I was GOING to update this weekend, but fanfiction wouldn't let me log in. So, that's that.
Really rushing here, so I'll just shut up and post this.
The palace by the sea was said to be one of the most beautiful places known to man. Made entirely out of pearly white marble, it shone like a star when the sunlight reflected on it. All of the seven hundred and eighty six rooms were made out of the same material from ceiling to floor. Each room had its own purpose: ten ballrooms, fifteen dining rooms, eleven rooms for sitting, rooms for guests and rooms for servents. There was even a room that was used when a person was waiting to see the king.
Youko thought it was too big. He knew that, as the crowned prince, he would someday own the massive beast for his own. That didn't mean he had to like it, of course.
There were so many rooms, and everything was so utterly confusing, that even after living there nearly twenty years Youko still became turned around. He couldn't figure out how the servants were able to navigate inside it. It was a miracle none of them had gotten lost in some secluded room that was cleaned once every decade; he didn't think anyone would have found them.His intimidating home was the sole reason the silver-haired youth was currently sitting out on the beach. He was perched just beyond the surf so that he wouldn't get wet -Shizuru'd kill him if he messed up his clothing she had worked so hard to get clean-, and he had one knee drawn up to his chest where he rested an arm. The other was placed behind him, holding him up as he leaned back.
He let his mind drift over the different things he had been presented with, his molten gold eyes scanning the horizon. The sea calmed him, with it's soothing sounds and the cool breezes blowing in from the open water, carrying with them relief from the over-bearingly hot summer sun.
He had always adored the ocean. Whenever a sailor or a ship sailed off the harbor, he made sure to be there. It gave him an excuse to be near the water, with all of its wonders hidden beneath the crashing waves. He had even talked his father into letting him go on a couple excursions himself; they didn't last long, though, only going down the coast a bit to pick up some supplies from a neighboring country. But it was still a ship, and he was still on the water.
Nobody could understand his fascination with the water. For the country folk, they saw it every day. They used it for food, the children played in the tidepools, and they had to deal with high-tide every season. To them, the ocean was just there. It was a part of life, and they used all of its gifts.
The nobles, with their too-expensive clothing and foul smelling purfumes, thought that the ocean was a nuisance. If they had their way, there would be no sea and water would only be for the lowest of the low classes to deal with. They didn't seem to understand the quiet majesty that made up the blue giant. They didn't get the fact that their country's main source of trade.
Sighing, Youko shifted a bit. A thick, silvery strand of hair fell into his face. Angrily, Youko swiped it away.
He really hated his hair. One of the royal family traditions was the fact that both men and women never cut their hair. Therefore, his soft locks fell to the middle of his back. Another fact of life was that Youko had inherited from his father's side more than his mother's. Both he and his father had pure white hair by the time they turned eighteen. It was incredibly annoying.
It didn't help that a lot of people said that Youko was a lot like his father. Unfortunately for him, the silver haired youth couldn't stand his overbearing parent. His dad had a temper, was cold and callous, took everything entirely too seriously, and wouldn't admit it when he was wrong. To think that Youko was even considered to be compared to the man made the youth grind his teeth with annoyance.
Granted, both his silver hair and golden-brown eyes were paternal, as was his incredible height of just over six feet. About the only physical aspect that Youko had from his maternal genes was the feminine edge on all of his features. His eyelashes were a bit longer, his face was a bit thinner, his body structure was a bit more delicate...
On the other hand, his personality was almost completely like his mother's. He was said to be kind, generous, and fun loving (as his little sister adored pointing out). Of course, he also had a temper, which he blamed entirely on his father.
Youko sat forward and punched the sand. "The least he could have done when they had me was give me some control over it!" he shouted at the ocean.
A single gull called back to him, the sound echoing over the calm landscape.
Youko crossed his legs, his supposedly mid-calf breeches pulling to his knees. His mind drifted again, staying on no particular thought. He must have stayed there for a long while, for the next thing he knew, he was being tackled from behind by a dark-haired midget.
Falling forward from the momentum, he hit the sand face-first. Giggling sounded over him as the midget pulled back and stood in front of him with a purpose.
Looking up, Youko took in the sight of his younger sister. Her mid-back length hair was as dark as Youko's used to be. Today, the young seven-year-old chose to wear the entire top layer pulled into a side ponytail. Her eyes were from their mother, deep and very definately brown. The servants of the palace had decided to dress her in something she could run around in, a short dress with full sleeves in an orange and white checked dress. Even as he took all this in, he scowled.
"Rin, what gives you the right to pounce on me?" he barked. "You know I hate it when you do that."
Rin stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "But brother," she whined, "I couldn't help it! I called to you, but you weren't answering." She hung her head slightly and grasped her hands behind her back. "I'm sorry."
Youko sighed. He sat on his knees and shook his sand-filled hair. "Just don't do it again, alright?" he told her.
Rin giggled and nodded emphatically. "I won't, I promise!" As soon as she said that, her mood shifted incredibly. Nearly bouncing with energy, she said, "Hey, hey, guess what? There's a pretty lady staying at the palace! Daddy said that she was going to be staying for a while, and she's really really really pretty! Yup, and mommy says that there's going to be a big ball, and daddy said that he was going to present her, and make a big announcement!" Giggling again, she continued to rattle on about what their parents had said.
Youko wasn't paying attention to any of it. A lady meant that it was a princess, most likely. That made Youko groan inwardly. His father had been adament on Youko marrying soon, and had been hunting down the perfect princess in the meantime. Youko couldn't stand it, and he just wanted to scream. If his father had already found someone, it wouldn't be too long until that someone became ruler of the worlds largest kingdom with an oceanside view.
Rin paused in her chattering and blinked. "Brother, are you alright? You've gone all wierd again. What are you thinking?"
Youko shook his head and stood. "I'm just thinking that my life is about to get a lot more complicated." He looked down at his kid sister. "I'm guessing that they want to see me?" he asked her.
Rin put her hands on her hips, her face taking on a mock-seriousness to it. "What, you think I would have come get you otherwise?" she asked.
With a shudder, Youko realised that she was going to become a miniature version of his mother soon. However, she couldn't keep a straight face, and was soon all giggles again. "Silly, of course they want to see you! You've been out all day!"
With a start, Youko saw that the sun was already touching the horizon. With a sigh, shaking his head, he turned back to the bouncing brunette. "Well, then, shall I escort you back?" he asked. Smiling, he offered her his arm. "Might the lady take mine arm?"
Rin laughed happily and looped her arm through her elder brother's (as much as she possibly could) as the two siblings made their way back to the palace.
It didn't take long for them to get inside, as the small strip of beach they had on their property was incredibly close to the ocean; one of the only good things about living in the palace. It didn't take much to sneak out to see the water that way. He could just sneak out and not have to worry about running into palace staff or the like- his room was on the sea-side of the castle, and he had long ago trained himself to be able to get from his fourth floor balcony to the roof of the third floor building, and then the jumping down the last twenty or so feet to the ground. It was getting back up that was the hard part.Now, walking through the cool marble hallways, with his adorable little sister at his side, Youko pursed his lips. He really wasn't looking forward to meeting whatever woman Youko's father had lassoed into meeting him. He didn't want to marry quite yet, and when he did, he wanted to marry the person he chose. His father just didn't seem to get that part.
Besides, the last few times Youko had met a princess that could have ended up as his wife, they were all disasters.
One of them had taken one look at him and decided that she would do anything to get him. She went as far as to beging sneaking into his room at night. He had had to set guards outside his room so that he could sleep without the woman trying to molest him! That didn't last long, as she was already betrothed and hadn't bothered to tell anyone.
Another had been incredibly shy. Youko would have considered marrying her...if she had been a bit older. She was nearly half his age, and her father wanted them to marry as soon as they could rope an official into marrying them off. The girl had nearly fainted from that.
One of the most recent had been horrible for the entire family. She was completely obnoxious, running around and screaming at the servants at the top of her lungs. She hadn't even bothered to stop and think that she wasn't the ruler of the palace. In fact, she was so annoying, that he didn't even have to do anything to get rid of her. His father saw to that.
So, in accordance to his history with princesses, Youko really wasn't looking forward to meeting this new woman. If his luck had anything to say about it, the entire fiasco would no doubt end up going horribly awry in a matter of moments.
Rin pulled Youko reluctantly the last few steps into the antechamber. A great room that served no purpose but to impose any visiting nobles, it had great curtains of fabric and large, ornate tapestries covering every inch of the wall. A red velvet carpet led from the large oak doors to the dias, where the throne sat. The high ceiling disappeared in a darkened room, but even in the light, it was hard to pick out. It was the biggest room in the entire palace.
Youko's father had yet to enter, since the throne sat alone raised above the floor. Three steps to the gilded chair, it was a golden masterpiece. The chair itself, like the tapestries, depicted the past achievements of the old kings of the past. Each generation had its mark on the throne. The eldest carving, Youko's incredibly-distant great-grandfather, was a school of fish that was being scattered by a harpoon showing their choice in trading from the sea; the newest, his father's, a net covering the countryside to symbolise the great king bringing the entire country under one, steadfast rule. Eventually, Youko supposed that his own mark would be carved into that great seat.
Rin let go of his hand and dashed ahead, her laughter echoing in the empty chamber. She scrambled up to the chair and sat herself in it, giggling pleaseantly as she swung her legs back and forth.
Youko walked up and stood next to her, looking down at the young girl. "Rin, you know you aren't supposed to be playing on father's chair," he told her in a warning tone.
Rin laughed and nodded energetically. "I know, but father isn't here and I haven't done it for a long time. It's a cool chair, and it's a lot of fun to look at and sit in." She spoke with the air of someone whose reasoning was sound and wasn't worried about the consequences of her actions.
As a matter of fact, neither was Youko. Rin was the baby of the family, always getting away with things because she was daddy's little girl and not old enough to know any better. She would always be able to bask in the fact that her father and brother would do anything to protect her, and her mother had a soft spot for anything Rin did to get into trouble. Even the servants liked to fawn on the young girl.
Youko, on the other hand, was the eldest by a great deal and therefore would automatically know what was right and what was wrong. If he got caught doing something he shouldn't, he had to be smart enough to get out of it. If he wanted something, he had to earn it. A king was the type of person who knew what to do and when to do it, always getting what he wanted in the end. And that was one lesson he had spent his entire life learning, from the moment he was old enough to know answer the question "You haven't earned it yet, have you?" correctly. It was one thing that his father kept saying, like he was stuck on repeat or something along that line.
Crossing his arms, Youko sighed again. If his father didn't get there soon, he would just go back to the beach. He didn't have anything else to do besides this, so it wouldn't be a big deal. Besides, it wasn't like he hadn't tried to accept his fate like a docile little lamb; even if he didn't like it, he would do it because it was his duty.
He didn't wait long. It was only a few moments after thinking that when the oak doors creaked open once again, and Youko's father made his way regally into the room.
End Chapter
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