A/N: Hi everyone!
Thank you so much for the reviews, faves and follows!
Temarixx - Thank you! :)
To the four wonderful Guest reviewers - I'm happy that you liked it. Thank you!
A big thanks to Saint Sita, DeathBerryHime and BrokenAngelWings83 for encouraging me. :)
Disclaimer: I can cry, I can whine but the truth still remains that Bleach is not mine. ;)
Enjoy!
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Chapter - 7
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'Let's move on with our discussion, shall we?' Tatsuki asked boisterously.
'Of course.' Ichigo replied.
'Alright then. Do you have a monthly allowance?'
'Yes.'
'How much?'
He quoted an insane amount that left the three ladies speechless. But not for long.
'How is that Aizen allows it?' Rangiku asked.
'You do realize that I am the Crown Prince and thus, the future ruler of the empire, don't you? It will look more than highly strange if I don't have such wealth to my name.'
'Oh, of course, your Highness.' Said Tatsuki acidly, 'After all, that's why the people pay their hard earned money as taxes to the state, don't they? So that you can appear adequately rich.'
Something in his eyes flashed and his expression – which was only visible because he'd uncovered his face – hardened considerably.
'Do not speak of things of which you have no understanding.'
'I don't have –'
'Tatsuki.' The princess rebuked softly, 'Enough. Ask him something else if he is agreeable to it.'
The dark haired woman only turned her head in response as he nodded for them to continue, which was all the ammunition Rangiku, who had been controlling herself thus far, needed to initiate a barrage of questions.
'What's your family like? What are your hobbies? What's your daily routine?'
Tatsuki sniggered at the Prince's classic 'taken-aback' expression. 'Maybe you should ask him one at a time, Rangiku. It's too late to scare him away.'
'I'm not afraid.' The orange-haired man huffed.
'We'll see about that. ' Rangiku said, brushing away his indignation as she continued, 'Have you any illnesses?'
'What do you mean by that?' the Prince asked tiredly, resisting the urge to rub his temples for some momentary respite from this interrogation.
'I mean do you have any illness that could cause you to die and leave our Orihime all to herself in your hellhole of a palace or worse, which could be passed on to her and take her life instead?'
'No.' he said sourly, letting the comments about the palace pass for now. There was nothing wrong with it, except that his foul, stain-upon-this-earth Uncle inhabited said living space.
'What about the rest of your family members?' she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, 'For all we know, you could have any number of old rotten uncles with warts on their faces and imbalanced brains and . . . '
Damn woman. She was intent upon finding some or the other nasty disease, was she?
'No I don't. Apart from Aizen, who is only a very distant cousin of my father, I don't have any other uncles. I was told they perished some time or another before I was born.'
There.
'Well, they had to have died of something, right?'
His eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he searched the small food laden table in vain for something stronger than the weak liquor that had been long gone by now.
'And what if I told you that yes, some of them did but most were killed in battle?'
'Such a bloodthirsty family, yours is. And the way that Aizen – may the devil burn his rotten soul – keeps waging wars, my poor Orihime might very well become a widow much before her old age!'
'Rangiku!' the Princess admonished, even as Tatsuki shook in silent mirth.
The twitching of his eyebrows no longer bothered him. Oh no. But his hand itched something fierce to pick that tiny table and fling it across the room.
'I don't plan to die anytime soon.' He managed through gritted teeth.
'Yes, your Highness.'
He was placated until she spoke again.
'Now, I don't mean to be rude, but are you sure that you're quite capable of performing the marital duties?'
What marita - ? He was temporarily distracted by the Princess burying her face in her hands out of embarrassment before he understood what the woman was alluding to – an heir.
'Of course I am!' he declared vehemently, much to the amusement and simultaneous disappointment of Tatsuki, who would surely have loved to rile him up on the subject.
'Very well then. So – '
'Rangiku,' Orihime spoke up quietly, 'It's getting late and we shouldn't keep our guest up.'
After a long moment of pleading stares directed at the young Princess, the strawberry blond finally relented with a grumpy face.
Ichigo couldn't help shooting his new wife a very grateful glance as he swiftly bid the three women a goodnight and left.
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Orihime lightly cooled herself with a handheld fan as she turned a page of her book. One of the several she'd been forced to re-read to pass the time while imprisoned in her room during the day.
A sharp knock sounded on the door.
She called for the person to enter and was faced by a soldier.
'His Highness, Emperor Aizen commands your presence for the evening meal.' The man said and left.
'Well, 'command' really didn't leave much room for argument.' She thought wryly.
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Steaming dishes were being set and Orihime sat a little straighter and smoothed out her simple clothes. She'd purposely neglected to dress up for the dinner. Maybe it was a little childish but she certainly wasn't going to try to look presentable just because the power-hungry Emperor had decided to grace her with his more than unwelcome presence. The two royals sat in one of the artfully designed rooms with embroidered drapes and a plush carpet. Ichigo, who was probably still at the barracks was not present. A heavy uneasiness hung in the room as they dined, though it was not hard to guess why.
'You've adapted to your new role quite well.' Aizen smirked, referring to the fact that she was "submissively" eating her food in silence as the Princess brought a goblet of juice to her lips before she picked a piece of bread from the plate before her.
'Hardly.' She replied, 'My cook must have been compelled on the pain of death to have all this prepared. I refuse to let the work of my people go to waste.'
The Emperor's smile turned brittle.
'Your people? Not anymore, I'm afraid. I hope you didn't forget the attack that forced you into, er, marriage.' He said, stressing upon the fact that she had been reduced from a Princess to a little more than a slave.
'In my heart they remain mine.'
'Indeed. Enjoy the hospitality while you can. You leave for Seireitei tomorrow.'
A sharp intake of breath was the only response Orihime allowed herself to express in front of him.
'Tomorrow?' she asked.
'Oh yes. I firmly believe in the safekeeping of the spoils of war.'
Her eyes narrowed in disdain at his repulsive words but that only made the horrid man's smile grow wider. A servant removed Aizen's now-empty plate and he rose to leave. Orihime waited for a while and when she was sure that he was gone, she broke into a sprint to reach that one place.
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The stars were out by the time Ichigo returned. He rolled his shoulders to get rid of some of the exhaustion and once again cursed the over-enthusiastic Captain Zaraki and his obsession of fighting. Finally, after two days of endless brawls – which the Captain called training – he was able to get a few days of reprieve.
The sound of pattering feet alerted him to the sight of Princess Orihime Ino – Kurosaki running down the corridor that the one he was in led to. His usual scowl deepened on his face as Ichigo wondered what could have caused such a reaction. He decided to find out for himself and followed her.
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A/N: Phew! This restarting the writing process thing really sucks the energy out of you. Anyway, so there you have it! Hope you liked it. Lemme know your thoughts and please review!
