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I believe I screamed.
Or at least, I really wanted to scream. This was all just like a dream. I was flying. I was in the air, flying.
The wind whistled loudly in my ears and it made my eyes water. We were so high up, I would definitely break my neck if Natsume let go now. I clung to him with all my might, hanging on for dear life.
I don't even remember how long we flew, it seemed like an eternity, but it also felt like only a few minutes. My stomach was making uncomfortable somersaults and I felt like I would puke, with gravity pushing on me.
"Open your eyes." I heard Natsume whisper into my ears, and my first thought was 'hell no.'
But then my eyes opened by themselves as if under a spell, and I instinctually looked down.
That—I was sure of—was when I really screamed.
I screamed my head off until my throat hurt, clutching onto his neck tighter, my arms already sore, but I couldn't bare to loosen my muscles.
I felt him stagger a bit before the wind stopped blowing around us. His wings kept flapping, keeping us in the same spot.
"Ow…my ears…" I looked up slightly with tear stained eyes, seeing Natsume wince and close his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Is flying really that scary?"
"Yes." I wiped my eyes with my arm, still having them wrapped around his neck.
"Look around." He said—ordered—and I shook my head fiercely, burying my face in his shirt. "Don't look down, but look around us."
Cautiously, I lifted my head up, slowly turning my head around. The continuous and rhythmic flapping of his wings seemed to calm me slightly.
My eyes widened.
The moonlight illuminated against the trees and the clouds did not seem scary like they were before. It was a strange beauty. Something that people would not be able to see often.
Something like magic.
When I looked up, I seemed so much closer to the full moon than I had ever been before, the stars were twinkling brightly like millions of diamonds scattered into the sky.
"It's beautiful." I whispered, my eyes refusing to leave the scenery.
"It is." Natsume replied easily. "Humans miss out a lot, you know?"
"You," I forced myself to look back at Natsume, "really are a demon, huh?"
Natsume lifted a perfect eyebrow. "I believed I proved myself enough."
I smiled. "I guess you did."
We started flying forwards again. This time, I was not afraid to look around me. After a few minutes—maybe ten?—I started seeing dark grey fog right in front of us.
"That's a lot of fog." I stated. "We should probably fly around it."
"What are you talking about?" Natsume smirked widely. "That's where we're headed."
I didn't even have time to argue before he dived right into the thick fog.
The fog was cold, it pricked my skin and gave me shivers. When I opened my eyes, I couldn't see anything at all but dark grey around us. It seemed to suffocate me, giving me claustrophobia.
"Hang on tight." Natsume warned lightheartedly before flapping his wings once strongly, and then speeding up to that of an arrow. The air was forced out of my lungs at the extreme speed.
We flew out of the heavy fog, my eyes still watering from the wind and the moisture. When I opened my eyes, the scenery around me completely changed. The sky seemed to be the same, with the bright full moon and twinkling stars, but the ground was completely different.
The previous forest was gone; it was replaced by a giant village filled with numerous private houses, mansions and smaller, more standard houses. The landscape slowly rose into a hill where a giant castle stood at the top.
The place seemed so unreal, but beautiful. However, it was a little strange—all the houses were painted in extremely dark colors. It was eerily beautiful.
"The fog was a barrier between your world and ours." Natsume started. "Those who have not been granted permission cannot get through it, and will keep going in circles when they go into the barrier."
My eyes widened as I stared at the landscape. "Then this is…"
Natsume nodded. "This is the 'other world.'" His wings opened to their full length and he glided smoothly over to the large castle.
"Eh!?" I squeaked. "Where are we going?"
"Like I said." Natsume grinned. "My house." We landed at the doorway of the large castle, the pitch-black gates creaked open at his presence. His large wings folded and disappeared into his back.
"Natsume-sama." A soft voice greeted. I saw a young girl about my age with shoulder-length, wavy ice-blue hair and large, ice-blue eyes, and she wore a professional black suit with a white dress shirt underneath and a black bowtie. She was the most beautiful girl I ever met. She bowed deeply and politely. "Welcome home."
"Yeah, yeah." Natsume replied halfheartedly with sigh, making his way into the castle rudely. I glared at his back and bowed to the girl in apology for his rude behaviors. The girl merely smiled gently at me in return.
"My name is Nobara Ibaragi; I am the Hyuuga household's head butler. You must be the Lost Princess, Mikan Sakura, right?"
"U-Uh…" I stuttered before hurriedly nodding. "Yeah."
"Please do not be bothered by Natsume-sama's behavior; he has always been like that."
"Always, huh…" I laughed sadly before sighing.
"I guess it cannot be helped." Nobara said softly. "After all, he is the only male of the household. A lot is expected of him, and at the same time, he can have anything in the world with only a snap of his fingers."
"Is that so…" I mumbled softly, wondering if I should pity him. But still, acting all cocky and rude is no way to behave.
"Please follow me this way." Nobara bowed again before leading me into the castle, past the gates and through the large double oak doors. She led me through a long, wide hallway with a red and gold carpet on the floor to another pair of large doors where Natsume was preparing to open the door.
He pushed open the doors once we caught up, revealing a beautiful living room filled with famous paintings, delicate pottery, and expensive furniture. There were silver drawers and cabinets lined against the walls, a soft carpet lying on the floor, a simple coffee-table in the middle, and four large couches surrounding it.
Sitting on one of the couches was a girl, about my age, with dark violet hair and eyes, fair-skinned with an aura of maturity and wore a lovely dark amethyst dress that reached the floor.
"Imai." Natsume almost spat. "What on earth are you doing here? Nobara, did you let her in?"
Nobara bowed. "I thought it would be acceptable to let Imai-san in."
"Hyuuga." I flinched as the girl spoke, her voice loud and clear and bone-chillingly cold. "What do you mean by 'what am I doing here?' And also, it's perfectly acceptable for me to enter this house as I please."
"Answer me! What are you doing here?" Natsume growled angrily as the girl stood up from her spot and—gulp—stared right at me.
"You must be Mikan Sakura, the Lost Princess." She stated, making her way over. I almost wanted to crawl into a hole.
"Imai—" Natsume started but was cut off my the girl's icy glare.
"I came all the way here to see the Lost Princess. I heard that you will be in charge of her until the ceremony, dear cousin." She turned towards him.
I gaped. Cousin?
"That is Hotaru Imai, she's Natsume-sama's cousin; they're related by blood, despite having different last names." Nobara whispered to me, and I nodded in understanding, though still a little surprised.
"Yeah." Natsume said impatiently, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well you've already seen her, now leave."
"That's mean!" I scolded, but Hotaru remained impassive.
"Don't worry, I'll leave. But I'll be staying here for a while." She stated simply before turning towards me. "Mikan, I hope we'll become good friends." She glanced at Natsume. "And I also hope you don't choose this idiot as your future husband." Natsume growled at her and I blushed deeply, screaming that I never will.
Then with a small smile, she left.
"Jeez, that women." Natsume sighed as he slumped onto the couch, a maid coming over with a tray of drinks.
"Hey." I called, a little scared to go nearer, standing next to Nobara.
"What?" He answered, a little annoyed.
"I'm still not so sure…what exactly is going to happen to me, and what do I have to do?" I hated the fact that my voice shook.
"Simply speaking, all high-class demons in the entire world will be trying to win your hand in marriage." Natsume laid down on the sofa lazily, head propped up by his hand.
"I'm still just sixteen, there's no way I can get married." I crossed my arms, thinking that these people must have come two years too early. No sixteen year old can get legally married unless their parents sign the paper too…
"We don't need you to get married legally, so your age is not of concern." Natsume yawned. "What we mean by 'marriage' is basically sex."
My face instantly paled as my body shook. I hid behind Nobara cautiously.
"So everyone is trying to…to…to rape me!?" I almost screamed, shaking my head frantically. "I'd rather die then!"
"Rape? You?" Natsume scoffed. "Please. As I said, those who are trying to obtain your hand in marriage are demons of high standing. They would not do something so low as 'rape.'"
"Then…" I started and Natsume sat back up, swinging his arm behind the chair and looked at me boredly.
"The 'marriage' can only be complete with consent from both sides. Therefore, rape is unacceptable. Whoever does so will be found and executed immediately. Honestly, the Lost Princess is the only being able to give birth to the strongest demon yet, so having you produce an heir is the most important. Not legal marriage." Natsume stood up with his hands in his pockets and made his way over.
"Of course, depending on who you 'marry,' that person may or may not want to actually get married with you. It all depends on you. Either way, you have full control over your life—in the most part. Running away is not an option." He leaned down with a sickly sweet smile.
"Get it, Princess?" He walked away before I could find my voice.
"Mikan-sama?" Nobara called softly, and I quickly hugged her tightly.
"Why is this happening to me!? Why me!?" I cried, and she patted my back soothingly.
"It's alright, Mikan-sama." She said. "Marrying a demon is not that bad. In fact, that's the dream of all girls here."
"But I'm not even going to marry them!" I screeched. "They just want me to give birth! I'm just a worthless tool!"
"That's not true." Nobara broke the hug. "You are the most important person in existence right now. You are what will determine our fate in the next thousand years. Without you, our world and yours will be in chaos and ruins."
"But—" I sniffed and she wiped my tears away with her thumb.
"No harm will come to you. I will bet with my life on that, because Natsume-sama will definitely protect you. As the head butler of the Hyuuga household, I will trust him with my life, and I ask that you trust him as well." Nobara told me with confidence, not even a shimmer of doubt was shown. I had no choice but to nod along.
"So…I'll stay here until my birthday?" I asked and she nodded, thought for a moment, before shaking her head.
"I believe that you'll be staying here until you choose a husband." She stated, and I slouched.
"I wonder how long that would be…" I sighed again.
"Maybe around half a year, or perhaps longer. I assume you will take a while to get used to your new life here." She took a step forward and opened her right arm, telling me to go that way.
"I'll take you to your room, please follow me. If you need anything, feel free to call me or any of the maids." She started walking, leading me upstairs and through a few smaller hallways, to a large set of doors at the end of the corridor.
"This is Natsume-sama's room. Your room will be the one next to his." She motioned towards our left. "My room is on the first floor, along with the other maids's rooms." She bowed again before leaving.
Not knowing what to do, I cautiously opened the door to my room, gasping as I went in. The room was gigantic, almost a house on its own. It had a mini-living room with a sofa, coffee table, beanbags and a plasma TV. On the right was a door leading to a bed room with a large, light pink princess-style bed and white desks, drawers and dressers. On the other side was a door leading to the bathroom, painted in gold and white, floors and walls made of pearly marble.
It was absolutely beautiful.
But what shocked me most was the view. Large glass doors were located at the back of the living room and opens up into a spacey balcony. Because the room was located on the side of the castle, I could see both the entire village and the forest behind the castle. It smelled of fresh grass and pine trees when I walked out, the moon illuminating the world and the breeze blew comfortably.
I took a deep breath, finally able to relax after a night of surprises. Then it dawned on me exactly how much my life would change after this. What will happen to me now? Will I really stay here until I choose a husband? What happens after that? Will I be able to go back, or will I stay here forever?
Something like this…I really can't believe this is happening. It's all too unreal, to be suddenly dragged out of my old life and thrust into a new life, a new world with new people I didn't recognize.
I suddenly really wanted to go home and see dad and mom again.
"What are you doing?" I jumped out of my skin when I heard the voice. I swung around, glaring at the male who leaned against the glass doors.
"Nothing." I replied curtly, turning my head sharply away from him.
"Hm." He hummed with a small smile—or was it a smirk?—as he made his way over to the edge of the balcony as well, leaning his head on his hands as he looked up at the moon.
"You miss home?" He asked after a while, to my surprise, and I slowly nodded.
"You should get used to it." He said simply with that annoying smile. I almost slapped it off his face.
"I will! Don't you worry." I hissed, stomping my foot angrily, only to make him laugh softly.
"But you know, your life will not really change that much." He looked back up at the moon as he thought for a while. "Oh, maybe it will." I tried stomping on his foot, but he stepped away quickly, as if already predicting my actions and laughed.
He looked at me with his breathtaking eyes.
"But really, you're gonna have to get used to your life here quickly. Or else I'm afraid your body may not be able to keep up." His expression suddenly became softer. I took a step back uncertainly.
"What do you mean?" I asked uneasily.
"Hm." He hummed again. "Just remember that your health comes first before anything. If you feel unwell, tell me or Nobara immediately." He made his way towards the glass doors, waving his hand half-heartedly behind him.
"You have school early tomorrow, right? Go to sleep. Good night." Then he shut the door. For a second, I was in a daze, but then his words seeped in.
"Wait a minute, SCHOOL?" I hadn't even thought about it after everything that happened. But what he just said…does that mean I still need to go to school? Do I go to the same school, or a new one here?
Natsume, don't leave! Explain this to me immediately!
Let me tell you guys a secret. I have a terminal illness. It's called procrastination and writer's block. Ok, so maybe it's not really a secret :P I'm having major writer's block for my other story Love, since I don't 'plan my story out before I write'. Gosh I really need to update that...
Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! Comments, critics and suggestions are, of course, very welcome.
Please R&R! :D