Miki

Miki looked at her father, at Jack, Will, Oliver, Kyle, Marc, Jay and Sam, her brothers. "What?..." she asked, a look of surprise on her face. She'd been woken by the shakes of her father, and now he tells her this."So... You had my whole life to tell me, but..." She was confused, worried, but slightly excited. As much as she loved her family, adventures are always fun to her. Suddenly, the gallop of horses came to their front door, and Miki looked up, smiling. "I'll be okay." she laughed, climbing into the carriage and falling asleep as it trotted off, leaving her family, her home, her life as she knew it behind.
Once again, she woke to a shaking. The butler opened the door and let her out, and had a look of surprise on his face when she took her own bags.
Kai

Kai was by the gate, with all the other Princes, waiting for the girls. For years he's been waiting for this moment; the moment he met his guardian. For some reason though, he didn't like just standing there, but had to stay; King orders. One carriage appeared. One small girl, with green hair and green eyes. He decided she was quite childish because she was smiling happily, but he in turn smiled when she took her own bags. This is quite interesting Kai thought, looking over. He soon lost interest and looked off into the distance, trying to look for another carriage. He looked at his brothers, before looking to the sky. It was sunny, and clear skies. That had to be a good omen, right?
After a while, Kai took out a pen and started drawing on his hand, really random things related to sport, like a bird kicking a football and Pacman eating a tennis ball. He smiled.

Shizuo sighed having taken a seat during all that had transpired in the morning after she had awoken. "Your joking with me right, Uncle?" She gazed into her uncle's green eyes that were far different from her own. It reminded her that they weren't her mother and father. "No, Shizuo. You have to go." She raised her hand to rub her neck as if to wipe away the tension there.

"Alright. I understand. I cannot go against your wishes. You've done so much for me, so this is the least I can do." She stood up pushing in chair back in the process. The sound of wood scraping against tile echoed in the silent room. "We're sorry Shizuo. It's not our choice. It's something that you just have to do." Shizuo turned her eyes to the dainty woman who spoke. Her aunt was gorgeous and rather the feminine type while Shizuo wasn't even close. "I know. It's fine. Maybe I'll visit sometimes. Yes, I'll do that." She smiled then headed towards her room to pack.

Her aunt came in shortly to help her and the work was done quickly enough and the companionable silence was comfortable to Shizuo. She picked up the suitcases and walked towards the front door to set the cases down and say her goodbyes. She could already her the clatter of hooves on stone coming closer and closer. "Oh, Shizuo! I'll miss you and I do believe your uncle will too! Just don't forget about us okay? We love you." Her aunt stepped forward embracing Shizuo in a warm hug. She chuckled softly and turned her face away with a blush unable to say anything without feeling embarrassed. As her aunt stepped away her uncle stepped forward. They stood there for a moment measuring up the other before her uncle leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead as gently as possible. "You take care alright?" He patted her shoulder seeming to regain his manliness. "I will. Thank you." She watched him turn around grumbling about something or another like always. She raised her hand to her chest to quell the pain of loss in her chest before she grabbed up her things and left the house for good.

She stepped down from the carriage not letting the butler even get his hands near her things. It wasn't just possessive nature but she didn't like considering others as below her status. It bothered her in a way. "Thank you for escorting me. It was truly wonderful." She bowed her head in appreciation to the butler and smiled the moment he smiled back.

She turned to peer at the row of princes. So elegant and trim. I like it. Good first impression indeed. She thought before looking towards a girl who was there already. Shizuo had to blink for a moment as the green color of her hair startled her but then again each girl was entitled to her own style. Shizuo figured she would get acquainted with the girl later on or some other time, for now she had business to attend too.

The girl's grip was tight on her father's blade, slender fingers wrapped protectively about the worn hilt. It was, perhaps, the only way the man knew how to speak- through the scrape and clang of steel meeting steel.

The two of them had fought it out that morning, after she'd been told that everything she had believed her life to be was mere illusion. The past nineteen years had been spent in preparation for one thing and one thing alone- the day she would take her place at her father's side as a knight, a member of the guard. It had not been a walk in the park; she had the scars to prove it. "You're a woman," her father had informed her gravely, and the sarcastic retort had been on the edge of her tongue, ready to spring into life and deliver a lash surely as her blade might, but he had stymied that instinct with a look. "That means you will have to work twice as hard for half the respect, always. You cannot simply be good, you must always be the best."

Those words, spoken so long ago, constituted what had been his longest single speech to her. A man of few words was her father, and she had taken those few words to heart. All with the single-minded ambition to be as skilled and respected as he was. Understandably, perhaps, she had been infuriated to discover that it was all a lie he had allowed her to believe for the duration of her lifetime. From the day at six years old she had first taken this blade into her hands to learn properly how to use it, she had wanted nothing else.

She sighed softly, leaning her head back against the wall of her carriage, rose-hued hair draping languidly over the silk-upholstered seats. She felt like a barbarian next to such finery, even if she did know proper manners. Was that the purpose, perhaps, one last reminder of the privilege she was being given, the honor of being torn from everything she knew and loved and placed at the beck and call of some noble who knew nothing of her? She wouldn't place it outside the realm of possibility.

Her mind drifted back to the morning, and she replayed the fight with her father blow-by-blow, over and over again. She had read the sweep of his sword, the clash of his strong arm against her quick one, the subtle interplay of body language in motion, speaking the volumes that their tongues could not. There had been no apology in it, no comfort. It was the hardest battle she'd ever fought, and it had taken her a moment to realize that at last, he was fighting her with everything he had; all his strength, and all the love in his heart.

That was truly what it had been: love. She knew now why he had kept the secret, that their memories of each other might not be tainted by a time limit, that she might learn everything he had to teach from desire and not necessity. She had understood, and replied with everything she was, until at last he was forced to yield. He had said no more, merely exchanged the blades in their hands and walked back inside the house, leaving her to deal with her teary-eyed mother, who had embraced her and whispered words of comfort into her ear.

The carriage rolled to a stop, and Lenore hefted what few possessions she had on her person onto her shoulder, not relinquishing her grip on the blade. She cast a vague glance at the line of assembled aristocrats, and resisted the urge to snort in a most unladylike fashion. Pretty little swans, all in a row...

-=-

Jin stood assembled with his brothers, anxiously desirous to be anywhere else. Back in his library- he was so close to perfecting that new hydraulic engine it wasn't even humorous- or even out-of-doors, as long as he were not meant to be here, feeling very much like a mannequin in a display case. It didn't help that most of his brothers were far better at this than he, particularly Adio, whose perfect ease was just a bit too perfect.

Then again, he supposed it was better his brother than he. Jin was well-mannered, and polite as well, but he just found large groups to be terribly distracting, and would rather have a conversation with one soul than twenty, no matter the circumstances. He ignored the twinges of boredom already creeping in as the first of the guardians arrived; he had no wish to be rude. Quite the contrary; he hoped very much that everyone would get along well, and that he could then wash his hands of the whole thing and, without any disputes to mediate, head back up to his beloved study and resume his work. So many people were going to benefit from this advancement- he just knew it!

The first arrival seemed a sweet child, and his worry was soothed. If she was as friendly as she seemed, perhaps everyone would get along after all. He was distracted, though, by the second, a girl with golden hair and eyes that almost matched. This one had a quiet look about her, something that set his mind to working. He was under the impression that most of the guardians were not informed of their status until quite recently; the fact that this one seemed to be taking it without an effusion of emotion was interesting. She had the presence of mind to collect her own things and approach. Curious...

He was aware of a third arrival, a rather sullen-looking girl a shade older than the others, but he was still trying to figure out how anyone could take a life-altering revelation so calmly, rationally, perhaps? He was not certain he could have managed it...

Adio

Much like he'd been trained, nurtured, and tutored relentlessly, Adio stood completely still. A statue among his brothers. One hand rested comfortably at his side, the other at the small of his back, just above where his coat split into two tails. Adio had been teased by his younger brothers (the much younger ones) that he was sometimes too old fashioned but he just couldn't help himself. In the few years of his life that he'd started to actually grow, Adio had discovered that if it was something small and it gave you joy, you should partake in it. Dressing well, dressing eccentrically, was something he delighted in. And so he stood, ever the Princely figure, his stark white hair blowing carelessly about his forehead. Every now and then, his silver eyes would turn to peer down the line of his brothers, all half-related to him only through his father, but still his flesh and blood.

This entire ordeal was a bit strange to him, at first. Women sent to protect them all? If it was one thing none of these young men were lacking, it was in fighting. They could all take care of themselves for the most part. What need for protection did they have? Adio was very aware that something of a larger scale was taking place or else the King would have just let them be. This would require further investigation, but for now he would maintain his poise and charming smile. Adio stood patiently, waiting for the young women to appear.

Three showed up almost in tandem. One a very young child with almost citrus-green hair. She was spunky and he smirked at her aversion to the luxuries of royal life. The other was adorned with hair the color of corn. She was quiet almost simple. His eyebrow lifted at her as she peered at them all with amber eyes. Adio let one side of his mouth curl up. He certainly hoped she liked what he saw. It was the third however, that truly captured his eye. Her hair was impossibly long, as well as her legs. The eldest Prince couldn't keep his silver eyes from examining every inch of her from top to bottom. She was no different than he in posture; statuesque and firm. Her back was rigid, almost as rigid as her hand on the hilt of a sword. Emotions ran wild through her face and eyes and Adio suddenly realized how horrible he and his brothers were being. They should be welcoming these young girls into their home.

With a flourish of charm and impeccable manners Adio took a step forward and bowed low before the women.

"I am quite aware that the others have yet to join us, but allow me to welcome you all into our palace. Introductions can be made once everyone is settled and cleaned up after a long journey." Lifting his eyes up, he made a point to wink at the young woman with the fiery hair.

Zahra

"I do not understand." Her voice was small, like a mouse. Though with a big heart, Zahra was never blessed with the vocal projection her biological mother had. At the current time of day she was busily moving back and forth between kitchen counter and chopping block. It was early morning, only moments before the Royal Carriage arrived to take Zahra away. Her mother, a short, rather plump woman, was already sweating and the sun hadn't even fully risen. She was upset, nervous, guilty... again. Zahra was very good at reading body language. In her village... well, in the village that had taken care of her, Zahra had learned to speak many languages, but there wasn't much need for them. They just gestured to each other to signify emotions. This made Zahra proficient at seeing passed her real parents lies. Though she loved them for they had given her life, she hated them for hurting her every day. It was always something different and never an answer to the ultimate question.

Why?

Zahra just sat, dumbfounded, watching her fat mother cook a morning meal for a father who was always working with the horses.

"I do not understand." Zahra repeated, her eyes wide, scared. This must have been a last straw for her mother for she stopped, slammed the cleaver into the wood of the chopping block and glared at her daughter.

"I cannot answer every little thing for you, child!" She never called her Zahra. It apparently wasn't the name she'd chosen for her. Instead she called her child, daughter, girl. Never her name. Zahra winced at the woman's booming voice and looked at the ground.

"Get into some proper clothing!" She growled and began to chop up meat for bacon. The older woman was obviously disturbed for everyone knew you sliced meat for bacon. Standing up, ever the obedient daughter, Zahra entered into her tiny room and put on a dress. She kept her leggings and boots on underneath, hoping for some semblance of normalcy (at least the kind of normal she knew). Her tiny satchel, the only thing she'd ever owned by herself, had the clothes she had made herself from her time in the village, an extra pair of boots, and that stupid necklace. Zahra wouldn't wear it. She wasn't one to be bullied about by people she couldn't see. Standing in the doorway of her room, she watched her father enter, plant a kiss on his brawny wife's cheek and then peered up at Zahra.

"Oh my! Quite the charmer today, yes?" He sat down, gulping a cup of coffee fresh off the stove. Zahra frowned. She hated being talked down to, hated being pushed around. Zahra was not a mat to be walked upon. For far too long they'd ignored her pleas, her questions. Why had they left her in the woods? Why were they acting like it never happened? What had changed them? Why did they not care that she was being ordered away by a King they'd never seen? Her rage grew and grew, her fists pumping at her sides. Tears formed on her eyelashes and they paid no mind. With a wild scream she exited the tiny farmhouse, slamming the door shut behind her. Horrible people! Hateful, stupid, terrible people! They weren't fit to be parents, let alone her own! Thankfully, the carriage had arrived just in time and she jumped into it before anyone could open the door.

"Get me out of here!" Her voice was still soft but the grief within made it easy not to argue with her.

--

Upon her arrival, her eyes were rather puffy from continuous crying. She couldn't seem to get herself to stop. All the pain from the last year had piled up on her shoulders and she was trying to let it go. Zahra was being brought to the palace because she was meant to protect some peacock of a boy. What good was there in showing up with tears in her eyes and weakness in the knees? But when the carriage rolled to a careful stop, she felt her heart jump into her throat. Zahra didn't know what to do. The door opened and she just stared at the man who opened it. He looked up from his bowed head and nodded it to her. His face was blank but his eyes were asking her, "What in the world are you doing? Get out!" And slowly, Zahra scooted across the seat and fumbled her way down the small steps.

A man was bent over, saying something as she adjusted her satchel across her chest. The dress was tight around her torso. Her mother hadn't been much of a seamstress so it didn't quite fit her. Wiping a hand across her face, she hoped the swelling had gone down. The tears were still lingering there. Zahra willed them not to fall and so she put on her best stoic face and clung to the strap of her bag, the only object keeping her grounded. There were already three other girls standing, while six beautiful men were opposite them. Zahra was unsure about all of them, just as she was unsure about her place in this entire situation. All she wanted was to help others, not spend her days protecting boys that cared nothing for their people. The young woman, with her teal-blue hair, looked down at the ground. She suddenly hated this place and wanted to be somewhere else.

Lan stood anxiously by the side of his brothers, bouncing up and down on the soles of his shoes as he studied the expressions on his family's faces. His brothers mostly, aside from Kai, it seemed, were just as intrigued as he was. It was like waiting for a show to be revealed or for the best lyrics of a song that you've listened to over and over again to come up: you expected it and knew it was coming, it was just taking all too long. Longer than you wanted. Longer than Lan wanted. He wanted to see the woman that was to be protecting him.

And there she was.

The first girl to arrive was it. She had to be and there was no question in his mind that it was to be her. Her, with her pretty mint-colored hair and glowing green eyes. She seemed lost and quiet, but at the same time hiding a bubbly disposition. One of which interested Lan at first sight and kept his eyes drawn to her even as the others arrived. He had no interest in the others any longer for why would they? He already knew who was going to be his guardian; and if she wasn't, he would throw a fit until it happened.

Lan had been told multiple times in the past that he acted too quickly. He recalled his brother, though he couldn't be sure which one, telling him that patience was a virtue and rambled on about something along the lines of waiting to see all the choices rather than going for the first one could prove to show even better choices. But there couldn't be any better choices and Lan was a stubborn boy.

So, ignoring manners along with his instructions to 'stay put,' Lan walked up to the girl in green and smiled brightly at her the very second he saw Adio move. He had been Lan's signal of allowance so if he was yelled at for moving out of line, he would merely blame Adio and all would be well. Well, in Lan's mind that's how it should go anyway. "Heya," he greeted. "Welcome to the castle! I'm Lan Rarah." He added a playful growl at the end of stating his name--a signature he'd come to develop. "Who are you?" It might be upfront and rude to ask, but what did he care?

Miki looked up, confused someone was talking to her. She saw a boy, around her age but a bit taller, smiling wildly, and she giggled at his little growl. “Lan Rarah... Hi! I’m Mizuki Ayame, please call me Miki though!” Miki grinned, a small and cute grin which showed her teeth.

It seemed most of the Princes were still in a line; Why was Lan here? Shrugging it off, she looked right into his eyes, trying to find out why she was here, trying to work out why they couldn’t just pick a master of spells. Her eyes asked questions ,they showed a flicker of excitement, and she stared for a long time before finally looking away. Looking around, she saw some other girls arrive, all really pretty, and she looked at their hair. All different colors. She laughed.

“We all look like a rainbow, our hair different colors.” Miki really wanted to get out of there, have some fun walking somewhere, but she assumed there would be a meeting. This Lan boy seemed quite friendly, she took a liking to him, as he looked more playful than the others. “I really wonder who I have to protect. I hope he’s not too boring; I just wanna have fun!”
_________________________________________________________________________________

Kai glanced up at the carriages. He was bored as hell, but he fully looked up when a girl with long blue hair turned up. He completely and utterly ignored Adio; he was too old fashioned anyway. He couldn’t wuitee hold himself back, and before he knew it, he was walking up to the girl. He absolutely had to meet her. Walking past Adio, who seemed to be up to his old formalities and Lan who was talking to the girl with citrus green hair, and when he finally got there, he realised her eyes were puffy, like she’d been crying.
“Hello! Are you okay? I’m Kai, what’s your name?” Kai said, instantly regretting it. Of course she isn’t okay, you numbskull! She’s just been taken away from her family! he thought, giving the girl a kind smile.

Near the end of the row was Ivory. He stood there, motionless as every single girl came out, nor did he bother to even count the ones that arrived. Around his neck hung a large pair of headphones, that were so out of style it wasn't even funny. Blaring from them was the sound of, more than likely, some rock band. Ivory's hands hung in his pockets, as though, no one would be able so see how tightly his fists were clenched.

Ivory looked up and down every single girl, and took a mental picture of their faces so that he could paint them later. He stared particularly hard at the first one to arrive, the green-haired one. He silently wondered to himself why such a woman would ever walk around with such a a gaudy color upon her head, and feel OK with it.

He shook his head, freeing the thought from it, and concentrated on a blonde-haired girl. She had golden, almost amber, eyes which stood out to him. Ivory wanted to go say hi to her, so that he could look into her eyes more, because with eyes that pretty one look just wasn't enough.

Shizuo could feel eyes stop then move on to the next girl. The whole thing reminded her of a cattle auction. Which cattle would suit the owners for the purpose that they were to be sold? Which would provide the best meat and so on. Her grip tightened on her luggage but not enough to be visibly seen. She glanced towards the other girls wondering how they felt about this not that she was brave enough to go over and ask. Also as the oldest looking prince had said, they would be making introductions soon enough.

The first was already conversating with a prince and she had to wonder if that prince had just broken some kind of rule about standing in line. She smirked amused by a rebel prince. A girl with pink hair intrigued her by the fact that she looked as strong as Shizuo herself was. However the third girl excluding Shizuo made her have a pang of sympathy and digust. What use was there to sulking and crying when this was the inevitable? Nothing that any of them had the power to do could be done about the current predicament.

She felt a gaze rest on her again and she turned to return the gaze towards the source of the feeling. A prince with blue eyes that reminded her of the sky at noon, and the strangest accessory on, met her eyes. Her gaze scanned his appearance taking in the headphones and clothing style to ascern his presence before she nodded greetings. She figured that it was best to be respectful in turn for them waiting for the girls at the gate. As strange as the situation was she still kept her shoulders and posture straight and confident when she really wanted to go train and do something to relax her ever tense muscles.

Sora shifted slightly under the afternoon sun; it was not as though the heat bothered him or anything. On the contrary, he was more used to it, and the rain and the cold, than any of his brothers, and probably more than any of their future guardians either. He’d been forced to don better clothing than he usually wore for this occasion, but they had been unable to convince him to leave Ophelia, his hawk, anywhere but on his shoulder, so she now sat perched there, looking for all the world as bored as he felt inwardly.

He did manage to keep his expression neutral, though, even if he couldn’t manage what appeared to be Adio’s amusement, Jin’s curiosity, or Lan’s enthusiasm. He felt like the proverbial fish out of water, but then, didn’t he always? It was something of a permanent state of mind where he was concerned.

He noted the arrivals with a passing interest for the most part, though Lan seemed visibly taken with the first. It was almost-dare he think it?- cute. The second had Jin looking a tad confused, which was saying something. As far as Sora could tell, Jin was never confused by anything. The third showed up on the heels of the second, and he couldn’t help but wonder what was going on with some of these bizarre hair colors.

The fourth was different, though. Well, not in terms of having strange hair, because blue was indeed not what he would consider ordinary in this respect, but rather… she looked distinctly more uncomfortable, and he noted the slight redness to her eyes. She gave off the air of a trapped animal of some kind, as though she had not the faintest desire to be here (though seeing as he did not either, he could hardly blame her for this).

The metaphor was not a rude one where Sora was concerned- but rather one that invoked an instinctive sympathetic reaction. How many times had he thought himself the same; a creature more suited to range freely outside than be stuffed in a walled chamber with people who could not, would not, understand? He noted that her dress fit poorly- clearly she did not belong in it. It made him want to pick at his own clothes, for though they were tailored impeccably, he did not feel comfortable in them at all.

Adio stepped forward and suggested they all retreat inside, which was largely counterproductive as far as Sora was concerned. Still, he wasn’t exactly going to argue, seeing as how none of them really had any choice in the matter. He shot the aqua-haired girl a look; mostly inscrutable, probably, but conveying his understated apology all the same, hopefully.

Rin woke up on her own accord, early as usual. She got dressed and brushed her hair, turning to her door to go out to the dining room. She was surprised when she saw her parents standing in her doorway with some of her things packed into a bag. Her eyebrows furrowed as she was told the true meaning of her necklace and that she would have to go protect some prince. She wanted to protest, but the looks on her parents faces said it wouldn't matter. She opened a drawer in her bedside table and grabbed her knife, clutching the familiar wooden handle in her hand.
She sighed as she stood up and walked out to the carriage with her parents, her eyes cast down the whole time. When she finally looked up, she smiled, something rare, but beautiful. Her mother had tears streaming down her face and her father looked as though he was holding his own tears back. Rin let the man put her bag in the carriage as she ran back to her parents, clutching both of them in a bone crushing hug. A few tears of her own managed to escape but she brushed them away quickly as she saw her younger sister walk out the door, rubbing her eyes with one hand, the other clutching the arm of a teddy bear.
Rin took a deep breath, releasing her parents to hug her sister quickly, the man in the carriage rushing her. Her sister, Kimmi, tried to hold on as she started to walk away. Squeezing her eyes shut, she ripped her arm from her sisters weak grasp, running to the carriage and getting in quickly. Her family were the only people who ever saw her like this, actually kind and letting her emotions show. Rin allowed herself one glance back at her family, but she regretted it immediately. She saw her sister just as she broke down into tears and her parents rushing her back inside. Rin took a deep breath to steady herself, looking ahead as the carriage took off down the road.

Rin could feel the carriage start to slow, so she grabbed her bags. As soon as it stopped, she opened the door and stepped out, the metal studs on her belt shining in the bright sun. The leather soles of her boots wrapped around her feet like an old friend, giving her the only comfort available. She looked up to the quite large number of princes and girls, some older than her, some younger. She took a deep breath, one hand raising to brush her brightly colored hair away from her face.

Kitsumi scowled at her older brothers. "Please tell me you're kidding. So that's why you guys were always giving me a hard time, toughening me up to be a guardian to some hoity toity prince!" She let out a small, strained chuckle. "Well, I suppose I'm going to be forced to go no matter what I think, am I right?"
Without waiting for their replies, she walked into her room to begin packing for the journey to....well, wherever she would be going. As always, her family had been quite brief with the details, telling her only what she needed to know. Her mind was full of questions, but she had learned long ago to never ask. Sometimes the answer would come of its own accord, sometimes not. She would just have to wait and see.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A sudden jolt awoken Kitsumi, and she realized that the carriage she had ridden in was coming to a halt. She breifly touched the top of her knee-high leather boot, checking to make sure her dagger was still hidden. Ah, yes, it was there. Good. Who knew when she would be needing it?
Pushing a lock of her long, burnt orange hair out of her eyes, which were at this very moment changing from orange to yellow, Kitsumi stepped out of the carriage. Her curiousity was overwhelming. She looked around, eager to take in the sights of this new and strange place.
She saw other girls there, all with brightly colored hair not much unlike her own. "Great, trapped in a castle with stuck-up princes and preppy princess wanna-be's. This is gonna be absolutely perfect." She mumbled under her breath. "Well, there's no avoiding it any longer I suppose."
She stepped forward, joining the others. Out of habit, she traced her finger over her orange heart-shaped necklace, the one she had been given at birth. Or perhaps before, she wasn't sure. Feeling more confident at the familiar feel of the necklace, she took a deep breath and said, "I am Kitsumi Mahon. Would someone like to explain to me exactly why I'm here?"

Two more arrived, which placed the count at exactly six, and Jin decided to tear his eye from the yellow-haired girl and be polite instead. Adio had suggested that everyone head inside, and he thought that perhaps that would be best for now. Bowing before the group, he spoke in the soft sort of tenor that lacked command or presence, but was not unpleasant to listen to. "Please excuse us. I'm sure that many of you have questions, and we will be happy to answer what we can. If you would be so kind, we would treat in the parlor room."

With a final glance at the strangely-calm blonde, he turned and led the group inside. The parlor was an open, airy space, and at this time of year, the windows were ajar to let in a breeze. In uniformly light, relaxing colors, he figured it was the best bet for making everyone feel as comfortable as they possibly could under the present circumstances, himself excluded, as the room had neither tome nor writing desk, but ah well. He was used to dealing with discomfort of this particular branding, and would much rather it be himself than their unfortunate guests.

For truly he did think them rather unfortunate. Being forced from one's home with scant notice to do a job you had not been informed was yours for people you did not know and might not even like or be able to relate to... well, it sounded rather awful. He stopped a passing butler and spoke to the man in pow tones, asking that refreshment might be brought along, in case anyone was feeling somewhat hungry or thirsty from the journey.

He opened the door himself, though, and held it, along with a polite-if-not-effortless smile, until each of them, his brothers included had filed in. At that point though, he was done being even mildly in charge, and he looked to Adio to continue. The heir was much better at this kind of thing than Jin himself.



Lenore was aware of being scrutinized, and glared straight ahead with narrowed eyes. She did not much enjoy being forced to stand there while someone made all kinds of decisions about who or what she was, but she hardly considered it different from trying to pass muster in the barracks, and that was something she had not failed at. She supposed it was fairly natural, for someone to want to know that the people who would be responsible for their safety knew what they were doing.

She was not so sure this was universally the case. One other girl was visibly armed, but that was it. Then again, she knew so little about what was actually going on that perhaps it was the two of them that were the under-prepared here. The man staring her down spoke, and what he said was reasonable enough, she supposed (though she was far from so delicate as to require rest already, at least one of them had arrived here in a state of distress, and there was something to be said for the courtesy to notice and act both). She was throughly caught off-guard though, when the speaker winked... at her.

She replied with a raised eyebrow, and was considering asking him if she was in some way amusing when the last two carriages rolled up and deposited their passengers. At this point, the suggestion was repeated by the next brother in line, and she shrugged a bit and followed them inside, inclining her head at the brother who held open the door. There were several lounges and chairs in the room, and she selected a chair, seeing as how standing would probably be considered impolite in a room clearly designed for sitting.

She had to admit, she knew very little beyond the fact that she was somehow supposed to be here, protecting one or all of these prices from who-knew-what. It would probably be to everyone's benefit to get the details hammered out as soon as possible, she could appreciate the logic in that.

Adio felt thoroughly satisfied with himself when he straightened back up. She was quite entrancing. But Adio found himself wanting a little something more from her. Besides her obvious beauty, her striking rose colored hair, and the way she didn't back away or even blush at his subtle advances, Adio felt like there was something else about her he just had to know of. His long, booted legs were just about to advance upon her, when Jin, the closest to him in age, spoke up.

Oh yes, there were other guests arriving. Shame on him for not paying more attention to all the young ladies joining them. It was quite a feast for the eyes. Adio couldn't help himself when they all began walking to maintain a short distance to the lovely Rose woman. Hm... he would have to think of something much better to call her before he actually introduced himself properly. Jin was being ever the gentleman, which gave Adio a sense of pride, when he opened the door and let them all enter. Being the eldest, Adio took up the rear and inclined his head to his sibling. It was a notice that he would now take over and that he thanked him for his thoughtfulness. Upon entering the room it was quite apparent he was the tallest, so getting their attention would be easy enough. He cleared his throat then rapped his thin knuckles on the desk he stood before. No room was complete without a writing desk... Or so that was Adio's thinking.

"Thank you all for being so patient with us. We do appreciate all of you beauties to join us here." He smiled at them, catching the eyes of the one who had particularly peeked his interest, then finishing off with the rest of them. Quite a rainbow affect, indeed. There was definitely something else going on with this lot. None of them knew each other, that much was obvious. They all wore necklaces, save for the blue haired girl with the teary eyes. Poor thing... Adio had to find out as soon as he could what was going on. This was a ridiculous notion to bring all these children here and expect them to accept it. The Prince was very certain had he been in their positions he would be demanding answers. They were all good-natured girls. He couldn't fault them of that.

"As far as any reasons why you are here... I have absolutely no idea." He spoke with a cheery smile, closing his eye along with it to hope not to have to see the astonished, and possibly raging, expressions that would adorn their faces. "I'm sure, sooner or later, we will all be informed, but until then we can commune amongst each other and hope friendships blossoms." With the last few words, he reopened his silvery eyes to peer back toward the Sanguine Angel.

Oh yes. That was perfect. Adio could have patted himself on the back.




Zahra jumped a little when she was approached by the dark haired boy. He'd drawn all over his hand and when she finally had a chance to look him in the eyes he bombarded her with questions. Her mind couldn't comprehend them all fast enough and she sputtered a little bit before finally getting her words to work right. He was a cute boy, just like the others, and he seemed genuinely sincere with his questions. She would have smiled, had she been happy.

"I am... I mean to say..." Before she could finish her sentence, one of the yellow haired princes spoke softly that they should retreat into the palace. Her legs felt like pear jam and if she hadn't been strong in the legs, she would have toppled right onto the sweet boy in front of her. But she held her ground and licked her lips, that were suddenly dry from nerves and too many emotions. When he was finished speaking, her eyes scanned down the line as she went to regain eye contact with the man named Kai. She was stopped, however, by the startling blue eyes of someone who bore a hawk on his shoulder. How had she not noticed this before? Well... staring at the ground wasn't exactly a way to observe your surroundings. The look in his eyes, the way they seemed to turn up and the expression on his face. Was he apologizing for something? For what, she wondered.

They all began moving and Zahra found herself swept up in the tiny sea of bright haired girls and angelic faced princes. All her mind could fully grasp was the way those eyes had suddenly grounded her. Everything else, her parents, the necklace, her history, her indelible need to go find a tree and sit in it for a while, were all swirling around like a made whirlpool in the back of her mind. The parlor was pretty but not like anything she could ever see herself in. Too many soft colors against her harsh tanned skin and calloused palms. If she touched something, she was afraid it would break. All the other girls looked pretty and petite. Most of them were intelligent in a way she could never be. It was very obvious Zahra would have a hard time fitting in with any of these people, princes included. She tugged at the dress that was constricting her airway and made a mad dash to one of the (thankfully) opened windows. Sitting on the sill she turned when the silver haired prince began to talk and her breath caught in her throat with his last words.

He had no idea? These people didn't know why they were here? Zahra's finger began twitching and she balled them up to keep from throwing something. Why was she constantly being used like this?

His brothers led the march indoors, and Sora sighed through his nose. He would have found it much more to his taste to be elsewhere, and with much less company, but honestly he and his siblings had no more choice in this matter than any of their guests did. And they knew almost as little.He figured Jin had just wanted to calm everyone's nerves as much as possible; he was like that.

Sora took up a position next to a window, enjoying at least the feel of the breeze on his shoulders. Ophelia shifted impatiently and began to preen at his hair; he could not stop the small smile from taking up residence on his face. Bloody bird, he thought with naught but affection, can't keep it all together in the first place. His low tail was indeed a bit scruffy-looking, but not so bad today. Or at least, it hadn't been until his bird decided to pick at it. He reached to stroke her feathers, and she ceased her motions for the moment.

With nothing better to do, he scanned the room again. He could not help but feel some measure of sympathy for everyone involved, though it would manifest nowhere near as obviously with him as it did with his more intellectual brother, nor with Adio's blatant charm or Kai's energy or Lan's exuberance. He supposed in this he was most like Ivory, but even they were not exactly the same, and he wondered for a moment if his younger brother even really cared that much for what was going on around him. There was a subtle difference between neutrality and apathy, and he honestly wasn't sure on which side of that line Ivory stood. Oh well.

Each of the females seemed to carry a different attitude towards what was happening; some of them looked as impassive as he did, the pink-haired one was almost defiant in posture and bearing, though clearly with some knowledge of comportment, the blonde graceful about it (whatever she might actually have thought) the one with locks of a sun-burnished copper was confused (he couldn't blame her, so was he). He didn't have much of a read on the redhead.

The girl with blue hair was but a few feet from him, sitting on the sill where he had chosen to lean against the wall, and she just looked... trapped. He was tempted to try and do something to alleviate that, but he knew better than most that the best and only way to remedy that feeling was to disable the trap, and that he had not the knowledge to do. They would just have to endure this meeting, the both of them, and perhaps afterwards, he would point the way to the gardens or the forests or whatever she liked, and he could stop being so bothered by the fact that she looked exactly how he felt.

Rin followed the group into the parlor and walked to a dark corner, leaning into the small space. Her eyes darted around the room and she listened as a few guys spoke, seemingly knowing just as much as her about this. She sighed, rolling her cerulean eyes and letting their focus land on the toe of her boots.

A true smile lit up her face as she remembered all the adventures these boots had taken her on. She'd had them since she was 10 and they had been huge on her when she first wore them, but she didn't care. So many lonely days in the woods, hunting in and stalking through the underbrush with silence that took many years of practice. This thought brought a light laugh to her lips as she remembered all the times her father had taken her into the woods, the first time when she was only 7, she had clomped loudly through the woods and scared off all the game within a mile.

Shaking her head, she got rid of the thoughts of her family. That would only make her feel weak and vulnerable. She looked back up and scanned the room again, seeing if she could catch anyone's eye. Deep down, she hoped she would catch the attention of someone, get anyone to notice her and come speak with her. She could pick out a few boys she would like to catch the attention of, but highly doubted that she would, the feral look in her eyes probably being what would chase them away. Her hand suddenly lifted up and she held the pendant on her necklace in a firm grip. It always calmed her somewhat to be touching the necklace.

Unconsciously, her free hand went to the sheath where her knife was strapped. She pulled it out and started flipping it around absently, not caring it she hit it wrong or something. She was usually quite impervious to pain, and today wouldn't be an exception. Suddenly, the knife dropped onto her hand wrong and she hissed as a thin line of red formed on her palm. She chuckled softly and sheathed her knife, staring at the red life force that had begun to leak out of her palm.

Lan smiled at Mizuki's comments and merely nodded in silence. He really didn't have something to say to that. He wasn't smooth like his brother Adio where he could say something like, 'I would be delighted if you were my darling protector.' Or whatever. He just couldn't. So instead his eyes were drawn away from the green-haired female's face and onto the progress of the others. Maybe he could get inspiration from one of them and was actually relieved, yet a little surprised, to find each prince talking to a girl of his own--well, most of them anyway. It made Lan feel happy to know that his brothers were getting along with the girls.

As for Lan, however, he honestly didn't want a protector, despite the way he felt towards this girl here. She intrigued him, true, to say the least, but that didn't mean a thing. He was a fairytale sort of guy and, well, in fairytales things had to happen before other things could happen. He would wait it out. If any of that made any sense at all. Regardless, he felt he could handle himself. He was a boy with skills in fighting and a master of shadows--what did he needs some frufru girl to protect him for?

Lan looked up as Jin motioned them all inside and followed after obediently. He wanted this whole 'meeting' to get done and over with so he could get the information he needed and get out of this stuffy place with all these stuffy people. As much as he admired his brothers, Lan didn't exactly find himself able to relate to them much. He was a free-spirit and they liked the rules a little too much for them. But, he supposed, that was just the age difference. When Adio announced that he had no idea of what they were doing at this point, Lan sweat-dropped and resisted a face-palm. He rolled his eyes and smiled as he caught sight of Mizuki. Making his way over to her, he leaned and whispered in her ear. "Hey, wanna get out of here? I'm bored. But you gotta follow my lead so we can sneak out unnoticed."

Kitsumi suddenly felt very nervous...an emotion she hardly ever felt. Hmm...I wonder what color my eyes are now? She thought to herself. I've never seen what color they are when I'm nervous. Her eyes were, in fact, a very soft pink, almost white, but not quite.
Feeling a bit out of place, Kitsumi looked around her for the darkest, least noticed spot. Finding a small corner, she made her way over to it, standing stiffly, her fists clenched. For some reason, she felt a sudden pang as she noticed that none of the princes were talking to her. "Pull yourself together!" She scolded herself silently. "You've never worried about getting attention from males before. Or anyone else, for that matter. Besides, you are not here to socialize. You are here on a mission."
Satisfied that she had made her point to...well, herself, she became silent. Her eyes, darting from person to person, took everything in. She was used to this. Standing on the outside, observing, but never joining. She knew that was bound to change sometime though. And from the looks of it, it would be sometime soon. She knew it was only a matter of time before one of the princes or the rainbow-colored girls talked to her.

Shizuo was led into the parlor peacefully without complaint and she did give some thanks in her mind to the prince who had brought her out of the outside to the inside to relax and also looked quite handsome if her attitude allowed such comments as those. She let her gaze rest on his glasses and studious appearance for a while longer before moving off to the side to hear the true reason they were there.

"Thank you all for being so patient with us. We do appreciate all of you beauties to join us here. As far as any reasons why you are here... I have absolutely no idea. I'm sure, sooner or later, we will all be informed, but until then we can commune amongst each other and hope friendships blossoms."

Shizuo stared at the oldest prince, obviously by a few years, quite shocked to find out that they didn't know why there were all assembled here. Her hand gripped her luggage, the knuckles going stark white with the strength she held it with. She was extremely pissed. She had interrupted her pleasurable daily lifestyle to come to a luxury castle with princes who knew not even the intention of what they were to do with them. Shizuo gritted her teeth and took a shaky breath having to turn her face as she tried for composure. Once calm she rounded her gaze on the oldest prince with a glare as fierce as a rabid tiger.

"Excuse me." Her voice was sweet and melodic as usual but the underlying tone belied the sense of anger. "What do you expect us to do in the meantime while this word of what we are to be doing comes?" She set her things down beside her with a gentle thump to cross her arms with a certain manner of belligerence that was attributed to her persona. "Do you have some sort of task set for us other than to meander through this place or do you simply want us to talk, refresh, and prepare for the best?" She finally tore her gaze from the eldest to let it trail over to the second oldest to see what he thought behind those glasses that framed his face.

Jin could understand the blonde's frustration, truly he could. There was nothing quite so awful as being kept in the dark, so to speak, and it was in his natural tendency to attempt to illuminate such situations as best he could. When her gaze shifted to him for some kind of explanation, he met them easily, his face transfiguring into a kind smile. "We have been assured that the information will be provided to us in short order," he replied gently. "In the meantime, I've sent for something to eat and drink."

As if on cue, the door opened, and a few staff members entered with trays of light refreshments, laying them upon the low table around which the seating was clustered. Jin himself waved away any such repast, not being excessively fond of eating when there were still problems to be figured out. "What I can say is that the only information we have been provided- or that I have been able to discover from research on the subject- is rather scant." He pushed his glasses upwards on his face with his index finger, and old habit he didn't quite realize he had.

"I do know that you were brought here to serve as- for lack of a more precise term- bodyguards. I must admit to finding this equally as strange as most of you doubtless did, and so I did some looking into it. Each of you should be in possession of a necklace in a very familiar color, no? My understanding is that these have some kind of special property, though nothing I was able to find mentioned what exactly that might be. Far be it from me to propose that destiny has anything to do with it, for I scare believe in such things, but... the tomes which reference it are all heavily slanted thus."

A pause; he recognized that he had been perhaps rambling a bit and cleared his throat awkwardly. "As for what to do in the meantime... I suppose if this is really to come about regardless of anyone's opinion on the matter, it would help to know something of each other? I'm afraid we seem to have neglected the basic courtesies afforded guests, and you have my humble apologies for this. My name is Jin, and I am the second of my father's sons. Might I have your names as well?" he asked with a small bow, nothing flamboyant, just a gesture of respect.



Lenore felt essentially the same way as the girl who had spoken, and she had a feeling they were somewhat similar in other ways as well, but this idle thought was banished as she listened to the highly-academic-sounding explanation of the ash-blond prince. It seemed to her like this lot had scarcely more idea what was going on than she did, and so she did not direct her anger there, but rather at whomever had thought to manipulate her life from the very beginning.

When he mentioned necklaces, her hand did not instinctively grasp for hers. She knew well enough what color it was, and that to look at it right now would change nothing. Instead, she took in the explanation stoically, raising an eyebrow when he reached the part about introducing themselves. Basic courtesies, indeed. She plucked a fruit from the tray in front of her and removed a small knife from her bag, using it to carve the flesh of the thing into slices before she ate it.

Swallowing the first bit, she returned the bow with an incline of her head. She saw little harm in this, at least. "My name is Lenore Mirren. My father was guard-captain in my village, and until this morning, I had thought I would be the same." She was not one for speaking too much, especially not of herself, and so she left it at that. It was all of the important information anyway.

He was beginning to feel a little under pressure, especially with Jin acting so smoothly. It was normally himself that took charge of these things. Entertaining guests, especially the women, and making sure everyone was happy and comfortable. Instead, he kept lolly-gagging over his thoughts about the straight-laced, scowling woman with the fiery pink hair. The heir to the throne was in a daze about her. Of course, Adio had met many a girl who could stand up to him, for a time, and so he knew she would fall for him sooner or later. He would have to be careful, however, because anything too serious and they could both be devastated. It was very obvious that any kind of romantic bond was impossible. Adio was obligated to marry into another set of royalty. If any kind of relationship were to develop, it would be sorely shallow, consisting mostly of play, laughing, sharing a few private moments, but that would be all. She looked like the type of woman that could handle that kind of exchange and Adio was positive he could as well.

With another glance at her fair skin, a second thought popped into his mind. He could handle it, yes?

When she spoke up, he felt all the little hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand up. Her voice was just as strong as her posture but carried a touch of bitterness in it. The way she cut at the fruit in her hand, the glint in her eye, the bite of her words. It was no wonder she was angry. Even from the shortness of her introduction she'd exposed her entire life. Though not self-pitying, there was a callousness there that savored strongly of rage. Adio would take this into mind when approaching her for a separate conversation.

Shaking his mental thoughts around to get all the pieces back in order, Adio clasped his hands behind his back, maintaining the ever enchanting smile on his face. Seeing as no other prince had spoken up, Adio figured it to be his turn for introduction.

"I am Adio, eldest of we brothers and consequently, heir to the throne. I am glad to make all your acquaintances." He only nodded his head this time, trying to keep his eyes from turning back to Lenore, the girl who kept capturing his thoughts.



As if Zahra wasn't suffocated enough by the strings of these ridiculous clothes, the tension that had suddenly sprung up in the room made the air thick and hot and even harder to breathe in. It didn't help either that she felt her own heart racing from hearing the Prince 's words. Taking in a strangled deep breath she stood up from the window sill and scowled openly at him. Many things were rushing through her head, mainly the part where they were supposed to just stay here like good little doggies. Zahra didn't want to be there. She didn't want to be anywhere, actually, but if she had to be somewhere it would be away from this stupid castle with these stupid princes! Trying not to growl like the wild animal she felt like being, she instead let her fists squeeze in and out at her sides.

Before any of her words could make it passed her throat, the blonde girl spoke up and gave Zahra a moment of rest. Thank the Gods someone else had spoken up. Zahra was deathly afraid she was going to pass out from lack of oxygen. Leaning up against the window once more, she accidentally brushed her elbow with the blue-eyed prince and gasped inwardly.

"Excuse me," she whispered, trying to be as polite as possible. Something about him was foreign to her, even though he looked no different than any other human she'd met. After one of the girls introduced herself, Zahra felt strangely like she should follow suit. The eldest finished speaking, and Zahra, even though every bone in her body told her not to, spoke up. Perhaps it was the man standing beside her? Had he unintentionally given her the strength to move passed her sudden weaknesses and go with the flow? It was all too much for her to think on and so she just said what was needed.

"My name is Zahra Florastar. I have..." She paused. Did she have a family? Who would it be? The village? They had raised her, but they were not her blood. But then her blood was not at all her family. The young woman became confused and for a moment forgot herself and looked at the man beside her. She bit on her lip and then turned her eyes back to the rest of the room. "I have no family." Zahra felt utterly, completely, and unforgivably stupid. Lowering her head she sat back up on the sill and studied the itty-bitty stitch workings of her piggish mother. They weren't at all in a line. Most of them were spread out too far and would fall out after only a few days more wear and tear. She felt somehow related to those threads. Falling apart and in no way repairable. Zahra found herself tumbling down a tree she just couldn't get a bearing on.

Just how much longer are we expected to endure this, I wonder? Sora was beginning to grow weary of the confines of this room with slightly too many people in it, and he could tell that he was not the only one. Though Jin was acting as if he were unbothered, it didn't take a genius to figure out that that was the mediator side of him speaking and not his true feelings on the subject. Adio was just plain good at it, only he seemed... distracted by something. Well, not something, Lenore. That was peculiar in and of itself. Sora was not oblivious to his older brother's tendencies when it came to women (though he did wonder how he could stand it, all the giggling and fluttering of eyelashes was enough to put him off social gatherings entirely), but it was unusual to see him so arrested with one in particular, especially when there was a room full of them.

More than a couple of the girls seemed displeased as well. The blond one came right out and said it, prompting Jin to give out all the information he had on the situation. More than Sora had known, anyway, but then he hadn't been curious in the least. To him, this was bothersome, and frankly he thought it cruel for all twelve of them. There was a redhead in one corner messing with a knife, and the orange one looked like she wanted someone to talk to her. He'd leave someone else to do that- he wasn't exactly a social butterfly and small talk made little sense to him.

It appeared though, that it was time for introductions at last. The prince felt something brush his elbow, and turned his bright blue oculars in the direction it had come from. The aqua-haired miss murmured a platitude, and he simply inclined his head. He was not offended by it. She looked like she wanted to jump straight out the window and straight into whatever might be below, and he willed her to endure but a little longer, that this whole thing might be allowed to pass without major incident and they might at last be informed what the point behind all of it was. He resolved that he was going to have to show her the grounds at some point, his guardian or not. She looked like she might benefit from knowing a few places to get away from it all.

She introduced herself as Zahra, and in the beat of awkward silence that followed her pronouncement, he cleared his throat and decided to step in as best he could and divert attention elsewhere. Though he was not exactly eager to have the weight of eyes upon himself, at least he was fairly used to it. "Sora," he said simply, having at least enough manners to straighten himself from where he stood against the wall and give everyone a nod. "Sorry this is turning out so strangely." Not the most tactful thing to say, but at least he was honest, right?

Shizuo backed down with resignation. If she were to be a bodyguard then it would be doing exactly as her uncle had taught her. She moved back to lean on the wall giving not a glance towards the refreshments. She couldn't bring herself to eat in front of all these people. Rather it was making her feel restless but she had enough control on her emotions to keep herself on a tight leash.

She looked to each person as introductions were made. She was beginning to like Lenore as more time went on. Her attitude was brazen but it was novel. On the other hand she was glad that she had names to match for the other girls if it came down to conversing with them.

She glanced at Jin.Somehow his intelligence made her wonder what lay behind those glasses. She felt the urge to have a debate with him. Just out of fun. This crossed her as wrong seeing as having fun was something that only a fight truly brought on. Which was even worse. She shook her head and took the opportunity to introduce herself.

"I am Shizuo Yukira. I live under the care of my uncle who is a loyal guardsmen in the village. My aunt is a creative painter. I am deeply pleased to meet all of you. It would be my pleasure to make further advances in our relationships, seeing as we might be here a while." She swept her hand to rest at the waist as she gave a short bow that showed her respect. When she straightened she cast her gaze to each person to show that she spoke to all of them only to stop on Jin, giving him a small smile as thanks for giving her an answer. Finished she stepped back to continue leaning on the wall her expression going passive again.

Rin walked from her place in the corner, going toward the table. Ignoring the food completely, she grabbed a few napkins and squeezed them in her bleeding hand. After all the blood was off her hand, she threw the napkins away before reaching into her bag and pulling out a roll of gauze. She skillfully wrapped it around her hand, a little more blood soaking into the bandage. When she was done, she walked back to the dark corner and leaned into the comforting darkness.

She cleared her throat almost silently and cracked all the knuckles in her hands. She stretched her back and neck as well, just delaying the inevitable. Very quietly, she spoke, "Rin Kuzikio, I'm from a hunting village not far from here." Her voice was soft and smooth, a beautiful sound to those who heard it.

Once again, she pulled out her knife and started flipping it around, being slightly more careful. She threw it too hard and it stuck into the wall above her head, just out of her reach. She muttered a few curses under her breath, turning and trying to jump for it. Her fingers brushed the wood handle a few times, but she never got a good enough grasp on it to yank it out. She sighed, turning again and leaning into the corner. She hoped her little performance hadn't attracted much attention, though she knew it probably did.

Kitsumi groaned inwardly as she realized that they were all introducing themselves. Perhaps if I just remained silent, they will forget I am here.... But no, she knew she could not risk offending the princes. She didn't yet know what type of people they were, and certainly did not want them for enemies.
She was distracted for a moment when one of the girls seemed to be having a bit of trouble with her knife. Kitsumi chuckled silently. She remembered many a time when the same had happened to her, when she was just learning to handle her weapons.
Realizing that she couldn't delay an introduction any longer, she decided to speak up. "I am Kitsumi Mahon, or Sumi, if you wish." She said quietly. "I live in a village some ways away...can't tell you exactly where, though, because I fell asleep on the way here."

Miki looked up at Lan, a look of mischief in her eyes. She looked about, wondering what would happen if a butler or something saw them. Well, she merely explain that she needed the toilet and had no idea where they were. Looking around, she saw some girl jumping to get her knife out the wall. Wait, what? How did that happen? Miki giggled, turning back to Lan. She guessed that she needed to introduce herself, so she spoke in a cheery voice. "Mizuki Ayame. I came from a village... uhh, somewhere, but I also fell asleep. I have seven brothers, and I like strawberry jam. Don't forget!" she laughed, taking in the whole situation. She turned back to Lan. "Hey, hey, Lan? Can you show me the best place to play in the castle? Or outside?" she whispered, a look of genuine excitement in her eyes.


Sighing, Kai stood up, deciding to make an introduction. "Hey. I'm Kai. I'm from... well, here, and these are my brothers. If any of you want a sporty challenge, come find me." Kai said, peering around the room, wondering if there was ever such an eventful day in the castle. Normally, it's breakfast, go off and do what you want, lunch, go off and do what you want and then dinner, then, depending on whether you're sleepy or not, bed. To be honest, Kai was actually slightly excited over the fact that those things might change, but he had a hunch most of it wouldn't. Oh, well. He thought glumly, wondering if he'd ever get away.