Your Love Frees Me

12, Wedding Day

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, guys, but I'm going to spend all night posting the rest of the chapters up.  Not sure why it's so hard for me to keep up with Wattpad, but I'm gonna get it all taken care of!  The above pictures are not mine, and were just found on pinterest.  I put them together into one picture, though.

Hot. She felt so hot. And light headed. But. She had a job. The wedding! She needed to work and earn her master's wage. Hana's eyes shot open, and she sat up, panicked. "So you're awake now? Hey, try to take it easy, ok?" Obi was sitting at the edge of her bed. Hana snapped her head towards his voice. "Obi! How long have I been out? H-have I missed the wedding??" Hana was frantic. Obi placed a cool rag on her head, keeping his hand lovingly on her; she was looking much better, and even most of her swelling had gone down. "You've only been out for about 5 hours; it's just now dinnertime. Hana looked at him, feeling a bit of relief. "Speaking of," Obi said, lowering his hand, and bringing up a bowl of dumplings. "Here, have a bite," Obi said, bringing the spoon up to her mouth. Hana gazed at him, feeling content, despite the horrible circumstances. She smiled and nodded, cupping her hands around his, accepting the spoonful of dumplings from him. Obi smiled, feeling more than a little content himself, sitting with her on her bed like this.

"Well, I suppose I should leave you to rest now," Obi said, starting to stand up, but not wanting to leave. "No!" Hana nearly jumped, grabbing his sleeve. Her heart skipped a beat when Obi looked down at her, somewhat surprised; she had not meant to react so suddenly. "Is something wrong, Hana?" Obi asked, not moving further from his half-way-up position. Hana looked down, feeling a little nervous. "It's just... I... I was wondering..." her voice caught in her throat. She swallowed nervously. She had to ask. Obi waited patiently for her to finish. "I want you to stay here with me tonight... at least until... I fall asleep." Hana looked up at him, loosening her grip on his sleeve. Obi smiled, glad to hear her request; truthfully, he did not want to leave her at all. "Of course," he answered, sitting down next to her and wrapping his arm around her; he used his free hand to pull the covers back over her. She leaned into him, nestling her head into his shoulder, feeling at peace. She closed her eyes and sighed happily.

Obi watched her as she quickly drifted back into sleep, still leaning on his shoulder. He smiled softly. He shifted around, laying her back down and bringing the covers back over her even further. He laid down with her under the blanket, and pushed her hair out of her face. She looked so peaceful, asleep here next to him. He caressed her cheek. Her lips parted just slightly as she drifted into a deeper sleep, no doubt so quickly from her fever. He cupped her cheek, his thumb gliding over her soft lips. His heart beat slightly faster as he thought of kissing her once more, and before he could think anything else of it, he gently pressed his lips to hers, careful not to wake her. He couldn't believe how quickly he had fallen in love with her. He had not even thought that he would ever love someone that was not the Young Miss. And yet, here she was. Hana. He smiled, wrapping his arm around her, and closed his eyes.

"Well good morning, Hana," Obi greeted, still face to face with her, as she began waking up. It took Hana a few seconds to come to. She smiled at him, "good morning, Obi," she replied cheerfully. "Have you been here all night?" "Yep, we slept together," Obi teased. Hana giggled, "you wish," she replied, sitting up. "Oh yeah? I bet you do, too. I am pretty irresistible." Hana's face flushed red, immediately regretting having said anything at all, and Obi laughed as he also sat up, before he kissed the top of her head. Hana removed the covers from herself, looking out the window. It was very early in the day, still a bit dark. Obi got out of bed. There was a knock on the door. Ryuu entered the room. "I've come to check on you.... huh?" he started, but then noticed Obi in the room. "Good morning, little Ryuu." "Have you been here all night?" "Yep." "I see," he turned his attention towards Hana, "how do you feel this morning?" "I'm feeling much better now, thanks to everyone." Ryuu nodded, seeing that she was looking better, and no swelling. "Just to be safe, I'm going to give you a checkup before giving you the all clear to work. Ordinarily, we would make you stay in bed for the day, but since today is the wedding, and the cake means so much to you, we are willing to make an exception if everything checks out. Would you mind coming to the edge of the bed?" Hana nodded, doing as she was told.

"You appear to be fine now, so I am going to go ahead and give you the all clear. Just try to take it easy, ok?" Ryuu said, standing up. "Obi, I need you to come with me. Kiki and Mitsuhide need you now." Obi nodded, "I'll see you later, Hana. You'll find your roses in the kitchen." Hana smiled and nodded, "thank you, Obi." He smiled and winked at her, following Ryuu out of the room.

After cleaning herself and dressing for the wedding, Hana stared at herself in the mirror. She didn't think that the dress suited her. It was too nice. Too beautiful. Too much. She pulled her wavy hair into a side ponytail using her hair pin, with stray loose strands framing her face. She didn't feel right working in such an outfit, and felt that she should have been wearing a caterer's uniform, but Shirayuki and Zen insisted that she was now just as much a guest at their wedding, and that she should dress accordingly.

Everyone was busy. The castle was lively, to say the least. Everyone had a job to get done, and stress levels were high. Hana and few of her friends from the kitchen helped her to roll the cakes into the reception room. "You really did such a magnificent job on this, and all on your own!" Kareine complimented. Jasmine nodded, "it would be such a shame to lose you, Hana. You've been such asset in the kitchen." "Thanks guys, that means a lot." "Hana, have you given any more thought to staying? You could so easily stay and work here," Jasmine asked. Sadness came over Hana. She had thought about it. So many times. "You know I can't... I have to go back... back to Koji." "Bring him with you, Hana. I'm sure if you asked Lord Zen, that he would allow it." Tears began to well in her eyes. She wished that they knew. Knew that she and Koji were property. They had no rights. She couldn't even if she wanted to. She would have to leave. The castle. Her friends. Obi. "Please leave now, I need to be alone," Hana couldn't even look at them. Kareine and Jasmine looked at each other worriedly, but seeing that Hana obviously did need to be alone, they left her without another word.

The cakes were in position. All she had to do was add the roses.