"My lord, I found Princess Keiko in a broom closet with a servent boy." Lord Obari told her father in the Kings courters.
"Hmm? Yes, yes. very good Obari." the king said, not even looking up from his papers. Then finally lifting his eye's he spotted Keiko and exclaimed, "Oh, Princess Keiko! I was just about to summon for you. I would like you to meet your tutor. He said pointing in the direction of a small black haired boy. Keiko didn't even bother to look at him adn yelled,
"Tutor! But I thought princesses needn't be learned!"
"Yes well, Prince Kakeru's likes it when woman are full of noledge." the knig said wearily.
"But how am I suppose to learn a whole educations worth of studies in a mere two weeks!"
"Your a smart girl. You'll manage." he gave his finall answere befor returning his attention back to his paper work.
Keiko turned around i fury, having in mind to run out of the closes exit and cry in her chambers, when she came face to face with her Tutor, Otaru.

~~ later that day~~

Keiko was obsorbed in her work, she was finally grateful to the Allarians for something. If she wasn't to be wed to their prince she never would have been taught writing and arithmatic.
She was just marvoling over the fact she had never been taught about her own kingdoms history and how fasinating it was, when her brother, Prince Anji, entered the room.
Anji was surprised to see that Keiko was reading, and that Otaru was actually TEACHING her!
But, regaining his composure, he cleared his throat, trying to attract their attention.
When this didn't work he said, "Princess Keiko!" that snapped her out of her trance and bought Otaru's attention.
"There has been a change in plans."
"What kinda change?" she asked with a hint of curiousity.
"The prince Kakura has taken a fall for the worse, and they wish for you to visit their country to help take care of him and get aquanted."
"What?!"
"And your totur will be going with you so you can continue your studies." he said, casting Otaru a glance, then focusing his thoughts back on his sister.
"But-"
"You leave tommorrow at noon. The servents are already packing your bags." Anji finished befor turning around and walking out the door.

"Father..."

"Be QUIET, Keiko. You'll do as you're told."

"But to Allaras of all places..."

"You'll be queen of Allaras in a few years, Keiko, so you might want to think more civilly about it."

"Fine words from one who a few weeks ago was spouting profanity about the Allarians and the impending war..." Keiko muttered under her breath.

"What was that?!" her father said sharply.

Keiko glibly lied, "All I said is that I thought you wanted me to finish my studies before leaving, and I'm nowhere near done yet."

"Then we send your tutor with you. It's a fair way to Allaras."

Keiko brightened slightly at this. It would let her get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Otaru. Besides, (although she tried not to think about this considering her betrothal) he was sorta cute.

(Note: I had to put that last bit in, OK fanatic that I am.)

~~in another room~~

"What precisely were you doing with the Princess?"

"Nothing, Lord Obari! I swear!"

"You were in a *broom closet* with her, boy. Don't think me so old I've forgotten my youth." Obari replied derisively.

"She asked me why you were punishing me. She's the *Princess,* Lord. How am I supposed to slip away?"

"Princess or not, I thought I made it explicitly clear that you were not to talk about the circumstances of your arrival."

"I didn't," Otaru replied surlily.

This was no use; Obari had gotten into a fine apoplectic rant.

"I could have had you thrown in jail, executed, anything I wanted. I gave you the mercy of staying on as a servant. And *this* is how you repay me?! I caught you stealing from my chambers; you know full well I could have said anything I wanted and they would have believed me. It was my word against a common street urchin. You'd be dead now, boy, were it not for my mercy. Dead painfully."

"Yes, Lord Obari..."

"He thinks he can just boss me around." Keiko muttered under her breath as she angrily stuffed her clothes into her trunk. "As if I were some slave! I'll show him not to tell me what to do." Keiko looked around her room suspiciously then reached her hand underneath her matress. She pulled a small burlap sack out from under it and hastily stuffed it under her clothes inside her trunk.

***

(knock, knock, knock)

"You may enter." Otaru said, looking up from his grading papers. He was suprised to see Prince Anji wwalk through the doorway. The prince's nose twitched in disgust as he looked at Otaru's shabby quarters. He turned his gaze back to Otaru, and stared at the young tutor expectantly. Otaru jumped up nervously and bowed down low. "I-I'm sorry your highness, I'm just suprised that someone of your stature-"

"Oh do shut up. I had nothing better to do, so I decided to deliver a message. You will be making a slight detour on your trip to Allaras. You need to pick up thes things." Prince Anji handed (more like tossed) a piece of paper to Otaru, who looked it in sudden interest.

"But sir-" Otaru began, wide eyed.

"No buts. You will pick these things up at Cantebury," Anji's gaze pierced through Otaru. " And you will say nothing of this to anybody, or you won't live to regret it." he said sternly. And with that, he turned around and left.

"But what would he want to do with these?" Otaru whispered to himself.

The tutor suddenly got a gleam in his eye, and dashed out of his room and headed toward Lord Obari's Chamber.

***

"I hope you have a safe trip, daughter." The king said in the direction of the coach Keiko was sitting in. Through the window the king could see his daughter turn her head away from him. He sighed heavilly as the carriage started off in the direction of Allaras.

Inside the carriage Keiko was still fuming, while Otaru listened to her murmerings with amusement.

"Just because he's the king, he can tell anyone what to do!" She continued after a straight hour of rambling on about all her father's faults. She paused for a moment, as if just realizing Otaru was there. He jumped, startled, as she spoke to him. "Do you think that women aren't as intelligent or important as men?" she asked.

"Oh, no!" He said. This answer somewhat startled her, but he didn't stop there. "Women are just as important as men. They are also just as intelligent." He blushed a little. "I was tought by a woman. She was the smartest person I ever knew..." He drifted off in thought and stared out the window. This last comment sparked Keiko's curiousity.

"Who was she?" She asked quietly, her anger erased from her mind.

Otaru looked at her, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "My mother."

"What-" Keiko was just about to ask what his mothers name was when Otaru shouted all of the sudden.
"Stop the carriage!" they were just about to pass Cantebury when the carriage came to a sudden hault.
"I need to pick up a few things." Otaru told Princess Keiko apoligeticall.
"Alright. I'll wait here." Otaru was grateful that she hadn't asked to come along. He didn't know how he'd explain to her that Prince Anji had requested no one else to see the objects on the list.
Otaru quickly got out of the carriage, thanking the cabbie for stopping and asking if he'd stay there for a few minutes when he went into the store. The cabbie grunted and took out a picnic basket he had been saving for when he had a chance to stop and eat.
Otaru took that as a yes and continued into the store, looking at the list the prince had given him.
"Lets see.." he mumbled... "Three cups of collywag juice... two bull frogs adam apples... gillyweed from the mouth of a mermain..." 'What could he posibly do with this?'
"Can I help you?" asked the clerk behind the old rotten wood table that served as a check-out station.
"Um, yes." he said uncertainly, "Do you have any of these iteams?" he asked, extanding his left hand that held the parchment so the clerk could see the list.
"Ah, brewing up a potion are you?" the clerk said more as a statement then a question.
"Um...I suppose so..." he said even more nervouse than befor.
"Alrigth then," he said looking around to make sure no one else was looking. "Follow me," he said, leading Otaru to a back room hidden behind a shelf...

~~~~

Keiko had taken advantiage of this perfect oppurtunity to fullfill her plan and get the heck out of this stupid arranged marriage. And she figured the only other way out of it beside the prince was to run away. So she grabbed he suitcase and potatoe sack that she had packed all her cloths in and quietly snuck out of the carriage macking sure that the cabbie driver didn't see her. He of course didn't notice, though. He was way to wrapped up in the fresh homemade sandwich that his wife had baked for him.
She hastily snuck around the carriage and ran behind the building struggling to hold her bags and run at the same time.
When all of the sudden she ran into something and splashed down in the mud on her but, getting all muddy. And just to improve her mood it started pouring rain.
"Oww..." she protested the pain. She looked up to see who she had run into. It was hard to recognize him from all the short black hair falling in his face but Keiko had spent many years studying all his features in the portrites that were hung in her castle. She recognize him as...
"Prince Kakeru!"

The prince looked taken aback. "How did you...?" his voice trailed off as his face paled. He backed away, looking fearful. Keiko, forgetting her change in appearance, arched an eyebrow at him with sudden concern.

"My father sent you, didn't he?" the prince asked breathlessly, pointing an accusing finger at Keiko, who was no longer in her pink, silky gown, but in the ragged clothes of a merchant; a male one. She shook her head furiously and, with a bow, began to explain in the most masculine tone she could muster.

"No, my Lord," she said in a voice so utterly convincing, she was surprised it was her own. "I am but a lowly merchant, seeking profit from lands far from this kingdom." she finished with a low, but gracious bow; one she had seen used by other merchants she had chanced upon. She smiled at her convincing act, and turned to see the reaction of the prince. He was a bit calmer, and the color had returned to his face (which had not been much to begin with), though his expression was still one of suspicion.

"How did you recognize me?" he asked sternly, holding his chin between two fingers. Keiko grimaced nervously, before her mind conjured up a reasonable explanation.

"I have travelled far, my Lord, and seen much," she explained with another deep bow. The prince still seemed unconvinced.

"You seem too young to have tarvelled as far as you say," he retorted, examining Keiko's face further. Keiko could feel his eyes roam over her, and she wished more than anything to turn away and run. Her mind conjured up another lie, and she blurted it out smoothly.

"My father was in this business before I, and taught me well as we travelled through the different kingdoms. This business has gone through generations in my family, and knowing of the five kingdoms and their royalty is a necessary bit of knowledge."

The prince continued to study her. "I'm afraid I will remain unconvinced until I have a name, noble merchant," he said icily, expecting the person before him to break when they could not form a reasonable lie. Keiko, however, was naturally adept at the skill of lying, and she came up with one just as quickly as it had been asked.

"If it pleases your grace," she said almost mockingly, though the prince seemed to take no notice of this as he looked on at her anxiously. "The name which I bear is Fujishige Kei of the kingdom of Sosaria, home for a short visit to my family before I depart on another journey."

The lie was told almost as smoothly as if it had been complete truth, and the prince's eyes were the only thing that gave away the slightest hint of skepticism.

"And, pray, friend Kei," the prince said in an almost defeated tone. "What does a noble merchant such as you trade?"

Keiko grinned at the question. The night before, she'd planned her lie completely, to the very finest of details.

"Why, silk, your grace," she answered, forcing the expression on her face to one of calm.

"May I see this silk?" the prince asked, and Keiko nodded firmly. He led the prince back to the cab (the cabbie still occupied with his meal), and rounded it to the back, where a single horse carrying bundles had been conveniently tied. Keiko, forcing back a grin at having fooled one so noble, reached into one of the packs at the horse's side and pulled out a fine length of transparent silk. The prince's jaw dropped.

That was all the convincing he needed.

"Princess Keiko?" Keiko could hear Otaru call her name. Keiko panicked as Kakeru's face twisted into a puzzled expression.

"'Princess Keiko'? But how could she be here....." he said to himself.

"My lady, where are you?" Otaru looked behind the carriage. Keiko tried to hide herself behind Kakeru, but it seemed her foot was stuck in some mud.

"Drat!" She said, and covered her face with her cloak as well as she could.

"Excuse me, sir." Otaru adressed Kakeru, while bowing politely. "Have you seen a beatiful lady in a silk dress?" Keiko could almost hear the wheels turning in Kakeru's head.

"No, I haven't." Kakeru said rudely. Otaru, used to these kinds of responses, moved on and approached Keiko. 'Oh no!' she thought, 'He'll find me out for sure...'

"Sir, have you seen a-" he stopped when he saw Keiko's foot in the mud. "Oh, let me help you." he reached down and gently pulled Keiko's foot from the Muk. Keiko was shocked. She'd always thought he was just polite to her because she was royalty.

"Thank you." She said forgetting her 'manly' attire. Both Kakeru and Otaru looked at her, puzzled at the high feminine voice that came from the merchant. Otaru blinked a couple of times before he asked her "Have you seen Princess Keiko?" He looked at her, waiting for an answer. "Umm, no." Out of the corner of her eye she could see Kakeru growing disinterested and he walked away from the carriage.

"Are you sure? Cause you know if I didn't know better I'd say you look a lot like..." Otaru persueded but then stopped himself at what he was about to say.
Keiko let out a heavy sigh, thinking that Otaru had already figured it out but was too afraid to say. "It's me, Otaru." she let the truth roll out, forgetting that Kakeru was still in ear shot.
"P-p-princess Keiko? Wh-what are you doing dressed up as a-a merchant!" Otaru asked, confused.
Kakeru stopped in his tracks.
"I want to run away, and I don't want anyone to know its me." she said like it was a known fact. 'Her too?' thought Kakeru.
"W-why?!" Otaru obviously wasn't getting it.
"Because I wanted to get out of this stupid arranged marriage!"
Kakeru's ear twitched and he spun around and monchalently (sp?) back to the two, who were still obliviouse to the fact that he was listening.
Kakeru walked up behind Keiko and said, "So, you don't won't this marriage any more then me do you?"
Keiko jumped, she was startled by the sudden voice. Then she turned around and asked sheepishly, "You heared?"
"Yep, every word."
"Well..." she started, still embarresed that he had heared that she didn't want to him...Then it hit her. "Hey what about you-"
She was cut off as Kakeru threw both her himself and Otaru on the ground in the mud as a cab drove by yelling,
"This is the police! we are looking for a Prince Kakeru!"
"Hey, whats the big deal?" asked Keiko who was being squshed by both Otaru and Kakeru.
"The police are looking for us!" Keiko whispered harshley.
"Us? What do you mean us?" Keiko said, pointing at Kakeru.
"As soon as you don't show up the police will be looking for you too!"