A suspicious group of five people were heading towards
the palace. It was dark and the island's native trees and bushes
made it difficult to see any of the five people at all. If anyone
did see and was asked about the group, the witness would only be able to
say that the group consisted of four women and a man, and that two of the
women were as tall as the palace guards were.
Jiro adjusted the strap of her borrowed armour.
"I hope his works," she muttered to Ukyou.
"Well, Jiro-chan," said Ukyou, "with the island
on the lookout for Urma or at least, a runaway recruit, it seems only natural
that you should wear the uniform."
"Yeah," commented the native girl. "By now,
the whole platoon should have been a description of me. But they
won't recognise me out of the amour." Urma picked self-consciously
at the sleeveless shirt that she borrowed from Jiro. "And most of
the officers don't really pay attention to the actual recruits. So,
you're probably safer in the uniform than out of it. No one really
sees the person past the uniform and without it, it's pretty obvious that
you're not a native."
"Okay, if you say so..."
"Besides, the helmet will hide your ears," said
Ukyou.
"And I doubt that anyone will notice the umbrella,"
Akane tried to say convincingly.
"You really think so?" asked the tall blonde girl,
fingering the strap to her umbrella holster.
"Not in the dark at any rate," Ranma put in his
two cents.
Soon they reached the servants' entrance to the palace
grounds. Like everywhere else that they have seen, a woman in amour
also guarded it.
"Who goes there?!?" barked the woman.
"Hey," whispered Jiro. "What do I say?"
"Tell her that you were out looking for me," whispered
the runaway. "And don't forget to say, Ma'am."
"This is recruit, Jilla," said Jiro confidently,
"Ma'am. Returning from the search for Recruit Urma. Ma'am."
"Who are those with you?" commanded the guardswoman.
Akane, Ukyou, Ranma and Urma started to sweat.
"These are the relations and friends of Recruit
Urma. Ma'am. Captain Josi wanted them brought in for questioning.
Ma'am."
The woman nodded. "Very well, take them in,
put them under guard."
"Yes Ma'am," said Jiro. "Move!" she barked
to her 'prisoners'.
They marched through the gate, past the guardswoman
and into the back door of the castle. Akane was wide-eyed at the thought
of what just happened.
"We made it through..." she said in a hushed voice.
"But we haven't found Ryo-chan yet," muttered Ukyou.
"Y'know, this might be a good time to split up,"
suggested Jiro. "Soon, everyone will be onto us. We won't have
much time."
"Good point," Ranma replied. "Where do you
think it would be most likely for Ryouga to be right now?" he asked Urma.
The native girl looked thoughtful for a moment.
"He would most likely be either in the rooms where the Princess placed
him or at the banquet that was to be held in his honour."
Ranma nodded. "Okay then. I guess you
should go with Jiro and Ucchan up to uh, where ever the banquet's bein'
held, and Akane and me will go look for P-chan in his room..."
Akane effectively placed a well-aimed punch to the
side of her husband's head. "Stop calling him that, you baka," she
muttered.
The two groups went their separate ways.
It was dinnertime. The tables were set with
the largest banquet that Misha has ever seen. It was obvious to her
that the princess really wanted to impress that Japanese boy that they
had brought to the Island of Fumei. Celeane had brought in the island's
finest musicians to play traditional music--which combined an African tribal
beat with the guitars and flutes of Spanish dance tunes. The dining
hall was decorated with flowers and silk. There hasn't been such
a large celebration since the Princess' birth.
Unfortunately, it was obvious that the young man
didn't want to be there and he didn't really seem to notice anything but
the huge roast pig that was at the centre of the banquet table, and that
appeared to make him sick.
Misha studied the foreigner. Aside from the
greenish cast to his face, the young man could be considered extremely
handsome. He was tall and muscular; which would definitely mark him
a worthwhile conquest for any woman on the island. With serious hazel eyes,
delicately pointed ears, and actual fangs, he would have been considered
a definite catch for any of the noblewomen. But the blonde hair made
him exquisite. It was obvious that the princess was working on his
appearance as well. His originally pale golden skin had darkened
into a deep golden brown, and his once straight blonde hair was already
curling due to the island's humidity. When he came, the young man
was wearing well-worn travelling clothes-- an old tunic and tattered leggings.
Now, he was wearing the baggy pants and loose shirt that the people of
the island would wear for festivals. Instead of the ugly mustard
yellow that he wore before, his new outfit was done in various shades of
green and it set off his thick blonde hair very nicely. On his head
was a golden circlet with an emerald set in front, marking him as one of
the princess' favourites.
As the General of the Royal Guards, Misha knew that
it was her duty to oversee the safety of the Princess as she was sworn
to do. But she had to admit to herself that the Princess' wild ideas
and romantic notions made the job extremely difficult. Not to mention
that it made it extremely difficult for her to personally oversee the troops
that she commanded. She knew that many of the people were not ecstatic
about the thought of the princess marrying a foreigner and that they felt
that she was not paying enough attention to the problems of her people.
Misha agreed with the people over Celeane's neglect, but it was still her
job to protect her charge.
Ryouga Hibiki was not a happy person.
First off, he felt ridiculous. He was the
main guest at a banquet held in his honour. The other people, who
he suspected, were members of the Royal Court or something similar, were
all looking at him in curiosity. He also noticed that the majority
of the other people were women, and their gaze reminded Ryouga that he
was a sort of prize that they would never get a hold of. It was upsetting
to be looked on as an object, instead of a person
From casual observation, he noticed that Fumei was
a matriarchal society, which meant that the men were second class citizens.
It was the woman who was expected to earn the money, to make the top decisions,
to succeed at their jobs and to acquire trophy husbands if the occasion
required it. It was unnerving, especially since Japan (as well as
most of the other countries that he ever visited) was still pretty much
a patriarchal society, even though women were more equal there than the
men were in this country.
He decided to concentrate on following Celeane instead.
Not that he wanted to go with her, but he decided that the last thing that
he wanted right about now was to get lost. The princess led him over
to a seat at the main banquet table and gestured for him to sit down.
He did so, his eyes locked on the huge roast pig that laid on a huge platter
in a very cliché manner --complete with an apple in its mouth.
His stomach turned and he had to look away.
He turned to the wall behind him. It was extensively
mirrored and he reasoned that the mirrors were there to give the illusion
that the main hall was even larger than it already was. He saw his
reflection in it and flinched at the strangeness of it. But he forced
himself to study the changes.
The reflection that stared back at him was that
of a well-built young man of nineteen years with Asian features and hazel
eyes. That was where the familiarity ended. The person in the
mirror had deeply tanned skin and thick long blonde hair that hung loose
down his back. It was to Ryouga's dismay that the hair was starting
to curl. He figured that it was probably due to the island's humidity,
but it was curling faster than it really ought to be. The figure
in the mirror was also wearing a loose sleeveless forest green shirt and
baggy pants of an even darker green. On his head was a simple gold
circlet with a single emerald set in the front. Around his neck were
simple gold chokers, layered for effect. And on his feet were simple
sandals of green and gold.
All in all, there was a stranger in the mirror.
Ryouga sighed bitterly. The more mirrors that I encounter, the less
I recognise myself in them, he thought to himself.
He turned back to the table and concentrated on
watching his plate. He wondered briefly if anyone was coming after
him --as embarrassing as that would be (He's the guy, after all, dammit.
He was supposed to do the rescuing, not the other way around.). Hopefully,
Jiro would be on her way --that is, if she knew where he has been taken.
He had doubted that Ukyou would be able to get away from her business to
come after him --after all, the business was everything to her. He
closed his eyes briefly and concentrated on finding a chi pattern that
he could recognise. He gave up shortly after that. There were
too many strange people near-by and he was nowhere as good at 'Tracking'
as Jiro was. He wondered again about how he was going to get out
of his present situation.
Ranma and Akane were searching through the rooms
of the guest wing. Most of the rooms were unoccupied and the ones
that weren't didn't have Ryouga in them either. After a few embarrassed
apologies and having a pillow or two thrown at him, Ranma was wondering
if there might be an easier way to go about their search. He leaned
against a wall and watched Akane open a smaller door in the main hall.
"I really don't think that you'll find even Ryouga
in a closet, Akane," he said. "Even if he got into one it won't take
him long to find his way back out." Ranma paused for a moment.
"Then again, we are talking about Ryouga here..."
"Shut-up, baka," muttered Akane as she began to
pull out various items from the closet.
"Whatcha got there?" asked Ranma curiously.
"Ryouga-kun's stuff. His clothes are all here,
and even his backpack."
"Oh? No Ryouga?"
"No."
"No P-chan either?"
"No!" Akane threw one of the shoes she found
at the smug-looking face of her husband. Ranma caught it easily.
"Now, you can carry Ryouga-kun's pack."
Ranma swallowed. "His pack?" he asked.
"Of course, baka. You don't really expect
me to carry it, do you?"
Ranma walked up to the closet and looked in at the
huge backpack.
"Do you know how heavy that thing is?" he asked.
"What's the matter, Ranma?" Akane mocked.
"Not strong enough? Ryouga-kun carries it around all the time.
Even Jiro can pick it up."
Ranma clamped his mouth shut. Ryouga's
way stronger than me, was one thing he did not say, not wanting
his wife to think of him as a wimp. And Jiro's almost as strong
as him, was the other thing he did not say, for the same reason,
only more so. He bent over and heaved the backpack on, complete with
two tonne (or so it seemed to Ranma) umbrella. He stood straight
and concentrated on making the carrying of the backpack look easy.
Apparently it worked, because Akane didn't notice the difficulties.
"Let's keep going," suggested Akane as she continued
down the hall. Ranma nodded and managed not to stumble as he followed.
Ukyou, Jiro and Urma reached the balcony that overlooked
the reception hall where the guests were all being served.
"I really can't accompany you any further," said
the native girl regretfully. "If I show up in there, regardless of
whether or not I'm wearing my uniform..."
"I understand, Urma-san. Thank-you," Jiro
said softly.
"Yes, thank-you," Ukyou smiled at the big girl.
"You've been a big help."
The ex-recruit quickly left the other girls and
disappeared into the shadows.
Both Jiro and Ukyou watched her go, then turned
back to the balcony. They crept up to the rail and peered over it.
"Do you see him yet, Ukyou?" asked Jiro.
"No... Not yet... Wait! I think
I see him!" Ukyou sounded astonished. "That's Ryouga?"
Anger then crept into her voice. "What did that bitch do to
him?!?"
"Hmmm?" asked Jiro. She looked around the
room until she saw her brother. She had trouble recognising the young
man with the blonde curls and tan as Ryouga. But the ears helped
identify him. "If you mean about the greenish cast to his face, that
probably has to do with the pork in the middle of the banquet table."
"He looks so miserable, Jiro. Even though
he did get a very nice tan..." Ukyou's voice went thoughtful.
"Hey, Ukyou! Looks like Celeane-kun is about
to make a statement..."
"Oh?"
They watched as the princess stood up and tapped
her glass with a fork. The whole room went quiet.
"My people," she started. "I have a very important
announcement to make."
Jiro and Ukyou concentrated on the princess' words.
"First, I'd like to introduce you all to Ryouga
Hibiki." Celeane gestured to the blonde young man beside her.
"In two days from now, we will be married and Ryouga will become my Royal
Consort."
Ukyou shot straight up, compromising the cover that
the balcony provided. "WHAT?!?" she shrieked. She clambered
onto the balcony railing, and leaped for a previously unnoticed rope that
hung from the ceiling that supported the chandelier that was suspended
over the main banquet table. She swung the handle of her oversized
spatula over the rope and used it to ride the rope's length down to the
main floor. Before she collided into the chandelier, she let go,
somersaulted and landed on the banquet table, each foot planted on either
side of the roast pig.
"THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL THAT YOU'RE GONNA MARRY MY RYO-CHAN!!!"
she shouted to the shocked face of the island princess.
Jiro looked down at what just transpired.
There was only one thing that she could think of that summarised the present
situation.
"Kuso..." she mumbled under her breath before
she scrambled back into the hall.
"Ukyou?" asked Ryouga in a very small disbelieving
voice. "Is that really you?"
Ukyou turned away from the island princess and smiled
at him. "Who else could I be, you pig-headed fool?" she asked.
"I haven't changed. You're the one who looks different."
"Hehe..." Ryouga chuckled, rubbing the back of his
neck, self-consciously. He quickly revised his prievious belief about
where the restaurant stood in Ukyou's priorities.
Celeane, who was used to being the centre of attention,
jumped up on the table to face the okonomiyaki chef.
"How the hell did you get in here?!?" she demanded.
"I flapped my arms and flew here, sugar," snorted
Ukyou. "I came here by boat, how else do you think?!?"
"Are you mocking me?"
"Hell no," mocked Ukyou. "Why would
I want to do something like that?"
"Girls?" interjected Ryouga.
"Not now, Ryo-chan," muttered his fiancee.
"Miss Uppity Princess and I are about to have a few words..."
"Sorry, Ryouga-dear. I have to teach this
upstart of a commoner some manners."
Ryouga tore his gaze away from the potential 'Cat
Fight a la Royal' to the surrounding female guards. He saw the small
woman, Misha, at the head of them, still wearing her trench coat.
"Um, girls?" Ryouga tried again.
"NOT NOW!!!" shouted both women at once.
Ryouga slumped back into his seat. He really
wanted to leave but didn't want to lose Ukyou and he really didn't want
to get lost in the huge castle. "I tried to stop them," he muttered
to the General of the Guard.
"Freeze!" shouted Misha. Both Island
princess and okonomiyaki chef froze before attacking each other.
They turned to face the diminutive woman. Pleased to have got the
ladies' attention, she gestured to the guards. Two large women grabbed
and yanked Ukyou off of the table.
"Hey!" shouted Ryouga.
"Whadda ya doin'?!?" shrieked Ukyou.
"No one attacks the princess while I'm on duty,"
growled the small woman. "What shall I do with her, your Highness?"
Celeane stood shocked for a moment, and then she
regained her composure. She assumed a more regal stance, despite
the fact that her foot was sitting in the punch bowl. "Throw her
in the dungeon! After the wedding is completed, I'll decide what
to do with her."
"No! Wait!" begged Ryouga. "Can't we
talk about this?"
Celeane ignored him.
"Do it!" she commanded her guards.
"Yes, Your Highness," replied Misha as she commanded
three of the women to take Ukyou away. Ryouga tried to get up to
help his fiancee, but strong hands from behind kept him in his chair.
A hand came in front of his face and flashed a knife before it.
"You will stay where you are, pretty boy..." said
a husky female voice.
Ryouga swallowed, wondering if he could disarm the
threatening woman before she can cut him.
"Josi! You will leave him be!" Celeane's voice
snapped from above. Ryouga looked up, and saw the island princess
glare down over his head at the knife holder. She was still standing
on the table, but now, her foot was out of the punch bowl. Ukyou
was gone from the hall already.
"But he might be a threat..." The knife came
closer to his nose.
"Josi. Now." Celeane's voice broke no argument.
"Yes, your Highness," replied the low voice from
behind him. "It will be as you say." The voice did not hold
the proper tone of obedience, but the knife (and hand) disappeared from
in front of Ryouga's face.
"This dinner is officially over," commanded the
princess. "I will leave you to finish your eating," she said to the
nobles (who thought at first the goings on were some sort of dinner entertainment,
then decided that it was just as good as dinner entertainment). "Let's
go, Ryouga-dear." She jumped off of the table, grabbed Ryouga by
his arm and hauled him out of the dining room. Misha followed them
closely.
Jiro watched as Celeane and her chief officer went
down the hall with her brother. She saw Ukyou being dragged out of
the Banquet hall earlier and she had no doubts where Ukyou was headed.
It was Ryouga that she was concerned about at the moment. She figured
that if she acted like she was guarding the entry of the hall like she
belonged there, nobody would really notice her.
"You there!" commanded The diminutive Misha.
So much for nobody noticing her.
"Yes, ma'am?" The best she could do to protect
herself was to play the soldier girl role to the hilt.
"Assist me in escorting the princess and her guest.
And it's 'General'. Don't slip up again."
"Yes, General. Sorry, General." Jiro
fell in behind the small group. It was apparent that Ryouga was too
occupied to notice her voice and too distressed to register her chi-pattern,
even at the close range. Which really didn't matter, she figured.
The main thing was that she was there, in case the proverbial fertiliser
should hit the proverbial fan.
She watched as her brother dragged the princess
to a halt, and started to demand answers from her.
"Where is Ukyou?" he demanded. "What have
you done with her?"
"She'll be safe in the dungeon, Ryouga-dear, no
one will hurt her. I promise. She will even be released in
a couple of days --after we're married, of course."
Ryouga became like the cornerstone of a building.
He wouldn't budge. "I keep telling you, I am engaged to Ukyou.
I can't marry you!"
"We'll talk about it once we're out of the hallways."
"..." The young man refused to move, so Celeane
was forced to drag him along with her.
Ranma and Akane were in a long corridor when they
heard the sounds of somebody coming. Looking for a place to hide,
they realised too late that there were no doors that they could have ducked
into. Instead, they decided to defend themselves if the need arise.
A young man and a young girl came down the hallway,
chuckling and commenting about something. But they talked lowly and
neither Ranma nor Akane could understand the words. Both were carrying
clean towels.
The boy looked up and saw them. The young
married couple tensed but, instead of attacking, the young man called to
them cheerfully.
"Hi! You two are the new servants?" he asked.
"Servants?!" Ranma asked indignantly. Akane
stomped on his foot and Ranma shut his mouth before anything else could
be said.
"Yes, we are," said Akane sweetly, pulling off her
best Kasumi act. "We're not sure where we are, though. Is the
clean laundry supposed to go this way?"
"Nope! That way is the laundry room.
Actually you're supposed to be going the other way."
"Oh my, really?" Akane smiled. "I'm
so embarrassed."
"Hey. Doesn't those items belong to the princess'
guest?" asked the young girl.
The boy looked and nodded. "I think you're
right, Mishelle. That is Ryouga's stuff."
"We were told that we were supposed to place this
in the guest's room," supplied Ranma. "But I'm afraid that neither
of us know where it is."
"No problem," said the young man. "I'll show
you. I've been assigned to tend to tend to her Highness' royal guest."
"Thank-you," said Akane gratefully.
"Yeah, thanks," Ranma said honestly.
"I'm Mishon. This is my younger sister, Mishelle."
"Pleased to meet you both."
"I'm Ranma, this is Akane," Ranma said without saying.
"Those are not Fumeinian names," commented Mishelle.
"Baka!" muttered Akane as she shoved an elbow into
Ranma's gut.
"They sound Japanese, actually," the young girl
continued.
"We're immigrants?" suggested Ranma hopefully.
"Oh, I get it," Mishon. "You're here to rescue him.
Aren't you?"
"Uh..."
"I thought so." Mishon shook his head, yet
grinned.
"Shouldn't try to stop them?" asked Mishelle to
her older brother conversationally.
"I don't know, the poor guy is upset," replied the
older boy. "He's being forced into a marriage that he really doesn't
want, and I understand that his fiancee from Japan has just been thrown
into the dungeon."
"Ukyou is in the dungeon?" asked Akane.
"Why is she there?" asked Ranma.
"She interrupted the banquet that was being held
in Ryouga's honour. Apparently she insulted the Princess in the process,"
the boy said.
"So will you help us get to Ryouga-kun?" asked Akane
eagerly.
"I can't do very much," said the girl, Mishelle.
"But I won't turn you in."
Ranma and Akane blinked. "Why are you helping
us?" asked Ranma.
"Won't you get in trouble with your princess?" asked
Akane.
"Yeah, but I'm a believer in true love," she said
with a sigh. "A girl comes to a foreign land to rescue her sweetheart.
Those make the best stories. But I have to be careful or I WILL get
in trouble with the Princess."
"I can show you to the room he's staying in," said
Mishon, "but not much more."
"Thank-you," replied Akane.
"Yeah, thanks guys." Ranma would be relieved
to return the backpack to its proper owner.
Soon the royal entourage reached the door of the
room that Ryouga was staying in. Celeane commanded the cadet and
her general to stand guard outside the door as she took her guest inside.
She shut the door behind them and turned to face the young man that she
was determined to marry.
"What is your problem?!?" she demanded.
"What do you mean 'what is my problem'?" Ryouga
asked Celeane coldly. "You take me from my home, dress me in the
most ridiculous outfits, you're trying to force me to marry you despite
everything I say, and now you have just thrown my fiancee, the woman I
love, into the dungeon and you ask me 'what is my problem'? What
do you think my problem is?!?" He shouted the last accusation.
"But she is just a peasant! You can't mean
to marry her!"
The beautiful young man trembled in rage.
He yanked the gold circlet off of his head and threw it at the solid stone
wall. Instead of clanging off of the wall and falling onto the wall,
it became imbedded. The princess' eyes opened wide at the display
of strength. Ryouga turned back to her, his usually warm eyes were
as dark and cold as stone, his face was red under the tan.
"I. Will. Not. Marry. You."
The voice was flat and emotionless.
"Why not?" she asked, refusing to lose the battle.
Misha was standing guard outside the room with a
new recruit that she didn't have the opportunity to make acquaintance with
yet. But she knew that duty was duty, and there will be time for
introductions later-- when the girl was off duty. She studied the
young woman discretely, almost swearing that she looked familiar.
Then there was the umbrella that was strapped to the recruit's back.
Misha was certain that the huge blue umbrella was regulation issue...
Heck, umbrellas were never a part of the uniform. The small woman
figured that the poor girl was performing some sort of initiation ritual
that her unit put her up to. Why else would anyone be wearing an
umbrella?
The girl appeared to be oblivious to the subtle
scrutiny and seemed to be concentrating on listening for something.
The small general thought momentarily about reprimanding her, but thought
against it. After all, the new recruit was probably trained to listen
for any kind of threat that could be present, either in the hallway where
she was standing or in the room behind her that she was guarding.
But the girl seemed to be taking the listening a
little too seriously. The wall behind them was solid stone and the door
was solid oak. Misha figured that a person would have to have incredibly
sensitive hearing to make out any sound at all. She wondered if the
girl heard something that she couldn't, and if so, if it was cause for
alarm. She tried to listen for whatever it was that the girl was
listening for.
Then she heard the new recruit murmur something.
"Calm down, Oniichan. You won't solve anything
that way."
Misha's head snapped around to look at the girl
on the opposite side of the door. "Is there a problem, recruit?"
she asked.
"No! No, General," the girl stammered.
"I all of a sudden thought of a friend that I knew. It won't happen
again."
The small woman grunted. "See that it don't."
"Why not?" asked Celeane, refusing to lose the battle.
"You don’t get it, do you?" Ryouga asked in an exasperated
voice. "I don't love you. I don't even respect you. You
treat people as playthings. And you always want your way. Life
doesn't work that way. Don't you understand that?!?"
"I am the Princess of Fumei. My word is law,
the people know that!" Celeane was confused. This young man
was challenging the way things were. He just wouldn't go along with
what she wanted, the way everyone else did. She found the situation
frustrating.
Apparently so did Ryouga. He clenched his
fist, and he looked like he was about to hit her. But he stopped
and cocked his head to the side as if he heard something. He lowered
his hand and gave her a cold smile.
"Your people may listen to you and do what you say
out of fear," he said, "but they don't respect you. Some ruler you'll
make. You're too damn self absorbed." He snorted. "I
bet you're not even aware of anything that happens in your own kingdom."
"How dare you?!?" she shouted. "You don't
even know how things work! You don't have the right to make accusations!"
She turned around and marched to the door. "I'll give you one day
to change your mind, she called back into the room. Good night!"
She slammed the door. She gestured to the recruit still standing
at the door. "Stay here and guard this door," she commanded.
"Yes, your Highness," replied the tall girl.
"Misha! Come with me."
"Yes, Princess."
Not looking to see if the recruit did or did not
do as she asked, Celeane stomped off.
Ranma and Akane, with the help of the two siblings,
were on their way to the guest wing of the palace. Ranma was still
struggling with the heavy backpack, but he was keeping his mouth shut.
"Where is P-chan's room, anyway?" he asked.
"Who's P-chan?" asked Mishon. "I thought you
were going after Ryouga."
"Ignore the baka," commented Akane. "It's
what he calls Ryouga-kun."
"It's what you called him too, for two years, Akane."
Ranma received an Akane-special to the skull, courtesy of Akane's inter-dimensional
mallet.
"Don’t even start there, Ranma." Akane returned
her mallet to its inter-dimensional pocket.
There was a sound of footsteps coming from the direction
that they were heading.
"Someone's coming," said Mishelle.
They took refuge behind a large column and waited.
Ranma took a peek around the column and saw the small woman in the trench
coat walking with a young girl with long black hair.
"I don't care if she a girl," growled Ranma.
"I want to get even with her for humiliating me like that."
"You can't," hissed Mishon. "You hit the Princess,
Misha will kill you!"
"The princess is the one in the coat?" asked Akane.
"No," said Mishelle. "The princess is the
girl with the long black hair."
"The girl in the trench-coat is our big sister,
Misha," whispered Mishon. "She's in command of the guards, and she's
real protective of the Princess."
"Well, I have a score to settle with your big sister,"
Ranma muttered.
"Shhh!" hissed the others.
They watch the two young women until they disappeared
into another hall.
"They must've left Ryouga in his room," suggested
Mishon. "Let's get going."
Ryouga waited until he was certain that Celeane and
her hench-woman were gone. Then he walked over and opened the door.
Jiro grinned at him from the other side of the doorway.
"Hey, Jiro," he greeted. "You came too?"
"Yep." His younger sister grinned back at
him. "How's it going Oniichan?" She came into the room, shut
the door and took off her helmut.
"I want to get out of here so badly, it hurts."
Ryouga sighed.
"And you have only been here for just a day?
And you're sick of the place already?" Jiro teased him. "You
had time to work on your tan, it seems."
"Well, the service is lousy, and the island appears
to be run by a crazy-woman."
"I think I have noticed." Jiro walked up to
Ryouga and gave him a hug. "I'm glad to see that you're okay.
You really did get a nice tan, I don't see any tan lines or nothing."
"Yeah, thanks. Just don't asked how I came
by it."
The two separated and Jiro's voice went serious.
"Ukyou was so worried."
"Yeah and she got thrown into the dungeon too."
Ryouga sighed.
"Do you think she's in danger?"
Ryouga shook his head. "No, not immediately.
She's safe there for another day or so."
"Okay. How are you doing, then?"
"I am so hungry. I was about to eat at the
banquet, but Ukyou showed up, and Celeane had her arrested and dragged
me out of there."
"Oh, yeah."
The two stared at each other.
"Are you here to rescue me?"
"Sorta."
"I did have a plan of escape in progress, you know."
Jiro was struggling to keep from raising her eyebrow.
"You did?" she asked.
"There's a hole in the garden wall, that I've been
enlarging. It's almost big enough for P-chan to squeeze through."
"Really?" asked Jiro. "And how did you plan
on finding this hole again, Oniichan?"
Ryouga's face fell. "Not much of a plan then,
was it?" he asked.
"It would've been a great plan, if you had a sense
of direction, that is."
"Thanks..." Ryouga growled.
"And besides, did you look outside?"
The tall blonde girl pointed out of the window.
Ryouga looked out. The garden was filled with
female guards. He was certain that there were more out there than
there were earlier.
"Why do you think there are more guards out there?"
he asked.
"Probably because everyone knows that there are
intruders here to rescue you. So they had to increase the security."
"Oh..."
Celeane was growling as she stomped off to her rooms.
Misha was tailing behind.
"Princess?" asked the head of the palace security.
"What is it, Misha?" asked the island princess.
"Wouldn't it be easier for you to let this Ryouga
go and find yourself another young man?"
"Why do you think that?" asked Celeane.
"He's seems to be more trouble than he's worth.
Already the girl from the restaurant showed up to claim him. Who
else is here, that we don't know about."
"I think you worry too much, Misha. I trust
that you'll find the rest of the intruders --if there are more people to
be found. As for Ryouga-dear, I'm certain that I can bring him around
to my way of thinking."
"If you're certain, princess..." Misha seemed
uncertain, herself. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go arrange teams to
go search for the others."
"As you will," dismissed the princess casually.
"And thanks for being concerned, Misha. I may not say it often enough,
but I do appreciate all that you do around here."
"Thank-you, your Highness." Misha turned and
walked off.
Celeane watched as her confidant went off then returned
to her grousing. That man has no idea how things work around here,
she grumbled. If he won't change his mind for me, I'm sure that
his little spatula-girl can help me change it for him. Then she
sighed. But that won't work, really. I'd rather that he
loved me than hate me.
She opened the door was surprised to see that Josi,
one of the captains in charge of the recruits, was sitting on her bed.
There were other captains standing around the room. All of the captains
all looked as if they were expecting her.
"Josi! What is the meaning of this?!?" demanded
the princess.
The big woman gave a lazy smile. "Are you
sure that you don't know?" she asked in a mocking tone. "We're here
to oust you, your highness. We're gonna be running things from now
on."
Celeane looked to her other retainers. "Arrest
her!" she commanded of them.
The women did nothing. Well, not quite.
Some of the women crossed their arms in defiance and one woman actually
laughed out loud. Celeane was starting to become frightened as she
realised that she was alone.
"You see, you Highness," said Josi conversationally,
"You're not in charge anymore."
Ranma, Akane, Mishon and Mishelle had just made it
to the guestroom that Ryouga was staying in. Ranma was just about
to open the door when Mishon grabbed his arm.
"Wait! There's no guard out here. That
must mean that the guard is in the bedroom."
Ranma cracked his knuckles. "Just leave him to me..." he started.
"No, Ranma, wait." Akane tugged on his arm.
"The guard is probably a woman or girl like Urma. Let me handle her."
Ranma nodded, and bowed to her as she took the lead.
Akane put her hand onto the doorknob and was about to turn it. Ranma
stopped her before she did.
"Here Akane, use this." He pressed a heavy
object into her hand. She looked down and saw that she was holding
Ryouga's umbrella.
"Thank-you," she said gratefully to her husband.
Then she opened the door.
Akane dashed into the room. She brought the
heavy bamboo umbrella high over her head and brought it down onto the head
of the female guard.
But the umbrella never connected.
It was blocked by another umbrella. A blue
western-styled one.
"Akane-san!" called out Jiro. "Wait!
It's me!"
Akane blinked, and blushed. She was grateful
that Jiro had excellent reflexes. A slower girl would've been unconscious.
"Sorry, Jiro-chan," she said.
"S'okay."
"Akane-san?"
Akane looked up. It took her a moment to recognise
the blonde young man that was in the same room as her as Ryouga.
"Ryouga-kun?" she asked in amazement.
Ranma came in after her. "Yo! Ryouga!
Is that you?"
"Yeah," Ryouga chuckled. "It's me."
He rubbed awkwardly at the back of his head. "I guess I look kind
of silly, don’t I?"
"As compared to what?" asked Ranma. "You don't
look any sillier than you usually do, P-chan! But that is one wild
outfit."
"Shut-up, Ranma!!!!" Both Akane and Ryouga
aimed a punch to Ranma's head. They both connected, but Ranma remained
standing.
"Jeez! You're touchy!" he accused Ryouga.
Ryouga growled. "Believe me, this is nothing
compared to the get-up that I was wearing earlier..."
Ranma blinked at the venom in the Lost Boy's voice.
There were some murmurs from outside the room.
"Is it safe to come in?" asked Mishon from outside
in the hall.
"Yeah," replied Ranma. "Come in!" Mishon
and Mishelle both snuck into the room and shut the door. The boy
looked to Ryouga and grinned.
"I found your friends for you," he said proudly.
"Thanks," said Ryouga gratefully.
"Have we got everybody?" asked Akane.
"Yeah, I think so," said Ranma. "And..." he
turned to Ryouga and handed over the heavy backpack. "This is yours,
I assume?"
"Great!" cheered Ryouga. "My clothes!
Thanks, Ranma!"
"Uh," Ranma was taken by surprise by the thanks,
but he recovered real fast. "No problem, man."
"I guess that we should get out of here then," suggested
Jiro, "We still have to rescue Ukyou."
"Lemme change first," suggested Ryouga. "There's
no way in hell that I'm going out there in this ridiculous outfit."
Jiro grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him into
the room with the tub. "Change in here, Oniichan. We'll be
waiting for you. Call when you're done."
"Right..." Ryouga waited for his sister to
leave the room, then started to dig around in his backpack for his more
familiar and comfortable clothes.
Ranma was waiting with the women when he just recalled
something. He walked around to the room with the bath, where he found
Ryouga, dressed in only his green leggings. The lost boy was just
starting to pull his sleeveless shirt over his head.
"Hey, Ryouga? Can I ask you something?"
"Hmmm?" came Ryouga's muffled voice from inside
the shirt. His head came out and he starting struggling to find the
right places to put his arms through. "What did you want?" he asked.
"It's about that ring you gave Ucchan..."
Ranma paused, wondering how he was going to phrase his question correctly.
Then he shrugged and plunged onward. "Where did you buy it?"
Ryouga blinked as he managed to get his arm through
his shirt. "Why do you want to know?"
"Well... I feel kinda guilty --never gotten
Akane an engagement ring and all... I want to give her the ring that
she deserves."
"That's a good idea. Akane-san definitely
deserves it." Ryouga got his other arm through and he reached into
his pack for a yellow cord. He bent down and started to wrap the
cord around his shin.
"So... Where did you get the ring for Ucchan?"
asked Ranma. "How much did it cost?"
"I didn't buy the ring," Ryouga stated simply as
he tied the cord and reached for another.
"You couldn't have stole it," said Ranma flatly.
"You're an honourable guy."
Ryouga paused in the middle of wrapping the cord.
"Give it up, Ranma. You'll never find another ring like it."
"Oh, really, P-chan? Care to tell me why?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
Ryouga shrugged and finish tying up the other cord.
"I made it," he said.
Ranma was sceptical. "You made it. Right."
He crossed his arms and glared at his friend/rival. "Why do I have
trouble believing that?"
"Told you," muttered Ryouga as he tried to secure
his mass of blonde curls into a ponytail.
"Huh?"
"I said that you wouldn't believe me. I've
gotten better with rocks. I don't just know the Bakusai Tenketsu
anymore. A diamond is nothing more than a very hard rock."
Ryouga tied his bandanna around his head.
"Whatever you say, man." Ranma didn't want
to ask anymore questions on the subject. They gave him headaches.
"Let's go get Ukyou," Ryouga suggested.
"Wait," Ranma said.
"What now?!?"
"Um. First off, I want you to understand that
this is NOT my idea."
"What isn't?"
"It was the only way we could get Nabiki to agree
to lend us a boat..." Ranma pulled out a small notepad and pencil.
Ryouga was confused.
"Huh?" he asked eloquently. "What are you
talking about?"
"Sorry, man... Uh, have you any problems with
split ends yet?"
"What?!?"
"What about this... Does you hair always curl
like that?"
"Uh..." Ryouga was at a loss. "My hair
does tend to curl in heavy humidity, but not this quickly and not this
much."
Ranma jotted the response down.
"Did you use anything that can affect your hair?"
he asked.
"I washed it earlier with normal shampoo.
Or at least I think it was normal shampoo... Why are you asking me
these things? "
"Nabiki wanted me and Jiro to do the follow-ups.
She wanted to know how the stuff that they put in your hair would react
to adverse conditions."
"You're kidding me..."
"Nope."
Ryouga sighed. "Alright, let's get this over
with.
Jiro and Akane were talking with the two siblings.
"So you say that the princess rules by whim?" asked
Akane.
"Yeah," sighed Mishelle. "Anything she wants,
she tends to get."
"That's gotta be hard on everybody else," commented
Jiro.
"It can be," replied Mishon. "But not as bad
as you think. She doesn't do a lot of really stupid stuff, like forbidding
people to eat or to ban owning pets and stuff. But there are some
foolish things that she does that no one can question. Like the kid
napping of Ryouga. She expected him to just go through with the marriage
without question like everyone else around here."
"But it didn't work that way," commented the younger
sibling. "He refused her every time. Princess Celeane was so
frustrated."
"But so was Ryouga," chuckled Mishon. "He
really hated the outfit that the princess had him wear when he first got
here."
"The one he was just wearing was rather nice though,"
commented Akane.
"Yeah, but the one he was wearing earlier..."
Mishon shook his head. "Heck, if it was me who had to wear that thing,
I'd have died from embarrassment."
"Oh?" asked Jiro. "What kind of outfit was
it?"
"There's one laid out on the bed," commented Mishelle.
Jiro went over to take a look. "Oh my..."
she giggled as she picked up the article of clothing. "Yeah, I can
see why Oniichan would be unhappy in that."
Akane went to take a look. She saw the loincloth
and belt that Ryouga's little sister was holding. She gasped.
"Poor Ryouga-kun..."
"So that's how he got his tan..." mused the tall
girl.
"Speaking of clothes, how long does it take that
guy to change anyway?"
"Oh!" Jiro turned to face the boy. "He's
done changing. It's just that Ranma-san is busy asking him questions."
"Really?" asked Akane. "What kind of questions?"
Jiro put her hand to her head, fingering her blonde
hair.
"Oh. Those questions," Akane sighed.
"I sometimes wish that Oneechan could be a little more generous."
"Huh? What?" asked Mishon.
"It's about the stuff that's been used to turn Oniichan's
hair blonde."
"You mean that it isn't natural?!?" asked Mishelle
in surprise.
Both Akane and Jiro shook their heads.
"Boy!" laughed the cleaning boy. "That would
have been quite a surprise for the Princess, if she knew..."
"Wouldn't it, though..." chuckled Ryouga as he came
out of the washroom with Ranma. He saw what Jiro was still holding
up and he blushed. "Get rid of that thing!" he yelped at his
sister.
Jiro blinked and grinned at her brother. "I
bet it looked so cute on you, Oniichan."
Ryouga turned his back. "Just get rid of it,"
he said.
"Okay."
"Are we on our way yet?" asked Ranma.
"Yes," Akane nodded. "Mishon-kun and Mishelle-chan
have agreed to take us to the dungeons.
"We can free Ukyou," Ryouga said hopefully.
"And maybe get something to eat afterwards."
All of the present visitors to the island nodded,
as they didn't have anything to eat since they arrived. Then they
all went out the door. Jiro went out last, after stuffing her brother's
skimpy outfit inside of her borrowed uniform.
Ukyou was pacing around in a cell in the dungeon.
She was mad. All of her spatulas have all been taken from her and
she was unarmed. She was thinking black thoughts at the island princess.
She tried to recall the events that had landed her
in the dungeon.
She was in the balcony, looking for her fiancé.
She had trouble finding him and when she did, she almost didn't recognise
him. He didn't look like the young man that she fell in love with a year
before and he didn't even look like the young man that was taken from her
restaurant a couple of days before. His skin had been tanned golden
and his blonde hair was curly. He was wearing clothes that flattered
his muscular figure.
Bishounen, Ukyou had thought. A beautiful
young man. And for a moment, Ukyou thought he was too beautiful to
be with the likes of her. Then she saw how miserable he looked.
"What did that bitch do to him?!?" she remembered
asking Jiro.
He looked like a doll. He was dressed to match
the other nobles that were seated in the hall, but the gold circlet with
the emerald was too much. It made him look like a valuable object
instead of a person.
Then Celeane got up to make her announcement.
That was when Ukyou snapped. She had quickly remembered the last
year and the work that two of them put in together to make sure that the
relationship would work. She remembered the day that Ryouga, dark-haired,
blushing and down on one knee, handed her a most exquisite ring.
His eyes were asking the one question that his mouth could not. She
remembered his look when she said yes to his unvoiced question. The
memory of how his whole face lit up with a warm glow was one that Ukyou
vowed that she would keep for the rest of her life.
And this little girl wanted to take that away?!?
That was when she threw caution to the wind and
made her unorthodox entrance.
She can sort of remembered Jiro's surprised gasp,
but ignored it as all of her concentration was focused on getting to the
floor below.
She recalled how Ryouga looked at her as she landed
on the banquet table. He was confused, and surprised to see her.
And she recalled the hope and wonder that shone in his eyes when she appeared.
And his joy at seeing her. It was obvious that this particular bishounen
was happy to see her.
And Celeane was not.
The snot-nosed princess had jumped on the table
to face her down. And all Ukyou wanted to do was to teach the girl
a lesson for separating her and Ryouga the way that she did.
Then the guardswomen came and grabbed her to take
her away. Ryouga would have helped her, but he was held back by a
huge woman with red hair, holding a knife in front of his face. The
last thing she saw before she was dragged out of the room was Ryouga's
worry for her and Celeane's contempt.
Ukyou snapped back to the present, and shook her
head. She was embarrassed as well as angry.
She was furious at Celeane for taking her fiancé
away from her and for throwing her in this cell. And she was embarrassed
with herself for allowing her temper get the better of her like it did.
If she had simply waited, she could have got Ryouga from his room after
he returned there for the night, and all of them could have escaped, without
the Princess being wise until it was too late.
But her rashness has cost her her freedom.
Instead of being the rescuer, she'll have to be rescued. How can
things get any worse? she asked herself.
"Heads up! You got company." A harsh
female voice called to her as if in answer. Ukyou looked to the small
window of the steel door and saw the face of the red-haired woman that
prevented Ryouga from helping her earlier. The guard gave the okonomiyaki
chef a cruel smile. A key clattered in the lock and the cell door
opened. A small figure was shoved into the cell, and it collapsed
on the floor. Ukyou watched as the door was shut and locked.
She listened as the guardswoman walked off and upstairs out of the dungeon.
Then she turned to look at the figure that was groaning on the floor, and
gasped.
It was Celeane.