Sang's POV:
I was busy, cleaning Marie-sama's rooms when her screech reached my ears.
"Saaang!!"
I sighed, propping the broom I had in my hands against the wall before walking towards where she waited, in front of her wardrobe.
Marie was my mistress and a very demanding one.
"Yes, Marie-sama?" I asked her, making sure to keep my eyes down and my posture submissive.
"Where is my kimono?" She screamed at me, even though we were only a few feet apart.
Not to mention her wardrobe was full of kimonos, which one did she want?
I sighed again. "It's in your wardrobe, Mistress."
"Well, help me put it on, you ungrateful wench!" She swore, her face going red at the bored expression on my own face. "And don't you dare to roll your eyes or sigh at me! You should be grateful that my mother has allowed you to stay." Her hands were on her hips now, her chest moving rapidly as she was panting in her rage. "I would have thrown you out long ago, you useless chit!"
I fought to keep my face expressionless. It wasn't the first time someone had called me by names and said how "useless" and "ungrateful" I was, but it hurt every time.
I knew in a way that she was right, however. I never suffered from hunger as some people in my clan did, neither did I ever lack clothing and a roof over my head.
My clothes might be plain and my job a rough one, but I had received the grand opportunity of learning how to read and write like a lady, I had been able to learn manners with Marie-sama's instructors and had accompanied her to all of her lessons, learning everything that she did, just like a shadow.
I had also learned a few things that she hadn't.
I never understood why I was given such a gift, and it was clear that Marie and her mother hated me for it, but I took all the opportunities that were given to me and did my best to excel in them.
"Yes, Marie-sama." I said, keeping my voice low and flat. It wouldn't do to show her my feelings.
Marie was the daughter and sole heiress to the Sorenson Clan, and it made her into a spoiled child who had never had to work a single day in her life.
It made sense to me that she was like that, thought. Power often corrupted those in their hold, and Marie Sorenson was very powerful.
In our civilization, it is believed that the heirs are the embodiment of a clan's strength, our hope for a future. A clan without one was considered weak and without future, as they would have no one to lead them once their current clan' head died, leaving the clan open for the attack of others.
It was the reason why most clan's heads usually had a lot of children, with many different women. But, sadly, Sorenson-sama had been able to give life to only one daughter.
Which meant our safety was precarious, because if Marie died our clan would be attacked by others seeking our riches.
I walked across the room and retrieved the first kimono that I found in the wardrobe, not paying a lot of attention to which one it was.
They were all high quality, beautiful, elegant pieces, and none of them suited Marie in mine opinion.
Helping my mistress dress up in her latest silk kimono, with a cherry blossom pattern and beautiful embroidery I thought about how Marie had everything a girl would ever wish for while some of the people from our clan suffered from hunger, lack of shelter and money. Not to mention sickness.
I had hope for those people, however.
A few days ago the news had spread like wild fire throughout our clan that Marie Sorenson would be marrying another clan's son.
But this wasn't just another clan. No. She'd be marrying into the Academy clan which was known for having a fair Lord who kept his people well fed and cared for.
Now, the Academy and the Sorenson's had always been enemies. Rumor had it that the founders of both clans had been twin brothers who fought against each other after their father's, the Emperor, death.
The separation of the brothers caused that their clan, the Uta Clan, divided itself in two.
The Sorensons, however, sought to unite with the Academy once more, with a marriage between their heirs. Today was the day that we would be traveling into the Academy's territory to stay at their Clan house in hopes of convincing the Academy to go ahead with the marriage.
"Sang!" Marie's screech pulled my thoughts away from the possibilities of the future straight back to my wretched present. "Hurry up!"
I sighed quietly, knowing she wouldn't hear it above all of her screeching. "Yes, Marie-sama."
......
Once I was finished dressing Marie-sama I went to prepare myself, donning one of the kimonos used by all servants of the Sorenson household as a symbol of their low status.
The kimono was made of a scratchy cloth in a blue-gray color that made me think of cloudy skies.
We would all be traveling into the Academy's territory soon, me and the other servants by foot and our Lord's family in their palanquins, which were pushed by horses, thankfully.
Once everyone was settled and the procession began its long march toward the neighbor clan I walked over to the front and sneakily sat down besides the driver of the palanquin.
Wil-kun smirked at me, but didn't tell me to get off.
He, Karen-chan and I were all childhood friends, forced to work for the Sorenson at their household since we were ten years of age. Karen-chan was a kitchen maid, Wil-kun their driver and I the personal servant to Marie-sama and, sometimes, her mother.
The three of us had always been close, like family and I really loved them. They were my best friends, the only ones I had.
I also knew that their feelings for each other weren't of the friendly kind. They were in love with each other, but as far as I could tell, trying to deny it.
We talked quietly during our journey, catching up with everything that had happened while we were separated by our respective jobs.
When we arrived at the Academy clan's main house I gaped in wonder at the beauty and artwork of the place.
The Sorenson's household was so plain and bare, with the exception of Marie's rooms since she always got whatever she wanted.
The Academy's clan household looked like a fortress, with its enormous front gate open for our entrance.
The buildings inside were composed by the main house which was three stories tall, a carriage house and a servant's hall.
The buildings were all connected among themselves and looked beautiful, with wood decorations and carvings everywhere. The gardens were colorful, with cherry blossoms and other plants as well as a fountain and a little lake which had a small bridge crossing it.
I knew I would love to have the opportunity of walking through those gardens, but as a servant it was better that I avoid them.
I left Wil then to return to my post in our procession before my Lord's family saw me. The mistress would be furious and the following punishment would leave me hurting for days.
Once my Lord and his family got out of their palanquin the Academy' servants led them to the dining room, which would serve as the ceremony hall for the presenting of the heirs.
I followed behind them, keeping quiet so as not to attract any unwanted attention.
Entering the room I saw that the Academy's Lord, his mistress and son were all already sitting, polite expressions on their faces.
Along the walls stood the servants, with their heads down, silently waiting for an order of their lords and mistresses; to one side of the room, in a separate table, were nine young men, observing our arrival quietly.
All of the men were dressed formally, with their kimonos covered by the Hakana at the lower part and the Montsuki Haori jacket with their clan symbol on the upper part. However, their personalities were clearly displayed in their way of dress, or undress in some of their cases... I blushed.
It was clear to me that they were all paying attention to us even while they pretended to talk distractedly among themselves. I gave them a little smile before turning my attention back to my Lord and Mistress, wondering who they were.
Samurais posted there to protect their lord and his family?
But they had no swords that I could see on them...
"Welcome to our home, Sorensons," The Lord said, standing from his place to greet them. "It is nice to meet you and your family."
My Lord repeated his greeting without feeling.
The Academy's Lord turned back to his soon and said, "Come here son, meet Marie-sama, your new bride."
The boy stood up from his seat and walked towards Marie. At that moment I felt my eyes widen in shock, seeing a familiar pair of eyes, the same hair, nose and mouth. I immediately knew who he was but couldn't understand the "why" or "how".
Choosing to keep quiet, so as to avoid a severe punishment, I schooled my expression into one of disinterest.
"Nice to meet you, Marie-sama," He said. "Come, sit beside me." He guided her to the seat next to him and they started to talk politely among themselves, both with fake smiles on their faces and bored expressions on their eyes.
My lord and his mistress sat by the Academy's lord and mistress, talking cheerfully on topics that only they would find interesting.
Seeing that I was standing out by remaining standing in the middle of the room I looked around for a place along the wall to fit myself into.
As I turn around and start walking towards the wall, however, a touch in my shoulder causes me to stop.
I turn around quickly, my eyes going wide at someone's sudden presence behind me when I didn't see or hear him coming closer.
My eyes make contact with emerald green eyes behind black rimmed glasses, framed by light brown hair.
He looked like a studious guy, and I knew that I'd like to say it was his brain that would attract me to him, but in truth, it was those eyes. The power and strength in then along with the kindness that was clearly displayed there made me suddenly weak in the knees.
"Hi," He said with a slight smile, "I'm Dakota Lee. Would you like to come and sit with us?" He asked, pointing to the table in the corner filled with men, his green eyes looking at me expectantly, beckoning me to accept his offer.
My eyes went to study his companions. All eight of them were staring at me and I felt myself blushing under their scrutiny.
I averted my eyes from them, feeling nervous, and looked at their table which is filled with delicious looking food. Our travel had been a long one and I'd eaten nothing since we left our clan. My stomach growled embarrassingly loud making me blush again.
Lee-san smiled kindly at me and I said a quiet "Ok" to him.
Hopefully my mistress wouldn't punish me for sitting with them.
"Good." He said, clearly happy that I had accepted. I wondered why, there was nothing special about me and I knew that with my servant's kimono there was no mistaking my place in the Sorenson' household.
He took my arm gently and pulled me along to the table, telling me to sit beside him.
On my other side sits a boy with wavy, brown hair and what I can only describe as "fire eyes".
"Hi, my name is Victor Morgan," He said in a smooth, baritone voice. He seems to be the same age as me and Lee-san.
"Hello," I almost stuttered, the intensity of his eyes causing a deep tremble to start in my belly.
Next to Morgan-san sat a greek boy with dark hair and brown eyes, his name was Silas Korba and even sitting down I could tell that he was really tall. His voice was deep and accented, his body that of a muscled giant, but he was clearly a gentle one.
Then, there was Nathan Griffin, a redhead with serious blue eyes. He was the same height as Lee-san, but had broader shoulders and a very muscled chest, as I could clearly see through his half open kimono.
I blushed a deep red and ducked my head when he caught me staring.
Gabriel Coleman sat next to him. He had two-toned hair, a mix of brown and blond that looked striking against him wild blue eyes. By the way he was almost bouncing where he sat and how his eyes were lit up it was clear that he was full of energy and cheerfulness. I immediately liked him, he seemed like a lot of fun and his bright orange kimono fit him very well.
Luke and North Taylor were step-brothers, as well as polar opposites.
Luke-san was, surprisingly, the older one of the two, and a very obviously mischievous sort. His brown eyes sometimes looked unfocused as he started to daydream; his longish blonde hair was tied behind his head in a ponytail. He had a very warm and playful personality that made me want to melt at his feet. His kimono stood even more open at the chest than Griffin-san, however, and I quickly averted my eyes before I fell into that trap.
His brother's gaze on me made me stand straight and pay attention. North-san was, in a single word, darkness. With bronzed skin, dark eyes, black hair, and a completely black kimono, his also dark mood suited him fine. His voice was as sharp as a knife and the gold circle earring in his left lobe only made him more intimidating.
As I talked with them, thought, I saw that he was actually a kind guy and my initial fear of him started to diminish as his voice seemed to turn ever softer when he spoke directly to me.
Dr. Sean Green had a personality a lot like Luke's, with sandy blond curls that reached his ears and dazzling green eyes. His voice had a gentle and reassuring quality to it which I imagined he used a lot with his patients.
For last, but not least, there was Owen Blackbourne, who seemed to be a lot sterner than the rest of them, his personality one of utter seriousness. He was clearly at a position of authority over the other boys, and he seemed very aware of it, his status weighing heavily in his every motion.
He had short, brown hair and steel gray eyes, his whole appearance screaming perfection as he sat there with spine perfectly straight and not a hair out of place.
They were all very handsome with muscled bodies that I sometimes found myself staring at. Each time they caught me I blushed.
We spoke about our interest and hobbies, and I had a lot of fun with them, but the identity of Academy' Lord's son bothered me deeply and caused me to keep glancing surreptitiously at him.
Whenever I did my gaze caught at my mistress and I worried once again if she would punish me for speaking with these men.
Choosing to ignore that possibility for the moment I focused my attention at having fun with them.
Today I would have fun, tomorrow would be another day. Of punishments and confrontations.