After Party

In the boy's dormitory of the Royal Patch Academy...

He felt someone's finger tracing his forehead down to his nose followed by soft lips brushing his own.

"Anna?" Prince Ren squinted his eyes at the person hovering above him. The girl was caressing his cheek the way his mother did when he was sick. It felt good that someone was caring for him as if he was a seven year old boy again. He could feel a warm damp cloth being wiped on his bare chest and that's when he realized that he was naked from waist up.

"Anna?" he asked again.

"Yes Ren. I'm here."

"You're back," he reached out to touch her face but the girl took his hand and placed it over her bosom.

The Kaminari prince gathered his strength to sit up and enclosed her in his arms. "I missed you Anna…"

"You are still weak." She spoke to his ear with a soft lulling tone.

"I've been looking for you." He held her by the nape and brought her face closer to his until their foreheads touched. "Everybody is saying that you are dead. I did not believe them. I knew you were alive. I knew it."

The girl choked back tears.

"It's alright, Anna. Your parents are gone but you still have me. I am here. I am always here."

"I love you Ren. I have been wanting to tell you ever since I---"

The prince did not let her finish as he instantly took her lips the way that he imagined it to be on their wedding night. He had long been waiting for her to say those words. He wanted for them to go home tomorrow, get married as soon as possible then raise a dozen feisty children just like them. He gently pulled her to his bed and laid her down without breaking the kiss. She was only wearing a nightie without any undies so it was easy for him to see what was underneath in the dark and to feel the curves of her body through the thin fabric. She let out a gasp when he began fondling her breasts which were surprisingly ample. He immediately withdrew his hands for fear that he was making her feel that she was being violated. He was a gentleman after all.

"Is it alright?" He was aching for her to answer yes.

She took his hand, slipped it under her nightgown and cupped it over her bare breast. "I am yours and yours alone."

At the boy's dormitory of the Royal Patch Academy, the morning after the ball...

"What do you mean I need to go home NOW?" The irate prince of Kaminari asked his once personal bodyguard who was sitting comfortably on his bed. Bason enjoyed watching him pacing to and fro just like the king when he was making a difficult decision.

"Your highness, it is your father's orders to take you back to the kingdom the soonest. Do you want to read the telegram from him again?" Bason reached for a parchment from his side pocket.

Prince Ren irritably waved his hand.

"I was informed by the Royal Police Chief about the threat to your life yesterday morning. Duke Diethel assured me that you would be safe. The culprit is already in police custody."

"It is not in my nature to cower in the face of danger, Bason. You have underestimated my abilities by not telling ME that MY life was in danger. Great Spirit! Why are people keeping secrets from me all the time?"

"I know you are upset, Your Highness but our immediate concern right now is for you to come back to Kaminari. After what happened last night, every kingdom in the world is pulling out its royal bloods from the academy. You would eventually find yourself the lone student here, Your Majesty."

Someone knocked at the door.

"I am not in the mood for additional visitors right now!" the prince yelled.

"It's me," Lyserg's voice came from the other side.

Prince Ren immediately opened the door to reveal his friend and Princess Pirika who looked anxious upon noticing a bulky man in his room. He invited them in and quickly shut the door.

"Guys, this is Bason, one of Kaminari's generals and my former bodyguard. Bason, this is Lyserg Diethel, the son of the Royal Police Chief and this is Pirika Usui, the princess of Kouri. If you are not comfortable with each other, you may all leave." A clearly infuriated Prince Ren pointed at the door.

"I am not in Kaminari right now. Besides, this bed is so soft. Just go on with your discussion I'm just going to take a quick nap." Bason laid down still and within seconds he was snoring. The prince knew too well that he was faking it.

"Can he be trusted?" Lyserg asked.

"Yes, I knew him since I was a little boy. Can you be trusted?" the prince asked with spite.

"Look I'm sorry Ren. We did not reveal the plan to you because you would surely find a way to deal with the death threat sender yourself. We had to sedate you so you would not protest while we extract you out of the venue."

"Who else knew? Was she involved?" the prince nodded at the direction of the Kouri royalty.

"Excuse me?" the princess folded her arms across her chest. "I have not forgotten what you said to me at the ball."

Prince Ren felt a bit guilty. He ought to apologize to the girl but his disappointment over the action of his friends was more prominent.

"No, Pirika has nothing to do with this," Lyserg clarified. "Only the headmaster, a few instructors, my father, Jeanne and me…"

Jeanne… He saw her left the room early in the morning.

"So this whole plan was a family affair huh and I thought we had the privilege of being escorted by the Royal Police Chief because you are his son." Prince Ren recalled the events that had transpired last night. Everything made sense now. "What the hell did you put in my drink?"

"It's just a drug to make you drowsy and…" Lyserg was too ashamed to continue.

"AND?" Prince Ren inquired impatiently.

"Hallucinate in some cases."

The Kaminari heir groaned. "So it was the drug after all. I almost thought Anna was alive. I saw her in my room and we had s-. Never mind!" Prince Ren blushed at the very thought of his intimate moment with his fiancé.

It felt so real.

The room was filled with silence until the Kouri princess broke it. "No, you are right. I came with Lyserg to tell you that you have been right all along, Ren," Pirika whispered.

The prince gave her a bewildered look. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw her. I saw your Anna. Well, she fitted the description. She had the same name."

"What makes you so sure? You have never seen her before?"

"A girl's got intuition you know. She's with the Kasai delegate."

Prince Ren let out a smile. "Wake up Bason. We're leaving soon."