Rebellion

When Neji's Lords began pestering him about marriage, he did not know where to start. He allowed them to busy themselves by bringing in one princess after another; but none of them interested him. In fact, he had no idea what exactly he was looking for. He obediently met with them, yes, so his Lords would have nothing to hold against him, but the meetings were dull and always short. These women – women with their heavy perfumes and colored faces, who had nothing to talk about except whether his furniture was made of "oak or mahogany? But exquisite all the same, yes. And what about these curtains?"

… He did not know what love was, but he certainly knew what love was not.

Indeed, love was a strange thing to Neji. It was elusive and it was invisible; he could not understand how, as some people would say, it was "powerful". How did it obtain power? Could it be as powerful as him?

Perhaps love was a neutral thing. Like…like water. Each person had their own distinct opinion of the taste of water, it had no real form, it was oblique – but when it came in the arrangement of floods or colossal waves, they were, undoubtedly, powerful.

In conclusion: love was/is confusing.

And so, it gave Neji great pleasure when he finally had the chance to leave his castle, to have a stroll with his horse out in the wild areas away from all this forced confusion.

…Secretly, of course.

She was rebellious and an irritation to her father, and she knew it. But she didn't care. It served him right for forcing her to travel so many miles to meet a foreign prince she had no interest in.

Princess Tenten, the daughter of the Emperor of the East, believed in intense, passionate, and most of all, true love affairs; not stupid arranged marriages. She hated how the women in her country so easily and simply let their fathers fool with their destinies. She was not about to let him do the same to her now.

Although she was tired from the thousands of miles she had travelled at sea, she was also stubborn and determined to escape her father's plans. Therefore, as soon as she was able to set foot on land, she fled.

She had stuffed a male hanfu under her own heavy, layered one; the one she wore for official occasions (which she also hated), before disembarking, and when she was well hidden in the trees, she quickly changed into it and tied her hair back the way her brothers did. She had done this many times before. At home, only men roamed the streets – women stayed where they belonged: inside the house or in the fields. Another awful rule of society, she thought, but one she would have to succumb to for now. She smiled a little to herself, for her cleverness.

Riding in the woods gave the Prince great pleasure. It was not only because of the ever changing scenery; the fresh and gentle smell emanating from the trees; the buzz of animals, and everything else that nature offered that made him happy.

Yes, those things pleased him. However it was the aspect of knowing he was alone that amused him the most and it was because of this thrill he kept sneaking out; again and again.

Today, the forest was layered in a thin sheen of hard snow.

The Princess trod through the forest with ease, glancing around to see if anybody had been sent after her. She was safe for now, it seemed.

Walking around in a forest full of trees, roots, and in this situation, hard, icy snow was not a problem for her. She was not like the other princesses, she liked to think. She had sneaked out of her palace to explore the land many times before. This forest, she realized, was different from the ones at home. They were flatter, fuller of trees, and somehow, more intimidating.

She liked it though. Any excitement that allowed her to stray from the boring routines would do.

But after some time, she realized she was not making any progress. Not lost, just not making progress, she assured herself. This foreign forest was much harder to navigate than she had though.

Suddenly, the sound of angry dogs echoed through the trees. Tenten stopped in her tracks, pricking her ears to the sound. These creatures did not sound friendly, and she could tell they were coming towards her rapidly. Picking up her pace, she tried to move away.

Hunting dogs. They must have picked up my scent. She whispered to herself. Their barking was becoming clearer now, and had lost their sense of direction. They were coming from all corners, and soon, she saw them. From the bushes, the animals appeared and stopped in their tracks, only to produce a deep, throaty growl at her. Surrounded, she soon heard the muffled voices of men from a distance. Tenten looked back at the dogs. They were inching hungrily, slowly at her. What, did she look like an animal or something? These dogs ought to be better trained.

Somewhere from the forest, a bloodcurdling cry rang and echoed throughout the trees, disturbing the pleasant silence Neji had been enjoying. The sound ran a shiver down his spine. His horse pricked up his ears, and he, although somewhat annoyed of the sudden disturbance, was as also curious.

Patting his horse's neck, they both agreed to investigate, and with a swift turn, Neji made his way towards the source.

At first, the prince thought he had misunderstood, and that a rather noisy animal was being pursued by a group of local hunters. But then, an animal would never be able to cry for help in such a way. He looked more closely; and he acted instinctively more than anything else. Steering his horse, he forced them out of the bushes as the confused hunters scrambled out of his way. He ducked and in one swift motion, scooped the girl off the ground and away from the hunters; who were still politely stunned by the whole incident.

The ride was uncomfortable, mostly due to the fact that she was sprawled awkwardly on the back of her rescuer's horse. She had not expected herself to be in such a helpless position already; but nevertheless, she was grateful. He seemed to notice the aching expression on her face, and slowed down to stop as soon as they reached a clearing near a lake.

He slid off the horse and reached out to help her down. She didn't need it though, she knew enough about horses to get on and off herself. The hasty mount had embarrassed her enough. Ignoring his outstretched hand, she slid off the horse and landed onto the ground with a satisfying thump. He looked mildly shocked, but retracted his arm nevertheless.

She could tell he was rich. He was dressed plainly, but the clothes were clean and of fine material. His face was angular, strong, and most of all, pale. This man did not need to work on the fields. Her favorite part about him was his hair. It was long, beautiful – almost as impressive as her own.

Perhaps the thing which betrayed his identity the most was his horse. Nobody but a nobleman could have had such an incredible horse. It was a black stallion, with a magnificent coat and strong, fast legs. She knew if this horse had appeared in her country, her father would have taken it as his own without a doubt.

It was the first time he could see her clearly.

He could only think of one way to describe her: strange.

Everything, from her brown-verging-on-black hair to the soft, cloth shoes visible from under her garments was new and peculiar to him, as if she had stepped out from another world. Her face was soft and in theory, far from what his country's standard of beauty was. Yet, everything on her face seemed to be right. They belonged there – confidently. Nothing else could have won a place on this face. He knew he was staring, and he knew she felt awkward about it, but he could not control his fascination over this new image in front of him.

"Thanks… for that…" she finally said. Her voice was sharp and clear.

"Yes." He replied. "Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Excuse the hunters. They must have scared you."

Tenten was not sure who this man was, except that he might be rich, and that his tone irritated her. Excuse those hunters. What was that? "Those damn hunters", or "be careful around here, there are a lot of hunters" would have done, but "excuse those hunters"? Did he own those hunters?

So, he had typical noblemen talk too.

"I wasn't scared" she said dismissively, patting her clothes into place.

This rewarded her with a long, hard stare from him.

"But you screamed…"

"I didn't scream."

Another stare.

"Ok, I screamed, but it wasn't because I was scared. I wanted to alert someone those damn dogs were about to attack me. I was actually expecting those hunters… but… you came…"

Neji was… confused, and fascinated all the same. It seemed for the first time in his life, this woman, a woman, was being rude to him. He was unsure of what he needed to do. Reveal his identity? Punish her? But he did not want her to stop. She seemed oblivious to his status, and he wanted to keep it that way, for now – there was a thrill to this ordeal.

"Could you… perhaps take me to your nearest town?" she said.

"Are you not from around here?" of course, he should have known.

"No. I'm a businessman from the East."

"A business… you mean woman."

And there she was. She looked at him. Shocked.

"I…" This had never happened to her before. Not once. For all the times she had sneaked out of her palace, and rest assured it was many times, she had never failed. Nobody had ever been able to reveal her identity. Yet this man, without even trying, with just one look and one conversation, had done it. In fact, he did not even realize her identity. It wasn't realization if you had not been fooled to begin with.

"I suppose I can fit you on my horse." He said. "But…"

And suddenly, an idea struck the prince.

"You. Do you have a place to stay?"

There it was again. You. He knew her name, so why not use it?

"Not yet."

"I have an extensive guest quarter in my home. If you don't mind… you are welcome to use it."

And then, the idea struck the princess too.

"You are very kind sir."

And they both smiled at each other.

Wait till his Lords saw him with a woman other than a Princess.

Wait till her father heard about her and a man who wasn't a Prince.

A/N: Hi everyone. So… I'm back. It's been a while.