The Unexpected Guest

Prince Yoh stretched his arms upwards and took a deep breath. "Ahhh, this feels nice!" The warm rays of the sun had a reinvigorating effect on him. He and his personal maid, Anna were currently wandering around the royal garden, his most favorite place in the palace. The statues of Kasai's former rulers seemed to wave and smile at him when he passed by. Despite having spent his entire childhood in the palace, the artistic rockeries and trees and well-maintained flower beds of the royal garden had never failed to mesmerize him. He made a mental note to find the gardener later in order to praise him for a job well done.

Anna scowled from behind the prince's back while he stooped down on a rose bush and inhaled the sweet fragrance of the red and pink flowers. She did not like the idea of strolling around the royal garden at this time of the day when she was given the task of educating the lazy heir of Kasai. However, she was so bored of being stuck inside the palace and listening to the prince recite all the towns of his kingdom and their economic significance that she conceded to his request of going outside to get some fresh air.

He's wearing that goofy expression again. What's with a bunch of roses anyway? The blond girl approached the prince's objects of interest to find out for herself why he was so captivated by them. She ogled at the relatively large and vibrant dewdrop-covered flowers in full bloom. The roses here are much prettier than Kouku's, even prettier than those given by Ren. She slowly reached out to touch a red one but a thorn had caught her finger.

"Ouch!" Anna winced at the sight of blood.

Yoh retrieved a white handkerchief from his pants' pocket and firmly wrapped her pricked finger with it. "You should take extra care Anna."

The blond girl blushed at the gentleness of the prince's touch.

"That won't hurt much," he smiled at her.

"Of course! It's just a small thorn." Anna immediately snatched her hand away from his hold before he would notice the rosy tint on her cheeks. She walked past him and settled herself on a wooden bench near a shrub that was skillfully cut into a six-pointed star. "You really love the outdoors, don't you?"

The prince nodded with an enthusiasm of a five-year old child after being asked if he wanted some candy. He then followed Anna's steps and sat on the other end of the bench. The high stone wall surrounding the palace was visible from that spot. Prince Yoh let out an audible sigh which drew the attention of his personal maid.

"Do you still have the same feelings towards being a royalty, Anna?"

The blond girl stared at him for a few seconds then asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, when I first saw you…," the prince reminisced their first encounter at the Kaminari royal garden during Anna's engagement ball, "…you were complaining about the heavy burden of being a royalty because your future has already been decided for you."

"Well I take back those words. Being a princess is way better than being a personal maid to a laid-back prince."

Prince Yoh avoided her gaze and pushed back the guilty feelings. She's stuck at the Kasai palace because of him.

"Why are you asking me these anyway?" the blond girl looked annoyed.

"It's because…" Yoh looked up at the clear blue sky, "I often ask myself if I really wanted to be king…"

At the Kasai palace lobby...

The palace maid, Kanna straightened the creases of her uniform with her hands. There were drips of soap suds on her skirt as she had been doing the laundry when she was summoned by the head servant. Apparently, all the palace maids were suddenly pulled out from their chores to greet a very important guest that had unexpectedly arrived that morning. She took a quick glimpse at her two close friends standing still in line each wearing a vacant look. She guessed nobody knew who this high-profile visitor was.

It must have been some foreign royalty who warranted this much attention from the Asakura household since all palace servants were asked to welcome him. All of them except that new girl called Anna who was promoted as the prince's personal maid in just a day. She gritted her teeth at the instant favor that was given to someone who was an amateur to the job. Just because she's close to the prince… She hated how the blond girl responded with deaf ears and unusual calmness even if she was berated by the head servant and the cook for her lousy service. Kanna hated her snobbish attitude. Anna would constantly ignore the other palace maids when they inquired about her family, her hometown and her previous employment. It was like she was hiding something. Kanna swore she would reveal the blond girl's darkest secret to kick her out of the palace for good. In the mean time, she would have to wait patiently for the distinguished guest to alight the richly decorated carriage that had arrived just now.

"Oh my dear princess, it has been a long time," Queen Keiko quickly embraced the girl who came out of the carriage in a frilly pink dress. "Look at you. You've grown up beautifully."

"Thank you Your Highness. I came here as soon as I received the telegram from Uncle. Where is he by the way?"

"Oh he has some matters to discuss with his men in the throne room. He'll be seeing you during dinner."

"Uncle is always busy, isn't he? But I wonder where Yoh is? He did not welcome me back." The girl searched with her eyes for the prince's face among the gathering before her.

"My son doesn't know you're coming today. You truly surprised us all. We were not expecting you until next week so we did not tell him yet."

"I'm sorry… I got all excited when I found out that he has returned to Kasai. It's been quite a while since we last saw each other…" The girl let out a blush which matched the color of her hair.

"Well, you're going to stay with us now so you can catch up with him anytime. I'm sure he would be delighted to see you," the queen assured her. "Kanna, Marion, and Matilda…" the Asakura queen beckoned the three palace maids to step forward. "Kindly assist the princess just like the good old times."

So she has finally returned. This is going to be interesting. Kanna could not hide her smile as she picked up two pink suitcases.

In the Kasai Palace throne room...

"Are you sure about that?" King Mikihisa looked gravely at the two men bowing down before him although his serious demeanor was hidden behind the bird mask. The spies he sent just got back from the other side of the Great Spirit's River to deliver an important report.

"We're positive, your Highness," confirmed Ryuu, the taller of the two with a distinct goatee.

"We were at the central town when the funeral bell rung. We heard from the townsfolk themselves that the royal family died," added his partner, Manta.

"I see… Thank you for your service. I trust that you won't let this information leak. You may go and rest in your quarters," the king dismissed them.

"Your Majesty…" Manta rose up and took a small package from his pocket. "This is from him." The little guy stretched his little arm upward so that the king could reach for the piece of brown parcel.

King Mikihisa gently tore off the wrapper and found a folded paper and a little glass bottle containing green cream. The bottle had the label "For burn scars" pasted on it.

The Asakura monarch let out a slight smile, "Please extend my gratitude if ever you see him again."

"We will, your Highness," answered Ryuu. "Oh by the way, I saw your niece's carriage on our way to the palace. Is the princess here?"

"Ah yes, she had arrived about a minute ago. I made a promise to inform her once my son got back from his escapades but I did not expect her to come here so soon."

At the Kasai palace garden...

"That's stupid! Any ordinary person would give up anything to be in your place." Anna snapped at her companion.

"I know…" the prince sighed as he rested his back on the bench, "…but don't you get tired of knowing that everything has been determined for you - the role that you'll play, your responsibilities, your future spouse, your allies, and your enemies. Don't you secretly wish you were as normal as everyone else? A king has great power and control over his kingdom but he doesn't have as much freedom as a commoner."

"So what kind of life do you want then?"

"I want a life that is as unpredictable and as free as the wind." Yoh grinned at her.

"Only a lazy prince who's afraid of taking responsibility will say those words," snorted the blond girl.

"Sorry…" Yoh suddenly felt dejected. "I thought we shared the same sentiments when I heard you talking to your fiance."

"That's different! I'm quite fine with carrying the burden of managing the kingdom. What I can't stand is being subject to a whirlwind engagement and getting married because someone else said so."

"But even though it was arranged, you do like that Prince Ren of yours, right?"

The blond girl paused for a while - a slight blush forming on her cheeks. "Well he has been my friend ever since I was young. Ren has all the qualities that a girl would want in a man. How could I not like him?"

"I see…" The prince grew silent for a minute.

"What about you? Don't you have a fiancée? The practice of arranged marriage is very common among the royal bloods."

"Errr… I do have one but I don't get to see her now. We were betrothed when we were ten years old. She was a distant relative of my father's."

"Does your fiancée like pink a lot?" Anna suddenly asked out-of-the-blue.

"How did you know?" the prince gave her a quizzical look. The blond girl responded by pointing at his side.

Yoh squinted his eyes at a fast-approaching body of pink lace and ribbons to check if he is not hallucinating, "Is that…?"

The prince stood up in surprise when the pink-haired girl jumped on him.

"I've been searching the whole palace for you. I miss you, Yoh!" the prince's fiancée hugged him tightly.

"I can't… breathe… Tamao…"