"Sooo..."

Keiko stared at the two boys looking at her, as if they expected HER to know what to do now. It was nighttime, and they were all still muddy from when Kakeru had pushed them into the ground. They had walked for a few hours, until they managed to pass the bright lights of the town. They were tired and hungry.

"Okay guys, lets go sit on those rocks over there." Keiko pointed to a handy clearing full of rocks nearby. "Then we can discuss what we are going to do."

They walked the few feet to the rocks, and sat down gratefully. What WERE they going to do?

Kakeru summed it up perfectly. "Well, seeing as we have no idea where we are going or what we are doing once we get there, we might as well get to know each other while we have the time." He pointed at Keiko. "You first." After all, he did want to get to know the girl he was running away from!!

"Well, there's nothing to tell, really." It was strange to hear the refined voice of a Princess coming from the body wearing a dirty merchant's outfit. "I just didn't want to marry YOU, (she pointed to Kakeru) so I took the opportunity when father sent me and my tutor off to run away." She then looked at Otaru pointedly. "I am VERY interested in knowing YOUR life story."

"Well..." Otaru smiled at her nervously. "Since we are all in it together now, I suppose we shouldn't have any secrets." He took a deep breath. "You see, I was not born a poor serf." The eyes of Keiko and Kakeru widened at this. "I was born the son of a country gentleman. My father was a very kind man, but we made some unwise decisions financially. Eventually he lost all his money, and we had to give up almost everything we owned."

Keiko frowned and patted his knee sympathetically. Otaru eyed her hand nervously, and went on.

"It was about this time Lord Obari came along." His eyes darkened. "He was of the group that believed the peasants were getting too powerful, and that they were needed to perform the filthy jobs the wealthy didn't want. He then took adavantadge of my family's poor circumstances, and stole me away late one night. I was told then to forget my past, forget I had ever been anybody different, and become permanatly a serf, unable to do anything but clean the homes of the wealthy." He looked furious, and his fist tightened, as though around Obari's neck. Keiko looked amazed.

"But, but... how could he do that...?"

"Oh, it was illegal, all right." He gave a short, mirthless laugh. "And he did everything to make sure he wasn't caught. He drew up papers, to prove that I had always been a serf. He told me to keep my mouth shut, or my family would be harmed. He sent me to the castle, where he could keep an eye on me."

Keiko was outraged. "How could he do that?! Decieve the king...!"

"Oh, the King wasn't decieved." He looked at Keiko sorrowfully. "Everybody, even Prince Anji, knew what was going on. They just didn't want to get on Lord Obari's bad side. He has too much power. You were never told, because you might tell someone, and I was ordered not to talk to anybody. Many, many times I have wanted to strike out, and scream the truth, but I've always been afraid of what might happen to my family." He grinned ruefully. "It's been hard, especially when you got it into your head to question me."

Keiko was dumbfounded. Her own parents... helping a theif like Obari! Kakeru was amazed. What kind of kingdom was this, that a Lord was stealing children right under the King's nose?

Otaru wasn't finished with his story. "The other day, when I was in the Lord's chambers, I was looking for the papers he had about me. I wanted to steal them so I could have proof of what Obari really was. That way he would be in jail, and me and my family would not be harmed. As you could see, I was not successful." He stretched out his arm, looking at the marks on it.

Keiko was silently weeping. How could she not have known...

Kakeru stood up briskly. "Well. That was an... interesting... story." He looked at Otaru. "Perhaps we should be going now?"

"Wait a minute, mister." Keiko pulled him down. "In case you've forgotten, we have no where to go, and you haven't told us your life story yet."

Kakeru looked at his hands silently. What could he tell...?

Kakeru sighed uncomfortably. So, it was a life story they wanted? They would have his life story... without speaking, Kakeru reached deep into his tunic. Keiko and Otaru watched warily, in the back of their minds exprecting the sour-looking prince to pull out a knife and gut them both on the spot.

However, he pulled out something that hung from a gold and silver chain. It didn't take long for Keiko and Otaru long to recognize the hanging object as an oval-shaped locket. The two stared at the prince, whose face had gone curiously emotionless.

Hesitantly, the prince snapped open the locket, taking a moment for himself to inspect the contents before turning it to them. Inside was a painting of a man and a woman, each holding the same familiar expression or boredom that was common on portraits in those days. However, there was something slightly different about them. Keiko squinted, attempting to discover this difference, when Kakeru's tenor voice interrupted her, quivering slightly.

"My mother and father," the prince said, his words unexpectedly shallow with remorse. "They are my life--or, rather, WERE..."

Keiko stared at him sadly. "Are they... They're not..." her voice trailed. She couldn't say the word. However, the prince seemed to understand her meaning, and shook his head.

"When I was six years old, I was taken in by my uncle, the King," his voice was filled with emotion. Keiko failed at picking out exactly which one he was feeling; he seemed confused. "My uncle had loved his sister--my mother--very much. So, though he hated me more than anything, he took me in, for my mother."

"Pardon me, Sir," Otaru interrupted nervously, "Please don't mind my asking, but... what DID happen to your mother and father to cause your uncle to take you in? And why did he hate you, as you claim?"

Kakeru looked intently at the ragged boy for a moment, his eyes burning. Then, his voice quiet, he continued.

"One night, when I was still very, very young, I had a nightmare in my sleep," Keiko and Otaru listened intently, wondering where such a tale might lead. "When I awoke, naturally I went seeking comfort from my mother and father, whom I loved very much--who loved ME very much."

Keiko's expression became irritated. She wondered if this story would actually go anywhere. She noticed Otaru at her side, clutching the hem of his raggedy brown tunic desperately. HE seemed to know where this was going. Keiko turned her attention back to the pale prince.

"However, when I reached their bed chamber, I became horribly aware that their bed was empty," he continued, his voice ominous. "So I searched for them. In every room. I didn't find them. In the night, they had just silently disappeared without a trace..." he took a shuddering breath. "Now, as I had said before, my uncle had loved his sister dearly, and it was a horrible loss to him to hear that she had just up and disappeared. Naturally, he put the blame of her disappearance on me, saying that I had caused her so much trouble she couldn't bear it anymore. So she left everything. My uncle hated me from that moment on. He only took me in for my mother's sake, he said."

Keiko found her eyes stinging, at this point. It was everything she could do to keep herself from bursting out in tears.

"Everyone in the kingdom mourned for the loss of my parents," Kakeru continued relentlessly, unaware of the princess's expression. "They had been presumed dead. Kidnapped and murdered. Whatever story came across, anybody believed it. Except mine. I refuse to believe that they're dead. So, I keep searching for them. I feel that it's my duty now, since everyone else, even my uncle, has given up so easily. That's one of the reasons I couldn't marry you," he looked at Keiko, "If I had, I would have had to give up my search and stay confined in the castle walls as a King. I couldn't let my parents down like that."

Keiko was suddenly overwhelmed with self-loathing. The two with her, Otaru and Kakeru--they both had stories, reasons for running away. Otaru did it to protect his family, while Kakeru did it to find what little family he had. Both noble missions. Keiko, however, had run away out of self-pity. She was nothing compared to the two with her. Nothing.

She burst into tears before she could stop herself.

Otaru watched the princess helplessly, thankful for the concealment the surrounding trees offered them. Kakeru, however, seemed nonchalent--almost uncaring--as he tucked his glittering locket back into his tunic and stood.

"Come on," he said in an unfamiliar monotone, "We'll be needing some rest." He motioned for Otaru to follow him. Otaru obeyed silently, having learned after years of being a servant that obeying was always the best thing to do. Keiko watched miserably as the brown-eyed prince spoke a few quiet words to the serf boy, then led him into the forest. They returned moments later, holding an armful of dry wood.

"We'll sleep here tonight," the prince said, taking a sudden charge of the ragged group. "In the morning, we'll be needing more horses," he motioned to the stocky brown horse Keiko had brought with them, that also carried all their things. He looked at the princess with sudden amusement.

"We'll be needing your trading skills to help us," he said with a twisted grin, "O Noble Merchant."

Keiko swallowed hard. It was going to be a long night...