"Get that thing away from me!" screamed Hiro as he ran from the garden area of the palace into the main hall. Half of his satin cape was missing.
"Nice shot, Cinda!" cheered a young man standing by a glistening fountain, the sunlight reflecting off of his strawberry hair. "Good girl." (A/N: I volunteer at Sedgwick County Zoo and one of our African Brush Elephant's name is Cinda.)
"Shuichi!" came a cold voice dripping with rage. "What the hell have you done this time?"
"It was his own fault…Cinda just wanted to shake hands." said the accused with a smile, showing brilliant white teeth. "Besides…"
"Don't give me that crap! He was my las- I mean, your last chance!"
"I don't see what you're so upset about! I thought you wanted me to marry some princess!" said the angry teenager, getting up from his seat on the ground. "Make up your mind already, Mika!"
"I tried to get you to marry a respectable princess! But you're too damn lazy to leave the palace and go look for one!"
"I don't care." said Shuichi back, his voice showing defeat. "It doesn't matter anyway…"
"Yes it does! You have to be married in six days, dammit!" screamed Mika at the insolent boy. "It's what your father would have wanted, princess or no!"
"Don't act like you care! You're not my mother!"
"That doesn't matter. Your father married me before his death. I am the Sultana!"
"You-"
"This conversation is over. You will be married, mark my words. And it will be to Prince Nakano." Mika then turned on her heel and marched out of the courtyard, looking murderous.
"Over my dead body…" muttered the angry prince. "I'm sick of this! I'm not under her control!"
In response, his best friend and only confidant, Cinda, calmly looked at him. She grunted once and patted Shuichi softly on the head, ruffling up his hair. This usually made him laugh, and she knew it, but not this time.
"I know, I know…she's the Sultana. But she's wrong. My father would have wanted me to be happy…that's all he ever wanted." Said the boy quietly, walking over to the large fountain in the garden. Cinda followed after him, trying to rearrange his mussed hair. He sadly stared at his reflection, completely displeased with what he saw even though it was perfect.
The reflection showed gorgeous and deep violet eyes, shining pink hair that always managed to bring a smile from anyone, a white marble face shaped like a heart, a skinny frame, and the finest silken clothes money could buy. His shirt was a medium purple, to match his eyes, and was bordered with golden ribbon on the neckline, cuffs, and midriff. His pants were white silk, and topped off by a plum and gold sash. All were in pristine condition.
He had everything, he was everything. Ordinary people would kill to be him. But…he was still unhappy. Mika owned his life; told him what to do, whom to see, what to eat…everything. He wasn't his own person, just a hollow shell of a puppet living out her orders.
"I can't keep living like this, Cinda…I hate it…" choked Shuichi through heavy and concealed sobbing. "I don't want to marry that prince, I don't want to listen to her, I don't want to be here anymore!"
Being a very intelligent elephant, Cinda, for a reply, wrapped her trunk around her sobbing friend and made a low grumbling noise for comfort.
"At least I have you…"
"Ah…Tohma, you're back." Said Mika charmingly, facing the approaching Tohma. "And Caspian as well. Want some Cheezits, little bird?"
"Mika, my darling…how's the brat? And our plan?" asked Tohma quietly, not wanting to be overheard. "Caspian's just eaten…"
"Too bad. The plan is failing Tohma…that damned elephant chased off another one. And the boy is as indignant as ever." Answered Mika angrily as she started pacing the room in a temper. "And where is my lamp?"
"Ummm…."
"Hoo boy, crunch time…" muttered Caspian to Tohma very discreetly, sensing the impending doom.
"Tohma…" said Mika, her voice showing hidden malice. "My lamp?"
"I couldn't get it…" answered Tohma while he started to take steps backwards. "The cave…it's picky…"
"WHAT?! YOU WERE OUTSMARTED BY AN INANTIMATE OBJECT? AGAIN, TOHMA?!" screamed the enraged Sultana.
"What? No…not again, and it's quite animate! It threw a yo-yo at me!"
"A yo-yo, Tohma?" hissed Mika, walking towards Tohma menacingly. "A…yo-yo?"
"Yes. And it was made of wood."
"Wood?"
"Yes." said Tohma, holding his ground even though Mika was three inches from his face. "And it left a mark."
"I can't believe this…my royal vizier. Beaten up by a yo-yo spewing cave. Honestly. Even Shuichi could have done a better job…" muttered Mika as she returned to her throne.
"I'm sorry, Sultana…"
"Whatever. Now…how do we get my lamp?"
"The cave says it wants a 'golden sapphire'." Answered Tohma slowly, not wanting to cause any unwarranted anger.
"A golden sapphire, eh?"
"Yes…"
"And how do we find one? Should we search the treasury?" asked Mika before she realized the true meaning. "Oh! It means personality wise, right? And you're cutthroat wasn't good enough?" she replied again with heavy sarcasm.
"Well…I could conduct a test…"
"Then get going, Tohma…"
"But milady…I need something for the test."
"What Tohma? You know the palace treasury is at your command. Go buy what you need." said Mika with a casual wave of her hand. "Now leave me. I want to play with my toys."
"Well…this concerns your…your toys. I can't just buy this thing…" said Tohma, nervously dancing around his topic.
"And how does this thing concern my things?" said Mika as she pulled out a voodoo doll of Shuichi and a heavily ornamented pin.
"That. It concerns that. I need your pin…"
"This is gonna be good…." muttered Caspian, enjoying the spectacle.
"No way in hell are your hands touching this pin." answered Mika, clutching the pin to her.
"Mika, please…for our lamp?"
"MY LAMP!"
"Yes…your lamp, but please? I need that pin…" said Tohma, trying to stand firm.
"NO!"
After fifteen minutes of arguing, Mika finally gave in. She realized that the effort of getting the lamp was more important than torturing Shuichi daily. And it was causing noticeable bruises anyway. That elephant might come after her.
Tohma made the most of his victory. With the pin in his possession, he could conduct a test that he had only heard about. It was extreme black magic, and he could barely master card tricks. He had no idea how he was going to pull of this outrageous stunt without blowing himself up, but everything was worth a try.
"Aha…I have the pin." said Tohma to Caspian after they had quitted the royal throne room.
"No shit Sherlock." returned Caspian moodily. He had wanted bloodshed.
"To the Ultra Secret Lair!"
"Here we go again…" muttered Caspian, preparing for the long trek to the Ultra Secret Lair.
Tohma prepared to sprint, and Caspian prepared to fly, but the destination was not very far; the duo took two steps to their left and opened a very obvious broom closet.
"Home sweet home." said Tohma, taking off his ridiculous vizier hat and hanging it up. It cramped his style and flattened his hair, but every once in a while he wore it to look professional. He was the vizier after all. He had somehow magicked the closet to look like a roomy and modern office. How he had done this was a mystery to him. Caspian said he did it in his sleep one night.
"Now…to business…" said Tohma, taking the pin out of his pocket.
"And how are we supposed to do this?"
"We…I…well, I'm not exactly sure."
"Brilliant!"
"Oh, shut up Caspian!"
"Make me!"
"Conure stir fry is a delicacy…"
"Point taken…." muttered Caspian in mock defeat as he prepared his counterattack. Within five seconds, he had bitten both of Tohma's ears, flown around the room and landed on Tohma's desk with the pin in his beak.
"What now fool?" said Caspian, transferring the pin from his beak to his foot.
"You stupid bird!"
"You stupid human!"
"Enough…we have work to do…" said Tohma darkly, pulling out a large volume from a nearby bookcase.
"That's it. I'm leaving." said Shuichi resolutely as he neared the palace wall. He crept through the darkness, watching for any opposition. "Oops! I'm supposed to be quiet…"
He had been trying to elude capture by Cinda, but she had ears like a fox and never missed anything.
"My cover's blown for sure…" said Shuichi, crouching behind a tree and waiting for her eminent approach. But she didn't show up.
"Maybe she didn't hear me…" whispered Shuichi. "I still have a chance!"
As he began to hum the Mission Impossible theme to aid him in his sneaking across the garden and Cinda's playground, Shuichi failed to pay attention to where he was going. He soundly tripped and fell towards the fountain, but he never fell in. Something was grasping him around the middle, holding him back.
"Need a hand?" said a voice debonairly from the darkness.
"What the…? Let go of me!" said Shuichi loudly, now trying to lure out his long-nosed companion.
"Are you sure?" answered the voice. "I don't know if you really want me to."
"Who are you?" asked Shuichi, pulling away from the fountain and his midnight rescuer. Clomping footsteps were heard in the distance.
"I'm your fiancé. You should be nicer to me." Said Hiroshi with a pained expression.
"Jerk." Snarled Shuichi as he started to stalk off.
"Hey…wait…I'm sorry. I'm not really a jerk. I'm a nice guy…you just bring out the worst in me." Hiro said, clearly distressed. Sadness clouded his eyes, and he sighed heavily as he looked woefully at Shuichi.
"Oh really? How nice. But there's no redemption for you. You called my elephant an ugly sack of leather. She's not leather dumbass, and she's beautiful." replied Shuichi icily, nearing the palace wall.
"Fine." said Hiro, admitting defeat for the night. Shuichi was in no mood to hear him out, he could tell. He sighed, sincerely hoping that tomorrow would award him a better opportunity to tell Shuichi the truth about everything.
"Fine." returned Shuichi, puzzling on how to scale the wall. He had never escaped before. He dismissed Hiro's words without a second thought, not at all interested in the foul prince.
It was at that moment when Cinda decided to show up. A gigantic log flying through the air towards Hiroshi announced her arrival. It landed three feet to the right of him. She gave a single warning grumble, alluding to what would happen next time she saw him. He immediately fled the garden, wishing he could have explained his atrocious behavior.
"Hey girl…" said Shuichi slyly, not wanting his intentions to show. But elephants are very smart and not easy to fool.
She stared back at him, unblinking, knowing all.
"Listen…I can't stay here. I have to get out. I can't stand being bossed around by Mika any longer. I want to live!"
Cinda seemed to agree, but was reluctant to let her long-time friend leave.
"You'll be fine. Mika's terrified of you, and you have this whole big garden to play in. And I'll come back someday to see you…or I'll come rescue you! Something…"
Realizing that her owner needed to leave, Cinda scooped him up in her trunk and tossed him over the wall. Elephants are problem solvers too.
"Ouch…" complained Shuichi, wanting to shoot a biting comment back over the wall but deciding not to; elephants never forget. He instead stood up, brushed himself off, and walked down the street he'd landed in, seeing the marketplace for the first time in his life.
Hey there peeps. I didn't like the way the Hiro dialogue flowed, so I revamped it. I also changed a few other things around, but nothing major plot wise. Happy reading.
-Amaya