DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN BROTHERS CONFLICT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM
Natasha back away and closer to the pregnant mare, patting her neck.
"Tsk, oh Natasha, it's so sad seeing you look so sad, and over a boy," Robert said as he too walked over to the horse and patted her neck, "though I guess it's not surprising seeing as how dreamy they look. My own fiancee seems to be smitten with one."
Natasha looked closer towards the door and notice Bea waa among the usual group of Robert's goones looking annoyed.
Robert walked around to Natasha's side of the horse, and instead patted her head, strumming his fingers through her red hair.
"And you're such a pretty girl. Why can't a stuck up boy like him see that?" he asked.
"Did you need something sir?" Natasha asked timidly
"Rumor has it Richard and my uncle may have been made aware that I have some loyal servants here in the palace and that they don't like that those loyalists. They don't like how they operate. You wouldn't happen to know how they found that out, would you?" Robert asked.
Natasha shifted her eyes over to Bea for a breif second and could see she too looked worried. She then replied, "no sir, I wouldn't."
"Really?" Robert asked, "nothing at all?" He moved closer to the horse and her pregnant belly. He slapped it rather hard.
"Please be careful sir, she's pregnant," Natasha tried to warn.
"Hmm, is she?" Robert asked, smacking her belly again. This cause the mare to neigh a little.
"And I bet the baby will be young ripe and full of energy when its born? Much like that sweet little boy currently visiting the palace, right?"
Natasha didn't reply as she watched Robert's hand on the mare's belly.
"He's so sweet," Robert started to say, only to suddenly get a darker and scarier face aa he said in a much louder and menacing voice, "I dispise him so much!" His voice cause the mare to neigh even louder than before, making Bea and a few goones also look nervous.
"It's not fair! Uncle never gave me the kind of attention when I was that pest's age! If anything he'd tried to push me away anytime I tried to play with him! And now he's racing and joking with that little twerp from another country like he's his grandson or something!"
"Robert, calm down! You're getting jealous over a little boy!" Bea quickly said.
"Shut up! Take her out!" Robert ordered. One of his men pushed Bea out while another walked over and grabbed Natasha by her arm and hair, making her look right at Robert. Robert grabbed her by her cheeks.
"Now listen to me and listen to me good! I have a special assignment for you! I want to go back out there and actually make sure that boy is hurt and I mean hurt-hurt! Hospital hurt! Could be a good patient for his sister's new hospital!" Robert ordered.
"You want me to hurt Wataru?" Natasha asked.
"Very much so!" Robert said, "even if it doesn't help keep my claim to the king's heir, I want to see that boy hurt! It's not fair he gets the kind of attention Uncle never gave me!"
"I, I don't know if I can!" Natasha tried to explain, "you see...,"
"Don't contradict me!" Robert snapped, "I do not tolerate unreliable servants! Besides, I'll make it worth your while."
"My while?" Natasha repeated.
"I can make it that you can have that brother you like, all to yourself," said Robert.
"You mean Azusa?" Natasha asked.
"Is that his name? Oh yeah, that one with the Australian sounding name. If he's the one you want, I will secure him for you, one way or another. But first, you have to hurt his little brother!" Robert told her.
Natasha looked conflicted at the idea.
"I, still don't know if I can," she said.
"Don't be so quick to deny a future king! If you don't hurt the boy, I can see to it that you not only lose his brother, but send you into the hospital with the boy by someone who really is loyal to me! Does that make sense?" Robert asked.
Natasha lowered her eyes. She looked towards the horse who was looking back at her. The look on the mare face was almost a guilt look as if telling Natasha not to do it.
"I'll, I'll try, I guess," she finally said softly.
"Good, now get to it," Robert ordered.
"Right now?!" Natasha asked scared.
"No time like the present," Robert said as his man pushed Natasha towards the door, "and don't worry about the mare. She'll be just fine, her and her baby."
'Oh god no!' Natasha thought as she walked out of the stall. She passed a few more men, along with Bea.
"What did he say to you?" Bea tried to ask, "Natasha what did he say to you to do?"
"Be quiet!" one of her capters ordered.
"You be quiet!" Bea shouted as she managed to kick his knee, making the man let go. Bea quickly followed after Natasha.
"You don't have to do this! Whatever he told and or promised you is just going to backlash at this point!" Bea tried to warn.
"I have a feeling you're right, but at the moment, the only thing I care about is keeping that mare and her colt safe," Natasha replied softly as she walked out of the barn and further out to the pastures.
There she saw Rose now with Wataru, teaching him something new. Subaru was standing outside the gated pasture, watching.
"Okay, so you're trying to protect a horse by evil means, what are you going to do?" Bea asked from the barn entrance.
"I don't know," Natasha admitted weakly. Not too long ago, she'd had just walked over and shove Wataru off the horse without hesitation. Why did it suddenly not feel right?
"Come on, I want to go check out the dungeon again. Or see what else this place has to offer!" Tsubaki pleaded to his twin.
"Why do I have the feeling you're just looking for Lady Beatrice?" Azusa asked annoyed as he let Tsubaki pull him along. "You do remember what the king said, right?"
"Oh come on, I won't do anything. There's still a lot of this place we haven't seen or explored," said Tsubaki as he and Azusa came outside.
Azusa groaned, "if it was still an option, the king would probably throw you in the tower." Then he noticed two men standing outside the barn and recognized as men who worked for Robert. He sighed in frustration.
"I think she's in the royal stables," he mustered up.
Tsubaki looked that way.
"Hmm, maybe you're right," he said as he turned his direction towards there.
As he and Azusa came closer, one of the men walked out to them.
"And what are you two up to?" he asked.
"Just hoping for a quick ride before dinner," Tsubaki said as he tried walking past. The men however stopped him.
"Master Robert doesn't want to be bothered while he's riding with his fiancee."
"Well too bad for Robert that he isn't the one in charge here, the king is and the king said we have full access to everything on the palace grounds," Tsubaki said as he pushed past along with Azusa.
"Hey wait a minute!" the two men shouted as they walked after them.
"What's going on here?" Robert asked as he walked past and then noticed the twins.
"Oh you," he muttered. He walked over to Azusa and smiled at him.
"So Azusa, how are things?"
"Good, Azusa replied feeling a little uneasy.
"Meet anyone interesting yet? Any girls?" Robert asked.
"A few, I guess," said Azusa.
"Hoe about that red haired girl, Natasha who works here in the barn?" Robert asked as he put his arm around Azusa's shoulder and led him further into the barn.
Tsubaki did his best to keep up with the two of, despite Robert's men's attempts to keep him back.
"She's nice," Azusa admitted.
"And cute?" Robert asked.
"Sure," Azusa also admitted a little confused.
"Think you'd ever want to date her?" Robert asked.
"Why?" Azusa asked.
"A friend of mine told me, he saw the two of you together and you both looked so cute together. And damn it man, you should have a nice night out while you're in my kingdom. I insist. I'll even set up the date for you!" Robert said, smacking Azusa on his back.
"Okay what are you up to?" Azusa asked.
"What do you mean?" Robert asked.
"You hate me and my family. Why are you doing something nice to me?" Azusa asked. Robert started to look impatient.
"Can't a guy change his mind and do something nice for a guest?!" he asked, extremely loud, making all the horses neigh in fright.
Natasha and Be looked back at the sound of the horses making all the noise, and could see Azusa, Robert and Tsubaki.
"Azusa?" Natasha said out loud.
"Do you like him?" Bea asked looking at her. Natasha didn't answer. Instead she looked back and forth between Azusa and Wataru. She was starting to fight tears in her eyes as she finally rushed out of the barn and towards the pastures.
"Natasha?" Bea called out.
Her call made Azusa, Tsubaki and Robert look her way.
"Is everything okay over there Lady Beatrice?" Azusa asked a little concerned.
"I'm sure everythingis quite alright," said Robert, getting smug again, "right Beatrice?"
"I don't know! I don't know what's going on!" said Beatrice frustrated.
"See, just a few kicks and you're going along smoothly," Rose said as she instructed the little boy.
"This is fun!" Wataru said happily, "I love Wind Storm so much!"
"He likes you too," said Rose.
Subaru watched with a small smile on his face at how kind and gentle Rose was being with his brother. So much of her reminded him of Ema, but with a more confident attitude. Could she maybe be a better match for him than Ema? What would it mean if she was?
He was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of a gate opening and saw Natasha running into the feild towards Rose and Wataru.
"What are you doing?" Subaru called out to her.
Rose and Wataru looked at her at the sound of Subaru's shouts.
"There you are. Where did you go?" Rose tried to scold her.
Natasha ignired her and tried to pull Wataru off his horse.
"Hey let go!" Wataru called.
"Let go of him! You'll hurt him!" Rose also shouted as she tried to pull Natasha away.
"Get off him! Subaru shouted as well as he jumped the fence and tried to run to his brother's aid.
"What is she doing?" Bea asked as she watched the scuffle.
"What's going on?" Tsubaki asked as he ran towarss Bea.
"Hey, keep your distance from my fiancee!" Robert warned as he and Azusa followed. They all came to the entrance and saw the scuffle going on out in the pasture.
"What is she doing to Wataru?" Tsubaki asked.
"Oh, dear, somebody should go and stop her," said Robert motioning to his hired help. One man hurried past and into the pasture.
"Natasha, stop! Whatever you're doing stop!" Rose ordered as she and Subaru both tried to pull her away.
"You heard her she said stop!"
Rose, Subaru and Natasha looked over and saw a new man running to them.
"Oh no!" Natasha moaned. "Please get down Master Wataru!" It was then she pulled Wataru down right in her arms.
"What?" Wataru asked confused.
"You, don't want to get too dirty before dinner," Natasha tried to say.
"What are talking about?" Rose asked.
"Yeah, Natasha," The new man said joining the group, "what are you talking about? Surly there's no harm with the young man enjoying his time with his horse for a little while longer."
He looked like he was going to pat Wataru's shoulder, but instead grabbed it and pushed him back while slapping Wind Storm's back, making the horse rear up, right above Wataru!.
"No!" Natasha shouted as she jumped on the boy right as Wind Storm came down, one of his hooves land on Natasha's leg. She screamed in pain.
"Oh my god!" Azusa shouted as he and the others all watched everything unfold. Both he and Tsubaki raced out to the feild.
Rose was quick to grab Wind Storm's reins and pull him back. "Whoa, boy! Whoa!" she said trying to calm him down.
Natasha's face was in pain as she looked towards Wataru and asked, "are you okay?"
"Yeah," Wataru said sounding scared.
"Good," Natasha said as she tried to move off the boy, only to make a pain face again.
" "Are you okay?" Subaru asked as he gently helped Natasha roll off Wataru and off to the side.
"My leg," Natasha admitted rubbing it..
Subaru was about to feel it when his other brothers approached. Azusa quickly knelt down next to Natasha.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"My leg," Natasha moaned.
"It might be broken," Rose said timidly.
"Come on," Tsubaki said as he helped put one of Natasha's arms around his neck, "let's get her to a medic."
"Easy, you'll be okay," Azusa promised as he copied his brother's actions.
He and Natasha shared a look as she nodded.
"Why were you trying to get Wataru down anyway?" Tsubaki asked.
"She didn't want him to get dirty before dinner," Rose answered. Natasha and her two helpers looked at her, "it'd be quite a hassel to get him cleaned up before the meal."
"Yes, exactly," Subaru confirmed. They both nodded at Natasha who returned the nod.
"Good to be looking out for him," Azusa added as he and Tsubaki kept helping her towards the gate.
"Jesus! Natasha, are you okay?!" Bea asked as they walked past her and Robert.
"We'll find out when we get her medical attention," said Azusa.
"I suppose you did good protecting the little boy, hmm?" Robert asked.
"Just impulse really," Natasha said sheepishly.
"Sure, that's it," said Robert, still shooting her a warning look.
"Don't worry you'll be okay," Azusa assured her.
"Gentlemen Alonzo's a wonderful place to shop," Heather was saying as she and Hikaru looked over a few webpages about where to go shopping.
"Looks tempting, but I want a place we can both shop," said Hikaru.
"Hikaru my dear, we've already done a lot of those. I want to see you ina suit!" said Heather.
Hikaru smirked at her comment.
"Oh very well," he said, "let's go get me a suit. But I get to also get you a dress."
Deal," Heather agreed as the two headed out.
They were just about to round a corner when they ran into Markus again.
"Oh, I thought you two were going shopping," he said.
"We were doing aome online shopping first," said Heather.
"Well lucky you, I was just about to go back to the storage dress room to look for another outfit, care to join me?" Markus asked.
"For real?" Hikaru said with delight.
"Of course, you can help me find a suit for your brother Louis. I figured I could find an old one of his father's," said Markus.
"Oh yes, Louis' real father," said Hikaru, "such a tragedy what happened to him and his mother."
"How was he as a boy?" Marksu asked.
"Shy, quiet, but really sweet," said Hikaru.
"That actually sounds a little like him from what I recall for the small time I knew him as a child," said Markus.
"Hmm, Louis always was a sweet boy. In a different way from most of us. I wonder if he got that trait from his real mother," said Hikaru. "I still remember the first day mother brought him home. He didn't speak much Japanese then, mostly French. But I do remember him asking something very interesting. He asked if our home was a new palace. I think we always assumed he was asking if it was a palace, not a a new one. Maybe he did think he was coming to a new palace after being among so many when he was born."
Markus looked like he was pondering what Hikaru told him. "That could be it."
Soon the trio arraived back at the dress storage room, and his maid unlocked the door.
"So what are we looking for this time?" Hikaru asked.
"Look for a clothing bag that reads Sir Walter Kendall-Dubois," Markus instructed.
"Sir Walter Kendall-Dubois," Hikaru said to himself as he thumb through the clothes. He pasued when he saw a beautiful sky-blue dress. "Oh, I can only imagine the lucky woman who got to wear that!" He managed to pash himself away and instead kept looking, until he cam upon a dress suit that read Kenji Nagami.
"Did suite belong to Ema's father?" Hikaru asked as he pulled it out.
"Yes and no," said Markus, "that was to be the wedding tux he would have worn at the royal wedding for him and Yolanda."
"Oh my," said Hikaru, "is her mother's wedding gown here too?"
"They didn't finish it since she and Kenji disappeared before he even officially proposed," said Markus.
"So this suit was just in anticipation?" Hikaru asked.
"Sometimes you have to plan aheaf when your royalty," said Markus.
Hikaru was a little disturbed by that comment.
"Are they making such plans in regards to Ema and Louis?" he asked.
"No, the king's trying to take it slow with them," said Markus, "but if things get more serious with them, there could be some."
"Hmm," Hikaru muttered right as he noticed a suit bag with the name he had been looking for.
"Found one," he called out as he pulled it out.
Markus unzipped the bag, getting a huge satisfied grin. "This is perfect! Not only is this a suit worn by Walter, but this particular suit was also once worn by Walter's father! So Louis will be able to wear a suit worn by both his father and grandfather!"
"Oh, how wonderful!" Hikaru exclaimed with delight.
"You sure do have an eye for fashion, Master Hikaru, "you found Ema's dress and now Louis' suit," Markus said.
"Well thank you, Hikaru said as he looked one last time back into the room, with all the gorgeous dresses. He let out a sigh.
'Why is Ema the only princess in the family?' he thought. He was suddenly embraced by Heather.
"Come on, we should really get going on that shopping," she said.
"Good idea," Hikaru said. Suddenly everyone heard a door opening and saw Futo and Ami walking out, their clothes and hair a little messed up, and sweaty, but with huge grins on their faces.
"And what have you two been up to?" Hikaru asked.
"Singing practice," was all Futo would reply as he walked past.
"Must have been an intense lesson," said Heather.
"Futo is a strickt teacher," said Hikaru.
"Good job you two," King Stephon praised Ema and Louis as all three left the ball room.
"Thank you Grandfather," said Ema.
"I feel a little better about the ball," said Louis.
"Good, it is supposed to be fun after all," said Stephon.
Ema took a deep breath of happiness as she walked looking a little more confident.
Suddenly another guard ran up to king, stopping just in front of him.
"Everything alright?" Richard asked as he came and stood in front of the king.
"We have unexpected important guest at the gate sire," said the guard.
"Who?" Stephon asked, "the Prime minister?"
"No sir, King Dimitri of Poulon, and his grandson Prince Zane," said the guard.
"Dimitri's here?" Stephon said in shock, "what brings him by?"
"According to his aid, he was askrd here on the most urgent request," said the guard, "him and the prince."
Stephon looked at Richard and then at Ema and Louis.
"Go ahead you, two, I'll see you at dinner," Stephon said.
"Shouldn't we meet him too, Grandfather?" Ema asked.
"Not just yet, let me see what brought him here," said Stephon as he ushered the two away. Then he looked back at Richard.
"Urgent request, and he brought his grandson?" Stephon muttered , "this smells of Robert and it's disgusting as usual!"