Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

They reached the castle about ten minutes later with Yachiru still chattering away excitedly with Norainu and Kenpachi trailing behind in silence. As for Orihime, while she had fought hard to keep up a cheerful countenance, her heart felt heavier under the burden of anxiety and guilt she had placed upon herself.

The little group was met in the castle courtyard by a tall, full-figured woman with long, dark blonde hair that fell past her waist. Her pretty face and stunning light blue eyes were slightly marred by the irritated frown pulling her features down. Her arms were crossed and Orihime was slightly afraid of what would happen once this woman got started on the lecture she was sure to give.

"Well Yachiru," said the woman slowly, "I see that once again you and Kenpachi have completely disregarded by strict instructions not go outside the castle walls for more than an hour. Do you know how much time has passed since you left?"

Yachiru beamed up at the woman unafraid as she responded, "You know I can't tell time, silly Mother Goose!"

Orihime could have sworn she saw the very corner of the woman's mouth twitch at the affectionate nickname, but the woman glared down at the young girl and said, "You can't keep playing the 'I'm-a-little-kid-and-so-don't-know-anything' card for much longer, Yachiru."

Turning her icy gaze upon Kenpachi, the woman demanded, "You, at the very least, should have been able to tell that the sun was far past its midway point and so therefore after noon."

Kenpachi crossed his arms and muttered something unintelligible, to which the woman replied, "I thought as much," before she said sternly, "Well, you two quit dawdling around here. There's work to be done and we need everyone to pitch in. Kenpachi, I think that you could help the men unloading all the barrels and crates of food and drink down in the kitchen area while you, Yachiru, should be able to help…somewhere."

From the hesitation in the woman's sentence, Orihime guessed that no matter where Yachiru was sent, something was probably going to turn out quite…unexpected and unique. Just hopefully it wouldn't be something so vital to the wedding that it caused a big uproar. At the thought of the wedding, Orihime's spirits sank once again before she was snapped back to reality when Yachiru spoke up next.

"I want to bring Ori-Dori with me! Then she can meet everybody here! And Wolfie-Poo (at that nickname for Norainu, Orihime wasn't sure if she wanted to cringe in embarrassment or start giggling) can go with Kenny to help out!"

The woman's eyes softened slightly as she said, "Maybe your friends can join you a little later, Yachiru. You get along for now and help while I take our guests to go and meet the prince and princess."

"Okey-dokey!" cried Yachiru in delight before she grabbed Kenpachi's hand and started dragging him away.

After Yachiru and Kenpachi were out of sight, the woman kept staring at the place they had disappeared from view and said in a thoughtful tone, "She's a scatter-brained little girl and there are times no one knows what to do with her, but she's got a good heart. Kenpachi would never admit it, but Yachiru's nearly got him wrapped around her finger. Not that she tries, that's just her way."

Shaking herself, the woman turned back to Orihime and Norainu and said politely, "My name is Rangiku Matsumoto. While technically I am the companion of the princess I also take on the role of housekeeper and manager of all big parties and events, such as this wedding."

At the mention of the wedding, Orihime's heart dropped but she forced herself to remain cheerful as she said, "Everyone seems so excited for the princess's special day. I'm sure she and her fiancé will be very happy together."

For a moment, Rangiku looked at Orihime shrewdly before she turned and said, "Come with me. I'll take you to meet the princess."

Falling into line behind Rangiku, Orihime was lead from the courtyard into a beautifully kept garden. They weren't quite as elaborate, interesting or varied as the gardens at Retsu's home, but even though she wasn't really paying attention, Orihime could see the gardens were stunning in their own way.

After about two minutes, Orihime saw the figure of a young woman a little older than herself sitting and reading on a stone bench underneath a large willow tree. The girl must have heard them approaching because she looked up from her book before setting it down on the bench next to her.

As Orihime got closer, she saw that the young woman had long, dark brown hair that was so loosely pulled up in a bun that some strands gently framed her face. Her face was pretty and soft featured, but her deep brown eyes spoke to Orihime's heart the most. In their depths, Orihime could see the expression of a deeply wounded and sad heart, but that now was beginning to heal and open up to the world again.

The moment Orihime saw the princess, her guilt increased tenfold. How could she possibly be jealous of someone like the princess? What right did she have to be anything other than happy for Ichigo and the princess? They had managed to make each other happy and help heal the other's wounded heart. That reason alone should make Orihime's own heart stop protesting at the thought of Ichigo falling for another woman, but Orihime's inner struggle continued up until the moment she stood face to face with the princess.

Before Rangiku could say anything, Orihime gave a polite curtsy and said in a soft voice, "My name is Orihime Inoue, Your Majesty, and this is my friend and traveling companion, Norainu. We came across Yachiru and Kenpachi in the woods and they graciously brought us here."

Keeping her eyes fixed upon the floor as she slowly straightened, Orihime finished with, "Also, let me be so forward as to extend my congratulations on your upcoming wedding. Your fiancé is a fine man and…I wish you both…happiness and long life together."

These last words were fairly ripped from her throat, or at least it seemed to Orihime. In truth, she spoke them in a slightly louder tone than before, almost as if she were trying to convince herself that she meant them with all her heart.

The princess seemed not to notice Orihime's struggles, reached out to clasp Orihime's hands in her own and waited for Orihime to look up at her before she said with a smile, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Orihime. I am Princess Momo Hinamori and I'm sorry I wasn't in the courtyard to greet you and your friend properly upon your arrival."

Looking around the garden, Princess Momo said winsomely, "I make my way to this spot when I need some time to relax and just be myself for a while. Reading books or just sitting and thinking always manages to help me pull myself away from any stress or anxiety I might have at that moment and then I will have the energy to go back to work in an hour or two."

Orihime was about to say something when Princess Momo seemed to realize what she had just implied and said hastily, "But I am very glad that Lady Rangiku brought you here to meet me since I do like to personally greet all guests who come to my home. Especially now with…my wedding…" she smiled wider and seemed to savor saying the words, "…approaching there are so many people arriving that I sometimes find myself worrying that I'm not being a good enough hostess to all my guests."

"Honestly Momo, with all your worrying you really will turn into a terrible hostess."

At the sound of the unfamiliar voice, Orihime whirled around and saw that it came from a young man of medium height and a slight, but powerful in its own way, frame. His hair was pure white and while it was not combed and slicked back properly, the white locks fell neatly and naturally into place. However, Orihime's eyes were drawn immediately to the young man's gaze since his eyes were an unusual, beautiful and almost hypnotizing shade of blue-green. Mostly blue, but with just the right amount of green added to make it look as though you were looking into the Karakura River on a clear summer's day.

Crossing his arms and leaning against the willow tree, the young man said dismissively, "The more you worry about things, the less energy you will have. The less energy you have, the less you will be able to be the proper princess and hostess you seem to believe you have to be. And then you actually will leave your guests with the impression that you are an incompetent hostess simply because you worried about that very thing happening in the first place."

Giving Princess Momo a meaningful look, he finished with, "So quit worrying so much about everything that might go wrong and just do what you can."

The princess had done her best not to show any emotion at the young man's lecture, but she failed miserably when she walked towards him slowly and said, "Toshiro, that was immensely rude of you to say."

Shrugging his shoulders and looking nonplussed in the other direction, Toshiro replied, "Yeah whatever. You'd better get used to it."

Reaching his side, Princess Momo couldn't help but grin as she kissed his cheek and said, "We'll see."

During this exchange, at first, Orihime had no idea what to make of it until finally she realized just who Toshiro was to the princess. This revelation slowly sank into her heart and mind so that she went from being torn between guilt and jealousy over her idea that Ichigo would be marrying another to being wracked with relief, guilt and shame at discovering her mistake.

Surprisingly, it was Toshiro who seemed to notice the change in Orihime first so that he pushed himself away from the tree and from the princess's side, walked quickly to Orihime's side in order to wrap an arm around her waist and slowly help her to sit on the recently vacated bench.

Once she was seated, Toshiro asked seriously, "Are you all right? Do you feel ill at all?"

At these words, Princess Momo immediately sat down next to Orihime and said in a flurry, "You're ill?! Why didn't you say something sooner? Quick Lady Rangiku! Fetch the physician while Toshiro and I will help Orihime to one of the guest rooms! Or maybe Norainu could help carr-"

Having been too stunned and overwhelmed to say anything at first, Orihime finally managed to lay a hand on the princess's arm and say quickly, "You don't have to fuss or go to any trouble on my account. I'm just fin-"

Shaking a finger in Orihime's face, Princess Momo said sternly, "Don't you dare tell me a fib! If you're just saying that-"

Waving her hands in front of her emphatically and shaking her head, Orihime said, "No, no! I really mean it! I didn't feel ill! I was just…"

When she trailed off and looked down at her hands dejectedly, Toshiro prodded gently, "You were just?"

Raising her head, Orihime said tearfully, "I'm such a terrible person!"

The princess, Toshiro and Rangiku all looked completely taken aback by Orihime's outburst, but she continued, saying, "When I first heard Yachiru going on about how 'Princess Peachy' and 'Mr. Frowny-Face' were going to be married I immediately assumed that she was talking about my friend Ichigo, whom I have been searching for with Norainu, and then I don't know what came over me, but I got jealous and I felt guilty for feeling that way and…oh…"

There was silence in the group with the exception of Orihime's suppressed sobs before Rangiku looked at the others, who nodded in agreement, before she put an arm around Orihime's shoulders and said soothingly, "There, there, Orihime. If you feel up to it, why don't you tell us your story from the beginning?"

It was a few minutes before Orihime had composed herself enough in order to speak coherently, but once she got started, she didn't stop. Not that any in the group was interested in interrupting Orihime's narrative.

After Orihime had finished her narrative, Rangiku wrapped her arms more securely around the young girl to draw her into a comforting embrace and said sympathetically, "I was wondering what that expression in your eyes was whenever someone mentioned the wedding or prince, but you shouldn't feel guilty over this misunderstanding."

Princess Momo also laid a comforting hand on Orihime's shoulder and allowed her tears to fall freely as she said, "I'm so sorry. You've been through so much already and coming here has only brought you more heartache."

Laying a hand on his fiancée's shoulder, Toshiro said matter-of-factly, "However, she is extremely fortunate to have come here because both you and Rangiku can somewhat relate to Orihime's pain."

Looking up at Toshiro in surprise, Orihime asked, "What do you mean?"

Toshiro's response was to look meaningfully at Rangiku for a few moments before the woman heaved a sigh and said slowly, "What he is trying to say is that I also lost someone I loved dearly to a blue panther."

Orihime pulled away from Rangiku's embrace in order to observe her face causing Rangiku's arms to slowly lower until they were resting in her lap as she told her story.

"I also grew up with a boy about my own age. His name was Gin. We would wander the woods together, talk for hours and sometimes play with the other village children, but there were not many days that we wouldn't spend together.

"As we reached our teens, I realized that I had begun falling in love with him. When I turned fifteen, Gin gave me a necklace he had made himself."

At these words, Rangiku began fingering the simple silver chain around her neck. From the chain dangled two objects: a ring big enough for a young man's finger and another, smaller version of the ring that would likely fit a young woman's finger.

Gazing down at the rings, Rangiku said winsomely, "The next year, he gave me this ring and he told me that he had made a matching one for himself. He called them 'promise rings' since he was about to go out into the world to explore, make his fortune and build a home somewhere. Gin planned to do it all in four years, so that when we were both twenty-one, he would come back for me, we would get married and then we would live together in whatever land he had chosen."

Taking in a deep, shaky breath, Rangiku went on, "The day before he left on his journey, I had made a picnic lunch and we went to eat it by a river near our village. On the banks of the river, we came across another young couple. One thing led to another and the four of us decided to spend the afternoon together chatting, eating, laughing and wading into the water every so often.

"The afternoon sun was quickly descending into the evening sky when all of a sudden, a blue panther jumped out of the forest and charged towards us."

Unconsciously, Rangiku's hand clenched her right shoulder while the other gripped the bench as she said in a half firm, half tremulous voice, "I can still feel the oppressive weight of that panther as it pinned me down. I can still feel and smell hot, sticky, atrocious breath as it opened its mouth above my head. One moment, I had been too stunned to move and then next thing I knew, I was trapped underneath this beast."

Suddenly, Rangiku blinked her eyes and seemed to come back to reality and then rose slowly, took a few steps away from the bench before turning back to her audience and saying slowly, "I closed my eyes and waited for the panther's roar to ring in my ears and for its claws and teeth to sink into my flesh. But those sounds and feelings never came."

Closing her eyes, Rangiku continued, "I must have passed out in fear because the only things I remember hearing were garbled and nonsensical. When I came to my senses, however, I discovered that the enormous weight of the panther was gone and I sat up to look around."

At this point, Rangiku's voice was choked by an unexpected sob to which Princess Momo's response was to hurry to the side of her friend in order to wrap one arm about the woman's shoulders and grip one of Rangiku's hands firmly in her own.

With the support of the princess, Rangiku seemed to summon enough strength to finish her story and said, "I saw Gin's body lying several feet away from me. I knew at once that he had saved me from the panther at the cost of his own life. Somehow, I managed to half stumble, half crawl my way over to his side, gather him into my arms and then look around at the rest of the riverbank.

"The other couple was nowhere to be seen, but as I looked towards the water, I saw evidence of the panther having caught one of them and…well, you get the idea."

Wiping a shaky hand across her eyes, Rangiku finished with, "Despite everything else, however, the worst of it all was Gin's face. When I looked down at him, he had a kind of smile stretching his lips. He had known exactly what would happen to him when he saved me from that panther and…he had died…happy…anyways."

After she had finished, Rangiku cleared her throat and said as she looked at the princess, "Like Toshiro said, however, I'm not the only one with a tale to tell."

Princess Momo said nothing for a few moments and then she said softly, "My story is much different because I was so blinded by my love for a certain man that I was willing to do almost anything for him.

"He came into my life very suddenly, but on the other hand subtly so that it wasn't long before I could barely remember what my life had been like before him. He was attentive to every little thing, an avid listener, a soothing presence in times of stress, a wise counselor and everything else any woman might desire in a man. Whatever I needed at that moment, he became for me.

"In return for all the services and favors he gave to me, I willingly and endlessly tried to return and even to go beyond what he did for me. As a result, I paid no heed to anyone else, other than him.

"Even though I am only technically a princess, I am the ruler of my kingdom and will be crowned queen on the day of my marriage. I began ruling at a young age and so constantly felt out of my depth when it came to matters of state, so it wasn't long after he arrived that I gave him almost full control over everything.

"To make a long story short, it was eventually brought to my attention just how much misery had befallen my people because of my relationship with this man. Even though it broke my heart to do so, I banished him from my kingdom and I have heard nothing of him since."

When Princess Momo failed to continue, Toshiro picked up the narrative and said, "To back track a little, Rangiku and I were both raised by my grandmother for years. Rangiku is not my sister or relative by blood, but I love and respect her as if she were. After Gin's death, it was only a matter of weeks before my grandmother passed away as well. Having no other blood ties to our home, Rangiku and I started traveling and eventually came here to Princess Momo's palace where Rangiku was employed as one of the princess's handmaidens and I became the Royal Advisor's secretary and assistant.

"As I worked under the Royal Advisor, I discovered just how he was bringing about the ruin and downfall of the kingdom and so brought it to the princess's attention."

Orihime spoke for the first time in a while as she said matter-of-factly, "And as a result, he was banished."

Nodding her head, Princess Momo waved her hand and said, "After he was gone, I was heartbroken for a long time, but with Toshiro's help and guidance, I managed to pick up the broken pieces of my life and heart and start putting them back together."

Smiling through her tears at her beloved, the princess said, "Even though I can now rule on my own, with Toshiro's help and strength I hope to make this country prosper even more for the people."

Wiping away tears from her own eyes, Orihime stepped forward to envelop the princess and Rangiku in a hug as she said softly, "Thank you," before all three young women began crying together.

Each had different wounds inflicted upon their hearts, but one universal healing balm is that of a friend holding you as you cry and shedding their own tears. Toshiro and Norainu quietly made their way out of the garden to allow that healing process to take full effect.

Author's Note:

Ok, I'm probably going to have Yachiru jump out and give everyone a good laugh in the next chapter or something to lighten the mood before we move on to the wedding. I mean, what goes better after a huge cry-fest than good humor and sweet wedding scenes?

Anyway, things are becoming connected and starting to really get going, in my opinion. We still have a ways to go, but I'm sure some of you can guess how things are going to end up and who's who.

Hope you liked this new chapter and hopefully I'll have the next finished really soon!