Authors Note: Wow! Thank you so much for the reviews, guys. It's awesome to know that people are enjoying the story so far. This chapter will be much longer and maybe a certain brunette might appear…who knows?

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Tite Kubo.

Chapter Two

"Welcome to Las Noches, Orihime Inoue"

"I can't take it anymore, Rukia. I'm going to go see what Ukitake was talking about!" Orihime broke the silence as she tossed her needlework hoop against the curtained window. Rukia jumped and shook her head roughly.

"No ma'am! After your mother died, the King ordered that her room was to remain untouched and locked! I'm sure Sora is sticking to these rules as well. You can't go in there! I can't believe Ukitake even gave it to you! He could be fired, or worse!" the shorter woman protested, holding her hand out.

"Now give me that thing, and I'll hide it so you won't be tempted." Rukia stepped closer and Orihime held the key tight to her chest and waved her hand.

"Rukia, there's no need for that, I'm just curious, that's all." Orihime stated as she walked over to her bed and plopped down on the soft, silk comforter. Playing with the key in between her fingers, Orihime furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you think Ukitake meant by the magic in the castle? I've heard stories of plates moving and people getting lost in halls that create themselves, but I have never experienced those things…and I've lived here my whole life!" she explained, turning the key over and over as if looking for the answer. Rukia sighed and sat down on the bed beside the redhead.

"I've only heard the myth of the 'high king of the Underworld', but that's all." she replied. Orihime raised her eyebrow in confusion at the older woman.

"What? What does that have to do with this castle being enchanted?" she asked, finally tucking the key into a pouch sewn on her dress.

"It has a lot to do with it! Have you not heard the story of the great king of the Underworld? Surely your mother told you." Rukia asked, sighing when Orihime shook her head.

"Well I'm quite surprised, but at the same time you were really young so it might have been a scary tale. It's basically about the great kings of our past and before they became rulers of the world. Kings of things like: nature, the sun, the moon, the earth. Heaven and hell, things like that. According to myth and legend, they all worked together to keep a peaceful harmony." Rukia began. Orihime held up a hand to stop her.

"So, they were like gods, right?" she asked, sitting up. Orihime loved to hear stories about the past and Rukia, being much older than she looked, had plenty to tell.

"No no, no. Not like gods, just kings. They believed that they were too flawed and not strong enough to be considered gods. Plus, in their mind, there was only one vacancy on the throne in the highest Heavens and no one wanted to fight for it, as it would have destroyed the peace. So instead of one person ruling everything, they split the world up into sectors, so each king could work together in a peaceful manner and without wars or bloodshed. They were called the captains of the Seireitei." Rukia added a dramatic tone for effect as Orihime laughed.

"Okay, so what happened with the high king of the Underworld? You said the myth was about him!"

"Yes, it is. You see, before our time, the kings got along quite gracefully, working with the rulers here to ensure safety, equality and peace among everyone. Well, in the meantime, the King of the Underworld was not happy with his status. He believed that he should be at the top vacancy as a god and no one else. So, he betrayed his fellow kings, slaughtering a few of them, some even joined him and he ascended to take on the highest king of all, the Great Spirit King. This particular king would grant him the power to become a full God, but only if he killed him. Thankfully, or as the stories say, a young warrior defeated him and saved the world."

"So where is this king now?"

"No one knows. After his defeat, he disappeared." Rukia whispered. Orihime rolled her eyes.

"But again, what does this have to do with our castle being enchanted, Rukia? All you've done so far is told me some old tale about kings!" Orihime complained, cupping her chin in her hand as she gestured for the raven haired maid to continue.

"Well, I've heard stories that the evil king took-" a bell rang loudly in Orihime's room, causing both girls to jump. Rukia flicked her violet eyes over to the old grandfather clock and gasped.

"It's four thirty! I should be in the kitchens with Unohana making dinner!" the maid jumped up and smoothed her apron as she began to run for the door. Orihime followed her into the hallway, trying to keep up.

"Wait, you didn't finish your story!" she called out, almost tripping over something as she stopped. Rukia turned around for a quick moment.

"I'll tell you after dinner!" and with that, Rukia turned the corner, leaving the princess alone. Orihime sighed and turned toward the object that tripped her to find an old tea kettle lying on the ground.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked the inanimate object as she stooped down to pick it up. Running her slender fingers across the intricate patterns, Orihime gasped lightly as she almost dropped the object.

"This…was Mother's tea kettle. It was left in her room after her death…"she whispered, turning to look around the hallway. No one was around and the door to her mother's room remained locked tight, the padlock still intact.

"How did it get out here….?"

All through dinner, Orihime remained quiet as Sora, and the new king he had invited, discussed war strategies. She hadn't told anyone about her discovery from earlier that afternoon and had pushed the tea kettle under her bed. Still, she couldn't help but feel uneasy as to why such a thing was even found. No one had been in her mother's room for years…and she distinctly remembered that being a possession that was locked inside.

"Orihime, please join us in our discussion, dear sister." Sora voice pulled her from her troubled thoughts as she looked up to see Sora and the new king staring at her. She ran her eyes over the king and almost shuddered. He was a brute looking man with an eye-patch, leaving the girl questioning as to why Sora had picked him as a candidate to be her husband. She knew who he was, however. He was the great King Zaraki Kenpachi, a fierce warrior and great ally of the Inoue Kingdom.

"Please, a woman does not meddle in the affairs between men and war. I doubt she's even seen a drop of blood, let alone held a sword." The older man teased in a husky voice. Sora and Kenpachi laughed, angering Orihime as she scoffed.

"Thank you for your opinion, King Kenpachi , however, I actually have been keeping up with the war. In fact, I was just thinking to myself the other day, why did we lose our most recent battle? We had enough men, and then I realized sometimes arrogance of our leaders can often bring a battle to absolute ruin." She mused, playing with the spoon in her tea cup. Sora furrowed his brows at her, glaring, as he sighed.

"Orihime is just quoting what she read in the news scroll. Pay no attention to her." Sora explained, trying to redirect the conversation between him and his comrade. Kenpachi took one look at her and laughed.

"Well, I admire your gut in saying words like that, woman, but if we happen to marry, that is a habit that I will break no sooner than our wedding night." He stated, laughing at her. Orihime clenched her fists and stood up.

"As if I would ever want to marry a disgusting man like you!" she retorted, her voice rising. Sora held up and hand and motioned for a servant. Rukia came running towards the king, bowing briefly before taking his request.

"Miss Kuchiki, if you would please remove Princess Inoue from my sight as she is being a disobedient child. Thank you." He stated and turned to the older man to continue their conversation. Rukia shrugged with sympathy as she took Orihime's arm. Orihime shook it off and walked faster than her maid, her hands clutching her dress to hold it up.

Once they were back in Orihime's bedchambers, she began pacing and yelling about how she hated King Kenpachi. Rukia held a hand to her lips to keep from laughing.

"Who does he think he is! 'Woman'? I have a name, you know! I can't believe Sora even thought to go through with this. That man does not deserve a loving wife. He deserves some old, ugly woman who will agree with everything he says. Am I right, Rukia?" she asked, turning to her maid, who could hardly keep from laughing any longer. Rukia composed herself and began pulling out a night gown for the princess.

"Well, Princess, he is quite an ally for our Kingdom. I know you're not happy with this marriage situation, but must you hate every suitor that comes to court you? Surely someone that you have met so far is not that bad?" Rukia stated, folding the nightgown on Orihime's bed. Orihime gasped and looked at Rukia.

"I thought you were on my side here, Rukia! That man was horrible. All of the men have been disgusting, overeager pigs! If Sora would just find someone that is at least nice, or even caring, I'd be fine. I don't want to live my life as some award for a King. I am Princess Orihime Inoue! I want my voice to be heard. I'm not worthless…but I feel like I am. Sora just disregards my feelings about the whole situation." Orihime trailed off, holding the bed post as Rukia began unlacing her gown and corset.

Orihime quickly stepped into her nightgown and pulled back the covers to get in bed. Rukia lit a few candles before sitting down beside the princess.

"Princess, I'm sure it's not easy. But, what do I know? I'm just a maid who has served this castle for years! Just know that whoever you marry, whatever you do and wherever you go, I'll be with you. I'll help you. You'll never be lonely, okay? Now get some rest." Rukia hugged Orihime tightly before leaving. Orihime smiled as she sunk further into her bed, hoping that Rukia was right.

A loud clatter woke the Princess up in the middle of the night. Orihime jumped slightly, her eyes struggling to see anything in the dark. She quickly lit the candle beside her bed and looked around her quiet room. She heard the clatter again and her eyes shifted quickly to her door creaking open. Her heart sank in her chest as she feared it was a ghost, only to look down and see the tea kettle moving on its own!

"I'm seeing things, I'm seeing things…" she whispered to herself, rubbing her eyes. The tea kettle was still squeezing through the door and Orihime slowly got up to follow it. She was thankful that the hallways were somewhat lit as she padded after the enchanted object. In a way she was somewhat curious as to where it would go.

The tea kettle paid no attention to her as it turned down corridor, after corridor and finally stopping. Orihime took note of where they had ended up and her eyes widened. Just outside her mother's room. Suddenly, the tea kettle leapt into the door and disappeared without a sound into the locked room. The girl pinched herself and almost dropped her candle as she dashed back to her room to grab the silver key.

Making it back within minutes, the princess took a deep breath and looked around. She was about to commit a serious offense in the eyes of her brother, as well as her dead Father…but she had to know. She twisted the key until the padlock opened and pulled on the door to go inside. Her heart sank further as she feared what would be behind the door.

The smell of her mother's perfume almost brought tears to Orihime's eyes as she lit the various candles in the room. Once lit, she could see that nothing had changed. There was nothing scary about the room. It looked exactly as it had before the Queen died. Orihime looked around for the tea kettle, only to see it leap once more into an unknown abyss by the mantle. Gasping, Orihime ran quickly over to the mantle, pushing and pulling on the various things around her to see if there was a secret passage she could go to.

"Now what do I do? It's gone…" she whispered as she looked around the mantle for a clue. The only thing she noticed was a gleaming emblem in the middle of the mantels' wood. It looked like silver and had a beautifully etched 'A' in the center. Orihime slightly shivered from the cold texture of the silver and she bit her lip. She was too far now, she had to know what this was all about. She began pacing the room for any clue to help her.

'There has to be a way into that secret passage. I have to know…' she thought to herself as she looked frantically around the room. She almost wished something else would come to life so she could try and follow it. She also wondered why it was her mother's room out of any room in the castle. Could this have anything to do with her disappearance? Maybe she got so frightened she couldn't take it anymore. So many questions were running through her mind that she almost didn't see the trunk lying at the foot of the bed. Orihime brought her candle closer as she sat in front of the trunk and opened it slowly. Dusted clouded her lungs as she coughed harshly.

Once her coughing fit finished, Orihime began to rummage through the trunk, finding old pictures of her mother and other small trinkets. She stopped her search to admire the pictures, some with her in them, and the small items found inside. She looked through the entire contents of the trunk when she saw a small velvet box hiding in the corner. Assuming it was her mother's wedding band, Orihime opened the box and was surprised to see not the wedding band, but a huge silver ring.

She scrunched up her nose in distaste and put the ring on her finger. It slid off and clunked to the floor. Orihime picked it up and studied it closer, noticing that the top of the ring held the same emblem as the one found on the mantle. The princess snatched up her candle and stood back up, getting an idea. She slid the ring on her finger and tapped it to the surface of the silver emblem on the mantle. The emblem glowed and Orihime touched it in curiosity, whipping her hand back as it burned the tip of her finger.

Then, like magic, the entire mantle wall disappeared to reveal a downward staircase. Orihime gasped and looked down the staircase to see what was below, finding that it was too dark. She spotted the tea kettle halfway down and took a deep breath. She could turn back now, or keep going. Taking a nervous step, Orihime began walking down the stairs, still clutching the candle close to her body. It seemed to get colder with each step.

Orihime finally reached the end and she could not believe her eyes. A gleaming, glittering forest was surrounding her. She noticed a black path that led to what looked like a grand white mansion. Torn by her decision, she tried to decide whether she should keep going, or pretend that nothing happened and that she had never found the tea kettle. It would be the right thing to do, after all. Rukia said it was always foolish to play with magic.

Turning to run back up the stairs, Orihime bumped into a hard object before falling backwards. She accidently spilled hot wax on her hand and winced. Nursing her hand, she looked up slowly to see a man looking, no squinting, down at her with a Cheshire grin that almost reached his ears. His hands were hidden by his billowing white robes and she thought she almost saw a sword peeking through his belt. Orihime was rendered speechless as a pale hand shot out and reached for her. Orihime began crawling back as he laughed.

"I'm not gonna hurt ya! Ya fell and I'm tryin' to help ya back up." He drawled. Orihime slowly took his hand and got to her feet. He was very tall and almost towered over her. He took one look at her injured hand and shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I didn' mean ta scare ya that bad. C'mon, let's go to tha' mansion and I'll have someone bandage it for ya." He insisted. Orihime looked passed his head of pale, silver hair to the staircase she had just come down. She didn't really trust this man and she should really go back to her room, but her curiosity got the best of her as she nodded slowly. How many chances would she be able to visit an enchanted world under the castle? He offered his arm and she took it, as he led her down the black path towards the mansion.

"S-so where are we and…who are you?" she asked in a timid voice as the staircase got smaller and smaller with each step. The man chuckled and gestured to the forest.

"Call me Gin…and this is Hueco Mundo. Do ya know wha' that is?" he asked, cocking his head the side. Orihime inwardly shivered and looked around. The glittering forest almost entranced her until she noticed small animals running about, with what seemed to be bone masks covering their faces.

"No…I'm afraid I'm not sure." She said, her eyes looking down at the black path.

"Well then…I'll let the King explain all that to ya. He's a very intelligent man." He replied, tightening his grip on her arm. Orihime tried to ignore it as they reached the steps of the mansion. Suddenly, Orihime felt uneasy. She shouldn't be here. She wanted to be back in her warm bed, away from the chilly air of this new place.

"Um, Mr. Gin…as nice as this has been, and as curious as I am to meet this king of yours, I need to go. My maid Rukia might wake up in the middle of the night and she will be worried if she can't find me. I-I need to go. I'm really sorry…maybe another time?" Orihime asked as she began turning back towards the staircase in the distance. The grip tightened even more as Gin's smile grew wider…if that was possible.

"Don' go runnin off yet, miss…miss…what's yer name?" he asked as he continued up the steps, ignoring her subtle resistance. Orihime continued to pull lightly as she finally got away from his grip and began to descend the stairs.

"My name is Orihime! I'm so sorry… I really must go!" she called out behind her. Suddenly, she felt as if an invisible force held her in place as she heard a set of large, wooden doors open. Her breathing hitched as she tried to move, but the pressure held her still. She could hear a second pair of footsteps descending slowly down the stairs. Orihime felt the pressure slowly die down and she used all of her might to turn her body, only to become face to face with the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His dark eyes sparkled and a smirk drew on his lips.

"Welcome to Las Noches, Orihime."

A/n: All done! I hope you guys are pleased with this chapter and I hope it wasn't all over the place! I tried to keep it interesting with the new suitors and the creepy tea kettle. Just let me know! Constructive criticism is welcomed, let me know what you like/don't like! Chapter 3 will be up soon!