The Imperial Princes

In a quick move, Yoshie picks up my hat and gets rid of the dirt and dust that stings to the soft cloth. She put it back in my head and fixed the front so that I could put down my hand from my face. Shuji came beside me and helped me stand up.

“I apologize, my lady,” the guy slightly bowed, “I am not expecting that there is someone in the garden at this hour. This is not the hour that I usually see someone strolling in the palace garden,” he explained.

“You are running, Sir, are you in danger?” I inquired. “Did you do something against the rule of the Imperial Palace and the guards is after you?” Curiosity is evident in my voice. I will be glad to know if, like me, he often disobeys rules. By the looks of it, he is not a simple guy around.

He laughed full of glee before a sweet smile broke his lips. What he did just increased that visible elegance in him. His sweet smile is inviting and before I knew it, I was staring at him with a smile too. Based on his appearance, he might be just a few years older than me.

“Eiji. Just call me Eiji, my lady,” he introduces himself. “If it’s not rude to ask, may I know your name, my lady?”

“Yuki,” I answered, “you can call me Yuki, Eiji.”

His face lit in surprise before he smiled again. He even bowed again in a formal way, a sign to show respect to those of high status. “I am honored to meet you, Princess Yuki of Daichi Kingdom,” he said.

I gaped at him, how did he know that I am the Princess from the Daichi Kingdom? I arrived yesterday and aside from the guards, maid, and servant assigned to me, I only face the officials. The people that I’ve met today are not included. “If you permit, Sir, may I ask how did you know that I am the Princess from Daichi?” I curiously asked.

“You can’t be mistaken for others, Your Highness. The only one that has a cover on her face, and mysterious that’s why you are dubbed as the black princess with a curse. Most of all, Princess Yuki, the emblem of the kingdom where you’re from is in your clothes,” he answered.

Shit! I feel so dumb. Stupid of me not to realize that all of my clothes have a symbol of our Kingdom. But wait, what did he say? Black princess? How come?

I did not expect that the rumors about me would reach the Imperial Palace,” I silently scoff when I recover from the little shock of what he said.

“Because there are rumors here in the Imperial Palace that you, Your Highness is the most likely to be chosen as the Crown Prince bride and then become an heir to the Empress throne.” He shrugged his shoulders and continued, “Many think that you are the strongest candidate for the selection.”

His face becomes blank and I can feel clenching. Gone was his enticing and joyous smile. Who is this guy in front of me? My thoughts stop as well as our conversation when we notice the imperial guards running and looking around. The guy in front of me becomes alert when the imperial guards are going in our direction.

“I am glad to have met you, Princess Yuki,” he said. “I am pleased to talk to you but I have to go. Until we meet again,” he waves goodbye and runs fast in the opposite direction of the imperial guards before I am able to say something in response. When the imperial guards saw him, they immediately chased him. Did he do something wrong? Something snaps in my head and if I am right, there’s only one thing that answers the situation that we saw.

I turned toward the maid standing in the distance, “Did you get a chance to see the two Princes?” I asked.

“Our apologies, Your Highness, but we never got a chance to see the two Princes,” the chief of my maids replied. “We were never assigned to them, we never got a chance to be assigned to a gathering where they were present and they did not take time to even take a peek in our celebration either.”

“Got it,” I said, totally understanding what she meant. “Do you know the name of the Princes?”

“The Crown Prince is known as Prince Daiki and the second prince is known as Prince Daisuke,” the captain of my guard answered. “But we heard that they introduced their second names to the people that are unaware of their status.”

“I see,” I am nodding my head while thinking about what the captain of my guard said. I don’t believe that Eiji is an ordinary person and I will do everything to know who he is.

After taking a closer look at the garden we decided to come back to my house. The servants quickly made tea and served it to me while I was taking my rest. I am silent and did not say anything, I am still thinking about Eiji and it’s making me restless.

After a short while, I stood up and walked out of the house. With sure steps I walk at a fast pace towards the library, there might be a record about Eiji there. Shuji and Yoshie just followed me silently while the other lady’s in waiting hurriedly followed with no time to ask. The two know that if there’s something in my mind, I won’t stop until I find the answer.

The record about the Imperial family is the first thing that I look for the moment I arrive at the huge library but I can’t find it. It might be stored in the library meant for the imperial family and other trusted scholars or staff. When I left with no choice, I asked my chief lady’s in waiting for the birth date of both princes. It’s a good thing that she remembered the exact date. We started to look for the record of the birth of the citizens of the empire.

“Your Highness,” Yoshie called. “I found the name of the second prince,” she put the record in front of me.

“Daisuke Kenji Hideki,” I muttered repeatedly. I have to remember his name. “Thank you, Yoshie,” I looked up to her and smiled.

She knows me for a long time thus she doesn’t need to see my face to know that I am smiling at her. She smiled back and continued to look. We still need to find the name of the crown prince.

I made sure to look carefully and did not miss any names before changing the pages of the record in front of me until I found what I am looking for. I smiled from what I’ve read from the record. I am not mistaken. “Daiki Kazuki Eiji,” I whispered. Eiji, huh?

****************************************************************************

I was breathing hard when I came into my house. The head of my staff and the captain of my personal guard welcomed me with a worried look. But I just gave them a carefree smile. A boring day in the imperial palace was lessened for a few hours. I proceeded to my room not listening to a bit to what the people welcoming me were saying. Aren’t they used to this by now? Since I came and decided to stay here, I am always pulling stunts like this. To escape from the reality that I am on the verge of saying goodbye to my singlehood even just for a few moments. When the time comes, I may not be able to have fun at all.

I spent a few hours playing hide and seek with the imperial guards and sneaking outside the palace. At the back of the fermenting storage, the wall is not that high and I am able to climb up and jump. It was my secret passage when I felt like going outside and visiting the marketplace. Today, one of the guards caught me on top of the wall and because I don’t want to be punished for going outside without approval, I ran away from them. It’s a good thing that they were not able to identify me as the Crown Prince or else, the Emperor and the Empress will know that I’ve been secretly going out.

Yes, I am Prince Daiki Kazuki Eiji, the Imperial Crown Prince, heir to the Imperial throne. People address me as Prince Daiki but I prefer to be called Eiji by the people close to me. I am known as the wandering prince as I love to travel from one place to another. But this time, as an heir, I have a responsibility to take. I need to put aside my personal interest and start to think about the welfare of the Empire. Thus, the Emperor and Empress summoned me as the time to choose a bride has come. In that regard, I don’t have the right to choose either, whom I want to marry. It might be a privilege to be a prince much more to be an heir to the throne but it sucks to be one too. As you don’t have freedom and control over yourself. Every decision matters and the weight of it is heavy.

An image of a beautiful woman with a lovely face comes to mind but I quickly dismiss it. Even if I think of her all my life, the fervent wish from the deepest part of me will never come true. To be with the woman I am trying hard to forget.

I heave a deep sigh before dropping myself onto my bed. My mind wanders to the fact that after a few months I will be having a wife that I don’t love. Let's say that I may learn to love any of the women that are part of the selection process but my heart denies that it is possible. It is because my heart is captivated by a heartless woman.

What a bitter fate I have. If I did not seek to travel to the highest places or mountains in the world I may not be able to meet her and the thought of disobeying my birthright will never cross my mind. It's tempting and I am prepared to leave everything behind to be with her if she only asks. But the irony is, she is willing and prepared to do everything for me to vanish from her sight. Until now, I am still wondering why she is irate and annoyed at me, that when she sees me she will kick me away.

Damn! Get a grip of yourself, Eiji. Stop thinking of her. Stop missing her and focus on your responsibility. There's no way you're able to see her again.

Right! There might be no chance to see her again. I should focus my attention and time on my responsibilities. In the coming days, I will start to accompany the Emperor in the meetings, to learn how to govern the Empire. I will be facing everyone as the crown prince and not the simple Eiji that has been socializing with the common people.

I will be busy with my duties and responsibilities as well as getting to know the women that are part of the selection for my bride. I remember Princess Yuki that I met in the garden while I was running away from the guards. The information that reaches us with regard to the Princess from Daichi is correct. She is indeed mysterious and always wears a cover on her face. Based on the information, there were few people that knew what she looked like aside from the King’s family.

I smiled, my interest in her deepened. I am curious to know what she is hiding, what is the face behind the cover. It’s nice talking with her though, it seems that we can be friends and understand each other’s interests. What I said to her earlier was true. She has the advantage as my mother, the Empress, wants and favors that from the Royal Family of Daichi should be chosen as my bride. The Emperor and the King of Daichi are allies, friends and have the same goal.

But I feel that everything will not be easy. Not all officials and ministers of the empire agreed with the Emperor. Some of them are eyeing a chance to overthrow our family and steal the throne. And if those people know that the Empress favors the Princess from Daichi, she will be in danger. Even if the Empress is the one that supervises the selection process, there are still rules and regulations that need to be followed. The Emperor’s and my opinion is also vital for the process. Whoever I choose will have the highest chance to be chosen. I need to choose three and from the three will be my bride.

With just a small interaction with Princess Yuki, I am quite sure that she will be one of the chosen candidates. I’ll just have to get to know her better and give myself a chance. I just don’t know what’s with her and she was able to get my interest. Should I visit her tomorrow? I sigh, it’s not possible. Tomorrow will be a welcome celebration for them. It’s also the day that I will be formally introduced to them.

I am curious about the Princess' reaction once she knows that I am the one that she will be marrying should she be chosen. Unfortunately, I will not be able to see her reaction as I know that she will attend the celebration with a cover on her face. I am also not sure if the officials will demand her to take off the cover and show her face.

My train of thought was disturbed when the door of my room suddenly opened and a man that was breathing heavily entered the room. I get up and slump to sit on my bed while waiting for the man to recover his breathing.

“What foolishness did you do?” I confronted him. He would not be like this if he did not do something.

“Calm down, Your Imperial Highness,” he grinned widely. “Don’t be like that as if you were not chased by the imperial guards because you were caught climbing up the palace wall.”

I laughed at what he said. “You’re right, that's what happened to me a while ago. How about you? What did you do?”

He smiled before answering my question, “I entered the office of one of the palace officials and checked his collections of adult books. You know those things are prohibited inside the palace, that's why he ordered his men to catch me.”

“Did they recognize you?” I worriedly asked him.

“Nope! They were not able to see me. I also secretly entered your house while the official me is still looking for me at a different place,” he answered sitting down on the seat in my room.

“You did not report it to the authorities, did you?” I look at him with a knotted forehead.

“Because I know that the day will come that it will work in our favor,” he answered. “Those things will come in handy, my dearest brother.”

I shook my head but I know that he is right. We need all the things we can get that we can use to ensure that those treacherous people will not succeed in their plans. We are aware that some of the people that hold much power in the Empire are traitors and their plan of revolt is not for the good of the citizens but for their own gain and interest. They will feed their greed and hunger for power at the expense of the commoners. That’s the thing the Imperial family will not allow, the safety and security of commoners should be on top priority.

“Just be careful and discreet of what you are doing, Prince Daisuke,” I reminded him as he is careless at times.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness, I will be very careful. I will not put our family at a disadvantage,” he replied with confidence. He stood up and walked towards the door. Before opening the door, he turned to me with a serious look on his face. “Are you ready for tomorrow, Kuya?” His expression changed into a teasing grin when he continued, “You will meet the women for the selection process and one of them will tie you into a loveless marriage.”

I frowned at him, “I already know that. Whether I am ready or not, it doesn’t matter. I don’t have a choice anyway.”

“Will you give up just like that?” he teased. “How about your pure and genuine love to Jha ----”

I throw the pillow at him, stopping him from mentioning her name. He wasn’t hit because he quickly closed the door. I can even hear him laughing outside my room. But what he said made me think. Should I give up my love just because of my responsibilities and duties? Why is it not possible to perform my duties and be with the woman I love? Why is it that I’m a Prince and heir to the throne and she wasn’t related to any Royal Family? It should have been a little easy on me if we had the same status.