Sorry for not updating last week! My mom took the laptop with her on a short trip and I had nothing to write with. I also apologize for this chapter being completely in Rin's POV. I promise next chapter there will be much more Len.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter. I really appreciate the feedback :)

Rin's POV

The next morning I woke up extra early so that I could wake up Len. Kaito wanted to start training him right away. I have the feeling that Kaito is eager to put our plan against the prince into action soon. We've gathered enough people with Len included.

"Len, wake up!" I yelled, as I pushed the blonde boy sleeping in bed. He didn't make a sound. With a sigh, I gave him a good push, and shoved him out of the bed. He's only been here for a few days, and he acts like he's in his own home. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

"What the heck?" Len shouted as he hit the ground. He sat up, rubbing his head, and glared at me. I gave a small giggle, and helped him stand up.

"Kaito wants you to start training," I explained. "You better go now." Len grumbled something about how early it was, but said nothing more. He walked out the door and down to the kitchen. I had put some bread out for him, and he quickly picked it up.

After shoving it into his mouth, Len grabbed his sword which he had set in the corner of the room. He was about to leave without even saying goodbye.

"Bye!" I yelled right before he walked out the door. "Have fun!" For a moment, Len's face lightened up a bit. He gave a quick wave, and then left. I guess that counts as warming up a bit. A few days ago, he would've just scowled at me.

I cleaned off Len's plate and put it away. I began to think about what I was going to do today. I needed to pick up some things from a nearby town. I walked outside, and realized how early it was. The sun was not even close to being out. I stepped back inside and decided that it couldn't hurt to sleep for a few extra hours.

After a short nap, I woke up again. The sun was just starting to shine, and most people in the village would be waking up. I went outside and straight to Miku's house.

No one was outside, so I knocked on the door loudly. Mikuo opened the door with a happy face.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, politely. I smiled in response. Mikuo always tries to be smooth around girls.

"I'm going to do some shopping in the next village over, and was wondering if Miku wanted to come along," I said. "I promise we'll be back before tomorrow. It should just be a short trip." Mikuo thought to himself for a minute. He's very protective of Miku.

"Sure," he smiled. "I trust her with you; just make sure you bring your sword." I nodded, and Mikuo left to go grab Miku. Miku came to the door a few minutes later, in one of those cute dresses that she made.

"I'm ready," she smiled.

"Great," I replied. "I'll have to grab a horse, and then we can head off."

"Miku, could you buy some leeks while you're out?" Mikuo asked, before we left. "The ones you're growing aren't done yet, but I'd like some for dinner." Miku happily agreed, and then the two of us went off to the town stables.

When we arrived, I noticed the horse that I found when I met Len was there. She was in good condition (Yes, I've decided it's a she and her name will be Josephine). Josephine was certainly big enough and strong enough to carry both Miku and me.

We hopped on, and I yelled for Josephine to go. She responded quickly to her new name, like it was the name she had all her life. We rode off into the forest to a nearby village that was only two hours away on horseback.

"How's that housemate of yours?" Miku asked, as we road. "He's kinda cute."

"Len's doing fine," I said. "He's still acting a bit moody, but he's better than before. Kaito's teaching him how to swordfight today," I added, like a proud parent.

"He's going to be with Kaito?" Miku said. "He sure is lucky. I wish I could spend more time with Kaito. I hardly see him since he's been so busy lately." I couldn't help but laugh a little. Kaito and Miku don't know that they both like each other.

"I think if you asked to spend time with him, he'd happily agree," I advised Miku. She gave me a happy smile, and agreed to try that soon.

Within about a half an hour more of riding, we had arrived in a small village near a lake. It had a good fish market and also lots of crops that we had a hard time growing back home. After all, Gumi can only grow so much to support everyone.

I dismounted and helped Miku get off of Josephine. We stopped near a small pond, only a five minute walk from the village. Josephine would wait here since the village didn't have any stables for her to wait in.

"You behave, okay?" I smiled, as I stroked Josephine's head. She gave a whinny to show that she understood. With a laugh, Miku and I headed towards the village.

When we entered the main road, I was amazed at how many people were out shopping. People filled the streets and flooded the shops. Usually, it was quieter. Shouts yelled from every corner.

"Fresh fish!" someone yelled to the right. "For a low price!" Immediately people ran over to find a good bargain. I grabbed Miku's hand and tried to navigate through the thick crowd. Eventually we came out near the end of the main road, and things were a bit quieter.

"I know a good person for vegetables and fish," I explained. "She has a stall near the lake." Miku and I walked along the houses, until the lake came into view. Surrounding it was another marketplace, but it was much smaller than the main one in town. Fewer people were walking around, but they were obviously much richer than most.

It was a sign that only high quality items were sold here. There were some jewelers selling goods, and people known for good food. There was even someone who sold exotic spices that only the prince normally got to have.

"This weather is dreary," a woman wearing a white dress said, as she walked beside me. She held a fan to her face, and looked absolutely miserable. Her blonde hair was curly and put into a high bun, and her face was covered in makeup. "Why did you make me travel out here?" she complained.

"It's good for you, Ann," the tall man beside her sighed, as he put some tomatoes into a basket he was carrying. "And you always complain about the ingredients in your dinner, so now you'll help choose them." The rich woman gave a groan, and waved her fan. Miku and I laughed at her a bit. She looked like a puffed up swan, especially when she made that groaning noise.

"There's the stall!" I said, pointing out a small stall with a woman working behind it. It had a small sign advertising vegetables, and was decorated with a bit of paint. The woman working had just finished selling a young man some fish.

"Luo!" I said, with a smile. The woman turned to me and gave a small.

"Rin, it's been so long!" she said in reply. Her voice had a slight accent, since she isn't from this country. Luo is from China, but traveled here a few years ago to live on her own.

"Luo, this is Miku," I said, introducing my companion. The two of them exchanged smiles. Then Miku's eyes wandered towards a basket of leeks sitting on the stall.

"Can we get some of those for Mikuo?" Miku asked, excited. "They look delicious." Only Miku and her brother would find those delicious. Luo grabbed the basket of leeks and handed it to me.

"You can take them all if you'd like," she said. "Leeks aren't a big seller. People prefer fish over vegetables, and leeks are cheap to grow." I thanked Luo for the leeks, and asked if she had any fish that she could sell for a low price.

"Here's a nice tuna," Luo said, pulling a large fish from behind the counter. "I helped catch it just yesterday. It's very fresh and would be enough to feed half of that small village of yours."

"I'll take it!" I said with a smile. "It'll be good for some of Luka's soup." Luo wrapped the fish in some loose paper and handed it to me. That was all we needed from Luo, so I decided it was time to leave.

"I think I have everything I need to bake this week, so we shouldn't need to get eggs or anything," I said. "Can you think of anything else we're missing?"

"I saw a stand selling exotic fruits," Miku said. "Could we get some of those?"

"I don't know," I replied, hesitantly. "It sounds good, but fruit is usually expensive."

"I have some extra money from Mikuo!" Miku said.

"I suppose we could look," I smiled. Miku and I walked back to the main road, and spotted the stand that Miku had been talking about. The man was selling fruits from all over the world.

"Would you pretty ladies like to try something sweet?" he asked. He pulled out two slices of a fruit with orange flesh. Miku and I eagerly took the slices and ate them. It was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. So sweet and juicy. It was one of the most amazing foods I had ever tried.

"What is this?" I asked.

"An orange from the warmer parts of the country," he smiled. "Not incredibly rare, but sometimes hard to find here up North."

"We'll have two," Miku said, grabbing some money from her pockets. The man handed two oranges to us, and put the money in his pocket.

"Thank you for your business," he smiled. Miku nodded, and the two of us walked off. We were about to leave town when I saw a strange poster on the edge of a building.

I walked closer and looked at the words on the poster. It had an announcement on it from the palace.

IF ANY HAS SEEN THE MISSING PRINCE, PLEASE SEND WORD TO THE PALACE IMMEDIATLY. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ON THE PRINCE'S WHEREABOUTS WILL BE AMPLY REWARDED. IF THE PRINCE IS RETURNED ALIVE, THE REWARD WILL BE DOUBLED.

"The prince is missing!?" I shouted in confusion. "This will mess up Kaito's advancement of the plan!" Miku looked at me nervously.

"We should tell Kaito," she said. "He'll want to know about this."

"If the prince is out running around, that means there are guards out after him," I worried. "If the guards find the village, we're done for."

"Then we should get going," Miku said. I nodded, and the two of us threw our oranges into my basket and ran to Josephine. The sun was still in the sky, but looked like it would be setting soon.

The two of us hopped on, and I handed Miku the basket to hold. Josephine started to run towards home, with me coaxing her to go faster.

"I wonder how long that notice has been up," I said, as we rode. "The palace guards could be really close to the village and we wouldn't even know it."

"You should ask Len," Miku suggested. "A rich boy like him would have known about the prince's disappearance from his servants or something. If he doesn't know anything about it, then we know that the notice could only be a week old at most. Len's only been here about a week, right?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'll ask him after we alert Kaito."

"But what will we do after we tell Kaito?" Miku asked. "It's not like the entire village can go into hiding."

"We'll just have to hope that the prince gets found before we do," I sighed.

"Here's an idea though," Miku said. "What if we found the prince?"

"The prince could be anywhere in the entire country or even out of the country," I replied. "The chances of him being in this area are slim, and besides we would have to get rid of him somehow."

"But then all our problems would be solved," Miku smiled. "We wouldn't have to worry about the palace guards or even the plan anymore."

"We'd just have to worry about the death penalty for killing the prince," I reminded her. "No one's going to kill anyone unless it's a part of the plan. That'll ensure that no one gets in too much trouble." Miku sighed in understanding. It was too risky to do anything without lots of planning. And besides, the chances of the prince even being near here are next to impossible.

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