Hello! Here's another chapter for Contests!

IMPORTANT

I ran into a problem when creating a poll and I realized that I could only create one. So from now on I will just list the pairs and your allowed to chose two ships. PLEASE choose JUST one for Len and one for Kaito. Thank you to everyone who voted~ Please continue to vote! :)

REVIEWS

As always, I want to thank everyone who has favorited and followed this story. You're support really encourages me to write. Thank you~

Special thanks to: Naeme

Neame: Yep! The story will be somewhat interactive and more...contesty... The four top choices will be given favor. From next chapter, I'll be actually implementing the choices. Of course, I will change it around time to time to make the story more interesting and who knows, change y'alls minds? Thanks for favoriting and following it! I appreciate it it a ton! I hope you continue to enjoy the story

It was a warm summer day when I first went outside of the castle. I had pleaded with my mother to spend some time away somewhere far off. Prior to my visit to the world outside, I had only been able to view it through the windows, balconies, and photographs. My mother was quite hesitant at first. She had told me that the outside world was dangerous and that I wasn't prepared for it. Still, I persisted on with my demand.

To me, the world looked absolutely beautiful. I yearned to go to the places that the pictures showed. They were places to explore and I deeply wanted to explore every nook and cranny that they held.

"Mama. Where are we going?" I asked giddily.

Lily Crypton smiled and poked my stomach. "Someone's eager," she chuckled.

I giggled in response and shifted my position to see what was outside the window. We were finally going to go on a trip, because a painter in our castle wanted to see some new sights other than the city. Father had approved of the request. He wanted to make the castle more beautiful. My mother had somehow convinced him to let me and her go along on the small trip as well. I planned on thanking the painter later.

I pressed my tiny hands against the windows of the car. We had passed the city and were going into a less populated area. Fields of wheat came into view. I searched through my mind to find some knowledge to identify the area. This area seemed rural.. "Are we in the country?" I asked.

My mother looked surprised for a moment. Then, the corners of her lips quirked into a smile. "My little angel is an intelligent one," she said, kissing my forehead.

I beamed at the compliment. Being praised by her was my greatest joy.

The rest of the car ride was silent. I busied myself by gazing outside the window. The things that passed by the windows looked unbelievable. If the car were to stop, I could get out and touch them. The thought made me feel even more excited to be traveling somewhere.

Once we reached at what looked like a farm, the car slowed down. It was less-well kept than I had expected to see. I had imagined a bright red barn with blinding white stripes painted across it as the picture had shown. Instead, I saw a shabby wooden shack. Its paint was fading and sounds of animals were coming from it.

When the car came to a stop, I turned my head to the house. It looked better than the barn, but it was tiny. The house was probably the size of fathers study. I blinked, confused at the sight. I hadn't expected this.

"C'mon, Len," My mother called. She was getting out of the car with the help of the chauffeur. I followed after her.

The ground beneath my feet sunk ever so slightly when I jumped onto it. I looked down. A small layer of brown stained the bottoms of my boots. I stomped around a bit more. The ground was soft under my feet. Every step I took let an imprint onto the earth. I smiled as I continued to play around in it. It felt very different from the familiar hard polished floor of the castle.

My mother chuckled at my fascination. "Shall we explore?" she asked, offering me her hand.

I nodded eagerly and took it, trying to anticipate what I would see next. I looked at the farm once more. It may have not been what I had imagined, but it was still enchanting.

My mother lead me along a dirt pathway towards the house. A little girl popped out of the house struggling to carry a bucket of grain and seeds. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of us. She dropped the bucket and ran back into the house.

Moments later, more people followed out of the house. A women with short black hair smiled and bowed as she saw us. "Welcome your majesty. I'm Lola. I'm sorry we weren't outside to greet you both. We weren't expecting you two this early," she said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

A blonde man who must have been her husband mimicked her actions, but stood with his hands behind his back politely. He gave a warm smile, "I'm Leon. We hope you enjoy your stay here."

I looked at the two adults. They seemed to be nice and genuine. The woman caught me staring and shot me a smile. She was pretty, just like my own mother.

My mother shook her head and apologized, "It's not your fault. We should have informed you earlier."

The man and woman looked at each other before giving a thank you and a smile to my mother.

My mother squatted down to my height and smiled. "Are these your children?" she asked, pointing to the girl who dropped the grain. The girl was hiding behind the women's legs. A boy, who looked older than her, stood by her other side.

Lola glanced down and ruffled the heads of her children. The look that she gave the two were warm and full of pride. "Yes. These are my two lovely tykes."

My mother nudged my shoulder lightly. "Can you promise to take care of my son here?" she asked gently, while holding out her pinkie.

The older brother analyzed me for a moment before nodding curtly to my mother. "I promise." He locked the promise with his pinkie. I watched the exchange, slightly confused. Why were they promising my safety?

I glanced at the boy. He seemed like he could be trusted. After all, my mother made a promise with him.

The older boy caught me staring and offered me a smile. He held out his hand to shake,"I'm Rinto. Nice to meet you, Prince Len."

I hesitantly shook it and gave him a small smile back, "Nice to meet you as well."

"You don't need to be so formal," Rinto laughed.

"Is that so…" I said, glancing at my mother for approval. She gave her consent.

I looked back at Rinto. "I mean, alright!" I corrected.

He gave me a smile. "Better."

I smiled back. It felt weird to speak in an informal manner, but it felt oddly nice.

"This is Rin, my little sister." he introduced, gesturing to the girl who hid behind him. Rin clutched Rinto's shirt, as she peaked over at us for a moment.

"Nice to meet you," she said shyly. Her voice was quiet. I couldn't help think that it was kind of cute.

"Why don't you kids go play?" Lola suggested.

I glanced at my mother again. I felt nervous to be in a new environment with strangers. They seemed nice, but were these people actually trustable? "That sounds like a good idea." she said. She pushed me forward. "Have fun Len. Be safe."

I slowly walked over to the siblings. Rinto smiled, as he saw me walk over to them. Paranoid thought of him being an enemy spy entered my mind. I quickly pushed them away. I had truly spent too long isolated in the nursery. If my mother had trusted them, then I could trust these people too. Honestly, I was more nervous than scared. Shy would be a better word.

The older boy looked at his sister with a warm smile, "Do you want to give the prince a tour, Rin?"

The little girl bit her lip and slowly nodded. Rinto's smile widened and he turned his attention towards me, "Is that alright with you, Prince Len?"

I nodded. A part of me had been aching to explore this place since we had arrived. Rinto grinned and clapped his hands together, "Awesome."

Rinto looked around the farm. His gaze stopped when it reached the barn. "Shall we meet some animals?" he asked. His little sister brightened up at the mention of the creatures inside. I was excited too.

"What animals have you seen in the castle, Prince Len?" Rinto asked casually as we were walking to the barn.

"Horses," I said. Father had gotten me a baby horse named Artemis to practice riding on. I really like playing with her. "I really love them," I added.

"They're really cool," he agreed.

Rinto opened the door and gestured for me to go in. I stepped through the door hesitantly. A variety of animals suddenly greeted me. I took a step back and jerked my hand back in surprise, as they licked me. The animals followed me. I took another step back. I wasn't used to this. I felt a little scared. What if they bit? My feet lost their balance and I fell backwards. The animals continued to flock towards me.

Rinto's eyes widened in alarm and he tried to get to my side, but the animals were blocking his path. I started giggling as their tongues started to brush my neck. It tickled. I squirmed and started laughing as more and more animals did so.

Rinto pulled me out of the crowd of animals and offered me a towel. He seemed concerned, "I'm so sorry, Prince Len! I should have warned you that the barn was a bit of a messy place. Usually the animals are kept in stables." He quickly glanced at Rin, who seemed guilty. Was something wrong? "I..let them out so they could move around a bit. The animals only did that because they like you," he apologized. He seemed scared. I wondered why.

"It's alright," I said smiling. I hadn't gotten hurt from the fall. I didn't understand why he seemed so worried. It was probably because he wanted to keep the promise to my mother. "They were only playing, right?" I asked while wiping my face with the towel. It was wet from amount of licks I received.

Rinto nodded. His expression still showed a little worry, "Yeah."

I smiled, feeling proud that the creatures liked me. I watched as Rin left her brothers side. She scurried out of the barn. I watched curiously after her. I was tempted to follow, but it would be rude leaving Rinto, when he was showing me around. I listened to him as he started explaining what each animal was and what they liked.

Rin returned, once again carrying a bucket while Rinto was explaining how to milk a cow. The barn door creaked and broke his concentration. He glanced at his little sister and the bucket. I assumed he put the two together. Rinto walked over and helped her with the bucket. "Didn't get to feed some of our friends, huh?" he asked, as carried it to the center of the building.

She nodded, looking ashamed. Rinto laughed and ruffled his little sister's hair. He looked his blue plastic watch,"It's alright. It's still lunchtime." She pouted and brushed her hair with her fingers to return it to its former shape. Rinto set the large bucket of feed down and started feeding a few of the animals. Rin was next to him, diligently doing her work. I walked over and watched the two of them.

Rin glanced at me for a second, before pouring some feed in my hand. "Try feeding some," she said.

I was surprised that she spoke. She had been so quiet this whole time. "Hold out your hand. Don't keep it so close to your body," she instructed in the quiet voice of hers.

I did as I was told. A white baby lamb walked up to me and started to eat. I froze as it made contact since I was afraid that it would hurt. However, it felt the same as earlier. It tickled a bit and I let out a giggle.

"Cool, isn't it?" Rinto commented, leaning forward.

I nodded, "Mhmm!"

"Want to pet her?" Rinto asked. He seemed to sense that I liked this one.

"C-can I?" I asked delighted.

Rin blinked in surprise. "You really want to?"

I answered with an eager nod.

She gazed at me for a minute before allowing her doubt to melt into a warm genuine smile, "I'll help then."

My cheeks flushed a light pink. She had a really great smile. Rin grabbed my arm and placed it on the lamb's back. It's wool felt warm and soft to the touch. I brushed across it's back. "It soft!" I commented.

Rin giggled at my fascination. Rinto watched with a smile. I wondered why I was so nervous to meet these siblings. This family was definitely nice.

The lamb brushed it's head against me and cuddled into my side, causing me to let out a few laughs.

"She really likes you, Prince Len," Rin said. "She doesn't usually get along with strangers that well."

I smiled and continued playing with my newly made animal friend. Rin joined in on the fun with us, while Rinto took over the job of feeding the other animals.

He came over to us when he was finished. "Want to see some more things?" he asked. "If you want to continue hanging out with the animals, that's fine as well."

I didn't want to leave the animals in the barn, but a greater part of me wanted to look around. "Can we come back here if we finish early?" I asked.

"Course," Rinto answered.

He started leading the way, once again. Rin and I followed after him. We passed a few animals grazing in the fields. I giddily ran over to the horses. A reddish-brown horse was the closest to the fence, that bordered the field. The siblings walked horse perked up and trotted over when it caught sight of us.

"That's Whisp. She's Rin's horse." Rinto said. "Those two are usually inseparable."

"Whispy!" Rin greeted as the horse bowed its head over the fence. Rin nuzzled it's nose affectionately.

"Inseparable," Rinto repeated, watching his little sister pet Whisp.

"How old is she?" I asked.

"Whisp is a male," Rin corrected. "And he's six."

I nodded, feeling a little stupid. I should have asked what gender the horse was first. "Oh…" I said, awkwardly.

"How old is your horse Artemis?" Rinto asked, quickly making the growing awkwardness disappear.

"Artemis is 3 years old," I stated.

"You haven't ridden her much, yet. Am I right?" He asked.

I nodded, "Father says that I should first be familiar with Artemis. I'll be able to ride her when I'm seven."

"You're five now, right?" Rinto asked. I nodded feeling quite proud. Every year, more people stopped treating me like a little kid. It got annoying sometimes. I wanted to do things with my older brothers and our mother and father.

Rin looked interested in hearing this, "When's your birthday?"

"December 27th," I answered.

"Mine too," she said slowly. We looked at Rinto who seemed to already know.

"It's funny, because you both look really similar too. Almost like twins," he remarked.

I frowned, not truly seeing what he meant. Rin was a girl. I was a boy. According to my teacher, genetics didn't work out like that. Was he wrong? I decided to ask him later about it. I tried imagining myself in pigtails and a dress and shuddered at the image. No. Just no.

The rest of the day went by quick. Rinto and Rin had taken me on the rest of the tour of the farm. It reminded me of the garden that we had back at home. It was one of my favorite places to be.

I noticed that Rin stayed in a bright mood throughout the walk. It was clear that this family loved their place. Whenever they spoke, I could hear the pride in their voice.

The remainder of the time was spent on playing random games and talking. It felt amazing to run as fast as I could or say whatever I want without being harshly judged. I was still young in the eyes of the nobles and officials, so my father had constantly reminded me that my actions reflected on their parenting. If I did something wrong, it would be bad for our whole family and kingdom.

As we were relaxing by the stream next to the barn, I looked around. My mother was having a chat with the siblings' parents. She seemed to be enjoying herself, which made me happy. I continued watching the parents converse for a few seconds, until I lost interest.

My eyes snapped to the guards who had accompanied us to the area. They were resting next to the barn, laughing and talking. One of them caught my attention. The man was sitting on a pile of hay. He let out a puff of smoke from his mouth. His eyes looked scary; he seemed irritated. He turned towards my direction and sent a glare. I backed away, thinking that it was sent towards me.

Then, I wondered why he wasn't looking directly at me. I realized that the glare wasn't sent towards me, but towards Rinto and Rin. I continued to observe the man. I felt uncomfortable that he directed that much hate for them. Did they brush him in the wrong way? If so, how? They were with me the whole day. I hadn't seen them do anything bad. Did he? The guard saw me looking and washed his look of disgust away with a smile. I forced myself to smile back. I continued smiling, when he blew a puff of smoke from his cigarette, though I internally cringed. A few minutes later, my mother called my name. I obediently went to her side. "We have to go," she said, looking at her watch.

I frowned. I didn't want to leave just yet. Today's experience was one like no other. I felt somewhat free for the first time. "Do we we have to?" I asked, hoping that we could stay for another hour.

My mother noticed my expression and laughed lightly, "Looks like someone had fun today."

I nodded and looked down, sad that it was time to leave already. Who knew when I would get another chance to visit? My mother's expression softened, "We'll visit again, then. Is that alright with you, sweety? We'll come back another day."

My head snapped up, "Really?!"

She chuckled, "Yeah. Of course."

My mother turned to the siblings parents, "Thank you for having us."

Lola smiled, "Thank you for coming."

The car pulled up next to us and the chauffeur got out and opened the door for us to go in. I took one last glance at the place. I tried to catch the brilliant orangey-yellow sky with pink cotton candy-like clouds scattered across it. I swept a glance across the acres of green and golden fields of crop. Finally, I looked at the two siblings, who looked unhappy to see me leave. I didn't want to admit it outloud, but I felt happy to see that.

"Len!" Rin called as I was about to enter the car. I stopped and turned around. The girl placed a small apple-shaped pin in my hands. 'Golden Orchard' was engraved onto it's surface. I looked up, confused.

"It's the name of our farm. In case you ever forget," Rinto explained.

"Promise to come back, okay?" Rin asked, holding out her pinkie.

I smiled and nodded eagerly. "Yeah. I promise!" I said, locking her pinkie with mine.

"Sweety, we need to go now." My mom insisted, from inside the car.

"Coming!" I called, climbing into the vehicle. The chauffeur closed the door behind me. I waved a goodbye through the window. The family waved back and the car started to leave the area. I watched the other cars fill up with guards. The painter was there as well. He had been by his acrylics all day. I was eager to see his painting when we arrived home. It'd be hung in the gallery.