Morg: Heyo! Got to get better at updating.

Ikuto: You could say that again.

Amu: Or you could just not.

Morg: That's no fun.

Ikuto: What else would she do?

Amu: Whatever it is that she's doing when she's not updating.

Morg: Crocheting.

Ikuto: What?

Amu: Do I want to know?

Morg: I make stuff with yarn. Keeping my fingers busy allows my brain to think better.

Ikuto: Whatever.

Amu: Now I am really glad that you don't own us.

Morg: Why? Do you want lessons?

Ikuto: Nope.

Amu: No.

~Queen's Decree~

"Ladies, gentlemen. I'm not sure I understand why you are not agreeing to my proposal."

One of the older men on the council shuffled in his seat before giving a condescending smile to the queen. "Well, my Lady, it is obvious why we would not be so ready to accept what you have brought before us today."

Not at all allowing for the words of the male before her to make her lose a bit of her nerve, Midori kept her posture perfect. She barely turned her head to acknowledge what was said. "I do not believe that it is. To be completely honest with all of you, today was, what is it called? Oh, yes, a courteous acknowledgment on my behalf."

There were a few outraged gasps at Midori's admittance of this. The queen did not allow them to stop her from doing what she was doing. The members of the court would hear what she had to say whether they agreed or not.

Keeping her form still, Midori continued to stare straight ahead of where she sat. "I understand how my husband did things, but he is gone now. My daughter will be queen when she is of age. Until then, I will rule. Now, if you wish to keep your seats here within the court and advise me when I need advice then I suggest you begin to acknowledge the fact that I am the only one in charge."

When no one responded to her words, Midori fought to keep a smile off her face as she moved to rise from her seat. She had their attention, now she just had to finish what she was there for and be on her way. "Now, I am aware of the fact that I cannot change our laws. I do not wish to do so anyhow. All I ask is that we move forward together with these few decrees that I'll write out so that the kingdom can continue to run while Amu grows."

Turning, Midori made sure to look at all the members of her court. The people there, women and men both, were dressed finely with makeup and hairstyles that left the queen questioning some of the fashion choices of the elite. She and her daughters would never participate in such things. "The decree that I present to you now will ensure Amu's safety. She is not yet of age to have a knight. Her sixteenth birthday is still some months away. Even then, the future queen should not have a knight until she is almost seventeen years old. This leaves her vulnerable."

The pause that the queen made let the people of the court look at each other for a few minutes. It was clear that some of them were uncomfortable with how the queen was dominating the room and the discussion taking place there. If one could call it a discussion.

"The decree that I want to pass would not speed up this process. The age of the future ruler to receive their first knight is a tradition. One that I do not believe our kingdom should abandon. Instead, I propose that we give a few of the most prominent men that are training to become a knight the chance to prove themselves in a new way."

Midori, like the queen that she was, kept her hands clasped innocuously before herself. Her posture would not allow anyone to be aware of the fact that she was nervous whatsoever about speaking to so many people. Those that were rich and had influence in her country could cause war to break out. As much as she needed to remind the people of the court who was in charge, she needed to make sure that they all stayed on her side.

Taking a breath, Midori slowly gestured to a table set up with a few papers on top of it. There was a scribe seated at it. One that was taking notes, but also one that was there to hand her the items that she needed to be aware of. "This proposition of mine is that we appoint a few knights-in-training to guard Amu. We are all aware of one of these such young men. Tsukiyomi Ikuto has made certain to do his absolute best to protect our future queen. Allowing him and some of the others more access to keep an eye on Amu would ensure that these next three years pass with ease. I assure you all, I am most looking forward to the day that she is crowned."

"And are you the one that will choose these young men?"

Midori turned her head to look at a woman that she knew was only interested in the young men that she could get alone. "No, I am not qualified to make this decision. I know very little about the training of the new guards and potential knights. I will leave these to you noble people and those that run the training. We shall decide on a list and proceed from there. Are we in accordance?"

As she knew would happen, Midori was met with no resistance from the men and women of the court.

XXX

"Amu," Ikuto said as he slid into a spot next to her on a bench in the center of the garden. His princess was often sitting in solitude in such a place when there was nothing else required of her.

"Ikuto."

Not daunted by the fact that the princess did not look at him, Ikuto leaned his head back to look up at the sky. "There has been a decree."

Amu had known that her mother was planning to release one soon. She wasn't sure what it was about, but it wasn't something largely factoring in her thoughts lately. "Has there?"

"Yes," Ikuto stated. "The queen has decreed that myself and a few others become your knights-in-training so that we may better protect you."

"What does this change?"

Smirking at that, Ikuto rose from the bench that Amu was still seated on. He barely glanced back at her as he began stalking off toward the trees and bushes that surrounded his princess. Checking the perimeter of the gardens was something he did often. "Not a thing."

Amu waited until Ikuto was out of her sight to smile. It was a small one. There hadn't been much that made her truly happy since her father had died. Only Ami was able to make her feel any sort of joy. But the princess had to admit that there was just something about her protector that made her feel content. Ikuto might have received an official title from her mother, but he wouldn't allow for anything to change the way they were now. Amu was rather thankful for that. She wasn't certain if she could handle any more big changes to her life at the moment.

Sighing once more, Amu rose from the bench to head back to the castle. There was no reason for her to call out to Ikuto. She knew for a fact that he was well aware of what she was doing and where she was going. He was rather good at what he did.

There were servants and others that bowed to her as she moved through the halls. Amu acknowledged the people that she wanted and continued on her way. Her lessons were finished for the day. She had time now to spend with her sister. Time that she was going to do her best to enjoy.

That was until she saw the mess that her sister was.

"Ami, what happened?"

"I wanted to paint."

"I can see that."

"I think my picture is very pretty."

Amu stepped back to look at the wall of her sister's room. The picture was definitely interesting. Amu wasn't certain that pretty was the word she would have used to describe it. "I'll see if we can get the servants to not wash all this hard work away."

Ami smiled at her sister before brushing some of her hair out of her face. The action caused her to unknowingly smudge more paint on her face. "Thanks, Amu!"

Smiling at the sight, Amu opened her sister's door to call for some of the servants she knew would be nearby before she turned back to her sister. "Once we have this sorted out, let's take a bath, okay?"

Clapping her hands and splattering the paint there onto herself and the floor around her, Ami laughed a bit. "Together? We haven't done that in a long time!"

No matter what Amu did, she couldn't bring herself to be angry with her sister. Instead, she turned to the servants that entered the room with horrified faces. "I'm not sure how she got the paint. That isn't important. Clean the floor and her things, but leave the picture on the wall. Princess Ami has worked very hard on it. Please have someone ready a bath for the two of us. The paint doesn't seem to have missed my sister."

The women bowed and moved to do as was asked. Amu simply turned back to her sister. "I suppose that later when it has dried a bit more, we should show mother."

Ami grinned as she nodded her head. "I think she'll love it. Maybe I should paint one in her room next."

Amu shook her head before looking down at the floor where the paints were spilling and laying about. "Where did you get this stuff anyway?"

Shrugging, Ami grinned again. "Sometimes the ladies that teach me things don't realize that I'm paying attention to where they keep their supplies."

In that moment, Amu realized just how grown up her sister was becoming. Ami might be young, but she wasn't stupid. Nor was she ignorant. She knew what she wanted and how to get it. "I think you might want to wait on your plans for mother's room until she sees this. I might not be angry, but I'm not quite sure what she's going to say."

Ami frowned a bit as she turned to study her hard work before she nodded. "Okay, Amu."

Just then a servant alerted the two princesses that their bath was ready and waiting for them.

"Come on, Ami. Let's go get cleaned up before we show mother."

Smiling at that, Ami allowed her sister to pull her from her room and down the hall. "I do hope that no one ruins it. I worked hard on that painting."

"I did ask them not to touch it."

"Thanks!"

Patting her sister on the head, since it seemed to be one of the cleanest spots on her, Amu grimaced a bit at the paint she got on her fingers before she pushed the door open to the large bathroom that the two girls used. "Come on, we should hurry before the water gets cold."

Ami allowed her sister to strip her out of her paint-covered clothing and help her through another doorway and into the large basin that was sunk into the floor. The tub was large enough for the two girls to sit in together. When she was alone, Ami would sometimes swim about in it just because she could.

"You get your hair wet, Ami. I'll join you in just a second. I need to grab some of the shampoos and soaps."

Splashing a bit, Ami did her best to follow her sister's orders. She liked making messes, but she wasn't a naughty child. She didn't do anything that couldn't be cleaned or fixed.

Amu stripped out of her clothing before taking the soaps she'd told her sister that she was getting from the shelves that held them. She made sure she had everything she'd need before returning to the room with the tub. Slowly, she entered the warm water. It wouldn't do well for her to slip and hurt herself. "Here, Ami, use this soap to make some bubbles. I'll start on your hair."

Ami laughed as she did as her sister asked. The soap she added to the water was easy to make into bubbles as she swayed her hands through the water to stir it up a bit. The bubbles made it impossible to see through the water. They quickly covered the top of the bath. Ami didn't mind. She used them to give herself a beard before twisting a bit so Amu could see.

Smiling at her sister, Amu made Ami turn back so that she could continue to work the shampoo into her sister's hair. "Next time, try to get more paint on the wall and less on yourself."

"Painting is hard, Amu."

"I think it is more messy than hard."

Ami was giggling at that when the door opened.

Amu was quick to pull her sister behind herself as the two girls looked up from their spots in the soapy water to see a strange man standing in the doorway. It was very clear to the young women that there was a reason the man was there when he wasn't supposed to be. "This room is occupied. Please leave."

Smirking at the sight, the man moved further into the room. There was a knife clutched in his hands, though he kept it by his side as he moved a few steps into the room. "I was rather hoping that you'd be the one that was in here."

Amu heard her sister whimper behind her. She kept one hand firmly on Ami's arm to make sure that her sister stayed out of sight while the other one was by her side. She had nothing to protect them with. There was nothing that she could use to defend them. They needed to be rescued. "As this is the royal baths and you have no purpose here, I ask you once more to leave."

"You know, they didn't tell me that you'd grown up so much. Maybe we can have a little fun before I go."

There was no hesitation as Amu stood up from the water. The man that had entered the room hadn't expected her to expose herself so easily, which was exactly why Amu did so. The soapy water kept everything below her navel covered. With her breasts exposed, Amu distracted the man right as Ikuto snuck through the door.

The knife cut smoothly through the intruder's throat without him ever knowing that his life was in danger.

"Amu."

Still standing in the bath with her naked sister clinging to her back, Amu nodded once to Ikuto. The male that had always protected her in the past had managed to do it once more. "Are there any others?"

"Not anymore."

"Please alert the correct people to have this mess cleaned."

"Amu."

"Ikuto, my sister is very frightened. Please also have the servants bring the small bath to my bedroom. We'll finish there."

Bowing, Ikuto left the room only for a second before he returned with two large towels for the princesses. "I do not think you should remain in here if Ami is already so frightened."

Amu nodded her head while accepting the towel. She waited until Ikuto left the room before helping her sister out of the sudsy water. There was a bit of blood starting to drip into the tub from the side that the man lay sprawled out by. She didn't want her sister to stay in the contaminated water.

Ami hugged the large towel around herself as she waited for Amu to climb out and cover herself as well. "Amu."

"It's okay, Ami. We're safe. No one will hurt either of us."

"That man came in while we were taking a bath. Ikuto killed him."

Turning, Amu knelt. They were in the front room of the bathroom. She wasn't surprised at all to see two more strangers bleeding there. "Ikuto saved our lives, Ami. He had to kill that man so that man couldn't hurt us. Do you understand?"

Ami nodded.

Seeing the tears that were pooling in Ami's eyes, Amu wrapped her arm around her sister's shivering form. "Come on, let's get that shampoo out of your hair before it gets into your eyes."

The tub was in her room as she had requested. The rest of their bath went without incident, for which Amu was rather thankful. Fresh clothes for both of them were brought to her room. She helped Ami dress before they went in search of their mother.

They found Midori as she was about to enter her own chambers.

"Mother."

"Momma!"

Turning, Midori didn't hesitate to drop to one knee so that she could sweep Ami into a hug. "Oh, my daughters! I was just told. I was going to put some things away here before coming to see how you were doing."

Ignoring the true subject that her mother was speaking about, Amu placed her hand on Ami's head. "Ami here has redecorated part of her room. We were wondering if you would come with us to see it. She worked very hard today."

Midori only had to glance up at her elder daughter to understand that her youngest couldn't really handle talking about what had happened at the moment. "Did you work hard on something special today, Ami?"

Nodding, Ami sniffled back a few tears. "If you like it, momma, I can make one in your room."

Amu turned to lead the way back to Ami's room as her mother swept her younger sister into her arms. "I think we should let mother see first, Ami."

Nodding against Midori's neck, Ami agreed to her older sister's proposal.

Once they were in the room and her mother saw her painting and praised the colors and work, Ami went off to find a few toys she would take to Amu's room. She didn't want to be alone.

Off to the side, Midori looked once more at her elder child. "Are you okay?"

"Ikuto came in before anything could happen. Ami didn't see the man die. She was hiding behind me."

"That's not what I'm asking."

"I'm not afraid, mother. Ikuto will always protect me."

Midori knew that it probably wasn't such a good thing that her daughter was so reliant on someone already. Then again, Ikuto did manage to prove himself again and again. "The guards are checking the grounds to ensure no one else is lurking about. Is Ami going to stay with you for the evening?"

"She'll most likely sleep in my bed tonight, yes."

"Amu, I-"

"I'm fine, mother. Just tired."

Holding herself back from saying anything else, Midori turned to look at her other daughter. It was clear that Ami was struggling a bit with what had happened. This wasn't the first time for Amu, though. Her elder daughter was somewhat used to people attempting to end her life. "Let me know if either of you needs anything."

Amu nodded before collecting her sister and helping her to carry back the things she wanted for the night to Amu's rooms. There was nothing that Amu wouldn't do for her sister.

.

Morg: So there's that.

Ikuto: I'm so amazing.

Amu: Jeez.

Morg: Stay tuned!