Chapter 10
Meanwhile, Akihiko was still standing at the top of the palace stairs gazing at the empty driveway. A small tear fell from his eye and rolled down his cheek.
I have lost him. He thought miserably. How could I lost him again? Why did he leave me? He was my soulmate…
"Akihiko?" Hiroki ran up to him. "What is going on?" Where is he?"
Akihiko was silent for a while and looked down. "Gone." He stated simply not looking up.
"Gone?! But where?"
"Home, I guess." Akihiko curled his fingers into his palm.
"Did you at least find out what their name was or who are they?"
The prince shook his head. "I..I didn't want to press them. I thought it would be better to find out later..when he was more comfortable with me." He sighed.
Hiroki said nothing. He realized that Akihiko needed a moment. Hiroki simply stood by his long-time friend and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as Akihiko just stared at the stairs. But he noticed something shiny at one of the stairs almost at the bottom.
"What is that?" He asked.
"What?" Hiroki looked down where Akihiko's gaze was at.
"That." He pointed.
Hiroki followed his finger. He saw something small and sparkling. Akihiko half-jogged down the steps towards the thing. He kneeled down and picked it up.
It was a green slipper made out of glass. It was beautifully made and it was designed for a small foot. It tugged at Akihiko's memory and the colour reminded of certain eyes. And he remembered.
"It's his!" He exclaimed. For some reason the glass slipper gave him hope. It was like a some sort of link between him and his mystery boy.
"We have to find him!" Akihiko said standing up and clutching the slipper. Hiroki looked at Akihiko unsure but was impressed at the determination of his friend.
"I.." Akihiko started and waited for a moment but finished it. "I love that boy. I'm in love with him."
Hiroki stopped breathing for an instant. "Vraiment?" He asked. "Are you sure?" You have really known him for three hours or so."
"Believe me, Hiroki." Akihiko said. "It is only love that feels this wonderful and painful at the same time."
"Oh, this is splendid news!" Hiroki shouted excitedly. "His Majesty will be very pleased."
"I don't want to tell him just yet and don't you either." Akihiko pleaded. "I'll tell him tomorrow. He might like that I have found someone, but I don't think they like that the one I love is actually a male and on top of that I have also lost him. The news might send him furious."
"But..how can we find him?" Hiroki asked. "We don't really know anything about him or who he is, where he lives, who his family is.."
"I will find him." Akihiko said, determined. "I have to."
Hiroki placed his hand on Akihiko's shoulder again. "Don't worry. We will." He said encouragingly. "But not tonight. You need to rest a little."
Hiroki took the lovestruck Akihiko back inside. He had to stop to make excuses to the king before letting Akihiko go to sleep. Akihiko arrived in his suite in sort of daze and changed his military outfit for a nightshirt. He crawled into his large four-poster bed and still holding the slipper to his chest.
Somewhere else
Finally Misaki arrived home and it was around one fifteen in the morning. He was really tired. Thankfully his stepfamily would be out until two or so. He let the mice craddle out from the slipper and they scurried into the dark corners of the house. Alone in the quiet, empty chateau, he climbed up the stairs of the tower to his attic room, still carrying the remaining slipper.
He reached the top landing and opened the door to a tiny room that was a place where were still a few memories of his chilhood and his parents. He looked for a place to hide his shoe. The small chest in the corner seemed just the thing.
He lifted the heavy lid, he lifted aside various clothes until he reached the bottom. He nestled the slipper deep in the confines of his tiny chest and buried it under a pile of fragments and clothes and closed the lid.
Now Misaki was unable to keep his eyes open. Quietly he removed his mother's old dress' remains and changed into an old nightgown. He decided to sleep in the attic since it wouldn't be much different from the gold kitchen floor. He crawled onto the thin mat and he fell asleep within two minutes. In his dream he was taken back into the arms of a handsome silverhaired man. They were dancing slowly through the empty space with the soft music. The man embraced him and kissed him sweetly and caressed his body with soft touches.
At the castle
Hiroki walked through the dark hallways of the castle after he had told Akihiko to go to sleep. He was tired himself from the long day and was going to rest himself as well.
Hiroki yawned tiredly as he approached his suite. All was silent and you could only hear Hiroki's peaceful breathing. He glanced at the tall clock tower on the outside that showed twelve thirty in the morning. About time to most of the maids and valets to go to sleep.
He was about to open his suite's door when there was a hand on his arm that pulled him to the darkness. Hiroki made a sound between shout and quiet squeak. The hand pulled him away from the door and he found himself grushed into a familiar muscular chest. The figure kept hugging him and Hiroki felt a warm breath on his neck that made him shiver.
"N-Nowaki.." Hiroki stuttered in a quiet voice and tried to push Nowaki away with hands on his chest. "We c-can't Nowaki."
"I can't be away from you. I love you too much, Hiro-san.." Nowaki said and hugged Hiroki tighter.
Hiroki started to cry and small tears rolled down his cheeks. "But we're too..we are on different levels and others would..the king would.. I don't want to think what he would do..to you or me. I w-want to *sob* keep things how they are r-right now. I don't want anything to happen to you. Nowaki *sob*..", Hiroki tried to speak.
"Shh, Hiro-san", Nowaki shushed and placed a finger on Hiroki's mouth. "Don't worry. I don't care what happens to me. I only care that you're alright." Nowaki cubbed Hiroki's face in his hands and dried his tears with his thumbs.
"But.." Hiroki started.
"If the prince can be with a male why wouldn't me, one of the guards of the king be with the man I love?" Nowaki asked with tiny voice.
Hiroki was shocked. "How..how do you know that.."
"I can find about these things easily. I might have noticed him sneaking away from the congregation man. Suprisingly the boy got to dance with the prince. They looked like they belonged together and I was happy that the prince found someone. So I let them be.
"Oh that's why I didn't notice him entering to the ball." Hiroki said.
They were quiet for a while. After a while Nowaki took Hiroki's other hand in his and looked deep into those brown eyes. "We'll be alright. I'm going to do everything to be with you. To love you." Nowaki said and smiled at Hiroki.
"Nowaki.."
"Should we continue on what we left on at the ball, Hiro-san?"
Hiroki blushed really red and nodded slowly. He moved his hands on Nowaki's chest and lifted his head higher. At the time when their lips finally touched it felt like all exploded. The kiss was short and their lips just touched a little. They seperated and looked at each other for a while, saying nothing.
Nowaki grashed their lips together again and this time it was fiercer. Their tongues rubbed and danced together. Nowaki's other hand moved fast to Hiroki's chest and there to his waist. Other hand caressed Hiroki's face.
Hiroki moved his arms around Nowaki's neck and he twisted strands of dark blue hair of Nowaki with his other hand. He moaned and felt the temperature rise. Nowaki pushed Hiroki back to suite's door and roughly moved his lips to Hiroki's neck. He bit and licked the soft skin and rubbed his hand on Hiroki's waist. He had waited this moment for so long. He couldn't wait.
"Nowaki, wait.." Hiroki said and moaned as Nowaki bit really hard on his neck that it would leave a mark. Nowaki stopped fast and looked at him questioningly.
"Not here." He said breathing heavily. He nodded to the door. "Inside.." He continued.
Nowaki scooped Hiroki in his arms causing Hiroki to let out a tiny squeak. "I can walk."
Nowaki didn't listen and kissed Hiroki's neck again and moved his mouth to Hiroki's ear. "Shall I come to your room?" He whispered in his ear.
Hiroki shivered more. "Please."
Hiroki had had enough. He just needed Nowaki. He wanted Nowaki. Nowaki opened the door and shut it behind them.
In the morning
Misaki woke up somewhere around dawn the next morning and felt somehow refreshed for someone who had slept only a few hours. He rose slowly and stretched as he did every morning. He heard a small squeaking sound from his left side. After looking for where the sound came from he looked down and noticed the four mice from yesterday, looking up to him and sniffing the air with their tiny noses.
The brunet giggled softly at the cute mice. "Are you hungry?" He asked in a quiet voice. "I'll get you something from the kitchen. Stay here."
As quietly as he could, Misaki crept downstairs to the kitchen. He found some scraps of bread left over from the yesterday's lunch. He also found some bits of cheese in the larder.
He went back to upstairs, carrying the food scraps. In the attic he found the mice sniffing around. "Here you go." Misaki said in a hushed tone, setting the scraps on the floor. They snatched the cheese and bread immediately.
Misaki sat down and looked at the mice as they devoured their meal. Cheese in their tiny claws and munching away merrily. It made Misaki giggle a little.
"Remember you have to stay up here", he said to the mice before standing up and leaving the room.
In the kitchen he started to make breakfast: eggs, toast, tea, porridge.. and went to outside feed the animals. Arriving back inside, he loaded the breakfast trays and went to upstairs. Stepbrothers and Erina were still asleep since they got home late last night. Misaki set the trays on their bedside tables, picked up their dirty gowns and went back downstairs to start his chores.
Later that day as he was setting the dishes of food out for lunch Mizuki, Sumi and Erina were chatting about last night's events. The boys sighed about how they were the stars of the ball.
"I had at least three dozen offers to dance", Mizuki declared.
"I had almost four thousand offers", said Sumi trying to win his brother.
"Everyone admired my outfit" said Erina, wanting to be the center of attention. "They were all amazed to learn that I had two full-grown sons." She said.
"I danced with the prince all night!" Proclaimed Mizuki. "He just couldn't stay away from me."
Misaki looked up the hassling boys. They were lying to satisfy their pride. Misaki knew that. But was that man he saw dancing with them really the prince? It was hardly likely that stepbrothers had made such a good impression on the man.
"I wouldn't be even surprised if the royal guard came here in next few days." Mizuki announced. "And the prince himself coming to make a proposal or so."
"Yes", Sumi agreed. "He would come here personally to declare their love."
Misaki just rolled his eyes.
"What did you do last night, Misaki?" Erina asked suddenly.
Misaki froze before answering. "I-I cleaned up the kithcen a bit then I went sleep early." He gave his stepmother an uncomfortable look. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason." She answered as though it meant nothing to her.
The question made Misaki still uneasy for some reason. But he brushed it off as he did the chores. As he worked he let his mind wander to last night. When he felt happy for the first time in years. All because of one wonderfully, handsome silverhaired man.
To be continued...