Pieces on a Chessboard

Summary: Princess Hikari used to like dancing at balls, but not anymore. She now had a "Future Husband List," and dancing had become nothing but a way to try and find the most suitable prince to marry. But what irked her the most was Candidate #3, who had been actively avoiding her since they were both eight.

Taichi saw her sneaking away, but — and this was why Hikari loved her brother so much — he had simply shrugged and basically let her go.

She just had to escape from all the dancing and the music, all the Princes and the Princesses, the Lords and the Dukes and the Ladies – lest she spontaneously combust right there and then in front of her father's important Guests.

See, Hikari used to love these balls. She'd spend hours preparing for it with her mother, and for a while, that was all it was: just a ball, where she would get to dress up in fancy gowns, and then she would dance all night and meet many important people and feel important in return. All the glittering lights and the splendid decor, the music, all the colours, all the people she had met through these balls—

She used to love it so much, to the point where she thought Taichi was crazy for rebelling against their parents whenever they said he just had to attend the ball.

He hated dancing, Taichi would say, but then their parents would say that it did not matter whether he liked it or hated it. Just stay and chat then, they'd say.

Sometimes the arguments would get out of hand, and Taichi would end up locking himself up in his room. Then their father would spend about half an hour knocking on his door before giving him The Speech. It usually went something like, "You are the future King, Taichi, remember?"and Taichi would get so tired of it all that he'd end up going to the damned ball, anyway.

Hikari didn't understand it back then, because she had never been at the receiving end of "The Speech." Not until two years ago when she finally reached that age that made her all too eligible for marriage. But somehow, her parents had always been kinder when it came to her. They were quite harsh sometimes with Taichi, with the whole "you-will-be-King-one-day" speech — but with Hikari, that was never the case.

"We are so proud of you, darling," her mother would often say, and over the years, she had learnt that this particular phrase was simply the opening speech, the "introduction" of a very lengthy sermon. What usually followed was, "We have an obligation to protect our people, Hikari," and, "Peace is not maintained simply by attending each other's masquerade balls, you understand," or even, "One day, perhaps you will be Queen, my love."

"Politics, dear sister,"Taichi would often say afterwards. "We're all just pieces on the chess board. You'll see." Hikari would merely roll her eyes at him in return and tell him that he was being a drama queen.

(But deep down, sometimes, Hikari agreed with her brother.)

Hikari sighed as she stepped out into the balcony. Everything was quiet, and she was grateful to be able to escape the (frankly irritating) music inside, even if it was just for a moment. She moved towards the edge of the beautifully-carved railings and simply stared ahead.

When did dancing and beautiful gowns turn into something so despicable?

She had spent the last hour or so dancing with "all the right people," as her mother would put it, and she'd found that she did not enjoy it as much as she would have two or three years ago. Hikari knew that her parents had narrowed down the list of potential husbands for her, and it did help that she got to at least have a say in who got to be on the list ("Well, please don't forget, Mother, that I will have to spend my entire life with one of these men on this list, so I think I should have the right to choose who gets to be on it!" she had argued back then), but after dancing with four princes and two dukes within one short hour, she found that she did not quite enjoy it at all.

Candidate #4 had been oh so eager to be the first one to dance with her, and Hikari had simply smiled and went on with it. He wasn't bad, really — in fact, after their dance, Hikari learned that the blue-haired, bespectacled prince had simply wanted to get the whole Dancing Business done and over with as soon as possible. They became good friends by the end of it all, with Jyou secretly admitting that he would rather serve his people out there, literally out there, and not in here, dancing away with others. Apparently Prince Jyou was studying to become a Healer, but his mother did not quite approve of his ambition.

Candidate #1 was a pompous, self-righteous idiot whom Hikari loathed. He was made Candidate #1 on the "Future Husband List" simply because Hikari's mother used to go to school with his mother, and they used to be very good friends (key phrase here being "used to be," thank you very much). Prince Matsuda Taki was very good at dancing, and he knew it. Oh, the smirk on that guy's face was just too much! Hikari could not wait to be alone in her room with Taichi at the end of today, because then they'd be able to just abuse every single disagreeable guest together until the sun came up tomorrow morning.

Candidate #2 was from the Motomiya Family, and was a childhood friend of hers. Quite frankly, he looked a lot like Taichi for some odd reason. Hikari and Daisuke used to take Mind Reading classes together back when they were eight, although both of them were actually rather average at it. But now, ten years after, they could finally put everything they'd learnt to good use: Daisuke had wriggled his eyebrows and tilted his head in Prince Taki's direction just before the music started, as if to ask, "Well, how did it go with that prick?" and Hikari had simply rolled her eyes, sighed, and shrugged, trying to convey to Daisuke that, "A prick will always be just that: a prick." Daisuke had grinned in return, and then they danced in complete silence, knowing full well that all eyes were on them, and that if they were caught gossiping and giggling like children, they'd both be chastised by their parents all through the night.

Candidate #3, oddly enough, was not there in the ballroom when his turn came. Hikari saw his older brother, Prince Yamato, roll his eyes before approaching her and apologizing on the behalf of his younger brother. She ended up dancing with Prince Yamato instead, and when she caught Taichi's eye in the middle of the dance, she had to try really hard not to burst out laughing — because he was making such a weird and funny face once he saw the two of them dancing together.

You see, Taichi and Yamato were partners-in-crime. Their Mythology tutor had even gone as far as to speculate that they used to be one very mischievous spirit in their past lives, and because this spirit was too mischievous for its own good, it had been split into two before being reincarnated as Yagami Taichi and Ishida Yamato. However, the weird part was that, as children, they used to fight a lot (Taichi still had that scar on his left forearm from the little 'accident' during their fencing class back when they were eleven). Needless to say, they'd managed to surprise everyone in their respective kingdoms (especially their poor old Mythology tutor) by being the best of friends as they grew up.

"Where's your brother?" Taichi mouthed once he and his dancing partner (Lord Tachikawa's only daughter, Tachikawa Mimi — who looked amazing, as always) were close enough.

"No idea," Yamato had mouthed back, before pointedly looking at Queen Natsuko — his mother — who was standing across the ballroom. She was not smiling, unlike King Ishida, and her blue eyes were scanning the ballroom as if she was looking for her younger son. "She's pissed, you know!"

"He's so screwed," Taichi managed to mouth back before the choreography of the dance took him and Mimi to the other side of the ballroom.

"So, where is he? Your brother?" Hikari had asked once the dance was over, and Yamato had replied with a shrug.

"Probably out there, hiding in your gardens. You know how he hates these things, right?"

Hikari decided not to comment on that. The thing was – well, Hikari wasn't sure if Prince Takeru was trying to avoid the dancing, or whether he was trying to avoid her.

When they were eight, Takeru used to be in the same Mind Reading class with her and Prince Daisuke — but for some odd reason, he had only stayed for three weeks before pulling out. Apparently he did not want to be away from his brother, and in the end, his parents had to pull him out and let him join Prince Yamato's decidedly more advanced Mind Reading class back at home.

Whenever Hikari was in the same room with Takeru, he would start to act…real strange. His smile would disappear, and he'd be so quiet that people would forget that he was there in the first place. For two years, Hikari had thought that Takeru hated her because she was Taichi's little sister. Perhaps Yamato had told Takeru not to befriend her because Taichi was Yamato's "enemy" back then — but even as Taichi and Yamato slowly became good friends, Takeru would still appear slightly standoffish whenever he and Hikari met face-to-face.

"It's nothing personal, you know," he had said, quite out of the blue, one afternoon back when they were fourteen. The Five Royal Families – the Yagamis, the Ishidas, the Motomiyas, the Kidos, and the Matsudas – had gathered for an important meeting that morning. Their Five Kingdoms were located on a small island, which was surrounded by what used to be very dark and dangerous waters. Over the centuries, the Five Royal Families had explored those waters and tamed whatever sea monsters and beasts that they could – but no matter what they did, they could not eliminate the Great Enemy that dwelled in the ocean in the West. History had come to name it as the Dark Ocean. For centuries, the Five Kingdoms had defended the lands from the foul and dark creatures, but no matter what they did, those beasts would simply grow bolder and bolder with every passing day.

While their parents and the Council of the Five Kingdoms had some serious discussions to do, the youngsters were ignorant and carefree, and had instead opted to gossip about the world around them. Hikari and Daisuke had spent the entire lunchtime talking to each other telepathically, trying to figure out whether Takeru was simply a shy person or if he was just a jerk.

"I overheard you guys at lunch," Takeru had explained, one finger tapping at his left temple, when he saw the confusion on Hikari's face. "Sorry. For eavesdropping, I mean," he had then added, a rueful smile tugging on his lips.

"Oh no, I — I should be the one apologizing!" Hikari had said, feeling herself going red. She and Daisuke were never that good at keeping their mental shields up – they were lucky none of their parents had heard their conversation. "We…we didn't mean anything by it, you know. We're just, well. Just curious. About you."

Prince Takeru had simply nodded then, his blue eyes never leaving her brown ones. She remembered how tiny he used to be back when they were eight – for some odd reason, he had always came to Mind Reading class in tears and afraid. Hikari never understood why. But the prince who stood before her that afternoon was not tiny nor in tears. He had grown tall – taller than Daisuke, Hikari had realized – and he had a pleasant voice, too.

"Well, what do you want to know?" Takeru had asked. "About me, I mean." There had been amusement in his eyes as he said this.

"Why don't you like me?" Hikari ended up asking. "You always avoid me. Why?"

Takeru was silent again for a moment or two. And then, with a small smile, he said, "Well, it's nothing personal, like I said. It's not you…it's just…"

Hikari remembered clearly how Takeru's eyes had trailed away to stare at something behind her. She had followed his gaze and turned around, but she saw nothing there. When she turned back to face the prince, she found that his mood had changed: his face had been drained of all colours, his smile was gone, and his brows were knitted together in a frown.

It was as if he had seen a ghost.

Slowly, his eyes never leaving that particular spot behind Hikari, he had leaned closer and whispered, "You have a shadow, do you know that?"

"Of course I do – everyone has a shadow," Hikari had replied, trying her best to ignore the sudden coldness that had taken over her. But Takeru hadn't cracked a smile at her lame joke – he had simply shaken his head and looked away from that spot behind her.

"That's not what I meant," he had said softly before walking away.

Hikari never found out what Takeru really meant, not even four years after they'd had that conversation.

In a way, she was relieved that she did not have to dance with Prince Takeru that evening. They hadn't spoken much in the last four years, and he had continuously avoided her whenever he could. She wasn't too pleased when her father had placed Prince Ishida Takeru as Candidate #3, but then again, he wasn't as annoying as Prince Taki, so Hikari simply went on with it.

But she found herself thinking more and more about the blond prince lately. Taichi was partly at fault, because a week before the ball, he had told her something – a mere rumour, really, but still, its impact was rather huge – that made Hikari feel both angry and confused.

"Wait, how do you even know this?" she had all but demanded, when Taichi had told her that their parents were considering switching Takeru from Candidate #3 to Candidate #1.

"I overheard them talking," Taichi had said with a shrug. "Thought you'd wanna know."

"But why would they do that? And what about Prince Taki?"

"Well, he's going to be Candidate #2."

"WHAT."

"…What?"

"BUT DAISUKE IS CANDIDATE #2."

"Well, not anymore, I guess."

"I LIKE DAISUKE."

"Don't let him hear you say that. He has a crush on you, you know—"

"TAICHI, THIS ISN'T FUNNY."

Because it wasn't.

It really wasn't.

Out of all the princes on the "Future Husband List," Daisuke was the only one with whom she was comfortable enough to be herself. They'd grown up together – they were friends – and that was important to Hikari. It may be true that Daisuke might like her a little bit more than she liked him – but she did not mind it, as long as Candidate #2, THE Backup Candidate, was someone she trusted and was comfortable with. If Takeru were to be Candidate #1, that only meant that her Backup Candidate, Candidate #2, was no longer Prince Daisuke, but Prince Taki.

Hikari hated Prince Taki!

What were her parents thinking? Bumping Takeru up to #1 and Daisuke down to #3 like that, and without discussing with her first, too?

When confronted, Hikari's parents had both denied everything. While it was true that they did consider doing so, they claimed that they were never going to actually rearrange the candidates on the list without telling Hikari first.

"And why, may I ask, did you guys suddenly decide to rearrange the list?" Hikari had demanded. "Mother, you practically love Prince Taki as your own son," Hikari pressed on when her parents did not say anything. "And please don't get me wrong – I still hate that guy, but I'd still like to know why you're willing to put him in second place and Takeru in the first."

"Honey, listen – nothing's changed, okay?" her father had said. "Taki is still Candidate #1, Daisuke is #2, and Takeru is #3. Nothing's changed," he repeated. "Okay?"

"We will always consult with you first before deciding anything, Hikari, you know that," her mother had said. "Now can we please stop arguing? Please?"

"And where is your brother? I'd like to have a few words with him about eavesdropping…"

That had been the end of that conversation, really. They'd spent the rest of the week preparing for the ball, and even though Hikari had tried her best not to think too much about Prince Takeru, she still ended up doing exactly that. Even now as she stood alone on the balcony, her thoughts had strayed and she was thinking about no one other than the tall, blue-eyed prince.

Just as she was about to collect her thoughts and head back inside, Hikari heard a rustling noise somewhere to her right. Carefully, she stepped closer towards the direction of the noise (which grew louder) and peered over the railing. She could see some green bushes down below in the garden, but there was no one there.

"…Hello?" she called out – but no one answered. More rustling noises ensued, and then a blond head poked out of the bushes with a triumphant, "Aha!"

It was, of course, none other than Prince Ishida Takeru. He was impeccably dressed for the ball, but there were twigs and leaves in his hair now – no doubt the result of his little adventure in the gardens below – and he was holding something up in his hand so that he could inspect it better.

Before she knew what she was doing, Hikari called out, "What on earth are you doing down there?"

Takeru jumped at this and began to look around for the source of the voice.

"Up here," Hikari said, now smiling a little. Takeru looked up and finally saw her. As always, his expression changed immediately. He began to frown, and his eyes hardened a little.

"Oh. Umm. Good evening, princess," Prince Takeru said stiffly, bowing a little in her direction. She curtsied in return, but she doubted that he could see it.

"Now answer my question," she said.

"Huh?"

"What are you doing down there? You've got leaves all over your hair!"

Takeru started to brush off the leaves and twigs in his blond hair as he heard this, and for a moment, Hikari thought she saw embarrassment flash across the prince's face.

"Right. Erm. Sorry about that. I was just…" he trailed off and was silent for a moment or two. Then he looked up, his blue eyes visible even in the dark. A small smile began to form on his lips, and he held up something in his hand for Hikari to see. "I dropped this."

Hikari leaned closer to the railings to try and see what was in Takeru's hand. The object glinted as it caught the light coming from a nearby lamppost, and only then did Hikari notice that it was a plain silver ring.

"You dropped that from up here?" she asked.

"Yes, I did."

"And you—" Hikari turned to look at a nearby marble pillar, which was close enough to the balcony and was covered with thick vines that went all the way down into the gardens. "You didn't climb down the pillar to get there, did you?"

Takeru actually looked sheepish for a moment or two as he struggled to answer her question. "Actually…I…did?"

Hikari was laughing before she knew it, and the sound of her laughter startled them both – she quickly clasped her hands on her mouth, and it was Prince Takeru's turn to chuckle.

"I mean, the only other exit is through the double doors of your ballroom," Takeru explained, "and let's face it…it's not like any of our parents are going to let us leave that easily. The ball's just started, so."

"So you climbed down the pillar instead," Hikari finished, nodding her head. "I see. It's perfectly logical."

Takeru dropped his gaze and stared at his feet as he shrugged one elegant shoulder as if to agree with her.

"And how are you planning to come back up here, may I ask?"

"Well, that's easy enough," he said, now approaching the marble pillar. Hikari saw him slip the silver ring on his right ring finger before actually climbing up the pillar like a bloody spider. She stepped away to give Takeru some space once he had reached the same height as the balcony – and then in one swift motion, the prince jumped from the pillar onto the balcony. He straightened up and began to smooth down the wrinkles in his clothes. "See? Piece of cake," Takeru said, more to himself than to Hikari, really, but she heard it all the same.

"I'd like to see you do that in a dress and a pair of high heels," she said, and the prince simply smiled at this. They were standing close enough that Hikari could now observe Candidate #3 (or #1?) carefully for the first time in four years: he had grown very tall indeed, and was a little on the skinny side, too; and while he was still slightly awkward around her, there was none of the usual standoffishness that Hikari had seen so often back when they were younger.

Hikari realized, a little too late, that Prince Takeru was probably assessing her as well, so she quickly cleared her throat and took a few steps back. Takeru did the same thing, and then they simply stood facing each other in awkward silence.

"So," Hikari began, "you missed your turn. To dance with me, I mean."

"Yes," he said as he started to toy around with the silver ring in his hands. "I…didn't do it on purpose. I'm truly sorry."

For some odd reason, his excuse hurt Hikari's feelings more than anything else. She knew for a fact that he had been avoiding her – what else would he be doing out here on the balcony otherwise? – and she really would not have minded it if he had just told her the truth.

The fact that Takeru had felt the need to lie to her simply made her feel…utterly crushed.

"Do you want to get back inside?" she asked, breaking the silence that had slowly settled between them once more.

"Wha—" he threw a quick glance into the ballroom, and so did Hikari. Apparently the guests were about to dance again. "No, no – oh no. I think I'll just…wait a while."

"Good idea," Hikari agreed, and Takeru huffed out a laugh at how quickly she came to agree with him. "So," she began.

"So…?"

"How 'bout you show me that ring of yours, yes?" Hikari suggested, holding out a hand. As soon as she'd uttered those words, Takeru's good mood seemed to have immediately changed. His smile was gone, and the frown was back. He toyed with the ring for a moment or two, twisting it round and round his finger before finally taking it off. He then placed it carefully into Hikari's awaiting palm.

Takeru watched silently as Hikari examined the piece of silver jewellery. It was rather heavy, and of very fine quality. Hikari did not think she had seen rings like this before. She wanted to ask, but before she could, the prince quietly said, "It's a suppressor ring."

Hikari frowned at this. "What d'you need a suppressor ring for?"

Suppressor rings were magical objects designed to keep certain abilities in check. If a mind reader were to wear this ring, he would not be able to read anyone's thoughts, and if a healer were to put one on, he would not be able to access any of his healing abilities.

When Hikari looked up again, she saw that Takeru had been quietly observing her. She handed the ring over to him once more, and although he took it, he did not put it back on.

"Princess," Takeru began, only to shut his mouth again. He seemed agitated for some reason, and had started to pace up and down the balcony. When he finally stopped and stood facing her once more, Hikari could see nothing but utter seriousness in his eyes. "What do you know about the Dark Ocean?"

Hikari arched her eyebrows at him. "You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm perfectly serious," he replied. "What do you know about the Dark Ocean?"

"Other than everything we've learned at school?"

"Yes."

Hikari frowned. "Well – it's the Enemy of the Five Kingdoms. It's our Enemy."

"And?" he prompted.

"And…the dark beings there, they're trying to take over the Island of the Five Kingdoms, but our ancestors have managed to keep them at bay for at least six hundred years," Hikari went on. It was not as if the Dark Ocean was a secret or anything. It was written in all the history books, and children were being taught about it the moment they could understand human speech. "What is this all about, anyway?"

"There was a prophecy, made some seventy years ago," Takeru said, now stepping closer. "Do you know about this?"

Hikari shook her head. "No, I…don't think so." One of the downside of not being the firstborn child was that she was never included in any of her parents' official meetings or discussions. She envied Taichi because sometimes they would include him – he had been attending these meetings with the Council and the mages and the war generals more often lately, but whenever Hikari asked him what they talked or discussed about, Taichi would (annoyingly) smile at her and say, "I am sorry, sister dearest, but I can't tell you anything. Top secret stuff, I'm afraid."

She was sure that Taichi and her parents knew about the prophecy in question. The fact that they had kept her in the dark about it made her feel a little bit offended, really.

"Tell me," she said, and so he did.

"Well – it was made by my great-great grandmother, on my mother's side," Takeru explained. "She came from a long line of powerful mages, you see – but that's beside the point. The prophecy speaks of a person of royal blood – The Warrior, as he had been nicknamed over the years – who would lead us all into battle against the dark beings one day, and this will end them once and for all. But the problem is, we don't know who this Warrior person is."

"Okay, so – hold on – you're not saying that it's going to be one of us, are you?" Hikari asked, because that was exactly where this conversation seemed to be going.

"Yes! I mean, at least my parents and your parents seem to think it's one of us," Takeru said, now pacing again. Hikari had never seen the prince so alive before: his blue eyes were shining with enthusiasm, and he was talking with his hands – his graceful, elegant hands – waving them and wringing them every now and then as he spoke. "It could be your brother, or my brother, or one of the Kido Princes, or Princess Jun, or Prince Taki—"

Hikari rolled her eyes upon hearing that name. She simply couldn't imagine the pompous prat leading the armies f the Five Kingdoms into battle. "I highly doubt that—"

"—or any one of us, really," Prince Takeru went on as if Hikari had not interrupted his ramblings, "but, you see – the problem is that the prophecy also speaks of how the enemy will get a hold of The Warrior first, unless The Warrior manages to find ample protection."

"Well – how exactly is The Warrior supposed to do that? We don't even know who this Warrior character is – how on earth is he supposed to know that he's the Warrior? And if he doesn't know it, how is he supposed to find 'ample protection' against the dark beings? The prophecy isn't making much sense," Hikari said, frowning.

"Yes...and that's been the main problem for the Five Kingdoms for the past seventy years," Prince Takeru said, nodding. "The Council has kept a close eye on all the Five Royal Families, and now, they think that the dark beings have actually identified The Warrior a long time ago. Maybe some twenty years ago or so, give or take—"

"Is that why they think it's one of us?" Hikari asked. The eldest among them was one of the Kido Princes, who turned twenty-five last month.

"Yes," Prince Takeru said. "The Enemy knows who The Warrior is, and the Council suspects that they have sent spies to our kingdoms to watch over The Warrior."

"Oh, that is not creepy at all, not in the slightest," Hikari said sarcastically. Everyone who grew up in the Five Kingdoms would have had an inkling of what the dark beings looked like, thanks to the illustrations that could be found in many of the history books these days. There were people who were born with the ability to actually see those beings, and it was thanks to them that the public generally knew what the Dark Ocean monsters looked like. Hikari remembered one particularly gruesome illustration of said being, with its unnaturally long limbs stretching out, as if it was reaching out of the pages to try and grab you—

She found herself crossing her arms in an attempt to protect herself against the sudden cold. Much to her surprise, Prince Takeru started to actually take off his coat as he saw this. "Oh, no, I'm fine—"

Before she could make any excuses or protest against it, his handsome dark green coat fell upon her shoulders, and Takeru took a few seconds to carefully secure it around her before leading her away from the edge of the balcony so that they stood closer to the archway that lead into the ballroom instead.

This was the closest Hikari had been to Prince Takeru – she knew that it should make her feel awkward or embarrassed, but on the contrary…she felt safe.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently, peering carefully into Hikari's brown eyes. His hands were resting on her shoulders, and it seemed both too intimate and so right all at the same time.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said, fighting off the blush that was slowly creeping onto her face. "W-well, that prophecy still doesn't answer why you have a suppressor ring, you know," she quickly said, and this seemed to steer the conversation back to the point where they had left off.

Takeru pulled his hands away from Hikari's shoulders and stood there staring at her in silence for a second or two. His gaze then fell to the ring on his finger (he must have slipped it on again while he was talking).

"Do you… Do you remember four years ago, when you asked me why I avoided you so much?" Takeru finally began, and his voice faltered a little as he said this.

"Yes," Hikari said. "How can I forget," she did not add.

"Do you still remember what I said to you?"

"Well, yes, you said…"

And then everything clicked. It seemed ridiculous – impossible, even – but everything sort of made sense now.

Sort of.

Even now, Takeru's words from four years ago rang loud and clear in her head:

You have a shadow, do you know that?

She had never understood what Takeru meant when he said this to her back then, but now, with the amount of new information that he'd told her, things were slowly making sense.

"You…" Hikari lifted a finger to point at Prince Takeru. "You can see them, can't you?"

Takeru did not say anything. Instead, he simply placed a hand on the small of her back before leading her into the ballroom. It was warmer inside, and the soft music and the lively chatter managed to somehow ward off the cold. Takeru then deliberately stood between Hikari and the balcony, as if shielding her from the cold night outside.

"This ring," he said a few minutes later, lifting up his right hand so they could both see the jewellery, "prevents me from seeing them."

Hikari swallowed and nodded, trying to fight off the shivers as best as she could. She watched silently as the prince took the ring off once more.

"I see them every time I get too close to the shores," said Prince Takeru. "I never liked going to the beach, even as a child."

"Understandable," Hikari whispered.

"…They're hideous beings," the prince went on. "There's this…unnatural shape to them, it's… It's terrifying when you're eight years old and you have the ability to see these dark creatures, you know?"

"…Was that why you cried every time you came to the Mind Reading class when we were eight?" Hikari asked softly. Takeru simply nodded. "Is… Are they… Have they always…been around me?"

Takeru turned to glance over his shoulder for a moment before turning back to face her.

"There's one out in the balcony behind us right now," he said in an extremely calm voice. "You're The Warrior, remember? They've been sent here to spy on you since the day you were born."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks for telling me. Very helpful," Hikari said, trying to summon the calmness that she did not feel. She ended up shivering rather violently instead.

"But for some reason, they never come close to you whenever I'm around," Takeru muttered, now slipping the silver ring once more.

"Then – then why did you always avoid me?! You should've instead just never left my side whenever you come visiting!" Hikari said. This actually made the prince smile and look away as if embarrassed – and Hikari realized a little too late what she had just said. "I mean…well, I'd feel safer knowing that there's someone with me who can actually ward off those things, wouldn't you?" she added hastily.

"I suppose," was all he said.

"So, wait…let me get this straight," Hikari said, because she really needed to know. It had been bothering her for years, and now she simply needed to know: "The reason you were so cold towards me all these years was because you were scared of those creatures lurking behind me?"

"Seriously, Princess, have you not seen the illustrations of The Enemy in the books?" Prince Takeru said. "I used to have nightmares whenever my parents told me that we were going to visit you!"

"Didn't you tell anyone that you can see those creatures, though?"

"Not at first, no," Takeru admitted. "I used to think that they were always there with you because your parents had placed a sort of enchantment upon you for protection or something…"

"And at what point did you start to think that maybe something was wrong?" Hikari asked, now running her left hand up and down her right upper arm in an attempt to warm herself up. Try as she might, she still felt miserably cold.

Instead of answering her question, Prince Takeru instead said, "Let's get you something warm to drink. What do you say?" The small, friendly smile was on his face again, and he was exceptionally handsome like this. Hikari found herself thinking that maybe it wasn't so bad after all if Prince Takeru were to be Candidate #1 instead of Prince Taki.

And suddenly she understood why her parents had wanted to rearrange the candidates on the Future Husband List.

"My parents know, don't they?" Hikari asked softly, now glancing across the ballroom to look for her parents. "They know that I'm The Warrior and they know that you can see the Enemy, don't they?"

Why else would they try to make Prince Takeru Candidate #1? They wanted someone who could protect their daughter, someone who could see the otherwise-invisible Enemy, and even ward them off, perhaps – and Prince Takeru was obviously the right candidate for that.

When she finally saw her parents, Hikari realized that they must have been watching her and Prince Takeru from across the room for a while now. Takeru turned to look at them as well, and Hikari heard him sigh.

"They didn't want to tell you," he said, "not tonight, anyway. I didn't plan on telling you any of this, either, but it just…sort of slipped out."

"Well, don't apologize," Hikari said, now sending a nod in her parents' direction, trying to tell them that she knew everything now, more or less. Her mother looked as if she was about to cry, but they were both smiling, as if to tell her that they were sorry, and that everything was going to be all right. She understood that they had wanted nothing more but to just protect her, but keeping her in the dark was not the right way to go about it. What was she supposed to do as The Warrior, anyway? Prepare for battle? Lead an entire army from The Five Kingdoms to war with their six-hundred-year-old Enemy? She was merely eighteen, and while she was exceptionally good with the bow and arrow, she could hardly wield a sword. Not to mention that she was hardly leader material. She knew next to nothing about war strategies, or battle formations, or…

"It's not their fault for not telling you, you know," Takeru said gently, snapping her out of her thoughts. Hikari turned to face him once more only to find those blue eyes watching her intently. "The Council of the Five Islands had basically ruled against telling you about it until they were one hundred percent sure that you are The Warrior."

"Is it all right for you to be telling me all this, then?" Hikari asked, now suddenly worried about what the Council might do to him afterwards.

The prince merely shrugged in response. "I'm not in the council. I'm my own person – so I can do what I want, I think."

This made Hikari smile. They barely knew each other not half an hour ago, and in her mind, Prince Takeru had always been this unfriendly person who would only reply with single-word sentences whenever she tried to strike a conversation with him. She and Daisuke (and even Taichi, sometimes) had spent years simply speculating and gossiping and abusing Takeru with unkind words - that he was too stuck-up to befriend Hikari, that he was too self-absorbed to mingle with the rest of them-

But little did they know how wrong they all were about him. Little did they know that behind those stoic blue eyes, Prince Takeru had been shouldering a rather heavy burden all this while. Hikari could not imagine how he could stand being in the same room with her all these years while the beings from the Dark Ocean lingered and loomed behind her.

"Well, thank you for telling me," she said softly. "I didn't know..."

He shrugged again. "…No problem, I suppose?"

Hikari pulled the prince's coat tighter around her shoulders. She had a lot of questions to ask Prince Takeru, and she really wanted to get to know him better. They could maybe even dance together afterwards…

Perhaps dancing wasn't all that bad, after all.

"Now…about that drink you mentioned earlier…" Hikari slowly said.

It was the prince's turn to smile, and for a moment, Hikari really felt that everything was going to be absolutely all right.

He silently offered her his arm, and she took it willingly.

-END-

A/N: I am not entirely satisfied with this one, not quite, but meh. Here it is, nonetheless~! It was inspired by a Takari fanart by Hallsth-Eien on Deviantart. I'm not entirely sure if we can include links into fanfics on this site, so I don't know how to include the fanart here. ^^; You can try googling the keywords "good morning princess takari" though, if you wish to see the piece that I'm talking about~

Tell me what you think of this little fantasy AU, please?

Stay tuned because there's an epilogue comin' you way~ xD