DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN BROTHERS CONFLICT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM
Beatrice kept a little grin on her face as Tsubaki walked her to her so called room.
"Thank you very much for the escort good sir," she said when they arrive at the door. She had a bigger, more seductive look on her face.
"You're are quite the gentelmen, aren't you?" she said as she traced her finger down his shirt.
"I aim to please Madam," Tsubaki returned in his own seductive tone.
Beatrice looked around before she whispered in his ear, "can you meet me later?"
"When and where?" Tsubaki whispered back.
Beatrice cast a look around before she whispered again, "head towards the back of the palace and then turn left at the big yellow flower pot and go out the door there."
"...I suppose we should look into make sure you, Yusuke and Futo aren't falling behind either on your school work, huh?" the two just heard King Stephon talking. They looked up and saw he Ema and few others walking with on a different stairway.
They walked on, talking, not seeming to notice Bea and Tsubaki together. They could hear mention of Ema visiting the university the next day or so.
"Hmm, I remember being in college," said Bea, "a time I was given a little slack off my leash from mummsy and daddykins and dear sweet "hubby".
"College was fun," Tsubaki agreed, "where I discovered my love for acting."
"You act?" Bea asked.
"Voice acting, but who knows what will happen in the future," said Tsubaki.
"A face like yours would be a hit with the ladies," said Bea.
"You think?" Tsubaki teased.
"Call out the palace vet immediately!" they suddenly heard the king shouting.
"Boy this place echos," said Tsubaki.
"Better get back to your room until the craziness dies down," Bea said as she opened her door, "don't forget to meet up with me later."
"I won't," said Tsubaki as he headed to his room. He looked around as a few staff scurried around fast.
"Wow, this place really can go from zero to sixty like that," Tsubaki said as he walked into his shared room.
There to his surprise he saw Natsume and Azusa talking intensely.
"Uh-oh, now what happened? You eat someone's crumpet?" Tsubaki said as a joke.
"Tsubaki," Natsume said sternly, "we need to talk to you about you and Lady Beatrice."
"What about us?" Tsubaki asked.
"You shouldn't be getting so familiar with each other. It might cause some problems, problems the king would really like to avoid," said Azusa.
"What's the big deal if we're hanging out with each other?" Tsubaki asked.
"She's Robert's fiancee," said Natsume.
"Betrothed, they're not officially engaged yet, remember," said Tsubaki, a little sternly.
"Whatever, the point is" Azusa continued, "she's involved with Robert and we've seen what a jerk he is. And you seen being with the woman he's intended to marry someday, could led to scandal in and of itself."
"It only make things worse by you being Ema's brother. You know? The long lost princess and rival for his claim to the throne," said Natsume.
Tsubaki scoffed, "the idea that Ema is going to suddenly decide she wants to be queen is ridiculous."
"You don't know that," said Azusa.
"You've seen the way she's been acting since we came here. She's getting caught up in this whole royal atmosphere," said Natsume.
"That still doesn't mean she's going to suddenly decide she's going to become a full fledged princess and leave her old life behind," said Tsubaki.
"Look, just promise us you'll keep your distance from Lady Beatrice? Just to avoid trouble," Azusa pleaded with his brother.
"And we know that's a stretch for you, but do try," Natsume added sharply.
"Man you guys are touchy," said Tsubaki, "I need some space! Think I'll go hang out in the lounge or game room for a while."
"Tsubaki," Azusa tried calling out to him.
"Don't worry, I won't go near Lady Beatrice's room," Tsubaki called back before practically slamming the door behind him.
Azusa breather a heavy sigh, "I hope he doesn't go off and do something mischievous!"
"You do remember you two are twins right? I would have thought by now you would feel it in your gut when he's up to something," said Natsume.
"Do you have to remind me?" Azusa said as he flopped onto his bed, rubbing his face.
"Oh, Marion," Stephon monaed as he gently stroked his pet's soft fur. Marion was laying in a squirrel size bed, in space fully desgined for a little squirrel to live in and enjoy.
"My poor Marion," Stephon kept saying looking at her foot all bandaged up.
"She'll be just fine your majesty," the vet said as he put away some of his materials. He looked over at Masaomi, "and thank you for your help in treating her."
"Oh no problem," said Masaomi, "I'm glad she'll make a full recovery."
"Oh aren't we all." said the vet, "there would be no peace in the palace if her condition was worse than it is now."
He quietly walked out, leaving Stephon and Masaomi alone.
"My poor Marion," Masaomi kwpt hearing the king say softly over and over.
"I'll be okay Chay, you heard what the vet said. I just need to stay off my foot for a few weeks," Marion tried to assure him.
"I know, but still. It scares me to think I could have lost you. It would be no different than when I lost Wilma, when I lost Yolanda or if I were to lose Ema!" Stephon insisted.
"It's really touching to see how much you care for your pet, your majesty," said Masaomi.
"Of course," said Stephon, "Elence squirrels are like a child or a sibling to us royals."
Masaomi nodded right as Ema and Juli came in. He then slipped out calmly.
"Grandfather, how's Marion?" Emma asked walking over to the small space for Marion. Juli jumoed down next to her bed.
"Are you going to be alright Aunt Marion?" he asked taking her hand.
"Yes, Juli, yes," Marion insisted, "the vet said I have to stay off my foot for a few weeks."
"Thank goodness it's just your foot that was hurt!" Ema breathed with relief, "I'd hate to have to do give out a harsher punishment to Bernard."
"You punished Bernard?" Stephon asked.
"Well, yes," said Ema, "I spoke to him and in order to keep peace, I banished him from the golden Maebe tree for a while with a small promise that he had a somewhat nice place to stay in until the banishment is over."
"That sounds like the perfect punishment in my opinion," said Marion.
"Marion? He tried to kill you!" Stephon said in alarm.
"Beleive it or not, I don't think he did it on purpose," said Marion, "I'd say, he be banished to the old bird house at the edge of the royal garden until my foot is healed."
"Are you sure that's a suitable punishment?" Stephon asked.
"I gave Bernard my word we'd be fair with him," said Ema.
"And she handeled it like a true leader, in my opinion," Juli added.
"Even if I can't help but think he needs a harsher punishment," he muttered under his breath.
"It's fine!" Marion snapped at him, "Chi is right. We still need to maintain peace among ourselves. It's bad enough that the humans are at war. No offense."
"None taken. It's true," Ema said.
"Hmm," Stephon and Juli muttered, looking at each other.
"Peace it is then," Stephon declared.
"Peace it is," Juli agreed.
When Masaomi came to his room, he found Ukyo at his desk, typing as softly as he could while Wataru lay in his bed apparently asleep.
"Psst, Kyo," Masaomi whispered from the door.
"Oh, hi," Ukyo whispered back. He cast a glance at Wataru in his bed, "oh good he asleep. I didn't want to leave him alone until I knew he was. He kept insisting he he was too excited to sleep. Mostly because he couldn't get what Lord Robert had said to him off his mind."
"Hmm," said Masaomi walking over to his youngest brother and looked the boy over, adjusting his covers a little, "well he'll feel better in the morning when he gets to see Wind Storm again. Although I will have some bad news for him."
"What's that?" Ukyo asked, putting his laptop away.
"I arranged with the king to get a tutor for him so he doesn't fall behind," said Masaomi.
"You mean I'll have to still go to school while I'm on vacation?!" Wataru suddenly said as he sat up.
"Knew it," said Ukyo, "you were just pretending to sleep so I would go away and let you stay up."
Wataru groaned and folded his arms mad.
"And yes, I did arrange for a teacher, just so you stay current in your school work," said Masaomi, "but don't worry. It won't go on all day and it's going to be Lord Markus' niece."
That seem to get Wataru's attention, "oh, is she like him?"
"I don't know, but I would assume so," said Masaomi.
"And if I do this, for a little each day, I'll still have time to have fun?" Wataru.
"Absolutely," said Masaomi, "I promise, you'll still have fun tomorrow."
"Okay," Wataru agreed.
"But you won't have much energy if you don't get to bed," said Ukyo.
"Right, good night!" Wataru said as he flopped donw onto his bed and pulled his covers over his head.
"Hopefully he'll go to bed this time," said Ukyo.
"Are you doing okay, doing this extra work for Ema and the king while you're here?" Masaomi asked.
"Believe it or not, yes," said Ukyo, "I feel like I'm on a special assignment doing all this for Ema and the family. It's thrilling!"
"Good," said Masaomi, "hey um, just out of curiosity, what was the name again of that one woman you came home with? The black woman?'
"Erica?" said Ukyo, "What about her?"
Masaomi shrugged his shoulders, "nothing, just I heard Ema mention her name with that building project dilemma."
"Oh yes, that," said Ukyo, "she's helping with that too. Hopefully they can find a way to convince the tenants of the building they want to tear down to move to make way for the newer apartment buildings for families."
"This Erica gal seems ambitious," said Masaomi, "she's not single right now? Is she?"
"I have no idea," said Ukyo, "why? You're not looking for some special attention while we're here, are you? Like Hikaru?"
"Well, it couldn't hurt to meet some new people while I'm here," said Masaomi.
"Well, if you wanted to come with me tomorrow, maybe you can talk to her," Ukyo suggested.
"Sure," said Masaomi, "once I've spoken to Lord Markus' neice."
Tsubaki sat in the private lounge, watching the big TV, viewing some of the local Elence programs. However, every now and then, he'd check the clock on the wall, waiting to see how late it was and how quiet the palace would be.
Finally, after a short while of not hearing anyone pass by his room or a loud shout from somewhere, he slowly opened the door and looked around. The hallway was quiet and still, not a soul to be seen.
Tsubaki took advantage of the few moments of peace and quiet and hurried out of the lounge. He headed towards the back of the palace as he had been instructed and found the yellow flower pot easily. He turned where he needed to go and walked out the door easily. He walked around outside, looking for any sign of Bea.
Suddenly he heard a whistle that almost sounded like a bird but not quite. He followed the sound to where he saw Bea hiding behind a tree.
"Hey, you made it!" she said as she came out from her hiding spot.
"Yeah," Tsubaki said with confidence, "so now what?"
"Come on, I want to show you something," Bea said as she took Tsubaki's hand and pulled him closer towards the trees she had been hiding behind.
"Oh, anxious, are we?" Tsubaki said smugly.
"Very," Bea replied as she kept leading Tsubaki to an undergrowth and under some vines. To Tsubaki's surprise, they came to a small narrow dirt path.
He kept following Bea down it, until at last they came to a clearing. There Tsubaki could see what looked like an old fashioned out door theater. He could make out a few rows of what were once white seats, most either covered with plants, or dirt. The stage itself had a half circle of white pilars though only two or three were actually still in tackt. Most were crumbled or broken off all together.
"Wow, what is this place?" Tsubaki asked.
"The old royal theatre," said Bea, "this was the main source of entertainment until modern technology started to take over. They use to show all sorts or plays or performances here. And all had to be the grandest thing ever seen, since it being performed for the royal family."
She walked down the rows of seats until she came to the stage and looked up. Tsubaki followed close behind, stopping at the front row where he could see at least two seats by themselves that loosely resembled what was probably thrones. He kept walking and joined Bea on th!e stage.
"I remember when I first found this place. I was so little I thought I may have travled back in time or something," said Bea. "Luckily Markus was able to tell me what this was and what it was used for. And also lucky for me, he kept it a secret from my parents and Robert."
"Really? So they don't know about this place?" Tsubaki asked.
"A lot of people don't. That's what makes it so easy to come here and just be alone," Bea said as she walked over to a pilar and leaned against it. Tsubaki walked over to her and lenaed next to her, his arm above her head.
"And what do you do here when you are alone?" he asked.
"I think," said Bea, "think about what it must be like to see a performance here when this stage was in its heyday and the sort of things that was shown. I'd love to have seen something like that here."
"Have you ever thought about asking the king if he could fix this place up so they could use it again?"
"A few times," Bea admitted, "but then, I'd risk loosing my secret place. A pleace I'm sure I'll need once Robert and I are married. But boy would it be amazing to see this place fix up and decent to put on something for people to see."
"Hmm," Tsubaki said as he looked around the theater, "it would be nice to see such a thing. What do you ever picture when you imagine such a thing."
"Lots of different things," said Bea, "I heard the last king who used this place as his source for entertainment would have competitions of who could put on the best performance of Romeo and Juliet since it was his and his wife's favorite Shakespeare play. That'd be kind of cool, have a competition of sorts"
"One of Romeo and Juliet maybe?" Tubaki asked.
"Maybe," said Bea, "or another local play."
"Still, Romeo and Juliet competition would be awesome to see I think," Tsubaki said as he walked away slowly. He surprised Bea as he started to quote from the play.
"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?"
He turned around suddenly and came back to Bea, kneeling in front of her and taking her hand.
"It is the east and Juliet is the sun," he kept saying as he kissed Bea's hand.
"Hmm," Bea gasped, trying hard to fight her blush, "Not bad. Could swoon the right girl off her feet with that type of performance."
"I am humbled by your praise my lady," said Tsubaki, bowing his head.
Bea giggled before looking around the stage some more, sighing. "I bet you would be amazing here on stage perfoming." She pulled her hand free and walked over to another part of the stage. "Could see you right here, with a the balcony all set up and the poor girl who would want to jump into your arms in the balcony. She'd probably be pregnant by the time the play is over."
Tsubaki snorted at her comment. "On what a tangled web we weave."
"That's not Shakespeare," said Bea.
"So?" said Tsubaki.
Bea snorted that time before sighing again, "too bad it'll never happen. I would love to see it happen. To see all the people in the costumes, reciting their lines. Hopefully in the same enthusiastic way you just did. To see it all come to life, wow, what a feeling!"
Tsubaki studied the woman as she spoke her heart out.
"You uh, interesting in acting?" he asked.
"No personally, myself. To be honest, I've always had a thing for directing. To see and control people in order to make something grand instead of being the one controlled for once."
"Like Robert?" Tsubaki asked.
"Not just him," said Bea, "my parents too. Even before Robert asked them if I could someday be his "wife" and "queen". As my father always put it, he intended to raise me as proper royal would raise their young."
"Dump them on a nanny and only see them during social events?" Tsubaki asked.
"Close enough," said Bea, "but also making sure I carry myself in the proper way, I interact with the proper people. You follow me right?"
"Yeah, I get it, learn to walk around with a book on your head," said Tsubaki.
"I had this sick feeling since I was little that I'd never have control over my own life. Even if Robert never asked my parents to marry me. And all because dad was obsessed with climbing the ranks of the royal ladder."
"Hmm, then it'll probably really suck for him if my sweet little sister decides to kick old Robbie aside for her right to the throne, huh?" said Tsubaki as he laid down and looked up towards the sky.
"Oh yes," said Bea as she joined him. "I actually have vague memories of him being all pissed off with Princess Yolanda's choice of a husband, Ema's father from Japan. I have a few memories of him griping about how unfair it was that he could just show up out of nowhere and suddenly be in a position to be one of the most powerful people in the country all by marrying the princess. Meanwhile, he was actually born into the royal family and no one even knows his name. The poor baby."
"Do you have any real memories of Ema's mother?" Tsubaki asked.
"Not too clear one. Just fragments here and there. I was really young when she left with her boyfriend. I don't think I even really understood what was going on at the time," Bea confessed, "but I will say this, this is a little gental force I've felt around your sister that I remember feeling anytime I was around her mother. They had that very much in common."
"Yes, I would imagine a trait like that would be something inherited rather than developed over time," Tsubaki said softly. Bea glanced over at him.
"You like her, don't you?" she asked.
"Well she is my sister," said Tsubaki.
"That's not what I mean," said Bea, "you want her the same way Romeo wanted Juliet, don't you?"
"It's complicated," said Tsubaki, "besides she kind of turn me along with most of our other brothers down."
"That was kind of stupid of," Bea said as she pushed herself up and leaned over Tsubaki, "if I had any chance with a guy, I'd jump on it first chance I got."
"And I'd welcomd it with pure delight," Tsubaki said. The next thing he and Bea knew, both were pulling the other close to them and smacking their lips together in a big sloppy kiss.