The Swordsman of Kasai

"It's a beautiful day!" exclaimed Faust as he did stretching exercises by his wagon while Yoh wiped off the dust inside the vehicle. They were preparing to leave the town of Chikyuu that morning.

Anna glowered at the weird father-and-son tandem. There was something un-family-like with how these two interacted with each other. Aside from not sharing the same physical traits, the father was always exuberant to the point of looking like a mad man. He didn't seem to have any hangovers. His jolliness did not fade in spite of the fact that he came to their room severely drank last night. His loud snoring had made it difficult for the princess to sleep. On the other hand, his son was the sort of person to repress his feelings all the time. He would always follow his father's orders without any complaints. Being a palace servant, he was probably trained that way. Anna would sometimes catch him staring blankly at nothing in particular as if he was pondering on something really important. Perhaps he was bored with his life or perhaps he was a dull person. The latter seemed more plausible for what could be more unexciting than having a royal blood's life?

"Let's go children. I don't want to delay your meeting with the king," Faust had already positioned himself on the driver's seat. "I'll be dropping you off in the town of Tochi. The palace is just three towns away from there."

"Don't you want to join us in meeting him?" asked the princess as she sat across Yoh in the wagon. "He could help you improve your unfortunate living condition."

"Oh, I don't think the king would be interested in seeing a lowly doctor," Faust hit the horse with his reigns to get it moving. "Besides, I already miss my wife."

"Maybe we should go back home, Anna. I heard from one of the townsmen that the king is on a journey right now. We won't be finding him there." Yoh suggested. He had practiced this in his mind the whole night.

"That's not a problem. I'll look for the prince instead."

First attempt: failed! I'll try another tactic.

"But you look tired. Why not rest first in our house then we'll embark again on a trip to the palace?"

"I'm perfectly fine. Besides I do NOT want to endure that painstaking journey from your secluded home again."

Second attempt: failed! I'm running out of ideas.

"How would you like to roam around town first before we proceed to the palace? It'll be fun just like yesterday."

"That'll be a waste of time. If I remembered it correctly, Ren would be sailing for the academy two days from now. I need to see him and tell him everything that happened before he leaves."

Third attempt: failed! Maybe I should tell her the truth…

"Anna, there's something I want to -"

"Drop it, Yoh! You're starting to get on my nerves. I want to sleep. Thanks to your father, I didn't get any last night."

"Ok…. I'm sorry, Anna…"

He peered out through the window of the carriage to take a good look at the palace. It was not as magnificent as theirs but it was still beautiful. It was his first time in this kingdom and he regretted having fallen asleep throughout the journey. He wanted to see all the new sceneries along the way. He didn't know there were other kingdoms not until he was told by his father that he and his mother would be visiting some family friends. His mother took him away from the carriage window just in time for a pageboy to open the door for them. He was already 7 years old but she carried him as if he were still an infant. He hated it and he wriggled hard so that his mother would drop him.

"My little boy doesn't want to be cuddled anymore…" his mother gently put him down and kissed his right cheek. "Aren't you excited that you'll be meeting a new playmate?"

"I hope it's a boy." He told her. He badly wanted to have someone play swords with him.

They entered the palace and were met by a row of servants who all bowed down before them. The queen of the household appeared from a hallway and greeted them with open arms, "Welcome to our simple abode, Queen Ran! Oh, this must be Prince Ren." She patted the little boy's head. The prince frowned. He didn't like his hair being messed up.

"Yuko, please bring my daughter over here," the queen instructed a fat maid who scurried upstairs to fetch the princess. It took quite awhile before they heard the angry protests of a little girl. Nonetheless, the servant was successful in dragging her downstairs to meet her royal visitors.

"Please smile for our special guests, Anna," the queen gently pulled her frowning daughter from behind the servant. "I'm sorry for her attitude. She's not used to having new faces around. Anna, be respectful."

The little princess curtsied in front of the visiting queen but scowled at her young son.

"You came here at the most appropriate time. The roses are already in full bloom. Come, I'll show you around the royal garden. Let's leave the children alone to play."

Little Anna waited for everybody to disperse before she folded her arms across her chest and eyed the prince from head to foot. The little boy turned red with embarrassment.

"So what's with the pointy hair?"

Prince Ren opened his eyes. If it were an ordinary day, he could have been laughing the minute he woke up. His memory was refreshed with his and his best friend's first encounter and it was definitely not an amicable one. Since the princess went missing, he had been dreaming about her every day. There were moments when he just wanted to lie down and sleep for it was in his dreams that he could see her again. He scrambled out of his bed to get ready for today's search. I swear by my pointy hair, I will find you, Anna.

In the town of Tochi near the center of the Kasai Kingdom...

They had arrived at the town of Tochi in time for lunch. Faust treated them to a restaurant where they had a sumptuous meal of flavorful Kasai cuisine. The town was famous for its annual culinary competition in which cooks from all over the kingdom battle each other out with their kitchen utensils. Luck was on Yoh's side for the competition was being held that day and the princess looked on with great interest at the town square where the cooking challenge was taking place.

They were already full when they got out of the restaurant but the delightful aroma of herbs and spices from the culinary battle filled the air. "You might want to check on that," Faust pointed at the ongoing competition.

Yoh's eyes sparkled, "It only happens once a year, Anna. We should stay here a bit more. Besides, they're giving away free food."

The princess couldn't help but notice the positive change in the servant boy's mood. "I guess we could," she finally consented. She realized that she had been missing out on a lot of things by shutting herself in the Kouku palace.

"Really? I'm so glad you agreed," Yoh felt the excitement rushing in.

Faust chuckled. These two look good together. If only Yoh was not a prince… He boarded his wagon which was parked in front of the restaurant. "This is where I leave you guys, have fun!" Faust put on the hood of his cloak and waved goodbye at them.

Yoh beamed at him, "Thank you Faust er… Father! See you soon!"

They watched as the wagon disappeared. "Come on, servant. A new competition has started over there." Anna motioned him to hurry up.

A crowd of people had gathered to watch a display of slicing skills. The two made their way to the front to catch a clearer view of the spectacle. The main attraction was a white-haired man using a sword to cut several apples that was thrown at him into equal pieces. The crowd cheered as the man managed to slice twelve fruits with ease and grace. The applause was loud enough to mute Yoh's gasp when he recognized who it was. He quickly turned around wishing that he was not spotted but…

"Master!"

The man jogged towards him.

"Master! I mean Yoh." The royal bodyguard was quick to remember that he was not to disclose the prince's identity to commoners.

"Hello Amidamaru," the boy forced out a grin.

"We were worried about you. Why did you suddenly disappear?"

The prince was not able to answer for Anna had joined in the conversation. "Who is that, Yoh?"

"He's Amidamaru, an old friend of mine, Anna."

The bodyguard whispered mischievously at the prince's ear, "Did you get yourself a new one, Master Yoh? Your fiancé will be furious if she finds out you were with another girl. Where did you meet her by the way?"

"Er… I'm just showing her around town. I didn't know you like to attend competitions like this, Amidamaru."

"It's my day off from palace work. Moreover, the person who I'm supposed to be training is away for quite a while. As to why I am here, I only join events where I could show off my swordsmanship."

The blond girl cleared her throat.

"I apologize for such behavior, My Lady. We got carried away with our conversation. I believe we have not been formally introduced. I'm Amidamaru, the most skillful swordsman of Ka-"

The prince quickly stuffed into the royal body guard's mouth a large piece of apple which he caught flying in the air as it was sliced earlier.

"There's no need for further introductions, Amidamaru," Yoh laughed nervously. "Let's go over there, I think the verdict for the best main course is already being given out."

"Well I think that's enough Yoh. We're wasting our time here," Anna told him irritably. Why is she getting this feeling that the servant boy is hiding something from her?

"Forgive me for asking but you seemed to be in a hurry, My Lady. Are you going somewhere else?"

"We're going to the palace to meet the king," the girl replied bluntly.

"Ah, if you leave now you'll arrive there after dark. The palace guards do not admit visitors at night…"

Yoh smiled. Running into Amidamaru might be a good thing after all. He could help divert Anna's attention from marching into the Kasai palace.

"…Fortunately, I work there. I can give you a lift on my horse. We could go there altogether tomorrow morning."

The prince's left eye twitched. Luck had totally left his side.