Chapter 10 "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose."

After breakfast, Mikan and Natsume went to the centermost of the chateau. It was like a maze, having so many corridors and doors.

Two guards opened a huge oak door as they went in.

At the center of the room, there was an elevated, round shape portal that was filled with water.

"Fire, air, water and earth, combine your endowment and open the gate to immortality…" Natsume chanted while standing at the front central of the portal. His eyes gleamed red as the portal came alive.

"You ready?" He turned to her. She just nodded as he hugged her tight.

"I am enthroned Prince of Hyuuga Realm, and I ask you to bring me back to my home." With a flash, they were engulfed by the light of the portal as they were transferred to the other world.

"The Prince's back!" A voice screamed as Mikan opened her eyes. She gaped at what she saw.

There are so many different creatures around her but nothing like her.

"Welcome to the land of infinity! Welcome to the beautiful, magnificent, magical world of forever. Welcome to Hyuuga Realm!" A dwarf exclaimed energetically.

"Welcome back, my prince." Natsume nodded. He can feel Mikan's hold tighten around his waist. He didn't say anything as he held her close to him.

Natsume asked Mikan to climb on his back. She did so without any protest.

"Hold on tight, polka." She made sure her grip was very tight around him.

She didn't expect the next thing he did. He jumped high – so high that they could reach the sky and in a moment, they were flying. His beautiful, huge crimson wings spread to the air. She did not say anything as she could see thousands of creatures on the ground, waving at him.

"The prince!"

"Yes! Our majesty's back!"

"Welcome back, your highness!" The creatures cheered merrily as they smiled and waved to him. He nods in acknowledgement.

Not that long, they were at ground level again. He put her down gently.

"You okay? He asked as she nodded.

"Your highness! I'm glad you're back! You have many things to work on your majesty…" A butler said as he went straight to him. He carefully placed the shining golden crown on his head.

"Hey, I'm going to work for awhile. I'll see you later today okay? I'll just ask someone to accompany you." She nodded again then he kissed her forehead before walking away.

She was sitting there for at least a minute when someone, a beautiful creature appeared in front of her.

"You must be Mikan Sakura?" Her face is stoic.

"Uh yes, I am." She answered.

"I'm Hotaru Imai, a fairy." She is. Her wings are purple and her skin is so white and radiant. Her dress is very shiny too, and her hair is cut short. "Come, I'll give you some information about our kingdom."

She walked to the balcony as Mikan followed her. From there, she can see that they are elevated a hundred feet above the ground and she can see many creatures again.

"There are different creatures here. The very important class, the very human class is called the condottieri,"

"Uhm, pardon?" she asked idiotically.

"Condottieri are commonly known as the war lords. They are the most powerful creatures here on our land. They protect our kingdom and guard them, and they are all men. The prince – he is one of the condottieri."

"Oh…"

"Next are the teddy bears."

"Teddy bears? Like the one we hug and play with?" She asked curiously.

"Yes. Teddy bears here are with life." She pointed to one at the ground. Mikan can really see it working. "They clean, they cook and they are all brown…"

"Uhuh,"

"The dwarfs are in charge of any announcement and they have birds as their messenger. They work for swords and other utilities like that in case there may be war. They invent things too…"

"Then we have the witches. They can heal and do magical things." She pointed to one, Mikan could see a witch riding a broom exploring the city happily.

"Then we have the fairies, we're in-charge of keeping our land peaceful. We're the perfect match for the condottiero too because we're all ladies."

"Our prince, he's special. Almost all of the condottieri only have strong bodies, nothing more, nothing less but our prince, because he is royalty and the future king, he possesses all the power of every creature in our 's the strongest of us all."

"This place is magical, very different from where you came from, so be careful."

"How many populations do you have?"

"About a few billion, not much compared to your world. But it is only ruled by the royal family. Our place and your place may have something in common too. We have televisions, we have night and day, restaurants, shops, we transact things here you know? Nothing much is different, only magic here."

"Wow. This place is really wonderful."

"Excuse me, I have a meeting to attend to. I'll just tell the butler to attend to you."

"Wait!"

"Can you be my friend?" She asks shyly. "I don't know anyone here so if you could just be my friend…"

The purple fairy nodded and shot her forehead with her baka gun.

"OUCH!" Mikan whimpered. "What was that about?!" she asked angrily.

"For officially being my best friend. You're welcome." She turned and walked away without waiting for her response.

A minute passed as a dwarf appeared before her.

"Hello there, lady." He greeted casually. He's wearing a butler's uniform and a pair of eyeglasses. "I'm Stern, the head butler of the royal family."

"Hi Mr. Stern. I'm Mikan Sakura. It's nice meeting you!" She offered her hand for a shake but he ignored it.

"There are rules here to follow, human. Listen carefully for you will be punished if you don't abide even by the slightest one." She returned her arm to her side.

"Yes sir." She answered politely.

"First things first, when you see a member of the royal family, you should give them a proper curtsy by bowing. The royal family only wears fine gold pieces of clothing so you can distinguish them easily."

"Yes sir."

"They are not to be touched except when they ask you to. When talking to them, you should include a proper address in every sentence like 'your highness' or 'your majesty.' Speak with a low voice."

"Yes sir."

"You shall not object to any of their wishes on all conditions."

"Yes sir."

"And you should maintain at least a three meter distance from them…"

"Yes sir."

"I believe that's all the basics, young lady. Because you are a human, you're the most fragile thing in this land. I suggest you behave responsibly. Am I understood?"

"Uh, yes sir."

"Hello there," a manly voice greeted. She turned around to see one of the condottieri, he's wearing a gold cloth so he should be royalty right? He's largely built too, like Natsume. His hair and eyes are yellow. He looks perfect waving to them. The butler faked a cough to send her a cue.

She bowed in his direction. "Good day, your highness."

"Good day to you too, Ms. Sakura." He greeted back with a gentle smile.

"Uhm, you know me?" The butler faked a cough once again. "…your highness?"

"Yes. News spreads so fast here in this kingdom. By the way, I'm Prince Natsume's cousin-slash-best friend." He steps a little closer to her. She can see how beautiful a creature he is.

"May I please introduce to you, Lord RukaNogi of Hyuuga Realm." The dwarf stated loudly as Ruka bowed in front of her as a sign of curtsy.

"Nice meeting you." He said, still smiling.

Mikan just gaped at him. She's so amazed at how perfectly he is built, hell the people here are like they've all been photoshopped!

"You may leave us now, Stern." After the butler bowed, he instantly left them.

"So, let's get you a tour. Okay?" He asks. She nodded.

"Climb on my back then, Ms. Sakura." He knelt in front of her so she could climb on his back.

"Uhm… you can call me Mikan, your majesty." She said while he listened. "Can we just walk, your highness? I should really stick to the rules." She remembered her lecture which was about sixty seconds ago.

"Come on, flying is much more fun." But then she remembered that she shouldn't turn down their wishes and so she did climb on his back.

They flew in the air and it was fun. He pointed out important places like public libraries, malls, restaurants, the castle and so much more. She enjoyed it very much.

After flying for hours, he landed them in a crowded place. It's like a market, many residents of the kingdom are walking here and there. When they saw him landing, they paused for a while to give him curtsy, then they're back to business.

"Shall we eat then, Mikan?" She did not say anything but her stomach grumbled, enough for him to hear. He chuckled as Mikan blushed.

"Come on." He guided her to a resto-bar. There are so many residents there and it is noisy. There's a band of dwarfs from the center, dancing fairies in the middle and many condottieri at the tables, drinking huge sizes of beers. Teddy bears are serving plates and cleaning at the counter.

"What can I serve you, your majesty?" One of the bears goes to their table and asks. Mikan smiled joyfully at it and squeezed it to her arms.

"You are so cute!" She said. "I really wanted to hug you since the first time I saw you!" The bear automatically punched her.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed while her company laughed.

"You shouldn't really do that, Mikan! They hate being hugged." He announced.

"But why? They are so fluffy!" she protested.

"Well, I think that's just the way they are." He answered as he winked at her.

Mikan pouted and apologized to the now angry bear. "Sorry. I'll get your permission next time, okay?"

"There will be no next time!" he faces his back away from her as she pouts. "May I now take your order, your highness?"

"Alright, easy guys. Uhm okay, can you please give us some steak, roasted chicken, mixed vegetables and iced tea…" Ruka asked the bear as he scribbled it.

Their food arrived minutes later and they began to dig in.

"Thank you for showing me around, your highness." Mikan mused as she ate the steak mercilessly.

"You're welcome and please stop with the formality. Call me Ruka." He smiled at her as she smiled back. "So, I think Natsume really likes you, huh?"

Mikan blushed.

"You're the first person he'd brought from earth, you know."

She did not respond as she dug in hungrily to their food. He just chuckled at her reaction.

"Do you drink?" They have just finished their food and the sweet story-telling of how Mikan and Natsume met.

"No, your highness." She was so full that she could feel her belly about to burst.

"I think you should try." He ordered two mugs of beer for them.

"Cheers!" Mikan gulped the beer and it tasted so bitter. "Tastes bad, your majesty." He chuckled.

And they continue to drink, sharing stories from time to time.

"So, do you like Natsume?" He asked out of the blue when he noticed that she was already drunk.

"Like? You're getting me wrong your majes- ooops, Ruka. I LOVE HIM!"

"Uhuh, I thought so too." He added with a smile while waiting for her to add more.

"Well, from the very first time I saw him, I instantly knew that he's a good person. I felt like… there's you know… more behind his cold attitude and handsomeness. It just felt like behind his mask is an ordinary person too that can also feel hurt and pain, which of course, is hidden behind his handsomeness!" Ruka's eyes widened. Now he knows she can see what others never see in him. She knows not just his façade but also his heart.

"I love him with all of my heart you know. When I'm with him I feel like I can conquer everything." She added while Ruka is smiling all the way as she continues to blabber about her feelings for him.

In an hour, Mikan isn't feeling right anymore.

"Your highness,oops, I meant Ruka… I think… I need to get home." Her face is all red and she's her world spinning.

"What? Hey I finished eight mugs of beers here already and I'm as normal as I am when we walked in. You just consumed half a mug! Come on, give me more of your stories!" He laughed as he stared at her position. Her head is down on the table already.

When she is not responding anymore, Ruka paid their bill and carried her to fly back home.

"Mikan?" Natsume asks worriedly. He, together with his butlers, assistants and advisors are discussing something about the financial crisis when Ruka appeared on his office's balcony carrying her.

All the staff in the room bowed when they saw him. Natsume went as fast as lightning to his balcony to check on the poor girl.

"What in hell happened Ruka?" He asks as he snatched her body from him. She's still conscious.

"Marry her." Ruka declared happily in a soft whisper, smiling as he handed her body to him. "And why is that?" asked the Prince.

"Because she keeps repeating on how handsome you are." He smiles again at him and winked.

"If you are suggesting that I marry all of the women who think I am handsome then I must marry all of the girls in this land." He smirks arrogantly.

"Uhuh, and not just girls, Natsume." He smiled evilly and winked once more.

"Shut up. What happened to her?"

"Oh, don't worry your majesty. She's fine, just got a little tipsy." Ruka explained nervously. Natsume is worse than a monster when he gets angry.

"Natsume…" She whispered enough for the three of them to hear. She raised her arm and touched his cheek. "…my head hurts. I think I need to sleep. Bring me home?"

He kissed her forehead. "You're home. Don't worry, I'll take care of you." He whispered back in a soft voice. Ruka and the staff froze on the spot when they saw his actions.

"Let's take a break for an hour." He announced as he carried her away.

He put her in one of the rooms next to his.

He carefully laid her on her bed. She's half-asleep already.

He remained seated for forty five minutes at her side, watching her sleeping. He gently touches her cheek now and then.

"Goodnight, babe." He kisses her lips tenderly first before leaving her room.