The Last Princess

by Marissa Craig

  “How can you lay with her? Don’t you feel disgusting?”

  “Are you asking to try? Come on.”

  “Huh?”

  “I want you to see how it feels. Get on the other side.”

  “No, are you stupid.”

  “I won’t give you another chance. Hurry up.”

  He’s just making fun of me. His offer is tempting. I never got to be with a girl in bed.

  “You’re my brother so I trust you to be kind to my woman. I gotta get going so I want you to watch over her.”

  “Me to watch over her?”

  “Yeah.”

  He gets out from under the covers and I feel suddenly inadequate. Kyo-nii is so big. Of course girls like guys like him, even little girls. I’ll never be as big as him. He puts his jacket on and goes to the door.

  “I’ll be back later.”

  The door closes. Was he serious? I stand looking at the bed trying to make a decision. I take off my shoes and get in beside her. She’s not facing me. I touch her shoulder but she doesn’t move.

  I was stupid to think a girl would latch on to me as if I’m Kyo-nii. When I came here I thought she would be crying and I thought I could say something cool to make her stop.

  “Eh?”

  She just put her arm around me. I look over at her; she’s still sleeping. I slow my breathing and look up at the ceiling. This doesn’t feel bad.

  “I’m sorry about what happened to you,” I say to her.

  I hesitate to touch her hair. It’s silky. Why would she fall for my brother? I bet she would have fallen for me if she met me first. We have much more in common.

  “I heard you’re good at chess. I’d like to play with you. You know, when you’re feeling better. And I wanted to show you the library. I was reading up on the Selia war. I’m sure you studied it since you’re…getting a degree in history. I-I’ll be starting my degree soon, you know.”

  I didn’t realize I’m stroking her hair. I-it feels nice.

  “Um…and I wanted to ask you how you felt about this book. You’ll have to read it first. I’ll lend it to you.”

  I look down at her again and her eyes are open. I jump out the bed quickly.

  “Kyo-nii said I could lay with you. He told me to watch you while he was gone. I didn’t do anything…wrong.”

  She’s laughing at me.

  “Who do you think you’re laughing at? You should feel lucky to be with me. I’m a great person, you know.”

  She reaches over and starts writing something. I step closer. I’m curious about what she has to say.

  “I’d want to play chess with you,” she writes.

  I doubt she can walk all the way to the study. I’ll have to bring the board here.

  “Fine, I’ll be back.”

  I exit out and sigh in relief. If she’s willing to play chess with me then we can do all types of things together. If she matches my intellect then it makes more sense for her to hang out with me.

  She probably hasn’t eaten yet. I should bring her some snacks. I carry the chess set back to her room. She’ll have more fun with me than Kyo-nii.

  “So he was happy to see you?”

  Why is she here? I open the door and see Yumiko-san sitting next to her. This was supposed to be our time. I just got rid of Kyo-nii.

  “You can go now,” I say to her.

  “Oh, morning, Kira-sama.”

  “I was playing with Setsuna-san first.”

  “Oh, did I interrupt?”

  I’m sure Setsuna-san would have gotten rid of her if she could talk. Yumiko-san talks too much; I doubt she could get a word in.

  I start setting up the chess set on the table. I know they’re family and given the recent events they want to bond more. I turn back and she’s still here.

  “All the Niwa brothers seem to like you,” she says to her. “What’s your secret?”

  Enough of her. I walk back and hold my hand out to Setsuna-san. They both stare at me.

  “You said you wanted to play and….you have trouble walking, right?”

  Yumiko-san starts laughing. There’s nothing funny about what I’m doing. Stupid girls. I turn away and she grabs my hand. I keep my head away from her but I think she’s getting up. I steady my hand so she can rely on it.

  I lead her to the table and she sits down. I sit down across from her and it’s hard to concentrate. I played chess plenty of times but this doesn’t seem like a chess match. I keep my head down but when I look at her she’s smiling or biting her lower lip while she thinks of a move.

  She’s really pretty. Too bad about that bandage on her face. But even with it she’s still pretty. I wish she could talk again. She makes a move and I quickly counter, our fingers touch and I tip over the piece.

  “You guys are so cute.”

  “Shut up!”

  Setsuna-san touches my hand and I sit back down.

  “Okay, I’ll leave you two alone. Be good Kira-sama.”

  She steps out.

  “How dare she talk to me like that. I’m a damn prince.”

  She starts to laugh at me too. Within a few more moves she wins the match. It’s only cause I couldn’t concentrate.

  “So how far have you gone with my brother?”

  Her eyes widen and she quickly turns away.

  “I’m serious. Is he pressuring you?”

  She shakes her head. So she wanted to sleep with him.

  “He’s not a good guy, you know. He…he doesn’t deserve you. He’s a playboy just like Kan-nii.”

  She shakes her head again.

  “You don’t believe me? He’s doing one of the court ladies. One of the ladies that follows my mother around. Her name is Anki.”

  I’ll show her. I grab her hand and pull her outside the room. Kyo-nii is probably in his office by now so I’ll avoid that area. The court ladies stay near the basement. I take her down the stairs. She stays close holding onto my shirt with her other hand.

  I look back at her. She’s sweating.

  “Are you okay?”

  I didn’t think she was that sick. I sit her down on the bottom stair and kneel down to her.

  “Setsuna-san?”

  She looks up at me smiling. I should at least wipe the sweat away.

  “Kira-sama?”

  Oh it’s one of the ladies.

  “Is Anki here?” I ask her.

  “Yes, did your mother need her?”

  “I need her. Bring her here.”

  The woman runs back down the hall. I help Setsuna-san to her feet. Once she sees my brother’s mistress, she’ll want nothing to do with him. Even though he knew about Setsuna-san he still played around with women. And he has the nerve to cuddle her.

  “You need me, Kira-sama?”

  “I wanted you to meet Setsuna-san. You’ll be attending to her soon, won’t you?”

  “Y-yes, when she’s well. How nice of you to introduce us.”

  I knew it. Anki is shaken. Not many people get to see the princess’ face.

  “I just thought you’d like to see the girl my brother is engaged to since you know Kyo-nii so well.”

  “You’re referring to our affair. I suppose it’s something to discuss. Yes, I am the woman that took care of his needs. I still do.”

  Setsuna-san pulls on my arm. I want her to hear everything.

  “All royal men have women that satisfy them and women they keep for appearances. It’s nice to meet the other half.”

  I didn’t think she’d be so honest. She pulls on my arm again.

  “Go back to work,” I tell her.

  I turn back and help her up the stairs again.

  “See, it’s like I told you. So you can forget about him.”

  When we get back to her room she shuts the door on me. She must be exhausted from walking. I’ll visit her later.

  Chapter 28: Setsuna

  It’s been a few days since I arrived in Han. It’s not as fun as I was hoping. They say I’m slipping away. I can’t seem to
get over my illness and also, the nurse can’t narrow down what the illness is.

  I told her I don’t want to see anyone. The guards have strict orders. I heard Kyoya-sama at the door one night but they were adamant about not letting him in. It hurt me to hear his voice.

  I was foolish to think I was his love. Anki-san, that woman, she’s more of a match for him. Kira-kun wanted to stop me from acting stupid. At least he had the nerve to tell me.

  The therapist comes to see me. I can’t talk to him but he reads my writing with various nods.

  “You’re sad about what happened to your family but also burdened by your position,” he says to me. “Why won’t you see anyone?”

  I felt myself turning cold since finding out about his affair. Father warned me about this. I need to be a leader first. Father was never concerned with love and he was very successful.

  “I’m just here for appearances,” I write to him.

  “But you’re getting along with Prince Kyoya, aren’t you?”

  I shrug my shoulders. Maybe I don’t even know the real him. I couldn’t even guess that he had a mistress. I bet every word he said was a lie.

  “But he’ll be accompanying you to the memorial. He’s your support.”

  I nod to him. I have no choice in that. Thinking about it makes my eyes water. It’s the memorial for all the people that died that night. I’ll have to see my parent’s dead bodies.

  He quickly leans over to me and passes me a handkerchief.

  “From talking with you, it seems like you feel abandoned by your family and almost afraid to be close to your fiancé.”

  I nod to him.

  “It’s so much for someone your age.”

  He still kneels at my chair as I wipe my eyes.

  “If you’re to get over your illness we must first make sure your mind and emotions are intact,” he says to me.

  Perhaps my illness is all linked to my emotions. That would explain why I’ve gotten worse. I nod at the doctor.

  There’s a knock at the door.

  “Setsuna-san.”

  It’s Kyoya-sama’s voice. I shake my head to the doctor.

  “It’s okay, I’ll get rid of him.”

  He gets up and turns the corner to the door. I don’t want to see him, not even a peek of him. I wanna forget about him.

  “You’re disturbing my patient,” the doctor says.

  “Get the hell out of the way. She’s my girlfriend.”

  My heart hurts when he says it.

  “She doesn’t want to see you,” the doctor says to him.

  “Then I’ll hear it from her.”

  Kyoya-sama storms in and I turn away from him. I don’t want to see his face.

  “Why are you avoiding me?”

  I look over at him and he’s panting. She was getting riled up banging on the door.

  “Setsuna-san?”

  It’s not like he’s hurting from me avoiding him. It gives him more time to spend with her.

  “The princess is very unstable and her health is deteriorating. Please don’t upset her.”

  “She’s deteriorating because I’m not with her. Leave us!”

  The doctor can’t disobey the prince. The door shuts and I’m alone with him. I reach for my pad and he takes it from me. He stares at my words. He sits on the couch beside me.

  “Why don’t you trust me? Why won’t you confide in me?”

  He leans back on the couch staring at the ceiling. I should tell him what I know so he can stop all this.

  “I heard you were getting worse. I wanted to see you but figured you were too weak. But you’re purposefully trying to keep me away. Why?”

  He turns to me and I keep my head straight. Don’t want him to analyze me.

  “I don’t want to lose you. I know it’s tough…what you went through and what you lost but…I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want you to lose yourself either.”

  He touches by chin and comes close to me. I put my hands up to push him away.

  “And you won’t let me even try to help,” he whispers. “Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”

  I grab my pad.

  “I know about you and Anki-san. She told me that I’m here for appearances. I won’t allow you to be king if that’s all you’re after,” I write.

  I pass him the pad. After a moment he drops it.

  “I admit I fooled around with her. I did up until the point where I went to meet you for the first time. She means nothing to me. Doing all that stuff with her doesn’t change how I feel about you. I don’t care about being king. I only want to be king cause I wanna help you. Really I just want to be with you. I wanted to try to…be closer with you…know more about you….protect you.”

  He takes hold of my hand. I want to believe him. I need to but I’m scared. I always felt behind him. I’ll always think I’m being replaced cause I’m far from his level.

  “I think about you all the time. It drives me crazy how much…how much I like you.”

  He touches my chin again and comes closer. He kisses my forehead softly. His eyes glare at me half opened and he holds his forehead against mine.

  “I’m nothing if I don’t have your trust,” he whispers to me. “You can’t doubt me. You said you would fall in love with me.”

  My heart thumps again with his words.

  He leans back from me and starts laughing. This is so embarrassing.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

  I push his hand away. He sits back beside me still smirking.

  “I have to laugh to keep myself from feeling ashamed. I really do like you but you’re just a kid. And I was about to…nevermind. Perhaps we’re just moving too fast with all this. You have a lot of growing up to do and I can’t do it for you.”

  I’m confused. I hope it’s coming across that way. I’ve never seen Kyoya-sama chuckle so much. I grab my pad again.

  “I’m gonna get some air.”

  He heads for the balcony. He’s going to smoke again. I wish he’d stop with that. I wanna believe him. I wanna believe in every word. I suppose for now I have to cause he’s all I have. Father approved of him so trusting Kyoya-sama is the same as believing in my father. Eventually I would have been in the Niwa family’s care. It’s just a lot sooner than expected.

  He comes back in while I’m stuck in thought.

  “I want you to focus on getting better,” he says to me. “And if I want to see you then I’ll see you, got it?”

  I nod to him. He leans down and kisses me again.

  “Be a good girl for me.”

  I nod to him again. Wait! I get up with my pad and run after him. He’s so quick to get away. I leave out after him and the guard stops me.

  I try to speak but just a weird sound comes out.

  He turns around and I start writing. I hold it out for him to read.

  “Can I come with you?” I write to him.

  “Of course you can.”

  The guard steps away and I walk to him.

  “You’re trapped in there, aren’t you? There’s no need to ask. You can come with me for a bit. Just don’t tire yourself out.”

  He takes me under his arm and walks with me. We go to his office and he starts writing. It’s good to know he can work without being distracted by me. I finally get to be in a room of his. I get to touch his books and sit in his chairs. I do it all.

  I want to ask him so much. What’s his favorite thing here?

  “Kyoya-sama, may I have a word?”

  The door opens while I’m peeking into a box on his bookshelf. I quickly close it. It’s Captain Saki. He looks at me and then takes a step away.

  “Please, come in,” Kyoya-sama says to him.

  “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  “She was just snooping while I get some work done.”

  So he noticed. I take my hand away and move behind his chair.

  “No need to be formal,” he says to me. “Ayato-san is a good friend of mine
.”

  They’re friends. I suppose so. He doesn’t even call him by his title.

  “Nice to see you again, princess.”

  He bows to me. I guess since they’re friends I should warm up to him.

  “Is she still not talking?” he guesses.

  “Afraid so.”

  “We just need to focus on getting her well. I came to say that the…memorial will take place this weekend.”

  The memorial? So everyone is finally accounted for. They can finally rest. But what if the killer is waiting. What if he wants to kill me so everyone can see.

  “Are you alright?” Kyoya-sama leans back to me. “I’ll be with you the whole time.”

  I nod to him. I think I better go back to my room.

  “Are you feeling ill? Ayato-san will escort you back. Don’t worry.”

  That’s a good idea. His hand lingers on mine as I walk away. I nod my head intensely. I can’t go back there. I can’t. I don’t want to remember. Kyoya-sama puts his arms around me to keep me from shaking. I don’t want to see that man again.

  He hugs me gently petting my head. Someone thirsty for power wouldn’t bother. With him close, everything will be fine.

  “I’m sorry I brought it up, sir,” Captain Saki says.

  I need to tell them everything I saw. If I express my fear, maybe they can help me. If only I could talk again. There’s no use waiting. Kyoya-sama’s eyes look so worried. He’s afraid I won’t get better. I really don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t cough or sneeze, I just feel weak all the time. I gently push him away and nod to him.

  His fingers linger on my cheek and touch my bandage.

  “I’ll escort her out,” Captain Saki tells him.

  He reaches out his hand to me as I reach the door. They’re friends; I must remember that. I take his hand and he guides me back down the hall.

  “If you’re worried about going back, I assure you it’s safe. No harm will come to you.”

  He figured it out. I don’t want to stress Kyoya-sama with my account of the attack. I’ll have to tell Kantarou-sama about it.

  We get to my room and the guard opens the door. I step in and walk quickly to the night table. I’m so thirsty.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  I turn around quickly. I didn’t think he would follow me in. I step away from the bed and sit down at the chess table.