Finally, after 2 months on that god forsaken ship, we arrive in Japan. I was so sick from all the rocking the whole time, I got scolded by my uncle for not doing my duties correctly. Once we stepped off the ship we were approached by a member of the Imperial Court and lead to the palace, where the Emporer met with us to talk to my uncle about what goods he carried and where we'd be staying. I was told to stay behind while they spoke and decided to roam around a little, with the premission of the court officials of course. As I headed out into the courtyard the vision before me literally took my breath away, there in the middle of the courtyard was a beautiful tree with tiny pale pink flowers adorning it's low hanging branches and it was surrounded by what looked to be a small moat with a bridge going across it. Walking onto the small bridge I glanced over the side and into the water to see colorful fish swimming to and fro, their shimmering scales look like jewels sparkling in the sunlight. Lost in the beauty of it all, I didn't notice Alois coming up behind me until it was too late and he gave me a shove, causing me to fall over the railing and into the water. Thankfully it wasn't deep, but it was deep enough that it had me coming up and gasping for air.
"HAHAHA! Look at Cinderella! She's all wet now."
"At least she's clean and no longer has cinder ashes covering her face and clothes." Explains Lizzy as she comes up beside her brother.
I did my best to maintain a clean appearance but while coming here it was so cold in the servants quarters that I ended up curling up in front of the small fireplace to keep warm along with the other servants.
"Father is going to scold you again for being the clumsy, day dreaming fool you are." Says Alois as he and his sister send a nasty smirk my way.
"He's gonna scold her good for sure." Lizzy says with a small chuckle.
I sigh inwardly and stand up before stepping out of the water and doing my best to wring out my now soaking wet dress.
"Lizzy, Alois it's time to go. The Emperor has asked one of his attendants to show us the way-" My uncle comes out of the palace and explains before catching sight of me soaking wet.
"*Sigh* Lilly, how useless can you be? I am only gone for a few moments and I find you enjoying a little swim in the palace courtyard? So disgraceful."
"Yes, she is indeed a disgrace father."
All three of them nod in agreement and all I can do is hang my head in shame.
"Well, there's nothing to be done about it. We must be on our way."
With that he turns on his heel and heads toward the attendant, his children following closely behind him. I soon join them after having wrung out my dress as best I could.
After about 20 minutes or so, we are standing in front of a glamorous estate. The court attendant, a tall man wearing a fine bluish black Kimono with short black hair and brownish red eyes leads us inside and shows us to our respective rooms. Of course my uncle and cousins get the biggest rooms, and I'm shown to a modest looking room on the bottom floor next to the kitchen. Personally I like the room, it's big compared to the room I had back at home and it has a warm feel to it as well. After we put our things away, and I change into dryer clothes, we are introduced to 2 new servants who will be helping at the Estate while we're here. They're introduced to us as Hannah and Mey-Rin, one is a tall beautiful woman with silver hair, tan skin and violet blue eyes, the other is a shorter woman with short dark auburn hair pulled into pigtails and glasses too big for her face. After the attendant leaves, my uncle gives me my first errand to run.
"Now don't screw this up." He says, handing me a slip of paper.
Mey-Rin offers to show me where the place is but my uncle will have non of it, saying I can find the place on my own. I thank Mey-Rin for her kindness before heading out of the estate.
"Hmm...lets see. If I'm here, then the shop should be in this direction."
I mumble to myself while looking at a small map Hannah secretly handed to me so I wouldn't get lost. I'll have to remember to give her a proper thank you when I return.
Several minutes later I reach the shop and sigh in relief before stepping inside only to be hit by a pungent odor mere seconds later. I step further into the shop, doing my best not to show how the smell is effecting me. Soon a man and woman step out from the back room and move to stand behind the counter. Upon seeing me he smiles and asks me something in Japanese, I tilt my head slightly in confusion and when he sees this he chuckles.
"Forgive me. Judging by the way you're dressed you are English, correct?"
"Yes sir, that is correct."
"Ah, and polite as well. Now, what can I do for you?"
"Um..." I rummage through my pockets and pull out the slip my uncle gave me. "I'm here to pick this up." I say, handing him the slip.
He takes the slip from me and looks it over, his smile never leaving his face as he nods.
"So you are here for the Viscounts package." He nods a few times before turning to the woman beside him. "Ranmao, go retrieve this package if you will."
She nods and takes the slip from him before going into the back room.
The man looks at me almost appraisingly and I fidget uncomfortably.
"So tell me. What is England like? I plan to go there soon on business."
"Oh? Well it's a bustling city, with tall buildings as high as the eye can see. It's beautiful but nothing compared to the beauty of Japan." I say with the best smile I can muster.
That smell is starting to make me feel dizzy but I do my best not to show it.
"I see. It makes me happy to know that an outsider finds our country beautiful." He says with his usual smile.
I don't know why but something behind his smile makes me feel uneasy.
Soon the woman known as Ranmao comes back out, package in hand before handing it to the man.
"Ah, here we are. Thank you dear." He says, stroking the woman's hair.
Now that I get a better look at her, she's very pretty, in a cute way. Her black hair is pulled up onto her head in what look to be points, (kind of like cat ears. Too cute.) with a braid circling around each ear and big hazel eyes. She wears the traditional Japanese dress only it's much shorter.
The man then turns to me and hands me the package, I take it and thank him.
"Tell the Viscount to come back anytime he needs more."
This makes me curious as to what exactly is in the package, but I shrug it off and nod.
"I will, thank you sir."
"Please, just call me Lau." He says and I nod.
"Alright. Have a pleasant evening, Lau and Ranmao."
I thank them once more before heading back out of the shop, breathing in the fresh air. Whatever that smell coming from the back was, it was seriously making me feel dizzy.
I sigh and clutch the package against my chest before heading back to the Estate but on my way, I see a commotion going on ahead of me and, curious as to what it is, head towards it. When I reach the small crowd I see a little boy kneeling down in front of a man who has his hand on the sword at his side. Oh, I don't like the looks of this.
I can hear the onlookers whispering to one another but can't make out what they're saying. Confused and afraid of what might happen to the little boy, I try my luck and turn to a man standing near me.
"Excuse me sir. But what happened?"
"Oh, and English woman huh? Well that little boy there bumped into the noble and is even being accused of stealing something off him, now he's going to be punished for it. Poor little guy."
I gasp in surprise and turn towards the man and child nearly dropping the bundle in my hands at the scene unfolding before me. There the man stands, unsheathing his sword as the little boy weeps and begs the man to please believe him, that he didn't steal anything. But his cries go on deaf ears as the man raises the sword above his head.
Now I know I'm not from here and I know they have their own laws, but this is a child and my feet seem to move on their own accord. Next thing I know, I'm crouched down in front of the child protectively as the sword comes swinging down and I close my eyes, waiting for the pain.
CLANG!
I can hear gasps and whispers from the onlookers and open my eyes timidly to see what's going on, they're all looking at something behind me and I turn my head slightly to look over my shoulder.
A man with windswept black hair stands behind me with his own sword blocking the attack, he wears a gorgeous red Kimono made of fine silk that's decorated with a golden dragon wrapping around him, and underneath I catch a glimpse of a black shirt and pants.
The other man seems to go pale before getting on his hands and knees, continually bowing his head that seems like it'll hit the ground if he goes any lower.
"A man who would raise his sword against a woman and child disgraces the royal family." The man in the red Kimono states.
"F-forgive me sire! I meant no disrespect! But it is my duty to punish thieves and criminals."
Sire? Is he perhaps the prince? No, that's not what's important at the moment.
"HOW DARE YOU!?"
I shout out enraged and stand up to face the men.
The man in the fine Kimono turns around to look at me and I nearly gasp in awe, he's gorgeous. His slightly pale skin and almond shaped eyes, golden in color stare at me in amusement as the man groveling on the ground looks up and glares at me.
I snap back to my senses and explain my outburst.
"He stole nothing from you and committed no crime! He bumped into you and you assumed he stole from you! Even if he did, did you ever stop to consider why?!"
This causes the finely dressed man to turn around and face me fully, his eyes and smile both showing even more amusement behind them.
"Truly? And why do you think someone would steal?"
"Perhaps he doesn't have the money to buy food so he and his family can eat. Perhaps he needs money to buy medicine for a sick sibling. But the fact of the matter is that he and his family might not have had a proper education and his manners have been corrupted from infancy because of it, and then they're punished for those crimes in which their first education disposed them. What else is to be concluded, sire, but that you first make thieves and then punish them?"
I can hear more gasps around me and some approving whispers as the man before me simply narrows his eyes and softens his smile.
"Well there you have it. You are dismissed, sir." He says to the man still on the ground behind him.
"But sire-"
"I said! You are dismissed!"
"Yes sire!"
The man scrambles to his feet and runs off before I turn to the little boy who is now hiccupping and looking up at me in gratitude. I kneel down and take a handkerchief out of my pocket before wiping the little boys face off.
"There we go, much better. Are you alright?"
The little boy nods and reaches into his pocket to pull something out. He then extends his little fist towards me, I reach out my hand and he drops whatever he was holding into my palm before giving me a hug and running off. I'm surprised at first at the sudden hug but then smile as I watch him run off. I stand and look down to see what he gave me and my smile grows even more. He had given me what I now know is a Cherry Blossom. I go to pick up my package but before I can, someone else's hand reaches out and picks it up for me before handing it to me. I take it and look up to see the man in the red Kimono smiling down at me slightly.
"Thank you. For saving me and picking my package up for me."
"You're welcome. Might I have your name? I wish to know who the woman that has taught me something here today is."
With that I smile lightly and bow my head to him with a slight curtsey.
"My name is Lilly. And truly I do not deserve such recognition. I am merely a servant."
"Nonsense. Someone who holds such intellect deserves at least that much."
I thank him and go to open my mouth to say more when a voice behind him interrupts.
"Brother, we must go now before father becomes furious."
Says a little boy who stands behind him with several guards, he has such dark black hair that it almost seems bluish and azure eyes. The man in front of me sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose before looking over at the little boy.
"You're right, Ciel. Father can have quite the temper when kept waiting."
He then turns to me and gives a slight bow.
"I hope we can meet again, Miss Lilly."
With that he kisses the back of my hand, causing me to blush furiously, before turning around and leaving. The young boy looks over at me and gives a slight nod of his head before following behind his brother.
Snapping back to my senses, I follow their example and head back to the Estate while mentally preparing myself for the scolding I'll get for being late.
BACK AT THE PALACE...
"Claude! What took you?! I have been waiting for near an hour! Have you gotten the information I asked of you?"
"Yes father. Here it is."
He hands over a batch of documents and his father looks over them, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"I see, so that's how it is. Very well. We will make preparations and hold a ball in their honor, but I want someone watching their movements at all times. If he is truly here to conduct this kind of business, then he is dangerous to all of Japan."
He explains, his sons nodding in agreement. He then looks over at his eldest son and smirks.
"Plus we can use this occasion to find you a bride, Claude."
With that Claude's expression sours and he sighs in irritation.
"Father, how many times must we go over this?"
"Enough, Claude. You are the prince of Japan and are to succeed me when the time comes. You already broke off one engagement to the Princess of Wales. I will not have you doing so again."
Claude simply clicks his tongue in annoyance but says nothing further on the matter. His father is constantly trying to make an excuse for him to meet women so he can marry and succeed the throne some day, but he doesn't want to be wed to some stranger who only wants marriage for convenience. Is it so bad to wanna marry someone simply because you love them? I guess being a prince doesn't come with that kind of luxury.
"Now that we're in agreement. Have Sebastian make the preparations, for in two weeks time we will hold a grand ball!"
His father says cheerfully before heading into his office.
Claude stands there with clenched fists as Ciel comes up beside him.
"You should really listen to father you know. What he does is for the good of the empire."
"I know. I'm just being selfish."
Ciel looks up at him in slight surprise for a moment since he never hears his brother agreeing and admitting when he's being selfish or stubborn. Soon he smiles and pats his brothers arm before heading off further into the palace to do his own thing.
"If only I weren't a prince." Claude whispers to himself before following behind his younger brother.