Chapter Four: Confessions
Thanks to my wonderful reviewers!
Haku and Chihiro are VERY out of character in this chapter!
Chihiro gasped as Haku let her go.
"Sorry…" he muttered. He sped off down the hall, leaving Chihiro nothing to do but follow him.
She trailed him through a few halls until he came to a stop in front of a plain door. He reached into his pocket and fitted a key into the lock. He pushed the door open silently and gave the key to Chihiro.
Haku was about to leave when Chihiro spoke. "I'm not mad."
"What? You're not?" He asked. Haku had been sure she would hate him now.
"No… I actually… Kinda liked it?" she answered. She blushed again. "But why did you… kiss me?"
"Sorry… I really didn't mean to. I guess I might… l-love you." By now, Haku was blushing as well.
Chihiro smiled. "I think I might love you too."
"Really?" Haku asked hopefully.
"Yup!" Chihiro grinned, and hugged Haku.
Haku was surprised, but embraced the girl back.
"But…what about your father? And my mother? Surely they won't like this." Haku asked.
"Aww… We just won't tell them! But I don't know how to keep the fact that we love each other a secret…" Chihiro said, thinking.
"Let's just not worry about that now…" Haku said, and softly pressed his lips to Chihiro's again. He didn't want to hurt her, so he didn't do anything else.
Chihiro kissed back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Haku ran his tongue across her lips gently, and hoped he wasn't going too fast.
Chihiro's eyes went wide, but she closed them again as she opened her mouth and let Haku slipped his tongue in.
They held each other tighter as their kiss deepened and he rubbed her back in small circles.
They both heard a loud, surprised gasp and released each other as Haku's mother came onto the scene.
"Haku! How dare you!" She screamed, then turned on Chihiro. "And you! I give you a room in my palace and you do this! You are lucky I do not send you back to the dungeon!"
She slapped Haku and shoved Chihiro in the open door. She locked it and pulled Haku away. Chihiro saw a look of sorrow on his face though the crack in the door before his mother shut it all the way.
Chihiro sat on the small bed. She was close to tears.
What have I done? Oh Haku… I'm sorry… I just enjoyed it so much.
She thought of what would happen. Maybe she would never see Haku again! She started to cry at this thought. She lay face down on the bed and cried herself to sleep.
A few hours had passed when she woke to hear someone whispering her name.
"Chihiro… Chihiro, love, please wake up…"
Haku reached down and touched her shoulder.
She stirred and sat up.
"Haku!" She whispered loudly. "Oh, I'm so glad you came!" She buried her head in his chest.
"Chihiro… Your father has offered a ransom! You're going home!" he whispered excitedly.
Chihiro's lip trembled. "Will I ever see you again?" she asked.
"I promise Chihiro… I will see you as soon as I can." Haku kissed Chihiro lightly and left.
It had been on week since Chihiro saw the beautiful boy. She had almost done nothing except stare out the window and hope. She had scarcely even left her room.
Her father had indeed taken her home. Luckily, he hadn't found out about her sneaking into the battle. Yet.
He hadn't even said anything to her. Chihiro was used to this, and she didn't really try to speak to him either.
She was starting to loose hope in Haku's promise. She couldn't imagine what would be keeping him. Maybe he got in more trouble than I thought and his Mother won't leave him alone! Oh… I'm sorry Haku.
Chihiro prayed to whoever was listening that Haku would come soon. The girl had faith in him even though she had known him only for a short time.
Chihiro longed to see his face again. To hear his voice. She smiled sadly to herself. Two days and she already could not get enough of the young prince.
All she could think about was Haku.
"Leave me alone, Mother!" Haku said. His mother would not seem to let him out of her sight.
"Haku, this is for your own good! Until you give up on that girl you are not to be left alone!" She said angrily.
Haku rolled his eyes. "I don't know what you're getting so worked up about. Would you rather me be with a snotty, selfish, rich girl from our own country? She wouldn't care anything for me as long as she had money. Don't you want me to be happy?"
"Yes, of course. But someone from the enemy family is simply not allowed! You know that." She answered, scolding him.
"Whatever." He closed his eyes. 'Please wait a little longer Chihiro… I promise I will come.'
"Now, Haku," his mother started sternly, "You will have a guard outside your room for obvious reasons. Please do not cause trouble!"
She was treating him just like a prisoner! How often had he seen this speech before?
The Queen left the large room and Haku sat in silence for a moment.
Almost immediately he sprung into action. Haku ran to the door and locked it so no one could walk in on him while he was busy, while he wasn't there. He opened the window and looked down from his two-story high window.
'Hmm… How can I get down?' Haku thought. He looked around his room.
Bed… Sheets… Maybe I could tie them together?
He imagined himself clutched onto a white rope. He saw it ripping and him tumbling down to the ground.
Oh so very vivid… Next idea!
What about a real rope? It wouldn't rip! Yeah… But where could I find one?
He looked around and his eyes fell on a rope attached to the ceiling. He was supposed to use it to call servants, but he never even touched it.
He seemed to fly to it and was just about to pull on it before he stopped himself.
Haku, you moron! You can't pull it down! You'll call people here!
He rushed to his desk drawer and tore it open. He frantically searched through it and found a small pocketknife. He went back to the rope and sawed though it as fast as he could and as high as he could reach.
He went over to the windowsill and placed a tall lamp on the floor by the open window. He tied one end to the lamp and took the other in his hand. It wasn't long enough, so Haku would have to drop nearly a quarter of the way down.
He climbed out the window and shut it on the rope, so the lamp would not fall out when he tried to make it support his weight. He slowly made his way downward and when he came to about halfway, he let go.
The wind rushed past him and Haku felt the ground come underneath him. It didn't hurt much, and Haku landed on his feet. He decided the rope could come in handy later, and he didn't want a passerby to see it, so he pulled it down hard. The lamp came down with it.
Stupid, stupid, Haku! He was still until he was sure no one had heard. Nobody came. He quickly untied the rope and pulled the remains of the lamp towards a bush nearby he could hide it in.
He started running toward the gate but turned toward the stables. He found his horse and jumped on. There was no way he was traveling all the way to the Ogino family palace on foot!
Chihiro sat on her bed and hugged her pillow. She was worried about Haku. Was he okay? Was it her fault? Did he…hate her now?
Her lower lip trembled when she heard a light knock on her door. Chihiro promptly faced away from the door.
The next knock she heard was a more commanding knock, followed by an "Open this door now!"
Chihiro dragged herself toward the door and opened it. Her father stared back at her.
"Well, Chihiro, aren't you going to let me in?" He asked, annoyed.
"Yes, Father," she answered, and stepped aside to let the King enter.
"Thank you. So, you haven't been seen around the palace much this past week. What have you been up to?" He asked, trying very hard not to sound bored.
"I've just been sitting in my room. Haven't been doing much." Chihiro answered, smiling a fake smile.
The king didn't see that it was fake, but still he was suspicious. "Really. So, I wanted to talk to you…"
"Oh? About what, Father?" she wondered, although she had a pretty good idea what he wanted to talk about.
"About how the enemy family got a hold of you. You know, you did cost me a lot to rescue." He said, not able to hide how annoyed he was at this point.
"Yes, and I am very sorry," she said, avoiding the question.
"You just avoided the question, Chihiro! Did the enemy break into my palace and kidnap you? If so, you must tell me! I will not stand for that!" he said angrily.
Chihiro turned her head and closed her eyes. She could not tell him the truth, who knows what he might do? But she could not say that Haku and his family kidnapped her from here, he would attack again! Haku might get hurt…
"Oh, so that is it then… Thank you dear." He murmured, thinking, reopening the door.
Chihiro's eyes shot open. "No!"
"What? Then, what is it then?" he asked, turning back around.
Chihiro took a deep breath. I have to protect Haku. "I snuck onto the battlefield, disguised as a soldier. It was my fault."
Her father was very surprised. "Chihiro! How dare you? I do so much for you, protect you! And this is what you do? You put yourself in danger, and get yourself captured? And made me pay for your stupidity?"
Chihiro lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Father."
"You will stay in your room! There will be a battle tomorrow, and you will be in here the entire time. You have disgraced me and your family!" The King nearly yelled. He stalked out of the room and slammed the door, and Chihiro heard it lock.
Haku closed his eyes. Chihiro. All he could think about was the beautiful girl.
I wonder if her father knows what she did… I hope he doesn't. She would be in trouble…
He continued to ride toward the palace that was ever growing larger. He was exited to be able to see Chihiro again. The thought of how he would explain how quiet he had been had not even crossed his mind.
He was so close to the gates. But, how would he get in? He hadn't gotten this far in his plan…
He studied the iron gates and took in the five guards posted at various points above it on a platform. There were two on either side on the ground, and all were heavily armed. That's seven guards, not to mention any that might be just inside… It wouldn't be too hard to get past if he had about ten of his best men or so.
But it was just Haku this time… And he only had his sword and horse. Maybe there was another way in? Too bad Chihiro's room wasn't visible… or was it? He squinted and scanned the castle viewable behind the large gates. He was lucky the Ogino family's castle was in front of the great city. Too bad for the king, though.
There! He could just make out a figure in a high window. He could tell she had long hair and was gazing out the window. He thought he saw tears glistening on their face. That must be Chihiro!
Haku brought his horse father from where the soldiers were guarding and slowly edged toward the wall. He was near where Chihiro's window was above.
He jumped off the horse and told him softly to go back home. Hopefully no one had noticed he had left yet. He ran his hand over the surface of the stone. It was jagged, so he grabbed a stone that was as high as he could reach. He hoisted himself up and used his other hand to seize a rock even higher, so that his feet were dangling above the ground. He lifted one of his feet moved it around until he found a rock jutting out far enough he could get a good hold on it. He did the same with his other foot with a different wall.
Haku continued in this way all the way up the wall, using the rocks he used for is hand for his feet as he passed them. He supposed that the wall had been built quickly, because there were many uneven rocks, and it didn't look so planned up close.
Haku lost track of time as he continually reached for stone after stone. This was easier than what he had expected when he first saw the wall. But of course, he though too soon. Haku was about halfway up, when he realized there was not a rock close enough that he could get a hold of.
"Just wonderful…" he whispered to himself. He twisted his head back and forth to check for a way he could get out of this without having to go back down and try again. There! He saw a rock maybe a meter away to the right. But how could he reach it?
Haku made sure his feet were secure below on a good stone, and reached out with his right hand to grab the rock. The tips of his fingers reached it, and he tried to grab it all the way, but he couldn't. Haku decided there was only one way he could reach it. He let go of his left hand and nearly jumped to the right.
Yes! He thought as he caught himself before he fell to the ground.
He swung his feet and the rest of his body over and planted his feet on two rocks he felt. Haku grabbed another rock higher up and started climbing again.
Finally, Haku reached the top. He got out the rope and secured it to a rock that he noticed was very large compared to the others. Haku climbed down and did not have to jump very far to the ground. He left the rope there for when he left and hoped no one would see it.
He cautiously walked the short distance to Chihiro's palace, not wanting to be seen by anyone.
Chihiro's room was one story off of the ground. And luckily, there were vines climbing up.¹ He started climbing up the vine, and decided he much preferred the rocky surface of the wall to the thorny leaves.
Chihiro was feeling horrible. Poor Haku… Please don't let him get hurt…
She closed her eyes and though of him. He had beautiful eyes, she mused. They were always so guarded; even cold at times, hiding a past he didn't want to share. They seemed to change color, sometimes a brilliant emerald to a sea green.
His hair was midnight black, hanging straight, just brushing his shoulders in an Egyptian style, except when he pulled it back into a loose tail. The bangs always obscured his eyes, except when he brushed his locks away to reveal green depths.
Pulling herself out of the wishful thoughts, Chihiro thought she heard a tap-tap from the window. That's strange… there isn't even a tree outside!
She guessed it was her imagination and tried to return to thinking about the boy she loved, but there it was again! Tap-tap, tap-tap. Chihiro stood up and peered out the window. Her wide eyes met the very emerald lights she had just been thinking about.
"Haku!" she whispered, not wanting to bring anyone to her room, although she wanted to yell for joy.
She whipped open the window and grabbed his hand. She hurriedly pulled him in and shut the window.
"Oh, Haku!" she said, burying her face in his neck. "I feared I would never see you again! Oh, I love you so much!"
Haku returned her hug and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of the girl. "I love you too Chihiro. Oh gods, I'm so happy to see you…"
"What happened, did you get in trouble?" Chihiro asked, worried.
"Only a little, love. Don't worry." He answered
Chihiro smiled. They had only known each other for a short time and already he could read her thoughts.
Haku gazed into her eyes for moments and they just held each other. Chihiro felt like she was in heaven as he smiled and brought his lips to the girls. He never wanted to let her go. Chihiro felt the same.
1) How convenient?
Hehe... fluff. Yeah, I don't like this chapter so much, it seems to repeat itself...and I apologize if you don't either. Well, I had planned on making this longer, but I decided I should go ahead an dupdate, sorry it took me so long.