The Heirs of the Four Kingdoms

(The Four Kingdoms Volume 2)

By Elle Pellano

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King

Volume 1 Recap: The Four Kingdoms

Upon the request of his father, Prince Ren Tao of Kaminari took a leave of absence from the Royal Patch Academy and went back to his kingdom. A homecoming ball was organized in the Kaminari palace on the night of his return. There he met his childhood best friend, Princess Anna Kyouyama of Kouku again. The party turned out to be a surprise engagement ball for the two of them. It was organized by their fathers behind their backs after King Yuan Tao had requested for an arranged marriage between their children as proof of King Hideki Kyouyama's loyalty to him. Feeling betrayed by her father's actions, Anna had a hard time accepting his decision to betroth her with Ren, whom she had not seen or heard from for the past three years. As she contemplated alone in the garden, she came across a slacking servant boy of the Tao household. The boy was none other than Yoh Asakura, the crown prince of Kasai. Along side Kouri, Kasai was considered an enemy kingdom of Kouku and Kaminari. The enemy prince was there on an undercover mission with three of his friends: the partner spies, Manta and Ryuu, and the swordsman, Amidamaru. After reporting his findings about the gathering at the Kaminari palace, Yoh left the group as they slept to avoid going back to Kasai right away.

A few days after the engagement ball, Ren started his regular visits to Anna in Kouku in order to woo her until he gets back to the academy. He had only missed one day due to inclement weather. That stormy night, the Kouku royal family was attacked by two assassins as the whole palace slept. Anna was able to escape by jumping into the Great Spirit's River. The next day, the entire Kouku palace woke up to find the royal couple murdered in their chamber. Ren immediately went to Kouku to check on what had happened there after his parents broke the news to him. He found out that the princess was missing and the soldiers were only able to retrieve the necklace he gave her on the night of their engagement.

Meanwhile, Anna was found almost lifeless near the riverbank by Yoh, who was on his way back to Kasai. The Asakura prince took her to his former mentor, Faust who was living in exile in the woods near the Kasai border. Having extensive knowledge with medicine, Faust was able to nurse the mysterious girl back to health with the help of his wife, Eliza. Unsure of the girl's identity, the medicine man decided to pose as Yoh's father to protect the prince.

When she finally woke up, Anna became wary of her surroundings and the odd family who took her in but eventually recognized Yoh. Knowing him as just a servant in the Tao household, Anna ordered the undercover prince to take her to "his" king. A confused Yoh decided to accompany her to the Kasai palace to see his father, King Mikihisa. They hitched a ride with Faust who was on his way to sell some medicines to a trader friend in the town of Chikyuu. Upon reaching the town, Anna and Yoh enjoyed the life of a commoner as they freely roam around the place. Anna was especially awed by the outdoors, something she didn't have the chance to do because she wasn't allowed to leave the palace grounds except when she was going to Kaminari. The day ended with Yoh giving Anna a necklace that was similar to the one that Ren presented to her during the engagement ball. Their conversation about the necklace and the Kaminari prince had made Yoh realize his mistake. He completely misunderstood the girl when she instructed him to take her to "his" king.

The next day, Yoh made several attempts to discourage Anna from continuing their journey to meet the king (of Kasai, supposedly Kaminari) but the girl seemed oblivious to where she truly was. Faust dropped them off in the town of Tochi where a culinary competition was being held. It was there where they came across Amidamaru who offered his help in delivering Anna to the king (of Kasai) much to the dismay of Yoh. Upon arriving at the central town of Koichi, Anna began to speculate that she was not in Kaminari at all. She was introduced by Amidamaru to the Kasai king who was hiding his face under a bird mask. After realizing her mistake, Anna applied as a palace maid to hide her identity from the enemies.

The princess turned servant struggled with her new job while she tried to look for Yoh who disappeared yesterday after being scolded by the king. She was forced to serve the Kasai royal family during dinner and it was there that she found out that Yoh was the Kasai heir and being a servant boy was just an act. She felt betrayed the second time but Yoh assured her that everything was just a misunderstanding and that he would help her go back home. To make things easier for her, the prince requested his father to promote Anna as his personal maid and tutor.

Anna and Yoh began their tutoring session with a lesson on the history of the four kingdoms. The first war was instigated by King Asaha Douji of Kasai when he tried to conquer all four kingdoms but was later stopped by Yohken Asakura, a relative of the king. The second war was started by Kouku who was aided by Kaminari to avenge the deaths of some royal family members who were killed in the first war. Yoh recalled a story from Faust about the real cause of the second war but did not tell Anna about it because she might find it ridiculous.

The blond girl also accompanied the prince to his physical training with the warrior, Amidamaru. Yoh's lack of skills showed and the swordsman had to remind the prince that wearing the Asakura heirloom, a star-shaped gold pin, meant that he was the next heir of Kasai and that he should live up to it. Anna punished Yoh for his lameness during his practice fight with Amidamaru by making him jog around the training grounds fifty times.

Meanwhile, a funeral was held for the Kouku royal family even though the search party was unable to find the princess' body. General Ryuuken Tori, King Hideki's right hand man was proclaimed as the new king of Kouku afterwards and a grieving Prince Ren reluctantly left Kaminari for the Royal Patch Academy.

A/N: In case you're wondering what happened to the rest of the chapters, I have decided to split the story into four volumes. I find it lighter to read and easier to manage that way. Here's the list of volumes for your reference:

Volume 1: The Four Kingdoms

Volume 2: The Heirs of the Four Kingdoms

Volume 3: The War of the Four Kingdoms

Volume 4: The Reign of the Four Kingdoms

Thanks for your understanding!