A few days passed and Prince Tōma arrived. Akane, Ranma, and King Genma were all there to greet him at the Palace's entrance. Akane noticed that he had beautiful tan skin and carried himself with confidence. She also noticed that he had unusual looking retainers. One wore a mask and the other had a monkey-like gate. Behind them was a large cart filled with unique fruits and trinkets Akane had never seen before.
Akane had been dressed in the finest clothes she had worn since her wedding to Ranma. Clearly, Prince Tōma was a valued guest. She bowed right after Prince Tōma did. Ranma and King Genma followed suit.
"Well, well, it has been a while hasn't it, King Genma? I bring with me much to trade! I also bring gifts in celebration of young love." He glanced over at Prince Ranma and Akane. His eyes lingered on Akane with a quirky smile on his face. "Interesting," Tōma mumbled under his breath.
King Genma motioned to some servants to help Tōma's retainers with the cart. "I, thank you greatly for traveling all this way to celebrate my son's marriage. Please let's head to the hall and have a feast to welcome you!"
Akane and Ranma both in unison, "We thank you for your gifts."
Prince Tōma leaned down and kissed Akane's hand, "You are, oh-so, welcome."
Something about Prince Tōma's demeanor towards Akane aggravated Ranma. He was here to celebrate their "union" apparently, but here he was looking at Akane with strange intent. And right in front of him, no less.
The feast was fun and celebratory with a lot of boastful laughter from King Genma. Akane noticed that Prince Tōma was refined and reserved, but also incredibly charismatic. He had a charm to him that felt as though you were part of an exclusive club for being in his mere presence. That he could enlighten you beyond imagining and show you the hidden underbelly of the world. That he knew much about the world, but spoke little of its secrets because they were his trade and he couldn't give that away for free. The aura he gave off was as close to a ninja mixed with a politician as Akane had ever met.
When the meal was over and everyone parted ways, Akane longed to talk with Prince Tōma more. He seemed like he knew much of the goings-on of the world and she wondered if he knew anything about Shirya or The Goddess that could help her save her family from King Gosunkugi.
That night, Akane tossed and turned late into the night - unable to sleep. Her mind was abuzz with ways to approach Tōma with her questions without raising alarm bells in his head. Akane was essentially a traitor to the whole realm for what she was doing. She couldn't have him finding out who she… actually wasn't. He was clearly an intelligent man and she struggled to find a way to break the ice with him.
In her restlessness, she decided to go on a walk through the palace grounds. Hoping the cool air might help her clear her mind.
As she was looking at the beautiful flower beds in the courtyard she felt a tap on her shoulder. When Akane turned around she couldn't believe her luck, it was Prince Tōma!
"Pleasant surprise running into you out here on this crisp night," Prince Tōma spoke gently.
Akane could hardly contain her pleasure, "I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk!"
"Oh? Were you now…and why is that?"
Akane stumbled over her words, "oh, uhm, I was, uh, just hoping to get to know you better."
A coy face appeared on Prince Tōma's face, "Interesting you say that because we already know each other quite well. Well, we should know each other anyway. I am quite fond of King Gosunkugi's daughter, Princess Kaori, and you…are not she. Care to explain?"
Akane felt her heart beating hard as desperation and panic clawed their way up her throat. She knew Prince Tōma was essentially like a merchant to the Nations of Alganon, but she had no idea he dealt with the Shiryian royal family personally too. She thought they would be too private to engage with outsiders. Akane had never even met Princess Kaori while she was being trained to be her replacement. But all Akane could think was, "it's all over now."
Horror crept into Akane's eyes and leached into the lines in her face, leaving a facial expression behind that would cause anyone's blood to run cold. Grief was sweeping through her chest leaving her feeling breathless. Akane would give anything to see her father and sisters again to say a proper goodbye to them. She was going to lose her family and she herself would probably be executed as a traitor. She'd never get a chance to personally explain the truth to Ranma. She, most of all, wanted him to understand that she never meant to or wanted to deceive him.
"Out with it," Prince Tōma commanded.
"I…I'm Princess Kaori's replacement…King Gosunkugi will have my family killed if I don't play along."
"Why would he want to send a replacement?" Tōma questioned.
"Because he doesn't have a male heir and has been unable to get remarried because the nobility find ways to keep him at bay. He doesn't want to send his daughter here and have her give Wallka a male heir to have rights to his Kingdom."
"So, it sounds like he fully intends to out you at some point as a false princess…"
"Yes, but if it spares my family…it's worth it. I had hoped that while here I could find a way to save my family and reveal Gosunkugi's plans. He wants war," Akane responded.
"Has he provided you with any assurance that your family is alive and well? He has always wanted war, but he is a feebleminded and cowardly man. He may scheme, but I don't believe he will act," Tōma replied in a gentle tone.
"He has…not provided me any assurance of my family's safety." Akane responded. Her mind was whirling about what Tōma had said. Was it true that King Gosunkugi was all bluster and she had nothing to fear from him starting war.
"Then you are foolish to be going along with his plan."
"I know not what else to do. He had me and all my family in the prisons. I am the daughter of a rebellion leader, Soun Tendo. We were all going to be killed for treason."
"Interesting, you have given me, an information broker of sorts, quite a lot of fascinating intel. How about you and I make a deal or a trade of sorts? You see, King Gosunkugi trades with me because he is a sickly man. On my island, a rare flower grows that can be made into an elixir that keeps his sickness at bay. As you can tell from his gaunt appearance, the elixir can only do so much. A side effect of ingesting the flower is it makes a man impotent. I think King Gosunkugi has the power to force the nobles to give up one of their daughters for marriage, but he can't perform to attempt to get a son. As you can see though, King Gosunkugi needs me to keep himself from dying. I could demand that he let me see your family and possibly bring letters back and forth as well. If he refuses, I could threaten to stop selling him the elixir."
Akane stared at him, with her jaw feeling like it was on the floor, in utter shock. She hardly knew what to say. She had been 100% sure he would turn her in.
Akane's eyes filled with tears, "...Thank you…I can't thank you enough for trying to help me. What is it that you want in return?"
"Two things, (1) that you will gather intelligence for me on anything juicy or interesting happening among the nobility or royals of Alganon. There's a lot of wealthy people that pay me to tell them about the goings-on of the upper-class. Y'see, for example, now that Princess Ukyo is no longer a candidate for Prince Ranma - there are many wealthy men willing to pay top dollar to know anything about her in the hopes they may woo her. I would like that anytime I arrive here in Wallka to trade goods with King Genma that you will become my little informant and give me all the details that are worth selling. And (2) if you ever find yourself in need of rescue, you will consider marrying me instead."
Once again, Akane found herself utterly flabbergasted at the words coming out of Prince Tōma's mouth. Nothing he said could she ever have predicted. Why in the world would he want to marry her!?
Akane could hardly contain her ever-growing shock, "I will definitely be the best informant for you that I can be, but why in the world would you want to marry me? I'm not actually of royal…or even noble blood for that matter! I'm not exactly princess level looks either."
Prince Tōma chuckled, "This is a secret, but the island I come from is cursed with the Spring of Drowned Man and because of this there are no women where I come from. To find wives, the men must venture out to foreign lands to find them. As a Merchant-like King that stabilizes my nation's economy by exporting goods, I hardly have time to find myself a partner worthy of my station. I think given my reputation as a broker of information of a small island country, a sneaky spy-like false princess who fooled the Nation of Wallka and The Goddess, would fit with me nicely."
"Are you not worried that it would ruin trade and relations with Wallka?"
Tōma tapped on his chin, "Perhaps, but as you can tell they treat me incredibly well when I visit because they need me for all I provide for them. My nation may be small, but it is resource rich. I suspect we'd eventually find a solution to me aiding and marrying an, arguably, traitorous fugitive."