Blue Roses

Blue Roses [4]

“A boy?!”

Kumi’s face was the very definition of shock and surprise. To think, all his life, he aspired to serve and protect the lady Maemi, to find out that his lady was... a lord. Even the thought of it ate him alive on the inside and his stomach churned, uncomfortable. The feeling, however, was not disgust... The feeling, he just could not place it. So, pushing it away, he decided he could think about it later when he was alone. Perhaps when he retired to his personal quarters.

When Ishiharu glanced over at his new companion Shiro, his mouth dropped open. The strict, long raven haired fellow did not even blink. He had completely regained his composure in a matter of seconds. Then again, that was what a knight had to do, right? Knights were meant to protect... that meant being stunned for more than a moment’s worth of time could mean the difference between life and death itself. The fact that Shiro could keep his emotions under lock and key was quite an impressive feat.

The boy, Maemi, jumped up. “Shut your mouth, knight!”

Kumi promptly clapped a hand atop his loud mouth. He knew that even if Lady Maemi was a boy, he was still under her rule. The boy sighed heavily, turning around to face the large vanity that was behind him. He picked up the grand black and blue dress lying neatly across the chair. He lifted a finger and wagged it at the two knights behind him.

“One of you, come,” He ordered with a higher pitched voice. It took Kumi a second to realize that that was the voice he knew to be the Lady’s. Shiro was the first to react, striding quickly over to the boy. He took the dress carefully from the boy’s hands and began to dress the boy in the gown without any hesitation. Kumi admired this in silence before he started to feel quite useless. Maemi noticed this. “Ishiharu Kumi, come. Brush my hair.”

Kumi perked up somewhat, bounding over to do as he was told. Plucking a white and gold-trimmed brush from the vanity, he closed his eyes and combed through the hair of the boy. Shiro continued to help the boy get into the dress, and was currently tying the corset back together to keep the dress up. He did not say a word, as did anyone else, so the room fell into a long silence. Aside from the sounds of fabric rustling and the soft noise of the brush combing through the lady’s hair, there was nothing.

Shiro stepped back, admiring his handiwork. Kumi looked up and over at him, wondering what he was thinking. Maemi opened his eyes and sighed heavily.

“To think that my secret would be found out... Now what should I do? I could kill you both. But then again, people would start to wonder what happened to the most senior and the newest knights. That kind of publicity would just make my subjects uneasy and upset towards my rule...”

“K-killing us is definitely not the way to solve this problem, my Lord- I mean- Malady...” Kumi laughed nervously, trying not to look directly at the glare she was giving him. Instead he stared at the wall behind him, looking over his should to avoid her glare. He didn’t know what to do.

“Malady, I have a suggestion,” Shiro finally decided to say something. The lady turned, raising an eyebrow as if just daring him to say something. “Why don’t you make us your main protectors. The people closest to you-- that way you can insure that we won’t speak a word of your secret to anybody.”

She frowned, looking down. It was clear that she was considering it. “Hmm... that just might be our solution.”

“Really?!”

“Yes, really. I could have the two of you accompanying me during my trip to the other kingdom. I was asked to join in a tea party with another ruler.”

“A tea party? It sounds childish. How old is this other ruler?”

“She is of my age with circumstances similar to my own. She has no parents or older siblings, so she took it upon herself to rule her entire kingdom alone. She wanted to have me come there to discuss a possible alliance in the upcoming war.”

The lady talked of the upcoming war as if was old news. The fact that a war was coming would probably be surprising to most, however, everyone already knew and understood that it was coming. Even as they stood in that room, the kingdom around them was bustling with people who were making preparations for the surge of battles that were bound to arrive in the next few weeks.

“Oh, right... But this war will commence soon, though. How long will it take to arrive at the other kingdom?”

“It is estimated to be about a five day travel to get there and five days back. If we were to go, then we would need to leave immediately.”

“We can do that.”

“Of course you could. I choose you as my knights because I knew you were capable of doing anything for me. I am your Lady.”

Shiro dipped down onto one knee in a bow of respect and loyalty, and Kumi soon followed his actions, but was frowning. His Lady was not a lady... If that was true then who was he really protecting? If the lady lied about being a girl, who could even believe it really was the true lady and not some impostor? The uncertainty wracked his mind.

“How do we know you’re actually Lady Maemi?”

His question immediately caught the Lady’s attention. She narrowed her eyes down at him, but before she began to scold him for asking such a ridiculous question, she realized he had a point in asking that. It was actually a pretty good question.

“If you are still sceptical of me, then why don’t I explain the story of who I am?”