Chapter 11
At the palace, Prince Akihiko was with Hiroki in the census records' room searching through hundreds of files anything that could help him find his mystery boy he had danced with last night and then kissed under the stars and moonlight.
Akihiko tried to remember the conversations he had with the boy. "He said that he lives with some of his family members and that he looked like his mother. But both of his parents passed away when he was a child."
"That helps a little." Hiroki said trying to cheer Akihiko up. "Every little thing helps a bit."
Akihiko slapped his hand against his forehead. "What else.." His eyes lit up a bit. "If he looked like his mother that means his mother had brown hair and green eyes too."
"Anything else that might help us? What about his other family members you mentioned?"
"He didn't really tell me about them. Just that they're not the best people in the world."
"Well, we'll just keep looking. We narrowed the list a little. But we don't know where he lives."
"I'll search the whole kingdom if I have to. He's the only one I ever felt this way about." Akihiko said determined.
"Don't worry. We just have to use what we've got." Hiroki assured.
"What's going on in here?"
The two men jumped and whirled around. In the doorway stood the king himself, looking confused.
Akihiko's hand shot to the back of his neck. "Bon aprés-midi, father." He greeted.
"Bonjour, Your Majesty", Hiroki mumbled, looking away awkwardly.
Fuyuhiko raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What are you two doing?"
"Nothing!" Hiroki said quickly.
"Hmm..." The king said and stepped into the room. "It doesn't look like nothing. What is it that you need from the census records?"
Neither of the two couldn't offer an answer. They just stared at each other, hoping that the other of them would come up with something.
Fuyuhiko sighed. "Really, why can't you tell what's going on?"
Akihiko looked down and was silent for a while. "I didn't want you to know yet..but I guess that I can't hide it anymore." Akihiko took a deep breath. "I'm in love."
He looked up to see his father's eyes grow wide, then a huge smile grossed his face. "Oh, mon fils, this is wonderful news!" Fuyuhiko stepped forward and clapped his hand to his son's back. He looked him in the eye. "But what's with the sad face. And how does that explain why you are hunting around the census records?"
"Because I don't know who he is or where he lives!" He blurted out.
The king blinked. "Wait, you said he? Is the one you love a male? But the one I saw you with was wearing dress and everything.."
"Yes. The love of my life is a boy. And I love him with all of my heart. Basically I snuck out of the palace.."
"You did what?!"
"I snuck out three days ago, that day when I came back home." Akihiko ignored the shocked face on his father's face. " I went into town disguised in clothes I borrowed from stable boy. And I was walking along the street and I helped the boy from some dissoluted man who tried to molest them. And I helped him picking up his things and he ran off before I could get his name. But I really wanted to see him again, so I took Hiroki with me next day, since I thought he could tell me who he was. Well I managed to find him again, only to him ran off again. And Hiroki didn't know who he was but he said that there was something familiar about him."
Fuyuhiko stayed quiet.
"And then the ball came and I saw the boy again. I introduced myself but I didn't press him for his name. I spent the whole night with him. I danced with him and we got to know each other a little. We even kissed outside on the terrace. But about midnight he suddnely said he had to leave and he bolted. I ran after him but he was gone by the time I reached the front steps. And all I found was his glass slipper." Akihiko sighed sadly.
Fuyuhiko still stayed quiet and digested Akihiko's story carefully.
"Do you really, truly love this boy?" He finally asked.
"Didn't you listen to me? I told you that I love him with all of my heart and he is the love of my life. I can't get him out of my mind. Everytime I think about him my heart rushes, my stomach feels like it wants to take off. I feel so alive when I'm with him. Without him I just feel gold and empty."
"Oui, you really are in love." Fuyuhiko stated. "That's...wonderful! I'm so happy!" He exclaimed.
"You're not disapointed? It's just that wouldn't it be against to people's ideals?"
"I'm just so happy that finally you have shown interest in someone even though they are a male. If you're in love with him and feel happy with him, I'm not going to seperate you. And I think that the most of the people would be jubilant. And I want to meet the love of my son's life." He said and placed a hand on Akihiko's shoulder.
"Merci, father. That means a lot to me. And I want you to meet him too. You will love him."
"Let's come up with a way to find your special boy."
The next day, a rumor spread quickly from the palace staff to the streets of town that the prince was on the hunt. The details were not known, but the gossip claimed that the Crown Prince had found the one he would want to marry and now he was trying to find them.
It didn't take long when the rumor reached the ears of Madame Erina. Of course she immediately bombared her sons who were in deep sleep since it was Sunday. When the boys complained at being woken up from their so called beauty sleep Erina only mentioned that the prince was looking for his spouse.
That was the inducement that got the boys to start running like beheaded chickens.
"MISAKI!"
Poor Misaki was made to scrub the entire chateau from top to bottom until the whole place was shining so bright. And then he had to endure what almost amounted to a repeat of the night of the ball. His stepfamily made him heat water for midday baths and then came helping them into their finest day clothes, applying perfumes to their throats and powder their faces, styling their hair and putting their jewerly.
"Misaki, dear.." Erina called to her stepson. The small brunet appeared at her side. "Since you have done so well today, you may take the rest of the day off."
His stepmother was really giving him the day off? He felt so elated that he could have almost hugged Erina. Almost.
"Merci, Madame! Merci beaucoup!" With that he raced off deeper into the house. His destination was the attic. It was the only place where he could be alone.
When he arrivied into the room the mice were happily running around and looked up to the boy. "Hey little ones, my stepmother gave me the day off. Can you believe it?"
For minutes, the boy lay on his back and pet the mice which have climbed and settled on his stomach. "This might be the best moments of my life, excpet the ball.." He let his mind wander again into the night when he had kissed that wonderful, handsome man.
"Akihiko..." Misaki sighed dreamily, a small smile tugging at his lips.
What he didn't know was that Erina was standig there at the door and heard everything. Misaki heard a slight click ringing through the room. He sat up and looked to the door. He saw Erina standing there, holding a key in the inside lock. An evil smirk was plastered on her face.
Misaki gasped, sprang up and tried to race to the door.
Erina was too quick and slammed the door shut just as the boy reached it.
Misaki tugged at the door handle. It didn't budge a bit.
"Let me out!" Misaki cried pounding the door with his tiny fists. He heard a light, evil snicker outside the door and then footsteps turning away and walking down the stairs.
The brunet hammered the door for minutes but to no avail. He sank to his knees and his vision blurred with tears. No one was coming. He was trapped up here.
"Why?"
No answer came to him.
The tears fell from the emerald eyed boy and splattered on the hard wooden floor. Sobs escaped from his soft lips and he breathed heavily.
The mice scurried over to the sobbing boy and rubbed themselves against his leg. A slow wobbly smile came to the boy's lips.
"Merci." The boy said softly just before he lay to the ground holding his stomach.
Somewhere else
"How long have we been at this?" The chestnut haired duke asked. They had been out all morning and half of the afternoon, searching for the mysterious boy that had captured Akihiko's heart.
"Not long enough." Akihiko replied with a voice full of determination. "We are not stopping till we find him."
Hiroki slumped down in his saddle. He and the fourth of the royal guard had accompanied the Crown Prince on his mission. Of course the guard was no one other than Kusama Nowaki. It was little awkward because of their 'activities' of the ball night that had happened. Nowaki kept sending Hiroki looks and smiled his dazzling smile. Akihiko tried to ask about it but Hiroki didn't open his mouth and just blushed.
They searched many houses of the town but didn't find the person they were looking for. They had asked passing people if they knew a woman with brown hair and green eyes that had passed away twelve years ago.
So far no one had said they had. Akihiko reached into saddle bag and pulled out the green glass slipper that his mystery boy had left behind. Lost in thought he ran his finger along the glass. The colour reminded him of the boy's beautiful emerald eyes.
Oh how he missed the feel of that soft skin, those shining green eyes, that sweet angelic smile. He allowed his eyes to slide close for a moment, remembering that beautiful face, flushed and smiling at him, dark chololate brown hair and and bright eyes shining under the moonlight.
Akihiko opened his eyes and noticed that they had arrived to a familiar place. A shopkeeper appeared and rushed to the prince.
"Your Highness." The man said and bowed deeply to the silverhaired prince. "How may I serve you?"
"I just need some information, sir." Akihiko answered. "If you can provide it for us."
The shopkeeper looked up.
"We are looking for the family of a woman who passed away about twelve years ago." The prince explained. "The woman in question most likely had dark brown hair and emerald green eyes." That was all he could say.
The shopkeeper thought for a while. "That sounds like someone from around here."
Akihiko tried his best not to show his inner joy and relief. "Who?"
"Madame Takahashi. She fits the descripiton and I remember those emerald eyes you mentioned. She died twelve years ago leaving her husband and his only son. The father died two years later leaving the boy with his stepfamily. They live about two miles up the road in a big old chateau. The boy often comes to the shop."
Akihiko reached into the leather pouch of his belt and withdrew ten gold coins. "Merci, monsieur", he said and handed the coins to the man. The carriage moved out heading to the direction that the man had indicated.
At the chateau
The sound of lock clicking woke Misaki. Hurriedly he scurried out of the way as the door swung open, revealing Erina.
"Stepmother, why did you lock me in here?" Misaki asked with fresh tears in his eyes.
"Oh you really don't know?" Erina asked sarcastically. "I can't have you distracting the prince."
Misaki just stared at the woman.
Erina's face darkened with an evil scowl."You think you are so high. When that father of yours died, I could have thrown you out like trash. Out of the goodness in my heart I let you stay in my home. I fed you. Clothed you. I treated you as my own son.
"And how do you repay me? By acting like you're better than me!" Erina kept uttering lies messing Misaki's head. "I won't have you ruining my sons' chances of marriage."
"Madame, I don't understand.."
"Enough!" She barked. Angrily she turned and slammed the door again behind her. Misaki heard the key scrape in the lock.
For the first time in his eighteen years Misaki felt a strange feeling inside him. He was enraged, not just angry but blindly fury.
Erina had never done anything to him. She mistreated and abused him every single day since his father passed away. Misaki's fists clenched until his nails dug painfully into his palms. His eyes closed tightly with tears leaking out.
How dare she?! Misaki screamed inside his head. I have done everything for her and those spoiled sons of her. Unable to stand still, Misaki collapsed onto his knees and sobbed furiously. Why? Tears the size of pearls dropped from Misaki's eyes and rolled down his cheeks.
Bon aprés-midi = Good afternoon
Mon fils = My son
Merci beaucoup = Thank you so much