The Nightingale

Chapter 22: Roses and Sugar

— Where is your loyalty, Captain Ulquiorra? — Prince Ichigo had asked Ulquiorra that question as soon as the Captain entered the room. The prince had summoned him that autumn afternoon in the private rooms of the Second Prince.

The answer to that question should be easy and simple: his loyalty was with the kingdom, but from the way the Second Prince had asked that question, Ulquiorra knew that to say that answer was not going to be easy. The prince was 7 years younger than him but the aura emanating from the prince felt hostile and dangerous, even if the prince was only standing in front of him.

What did the Second Prince expect him to tell him? Was it a way for the prince to ask him to swear his loyalty to him? That made no sense, the prince would become the Commander-in-Chief of the kingdom, all the soldiers would follow his orders and will, but he still felt that the answer to that question was not something that was easy to say.

— My loyalty is to the kingdom. — He said without looking up, because that was the answer that should be given, although he sensed that it was not the answer that the prince was waiting for.

— To the kingdom. Will you do what the kingdom needs no matter who gives the order? — The prince asked and Ulquiorra knew that this conversation was getting dangerous.

— Your Highness, I'm not understanding. My loyalty is to the kingdom, my sword is in the service of the Royal Family. — He said that without taking his eyes off the floor, looking up would be disrespectful at that moment.

— The Royal Family is very big, you are telling me that if someone from the Royal Family ordered you to kill me, would you do it? — Ulquiorra looked up to see the prince's expression at that moment, the prince's gaze was serious, powerful. Intriguing.

— No, your highness. I couldn't do that. — He said looking down again.

— So your loyalty is not with the Royal Family. — The prince spoke, and Ulquiorra was every moment more certain of what the prince wanted. His loyalty was to the kingdom, to the king, but if he couldn't answer that question then… With whom was his loyalty? Ulquiorra hesitated and the prince spoke again. — I need your loyalty to be with me. I need that if I order you to kill someone, you do it without hesitation. I need that when I ask you, with whom is your loyalty, you don't hesitate to answer with the truth.

— Your highness, I… — Ulquiorra didn't know what to answer. The prince had said "kill someone" and that generated a mistrust that made his skin crawl.

There was a rumor, one that said that the Second Prince was not happy because his older brother had been named the heir, it was a rumor among the soldiers but no one repeated it out loud; rumors were dangerous if not handled well. Did the Second Prince want to kill the Crown Prince? The very idea of this was too alarming because it meant that he wanted to revive the old traditions.

Also, who is the man who was appointed as Second Prince? Prince Ichigo had been out of the kingdom for so many years that it didn't matter if he returned or not; all the soldiers had trained and sweated with Kaien, they all followed Kaien's orders even before he was declared the heir to the crown and now that strange man said that he wanted loyalty from him. He was just ridiculous, loyalty was earned, not demanded.

The prince invited him to sit down and served him a glass with a strange liquor, it was almost transparent but it was golden, like honey or liquid gold. Ulquiorra didn't take the glass.

— A liquor brought from beyond the Sunset Sea. If I wanted to poison you, I wouldn't do it with such an expensive liquor; besides, my mother would not be happy if I hurt her protégés.

How dare he say that? Ulquiorra felt the anger boil inside his veins but he said nothing, his duty was to respect him because the man in front of him was one of the princes, but he also knew that they were alone and, if he wanted, he could slice the Second Prince's neck if the conversation turned more hostile than it already was.

Ulquiorra took the glass and drank the liquor, the prince did the same and a silence settled between them until the prince spoke again explaining the reason for his call.

— I need a loyal man, I need a man who can do what I ask without question and you, as far as I've been told, are the best at what you do. I can't say that we grew up together in the castle, but I've undoubtedly known you for as long as I can remember.

— Your Highness... whatever you ask, I will do it. — It was the only thing he could say; just earlier he had ensured that his loyalty was to the Royal Family. The prince had set him up without even noticing; Ulquiorra cursed the prince for it.

I hope the Shadow kills him.

— Very well. I know that you have grown up in the castle and that you know the traditions of the princes, at this point I feel obliged to follow those traditions for the greater good; I'm obliged to take an Inamorata and someone has told me that the girl I have chosen has a link with you. — Ulquiorra thought for a moment that the prince had chosen Nelliel. — Her name is Orihime, do you know her?

Orihime!

Orihime was in the castle and he didn't know, why hadn't Nelliel told him? His sister knew perfectly well that he was interested in Orihime; his sister knew perfectly well that he had gone to Eikaran to speak with Orihime's brother but the Lord of Eikaran had not accepted the proposal because he was only a soldier. Why did the Deities have to be doing that to him?

Ulquiorra felt his heart pounding, the prince had chosen Orihime as his lover and that meant that... he didn't even want to finish thinking that sentence because he didn't want to imagine Orihime's expression when the prince sent the gift.

— Your Highness… — Ulquiorra began to speak, putting aside the glass with the liquor still almost intact, the anger that he felt towards the prince became plea; he should try to plead for her, should prevent her from suffering the same as her mother. — Don't choose her, Orihime is too fragile to bear being someone's Inamorata. Your Highness, if you choose Orihime, you will make her miserable.

— So, you do know her. — Ulquiorra stared at the prince with wide eyes, completely forgetting to lower his gaze and noticing the sly smile that the prince gave him. For a moment he thought that Prince Ichigo looked like Prince Kaien when he wanted something. — I have a proposal for you, which I'm sure you will like.

A proposal, the prince had told him, but when he heard it the first thing he felt was revulsion; the prince was talking about Orihime as if she were an object, and stood up pointing his sword at the prince unceremoniously. The prince just looked at him, sitting in his place without moving a single muscle, without trying to defend himself; they both knew that if the prince moved, then his royal blood would be shed. The Second Prince smiled, further confusing Ulquiorra.

— Now I know where your loyalty is. Put down your sword, I will not sleep with her, I know you are in love with her, Councilor Kyoraku told me about that, and I really don't want to ruin the lives of the Ladies of the Queen's Court — Ulquiorra lowered his sword but did not sit down, he stood in front of the prince without understanding what was happening.

The prince explained to Ulquiorra what was happening and what he intended to do when King Isshin died. Orihime would be the prince's lover only in appearance.

— You don't have to sleep with her if you consider that an insult, I only offer you to take my place so that you can talk with her when I'm supposed to visit her; I have things to do, but you must be the chamberlain of her door. What happens between you and Orihime, it's none of my business but you must be careful not to be discovered or this will all end very badly. In the words of Kyoraku, "it is better that I choose her as Inamorata, and not that Kaien choose her"; we don't want another Miyako in the castle. — The prince looked at him a moment longer and Ulquiorra wondered how the prince could have known about Miyako. — And while it passes, think carefully about where your loyalty is.

—

Where was his loyalty in those moments?

Again Ulquiorra asked himself that question while Orihime was asleep on his chest, hugging him and with a peace on her face that was enviable. There was no better way to spend the Day of the Roses than with the woman he loved, whom he was going to marry because Ichigo and Kyoraku had promised him that way.

His loyalty was to Orihime and, until the moment they were married, he would decide whether to give his sword to Ichigo or not.

The archery competition was free, anyone who wanted to participate and knew how to use a bow and arrow could register; there were many men interested in competing and several women who were part of the archers of the kingdom; the prize would be a large amount of coins and the Crown of Roses and Sugar.

— Your Majesty, would you do us the honor of competing with us? — One of the organizers of the event asked the king but he just shook his head.

— It would look bad if I won the event and had to give myself the award; but my sons are vigorous young men, they are accompanied by beautiful young ladies and I'm sure they will be a better opponent for all of you because they are motivated. — Said the king laughing a little; he was in a good mood, and that was a good thing, although the king rarely showed a bad face in public.

— As your majesty wishes. — Said the organizer of the event bowing to the king and queen.

The spectators of the event were excited; the rumor that the previous year Prince Ichigo had defeated Prince Kaien in a sword fight had spread like wildfire, as well as what happened in the siege on Verasi and, seeing the two face off, this time in archery, was something everyone was waiting for. It was as if they wanted to see with their own eyes which of the two princes was better.

Nelliel watched Kaien rise from his seat and begin to remove his jacket, fully prepared to go down to the shooting range to compete in the event, and take one of her hands to kiss her.

— I promise, I will bring you that crown, my dear. — Kaien promised and Nelliel nodded taking Kaien's jacket to take care of it as he headed down the stairs. Nelliel had waited so long for the attentions Kaien was giving her that she would have no qualms about enjoying it.

— Miss Kuchiki, just say it and that crown will be yours. — Nelliel heard how Ichigo spoke to Rukia and turned to see them; Ichigo held one of Rukia's hands in a farewell gesture.

— Your Highness, that crown was obviously made for me. — The natural way in which Rukia spoke made Nelliel jealous; Nelliel couldn't speak to Kaien like that in public.

— Then that crown will be for you, Miss Kuchiki. — Ichigo kissed Rukia's hand before heading down the same path that Kaien had taken. Rukia had Ichigo's jacket in her hands.

Both princes looked so informal that they could pass for the sons of any important lord if no one knew about them.

The competition would be long, there were so many people competing that Nelliel took Kaien's jacket and put it over her lap before shifting her seat to be close to Rukia; the new Queen's Favorite seemed to be watching what was happening at the shooting range with Ichigo's jacket in her hands.

— I thought you didn't want to be the Inamorata of any of the princes. — Nelliel said attracting Rukia's attention who seemed puzzled, as if she hadn't expected her to speak to her.

— I'm not an Inamorata. — Rukia calmly answered and turned her gaze to the shooting range where the contestants were shooting arrows to begin qualifying.

— But you are here, accompanying Prince Ichigo, occupying the place where your friend Orihime should be. — Nelliel thought that would make Rukia angry but it didn't happen, nor did it make Rukia turn to look at her.

— I suppose that you, as Prince Kaien's Inamorata, assumed that Prince Ichigo's Inamorata would also come. — Rukia seemed so calm as she spoke, that Nelliel thought for a moment that the queen had spoken.

— I'm not the Inamorata of Prince Kaien. — Nelliel was annoyed but quickly calmed down, the queen could see and hear them.

— Just as I'm not the Inamorata of Prince Ichigo. Now that we've cleared this, I think it's the princes' turn to shoot their arrows.

Nelliel looked at the shooting range, but what Rukia had said was a polite way to end the conversation that was getting awkward; Nelliel returned to her seat and placed Kaien's jacket on her shoulders, the afternoon was beginning to fall.

Every time the princes passed by to make their shot, the people fell silent; both princes were passing at the same time so the spectators held their breath at that moment. Gambling on this type of event was common and up to that point many people had bet on both princes.

In one of the breaks in the event, when only the ten finalists remained, the organizers gave the last warning to place bets; one of the king's servants approached him to ask if he wanted to bet in favor of any of his sons.

— Yes of course! — Said the king with joy, he had drunk some wine and was too "happy" at that moment. — 5,000 coins and a goat in favor of Prince Kaien.

— Are you not going to bet in favor of your other son? — The queen asked somewhat annoyed. She had also drunk some wine but not as much as the king, she had to be an example for the princesses who were with them.

— I have bet the donations for the orphans in favor of Kaien, I have no more money, Masaki my love. — The king excused himself by trying to give the queen a kiss, but the queen put a sandwich in his mouth for him to eat.

— 6,000 coins and two goats in favor of Prince Ichigo. — Said the queen making the king choke on what he was eating; the queen smiled and patted him on the back to "help" him move the bite down his throat.

— I don't think that Kyoraku will be happy with that bet, Masaki. — The king complained looking at his smiling queen.

— Councilor Kyoraku bet his one-year salary that Prince Ichigo would win the archery event. — The servant added making the king and queen turn to see where Kyoraku was, the councilor looked very animated with many young ladies around him.

Masaki just rubbed the bridge of her nose taking a deep breath. The princesses wanted to bet in favor of Ichigo but the king did not allow it, he said they were too young to make bets, but Rukia did bet in favor of Ichigo.

Rukia took off her shoes and Nelliel saw how beautiful they were; they were the same color as her dress and had small stones that sparkled in the sunlight. Those shoes seemed to be quite expensive, the gems in them made their value greater than that of any shoe, where did Rukia get such shoes?

The queen's expression was one of astonishment, Nelliel thought for a moment that the queen would scold Rukia for taking her shoes off but it wasn't; the queen nodded making the servant accept Rukia's bet.

— I'm so sure that Prince Ichigo is going to win, that I'll let you bet your shoes. — The queen told Rukia.

This seemed unheard of to Nelliel, but what surprised her was that the princesses came downstairs and sat down with Rukia to talk. Nelliel didn't know if what she was feeling was anger or jealousy, but Rukia was definitely getting on her blacklist.

— Triple shot! Whoever makes this shot successfully wins! — The event organizer yelled causing everyone to scream with excitement.

The triple shot was something difficult to achieve, it was a shot that only master archers managed to do but it was not good for war, it was wasted a lot of time in arranging the arrows and it was never safe to hit the moving target.

Everyone knew that the one who got closest to the center of the target with their shots would win, so the one who missed the least was going to win the prize. The first were the lucky citizens, who had made it to the final, none of them managed to hit the target; then it was the turn of the kingdom's soldiers and they did manage to hit the targets but far from the center. The archers showed off why they were in the army of the kingdom, all of them managed to hit the target very close to the center; and in the end, the princes.

— This time you will say that you don't know how to shoot with a bow? — Kaien asked looking at Ichigo who was checking his arrows. He still remembered that phrase when they fought the first time.

— No, this time I'll say: "I haven't perfected the triple shot yet". If I go first and hit the center of all the targets, will you have pressure to beat me, big brother? — Ichigo looked at him with a confidence that made him hesitate.

— That's why I'll go first. If I fail, and you hit them well, I'll say "I let my little brother win". — That was what he was going to say, win or lose, he was going to look like a good archer or a good brother.

— Do you intend to fail? — Ichigo asked him with a challenging look. — Because I don't pretend to.

Kaien did not respond, it was his turn to shoot and he took his arrows to make the shot, the targets were already prepared and, for a second that used to be eternal in that type of encounter; there was silence that was only broken by the buzzing of the arrows that were nailed in the targets, two of them hit the target and the third fell in the first circle outside the target.

All the spectators applauded Kaien, Nelliel even got up in a moment of euphoria to see that he had been the best in shooting the arrows. The murmurs of the people fell silent when it was Ichigo's turn to prepare his arrows.

— You have inspired me, big brother. Maybe if I imitate you, my shot will improve. — Ichigo said as he passed Kaien.

For a brief moment he thought about letting Kaien win, his brother's shot was quite good, it would even be quite difficult to improve it, but he did not. The triple shot still wasn't doing well, he just had to trust that his shot couldn't be worse than the other contestants. Again a silence had formed that was only broken by the sound of the arrows hitting the target and, as happened with Kaien, two of his arrows hit the center but the last one stuck on the edge of the central circle.

All the spectators cheered for the precision of the shot and, after the organizers deliberated who had made the best shot, they came to the conclusion that both princes were just as good, but Ichigo's arrow was closer to the center than Kaien's.

Kaien and Ichigo stared, both holding bows and arrows, as if they were waiting for an order to target each other. Neither of them was listening to what the others present were saying, they were looking at each other without blinking, with the inevitability that both would have to shoot each other at some point.

— Your Highness, you must go receive your award. — Said one of the organizers pointing to where the king and queen were sitting. Ichigo nodded and Kaien complimented him with a hug that was meant to look familiar.

— Little brother, nothing fills me with happiness than to see that you have won. — Kaien said trying to make his words heard by those present, after all, they had to keep up appearances.

— It was beginner's luck, big brother. — Ichigo replied with a smile before heading over to where the king was sitting.

Rukia saw that the king was not happy, he had lost a large amount of coins, but she had recovered her shoes and put them on quickly.

One of the servants arrived with a bag full of coins, and another servant arrived with a cushion on which rested a crown made of roses that sparkled in the sunlight, they seemed to be made of glass.

The crown was beautiful, it was made with roses that the queen had donated for the event, and transparent candy that only the master confectioners knew how to make; it was the best kept secret of these men because they managed to make the hot caramel not wither the rose when dipped in caramel. The final appearance of the roses was as if they were made of glass but it was not, it was the candy that covered them completely.

Ichigo came to where his parents were and bowed to them.

— The best archer in the kingdom, my congratulations my son, what will you do with the coins you won? — The king asked, because it was a tradition to donate the proceeds at such events so as not to appear greedy.

— Your Majesty, I wish to distribute the coins among the other eight finalists. — Ichigo said.

— Very well. — The king made a gesture and they handed Ichigo the crown of Roses and Sugar. — The prize for your companion, my son.

Ichigo took the crown of Roses and Sugar and bowed to the king and queen. Rukia was close to him and only took a couple of steps to reach her.

— Miss Kuchiki, a crown of Roses and Sugar made for you. — Rukia bowed to Ichigo and let him place the crown of roses on her.

— How do I look, Your Highness? — Rukia asked with a smile.

— Like a princess.

Love, LunaticR