You already were heading back to the Rakushou Palace. You still were unable to move your legs though. The feathers had cut considerably deep into your flesh and had probably sliced into the bone. It could be weeks before you were able to walk again. What Kouha said about repeatedly stabbing your legs must have been a joke, right? Would he really do that?

You felt the familiar rattling of the carriage. However, traveling back to Rakushou was not nearly as exciting as it had been when you were leaving. You remembered the sense of adventure you felt when you first joined that caravan. It was a feeling you knew you would never feel again. You were headed back to a caged life that you hated. Kouha seemed really happy though as he played with your hair. He kept running his hands through it and styling it. Since reuniting with Kouha, it seemed like his hands were always in your hair. You really didn't want him to be touching your head so much, but when you tried to do something about it he ended up tying your hands together.

"Prince Kouha! We're approaching Rakushou now." Reirei told the distracted Kouha.

He seemed excited as a smile crossed his face. "Finally! I can't wait to show (Name) her surprise."

There he was going on about this surprise again. However, you had the unshakable feeling this was a very bad surprise. Since he mentioned something about your family you were really freaking out. "I don't want a surprise."

"(Name), you'll love it so much that you will never want to leave the palace or me. In fact you will be so grateful you will never ever want to disobey me." There was no way you could like something enough to do any of those things. You would always want to leave and would always want to never have to listen to Kouha. "(Name), don't you love me?"

You sighed at the question. "Do you want the truth?"

"Yes~"

"Well then, I loath you."

"Loath almost sounds like love. Try making the > sound like a v. Like this I loav you."

"It sounds more like a loaf of bread to me."

"If you spell loaf like l-o-f-e then change the f to a v it spells love~"

"You do realize this is really stupid, don't you?"

"No it's not. And don't worry (Name) I'll make you love me. No matter what it takes."

You ignored him and sat in silence with Kouha still messing with your hair. The whole time you dreaded your arrival at the palace. It felt like only a few seconds before the carriage came to a stop and Kouha started rocking himself impatiently waiting for someone to carry you out of the carriage. Eventually you were out and put in a chair that had wheels attached to it, that you had never seen before in your village. Kouha didn't seem fazed and eagerly pushed it.

"Where are we going?"

"To what I've been waiting to show you." You both arrived in a chamber that didn't have as fancy a setting as the rest of the palace. This place was dirtier and seemed to not have been taken amazing care of ever. Kouha continued to push you forward to where you saw a few guards standing next to a wooden door.

"You're not locking me up down here, are you?"

"Of course not. I would never want to have to walk though this disgusting place every day. Besides I like to keep my important things clean."

A guard opened the door to a stone stairwell. Two guards then lifted up your chair and carried you down then left you and Kouha in the dim light. You looked around the hall which was lined with cells. What caught your eye though, was the figure of a person and someone else in a heap in the corner. As Kouha pushed you further along you were able to make out who the closer figure was.

"Mom!" You felt a wave of fear crash over you. What was Kouha planning?

"Surprise!" He smiled happily which quickly turned into a look of superiority. "Well, how do you like it?"

"I'm confused."

"Well, when you leave me or don't listen to me I get really angry. So, instead of putting my anger out on you I will let my anger go on this person."

"But, that's my mom." You were barely able to choke out.

"Oh, is it? I had no idea." You struggled to get to your mom while you cried out to her, but Kouha held you down on your seat. "(Name), we can't have you getting up. You'll get hurt."

"(Name), it will be okay." Your mom said giving you a reassuring smile, but you still struggled.

"Kouha! Let me stay here, let me stay!"

"I'm afraid I can't. I did say that no one else was to have your love. Only I can. I was just showing you who I was going to hit and cut and torture when you make me angry. Sorry, but you won't ever be able to see her again."

You tried and tried to get away, but Kouha had already called the guards and you were being carried back up the stairwell. You screamed out and tried to hit the guards. You just didn't want them to take you away. Immediately, when you were set down you began to struggle out of the chair to get back to your mom, but Kouha once again shoved you back into the seat. "(Name), you really need to stay put."

You struggled as he tied your wrists to the arms of the chair. Still, that didn't stop you. You slid as far off the chair as you could. The only thing that kept you hanging off the chair were your wrists. You tried tried to tip the chair over so you could at least drag yourself back to your mom. But Kouha had already lifted you back onto the chair and this time tied your waist to the chair. Now, you were really stuck in place and no matter how much you moved you couldn't get out. Without your consent the chair was being pushed further and further away from your mom. After a few minutes you gave up struggling.

"Hey, Kouha?"

"Heeeh?"

"How did you find out she was my mother?"

"You really underestimate me. Being the 3rd prince I have eyes and ears everywhere. If a soldier hears you, I hear you."

"..."

"Besides, she looked a little like you." You looked over at Kouha and thought you saw his face turn a little pink.

"You weren't falling for my mom were you?"

"Of course not! (Name) your all that matters to me! I won't ever love anyone else! I won't ever betray you!"

"And here I am being threatened with my mother's life and tied to a chair."

"This is all to protect you."

Protect you or not, you couldn't forgive him for threatening your mom. You gave yourself a little time before you asked the question you were terrified to ask. "Who was the horribly injured person in the corner of the cell?"

"Someone who betrayed me. She tried to lose you." You thought about what he said before you felt warm tears fill your eyes then trickle down your cheeks. It must have been that maid who was going to help you see the sun when you were trapped in that dark room. You silently cried at what you had done to her. She was just some scared girl.

"Kouha, please help that girl."

"I won't."

"She didn't betray you though! I evilly tricked her. I whispered into her ear so that no one could hear, that if she didn't help me I would tell you that she was being mean to me. Then you would make her suffer." You lied to Kouha, still you felt like you did trick her. She was just too weak willed to say "no".

It scared you how cruel Kouha could be. If he beat that maid so much, who knows what he would do to your mother? What was the likelihood you could live your whole life without making him angry?

"Alright, I will get her a doctor."

Hearing that you started to sob tears of joy. "Thank you, thank you Kouha."

By the time you stopped crying You arrived at the familiar door to Kouha's room. He took you inside, untied you, and for the first time actually carried you and set you on the bed.

"I'm going to go pick you out some new clothes. You're still wearing those ugly commoner ones." He left the room and you looked down at your clothes. Kouha had been too preoccupied with getting you back to the safety of the castle that he forgot to get you clothes in Serendib. You looked at the green cloth then fixed your eyes on your satchel you had brought with you on that long journey. You reached your hand inside and felt some sort of glass thing. You didn't remember having anything glass in there, so you pulled the item out. After seeing it you remembered when you gotten it, it was the medicine from the doctor. The brown jar still held plenty of the gross liquid in it. You had gotten over your sickness so fast you didn't even use half the bottle.

You heard Kouha's bedroom door creak open. Quickly you put the bottle behind you as Kouha entered. He came over to you the whole time going on and on about how cute the outfit he picked would look on you.

You gripped the bottle in one hand and loosened the lid. When Kouha was close enough you hugged him really tight and him being the lovestruck fool he was hugged back. While you hugged him you filled your mouth with as much of the disgusting medicine as you could. Before you accidentally spit it out, you pushed Kouha off of you then kissed him awkwardly, filling his mouth with the medicine. He was so utterly surprised at the kiss he didn't even realize his mouth was filled with the liquid until he swallowed.

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A/N: Kol Kol Kol ^J^

Look, I got this chapter out in under 24 hours! HUZZAH!!!