Morg: Heyo! There is just something about this story that I really love!

Ikuto: I know how you could make it even better.

Amu: No, this one is already bad enough.

Morg: I don't know what you are talking about. This story is already perfect.

Ikuto: Sure.

Amu: This is why we're glad you don't own us.

Morg: You're just jealous!

Ikuto: Nope.

Amu: Not even a little bit.

~Queen's Decree~

"Amu," Rima groaned as she slumped on the couch in Amu's room. "You were up later than any of us. Why are you the one with the most energy this morning?"

Amu smiled in sympathy as she put a small amount of jelly on a piece of bread. The breakfast platter that her servants had delivered to her rooms for her, Rima, and Utau to enjoy was full of all sorts of goodies for them to pick from. "I'm used to waking up early. I don't think I could sleep in if I tried."

Utau sat upright on the couch but her eyes were fixed on a distant spot that showed she wasn't truly awake. "I'm used to waking up early but that doesn't mean I'm awake."

Unable to help herself, Amu laughed. She was not about to tell them that she had less sleep than they thought she'd had. They didn't know that Ikuto stayed out on her balcony or that she'd been talking to him late into the night about what they were going to do about Tadase and Kiseki.

Some things, Amu decided, she did not need to tell her best friends. The fewer people who knew that she and Ikuto suspected something was going on the better. She didn't want Kiseki to be somehow alerted that they were on to him.

That and she didn't want to cause an international incident because he wasn't actually up to anything but was still accused of nefarious deeds.

Amu kept her thoughts to herself as she picked at the breakfast foods and waited for her two best friends to wake up some more. "I have a meeting this morning with my mother. Are the two of you interested in joining us for tea?"

Rima shook herself at that. "We won't be a burden? What if you need to talk about state secrets?"

Amu shook her head as she smiled. "Then I suppose we'll have to wait and have afternoon tea be a private affair so we can chat about them then."

"I'd be more than happy to join you for morning tea," Utau said with a yawn as she focused on the spread of food before them. She perked up as if she'd just noticed the tray for the first time. "I always look forward to speaking with your mother."

Amu smiled as she picked up a cup of fruit. She sucked the juice of a melon from her fingers as she leaned back on her couch. "Then it is settled. We'll finish up here, get cleaned up, and then go meet her. I'll let her know to expect you."

Rima grumbled a bit more but finally began to eat.

Amu watched her two friends wake up and eat as she sat back and chewed not only on her little pieces of fruit but on her thoughts. She needed to figure out a way to ask her mother about what Kiseki had said to her at the ball without drawing too much attention to the question.

Avoiding an international incident was important, but that didn't mean that Amu would not be prepared.

XXX

"So lovely of you both to join us," Midori said as she took her seat at the little table that was set in her personal quarters. She smiled at both Rima and Utau before grinning at Ami. "I do hope you enjoyed the party last night."

Utau dipped into a curtsy before she took her chair after Amu and Ami had both sat down. "It was a beautiful night."

Rima took her seat last after paying the proper respects to everyone present. "I'm sure most of the seamstresses in the country are busy today seeing as Amu set a new fashion trend last night."

Amu shook her head as she smiled. She stayed seated back in her chair as she allowed a servant to begin serving the small sandwiches and the tea. "I was by far the most comfortable person last night, which, considering it was my birthday celebration, is how it should have been."

Ami snickered as she stole a small bite of cake before the servants were done setting everything out. "I had fun before momma sent me to bed."

"I'm glad to hear it," Amu said to her sister as she reached out to tickle Ami's side. "I was a little worried that you'd be bored."

"No!" Ami yelped. Though whether she was telling Amu to stop or whether she meant she wasn't bored the night before, no one knew.

"Well," Midori said as she lifted her cup to her lips. She took a small sip of tea and savored it for a moment before she primly set her cup down. "What sort of gossip do you girls have for me today? It was a little dull at times, sitting on the throne all night long."

"You couldn't get up, Momma?" Ami asked just before stuffing a large bite of cake into her mouth.

Midori smiled at her daughter as she watched Ami's cheeks puff up as she chewed. "No, baby. I had to stay seated all night. With your papa gone, I'm in mourning and not willing to entertain even the offer of someone's partnership in a dance."

Ami made a humming noise.

Amu sipped at her tea but didn't say anything about the sad look in her mother's gaze.

"Well," Utau said slyly as she set her cup back onto her saucer. "Amu seemed to have no trouble turning everyone who asked for a dance away."

Amu took a small bite of cake and chose not to comment.

"That's the other thing the entire country will be talking about today," Rima said as she lifted her cup but did not drink from it. "The princess only danced with one person at her birthday ball."

Amu took another bite and refused to meet anyone's gaze.

"I suspected something like that might happen," Midori said with a put-upon sigh and a knowing smile. "Which is why I had something elegant but practical made for our favorite knight."

Though there were several things she could have said to defend herself, Amu stayed quiet on that subject. "I do seem to recall a certain king who was in attendance that only asked me to dance as a show of respect and then turned around to ask the person he declared he actually wanted to dance with."

Utau didn't so much as blink as she made a small humming noise and picked up her cup to take a sip. "He was a gentleman and asked me questions about myself. I was expecting him to talk about the fact that my father's lands run along the border between our country and his but he never mentioned it."

"I don't think he was asking you to dance because he was interested in your lands," Rima said before sipping her tea.

"And the Duke that asked you to dance, Rima?" Amu said with a sly grin. "What did you talk about with him?"

Rima didn't so much as scowl despite the way her eyes shot daggers at her best friend. "We spoke about my view of the mountains versus his view of the sea."

"I'm sure he'd love to see the mountains," Utau said in a way that conveyed that the landscape was not at all what she thought the Duke wanted to see. "Too bad he's from so far away."

"Speaking of people far away," Midori cut in as Rima puffed up a bit. "I was approached last night with an offer though it wasn't for me."

"Oh?" Amu asked as noncommittedly as possible. Her heart raced within her chest as she tried not to show too much interest in her mother's words. "What sort of offer?"

Midori smirked behind her cup as she studied her daughter. Sometimes she felt as though Amu forgot that Midori was her mother. She could read her like an open book. "Crown Prince Kiseki approached me last night and gave his compliments about the evening before conveying that he wished to speak with me further about the possibility of a delegation accompanying him back to his country to attend an upcoming festival that is rather important to their people. I told him I'd be open to hearing more about his proposal."

Amu picked at the snacks on her plate as she allowed Rima and Utau to debate with her mother about what the festival could be and the merits of attending such a thing. Her mind was too busy racing to all the ways Kiseki could use such a trip to his advantage but there were just too many possibilities. Without more information, there was no way to know whether Kiseki was truly up to something or not.

She needed to speak to Ikuto before her mother made any sort of decision.

XXX

Amu knew it was risky but she couldn't think of anything else to do as she returned to her chambers. Her mother had informed her that she'd be meeting with the princes in the afternoon and that it would be a good thing for Amu to attend. She needed to speak to Ikuto before the meeting. She didn't want him to be blindsided by anything that happened.

"Amu? Are you all right?"

Amu swirled around just as Ikuto slipped through her balcony doors. "Last night, Kiseki approached my mother to set up a meeting with her today about sending people with him back to their country for some sort of festival."

"Okay?" Ikuto said slowly. "Why do you look so worried?"

"You got me thinking," Amu said as she turned back from Ikuto to continue her pacing. "From what you've told me, I doubt he's the type of person to make such an offer without having some sort of scheme in place."

"I don't doubt that he's planning something but there's no way for us to know what until he makes a move," Ikuto told her as he watched her pace. "Anything that we could attempt to do to stop him could end up helping him."

"I know," Amu said as she turned and made her way back toward him. "If we had more information or knew what he was thinking then we'd be able to plan our actions better. You're sure that Tadase cannot be trusted?"

Ikuto shrugged. "Without knowing what the scheme is, I don't think we can approach him."

Amu hummed as she made another turn of the room. "My father never approved of spying on guests so our spy network doesn't extend to the castle."

"I could spy on them," Ikuto said as he watched Amu. "It would be easy for me to slip into some of the hidden passageways and listen in on their conversation."

"Ikuto," Amu said as she turned back to him. "You can't. It's too risky. If you're caught, I don't know how we'd be able to protect you."

"I'm not generally the one that needs protecting," Ikuto reminded her. "I'll be fine. The servants and guards in the castle know that I frequently do sweeps to make sure no one is hiding anywhere. They won't suspect anything."

"And if Kiseki or Tadase see you?"

"They won't, Amu," Ikuto said gently as he stepped toward her. "You barely notice when I'm around you most of the time."

"But if they are plotting something," Amu said as she studied Ikuto's face. "Then they'll be paranoid."

"As long as you promise me that you'll be careful for the next few hours and extra alert then I have time to situate myself and listen to them. If I'm lucky, I'll overhear everything. If I'm unlucky then I won't hear anything at all."

Amu didn't like it. She didn't like the idea of Ikuto being in danger but she also knew that they didn't have much of a choice. "Fine. Go listen in. We have several hours before the meeting. Maybe they'll be talking about it and you'll be lucky."

Ikuto smirked as he dipped into a bow and backed his way to Amu's doors. "I usually am."

Amu laughed as she watched him go. She swore to herself that she would be extra diligent while he was gone. If he was going to go out of his way to do something for her then the least she could do was keep herself safe while he was gone.

XXX

Ikuto squeezed his way through the narrow passages in the walls without making a sound. The dust on the floor was disturbed, but he recognized his own prints. The only person that had been through the secret corridors was him.

Navigating the castle through the winding passages within the walls was not easily done. Ikuto had to stop at several intersections and think about where he was before he decided which route to take. Twice, he went back to take a different path when he was getting too far away from the room he needed to be near.

There were a few places where he stopped to listen to what was happening outside the walls. The servants were always gossiping about interesting things but he didn't have time to stop and listen to them.

Finally, he found the section that allowed him to listen to familiar voices. Voices that he'd hoped he'd never have to hear again.

"I don't know what you expect from me, Kiseki." Tadase was complaining. "I can't approach the princess without everyone knowing the minute I do. He's like a shadow, that knight. I can't get near her."

Ikuto narrowed his gaze at the bricks in front of him. He'd suspected they were up to something. The confirmation didn't make him feel good about being right.

"I expect you to carry out your part," Kiseki snapped back. "You are supposed to befriend the princess and convince her to return with us. Sitting here bitching about that fucking cat won't help you do it."

"I don't want to befriend her! I don't even want to be here!"

"I don't care what you want. And you know why you have to do it. Don't make me remind you. You won't like it if I have to."

Ikuto strained himself but nothing else was said for a while. He imagined that Tadase was pouting like he often had when things didn't go his way when they were younger and spending time together. He was sure that Kiseki was glaring at whatever he thought was important enough for his attention.

"The meeting with the queen is soon," Kiseki said at last. "I cannot express interest in having Amu go with us. That will lead to assumptions that I don't want to be made. But you can."

"I don't want those assumptions to be made, either!"

"I don't care," Kiseki told his younger brother. "You'll be the one to suggest it."

Tadase grumbled but didn't say anything else.

Ikuto stayed still within the wall for a few minutes longer. He listened as it sounded as though one person left the room and the other sat down somewhere with a sigh.

Then he silently slipped away to go find his princess.

.

Morg: Getting so interesting!

Ikuto: You just think that because it's your story.

Amu: I think the readers are supposed to decide.

Morg: Then I hope they review and let me know!