floats her boat, that's her business. I love both of them and if they can make each other happy, then hey, go for it I say." Kaolla replied after a few moments. "Our laws doesn't prevent it and there are several precedents of marriages within the immediate family in the last fifty years. Not many, but it happens." he added with a faint shrug, then smiled again. "Anyway, I'm happy to have married you, Keitaro. You're a good man and I hope to be a good wife to you."
"You seem... Different." Keitaro observed.
"You're my husband. I see no reason to pretend before you any longer. At least not in private." Kaolla replied and looked uncomfortable for a few moments. "I'm intelligent, Keitaro. Very much so. But I'm also still a child, there are so many more things I want to do then spend my days being poked and prodded at, whenever I'm not studying. I've seen what happens to other kids who share my situation and I've never wanted that to happen to me. So, I've played it down. I do well in school, very well in fact, but not as well as I could. I always make sure to make a few errors, not to answer the questions as well as I really can and the few times someone has sat me down with an IQ test, I've done the same." Kaolla explained with a pained expression.
"That way, I'm still allowed to be a kid and if I feel like studying some more and get into more advanced topics, I can do so on my own without being forced to do so." she continued with a morose expression. "And all I have to do, is to lie about myself to everyone I know." she finished.
"But... Surely there's nobody that can force you to..." Keitaro started, only to be cut off with a short laugh.
"You have met Tamawa-mom, haven't you? Don't let yourself be fooled, Keitaro. My stepfather is the king, but my birth mother is the one that really calls the shots. If she found out that she's got a genius for a daughter, she'd have me whisked away to some elite school for gifted children before I could open my mouth to protest." Kaolla explained. "She, and the whole marry-my-own-brother-thing, are the reasons why I wanted to go abroad to study. I love my family, Keitaro. Being separated from them is almost more then I can bear, sometimes. That's why I have my nightmares, that's why I'm subconsciously searching for something to latch onto while I sleep. But it's a necessary evil. When I'm sixteen, I'll be an adult in the eyes of our laws. But until then, it's better that I'm not around, to lessen the chances of being discovered for what I really am."
"It just seems... Wrong, somehow." Keitaro interjected.
"I'm lying to my family, my best friends and just about everyone I know about who I am. Of course it's wrong." Kaolla agreed. "You know. I think Amara-mom knows, but I'm not sure. Dad probably knows as well, I think he's the same as me, but never bothered to let anyone know about it the way I plan to."
"Your... Dad?" Keitaro commented, having a hard time joining the image of the laid-back ruler of Molmol with his own mental image of a genius. /Kaolla's step-dad./ he reminded himself. The family tree of the Royal family of Molmol was a complicated one.
"He didn't become king by lazing about on the couch all day long, y'know. Nor did he attract and manage to convince two women to marry him by sheer luck either. No, I'm certain that he's a lot more cleaver then he lets on." she explained.
"Uh. I have another question..." Keitaro said, swallowing before hastily continuing. "You don't have to answer unless you want to."
"I don't want our marriage to be all about secrets, Keitaro. Ask whatever you want and I will answer to the best of my ability." Kaolla replied.
"You've been... Ah... Very amorous, lately. Now, when there's no escape, you're not. I was wondering... Ah... Eh... Why that is..." Keitaro muttered, just barely loud enough for Kaolla to hear what he was asking.
"Oh." she commented, then smirked. "Would you like me to be?" she asked.
"Ah! Eh! No!" Keitaro blurted out. "I was just curious..." he muttered.
"Sorry." Kaolla said and her smirk changed to a friendly smile. "It's more or less the same reasons as why I'm always fooling around. It's a lot of fun and it helps people from seeing the 'real' me. I'm also curious, of course. But it's mainly the first two. You can consider it an honor of sorts, I guess. If you had been any other man, I never would have dared to act like that, just in case you might actually take me up on my advances. Something I'm not ready for just yet." she explained and gazed fondly at Keitaro.
"I wonder if you realize just how precious you are, Keitaro. If you have any inclination at all of just how unique you are. Any other man, would have leapt at the merest hint of an opportunity. You, do not even when it's thrown right in your face." Kaolla continued and reached out to gently caress Keitaro's cheek. "If you want me to, I'll stop pretending that I want to jump your bones the first chance I get. But you don't have to worry about it though. I'm not ready and when I am ready, I wouldn't approach you like that. It's all pretence for the galleries." Kaolla explained. "And since there isn't a gallery around us at the moment, there's no need for pretence." she finished, nodding at the privacy screen cutting them off from the driver and bodyguard.
Keitaro wasn't all that comfortable with the last addition, but figured that it was just something he would have to accept as part of the package that was his new princely life. They were discreet, but ever since he had agreed to the wedding, there had almost constantly been at least one bodyguard around. He could hardly wait to get back to the Hinata Sou, but as his new married status entitled him to a Princehood and a future kinghood, there was certain ceremonies to deal with before he could return to Japan.
Ceremonies which would now be even further delayed due to the impromptu vacation.
He shuddered at the thought of an immediate confrontation with his mother. The notion of seeing the tenants at Hinata Sou before they had a chance to calm down, was also a very intimidating idea. Hopefully, things would have calmed down some by the time they were back in Japan.
"Well, I guess if it helps, there's no need for you to stop." Keitaro replied after a few moments hesitation, once his mind got back on track from the little diversion it had taken.
"Thank you, Keitaro. I appreciate it, and not just because it helps to hide the real me. Like I said, it's also a great deal of fun." Kaolla responded and smiled at him. "Do you have any idea of how cute you are, when you are flustered?" she purred, leaning in closer with a hungry look in her eyes.
"Ah!" Keitaro exclaimed and jerked away.
"See? Oh, it's priceless!" Kaolla laughed and leaned back, reaching over and caressing his cheek again. "I can certainly see now what Amara-mom has talked about all these years. It's a lot of fun to have a boyfriend to tease. Of course, she always wanted me to have more then one, but I think you'll keep me busy enough." she murmured with a sweet, friendly, smile.
"Jesh, you scared me there for a moment." Keitaro exclaimed, laughing sheepishly at himself.
"Take it easy, Keitaro. I'm not gonna jump your bones anytime soon." Kaolla laughed, then adopted a more serious expression. "I would like a kiss or two, however." she explained, then studied his shocked expression for a few moments, before she sighed. "Whenever you are ready for it." she added, then her expression turned more wistful. "Think about it, please? I would like a kiss from my husband one of these days. A real one, not something like the stiff, brief, pseudo-kiss at our wedding."
"Ah... I don't thi... Eh... Well... Eh... I... Ah... I will... Think about it." Keitaro stuttered out in response to her request.
"You do that." Kaolla agreed and leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder. "Just don't..." she began, then sighed and fell silent, unwilling to press an obviously sensitive issue any further with her new husband and risk undoing the good that had come out of this conversation. Now she was actually allowed to rest her head on his shoulders. After she started her amorous campaign, Keitaro had switched to actively avoiding her. That had made her reconsider and decided to reveal the truth to Keitaro, her new husband and that seemed to have eased his fears somewhat.
Husband...
It was an odd feeling, being married. She had always known that a marriage was in her future and that she didn't have much choice in the matter. She knew that Tamawa-mom had been planning her wedding for a long time. The day before her sixteenth birthday, the day before she became an adult in the eyes of the law of her country, she would have married her brother, to legitimize the line of succession. She didn't think the people really cared, but Tamawa-mom was a traditionalistic person. She cared and probably assumed that everyone else did as well.
If something should have happened to her brother, if one of the countless assassination attempts had actually worked, another groom would have been found from some prestigious family with valuable connections and/or resources and Amalla would have been next in line for ruler of the country.
Kaolla had never expected to get to marry out of love. And now she had...
Perhaps. She still wasn't sure.
She glanced aside and up at Keitaro, her husband.
She had told him that she wasn't certain if it was love or not. She wondered if that had really been the truth. Did she love him? Perhaps.
What was love? Did she know? She wasn't certain.
She might be more intelligent then just about anyone she had ever met, but she was still young. Her body had a lot of growing left to do. Her emotions had a lot of growing left to do. Until that was over and done with, could she know?
The marriage wasn't a question about a crush, she had said. And it hadn't been. The fact that she probably had a bit of crush on Keitaro hadn't been a factor, just a nice bonus to the entire package deal.
Would the crush last? Perhaps. Perhaps not.
Could it develop into something deeper, more true, more lasting? Probably. She had no doubts whatsoever that Keitaro was the sort of man she could fall for. Someone she could fall deep, hard and fast for. He was that sort of person. It wasn't for nothing, that he had the love of just about everyone at the Hinata Sou, weather the persons involved wanted to admit it or not.
Naru probably never would admit to it without extensive therapy to help her get over various issues. Her fear of intimacy and fear of getting hurt, were just too deeply ingrained in her. Kitsune wouldn't speak up or make a move, not a real one, as she too could see that Naru had a thing for Keitaro. Shinobu didn't have the guts to speak up or make a move, besides, Kaolla didn't think that it was real love in that particular case. It was probably more like a really devastating crush. Motoko liked him as well, no doubt about it. But she fought against her emotions tooth and nail, resisting them every stretch of the way. Though she could in time, perhaps, overcome that problem.
Motoko was a strong and mature person in lots of other areas and Kaolla greatly admired her for it. Even if Motoko's emotional maturity left a lot to be desired. If she ever grew up a bit on the emotional side, Kaolla suspected that Motoko might actually have been able to admit what she was feeling and even make a move based on that. If she still felt it, that was. Kaolla suspected that Motoko's emotional growth would have taken a while and there was no telling if her feelings would be the same after that.
It didn't matter much now, however. He was hers now and she wasn't about to let him go without one hell of a fight. She pondered the fact that she had forced him into a marriage that she wasn't ready to consummate just yet, wondering what she would say, do and think if he had an affair with one of the others.
Or considering her wicked ways, with Amara-mom. That certainly was a possibility, as Amara-mom wasn't known to take no for an answer, wasn't known for caring much about the sanctity of marriage and her negotiation skills were second to none. Come to think of it, it had probably been she who finally managed to convince Tamawa-mom to enter a cluster marriage.
The notion of Keitaro being with anyone else, did not sit right with her. It made her stomach churn and she felt her mood taking a dip. However, she couldn't, or rather wouldn't, sleep with him just yet. She knew that he had been itching for a girlfriend for quite some time and she didn't think it was just for holding hands and kissing in the sunset either.
Considering his personality, she didn't think it all that likely that he'd cheat on her. Most likely, he would stay true to their marriage until such time that she was ready to consummate it and even then he might balk at it, unless she was really persuasive. But did she really want her first time to be with a severely sexually frustrated virgin?
She shuddered at the notion, vividly recalling some of the, supposed, first-hand accounts of the experience she had read about or overheard around the palace. She did not want a repetition of some she had heard about. But...
She sighed and pulled her legs up underneath her, curling up on the back seat of the car, cuddling up against Keitaro. She didn't want Keitaro to resent her for forcing him into a nookie-less-marriage either. Or, at the very least one that started out like that. Once she was ready, she had a feeling that the marriage would be anything but nookie-less.
She had offered to let Amara-mom 'test-drive' Keitaro for a bit, earlier. Though her careless statement hadn't been seriously meant at the time, perhaps she should allow just that? Amara-mom was certainly more qualified to educate Keitaro in the art of lovemaking then anyone else Kaolla had ever met.
Kitsune would probably agree to such a thing as well, though Kaolla didn't believe that the older girl was anywhere near as experienced as she seemed to hint at on occasion. In fact, Kaolla privately suspected that Kitsune was still a virgin. Or at least, that she hadn't done it more then possibly once.
She would have some thinking to do on this matter before she would be ready to make a decision about it.
But that would have to come later, because she was on her honeymoon now and was just itching for the chance to have some fun before they would have to return for the Week of Ceremonies.
The End! ( For now... )
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson
Disclaimer: Love Hina, Hinata Sou and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine.
Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860 or through e-mail as , more stories are available at my nifty lil' site at or by clicking on my handle up above.
"speech"
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers
/thoughts/
/telepathy/
translation
soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV
Razor didn't have time to be confused, as he was busy making his way away from the royal gymnasium, with several weights in his mouth. He had taken one whiff of the morning breeze coming from the airport and felt the fur at the back of his neck rise. Without hesitation, he'd hastily dug a hole underneath his den and was now busy lining it with whatever hard objects he could find.
Now all he needed was a supply of water and some sort of lid, to drag over the pit and then stay down there until the danger was over.
"Prince Su. May I have a few words with you?" a calm and collected voice inquired, causing Keitaro to look away from the clouds in the skies, in order to focus at Lu Rawan, the Royal Chancellor.
"Of course, Chancellor." Keitaro replied.
"I just received a troubling call from the international airport. It would appear as if there are several individuals in three groups who have just arrived, who all wants to have word with you. All three parties are currently detained at the airport." Rawan responded.
"Who... Who are they?" Keitaro inquired, swallowing nervously. He had a faint feeling that he knew at least two of the groups, had expected two groups actually. But just who were the ones in the third party?
"Your parents, your sister, your grandmother, your aunt and the tenants from Hinata Sou." Rawan answered, causing Keitaro to pale.
"It's worse then I feared..." Keitaro muttered, swallowing nervously. He'd only expected the tenants, perhaps along with Haruka, as well as his parents, not Kanako and grandma. This was worse then he'd feared. "How soon can you get me out of the country?" he asked.
"Where do you wish to go?" Rawan inquired curiously.
"Anywhere that's not here." Keitaro replied.
'Not here', was good. Going from 'here' to 'not here' as soon as humanly possible, was better.
"Well, we haven't been on our honeymoon yet. I was thinking Hawaii. What do you think about that, Keitaro?" Kaolla asked, her head popping out of a nearby bush, startling the hell out of Keitaro. Rawan took it in his stride, however.
"Sure. Fine. Whatever." Keitaro agreed enthusiastically, not really hearing anything other then Hawaii. "Can we go now?" he pleaded anxiously.
"Sure thing, honey! Rawan, have the jet prepared, would you? And get a car ready to take us to the airport. Have the prisoners released once we're in the air." Kaolla ordered, clambering out of the bush and brushing leaves off her clothes.
"It shall be as you say, Princess." Rawan agreed, bowing faintly to her Royal Highness, Su Kaolla, then again, to his Royal Highness, Su Keitaro.
"Master." a woman stated, opening the door to the small, cramped office.
"Yes, Miss Doughcent?" the evil mastermind responded.
"Cashdollar." Miss Cashdollar reminded her absent-minded evil employer. Of course, her tight white top, generous cleavage, firm nipples pushing outwards towards the tight top, bare midriff, an indecently short black miniminiminiskirt, polka-dot panties peeking out from underneath the miniminiminiskirt and nylons sensuously clinging to her well-shaped legs, might have something to do with his complete incapability to recall her name whenever she was physically present.
"Of course, Miss Greenpound." he agreed, his gaze going from chest to groin area, never stopping long at any one point, before moving on to the next and then back again, in a never-ending cycle.
"Never mind." she sighed. "Prince Su survived the bombing. Unfortunately, we now have reports stating that the princess jet is being prepared and our mole reports that the newlyweds are going on their honeymoon."
"What?! Are you certain, Miss Buckyen?" the evil mastermind demanded.
"We have confirmed it, yes." she repeated, rubbing her temples.
"Prepare our jet and scramble the assassins, Miss Clamcrown. We're going on a little journey!" the evil mastermind exclaimed.
"We don't have a jet, Master. Nor any more assassins. Budget cuts." Miss Cashdollar explained. "I'll find out where they're going and get us some tickets."
"Very well, Miss Greasemark." the evil mastermind replied, jumping up onto his chair and putting his right foot onto the desk, pointing his right arm straight ahead. "We will rid the world of the unwholesome beast who dared to sully my Princess. Then I can marry her and we'll live happily ever after, having 2,4 kids and a nice house with a little picket fence. And a dog, a Shetland Sheepdog!" he gushed.
"Wouldn't you rather live in the royal palace?" Miss Cashdollar asked curiously.
"The palace! Yes, of course! We'll live in the house on the summers." the evil mastermind responded, amending his scheme somewhat. "And she'll bake me cakes and I'll eat them and I'll compliment her and she'll blush cutely and then we can hold hands as we watch the sunset..." he ranted happily.
"I'll go order those tickets now, master." she said and turned around. "Don't trip and fall off the desk again, master." Miss Cashdollar advised as she made her way back out of the office.
BARUMPH CRASH
"Never mind..." Miss Cashdollar muttered as she seated herself at her desk and got to work.
"Ahhh... Safe!" Keitaro exclaimed as he stepped off the plane in Hawaii.
"Ahhh... Honeymoon!" Kaolla exclaimed as she stopped next to him, wrapping an arm around him.
"Ack! Not safe!" Keitaro exclaimed and took several steps side-ways, twisting out of her grasp.
"Calm down, hubby. I 'aint gonna bite ya." Kaolla said and smiled at him. "But we are just married, we are on a vacation together to an exotic location. Weather you want to admit it or not, we are on our honeymoon."
"But..." Keitaro started, then sighed and rubbed both his temples. "Things have been so busy, that I haven't actually had time to ask you what you think of all this yet. Why did you go along with this whole marriage thing?" Keitaro inquired, deciding to ask a question that had been heavy on his mind ever since Queen Tamawa announced that there would be a wedding.
"I like you, Keitaro." Kaolla admitted without hesitation. "You're fun to be with, you're always very kind to everybody, weather they deserve such kindness or not, you are determined, you're very comfy to sleep with and you're very cute."
"You... Have a crush on me?" Keitaro asked with a tone of disbelief in his voice. "That's why you married me?"
"Please, give me some credit here, Keitaro. I'm not like Shinobu, with her constant hero worship of you that causes her to view everything about you with rose-colored glasses." Kaolla responded. "I like her and she is my friend, but if you're looking for someone with a schoolgirl crush on you, look no further then Shinobu. I like you, nothing more, nothing less. I might even love you, but I'll get back to you on that later when I've had some time to find out for sure." she continued and looked over at Keitaro with an oddly mature look on her young face. "A crush is not the reason I married you. What I feel certainly isn't true love either, at least not yet. But, I think that one day, it could be. That was why I was willing to go along with the wedding. Well, that and there were some other reasons too, which made the whole arrangement an offer that I just couldn't turn down."
"Other reaso... Oh, that thing your brother... Cousin... Adopted brother... That Lu Lamba, mentioned about you being his fiancée?" Keitaro responded as the two of them strolled into the waiting limousine, while the stewardesses packed the royal couples' luggage in the trunk.
"That is one of the reasons, yeah. I love my brother, don't get me wrong. But it isn't a marrying kind of love and I doubt that it ever will be. He watched me grow up, Keitaro. He's been around me for as long as I can remember. I love Lamba in ways I'll probably never love anyone else, but I don't want to marry him. Not now, not ever." Kaolla explained, then grinned. "Besides, Amalla has a crush on him, so she would have resented me for it if I had married him. Now she's free to make a move, unless she changes her mind."
"That sort of thing doesn't bother you?" Keitaro inquired as he tried to picture himself together with his own adopted sister Kanako. The imagery was... Disturbing.
While he could privately in his own mind admit that Kanako was a pretty girl and probably only would have become even more so since last he saw her, there wasn't anything in him that made the notion of a liaison with her an attractive one. He could certainly understand why Kaolla wasn't interested in marrying her adoptive brother. What he couldn't understand, was that Amalla seemed to be.
"If that floats her boat, that's her business. I love both of them and if they can make each other happy, then hey, go for it I say." Kaolla replied after a few moments. "Our laws doesn't prevent it and there are several precedents of marriages within the immediate family in the last fifty years. Not many, but it happens." he added with a faint shrug, then smiled again. "Anyway, I'm happy to have married you, Keitaro. You're a good man and I hope to be a good wife to you."
"You seem... Different." Keitaro observed.
"You're my husband. I see no reason to pretend before you any longer. At least not in private." Kaolla replied and looked uncomfortable for a few moments. "I'm intelligent, Keitaro. Very much so. But I'm also still a child, there are so many more things I want to do then spend my days being poked and prodded at, whenever I'm not studying. I've seen what happens to other kids who share my situation and I've never wanted that to happen to me. So, I've played it down. I do well in school, very well in fact, but not as well as I could. I always make sure to make a few errors, not to answer the questions as well as I really can and the few times someone has sat me down with an IQ test, I've done the same." Kaolla explained with a pained expression.
"That way, I'm still allowed to be a kid and if I feel like studying some more and get into more advanced topics, I can do so on my own without being forced to do so." she continued with a morose expression. "And all I have to do, is to lie about myself to everyone I know." she finished.
"But... Surely there's nobody that can force you to..." Keitaro started, only to be cut off with a short laugh.
"You have met Tamawa-mom, haven't you? Don't let yourself be fooled, Keitaro. My stepfather is the king, but my birth mother is the one that really calls the shots. If she found out that she's got a genius for a daughter, she'd have me whisked away to some elite school for gifted children before I could open my mouth to protest." Kaolla explained. "She, and the whole marry-my-own-brother-thing, are the reasons why I wanted to go abroad to study. I love my family, Keitaro. Being separated from them is almost more then I can bear, sometimes. That's why I have my nightmares, that's why I'm subconsciously searching for something to latch onto while I sleep. But it's a necessary evil. When I'm sixteen, I'll be an adult in the eyes of our laws. But until then, it's better that I'm not around, to lessen the chances of being discovered for what I really am."
"It just seems... Wrong, somehow." Keitaro interjected.
"I'm lying to my family, my best friends and just about everyone I know about who I am. Of course it's wrong." Kaolla agreed. "You know. I think Amara-mom knows, but I'm not sure. Dad probably knows as well, I think he's the same as me, but never bothered to let anyone know about it the way I plan to."
"Your... Dad?" Keitaro commented, having a hard time joining the image of the laid-back ruler of Molmol with his own mental image of a genius. /Kaolla's step-dad./ he reminded himself. The family tree of the Royal family of Molmol was a complicated one.
"He didn't become king by lazing about on the couch all day long, y'know. Nor did he attract and manage to convince two women to marry him by sheer luck either. No, I'm certain that he's a lot more cleaver then he lets on." she explained.
"Uh. I have another question..." Keitaro said, swallowing before hastily continuing. "You don't have to answer unless you want to."
"I don't want our marriage to be all about secrets, Keitaro. Ask whatever you want and I will answer to the best of my ability." Kaolla replied.
"You've been... Ah... Very amorous, lately. Now, when there's no escape, you're not. I was wondering... Ah... Eh... Why that is..." Keitaro muttered, just barely loud enough for Kaolla to hear what he was asking.
"Oh." she commented, then smirked. "Would you like me to be?" she asked.
"Ah! Eh! No!" Keitaro blurted out. "I was just curious..." he muttered.
"Sorry." Kaolla said and her smirk changed to a friendly smile. "It's more or less the same reasons as why I'm always fooling around. It's a lot of fun and it helps people from seeing the 'real' me. I'm also curious, of course. But it's mainly the first two. You can consider it an honor of sorts, I guess. If you had been any other man, I never would have dared to act like that, just in case you might actually take me up on my advances. Something I'm not ready for just yet." she explained and gazed fondly at Keitaro.
"I wonder if you realize just how precious you are, Keitaro. If you have any inclination at all of just how unique you are. Any other man, would have leapt at the merest hint of an opportunity. You, do not even when it's thrown right in your face." Kaolla continued and reached out to gently caress Keitaro's cheek. "If you want me to, I'll stop pretending that I want to jump your bones the first chance I get. But you don't have to worry about it though. I'm not ready and when I am ready, I wouldn't approach you like that. It's all pretence for the galleries." Kaolla explained. "And since there isn't a gallery around us at the moment, there's no need for pretence." she finished, nodding at the privacy screen cutting them off from the driver and bodyguard.
Keitaro wasn't all that comfortable with the last addition, but figured that it was just something he would have to accept as part of the package that was his new princely life. They were discreet, but ever since he had agreed to the wedding, there had almost constantly been at least one bodyguard around. He could hardly wait to get back to the Hinata Sou, but as his new married status entitled him to a Princehood and a future kinghood, there was certain ceremonies to deal with before he could return to Japan.
Ceremonies which would now be even further delayed due to the impromptu vacation.
He shuddered at the thought of an immediate confrontation with his mother. The notion of seeing the tenants at Hinata Sou before they had a chance to calm down, was also a very intimidating idea. Hopefully, things would have calmed down some by the time they were back in Japan.
"Well, I guess if it helps, there's no need for you to stop." Keitaro replied after a few moments hesitation, once his mind got back on track from the little diversion it had taken.
"Thank you, Keitaro. I appreciate it, and not just because it helps to hide the real me. Like I said, it's also a great deal of fun." Kaolla responded and smiled at him. "Do you have any idea of how cute you are, when you are flustered?" she purred, leaning in closer with a hungry look in her eyes.
"Ah!" Keitaro exclaimed and jerked away.
"See? Oh, it's priceless!" Kaolla laughed and leaned back, reaching over and caressing his cheek again. "I can certainly see now what Amara-mom has talked about all these years. It's a lot of fun to have a boyfriend to tease. Of course, she always wanted me to have more then one, but I think you'll keep me busy enough." she murmured with a sweet, friendly, smile.
"Jesh, you scared me there for a moment." Keitaro exclaimed, laughing sheepishly at himself.
"Take it easy, Keitaro. I'm not gonna jump your bones anytime soon." Kaolla laughed, then adopted a more serious expression. "I would like a kiss or two, however." she explained, then studied his shocked expression for a few moments, before she sighed. "Whenever you are ready for it." she added, then her expression turned more wistful. "Think about it, please? I would like a kiss from my husband one of these days. A real one, not something like the stiff, brief, pseudo-kiss at our wedding."
"Ah... I don't thi... Eh... Well... Eh... I... Ah... I will... Think about it." Keitaro stuttered out in response to her request.
"You do that." Kaolla agreed and leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder. "Just don't..." she began, then sighed and fell silent, unwilling to press an obviously sensitive issue any further with her new husband and risk undoing the good that had come out of this conversation. Now she was actually allowed to rest her head on his shoulders. After she started her amorous campaign, Keitaro had switched to actively avoiding her. That had made her reconsider and decided to reveal the truth to Keitaro, her new husband and that seemed to have eased his fears somewhat.
Husband...
It was an odd feeling, being married. She had always known that a marriage was in her future and that she didn't have much choice in the matter. She knew that Tamawa-mom had been planning her wedding for a long time. The day before her sixteenth birthday, the day before she became an adult in the eyes of the law of her country, she would have married her brother, to legitimize the line of succession. She didn't think the people really cared, but Tamawa-mom was a traditionalistic person. She cared and probably assumed that everyone else did as well.
If something should have happened to her brother, if one of the countless assassination attempts had actually worked, another groom would have been found from some prestigious family with valuable connections and/or resources and Amalla would have been next in line for ruler of the country.
Kaolla had never expected to get to marry out of love. And now she had...
Perhaps. She still wasn't sure.
She glanced aside and up at Keitaro, her husband.
She had told him that she wasn't certain if it was love or not. She wondered if that had really been the truth. Did she love him? Perhaps.
What was love? Did she know? She wasn't certain.
She might be more intelligent then just about anyone she had ever met, but she was still young. Her body had a lot of growing left to do. Her emotions had a lot of growing left to do. Until that was over and done with, could she know?
The marriage wasn't a question about a crush, she had said. And it hadn't been. The fact that she probably had a bit of crush on Keitaro hadn't been a factor, just a nice bonus to the entire package deal.
Would the crush last? Perhaps. Perhaps not.
Could it develop into something deeper, more true, more lasting? Probably. She had no doubts whatsoever that Keitaro was the sort of man she could fall for. Someone she could fall deep, hard and fast for. He was that sort of person. It wasn't for nothing, that he had the love of just about everyone at the Hinata Sou, weather the persons involved wanted to admit it or not.
Naru probably never would admit to it without extensive therapy to help her get over various issues. Her fear of intimacy and fear of getting hurt, were just too deeply ingrained in her. Kitsune wouldn't speak up or make a move, not a real one, as she too could see that Naru had a thing for Keitaro. Shinobu didn't have the guts to speak up or make a move, besides, Kaolla didn't think that it was real love in that particular case. It was probably more like a really devastating crush. Motoko liked him as well, no doubt about it. But she fought against her emotions tooth and nail, resisting them every stretch of the way. Though she could in time, perhaps, overcome that problem.
Motoko was a strong and mature person in lots of other areas and Kaolla greatly admired her for it. Even if Motoko's emotional maturity left a lot to be desired. If she ever grew up a bit on the emotional side, Kaolla suspected that Motoko might actually have been able to admit what she was feeling and even make a move based on that. If she still felt it, that was. Kaolla suspected that Motoko's emotional growth would have taken a while and there was no telling if her feelings would be the same after that.
It didn't matter much now, however. He was hers now and she wasn't about to let him go without one hell of a fight. She pondered the fact that she had forced him into a marriage that she wasn't ready to consummate just yet, wondering what she would say, do and think if he had an affair with one of the others.
Or considering her wicked ways, with Amara-mom. That certainly was a possibility, as Amara-mom wasn't known to take no for an answer, wasn't known for caring much about the sanctity of marriage and her negotiation skills were second to none. Come to think of it, it had probably been she who finally managed to convince Tamawa-mom to enter a cluster marriage.
The notion of Keitaro being with anyone else, did not sit right with her. It made her stomach churn and she felt her mood taking a dip. However, she couldn't, or rather wouldn't, sleep with him just yet. She knew that he had been itching for a girlfriend for quite some time and she didn't think it was just for holding hands and kissing in the sunset either.
Considering his personality, she didn't think it all that likely that he'd cheat on her. Most likely, he would stay true to their marriage until such time that she was ready to consummate it and even then he might balk at it, unless she was really persuasive. But did she really want her first time to be with a severely sexually frustrated virgin?
She shuddered at the notion, vividly recalling some of the, supposed, first-hand accounts of the experience she had read about or overheard around the palace. She did not want a repetition of some she had heard about. But...
She sighed and pulled her legs up underneath her, curling up on the back seat of the car, cuddling up against Keitaro. She didn't want Keitaro to resent her for forcing him into a nookie-less-marriage either. Or, at the very least one that started out like that. Once she was ready, she had a feeling that the marriage would be anything but nookie-less.
She had offered to let Amara-mom 'test-drive' Keitaro for a bit, earlier. Though her careless statement hadn't been seriously meant at the time, perhaps she should allow just that? Amara-mom was certainly more qualified to educate Keitaro in the art of lovemaking then anyone else Kaolla had ever met.
Kitsune would probably agree to such a thing as well, though Kaolla didn't believe that the older girl was anywhere near as experienced as she seemed to hint at on occasion. In fact, Kaolla privately suspected that Kitsune was still a virgin. Or at least, that she hadn't done it more then possibly once.
She would have some thinking to do on this matter before she would be ready to make a decision about it.
But that would have to come later, because she was on her honeymoon now and was just itching for the chance to have some fun before they would have to return for the Week of Ceremonies.
The End! ( For now... )