Hi guys! So here's the fourth chapter! Um, you'll see it's a little different, probably once you start reading it, but I wanted to stray from the norm. That okay?
Summary: —
Disclaimer: I don't own Free! Iwatobi Swim Club.
[CHAPTER FOUR: "THEIR FIRST MEETING."]
"Flower Shop"
Princess Gou read the sign in front of her, taking in it's simplicity and wondering if all things in the city were this straight and to the point— and dull. Her carriage driver had taken her straight to the shop, so she hadn't really had a lot of opportunity to look around the rest of the town. Gou frowned at the thought, turning to the two guards that had accompanied her.
"Stay here, you two. I'll be back soon," The girl ordered and the two guards nodded, hopping to attention and posting themselves just outside the shop. Gou made a face, wishing that she could have come alone, before turning her attention towards the shop.
"Excuse me," Gou mumbled quietly as she brought up her right arm, pulling the orange tarp hanging in the flower shop's entrance to the side and stepping through the doorway. The Princess looked around, gasping quietly as her red hues took in all the plants and flowers inside the establishment. Some were sitting in pots on the floor and on shelves, while others were cradled inside of hanging pots that lined the walls. Gou was amazed at the sheer number of them as she slowly walked forward, a very earthy, foreign scent invading her nose as her footsteps echoed quietly, the jewelry she wore jingling.
Most of these look very spiky and uncomfortable, The red-haired royal frowned, not sure that the girls coming to meet her brother would like such things. I sure wouldn't want any of these as a present. Okaa-san said that this woman's flower arrangements are beautiful, though, so... Gou's thoughts trailed off as she stopped walking, her red eyes looking straight ahead, right at the counter that was waiting for her.
Two small children were sitting on the counter, one on either side with about a four foot gap between them. One was a girl and the other was a boy; they looked very similar to each other and were dressed in the same white gown and purple apron. Each had a small flower pot in their little laps and what looked like a small knife in their hands, going to work at the plant in their laps. As she stood watching them, for a reason unknown to her, Gou felt an alarm go off in her brain and she shrieked, causing both children to jump, and moved over to them in a flash.
"You two," Gou began once she got to the counter, looking between the boy and girl, "You shouldn't be playing with knives! You could hurt yourself!" She scolded, a deep frown on her face. The two kids looked up at her before exchanging a look, then looking back up to Gou once more. When they glanced at her the second time, she couldn't help but notice their eyes seemed to be sparkling, though with what she didn't know.
"You're Princess Gou, aren't you?" The little boy asked the red-haired teenager; his voice had a dreamy feel to it. Beside him, the little girl discarded her knife onto the wooden countertop beside her, giggling. "Okaa-san!" The girl turned around a bit, calling for her mother out the back door of the establishment, which Gou hadn't even noticed until just then.
"Okaa-san, Princess Gou is here!" The girl giggled again and turned to look back at said royal princess, smiling. "My name is Ran," She chirped, then pointed to the boy beside her. "And this is my twin brother, Ren! Don't pay him a whole lot of attention to him; he's just a big baby." The little girl said with another giggle. The boy, Ren, frowned at his sister's comment.
"I am not!" The boy tried to defend himself, causing his sister to shake her head, her dark green pigtails swinging slightly.
"Are too!" Ran retorted firmly and Ren hiccupped, reaching up to wipe at his eye. "I am not..." The boy said again, but this time with a significantly smaller amount of confidence behind his tone. Gou made a nervous face, not sure how to handle the situation. She didn't know anything about feuding siblings; she and her brother had always gotten along fairly well. After all, Rin was the apple of her eye— always had been and always would be.
Thankfully, before Ren could burst out into tears and Gou had to take it upon herself to intervene, a woman came in through the door behind the counter, laughing.
"Ran," The woman said, wiping her hands on her apron, which was green rather than purple like the twin's. "What have I told you about bullying your brother? It isn't nice. The two of you are family, so love each other." The woman advised, causing Ran to puff out her cheeks and pout, looking away. "Okay, Okaa-san," The girl mumbled, defeated, and picked her knife back up, going back to doing whatever it was she'd been doing before Gou had approached the two children. From this distance, Gou realized that the kids were trimming the plants in their laps— and expertly, at that.
This must be a family business and this must be their mother, The redhead thought to herself, looking away from Ran and to the woman now standing between the two twins, behind the counter. Gou eyed the woman, taking in her long, dark green hair that was so similiar to Ran's and her green hues, as well as the soft, comforting smile on her face. Like Okaa-san's, Gou thought, a soft smile finding it's way onto her face.
"Ah, well now, is there something I can help you with, Mi'Lady?" The woman called out to Gou, effectively snapping her out of her examination of said woman. Gou blushed and nodded.
"Um, yes," Gou clasped her hands together out of habit. "There will be a bridal selection for the Prince tomorrow and the royal family would like to give each of the girls a small gift to thank them for coming. I was hoping you could make something for them," The Princess explained, leading the woman to nod in understanding. "I see," She said. "So, do you have anything in mind?"
"Ah..." Gou glanced back behind herself at all the plants she'd thought previously looked scary in and of themselves, then looked back to the woman. "I was thinking maybe something they could wear. Like a bracelet or a crown of flowers, so that they don't have to carry anything around in their hands all day tomorrow. But..." Gou gave an anxious glance to the potted plants in the woman's children's laps. The woman laughed, smiling.
"But you want something soft and pretty something that'll look nice and won't prick their skin, right?" Gou nodded, grateful to the woman for having understood her concern so easily. The florist returned the girl's nod.
"We can do that. If you'd come this way, please," The florist moved behind her son, stepping around to the side of the counter and gesturing Gou to come to the back of the store. "I'll show you the plants I'd suggest we use. I'm afraid I don't have any prepared." She said in an apologetic sort of way. Gou nodded, following the woman as she moved around the counter and out the back door of the flower shop.
"Since it's so hard to grow flowers like the ones you're requesting, we have to charge much more for them than the other plants. Usually only the royal family can afford to buy them, so I don't keep any in the shop itself. I'm sorry for the inconvenience." The green-haired woman apologized. Gou shook her head. "It's alright, um..."
"Tachibana," The woman introduced herself, smiling at Gou, who smiled back and nodded. "Tachibana-san."
The two females, now officially introduced, stopped just inside the garden behind the flower shop. Gou gasped.
There were so many plants. Big ones, small ones; ugly ones and pretty ones. The entire area was fenced in, though the old wooden fence was only about two feet tall, and she could see a house situated on the other side of it. All the plants inside the garden were organized in a way Gou soon found she couldn't identify.
"This way, please," Tachibana-san instructed Gou after giving the girl a moment to look around, motioning for the younger girl to follow her as she walked off to the left. Gou nodded, following behind her.
The older woman lead her to a small section of the garden filled with small, beautiful flowers that Gou didn't recognize. They were all different colors — pink, blue, purple, yellow, and red — and most of them had a white center with four or five dark lines running out from the middle of them. The flowers with five of these lines reminded Gou of little stars.
"These," Tachibana-san said as she bent down and reached out, touching one of the flowers almost like she was petting it's stem, "are Morning Glories. I think they'd be perfect." She commented. Gou nodded.
"I do, too," The Princess agreed, then smiled. "I think those would look best in a crown. Would you do that for me, please?" The redhead asked sweetly, causing the woman to laugh. She stood back to her full-height and nodded. "Of course. I'll go set up the order right now, okay? We'll make the crowns for you and everything; you just pick the colors, okay?" She asked with a smile. Gou nodded and the woman began to head back inside before pausing. "Oh! And also," She said, turning back towards Gou. "For a crown of flowers, we'll probably need six flowers each. Just something to think about while you're picking the colors."
"Ah, okay," Gou said with a nod, watching the woman leave before turning back to the flowers. She crouched down. Onii-chan's favorite color is red, The girl thought, pursing her lips as she looked the red Morning Glories over. They looked nice, but she didn't want to pick just the red ones. Maybe put them in a pattern? Red, another color, red, another of the same color... Yeah, that'd be nice. Gou nodded to herself, eyes narrowed in concentration before she squeaked quietly, feeling something brush her leg, accompanied by the sound of purring.
"Eh?" Gou glanced down beside her, her eyes immediately lighting up.
"Oh, wow!" The Princess squealed, reaching down and picking up the thing that had brushed her leg, taking it into her arms. It was a little cat— or at least, that was what it looked like. The animal's coat was a pale sandy color and kind of prickly, but not quite in a bad way. It's belly as well as it's chest was white and the tips of it's ears and it's nose were black. What Gou found to be the cat's best asset, however, were it's pretty green eyes, which stared at her like she was just as interesting to it as it was to her.
"Hello there," Gou cooed, giggling as she cuddled the cat. It purred, though it's tail flicked in an agitated sort of manner and soon it was leaping out of her lap. Gou frowned. "Aw..."
There was a chuckle, along with a chime of, "Don't feel too insulted. Sho isn't your average stray cat."
Gou blinked, turning to look over her shoulder. Her cheeks immediately flushed.
Standing there behind her, smiling down at her, was a boy a couple of years older than she was. The first thing Gou noticed was that he was dressed in pretty much the same ensemble as the woman and her two children inside the flower shop, then she let her eyes wander, taking him in.
His skin was tanned nicely and his hair was sort of a greenish-brown color, his eyes a bright and healthy green shade. He was handsome and the look his eyes held — soft, somewhat amused, and definitely kind — made the girl's heart melt, along with the chuckle the male offered. The red tint to Gou's cheeks darkened as she realized she'd been staring and the Princess immediately popped up to her full height, hand coming up to brush part of her bangs out of her face.
"O-Oh, it isn't?" The girl's voice was shaky as her red eyes couldn't help but give the boy a once-over. Said olive-haired male smiled once more and shook his head, crouching down and swooping the cat up into his arms as it rubbed against him. He stepped closer, letting Gou get a closer look as he scratched underneath the cat's — Sho's — chin. Gou slowly raised her hand, hesitantly reaching out and petting the cat's head.
"Sho here is a sand cat. They're kind of like domesticated cats, but they're a bit bigger when they get older and prefer to live out in the desert because they like making burrows inside the sand. They seem to like living in small villages, though, too, if given the chance. He personally really likes playing in my mother's garden." The boy explained. Gou nodded, taking the time to note that yes the cat did look a bit bigger than a regular cat already; she didn't know how she hadn't seen it before.
"He's cute..." The Princess mumbled as the cat, Sho, leaned out of the male's arms, trying to extend himself into Gou's. The redhead took him a bit hesitantly, blushing as the cat rubbed his head against the underside of her chin, purring loudly. The male in front of her smiled.
"Do you want him? He seems to really like you," The boy said. Gou's eyebrows raised. "C-Can I?" She asked. "I mean, is it really okay?" She'd always wanted a pet. The male laughed and nodded.
"Of course, Your Highness. I'm afraid I won't be able to hand him over to you today, though," He said, rubbing the back of his head. "He's still a bit too young to be taken from his mother, see." He pointed over on the other side of the fence, back towards the house Gou had noticed earlier, where an adult sand cat was laying against the side of the house, sleeping in the shade with another kitten. "Oh..." Gou mumbled, slowly smiling as she watched the mother sand cat yawn, curling her abnormally long tail around her baby.
"How long would you say until I can have him, then?" Princess Gou asked as she turned to look back at the boy. "Ah..." He rubbed his chin, thinking. "About two weeks, I'd say. If that's alright." Gou nodded. If she was going to take this animal, she wanted it to be old enough to be taken from his mother. The boy laughed, nodding.
"Okay. Just send somebody in two weeks to claim him. Or come and pick him up yourself, if you can, Princess Gou." The boy smiled. Gosh, she found herself drawn in by his smile. "My name's Makoto, so when you come back, ask for me, okay?" The male, Makoto, said. Gou nodded and watched the boy laugh one last time before taking Sho back. Gou found herself immediately missing the cat's prickly-yet-strangely-soft fur against her arms.
The feeling of longing was increased tenfold as she watched Makoto throw up a wave, bidding her goodbye, as he stepped over the small fence that surrounded Tachibana-san's garden, heading towards the house. Gou stood there watching him, her face flushed as it had been throughout their entire conversation, and felt her heart pitter-pattering in her chest.
"Princess Gou?"
The girl snapped out of her dream-like state as she jumped to attention, hearing the florist calling her. "Y-Yes!" She answered, running back inside. She would be coming back herself to claim that cat— definitely.
A few hours later, after everything had been said and done and the flower crowns had been officially ordered, the flowers had been picked and trimmed, and then made into a crown and sent back with Gou, the girl was tired. As she road back to the palace, she found herself staring out her carriage window in a daze. She felt really exhausted, having not realized going into the city for something so small would take so much out of her, but strangely happy. Makoto and Sho flashed through the girl's mind and she giggled. They were cute, especially together, She thought.
"We're here, Princess Gou," The carriage driver called and Gou sighed, picking herself up and slowly stepping out of the carriage. She left the flower crowns inside, letting one of the guards grab them, and approached the palace entrance. Her brother was waiting for her just inside the doorway.
"Yo," Prince Rin greeted as his little sister stepped into the palace. Gou shrieked, taken by surprise, and then caught her breath, placing her hand on her chest. "You scared me, Oni-chan," The red-haired Princess pouted, causing her brother to laugh. The purplish-red haired and equally as red-eyed Prince took a step towards his sister, slipping his arm around her shoulders. Gou immediately sank into his touch, finding the feel of his dark red, silk robes comforting.
"Sorry, Gou. But hey— did you get that stuff worked out?" Rin asked as he and his sister walked side-by-side. Gou nodded, taking a moment to note that her parents were no longer seated on their thrones; it was probably time for dinner. I hope Otou-san helped that boy earlier, Gou thought as her mind flashed back to the black-haired boy that'd been with her Otou-san and Okaa-san earlier in the day. The girl hadn't noticed the boy's hands were tied behind his back at the time; she hadn't realized that he had been arrested.
"A nod? That's all I get?" Gou's brother said teasingly beside her and the girl laughed. "Yes, I did. There, happy?" The redhead joked, bumping her hip against her brother's much sharper, masculine one. The Prince snickered.
"Guess so."
[CHAPTER FOUR: "THEIR FIRST MEETING." END]
Okay, guys. So we met Makoto, sort-of introduced Rin, and I just set up what will be the root of a hell of a lot of character development later. Yay us.