Sorry for the long wait! I actually started this chapter a while ago but couldn't finish it until now because of college starting and other crazy things! So I apologize for that! Moving on…

Disclaimer: I do not own Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. It belongs to the wonderful Hayao Miyazaki and to Studio Ghibli.

Whistle Against the Wind

Chapter 3 – Excuses

As the full moon climbed higher over the cliffs of the valley, Nausicaä tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. So many things had happened that night… and they all seemed to happen so fast. She felt so overwhelmed by Prince Cáel's arrival and Lord Yupa's and Asbel's return.

Where was the strong young woman she knew from not so long ago? Where was the young woman that stood up to the Tolmekians and Kushana, not caring if she died in the stampede of angry Ohmu?

Now, all she felt like was a silly damsel in distress. Here she was, worrying about two boys. Well, young men. One was her very good friend who helped her save her people. The other was… well… who exactly was he, anyway? They had talked about so much in the garden that day, yet why couldn't she remember anything important about him?

And why were Asbel and Prince Cáel already off to a bad start? Prince Cáel seemed like he wanted to have nothing to do with Asbel. When Asbel did leave, Prince Cáel seemed to unsettle Nausicaä's thoughts. His smile… there was something about that smile he gave her. Something deeper… much deeper.

The only thing was, she couldn't quite figure out what it was...

Nausicaä sat quietly at the dining hall table the next morning, poking some fruit with her fork and barely even giving the bread a second glance.

"Is something wrong, princess?" Mito carefully asked, noticing she hadn't eaten a single bite. "You've been staring at your food for a while now."

"Yes, I'm sorry, everything's fine… I'm just not really feeling like myself today… I guess…" She had wanted to talk to Asbel and Lord Yupa all night, hoping to hear about where they had gone and the stories and information they had brought back. But of course, things could never go how she wanted them to…

"Good morning, Nausicaä!" Nausicaä instantly perked her head up. Asbel made his way toward the long dining table to greet the princess, but was halted by a voice with similar intent.

"Good morning, Nausicaä!" Asbel spun around to face the voice. Who did this guy think he was, calling her by her first name only? They had only met yesterday!

"Asbel, Prince Cáel. Good morning to you both." Nausicaä stood up to great her guests, gesturing for them to sit down at the table. "Prince Cáel, I hope you slept well. I asked for only the best accommodations for you."

"Why, they were just fine. Thank you for asking." He smiled at Nausicaä, but glanced across the table over to Asbel out of the corner of his eye. Was he showing off? Bragging about something? Asbel couldn't figure out what this guy was up to, but he seemed to always be rather smug when Nausicaä paid more attention to him…

"I asked Mito to show you around the valley today, Prince Cáel. It is a day's trek around the valley and I unfortunately have some business to attend to later this afternoon. I hope that you don't mind." Prince Cáel's smiled seemed to fad a bit, but it was nonetheless still there.

"Of course, princess. That would be just fine."

Nausicaä glanced around the dining hall. Spotting the short, mustached man in the far corner chatting to some servants, Nausicaä sighed. "I'm afraid my voice does not carry very well across large rooms such as this. You can go meet Mito, Prince Cáel. Just tell him I sent you and he will be sure to help you get ready for the trip."

"Thank you, Nausicaä." Prince Cáel stood up from the table and began to walk towards Mito but turned around for a moment. "Should I expect to see you at dinner, princess? I rather enjoy your dining company."

Nausicaä wasn't sure if she should be flattered or insulted by the comment. "Oh, uh, I guess it will all depend on how long it takes for you to see the valley."

Prince Cáel nodded in understanding and turned around once more to proceed to where Mito was.

Nausicaä turned back around to the table and let out a deep sigh. "I'm glad that's taken care of," she said to no one in particular.

"Nausicaä?" Asbel was a bit confused by her comment.

"Wha… oh! I'm sorry, Asbel. I just have so many things on my mind lately." Nausicaä rested her chin in the palm of her hand, a very un-princess-like thing to do, but she really didn't care at this point. "I felt like if I spent the whole day with that man again I would go insane!" Now Asbel was really confused. She seemed so mystified by Prince Cáel the night before, so why did she all of a sudden feel this way?

"I'm sorry, Nausicaä, I don't think I quite understand…"

"Asbel, do you feel like there is something… strange about him?" Asbel was a bit taken back by the sudden question, but had to admit to himself, that there was something about him he didn't like.

"Well, I guess you could say there might be something—"

"Nevermind, Asbel. I'm being a little paranoid, I guess." Nausicaä sat up straight in her chair, folding her arms in her lap. "Actually, one of the reasons I wanted Mito to take Prince Cáel around the valley today was so that I could finally hear about your adventures! Ever since you came back last night, I've been so eager to know what happened to you and Lord Yupa!"

For some reason, Asbel couldn't help but blush. "Oh, yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that, too. I had wanted to talk to you last night but you seemed rather busy with Prince Cáel and everything so I didn't—"

Asbel was cut off by the sound of the great hall doors being burst open. A group of men and one woman rushed into the hall, headed straight for Nausicaä and Asbel.

"Prince Asbel! We got word this morning that you returned last night!" The former Mayor of Pejite reached Asbel in no time and was shaking the prince's hand vigorously. The other men in the group were all cheering and patting Asbel on the back, glad that he made it back to the valley in one piece.

But soon, all the men were being pushed out of the way by the woman, and she immediately through her arms around Asbel, crying hysterically. "Oh, Asbel! I'm so happy you are alive! After what happened to your sister… oh I just couldn't bear to think about what could happen to you out there in that toxic jungle!"

Asbel, unable to breathe from the amount of force his mother was hugging him with, tried to loosen her embrace. "Mother, I'm fine! See? I'm alright! You can stop squeezing me now!" Asbel's mother quickly let go of her son, yet wasn't the slight bit embarrassed for her motherly actions.

"Asbel, you know that I and the people of Pejite are overjoyed that you returned to the valley," the Mayor began, "and we have so many things to discuss and share with you. There are many things of urgent importance that cannot wait. You must come with us right away."

Asbel glanced around to find Nausicaä, giving her a wide-eyed look. "But I was supposed to accompany Nausicaä today to—"

"Oh, the princess can handle whatever it is by herself." Nausicaä returned Asbel's look of frustration and disappointment, ultimately shrugging her shoulders in defeat.

"We can talk tomorrow then?" Nausicaä said as loud as she could, hoping to reach Asbel as he was quickly pulled across the floor of the great hall.

"Of course!" Asbel yelled back.

In a matter of minutes, Nausicaä went from being torn between two young men to having absolutely no one around her at all.

"Now, you see that forest up ahead?" Mito said as he pointed in the direction he spoke of.

"What, you mean that massive clump of dead trees?" Prince Cáel said as he squinted to see what Mito pointed at.

"Clump of dead trees?" Mito gasped at the prince's brash statement. "Your highness, forgive me for what I am about to say, but that forest is more than a clump of dead trees! It was once a great forest where many of us villagers spent our childhoods!" Mito and the prince stopped at the edge of the former forest. "Unfortunately, when the Tolmekians came, the forest became infested with spores and many of the trees had to be burnt down." Mito stared at the ground, remember that horrible time. "The princess, of course, was the most upset of any of us."

"The princess?" Prince Cáel was suddenly more interested in the story.

"Ah, but it is getting late in the day. We should continue on." Mito turned away from the forest, headed back to where the town rested among the hills.

Prince Cáel, however, continued to look at the forest. He hadn't noticed it before, but among the dead trees, a few tiny plants were sprouting in the ashen soil. As he looked up and down the length of the start of the forest, he began to notice it even more. Tiny, green plants were growing out of everything; the soil, the dead trees.

It seemed that life was once again returning to the forest that had met such a terrible fate.

Asbel groaned as he was bombarded with question after question, asking him to fix this, talk to the princess about that. Couldn't his people understand that he was worn out from his long journey and didn't exactly want to deal with this right now?

"Asbel, we've been asking the princess throughout this past year and she refuses to listen! Perhaps you can convince her better, as the true leader of our people. For some reason she cannot see why we need a new windmill this very moment!"

Asbel buried his face in his hands and sighed. "Perhaps, mayor, her decision is with good reason. I know of the valley's need for a new windmill, and I'm sure she knows of it too, but there must be a reason why she does not think it is right to build one right now. The princess is a smart young woman and I'm very sure that she is capable of making the right decisions for the valley."

Obviously, that was not what the Council of Pejite wanted to hear.

"Prince Asbel! We have been awaiting your return so you can finally talk to the princess for us and you can only say that? Excuse me, your highness, but your people are asking of you to do something about this windmill problem! We only ask that you will please talk to the princess yourself and try to convince her of our plans!"

Suddenly, an idea hit him. It wasn't the most clever idea, but it would get him away from the nagging Council of Pejite for the rest of the day.

"Alright, mayor. Why don't I go over to the castle at once and try to talk to the princess." The mayor of Pejite immediately plastered a smile across his face, as did the rest of the Council.

"Oh, thank you Prince Asbel! I'm sure that Princess Nausicaä will listen to you and we could even start building that windmill tomorrow!"

Asbel rolled his eyes as he headed out the door of the mayor's home, which often served as a meeting place for the Council. "That was almost too easy…" Asbel smiled to himself, glad that the mayor literally handed him a reason to get out of that meeting.

Nausicaä walked through the castle garden, watering plants in need of water as a result of the lack of rain the past week. As Nausicaä walked along the garden paths, she felt someone was approaching her from behind. She froze in her spot, only to be comforted by a familiar voice.

"Nausicaä, I was told I'd find you here."

Nausicaä smiled in relief. "Asbel, I thought you were busy all day with the people of Pejite?"

"Actually, the funny thing is, they sent me back here to talk to you!" Asbel laughed to himself a bit, causing a smile to spread across Nausicaä's lips.

"And I'm sure I can guess what they wanted you to talk to me about."

"Yeah, well, I guess I lied a bit. I didn't actually come here to talk to about that windmill problem." Nausicaä could feel herself blushing but had no idea why she was. She mentally kicked herself. "I wanted to talk to you about everything that happened to me and Lord Yupa. But even more, I want to hear about what has happened in the valley since I've been gone… well, other than the windmill issue." Asbel laughed once more.

As Nausicaä watched Asbel make his way over to where she was watering various plants, she couldn't help but notice how his hat flopped in the gentle wind that blew across the castle garden. "Asbel, you're still wearing that silly hat, aren't you?" Asbel stopped when he reached where Nausicaä was and glanced up, as if he was looking at his hat as well.

"Yeah, well, I like it."

Nausicaä sighed playfully. "But I'm sure you look a lot better without it…" Without warning, she snatched Asbel's hat, revealing his mess of uncut brown hair.

"Nausicaä! Give that back!" Asbel quickly tried to fix his hair, embarrassed of the extremity of his hat-hair.

Nausicaä noticed his hair and began to laugh uncontrollably. "Asbel, now I know why you wear your hat all of the time!"

"Come on, Nausicaä, it's not that bad! Who cares anyway if I like wearing my hat all of the time?"

Asbel tried to grab his hat back from Nausicaä but she always seemed to get it out of his reach, despite the fact that he was now several inches taller than her.

"Princess Nausicaä?" Nausicaä and Asbel both quickly turned around. Nausicaä quickly shoved Asbel's hat towards him, accidentally hitting him in the stomach in the process.

"Ow!"

Prince Cáel, for some reason, did not look happy. "What is going on? Is everything alright?"

Nausicaä seemed nervous and Asbel didn't like it. What was the big deal? "Oh, um, everything's just fine. I guess I was just a bit startled. I wasn't expecting you to be back until much later."

Prince Cáel eyed Nausicaä curiously. "Apparently not…"

Nausicaä quickly walked toward Prince Cáel and away from Asbel. "Would you care to escort me to the library? I was actually heading there when I ran into Prince Asbel."

Now Asbel was very confused. Why was she trying to cover up everything? Why was she acting so nervous in front of this prince?

"I would love to, princess. Can I first have a word with the Prince of Pejite?"

"Oh, um, of course. I'll meet you at the bottom of the stairwell." Before she left, Nausicaä worriedly looked over to Asbel. However, he didn't seem worried at all. Just confused.

Prince Cáel gracefully made his way over to where Asbel stood, clutching his hat to his stomach. "Prince Asbel, might I remind you that I am the princess's fiancé. It may be hard for you to get used to, but I find it rather bothersome that you seem to be so casual with the princess."

Asbel was startled by what the prince had to say. "I'm sorry, but what are you talking about? The princess and I have always been on these terms. I mean, really, if you think I'm trying to steal her away from you, that's ridiculous!" Asbel had to stop himself after he realized where this conversation was leading. "Why did I even say that? Of course I'm not trying to do that!"

"Prince Asbel, I'm not in the least bit worried about losing the princess to the likes of you. She is betrothed, after all." With that, the prince turned on his heels and made his way to the stairs.

Asbel stood there, rather shocked by what had just transpired. "He thinks I'm trying to steal Nausicaä away from him? That's ridiculous! We're just friends! Besides, I'm well aware of her current status of betrothal…" However, when he thought about it, why didn't she ever mention her betrothal to him before? He knew they had been busy helping to rebuild the valley, but they had a lot of downtime where they talked. Why hadn't she told him?

Before, he couldn't really comprehend the fact that she was getting married soon. To a stranger, no less. Now, as he stood alone in the castle garden, the gentle breeze flowing through his shaggy brown hair, it began to fully sink in. It didn't matter if he came back to the valley to see her once more. It didn't matter if she was his best friend, the one person he could talk to about anything. None of it mattered because soon everything was going to change. He just couldn't help but get the feeling that Nausicaä was right… there was something about the prince that was rather unsettling. Hopefully he could figure out what that was before it was too late.

Too late for what, though, he wasn't sure.

A/N: I hope this makes up for the lack of updates lately! I've been busy with schoolwork (college sucks sometimes) and so I didn't have much time to write. I'll try to update more often, though. And don't worry! I'm not going to be giving up on this story, so no worries about that.

-brigette (aka: Kaze-no-Tenshi)