Chapter 7: Anxiety

London, England, May 25, 1735

Lady Orihime and Lord Izaya were sitting in the tea room talking about the ball. "Izaya I am nervous for this ball," Orihime said. Izaya picked up his tea-cup and drank some tea, "Why are you nervous my lady? After all it is a ball." Orihime shook her head and winced, "Izaya I have to impress the prince my father is counting on me." He put his tea-cup down and folded his hands, "Why do you have to impress the prince?" Orihime hesitated a moment, "Well I have to impress him so he may ask me to marry him." Izaya's heart began to hurt, "My lady you should try to impress someone you want to be with, not who your father wants you to be with. Being a princess or a queen is an honorable title, but at what cost will you have it? Would you want to be a princess and not be happy with the man you are married to?" Orihime was shocked at the questions Izaya had asked her. She cleared her throat and replied, "I would want to be a princess even if it does cost me my happiness, and it is what my father…" Izaya smacked his hand on the table and shouted, "It does not matter what your father wants! It only matters what you want! If you really want to be with the prince, then do it on your own conscience not someone else's!" Orihime began to feel uncomfortable, "I am sorry Izaya, I do not know how to be so rebellious and do what I want to do."

Izaya sighed deeply, stood up and walked to the nearest window, "My lady, tell me what it means to be free. Orihime cocked her head for a moment and replied, "It is the way of enjoying one's personal rights or liberty." Izaya shook his head and turned his head slightly in her direction, "Yes that is the technical term, but there is another way to explain it." He turns around and comes to sit back down next to her. Izaya takes Orihime's hands and says in a soft voice, "Freedom, my lady, is obeying your heart and opening your eyes to your personal wants and needs. Freedom is not merely dreaming of those wants and needs, it is about taking them and never letting go. To put it simply my lady, spread your wings and fly, let the wind take you towards skies full of wonder and freedom." Orihime's eyes sparkled with amusement, "Izaya that was a beautiful explanation of freedom." She frowns slightly and sighs, "However, I do not feel like I have any freedom at all." Izaya squeezes her hands, "Orihime, you do have freedom, you just have to reach out and grab it." She frowns, "You make it sound so easy." Izaya chuckles, "It is easy as long as you make it easy." Orihime smiles and squeezes Izaya's hands, "You are right, I will give it a try." He smiles and releases her hands.

As the silence begins to grow, a knock on the doors startles them both. "Please come in," Orihime says. One of the butlers comes in and says, "My lady, my lord, your Grace would like to see you both in the Grand Hall. Orihime and Izaya look at each other, stand up and walk out of the tea room. When they reached the main hall, Orihime sees her father speaking to a white-haired man, with almond brown eyes, and white skin. He is a head taller than her father and wears scarlet attire with a crown on his head made of pure gold.

As they walk to both gentlemen, her father turns to her, "Orihime, come here sweetheart, there is someone here who would like to meet you." She walks to her father's outstretched arm and stands next to him while Izaya calmly stands next to her. Her father turns to the man, "Your Highness, this is my daughter Lady Orihime Inoue." The man takes her hand and kisses it, "It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Edomando Heiwajima, King of England. Orihime blushed bright red and fell to her knees, "My humblest apologies your Highness, I did not recognize you." Her father's face went white and Izaya held a straight face. The king smiled and reached out his hand to help her up. Orihime looked up at him, and then back down to his hand, she took it and stood up. "You did not need to apologize young one, I do not blame you for not recognizing me, your family has no need to come my way." Orihime blushed, embarrassed by her actions. The king looked at her and chuckled, "Orihime, you have such a bright young face, and so many talents as your father has told me. You are a very impressive young lady. Tell me, how did you do it all on your own? Did you have an inspiration?" Orihime smiled, "Well your Highness, to be honest I did not have an inspiration to learn each of my talents. I merely had a desire to learn in general, so I began to try things that interested me and insisted that I teach myself." The king smirked in amusement, "I see… So you are saying you just had a desire to learn?" Orihime nodded, "Yes your majesty, I craved knowledge as a child and kept wanting more of it." The king smiled and looked at the large painting her father, "I must ask who painted that masterpiece up there." All of them turn and look at the painting. Orihime gulps, "I did your Majesty." The king looks at her wide-eyed, and speechless. He turns back to the painting and has an idea, "Orihime I must request something of you." She bows, "Anything you ask I will do your Highness." The king grabs her by the shoulders and looks her in the eyes, "I would like you to paint a picture of my son, Shizuo." All three of them gasp and look at the king in shock. Orihime remains calm and bows again, "When would you like the painting your Highness." Izaya's face turns cold while her father tries to hold back his excitement. The king thinks for a moment then replies, "I would like it by the night of the ball if that is possible." Orihime begins to feel anxious, but still remains calm, "What size would you like it to be your Highness?" The king points to her father's portrait, "That size will do marvelously." Orihime begins to feel overwhelmed but hides it, "It will be done, I promise your Majesty." "Splendid!" the king exclaimed. "Shizuo shall be most impressed with your work." He pulls out his pocket watch and checks the time, "Oh dear me, I must be heading back to my castle, supper will be served soon. "Thank you for visiting," the duke said. "Yes, thank you for the visit," Orihime said. They bowed to the king as he was heading for the door "Thank you all for having me, I have enjoyed my visit. It was lovely meeting you Orihime, I am sure my son will be taken by your beauty and kindness."

The butler bowed and opened the doors for the king, he walked outside and the butler closed the doors behind him. Orihime's father calmly left the Grand Hall and went upstairs to his study. Izaya and Orihime were left alone in silence. After a while Orihime spoke, "Izaya I noticed the king did not speak to you or even acknowledge your existence, why is that?" He hesitated to speak for a moment, "My family is not exactly looked positively by the king." "Why?," Orihime gasped. Izaya's expression was blank, "It is a very long story Orihime, I would rather not tell it." She frowned and gave him a hug, "I may not understand the quarrel between your family and the king's family. However, you are my friend and I see you positively." He blushed and returned a soft hug to her, "Thank you, your opinion is much appreciated." They release each other and walk towards the front doors. "It seems as though I will not be seeing you until the night of the ball, Izaya, "Orihime said sadly. Izaya took her hands and said, "Everything will be alright my lady, you shall see me again in six days." Orihime frowned and embraced him, "I shall miss your company." He welcomed her embrace and put his hand on the back of her head, "I shall miss your company as well my lady." She releases him and escorts him to his carriage. He gets inside and is driven away leaving Orihime empty inside.