DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN BROTHERS CONFLICT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM
"I can safely say that we are looking forward to having you joining us here at the university come next term," the administration attendant was saying as finished Iori's enrollment.
"Thank you, I do as well," Iori said happily.
"Do you know what you are planning to do in regards to room and board?" the officer asked.
"Not yet, but I'm sure I'll work it out," said Iori.
"Well, just in case, here is a list of dorm room openings and their deadlines, along with the royal work program Have you heard of it?" the officer said handing him a few different brochures and pamphlets.
"Yes, I've heard of it," said Iori.
"Well if you want to enroll into that as well, make sure you sign up before the cutoff happens," the officer made sure to mention.
"Yes thank you sir," Iori said bowing and walking out of the room with his new information
As he walked out of the office, he paused for a little bit. 'Now, where do I go from here?' he thought. He didn't know where his brothers and sister were or if Ema was ready to go.
'Hmm, guess I'll just walk around, examine the university some more and see if I can find them,' he decided.
He walked on through out the campus, admiring the different buildings and sights.
He soon came upon a big group of people standing outside a greenhouse looking anxious. Iori walked closer and was a little surprised to see Jane among them.
"Miss Jane?" he called out.
"Oh hello My Lord!" Jane called back.
"Please you can just call me Iori," Iori said as he neared, "what's going on here?"
"We're waiting for the new sign up sheet for the flower arranging in the administration building. Each month or so, they give us a chance to sign up to do one. It's a great way to get your design out there!" Jane said, "I really hope I get a chance to to do it this time!"
"I see," Iori said as he too looked towards the greenhouse a little eager. Just then a short woman with glasses came out holding a clipboard.
"Alright kids, alright, let's try and be civilized about this, this time around," she tried to advise but was quickly swormed.
"Oh man! I'm not going to get it this time either! Am I?!" Jane cried as the crowd started to get rowdy.
"Here, hold this," Iori said as he handed Jane some of his paper work and managed to slink his way through the crowd towards the front.
"One at a time!" the lady in charge tried shouting right as Iori seemed to magically appear in front of her.
"Ma'am?" he asked gesturing to her clipboard.
"Oh right," the woman said as she quickly handed it over.
"Hey where did he come from?" someone shouted.
"Is last name required Madam?" Iori asked.
"Yes please," said the woman.
"Jane, what's your last name?" Iori shouted.
"Hans!" Jane shouted back.
"Thank you," Iori said calmly as he finished signing her name and handing the clipboard back.
"Uh, sure," said the woman confused.
Iori smiled and managed to slink out of the mob and back to Jane.
"Well good news, you're at top of the list," he told her kindly, taking his things back.
"How did you get through such a mob?" Jane asked a little surprised.
"When you grow up with 13 brothers, you learn how to handle things like that," Iori explained with pride as he led Jane away.
"Well thank you," said Jane, "I'm so happy!" She paused for a moment, "how would you like to help me with it?"
"I'd be honored to, we can work on it at the palace even," said Iori.
"I'm so excited for it!" said Jane. She and Iori both shared a smile of building friendship and yet both couldn't help but feel it might be more.
"How much longer do you think the princess is going to want to hang out here exactly?" Billy whispered as he, Richard and the other two guards stood nearby watching Ema, Subaru, and Yusuke still hanging out with Violet Cook and her friends.
"As long as she wants to," Richard said.
"Shouldn't she be getting back to the palace soon though?" Billy asked.
"It's not a big rush, so just be patient," said Richard, "besides, I heard from Chrissy that Robert's at the palace at the moment."
"Oh," said Billy, going a little softer.
"Should we at least go and do a check on the other three brothers, sir?" one of the other two guards asked.
"If her highness asks, in the meantime I'm sure they're fine. Even the pop idol," said Richard.
"Is everything okay?" Ema suddenly asked looking towards the guards.
"Yes your highness," Richard assured her.
"Oh okay," said Ema as shd stood, "I was just asking because I was thinking I should either tour the campus some more or maybe head back to the palace."
"I'm sure there's plenty more to see your majesty," said Richard.
"Oh, going so soon Princess?" Violet asked.
"I was just thinking I should go see some more of the university," said Ema.
"Well, we'll see if we can catch up with you later," said Violet, "we were going to hang out here a little longer."
"That's fine, nice seeing you again Violet. Do say hello to your mother and the rest of the family," said Ema as she, and her brothers headed out with her guards.
Yusuke sighed, "finally, that was getting boring."
"A little yeah," Subaru agreed.
"Still this place is nice, such a warm, and enthusiastic atmosphere!" said Ema with pride. "I can't help but feel proud that my family help create this! It makes me really want to make sure that hospital project comes through. And to make sure I can maybe resolve the building dispute."
"You really are getting into this aren't you?" said Yusuke.
"Is that wrong?" Ema suddenly asked, "am I just getting swpet up in the hype of suddenly being a princess?"
"Timd will tell princess," said Richard, "but I think it's nice you are willing to accept your duties of your birth given duty and privileges."
"Yes," said Ema with a smile. She was feeling more and more like a princess all the time.
"I do hope Masaomi and Ukyo are doing well helping with the hospital project!" she said, "I'll have to make sure they get proper acknowledgment for their hard work."
Ema was suddenly cut off by the sound of a loud chanting.
"Down with the Monarch! Down with the Royals! Down with the Monarch! Down with the Royals!"
Ema turned and saw a small crowd of people with signs that said things like, 'No More Royals!' 'Dispand the Monarch!' 'Exile the King!'
There were also plenty that had pictures of King Stephon, Lord Robert, some people Ema didn't fully recognized and even herself with red slashes through them or posed in less then flattering way that definitely didn't suggest they were well liked. To top it all off, there was a big banner above the crowd that read in big bold letters, GET RID OF THE ROYALS ONCE AND FOR ALL!"
"Ah shit!" Richard muttered as Ema felt him grab her shoulder and pull her back. Billy and the other two guards quickly moved around until they were more or less blocking Ema from view.
"What's going on over there?" Ema asked in shock.
"Don't worry about it your highness!" Richard insisted as he pulled her away. Billy and the guards werd busy circling around her, and Yusuke and Subaru, keeping them hidden.
"Go Home Princess!" they all heard someone shouting.
"We Don't Want Any Pampered Spoiled Princess Here!" another voice shouted.
"You Royals Are Worthless!"
"Are those like protesters or something?" Yusuke asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," Richard admitted, "there are some people who don't want a king or queen ruling anymore and think it should be dissolved all together."
"Oh," Ema said trying to look back at the mob still shouting chants and cries of protest against her and her grandfather. She suddenly remember the coucil member from her visit to the House of Council named Alex that had also seemed to be against the monarch.
'I should have known that he wouldn't be the only one' she thought.
"Okay, thank you," Masaomi watched Erica on the phone looking busy. Ukyo and Hannah wwre also hard at work. All he himself seemed to be doing was sitting around watching, occasionally being asked a question about hospitals and offering up an opinion.
"Good news! The Mayor of Almara agreed to a meeting with our proposal for the hospital!" Erica said extra enthusiastic. "Especially if we have Princess Ema and you Master Masaomi there in attendance!"
"Me, why me?" Masaomi asked.
"The idea that one of the long lost princess's brothers is a doctor and probably knows a lot makes him feel that not only will he like our proposal, but he can convince others in his cabinet a little easier!" Erica explained, extra happy.
"Oh, I see," said Masaomi, "I will definitely try my best."
"Good, good," said Erica as her phone went off. As Erica looked down at it, her face seemed to drop a little.
"Do you uh, need me for anything else?" she asked Hannah and Ukyo.
"No, I think we can do most of this on our own for now," said Ukyo.
"Was that Mr. Holmes?" Hannah asked.
"Yeah, I need to talk to him some more about his project. It's still not looking good," said Erica sheepishly as she opened the door. As she did, everyone noticed Alex walking past. He pasued when he heard the door and looked in on the group.
"Oh, what do we have here? Working on Princess Ema's little hospital project?" he asked snarky.
"Alex, please, we're really busy," said Erica sternly.
"You know, it seems kind of interesting to have this princess working to make a hospital when her mother got one destroyed!" Alex snapped suddenly.
"What?" both Ukyo and Masaomi asked confused.
"Alex, don't say something like that!" Erica ordered mad.
"Alex please! That wasn't Princess Yolanda's fault!" Hannah added in a panic.
Alex took a deep breath, "it probably wouldn't have happen had she not been there that day! Do you think they would have targeted a hospital like that unless she was there?" he asked before walking off.
Both Erica and Hannah looked out the door with anger and worry.
"What was that about Princess Yolanda causing a hospital to blow up?" Masaomi asked.
"She was, Ema's birth mother right?" Ukyo asked, "the king's daughter?"
"You mean you don't know?" Erica asked.
"Erica please! It's not something to gossip about!" said Hannah.
"Please we'd like to know, especially if it involves Ema herself," said Masaomi.
"Well, did you hear why Princess Yolanda supposedly fled Elence to Japan with her lover?" Hannah asked.
"Some sort of attack, happened, right?" Masaomi asked.
"An attack at a hospital Princess Yolanda happened to be visiting," said Erica, "a lot of people died, including a lot of children."
Both Ukyo and Masaomi gasped at that newest information.
"And if that wasn't bad enough, Alex's brother happened to be admitted to the hospital with a broken leg and his mother was also there to check on him when the explosion happened. They were both killed as a result," said Erica.
"Erica!" Hannah tried to protest.
"Oh wow!" said Masaomi.
"Is that why he hates the royals so much?" Ukyo asked, "he feels it's their fault that his mother and brother were killed?"
"Him and his father. Alex's dad has been one of the biggest anti-royal leaders in the country," said Erica.
Masaomi and Ukyo shared a look.
"I suppose there was bound to be people against the monarch," said Masaomi.
"Have the protectors ever done anything too serious against the royals?" Ukyo asked a little nervous.
"Nah, nothing like some of the attacks poor Princess Yolanda had to endure. But they probably won't give up easily," said Erica.
"Like say having a hospital blow up on her?" said Masaomi. He felt Ukyo leaning over and whispering.
"Do you think maybe that it might be in both Ema and King Stephon's best interest if they dissolved the monarch?"
"I don't know if that's for us to decide," said Masaomi, "but maybe we should have a talk with Ema and King Stephon about Ema's future here."
"This is fun," Wataru said happily as he, Louis and Sophie continued to walk around the palace looking at some of the historic portraits of people all through out Elence's history.
"I'm glad you're liking your history lesson, Wataru," Sophie said with delight. "Maybe tomorrow I can take you through the museum part of the palace so you can learn more."
"Oh, I heard they had a scray dungeon in there!" said Wataru.
"Yes, a lot of people like to visit that place," said Sophie, "even when they add up the terror part. Last year they had a big ghost that fell from the ceiling. Scared me so much when I first saw it!"
"Oh don't worry, I'd protect you," Wataru assured her, taking her hand.
"Your little brother sure seems to like Lady Sofia a lot. Also reminds me of a wolf," Hailey said to Louis.
"A wolf you say?" asked Louis, patting her head. "I wouldn't go that far dear sweet Hailey."
As he was saying that, he happened to notice a black and white photo of man Louis had come to regonized as King Stephon's own father King Albert shaking hands with another man who looked a little familiar.
"Who is that man with the king in this picture?" he foubd himself asking out loud.
"What did you say Louis?" Sophie asked as she and Wataru came to the picture as well.
"King Albert! I know that! King Stephon's father!" Wataru said quickly.
"Thank Wataru," Louis said kindly patting his head, "I was actually more curious as to he was in the picture with.
"Oh that's," Wataru started to say, only to pause when he took a better look at the photo, "uh, I don't know." He quickly flipped through his book to look. "I can't seem to find him."
"Well that's because he's not an Elenceon, he was an American," Sophie explained.
"Now I think I know who that is," said Louis, "wasn't he a type of civil rights leader or something?"
"Civil rights?" Wataru asked.
"You're correct Louis," said Sophie, "that's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was a well known civil rights leader in America."
"What's civil rights mean?" Wataru asked.
"That basically you shouldn't be denied something based solely on the color of your skin, or what religion you might practice. Things like that. And sadly there was a time when some people in America were treated like that only because they might be different colored skin and Dr. King didn't think that was right. So he led some protests to try and make it stop," Sophie told him.
"Oh," Wataru said, sounding a little upset about the notion.
"Dr. King actually became well known for his work that even King Albert took notice. He was so impressed that when Dr. King was taking a tour of India, he invited him to visit Elence," Sophie continued to explain.
"Wow, he must have been a great man to get such an invite from the king like that," said Louis.
"King Albert was both impressed and inspired with Dr. King's work that he used him as an example to change a lot of things in Elence so it could be a better place where most people could feel of equal worth. He was technically the one that made it so someone like our current Prime Minister, Mrs. Cook could run for such a position," Sophie finally finished.
"Wow, both brothers said a little impressed.
"Is King Stephon a lot like his dad?" Wataru asked.
"I'd like to think so," Sophie said, "a lot of people have said he's carried on his father's legacy quite nicely."
"Wow, I bet he's really loved for it too!" said Wataru.
"By most, I suppose," said Sophie. Wataru smiled with pride by Sophie's answer, however Louis noticed she didn't looked too convinced by her own answer.
"So, what's next Wataru?" Sophie quickly asked.
"Uh, let's see, is there one down here?" Wataru asked as he dashed off down the hallway.
"I take it not all appreciate the king and the royal family?" Louis asked Sophie as they followed Wataru together.
"Oh there's always nay-sayers and anti-royals any real place you go where there's a monarch," said Sophie, "although I must say that it has increased a lot here in Elence over the years."
"Because of Robert?" Louis asked.
"He's probably the main cause. It's been building up since this poor hospital blew up while Princess Yolanda was visiting it. A lot of children died in it. And since it was concluded to be an assassination attempt on Princess Yolanda, most likey orchestrated by Robert, many people started to think that the royal family was just unneeded if they were going to cause such chaos even in modern times," Sophie explained sadly.
"Oh," said Louis. He looked at Hailey who nodded her head in agreement. He couldn't help but think about his own parents who were probably killed because of drama from the royal family. Would it had been better if there was no monarch? Would his parents still be alive if there was one?
Just then the two heard a little thump followed by Wataru saying, "oh, sorry."
"Well maybe you should watch where you're going, Young Lord!"
Louis and Sophie hurried down to find Wataru on the ground with Tom next to him gathering some discarded items scattered around the floor. Tom had a very angry scowl on his face. He seemed to soften a little when he noticed Sophie was with Louis.
"Oh, Lady Sofia, hello," he said changing tone.
"Hello," Sophie said calmly as he walked over to Wataru. "Are you alright Wataru?"
"Yeah, I accidentally bumped into him," Wataru said as he stood up.
"Accidentally bumped into me? He practically ramed into me!" Tom muttered.
"I'm sure he didn't mean it," said Louis.
"Of course not my lord," Tom said in an almost mocking tone.
"Why don't we go back to the library and start on your science lesson?" Sophie suggested, "we covered enough of history for today."
"Okay sure," said Wataru eagerly taking Sophie's hand.
"Should we go follow them to make sure your brother doesn't make a move Lady Sofia?" Hailey asked.
"Well, maybe we should take precautions," Louis said as a joke, "Lady Sofia does seem to have a certain way of drawing people towards her. Almost on pare with Chi."
"Are you feeling sweet on Lady Sofia sir?" Tom suddenly asked.
"Well, I did just meet her today, so it's hard to say," said Louis as he tried to walk around him.
"Huh, how ironic," said Tom a little smug.
"I beg your pardon?" Louis asked without turning to look towards the man.
"Don't antagonize him!" Hailey worned, getting a little tense.
"Don't you know anything my lord?" Tom asked, still cocky, "about Lady Sofia's real father?"
At that Hailey started to hiss in his direction.
"What's he talking about Hailey?" Louis asked.
"Nothing! He's just trying to get under your skin!" Hailey insited, in between hisses.
"Oh there's always been a long standing rumour among the palace that the man married to Lady Sofia's mother isn't her father," Tom explained, "her real father has always been rumoured to be none other than Henry, Lord Robert's right hand man."
"Henry?" Louis said out loud.
And of course you know all about Henry," Tom continued to taunt. "How he was and always has been the number one suspect in your parents' murder?"
Louis felt like all his energy had suddenly drained out of him.
"I guess we shouldn't be too upset about you falling for the daughter of the man who has always been under suspicion of killing your mother and father. It means things are being patched up," Tom said as he he bowed and walked up with the items he had been carrying, practically skipping down the hallway.
"Don't listen to him Chay!" Hailey said, still hissing after Tom.
"Is it true? That Henry is Sophie's real father and my parents murder?" Louis asked.
Hailey sighed.
"Yes, there's a lot that points to Henry being behind your parents' death. However, not enough to actually arrest him and the king didn't want to risk a scandal even bigger by accusing him of something without 100% proof," she admitted.
Louis had to fight all his urges to break out in tears.
"And Sophie?" he asked.
"It's a little worse than you think," Hailey said, "it's said that Henry actually raped Lady Sofia's mother and that's how he managed to father her."
"He raped her mother?" Louis said in alarm. He couldn't believe it. This man had done so much evil to so many people? How could he continue to live among his so called royal family if things like this were allowed to happen? Or how could he feel comfortable with Ema living among them?