Note: Unlike in canon, only Yuki and Kyou share the curse and they are not related to most of the other Sohmas. Just wanted to make that clear.
"My Lady, your gown has arrived."
"Kagura, don't be silly, please call me Tohru!"
"Of course, Tohru." The maid beamed as she handed the parcel to the princess.
The princess, along with her knight, had been staying in the demon castle for about a week now. Tohru had seen little of the prince during that time but enjoyed a blossoming friendship with his maid. There were only two maids at the castle, Kagura, whom had served their tea on the first day, and a junior maid, a tiny young mute girl named Kisa. Interestingly, the castle employed very little staff. Few others resided there other than the prince, the two maids, and Haru the footman. Akito, the king, was often away at his summer home.
"Oh it's lovely!" Tohru exclaimed as she took the dress from the box. "Do I really get to keep this?"
"Yup! It's a gift from the king, but between you and me, I think the prince will be very happy to see you wear it." The maid giggled.
"The prince…how is he I've only seen him in passing ever since the day we arrived."
Kagura giggled again. "He's probably embarrassed and doesn't know how to handle it. He really only meets new people at big parties. I don't think he knows quite what to do one-on-one. You probably noticed, but there really aren't many of us here at the castle."
"Is it because of the curse? Is it true that he really can't touch anyone?"
"It's only ladies that he can't touch; men are okay for some reason."
"Then how are you and Kisa able to work here? I mean, If you don't mind me asking."
"Sir Kyou told you the story about his cousin bumping into the maid and then transforming for the first time? That was me! I've known for so long that it just made sense for me to stay with him as his personal maid throughout the years."
"But what about Kisa?"
"Haru brought her home one day after running errands in town. He got lost in the woods on the way home and found her there, wandering all alone. She can't, or won't, speak so we have no idea where she came from. She pays for her stay here by doing chores." Kagura had begun to dust around the guest room as she spoke. Suddenly, the dust in the air caused a tiny sneeze to escape her. Tohru noted that the maid's open mouth contained a set of fierce fangs.
"The prince sounds very kind. Letting Kisa stay here, I mean."
"Demons aren't any different from humans. Beyond outward appearance, obviously. I mean, some of us can use magic, but it's really not a big deal. The prince is just a normal guy. So, how about trying on that dress?"
Tohru took her new gown into the washroom adjoining her guestroom. As she prepared to step into the dress, she noticed that the label read 'Ayame'. Was that a famous designer, she wondered.
"You look amazing!" Kagura was quite sincere in her praise as Tohru came out of the washroom. "I'm glad you don't mind not getting to wear the dress you brought with you. It's a tradition for ladies to wear black at formal occasions in our country."
"Oh it's no problem at all! I'm happy to do whatever needs to be done to strengthen the bonds between are kingdoms!" she proclaimed enthusiastically.
Once she had finished tidying up, Kagura left to attend to her other duties.
I do hope she can get to spend some time with the prince, beyond just at the ball, she thought as she approached the next guest room. What was the king thinking, keeping Yuki so isolated for so many years and then suddenly sending this girl to stay with him? Kagura didn't dare think that the king had changed his manipulative ways.
King Akito, older cousin to Yuki and Kyou, was a fair ruler to his kingdom overall, but kept a grip on his own royal family like a miser on his coins.
Kagura approached the door of the second guest room, which she had purposely put off until last, and knocked gingerly. No response came. Clearly Sir Kyou has met with a terrible fate and needs rescuing! She fumbled with her key ring, but the guest room door key had decided that it was taking the day off and refused to make an appearance. The obvious next step was to break down the door.
"What the- Hey! Who is- Argh!" A man who was presumably Sir Kyou, seemed to be trapped in the clutches of quite the malevolent shirt. Either that, or he had simply been interrupted while dressing. The shirt was wrapped around his head as he attempted to stagger toward the door like a drunken headless horseman.
One look at his bare chest told Kagura that he had kept up with his training since she had last seen him years ago. She wondered how many bears he had fought; he used to talk about that often enough.
"Oh, it's you from the other day." Kyou grumbled as he finally managed to pull the offending garment on properly.
"I have some free time so I thought maybe we could catch up…"
"'Catch up'?"
Is it possible that maybe he didn't remember her? Tears crept into the corners of her eyes.
"Kyon-kyon, don't you remember me!?" She screeched, grabbing a chair and brandishing it toward him. "We were going to get married!"
His eyes lit up with sudden realization "You! The junior maid from when we were kids! You were going to tell everyone in town about my curse if I didn't agree to marry you! Besides, I figured after I went to work in the human kingdom, I'd never have to see you again. Now put that thing down!"
The chair sailed through the air and made it's grand exit through the window.
"Oh my, Kyon-kyon, how did your window get broken? Isn't it drafty in here? You'll catch cold!"
Tohru studied the mirror. The dress was beautiful, even if she did secretly prefer the one she had brought from home. She appreciated the gift too much to complain, of course. Never look a gift dress up the skirt! …or something like that.
For the second time that morning, a knock came at her door.
"Come in!" The princess stood from her vanity and brushed the wrinkles from the gown.
The prince confidently strode into the room. It was hard to believe that this man, a picture of royalty, could be embarrassed about anything.
"Good morning, Princess. Kagura told me the dress arrived?"
"It sure did!" The princess smiled cheerfully.
"Is that it? May I take a closer look?"
The prince moved nearer until less than a foot separated the two.
"The king sent it, didn't he?" The prince frowned. "What happened to the dress you brought with you. I mean, you must have brought one from home, yes?" he inquired after looking her up and down.
"It's still here, but shouldn't I wear this one? I mean, the king went through the trouble to pick it out…"
"Never mind that. Would you mind putting the other one on?"
Tohru once again exited the bathroom after having changed for the second time that morning.
"Much better." The prince smiled gently and reached for the ribbon on the front of the yellow party dress, bringing it his lips. "Adorable." He murmured to the piece of satin.
"Um, ah…Is it true that you and Kyou are cousins?" Tohru asked once Yuki had released the ribbon.
Yuki's expression soured. "We are, but only distantly related. He was never in line for the throne or anything like that. We haven't seen each other since we were kids. He was always such a hothead, I figured he'd be dead by now. How did he ever wind up with someone like you?"
"He just knocked on my mother's door one day, asking for work. He started out in the stables and moved up. He must have trained a lot before he came to us because I've never seen someone become a knight so quickly!"
The prince allowed himself a chuckle. "That would be him."
"Do you suppose he left your kingdom in order to break the curse?"
It was the first time she had had a chance to bring up the curse to him since the day one week ago when she was quickly shooed from the sitting room, empty tea cup in hand.
The prince began to study the window. A bird was pecking at the cracking, barren soil. "In order to escape it, more like…"