Mirrored Love: Chapter 2
Enjoy chapter 2! Slight changes from before!
Akira looked around the extravagant room, the walls resembling those of the castles she read about as a child. She sat in a golden wooden chair with a blue seat cushion that had the same crest as her necklace. Glancing around her, Akira noticed that the room had blue on almost every piece of furniture she saw. Akira silently waited for the man to come back, somehow predicting that what he would bring would have blue on it. Akira smiled as he returned bringing with him a woman in maid attire that was carrying a beautiful blue dress.
“She will help you change into dry clothes, I hope this dress is to your liking,” Ohno politely explained to Akira before leaving the room to give them some privacy.
The maid walked over to Akira, looking her up and down before saying, “You’re a mess missy, let Mama take care of you. I will spruce you up and make you shine like the precious jewel of the sea.”
Akira nervously nodded her head before the maid whisked her away to the bathroom. The maid tried to strip her of her clothes, but Akira refused and politely told her she could undress herself. It was somewhat embarrassing to undress in front of this stranger, but she didn’t have much time to think about it before the maid pushed her into the freshly drawn bath. From the bath, Akira watched as the maid curiously examined her clothes.
“I’ve never seen a woman wear a man’s pants before. Are you a cross dresser?” the maid asked.
“No, where I’m from its normal,” Akira answered before she dunked her head under the water.
Once Akira finished her bath the maid wrapped her up in a towel before using another towel to furiously dry her hair. Her hair became a mess as the maid tried to brush it out to fix the problem. Once all the struggling was done, and once Akira had given up on wearing her pants, the maid sat Akira down in front of a vanity.
“You’re quite the pretty miss, once you’re cleaned up of course. I’ll be sure to put just the right amount of make-up to finish making you a beautiful jewel,” the maid chuckled slightly before starting on Akira’s face.
“Thank you…I’ve never really been into makeup, my mother always told me I was more beautiful when I was natural,” Akira told the maid as she looked at herself in the mirror.
Akira had always been complimented on her feminine face and body, but at the same time her mother tended to dress her down for some reason. The maid stepped back to observe her handiwork before calling the prince in. Ohno walked back into the room and looked Akira up and down. She was wearing a sky blue dress that rode just below her breast bone, the short sleeves slipping down onto her upper arms exposing her shoulders. It had a fitted bodice, but flared out at her hips with the sky blue slowly fading into a darker blue the closer it got to the hem. She was also wearing a pair of the shortest heels that maid could find since Akira wasn’t exactly skilled at walking in heels.
“What do you think your highness?” the maid asked as she eyed her masterpiece.
“You truly have the magic touch, thank you, you’re dismissed,” Ohno said, never taking his eyes from Akira.
Once the two of them were alone Akira asked, “So, who exactly are you?”
Ohno bowed before answering, “I am Satoshi Ohno, prince of the Mizu Kingdom of Arashi. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Akira.”
Akira bowed slightly back before asking, “What is the Mizu Kingdom?”
“The country of Arashi is split into five separate kingdoms run by the five royal families. I am the prince of this kingdom, while four other princes run the other four kingdoms. The five kingdoms are Mizu, Yochi, Faia, Yume, and Taiyou kingdoms, each with their own symbolic colors. Mizu is blue, Yochi is green, Faia is red, Yume is purple, and Taiyou is yellow. Each kingdom has a wonderful prince in line for the throne, we have our differences in age and personality, but we are great friends,” Ohno explained.
“One country has five different kingdoms in it? How is that possible?” Akira asked in disbelief as she recalled her history lessons.
“Arashi is a big country, too big for one family to look after, so for as long as I’ve known there were always the five royal families looking after Arashi. There has never been one civil war in our country unlike the others; Arashi is truly a peaceful place. Of course, I would like to stop talking about me and ask where you are from.” Ohno asked Akira curiously.
“I’m from a place called Tokyo, do you know where that is?” Akira asked.
“Never heard of the place, surely you’re not a fallen angel from the heavens? I mean the priest did say he found you in the sacred pool,” Ohno pointed out as he looked her up and down again.
“I’m no angel! I’m human! And honestly, I’d like to go back home, but I have no idea how to…” Akira furiously denied before looking out the nearby window at the blue sky to hide her embarrassment.
“Well, we’ll figure something out, but for now I’d like for you to come with me. I have the other princes coming over as usual and I wish for you to meet them,” Ohno told her before taking her hand in his and leading her away.
The two of them walked down the giant hall, Akira gazing at the wonderful pieces of art decorating the walls. Ohno smiled at her awed expression before whispering, “I painted most of those.”
Akira turned sharply at him, expecting him to say he was joking, but when he didn’t she was utterly impressed. She had never heard of a prince decorating his own castle with works of art he himself painted. After a few more minutes of walking Ohno led Akira to another grand parlor room that had surely hosted many little gatherings between the royals. It was simple, but elegant with long couches for sitting and a coffee table with a chess set sitting upon it. Then Akira noticed that there were four men sitting around on those couches, smiling at them when they entered.
“Ohno-san what do you have there?” one of the men dressed in a more red theme and bearing a different crest from the one on Akira’s necklace asked.
“Let me introduce you to her. This is our new guest Akira, she just appeared from nowhere, well she was found in the sacred pool of our temple,” Ohno paused as Akira bowed politely to them.
The one is red stepped forward and introduce himself, “My name is Sho Sakurai, prince of the Faia Kingdom.”
One dressed in a green outfit smiled happily at Akira before introducing himself, “I’m Masaki Aiba, prince of the Yochi Kingdom.”
Then one who was about as small figured as Ohno stepped forward and politely bowed before saying, “Kazunari Ninomiya of the Taiyou Kingdom, pleased to meet you.”
Then a taller, more handsome looking man stepped up last and introduced himself, “Jun Matsumoto of the Yume Kingdom. I am pleased to meet such a beautiful princess such as you.”
Akira blushed slightly as Jun took her hand in his and courteously placed a gentle kiss on it. Then she quickly retracted her hand to herself as she looked them all in the eyes before quickly looking down, feeling quite shy around such good-looking men. Nino saw this and immediately a mischievous smile crossed his face.
He walked up to her, invading her space as he leaned his head at an angle so that their eyes met again before commenting, “You have such beautiful dark eyes, they say that those with the darkest eyes are the wickedest.”
Jun placed a hand on Nino’s shoulder before pulling him away and snapping, “You should be the one with the darkest eyes you brat.”
“And yet I’m several months older than you, so doesn’t that make you only a brat calling another brat,” Nino jokingly said back.
The five of them chuckled and Akira felt this easiness from them all. They had this aura that drew you in yet you felt compelled to just watch them from afar. Then she started to smile at them, the first time feeling somewhat comfortable in this new and strange place. The five of them turned to look at her, glad to see that she was finally smiling.
Aiba walked up to her as he asked in a gentle tone, “It sure must have been scary waking up in this unknown place, but do you remember how you got here?”
Akira looked up into his coffee-brown eyes, swearing she saw sparkles, before responding, “I was with my grandmother cleaning up her house. Then I found this old vanity she had and tried out this old tale of finding out who you will marry. I mean, it had a lot of requirements, but all I did was brush my hair one hundred times in front of the mirror and then when nothing happened I walked away, but as soon as I got up that’s when I heard this voice coming from the mirror…”
Akira paused, wrapped up in the memories, so fresh in her mind, everyone waiting intently for her to continue. Then her smile disappeared as it was visible on her face that she was recalling something unpleasant. Aiba immediately started to freak out as he tried to tell her she didn’t have to remember and that he was sorry for asking her to remember.
“It’s alright your highness; I’m just having a hard time believing this stuff…” Akira reassured him before she went over and sat down on the couch.
The five princes gathered together, lowering their voices as they tried to find a way to make her smile again.
“It’s a waste when a girl doesn’t smile,” Jun sighed as he looked over at Akira.
“We should try to cheer her up by doing something nice, like maybe take her out for a ride,” Aiba suggested.
“Does she know how to ride a horse?” Sho asked curiously.
“If she doesn’t I don’t mind letting her ride with me,” Nino offered his idea with a genuine smile.
Ohno nodded his head before walking over and taking a seat next to Akira and asking, “We want to take you for a ride, how does that sound?”
Akira looked at the five smiling face and knew she couldn’t refuse as she nodded her head. It was decided so Akira was taken back to her new room and was dressed in a less formal riding dress and a pair of riding boots. Once she was dressed she was escorted back to meet the five princes outside. Then a giant tapestry on the wall caught Akira’s attention and caused her to stop and look up at it. There were five circles with a different design and color matching the five princes which made Akira believe that it was each of the families’ crests.
“Each of those crests are a representation of each kingdom,” a woman’s voice spoke up from nowhere.
Akira looked around and saw a beautiful woman with fair skin and the darkest blackened hair. She was thin, but curvy with a very cute feminine face that made Akira feel pale in comparison to her. She even spoke with a gentle and refined voice with just the right speed of speaking. When she turned her face directly at Akira it was then that she noticed that the girl had a pair of light brown eyes. She honestly was surprised upon seeing her that she wondered exactly who she was since she wasn’t dressed as maid, but more like a princess just without the crown.
Akira bowed politely as she introduced herself, “I’m sorry, we haven’t met, I’m Akira.”
“I know who you are, everyone knows about you, the girl born from the sacred pool of the temple. Honestly I wanted to meet you, my name is Mizumi, pleased to meet you,” Mizumi answered back.
“Um, about the crests…” Akira trailed off as she lifted her head.
Mizumi chuckled softly before continuing her explanation, “The first crest on there belongs to the Mizu Kingdom. It has a crescent moon above the waves with the trident of the sea between the two of them. Then next is the crest of the Faia kingdom. They have the phoenix in flight on their crest with a flame burning behind him. The middle one belongs to the Taiyou kingdom with the sun being half shone on it. The flower there is a sunflower, abundant in their kingdom, and then a regular vase of water being poured on it. The Yochi kingdom’s crest is simple with the diamond in the middle and mountains in the background. Lastly, the Yume Kingdom’s crest is my favorite. It has the figure of a woman on it, but it more like just the silhouette of one. Above her are the clouds and by her side is a small moon and sun.”
Akira noticed something about the woman and pointed out it out, “It looks like her hands are in front of her like she’s praying.”
“Yes, she’s praying. She is called the Virgin Siren, one day I must tell you about her story, but she is mostly depicted as praying to the clouds above her,” Mizumi explained as she unconsciously placed her own slender hands in front of her in prayer-style.
“Well, what about that weird symbol? It looks sort of like an A with the middle line starting from the left side, but stopping in the middle and not connecting to the other side,” Akira asked as she pointed up at the symbol.
It was on each crest, below the waves, on the phoenix’s chest, on the vase of water, beside the woman, and beneath the diamond. Mizumi nodded her head as she explained that it was the symbol of all of Arashi and that’s why it’s on each crest. Before Akira could ask another question she heard the familiar voice of Prince Ohno calling her name.
“Sounds like he’s calling you,” Mizumi said in a hushed tone.
“Yes, we are going riding, you should come with us,” Akira answered as she offered for Mizumi to join them.
“I will politely decline your offer, but let me warn you Akira, watch your back. Everyone knows you are here and they all think you hold some special meaning for the prince, so take care as not everyone you meet can be trusted,” Mizumi warned her in a serious tone before gracefully sweeping off in the opposite direction of where Ohno’s voice was coming from.
Akira felt a chill from her words as she wondered what exactly Mizumi was warning her about...
Akira looked around the extravagant room, the walls resembling those of the castles she read about as a child. She sat in a golden wooden chair with a blue seat cushion that had the same crest as her necklace. Glancing around her, Akira noticed that the room had blue on almost every piece of furniture she saw. Akira silently waited for the man to come back, somehow predicting that what he would bring would have blue on it. Akira smiled as he returned bringing with him a woman in maid attire that was carrying a beautiful blue dress.
“She will help you change into dry clothes, I hope this dress is to your liking,” Ohno politely explained to Akira before leaving the room to give them some privacy.
The maid walked over to Akira, looking her up and down before saying, “You’re a mess missy, let Mama take care of you. I will spruce you up and make you shine like the precious jewel of the sea.”
Akira nervously nodded her head before the maid whisked her away to the bathroom. The maid tried to strip her of her clothes, but Akira refused and politely told her she could undress herself. It was somewhat embarrassing to undress in front of this stranger, but she didn’t have much time to think about it before the maid pushed her into the freshly drawn bath. From the bath, Akira watched as the maid curiously examined her clothes.
“I’ve never seen a woman wear a man’s pants before. Are you a cross dresser?” the maid asked.
“No, where I’m from its normal,” Akira answered before she dunked her head under the water.
Once Akira finished her bath the maid wrapped her up in a towel before using another towel to furiously dry her hair. Her hair became a mess as the maid tried to brush it out to fix the problem. Once all the struggling was done, and once Akira had given up on wearing her pants, the maid sat Akira down in front of a vanity.
“You’re quite the pretty miss, once you’re cleaned up of course. I’ll be sure to put just the right amount of make-up to finish making you a beautiful jewel,” the maid chuckled slightly before starting on Akira’s face.
“Thank you…I’ve never really been into makeup, my mother always told me I was more beautiful when I was natural,” Akira told the maid as she looked at herself in the mirror.
Akira had always been complimented on her feminine face and body, but at the same time her mother tended to dress her down for some reason. The maid stepped back to observe her handiwork before calling the prince in. Ohno walked back into the room and looked Akira up and down. She was wearing a sky blue dress that rode just below her breast bone, the short sleeves slipping down onto her upper arms exposing her shoulders. It had a fitted bodice, but flared out at her hips with the sky blue slowly fading into a darker blue the closer it got to the hem. She was also wearing a pair of the shortest heels that maid could find since Akira wasn’t exactly skilled at walking in heels.
“What do you think your highness?” the maid asked as she eyed her masterpiece.
“You truly have the magic touch, thank you, you’re dismissed,” Ohno said, never taking his eyes from Akira.
Once the two of them were alone Akira asked, “So, who exactly are you?”
Ohno bowed before answering, “I am Satoshi Ohno, prince of the Mizu Kingdom of Arashi. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Akira.”
Akira bowed slightly back before asking, “What is the Mizu Kingdom?”
“The country of Arashi is split into five separate kingdoms run by the five royal families. I am the prince of this kingdom, while four other princes run the other four kingdoms. The five kingdoms are Mizu, Yochi, Faia, Yume, and Taiyou kingdoms, each with their own symbolic colors. Mizu is blue, Yochi is green, Faia is red, Yume is purple, and Taiyou is yellow. Each kingdom has a wonderful prince in line for the throne, we have our differences in age and personality, but we are great friends,” Ohno explained.
“One country has five different kingdoms in it? How is that possible?” Akira asked in disbelief as she recalled her history lessons.
“Arashi is a big country, too big for one family to look after, so for as long as I’ve known there were always the five royal families looking after Arashi. There has never been one civil war in our country unlike the others; Arashi is truly a peaceful place. Of course, I would like to stop talking about me and ask where you are from.” Ohno asked Akira curiously.
“I’m from a place called Tokyo, do you know where that is?” Akira asked.
“Never heard of the place, surely you’re not a fallen angel from the heavens? I mean the priest did say he found you in the sacred pool,” Ohno pointed out as he looked her up and down again.
“I’m no angel! I’m human! And honestly, I’d like to go back home, but I have no idea how to…” Akira furiously denied before looking out the nearby window at the blue sky to hide her embarrassment.
“Well, we’ll figure something out, but for now I’d like for you to come with me. I have the other princes coming over as usual and I wish for you to meet them,” Ohno told her before taking her hand in his and leading her away.
The two of them walked down the giant hall, Akira gazing at the wonderful pieces of art decorating the walls. Ohno smiled at her awed expression before whispering, “I painted most of those.”
Akira turned sharply at him, expecting him to say he was joking, but when he didn’t she was utterly impressed. She had never heard of a prince decorating his own castle with works of art he himself painted. After a few more minutes of walking Ohno led Akira to another grand parlor room that had surely hosted many little gatherings between the royals. It was simple, but elegant with long couches for sitting and a coffee table with a chess set sitting upon it. Then Akira noticed that there were four men sitting around on those couches, smiling at them when they entered.
“Ohno-san what do you have there?” one of the men dressed in a more red theme and bearing a different crest from the one on Akira’s necklace asked.
“Let me introduce you to her. This is our new guest Akira, she just appeared from nowhere, well she was found in the sacred pool of our temple,” Ohno paused as Akira bowed politely to them.
The one is red stepped forward and introduce himself, “My name is Sho Sakurai, prince of the Faia Kingdom.”
One dressed in a green outfit smiled happily at Akira before introducing himself, “I’m Masaki Aiba, prince of the Yochi Kingdom.”
Then one who was about as small figured as Ohno stepped forward and politely bowed before saying, “Kazunari Ninomiya of the Taiyou Kingdom, pleased to meet you.”
Then a taller, more handsome looking man stepped up last and introduced himself, “Jun Matsumoto of the Yume Kingdom. I am pleased to meet such a beautiful princess such as you.”
Akira blushed slightly as Jun took her hand in his and courteously placed a gentle kiss on it. Then she quickly retracted her hand to herself as she looked them all in the eyes before quickly looking down, feeling quite shy around such good-looking men. Nino saw this and immediately a mischievous smile crossed his face.
He walked up to her, invading her space as he leaned his head at an angle so that their eyes met again before commenting, “You have such beautiful dark eyes, they say that those with the darkest eyes are the wickedest.”
Jun placed a hand on Nino’s shoulder before pulling him away and snapping, “You should be the one with the darkest eyes you brat.”
“And yet I’m several months older than you, so doesn’t that make you only a brat calling another brat,” Nino jokingly said back.
The five of them chuckled and Akira felt this easiness from them all. They had this aura that drew you in yet you felt compelled to just watch them from afar. Then she started to smile at them, the first time feeling somewhat comfortable in this new and strange place. The five of them turned to look at her, glad to see that she was finally smiling.
Aiba walked up to her as he asked in a gentle tone, “It sure must have been scary waking up in this unknown place, but do you remember how you got here?”
Akira looked up into his coffee-brown eyes, swearing she saw sparkles, before responding, “I was with my grandmother cleaning up her house. Then I found this old vanity she had and tried out this old tale of finding out who you will marry. I mean, it had a lot of requirements, but all I did was brush my hair one hundred times in front of the mirror and then when nothing happened I walked away, but as soon as I got up that’s when I heard this voice coming from the mirror…”
Akira paused, wrapped up in the memories, so fresh in her mind, everyone waiting intently for her to continue. Then her smile disappeared as it was visible on her face that she was recalling something unpleasant. Aiba immediately started to freak out as he tried to tell her she didn’t have to remember and that he was sorry for asking her to remember.
“It’s alright your highness; I’m just having a hard time believing this stuff…” Akira reassured him before she went over and sat down on the couch.
The five princes gathered together, lowering their voices as they tried to find a way to make her smile again.
“It’s a waste when a girl doesn’t smile,” Jun sighed as he looked over at Akira.
“We should try to cheer her up by doing something nice, like maybe take her out for a ride,” Aiba suggested.
“Does she know how to ride a horse?” Sho asked curiously.
“If she doesn’t I don’t mind letting her ride with me,” Nino offered his idea with a genuine smile.
Ohno nodded his head before walking over and taking a seat next to Akira and asking, “We want to take you for a ride, how does that sound?”
Akira looked at the five smiling face and knew she couldn’t refuse as she nodded her head. It was decided so Akira was taken back to her new room and was dressed in a less formal riding dress and a pair of riding boots. Once she was dressed she was escorted back to meet the five princes outside. Then a giant tapestry on the wall caught Akira’s attention and caused her to stop and look up at it. There were five circles with a different design and color matching the five princes which made Akira believe that it was each of the families’ crests.
“Each of those crests are a representation of each kingdom,” a woman’s voice spoke up from nowhere.
Akira looked around and saw a beautiful woman with fair skin and the darkest blackened hair. She was thin, but curvy with a very cute feminine face that made Akira feel pale in comparison to her. She even spoke with a gentle and refined voice with just the right speed of speaking. When she turned her face directly at Akira it was then that she noticed that the girl had a pair of light brown eyes. She honestly was surprised upon seeing her that she wondered exactly who she was since she wasn’t dressed as maid, but more like a princess just without the crown.
Akira bowed politely as she introduced herself, “I’m sorry, we haven’t met, I’m Akira.”
“I know who you are, everyone knows about you, the girl born from the sacred pool of the temple. Honestly I wanted to meet you, my name is Mizumi, pleased to meet you,” Mizumi answered back.
“Um, about the crests…” Akira trailed off as she lifted her head.
Mizumi chuckled softly before continuing her explanation, “The first crest on there belongs to the Mizu Kingdom. It has a crescent moon above the waves with the trident of the sea between the two of them. Then next is the crest of the Faia kingdom. They have the phoenix in flight on their crest with a flame burning behind him. The middle one belongs to the Taiyou kingdom with the sun being half shone on it. The flower there is a sunflower, abundant in their kingdom, and then a regular vase of water being poured on it. The Yochi kingdom’s crest is simple with the diamond in the middle and mountains in the background. Lastly, the Yume Kingdom’s crest is my favorite. It has the figure of a woman on it, but it more like just the silhouette of one. Above her are the clouds and by her side is a small moon and sun.”
Akira noticed something about the woman and pointed out it out, “It looks like her hands are in front of her like she’s praying.”
“Yes, she’s praying. She is called the Virgin Siren, one day I must tell you about her story, but she is mostly depicted as praying to the clouds above her,” Mizumi explained as she unconsciously placed her own slender hands in front of her in prayer-style.
“Well, what about that weird symbol? It looks sort of like an A with the middle line starting from the left side, but stopping in the middle and not connecting to the other side,” Akira asked as she pointed up at the symbol.
It was on each crest, below the waves, on the phoenix’s chest, on the vase of water, beside the woman, and beneath the diamond. Mizumi nodded her head as she explained that it was the symbol of all of Arashi and that’s why it’s on each crest. Before Akira could ask another question she heard the familiar voice of Prince Ohno calling her name.
“Sounds like he’s calling you,” Mizumi said in a hushed tone.
“Yes, we are going riding, you should come with us,” Akira answered as she offered for Mizumi to join them.
“I will politely decline your offer, but let me warn you Akira, watch your back. Everyone knows you are here and they all think you hold some special meaning for the prince, so take care as not everyone you meet can be trusted,” Mizumi warned her in a serious tone before gracefully sweeping off in the opposite direction of where Ohno’s voice was coming from.
Akira felt a chill from her words as she wondered what exactly Mizumi was warning her about...