Kouen, Koumei, and Kougyoku were sitting in the meeting room that they all had recently been in and with it being spacious and well-lighted, it was the perfect place for them to go over foreign documents. Though Sinbad also happened to be in the room with a light and fluffy atmosphere around him and somehow, it seemed really annoying.
"Isn't today such a nice weather?" he hummed, a bright smile on his face.
The birds chirped outside underneath the sunlight as Kouen unrolled another scroll.
"How are the snacks? They're made by the best patisserie in Sindria?" he said.
Kougyoku sipped her tea as Koumei rolled one of the scrolls. Nobody answered him and nobody bothered to look his way. He should've already known that none of them paid any interest in him - maybe Kougyoku - and yet, he continued bothering with them. Kougyoku put down her cup of tea and sighed, wondering how she had even fallen for such a man. She looked at the sweets set on the table and the only one that had bothered eating it was Koumei.
Koumei-niisama really does like sweets, huh? she chuckled.
She looked at Kouen, her eldest brother, and smiled. He wasn't the type to eat sweets and if anything, he hated it. She flinched a bit when Kouen moved, rolling his scroll back up and setting it on the side. Kougyoku saw him look at the sweets and for a moment, the faintest smile appeared on his face as his eyes softened. She widened her eyes in surprise and looked at the sweets. She immediately knew what he was thinking.
"Lucy-neesama likes sweets, doesn't she?" she said with a soft smile.
"Ah," he took up a fruit tart. "She used to always brighten up whenever it was time for afternoon snacks. Those times were nice."
"And the time we spend with her now hasn't changed a single bit," Kougyoku grinned. "The times we spend together now is also nice. Though I dare say that it might be even better."
He looked at her and chuckled. "You're right."
"Hm? What is it?" Sinbad brightened up. "Does Lucy like sweets? If so, you should've told me earlier! It's the perfect time to bring these sweets to her and while at it, we can have lunch toget-"
Sinbad stopped midsentence as his face paled.
"Don't you dare," Kouen glared at him, his sword right at Sinbad's neck.
"Kouen, Kouen, it's dangerous to point a sword at someone's neck," Sinbad started sweating bullets as he lifted his hands out of fear.
"Does it look like I care?"
"Hey! Aren't you going way too overboard? All I'm doing is visiting her by bringing some of these sweets to her. Is that bad?" he argued and sighed, sitting back into the couch. "You Ren siblings are being a bit too overprotective, don't you think? She's sixteen, you know."
"It's exactly because she's sixteen," Kouen glared, sheathing back his sword.
"Is it bad to be alone with me?" Sinbad defended himself. "I'm young, I'm handsome, what's so bad about being with me? It's just lunch."
"Everything about you is bad," the three of them said unanimously.
"Sinbad-sama," Koumei voiced, patting down his hands and ridding it of crumbs. "No matter what kind of title you had decreed to her, Lucy-sama is still a person of the Kou Empire. Moreover, it's precisely she's young and you're young that meeting alone to eat lunch is a bad idea."
"Why? You think she'll fall for me?" Sinbad grinned.
Kouen smacked him hard in the head. "Quit joking around. There's no way she would fall for someone like you."
"T-That's right!" Kougyoku stood up. "Lucy-neesama is the very image of perfection! Her long silky blonde hair, her pale fair skin, her long lashes and honey chocolate eyes, the way she moves about with grace...she's the ideal image of what a woman should be," she swooned, praising Lucy before gritting her teeth and glaring at Sinbad. "There's no way she could love such a perverted playboy like you, Sinbad-sama."
The three of them were at a loss for words. Kouen and Koumei knew that Kougyoku was infatuated with Lucy since way back during their childhood days but they didn't think that it was to this extreme. When concerning Lucy, all her other feelings blocked themselves.
"That hurt more than I thought it would," Sinbad cried, multiple stabs right at his heart.
"Well, regardless of all that," Kouen said. "I'll be taking these to her."
"Huh? Why do you get to go?" he let out an exasperated yell.
"Because I'm Ren Kouen," Kouen turned back and looked him in the eye. "Is there any other reason I should make?"
"That doesn't even make sense!"
"It makes all the sense."
"In any case," Sinbad began, straightening himself. "I'm going with you."
"Hah?" Kouen glared at him.
Sinbad grinned. "This is my kingdom and moreover, it's my castle. Whether I could visit her or not, no one can order me about it."
"You-" Kouen gritted his teeth.
"Now then, off to visit our little princess," Sinbad took the basket of sweets from Kouen.
From the very beginning, he didn't like him but now, just looking at him made him feel infuriated. He didn't know what his intention with Lucy was but if he was just using her to amuse himself, then he better give it up. He wasn't just going to let him use her as his plaything.
"King Sinbad," Kouen stopped him from exiting. "I would very much like it if you didn't treat her as some kind of toy. Lucy doesn't exist as your plaything."
Sinbad stopped but did not face him. "What makes you think that I'm treating her as a plaything?"
Kouen widened his eyes as Sinbad turned around, his expression grim and serious. His eyes held no humor in them and it was the first time that Kouen had seen him so serious. In Sinbad's eyes, though Lucy might be a girl that he had just found, the fact that he had decreed upon her a title of Princess was something already. He wouldn't do something like that so recklessly and on a whim. She wasn't a toy and he never intended for her to be one either.
"You can't possibly-" Kouen's eyes widened at the sudden realization.
Sinbad smirked. "Who knows?"
"Whatever you plan on doing with her, I'll have you know that Lucy is not yours," Kouen sheathed back his sword.
Sinbad looked at Kouen before turning around, a pitiful look reflected in his eyes. "I already know that. After all..."
During the past two days, the only people that she seemed to be the most comfortable around and smile the brightest around were the Ren siblings. Though it may be because that they have known each other way back, he could tell that the relationship between them wasn't going to be easily broken just by a mere outsider. Moreover, the way she looked at Kouen was different. The two looked at each other in a way different than that of mere friends, though he himself couldn't understand how it was different.
"Enough arguing now," Sinbad grinned. "Time to deliver some pastries."
"I'm not letting you go alone," Kouen glared.
"I'm also coming along! It's been a while since I visited Lucy-neesama," Kougyoku stood up immediately.
"It's only been sixteen hours," Koumei sighed, looking at Kougyoku. "You just saw her yesterday."
"What are you talking about, Koumei-niisama?" Kougyoku's eyes lit up. "If I could, I would spend all of my twenty-four hours with Lucy-neesama."
"Wow," Koumei looked at his younger sister with blank eyes.
"Besides, Koumei-niisama would also rather spend his whole day with Lucy-neesama than with someone else, no?" Kougyoku grinned, seeing through Koumei.
"W-What?!" Koumei stammered, his face now flushed. "Stop joking around, Kougyoku! Nevermind that, shouldn't you guys be delivering Lucy-sama her food?"
"Ah, that's right!" Kougyoku reminded herself.
"It would be bad if she starves due to our own negligence," Sinbad quickly ordered a nearby servant to go bring their lunch to the greenhouse.
"You mean your negligence," Kouen took the basket back.
"Wha-!" Sinbad began to say.
Suddenly, the door to the meeting room bust open, dust flying through the air. Sinbad coughed as Kouen stood there with a grim face, throwing a cloth over the basket to protect the pastries from getting dirty. Narrowing his eyes, he looked towards the entrance, wondering what the ruckus is about.
"What's going on?" Koumei narrowed his eyes.
"Excuse my rudeness," Ja'far bowed, out of breath. "King Sin, Emperor Kouen."
"Ja'far?" Sinbad blinked before grinning. "It's rare to see you so worked up and out of breath. So? What's the occasion?"
"Sin! It's not the time to be fooling around!"
Hearing the urgency in his voice, Sinbad stared at him with eyes full of serious intent. "What do you mean?"
"She's gone," Ja'far said. "Lucy-sama's not in the greenhouse!"
Kouen widened his eyes as he heard the news. Going up to Ja'far, he glared at him, his hands balling into fists as rage filled his eyes. "Where is she?!"
"We've already begun searching the whole castle but it doesn't seem like she's still in the inner castle grounds," Ja'far answered. "Right now, we've already begun searching the outside castle as well."
"King Sinbad, mind explaining?" Kouen focused his attention on him.
However, even Sinbad seemed shocked at the sudden news. Standing there with wide, petrified eyes, anger flashed over them as graveness soon took over. He looked at Ja'far and gave him his orders.
"Drakon and the others have also begun looking, right?"
"Yes," Ja'far answered. "As soon as we found out, I notified them immediately."
"Very well," Sinbad nodded his head. "Has there been any word from the guards guarding the gates of the palace."
Ja'far shook his head. "They haven't seen Lucy-sama go out the castle gates yet."
"I see," Sinbad said.
"I'll go help find Lucy-neesama!" Kougyoku said. "I'll try to go tell Kouha, too!"
"Koumei," Kouen looked towards his younger brother.
"Helping to find Lucy-sama goes without saying," Koumei rushed out of the room, he, too, equally worried about Lucy's sudden disappearance.
"In any case, search the castle grounds!" Sinbad ordered, thrusting his hand forward. "Pass my order! Dispatch all the soldiers on duty and find Lucy, the Princess of Sindria, no matter what!"
"Otherwise, their King will be held responsible," Kouen glared at him before leaving as well.
Sinbad grinned. "Hot-headed as always."
"Sin, I don't think you should be talking," Ja'far said, noticing Sinbad's anxiety in his voice.
"The same goes for you, Ja'far," Sinbad laughed. "It's the first time I've seen you so anxious. It's written all over your face."
Ja'far stepped back a bit, not realizing that his worries were shown all over his face despite thinking that he had concealed it pretty well. Looking away, he gave a soft smile.
"I guess she's become a rather important presence in this castle within just two-day time."
"Indeed," Sinbad said, grabbing his sword. "I should go find our little princess as well. Otherwise, my head will really go flying this time," he grinned. "Though I had already intended on planning to find her with all my might."
Meanwhile~
"Look, Lucy-nee, this is the place I wanted to bring you to!" Kouha exclaimed.
Lucy looked at the tree, her honey chocolate orbs reflecting the lush green leaves of the towering tree as it swayed softly in the wind. Her hair blew along with the veil as Aladdin walked up to the tree. She blinked her eyes and she saw the rukh flutter around it. It was beautiful. The leaves blotted out parts of the sun as it shone upon it, captivating and mesmerizing its bystanders.
"It's beautiful," she whispered, her eyes focused on it.
Kouha smiled. "If Lucy-nee thinks this is beautiful, then the view awaiting you at the top would put you at a loss for words."
"The top?" she questioned.
"Lucy-neesan, you have to climb the tree," Aladdin said, already having climbed onto the first branch and was now swinging his legs from it.
"Can we climb it?" she asked worryingly.
"Who knows?" Kouha shrugged his shoulders. "But there's no one to stop us from climbing it."
"Lucy-neesan, you definitely won't regret it," Aladdin encouraged her.
"But..." she looked at them.
Kouha grinned with a smug face. "Or could it be that Lucy-nee has already forgotten how to climb trees."
Lucy stared at him and chuckled. "How could I forget?" she said, walking up to the tree. "After all, don't forget that I was the one who taught you how to climb one."
Putting her hands on the tree, she began climbing it, moving her hands and feet in coordination. Her bracelets and veil followed beside her as Kouha climbed after her, helping her if her clothes got caught in one of the branches. Climbing three quarters up, the three stopped on a thick branch and Lucy looked up, now fully aware of just how tall it was. Kouha swung himself onto one of the upper branches and held out a hand to her.
"Lucy-nee," he smiled.
She reached out to his hand and he grasped her hand, holding onto it with a tight grip. He disappeared into the thickets of the leaves and feeling a tug on her arm, she closed her eyes as the leaves rustled against her skin.
"Open your eyes."
Lucy slowly opened them and as the light of the sun passed over her eyes, she widened her eyes at the scene that awaited her. Her eyes glistened and sparkled as the wind blew back her hair and veil, causing the rubies on her accessories to cling. Kouha was right. It was a sight to behold. She had never seen such a beautiful scenery and a surge of bliss overwhelmed her. She felt her heart thumping like never before as she slowly opened her mouth in amazement.
From miles and miles on, she saw the country of Sindria. The main castle stood behind them, its flag waving proudly, and ahead of her in the distance, she saw the people of Sindria carry about their daily lives, merchant ships sailing into the harbor, and people laughing and running about. She could tell that it was a blessed country for not a single person lived in poverty. The sun shone brightly down on them as the spring wind carried their voices and liveliness through the air. It was beautiful.
Kouha saw the expression on her face and smiled, his eyes softening and a blush making its way to his cheeks as he held her hand in his.
"Isn't it beautiful, Lucy-neesan?" Aladdin grinned.
"It is," she breathed, noticing the rukh that fluttered in the air as it traveled through the country, breathing life into it. "More beautiful than anything I've ever seen."
"That's true," Kouha nodded and closed his eyes, a smile on his face. But, he turned towards Lucy. In my eyes, you're the most beautiful.
Aladdin, too, held the same thoughts as Kouha. Upon seeing the way she looked at the scene before her, he widened his eyes, completely drawn in by her. Her lips curled up ever so slightly as her eyes glistened and softened with warmth, the afternoon sun painting a rosy hue on her cheeks. She held such a lovely expression that rather than paying attention to the scenery, he instead watched her as she continued to look off into the distance, taking in everything.
"Lucy-nees-"
However, their thoughts were soon interrupted when a yell came from the main castle.
Lucy turned around and looked at the main castle. "What's going on?"
"Quite a commotion that they're making," Aladdin remarked. "Did something happen?"
Kouha held a hand over his eye as he squinted his eyes. "Seems like they're assembling soldiers and ordering them to do something. Ah. The eight generals are also hurrying about."
"I wonder why?" Lucy tilted her head.
"Seriously, what're they hurrying about for? It's not like an enemy attacked or something," Kouha crossed his arms as he furrowed his eyebrows together in question. "What's got them so worked up?"
"Uncle Kouen and Uncle Sinbad are also there!" Aladdin pointed out.
"En-nii, too?" Kouha looked into the distance and sure enough, he was there. "Koumei-nii and Kougyoku are also hurrying."
Lucy looked at the castle with worry. "Maybe something serious happened."
Aladdin shook his head. "I doubt it. There doesn't seem to be anything abnormal."
Kouha nodded his head in agreement before sighing and sitting back on the branches. "Well, whatever the case, it doesn't concern us. Lucy-nee, you don't have to have such a concerned face," he grinned. "I assure you that nothing's wrong."
Lucy stared at him before smiling. "If you say so."
In the distance, Kouen, Koumei, Kougyoku, Sinbad, Alibaba, Morgiana, and the eight generals hurried about as they ran about castle grounds, looking anxiously for Lucy. Kougyoku couldn't find Kouha anywhere and soon gave up on finding him. Running into Alibaba, the two began finding her together.
"No luck on your side either, huh, Alibaba-chan?" Kougyoku said.
"Yeah. This castle is just way too big!"
Kougyoku laughed. "It's nothing compared to the Imperial Palace that we reside in."
Thinking about it, he had to agree. The Imperial Palace was seven to eight times the size of Sindria's castle and walking through the palaces was like walking through a maze. Seeing the brooding look on Kougyoku's face as she anxiously looked around, he wanted to reassure her.
"Don't worry, Kougyoku, I'm sure she didn't go anywhere," Alibaba said. "With all these people finding her, like Kouen and Sinbad, she'll be found in no time."
Kougyoku smiled. "That's true. Even if she does run into trouble, I'm sure Lucy-neesama would have no trouble dealing with it."
Alibaba looked at her with a satisfied expression before returning his attention to his surroundings as he continued running. "But it's kind of weird. I haven't seen Aladdin since this morning. I wonder where he went."
"Same here," Kougyoku said. "Kouha hasn't been seen either."
The two remained silent before looking back at one another, the realization suddenly hitting them in the head. "You don't suppose..."
"Kouen-niisama!" Kougyoku started sprinting off.
"Ah! Wait, Kougyoku!" Alibaba hurried to catch up with her.
Kouen stormed through the castle grounds, his cape blowing behind him as his face raged with anger at who had taken her. He looked up at the sky and focused all of his energy on him to trace her presence. He opened his eyes and noticed the flow of rukh that passed in the sky. He noticed that it was Aladdin's without a doubt and there was a faint flutter of Lucy's rukh as well. To him, even if she wasn't using any magic, her presence was still recognizable to him.
He looked into the distance and sure enough, a lock of blonde hair glimmered in the bright sunlight. He saw her smile lovingly at what she saw before her and he stood there, mesmerized. However, once he saw the unmistakable red-pink hair of his little brother, he immediately knew what was going on.
"That Kouha," he gritted his teeth, storming right to the tree.
"Kouen-niisama! Kouha he-!"
"I already know," he said, walking right towards the tree with the expression of a demon.
Sinbad, too, seemed to notice and began walking towards the tree as well. Sinbad ordered the guards to stop searching and they complied. The eight generals had noticed a little after Kouen and Sinbad did and Koumei soon also made his way to the tree. Fire blazed behind Kouen as his eyes glinted with madness.
"K-o-u-h-a," Kouen came up to the tree.
Kouha glanced down, wondering who had called him. Upon seeing the look on his brother's face, he immediately froze and began sweating bullets. "E-En-nii...What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" Kouen returned the question. "To bring Lucy out without telling anyone, do you know what kind of trouble you've caused?"
"But it's within the castle," Kouha pouted.
"Either way, come down here!" Kouen yelled.
"Uncle Kouen seems really angry," Aladdin murmured, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.
"Aladdin!" Yamraiha stared at him, surprised. "You were also here?"
"H-Hey, Yam-san," he waved. "Alibaba-kun's here, too, huh?"
"What do you mean by that?!" Alibaba yelled. "Do you guys have any idea the mess that you've made?"
"We just wanted to show Lucy-neesan around the castle," Aladdin reasoned.
"Even if that is so, you guys should hurry up and come down," Drakon said. "It's a good thing that you guys were in the castle. If you guys had gone out, it would've caused quite the commotion."
"...yes," Kouha complied, brooding.
"Kouha, quit fooling around and climb down!" Koumei yelled.
Lucy looked down at them and seeing her safe, they all breathed a sigh of relief. "We're coming down."
Kouha held out a hand to her and helped her. "Lucy-nee, I'll help you."
Lucy smiled. "Thank you, Kouha."
"Sorry, I didn't think that we would cause such a commotion by taking you outside," Kouha murmured an apology.
"Even though we said it's fine...sorry, Lucy-neesan," Aladdin said. "For not letting you see more of the castle."
The two furrowed their eyebrows together as they pouted their lips. Their eyes reflected guilt and sorriness as they clenched their fists. Lucy looked around at the scenery again and she smiled, her eyes brightening. Facing the two again, she took the two's hand and smiled.
"Thank you, Kouha, Aladdin," she grinned. "For taking me around the castle. It was the best day!"
"Lucy-nee," Kouha's eyes brightened up.
"Lucy-neesan," Aladdin looked at her and grinned. "It was the best day for me as well!"
"Same here!" Kouha exclaimed. "Anywhere with Lucy-nee is fun!"
Lucy smiled softly as the two of them tightened their grip on her hand. The two's eyes sparkled with delight as they thought about just how much she meant to them. Despite not having seen all parts of the castle, it indeed was the best day. With just her there, she had brightened up their very lives.
"Kouha!" Kouen yelled.
"Aladdin!" Alibaba yelled.
Kouha clicked his tongue, wondering why they were so demanding. "Coming! No need to rush," he murmured under his breath.
Aladdin hopped down from branch to branch carefully and Kouha stepped onto a nearby branch as he held out his hand to Lucy. Lucy reached out to hold his hand and smiled, thanking him. Grinning, Kouha held her close to prevent her from falling and as he climbed one branch down, he looked up at her, still holding onto her hand.
"Are you okay, Lucy-nee?" Kouha asked. "I can carry you down if you want."
Lucy shook her head immediately. "It's fine. I can climb down myself."
"If you say so," he replied; she had always been and was still the independent type and never really asked anyone for help. Noticing some moss growing on the next branch of the tree, Kouha looked behind him and called out to Lucy. "Lucy-nee, there's some moss growing on that branch so wa-!"
Lucy placed her foot on the next branch and just as Kouha had turned around and informed her about it, she slipped. Kouha widened his eyes in horror as he tried to grab her by the wrist while Aladdin, too, had a look of fear written across his face as he tried to grab her by her other hand but she slipped right out of their grasp.
"Lucy-neeee!!!" Kouha screamed.
"Lucy-neesan!" Aladdin said as he began to summon the rukh around him but with the speed that she was falling at, she was going to hit the ground soon.
Kouen widened his eyes as he saw Lucy fall from that tall height as he called out. "Lucy!"
Lucy held her arms in front of her, covering herself from the branches and leaves of the trees as she fell. Her clothes got scratched up and the veil that she wore on her head had been slightly ripped. She shut her eyes and as she did, she felt something warm envelop her. The people from below looked above them as thousands of rukh came fluttering in. As Lucy came out from the thickets of the leaves, they could see the rukh envelop her as they stopped her fall. She slowly floated down and Kouen went to catch her as she landed in his arms.
"No way..." Sharrkan stepped back. "She can control the flow of rukh?"
"Only a Magi can do that though," Yamraiha said.
Sinbad, Ja'far, and the others stared at her with an equally puzzled face. The only existing Magi were Aladdin, Judar, Yunan, and Scheherazade. For there to be another person that isn't a Magi to manipulate the flow of rukh was unheard of. The rukh continued to flutter by her side as she laid in Kouen's arms. Rather than having a look of shock written on his face, a look of fear and anger appeared.
"What were you thinking?!" he yelled. "If you wanted to leave the greenhouse, you could've said so! Don't just suddenly disappear!" he hung his head low as he gritted his teeth, his grip on her tightening.
Lucy stared at him and her eyes softened, sadness written in them as she held up a hand to his cheek. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned in and nestled her head on his shoulder. Her long golden hair softly ruffled against his fingers and he widened his eyes in surprise at her sudden action.
"I'm not going to leave again," she told him. "That's why, Kouen," she looked at him, her brown eyes reflecting only him as she smiled with a loving gaze. "There's no need to have such a fearful look in your eyes."
His eyebrows furrowed together as his lips trembled. His usual stern and cold eyes seemed to almost tear up just at the touch of her and her voice. Kouen held her tighter, his firm arm wrapped around her back and the other tightly wrapped under her knee. He buried his face into her neck and soft hair as he breathed in her scent to remind himself that she was in his arms; that she was here with him.
Lucy smiled with a calm expression as she held him. She loved his warmth and scent. Out of all the people in the world that she had come to know, she felt the most comfortable being with him. He held her close and being in his embrace, she felt protected. He thought of her as someone important and moreover, held her precious; something that she didn't think would happen again. Looking around, she noticed that they all wore an equally satisfied and relieved expression. She softened her eyes as she buried her head in Kouen's broad shoulder.
I want to be with them, she decided, a slow but sure smile creeping onto her face. No matter how many days, months, years...I want to be with them...forever.
This was her new life in Sindria and deep down, she knew she would enjoy spending the days with them. With people that cared about her and were precious to her, there was nothing more she could wish for. She held her head high and looked forward, for the first time, to what tomorrow held in store for her.