Chapter 2 – The Horror of Corsets, Dresses, and Heels

"Oh, your majesty! You look absolutely stunning!" Marui praised. Ryoma stood up straight wearing the frilly pink dress the prince chose for him which Marui and Jackal forcedly made him wear. It was light pink with ribbons on the bottom in a darker color of pink. On the middle of the dress was white with pink little flowers. There was cloth around his dress in pail pink and he wore white gloves that reached up his arms. And there was this pink little choker on his neck.

"I can't… breathe… It's… crushing me…" Ryoma choked out. The corset was too tight. It was practically squeezing his organs. The prince must be some kind of maniac with a shota fetish.

"Is it the corset?" Marui said. "It's supposed to be that way, your majesty..! Since you'll be marrying the prince, you'll get used to it! And besides..! Corsets can make your body curvier..! Though… You already do have brilliant curves…"

Ryoma's eye twitched. Marui may have made an innocent comment but it was an insult to Ryoma. It wounded his pride to have been told that he had brilliant curves. It meant like he didn't look man enough and he didn't really need to make his body curvier thank you very much.

"Can't I just… not.. wear it..?" Ryoma choked out again. "It's crushing my organs…."

"Crushing your organs?" Marui said, wide-eyed. "Of course not! Corsets can't crush your organs, sire, but they can make you waist slim."

Ryoma rolled his eyes. Make his waist slim he says. He wasn't a girl for him to need to make his waist slim.

"Your majesty," Jackal had entered the room catching both of the boys' attention. "The prince will be arriving soon." He informed the boy who just nodded in reply.

"Here are your shoes, your majesty." said Marui who took out a pair of heels from the box that was beside him and kneeled down before Ryoma who sat on a chair and lifted his leg for Marui to put the shoes on for him. Though when he sat, his breath hitched as he felt the corset got tighter on his stomach and on his waist.

'Damn corset…' he thought. He couldn't forget what he had gone through when Marui put the corset on him and pulled.

"Ngh…" Ryoma moaned. He had his hands on the wall as he felt a crushing pain. He sweated profusely and was panting harshly. His cheeks were deep red.

"Don't worry, your majesty… It's going to be fine…" Marui murmured as he had gone harder. The boy gasped and arched his back. He felt Marui go harder and harder, it hurt but Marui made sure to be gentle with the boy.

"M-Marui…!" Ryoma breathed out. "I…."

"Y-Your Majesty…"

"I'M GOING TO DIE…..!." Ryoma shouted angrily at the teen pulling the string of the corset hard. So tight, it was going to crush his organs.

"I'm sorry, your majesty." Marui apologized. "But I don't think you're going to die because of a corset…" he laughed nervously.

"Your majesty…?" Ryoma snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Marui call him.

"Shall we go?" Marui said and gestured towards the door where Jackal stood beside to, waiting. Ryoma felt like punching the redhead on the nose again but did not do so and stood up. His feet wobbled. He had never worn heels before. Of course, he was a guy for Pete's sake!

"You'll get used to them, your majesty." Marui smiled as he saw Ryoma trying to keep his balance. He reached his hand out for Ryoma which the boy took. Ryoma almost tripped but Marui caught him.

"Be careful, sire…" Marui said worriedly and helped Ryoma stand up properly. Ryoma wanted nothing more but to take off the stupid heels and throw them away. Jackal opened the door and let Ryoma go out first before Marui and him.

"So tell me more about this prince…" Ryoma said out of the blue as they walked in the corridors. He was curious about the prince's personality since if he was to marry him, he should at least know what kind of person the prince was.

"Well… The prince is a really kind person and the people just love him..!" Marui cheerfully answered. "He is a very fun person to be with although he can be serious when he needs to be."

"Yes, and the prince likes to dote on those who are close to him." Jackal said. "Though he can get out of hand…" he sighed with a smile.

"I see…" Ryoma muttered as he kept in mind what Marui and Jackal had said. So the prince was a fun-loving person? He sounds normal at least. He just hoped the prince wasn't some freak who's attracted to younger boys.

"How old is the prince, anyway?" Ryoma asked and mentally prayed that the prince wasn't at least more than 10 years older than him.

"Oh, the prince is 18 years old." Jackal responded and the boy sighed in relief. Just 4 years older. Thank God it wasn't more than that.

"Relieved? Thought he was a lonely old man?" Marui joked. Ryoma raised a brow. Seriously, are these two mind readers? How could they tell what he was thinking?

"It's written all over your face, your majesty." Jackal smiled warmly. Ryoma frowned. He really wished he had his cap or something to at least cover his face.

"Che… Whatever." Ryoma muttered, averting his eyes. Jackal and Marui snickered. They kept on walking headed to the dining room. Ryoma just asks them questions about the prince while Marui and Jackal answer him.

"Here we are." said Marui who opened the door to the dining room. Ryoma stepped in and his eyes had widened. The dining room was BIG. Bigger than their house probably. On the middle was a very long table with a clean white tablecloth, a vase with flowers as a centerpiece, and a whole lot of chairs. And under the table was a long carpet. It was red with golden patterns. The room was very bright and it was because the curtains which were orange in color were open and the walls were peach. The floor was in deep red violet in color. At the ceiling was a beautiful and expensive looking crystal chandelier.

"Eh? No one's here yet…" he heard Maui say who was looking around the room. "It appears we've arrived too early…"

"I guess we'll have to wait then." said Jackal who was looking at a pocket watch.

"Now what?" Ryoma said, tilting his head.

"We can just wait, your majesty." said Marui. "Why don't you go hang out in the castle gardens? I'm sure you'll like it!"

"Yeah, sure…" said Ryoma tonelessly.

"Come on." Marui gestured to the door. Ryoma followed the two. Jackal closed the door to the dining room before leaving and walked beside Marui to the garden with Ryoma following behind. Though, Ryoma's feet were aching… It was those stupid heels he was wearing!

"Can't I take off these heels?" Ryoma complained. The heels were killing him! How could the prince think of making him wear these monstrosities?!

"No, your majesty… It's considered improper to walk barefooted and you're going to be the prince's wife..." Jackal informed sadly.

"Oh…" It was reasonable. But really, he wanted to take them off so badly. He's going to have sore feet at this rate.

"You're gonna have to get used to it..." Marui said with an apologetic smile. "Just bear with it."

"I'm a guy though. And guys don't wear heels. And how can a guy even marry another guy?" Ryoma scowled. If on earth guys can't marry, then what about on Rikkai? That had been what Ryoma was pondering about for a while now and what kind of customs did Rikkai had.

"Well, if it is illegal in your world, here it's not. It's completely legal. It's not so uncommon for a male to marry someone of his own gender. That is, here in Rikkai." Jackal smiled. "And… Guys wearing heels, I suppose that they're not really uncommon… It's in the person's taste."

"Well, it's not in mine. And if guys can marry guys, how can two guys have children?" Ryoma cocked an eyebrow. Jackal chuckled nervously.

"Well… Let's just say, you'll learn about that after the wedding."

"But I don't want to get married."

"The prince wanted you to. It's no use. We have to do what he says." Marui reasoned. "The prince is really scary..!"

"Scary?" said Ryoma. And they said he was kind and then they say he's scary. A kind yet scary person… Probably when angry. Must be some kind of sadist too. Oh, great…

"Yeah, who knows what he could do! I don't even wanna think about it!" Marui said. Both him and Jackal shuddered.

"Let's not talk about that, Marui…" Jackal interrupted. Ryoma looked at Jackal and then Marui. What was it about the prince that made them so scared?

"Do I really have to marry him..?" Ryoma thought out loud.

"His highness always gets what he wants…" Marui sighed hopelessly. It was true. Whenever the prince wanted something, the prince would do anything he could to do get what he wants.

"Can't I say no?" Marui and Jackal shook their heads.

"That requires great persuasiveness. His highness is really stubborn…" Jackal sadly sighed. Ryoma hummed.

'If that is so, then I'll try persuading him myself' Ryoma smirked to himself. What Ryoma wants is what Ryoma gets too.

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Marui asked suspiciously. Ryoma shrugged.

"Saa… What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that you're thinking about persuading the prince." Marui stated. Really… Did his face show it all?

"I always get what I want too." Ryoma said coolly. "And why not? It sounds like a good challenge."

"You sound like a spoiled brat." An unfamiliar voice said. It caught the three's attention and they all turned to where the voice was. There stood a man in his teens with black messy hair and emerald green eyes. It was Kirihara. He stared at Ryoma from head to toe.

"So you're the prince's fiancé? Echizen Ryoma?" Kirihara frowned. "You don't seem that special."

"Oi, Akaya! Watch your words!" Jackal scolded, but Kirihara ignored him.

"I heard about you from prince Sanada!" said Kirihara whose face suddenly turned into a dark one. "You were together with him in the bath!"

"What?!" all three of them said with wide eyes.

'Prince Sanada? Could he be the one I'm marrying? The one I met in the bath?' Ryoma thought. He remembered what the guy had looked like. They said he's 18! But he looked nothing like 18 but 30!

"You must have misunderstood something! His majesty would never do something like that!" Marui said defensively but again, Kirihara ignored him.

"I did no such thing with whom you call prince Sanada." Ryoma glared at him. Kirihara and Ryoma were somehow engaged in a heated staring competition.

"Oi! You kids! Stop this at once! This is no place to fight!" Jackal scolded but then the two boys turned to him.

"WE AREN'T KIDS!" they both shouted angrily at the poor bald teen.

"Geez… Like two peas in a pod…" Marui sighed heavily.

"How dare you try to do something with prince Sanada and break his nose?!" Kirihara accused. Ryoma was taken aback. He frowned.

"I didn't try anything. And for your information, I was taking a bath until he came." Ryoma furiously protested.

"He's right. And besides, his majesty did look shook up when he left the bathhouse…" Jackal agreed. Kirihara flushed deep rep. Ryoma smirked.

"W-What?" Kirihara stuttered.

"Stu – pid." said Ryoma. Kirihara clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes at him.

"This isn't the end, Echizen Ryoma!" he declared, pointing a finger at him. Kirihara turned around and ran.

"CHIKUSHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!"

"Is he always like that?" Ryoma asked as he watched Kirihara's retreating back.

"Apparently so…" Jackal sighed helplessly.

"He likes prince Sanada." Marui stated with a mischievous grin.

"Oh…" Ryoma said, not all that interested.

"Now, Marui, you know he doesn't like us telling that to other people." Jackal chided.

"But it's fun to tease him though!" Marui grinned.

"Let's just continue to where we're supposed to be going." Jackal suggested. Both Marui and Ryoma agreed. They walked in silence and soon they had reached the castle gardens. Ryoma looked at the sight with wide eyes. There were so many flowers in different colors and so many he'd never seen before. There was a golden fountain in the middle too. It was beautiful.

"Surprised?" Jackal smiled. "All these flowers are planted by the prince."

"Really?" Ryoma said and turned his head to Jackal.

"Yes. The prince's hobby is planting." Jackal nodded. Ryoma tilted his head in confusion.

"But he's a prince and gardening is dirty work."

"Ah, but he's a different kind of prince." said Jackal. "He's the one who likes doing outdoor activities and work once in a while. He can sometimes get bored just staying in the castle."

"I see…" said Ryoma. "But he doesn't look like it though." he frowned. Jackal was surprised.

"So you've met him already?" he asked. He and Marui had never let the boy to go off on his own. Not once. Ryoma nodded with a frown.

"He looks like an uptight and strict person." he remarked. His description made Jackal confused. It wasn't in the prince's characteristics to be uptight and strict. He thought maybe it's just how the boy sees him.

"I guess if that's what you think he seems…" Jackal shrugged. "He's not really uptight or strict. Looks just can be deceiving."

"Guess so…"

"Your majesty, shall we leave you here?" Marui said. "We'll come back for you when the prince arrives."

"Sure." Ryoma nodded. "I guess I could do some sightseeing." he said, cocking his head to the direction of the garden.

"Alright…" said Marui, quite unsure if he'd leave the boy. Besides, what if he'd try to run away?

"Don't worry. I won't." Ryoma sighed. "Just go…"

"Don't leave the garden, okay?" Marui smiled and gestured Jackal to come with him who followed. Ryoma waved at Marui who waved at him before leaving. He turned his back and took a look around his surroundings. The prince had done a really good job in planting them.

He walked around the garden admiring the beauty. There were so many flowers he didn't know but it's not like he was ever interested in flowers, anyway. But there was one that had caught his attention. Bright pink flowers which he knew were called dahlias. Could the prince have visited earth once? He smiled down at the dahlias. He might not have admitted it, but he had a liking for dahlias.

"Did you know a dahlia means eternity for two people? That's how it's going to be for you and me, Ryo-chan..!"

"Tch…" Ryoma felt his feet aching again. Stupid heels! Why must he wear them, anyway?

'Screw being improper!' he thought and took off his heels. His feet were a bit red and it was all because of the stupid heels..! He picked them up from the ground then threw them away and dusted off his hands.

CLUNK!

He took a step back with his eyes wide in surprise as he heard the heels hit something or more like someone. He saw a figure of a man stood up.

"Who…?" he heard a familiar deep voice said. He saw the figure come closer and was shocked to see the man who was holding the heels he threw. The man was just as shocked as him as he saw him.

"You're…"

"You are…"

They stared at each other in shock.

"Prince Sanada…"

"Echizen Ryoma…."

TBC…