Story Two: Prince of Blue

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To be honest, Kaito was getting bored. It was the same old routine day in, day out. Go to dull meetings, deal with the annoying Princess of the Kingdom of Yellow sending him love letter after love letter, and spend meaningless time with 'lovers' that meant nothing to him.

He wanted to break this dull pattern. To add some spice to life. But that seemed impossible – this hindrance that had become his life was like a Chinese finger trap; the more he tried to escape from it, the tighter it encircled him.

Kaito left the latest of his so-called loves, sleeping, in her room. Last night had been all right – he'd had worse. But at the same time, he felt empty. He wasn't satisfied. If it wasn't sex that he wanted, what was it? What would fill this void that filled him? He pondered this as he wandered from the sleeping quarters of the castle to the stables.

The Queen of the Land of Green had practically dragged him here, and to do what? Sit around and talk politics? What did he care for the so-called "Daughter of Evil"? She was ruining her kingdom, not his. And it wasn't as if he were actually going to even think about saying 'yes' to her ever-increasing proposals. She didn't seem to realize that he received at least five other similar letters a day, and acted as if they were already lovers when he'd only seen her in person once.

Kaito sighed, and lifted himself up onto his horse. Maybe a nice long ride would keep his mind off of the dullness.

The rhythmic falling of his horse's hooves eventually set him into his own pattern, and he didn't even notice where he was going anymore. Even riding, which had once been his great escape, had become something predictable.

Slowing to a trot, Kaito made his way quietly through the town. Everything was silent, almost to an eerie degree.

"Let me go, please…"

Kaito turned towards the voice, and quietly dismounted. He crept closer to investigate, his hand on his sword.

In the alley, two men had cornered a girl – a few years younger than Kaito, most likely. Her long hair was worn up, exposing a slender neck and small shoulders. She was beautiful – like a finely crafted doll, in Kaito's opinion. Though dressed in something little better than rags, he had a feeling that she'd make quite the lady, if dressed correctly.

"Come on, now. Don't be that way," one of them laughed.

"Yeah. We'll buy you a drink, and then we can all have some fun. How does that sound?" he questioned, hooking a finger under the girl's chin.

The girl began stuttering nonsense, turning a bright red that contrasted with her green hair and clothes.

The two men chuckled. "You're nervous! That's so cute!"

Kaito felt compelled to protect this girl. These men had no honor, treating a woman this way – it was obvious that their attentions were unwanted. He drew his sword, and stepped forward. "Hey! You there! What are you doing?" he called, preparing for a fight.

The men started, looked over, and gulped when they saw the drawn weapon. They glanced from Kaito to the girl, as if judging if it was worth it. They decided the smartest way, and scurried away.

The girl looked at Kaito with a surprised, perplexed expression. "Thank you," she said innocently, tilting her head like a curious child.

Kaito smiled at her gently. "What's your name?" he questioned.

"Miku," she replied, laughing quietly behind a hand – a rather lady-like gesture, for a peasant.

"Miku… a cute name," Kaito commented. "I'll walk you home, then. It's not safe to be out alone at this time of night."

Miku smiled adorably, and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!"

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Kaito rolled a blade of grass between his thumb and forefinger. He couldn't concentrate. Truly, right now, he was supposed to be in a meeting with his father, but he'd opted out and escaped to the woods nearby the castle.

No matter what, his thoughts always came back to Miku, the mysterious maiden of green that he had met nearly three days before. He wished that he could see her again – just one time, even…

"Oh!"

Kaito sat up, and looked over his shoulder. He recognized the dress, green from top to bottom, and the beautiful matching hair. "Miku!" he greeted, smiling at her once.

Miku looked slightly surprised, but walked forward, almost dutifully. She smiled at him. "It's good to see you again," she replied.

Kaito noticed something in her hair – a yellow flower. "Who gave that to you?" Kaito questioned, wondering at the same time why he even cared.

Miku laughed it off. "I just found it, is all…"

That made sense. After all, girls liked pretty things – and flowers were among them, he supposed. "Miku… In my rudeness, I never told you my name when I dropped you off at home that night," he laughed. "My name is Kaito."

Miku made herself comfortable on a nearby rock, sitting in a dignified, though uncomfortable, position. "Kaito… a strong name," she commented. She smiled lightly. "It'd be nice to see you again," she said; Kaito was almost sure he'd heard a tone of hope in her voice.

Kaito smiled and nodded at once. "I'd enjoy that, as well, Miku," he agreed. "I'll meet you in the village square around… say… sunset?" he questioned, smiling brightly.

Miku smiled slightly, almost sadly. "Sunset's no good for me. Would midnight work?"

Kaito considered it for a moment. In fact, it'd work better – he could sneak outside, and no one would be any the wiser. If he was out at sunset, he was sure to be missed. "Yes. That'll be fine, Miku," he consented, enraptured by the adorable smile she gave him.

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Kaito looked left. And then right. No one was around… perfect.

He leapt from the window, landing square in the bushes. He'd gotten good at sneaking out of the castle at night – almost too good. He shrugged it off, and stole his way across the courtyard. He scaled a wall, landed on a pre-made 'cushion' of grass and leaves, and made his way to the village square at a leisurely pace.

He'd been doing this for weeks, and still had yet to be caught. Honestly – was the security that lax around the castle? He didn't know if he should be grateful or worried.

Those thoughts were driven from his head as Miku appeared from an alleyway, dabbing at her eyes with the corner of a handkerchief. "Miku!" he greeted, hurrying towards her.

She started, and looked up. She wiped her face quickly, and smiled at him, greeting him back.

Even if her eyes were red, as if she had been crying, Miku was still adorable.

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Kaito yawned from boredom. All of these meetings on the stressed relationship with the Kingdom of Yellow were tiresome. When his ministers finally released him from the meeting, he went upstairs to get ready to see Miku again. He grabbed his sword and jacket, shoving the weapon into his belt without another thought.

As he passed by the meeting room again, he noticed that the doors were still closed. Was the meeting still going on?

Curious, he stepped closer, intent on opening the door—until he heard one of his head ministers speaking about him. He pressed against the door, quiet as he could possibly be.

"I still say that we shouldn't have gone on with with the plan we outlined in the last meeting," he argued.

"If Prince Kaito is to marry the Yellow Kingdom's princess, it would definitely work to our advantage," another pointed out. "It will help us achieve our goal, in any case. The Kingdom of Green won't last long against their forces. I've already taken the steps outlined and informed the Princess of Kaito's… 'lover', for need of a better word; the so-called 'Daughter of Evil' has already put her forces into action."

"The girl will die, no doubt," the first minister agreed. "But the Princess won't stop there. She'll take the whole Kingdom of Green. Just as we need."

Miku. Kaito didn't even think about his appearance. He sprinted out the castle, towards the stables. He grabbed the first horse he found, and didn't even bother to saddle it properly – he simply jumped on, bareback, and rode to the village.

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He jumped off of the horse as he entered the town square. He knew Miku was here… He didn't know how, but he knew. Chaos reigned around him. The Yellow Kingdom's troops were attacking the people. Homes were on fire, people lying in the streets, dead or dying, trampled by the fleeing.

He wandered blindly through the town, but found nothing – no sign of his beloved.

Until he reached the hill on which Miku's house was located, on the very outskirts. He ran forward, seeing the blood before he saw Miku herself.

Someone was hunched over her, their body shaking.

They were crying. "Why won't they stop?" the stranger whispered, wiping them away furiously. He was a boy still – hardly old enough to be considered a man. His fist clenched in the cloth of the dead girl's skirt. "Miku… forgive me," he whispered. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry!" A blade fell from the boy's hand, both stained with the green maiden's blood.

Kaito saw red. As he stepped forward, placing his hand on his sword to take revenge, the boy spun around, eyes widening. Kaito managed to throw himself at the boy, his blade cutting into the blonde boy's arm, cutting deep. After shoving Kaito off of him, the boy stood on shaky legs, and dashed away before Kaito could finish his attack. However, Kaito saw his face, and recognized him.

He was the manservant of the Daughter of Evil, the Yellow Kingdom's Princess.

Kaito let him run. He would take care of him, as well as his mistress, later, now that he knew who he was. He knelt over Miku, brushing aside her bangs from her face. She had a small smile on her face, and freshly shed tears still clung to her cheeks. "Miku… I will avenge your death," Kaito vowed, gritting his teeth as he attempted to fight the tears that threatened, and succeeded, to fall.

Miku was beyond his reach now.

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Kaito looked at the woman he'd teamed up with. When he had asked, she'd refused to give him the reason for her own hatred towards the Princess of Yellow. He respected her right to privacy, and merely took up this 'business' relationship with her.

She was impressive; she'd gathered many in her troops, though she was only the leader of a band of rebels. Enough to, with the help of Kaito's own troops, to overthrow the Princess. Kaito had taken control from his ministers, though he told himself this was only temporary.

Only until Miku's death had been avenged, he promised himself.

The troops stormed the castle. It was too easy; not thinking about retaliation, the Princess had sent nearly all of her army on the offensive, merely thinking of taking the Kingdom of Green for the hand of a man she had never earned.

She had always been impulsive, Kaito thought to himself, sighing. The door to the throne room was ahead of them. The soldiers were currently bashing their way in with a battering ram. Ever since he had given her a single kiss, when they had been little more than children, she had been unhealthily obsessed with him.

Was it truly 'love', he wondered? Had she simply been in love with him, as he had been in love with Miku?

He shook the thought off. He didn't care. He just wanted this girl to pay for her sins, for what she had done, what she had ordered.

He followed the soldiers into the throne room. It was empty. They searched through the rest of the castle, and eventually found her, sitting calmly at a table, a cup of tea at her lips.

She looked back at Kaito, and smiled slightly. "I've been waiting… Prince Kaito…" she whispered quietly.

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"Three'o'clock…" the Princess said, smiling sadly. "Snack time."

The guillotine fell. Somewhere in the crowd, the servant – for Kaito knew it would be the Princess's beloved servant – began screaming hysterically.

You deserve this punishment, Kaito thought bitterly. You took Miku from me; and so, I have no qualms about taking your Princess from you.

Kaito walked back to his room after seeing the death of the woman that had caused this nightmare. As if in a trace, he knelt in the center of his room, his sword at his side.

"We… will be married in Heaven, Miku," he whispered. He unsheathed the blade, and positioned it above his heart.

"I go to your side."

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Wow… that ended up way longer than the last chapter. But I suppose more happened, didn't it…?

Daughter of Evil (complete)

Prince of Blue (complete)

Maiden of Green

Daughter of Vengeance

Servant of Evil

Message of Regret

Voting time again! What should be done next, "Maiden of Green" or "Daughter of Vengeance"?