Locked Away

Rapunzel, Rapunzel

"There." Sumi patted the finished obi and Misaki smiled at him. "Now you really look like a princess in your sakura kimono, Princess-chan."

"Uwahh, I'm excited. I haven't seen the outside of these halls since ten years ago, I can't wait to go outside." Misaki sighed happily. Usagi brought him a tailored kimono with a beautiful sakura pattern.

"Usami-sama, really loves you to buy you such an expensive kimono just for a Sakura parade." Sumi commented.

Misaki smiled wistfully. He really did appreciate the efforts of his captor but only if this promise was upheld would he fall even more in love with him. Misaki shook his head, it wasn't possible.

"Sumi, I'll be fine from here, please leave."

"As you wish Princess-chan," Sumi bowed and left, the unknowing princess completely unaware of the current situation. Sumi grinned as he shut the door behind him.

"Is he ready?" Usagi questioned as Sumi passed him.

"He's all yours." Sumi smirked.

Usagi entered the room where his beloved was fawning over his appearance and shaking in excitement. He watched wistfully and felt regret at stripping such happiness away for ten years.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

Misaki jumped and turned to Usagi with a smile. "I've never been more ready."

Usagi held out his arm and Misaki took it gracefully as if his lover would change his mind if he were too hasty.

He had been barefooted for so long he didn't feel comfortable in any type of shoes so he decided to go without them. Usagi tried to warn him about the craggy asphalt but Misaki would have no parts of any type of shoes.

"Will you really carry me if my feet hurt?"

"Of course," Usagi responded as they exited the room. Misaki was stunned as he was actually able to leave the corridor that led to Usagi's chambers. He hadn't seen the outside world in ten years and it was a sight to behold. He looked at the things he had never seen in the castle like the huge hanging chandeliers lit by candles or the larger piece sky outside the glass windows. The carpet was different and it felt amazing under his feet. He stopped Usagi just so that he could rub his feet on it for a few minutes. He rubbed his hands on the stone walls and touched every suit of armour he could. The wooden railing on the stairs were smooth and Misaki couldn't believe the texture and how different it was from the wooden bed in their chambers.

He struggled with the stairs and Usagi ended up having to carry him down the rest of the way. He was like a toddler experiencing the world for the first time.

Usagi led him to the castle doors where two guards nodded to him. They opened the doors and Misaki covered his eyes as the sun blinded him. He cried at the pain in his eyes and the unfamiliar warmth and Usagi held him tightly and moved him away from the doors.

"It hurts!"

Usagi shushed him and kissed his face all over. He knew it would probably be a bad idea to bring him out so suddenly. It took a good ten minutes before Misaki could open his eyes again. He looked as Usagi with tearful eyes but had a smile on his face either way.

"Is that the light that comes through the window in the bathroom?"

"Yes, my love. Unfortunately, you only see it as it sets so it's not so bright and the isn't much heat that comes from it then. Haven't you read about it in your books?"

Misaki nodded. "I didn't know the sky was so large. That window is so high you can't see out of it."

Usagi chuckled and Misaki got a determined look on his face. "I want to try again!"

Usagi was glad his lover's resolve hadn't been crushed but he was also worried about his lover's safety. Until he was in the sunlight, Usagi hadn't realized just how pale his lover was. His skin was deathly white and his hair, while still soft was almost gray in the light. And yet, as he watched Misaki test the heat with his hands, his lover's green eyes still shone with happiness. They hadn't lost their color and they hadn't lost their fire and the guilt ate him up from the inside.

He had finally released his Rapunzel from his tower.

Usagi ordered for a parasol to be brought to his lover and Misaki was amazed at the colorful device. Usagi showed him hiw to fold it and unfold it and once again Misaki played with it over and over until Usagi forced him to stop.

"You'll break it." Usagi smiled as he unfolded the parasol and showed his lover how to hold it properly. "It will protect your skin from the sun."

Misaki stepped into the sunlight and was surprised when it didn't burn his skin. He smiled widely at Usagi and stepped forward outside the doors.

He didn't last very long and ran right back inside because the ground was hot.

"Usagi-san!"

Usagi chuckled, "that's what shoes are for, would you like to try them now?"

Misaki nodded pitifully and Usagi waved for a pair of geta. Misaki held his hand as he slipped his delicate feet into the shoes. Misaki held onto Usagi tightly as he took step after slow step in the shoes.

It made Usagi happy to see that his lover never gave up. He was willing to continue even after he was brought down.

Misaki tugged on his arm as he pointed at the 'green stuff on the ground'. "Usagi-san! That is-"

"Grass, my love."

"Yes! It was also in my books. Can I touch it?"

"Of course."

He led his lover to the grass and it took no time for him to ditch his shoes and curl his toes in it.

Usagi smiled and let his lover do as he pleased. He had truly been locked away for ten years and stripped of such joys. He continued to tell himself that he made the right decision.

"Misaki."

The brunette looked at him as he was running his fingers over the blades of grass. "Yes?"

"It's time to go now. Don't you want to see the cherry blossoms?"

Misaki's eyes lit up and he stepped back in the shoes. Usagi had the carriage set up farther down the pathway so that Misaki could have some more time to explore. They walked slowly still but Misaki took in as much as he could because who knew when he would see it again.

Misaki had asked so many questions and received so many answers that he was pretty satisfied when they arrived at the carriage.

Misaki froze and dropped his umbrella as he saw the carriage and he was hit with the flashbacks as he was taken forcefully from his home.

"Misaki?" Usagi questioned as he looked at his lover.

"No, no, please don't take me away!" Misaki tried to step back but Usagi held him.

Misaki gripped his hair as the memories haunted him behind his eyes. "Nii-sa... Usagi-san, no no no, I don't want to go!"

Usagi embraced his lover as he panicked. "It's okay, my love, I'm here with you."

"Usagi-san, Usagi-san, please don't take me away. Don't let them take me away."

"I'm right here Misaki."

He didn't know that moment in time still plagued his lover. He waved the carriage away and asked another guard on standby to bring his own horse.

"Misaki, look at me." He gazed into those green eyes and smiled. "I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe here with me."

Misaki nodded and Usagi kissed him gently.

The guard brought Usagi's stallion and Misaki looked at it like it was alien.

"It's huge! Can I touch it?" He asked excitedly. Usagi smiled and instructed how to pet the horse gently before he asked one of the guards to summon Sumi and to bring another horse.

He had helped Misaki sit sideways on the saddle when Sumi approached him with another horse.

"You called for me, my lord?"

"You'll accompany me today. I need you for detail."

Sumi bowed. "I understand my lord."

Usagi mounted the horse with Misaki and smiled at his lover as they began their leisurely ride into the town.

Misaki looked at his surroundings in awe. They had aready begun to see the cherry blossom petals scattered along the gravel road. He looked behind him and into the trees that surrounded them.

"Misaki, look."

Misaki gasped as they came to the clearing and he was floored by the beauty of the pink colored landscape. The town was surrounded by Sakura trees and floating petals. He covered his mouth and tears slipped from his eyes. He had never seen something so beautiful.

"Do you like it?" Usagi asked and the sweet kiss from his lover was his only response.

Misaki couldn't wait to get off the horse and explore and had even tried to run out of his shoes as soon as he was let off the stallion. Usagi chuckled as his lover tried to pull him to hurry when he couldn't even walk properly in his own shoes.

People moved through the town, chattering and eating food. Misaki got to try things he had never tried before and eat things he never thought he would.

"It's delicious! What is it Usagi-san?"

"Takoyaki. It's octopus."

"Octopus?" Misaki thought back to the ugly squirmy things he read about in his books and looked at his food. "It won't move in me will it?"

Usagi chuckled and shook his head. "No my love, it won't move inside of you."

They trodded slowly as Misaki took in all the sights and people began to notice that their king was amongst them.

Misaki was shocked when people began to bow as they passed. He moved closer to Usagi but the older man didn't seem to notice.

"Ah!" Misaki tripped and fell to the ground suddenly and he heard crying immediately after. He looked at the child he tripped over and panicked.

"No wait! Please don't cry! I'm sorry!"

He was grabbed and pulled off the ground by Usagi. He brushed away his lover's hands and helped the child from the ground as well. He couldn't have been any older than two or three and Misaki smiled at the boy.

"Ne, are you alright now? Where's your mama?"

"I dun know! I can't find mama!" The boy sniffed and Misaki pulled him in for a hug.

"Can I help you find your mama?" Misaki took a glance at Usagi who had his head turned. He knew Usagi didn't want him associating with anyone but he couldn't allow this little boy to wander on his own.

The little boy smiled wide. "I can see mama again?"

"Of course." Misaki took the little boy's hand and they continued on their path through the town. People watched their king, the pale stick next to him and this little boy travel through the town. They continued to stop at random stalls and Misaki shared his little morsels with the child.

"Boy, what's your name?"

"Kichi."

"Kichi-kun, what does your mama look like?"

"Mama has hair like Kichi and eyes like Kichi too."

Misaki began to look for women who had dark brown hair and blue eyes like the child and Usagi smiled at his love's enthusiasm.

He hadn't expected Misaki to actually stop and help the child but he supposed he could let him have fun with his scavenger hunt. They still had a bit of time before he needed to make his announcement anyway. He already knew who the child's mother was, his men had found her a bit after Misaki agreed to help the boy but he wouldn't tell his lover that.

The town was larger than Misaki had expected and because of his inability to walk properly in shoes, they still continued on at a snails pace and he still relied on Usagi to help him walk without falling over.

"We're nearing the town square now, my love."

"You hear that Kichi-kun? Maybe someone has seen your mama in town square."

Kichi was eating a dango and nodded absently. Misaki was in love with the little person holding his hand. He had never seen a person so little but he knew he had been little like that at one point. The boy had pink cheeks and a little nose and cute wide blue eyes. Kichi had pointed out some things he had never seen before and Misaki stared in awe with him. They were like two peas in a pod.

Near the town square, Misaki finally saw her. A woman with long, dark hair going around frantically to people and making erratic hand motions. She turned and he saw her eyes which were an exact replica of the little boy's eyes. It had to be the mother he was looking for.

He let go of Usagi's arm and ran out of his shoes pulling Kichi with him. He heard Usagi calling for him but he had that woman in his sights. He touched her hair and she turned around in fright but Misaki took Kichi into his arms and grinned wide.

"Mama!" Kichi reached out for her and the woman took him and held him tight.

"Kichi! Kichi!" She squeezed him and kissed him all over.

She began speaking to him in a language he couldn't understand and suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder. Usagi was there and the woman bowed over and over saying something to him over and over until Usagi put his hand up. He responded to her in the same language and he heard his name a few times. The woman blushed and bowed again.

"Arigatou Misaki-san." Her accent was off and Misaki bowed back.

"Bye Nee-san!" Kichi waved as his mother swooped him away.

Misaki stared as they disappeared into the crowd. Usagi enbraced his lover and helped him put his shoes back on. He laughed a bit because Kichi called him Nee-san but he missed the boy already.

Usagi took his hand and Misaki noticed they were going to the platform in the middle of the square. He was nervous when Usagi held him close next to him but Sumi was there too.

Sumi clapped his hands and the crowd of people there went quiet. "Your king has a few words to say."

Usagi stepped forward and his voice was loud as he spoke. "I thank you, each and every one of you for your help and support to keep this Spring Festival alive every year! As was it last year, and every year before that, the Spring Festival has been a fun and cheerful time for every one to gather and enjoy each other's company. As your king, you have been kind and accepting to me and I am honored to have you all as my subjects." Misaki watched wide eyed as his lover spoke. He had never seen this side of Usagi before. "Please continue to support me as your king and the one who is my wife."

Usagi pulled Misaki to him and kissed him deeply.

Misaki squeaked and the crowd cheered and clapped. The brunette blushed deeply and Usagi gave him an infuriating smirk.

"Well well," there was a loud, slow clap that resounded in the air and Usagi pushed Misaki behind him. Misaki peeked around his lover and gasped.

"Nii-sama..."

"It's been a while, Misaki."

Holy Hades people! It's been two years! I'm sorry for abandoning you all for so long! I knew I would find a new inspiration for this story and I did. I will update as soon as possible so expect more from me! Again, I'm really sorry.