The Prince and the Pauper (5/24)
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Ariokamoto
Rating: PG-15
Genre:Romance
Disclaimer: I don't own much of anything.
Summary: Keito was a common citizen of the South Kingdom until the night his family's house burns down. Without anywhere to stay, they end up moving into the servant's section of the royal castle. There, along with his best friend Yuto, Keito meets the five royal princes...and catches Prince Daiki's eye. This is a spinoff of The Prince's Princess, by my sister ai_ai_gasa2 . It's basically a retelling of the story from Keito's perspective. I would encourage you to read that fic first if you haven't. You can find the prologue for that fic here. Please, enjoy!
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
It wasn't long before he was met with an excited Yuto, who grabbed Keito by the arm and dragged him to his own bedroom, pointing to Nokogiri and saying
"Where did you get that?!" Keito shut the door, picking up the sword gently and crossing the room to sit on his bed.
"Daiki gave it to me."
"Prince Daiki gave you a sword?!"
"Well, yeah. He said he didn't use it anymore, and after the training he said that...I could keep it." Keito explained meekly. Now Yuto was confused.
"Wait...training?! Hold on, what happened after you left to deliver those shirts yesterday?" Keito backed up, telling his friend all about his trip into the world of royalty. Yuto stopped him when he got to the part about Prince Yamada getting out of the shower.
"You got to see Prince Yamada naked?!" His tall friend exclaimed. Keito was taken aback.
"No! Only half-naked! He had a towel around his waist." Keito motioned, explaining.
"Ugh, I'm so jealous." Yuto groaned, flopping back onto the bed.
"He's soooo attractive Keito. He's...amazing. And sexy. And perfect." Keito smiled at his friend's antics.
"I'll admit that he's handsome." He agreed, and Yuto scoffed.
"Handsome? He's more than handsome, he's like...beautiful, and sexy and oh, now I'm just repeating myself."
Keito continued his story, Yuto nodding along, listening attentively. Once he had finished, Yuto unsheathed the sword, eyes taking in the glint of the blade in the light spilling into the room through the window.
"The sword's name is saw...you'd think they'd be able to come up with something better. It's beautiful." Keito took a good look at it. It truly was a work of art, the detailing in the hilt exquisite.
"Maybe one day it'll get a new name. Sometimes swords names get changed." Keito offered, as they returned the sword to it's proper place. The rest of next day, and the next week, was spent doing odd jobs for whoever needed something done. When they weren't folding laundry, cleaning the stables, or doing the dishes, they practiced the sparring techniques Daiki had taught Keito, convincing some of the older guys to help them, giving them tips. As the days wore on, Keito found himself getting better. His movements got faster, and he even took time to train at night after everyone else went to sleep, fighting his invisible enemy in the moonlight, the blade flashing as he practiced, almost dancelike. Sometimes Yuto would join him in the nighttime sessions, but his friend would be exhausted and nearly useless the next day.
Ten days after the prince's left, Keito was helping Mr. and Mrs.Nakajima in the kitchen, preparing vegetables for a stew they were making for dinner, when a man wearing the emblem of a messenger peaked his head in.
"Excuse me, is Okamoto Keito here?" The man asked, looking rather lost. Keito turned to look at him in surprise.
"Yes sir, I'm him." He announced, setting down the knife he had been using and wiping his hands off with a rag. The man smiled, looking relived to have found his quarry.
"These are for you." The man said, reaching into a pouch on his hip and pulling out a roll of papers, tied with a piece of leather.
"For me?" Keito asked, surprised. The man nodded.
"You are Okamoto Keito, son of the royal castle's seamstress, correct?"
"Yes."
"Then yes, these are certainly for you." The man held them out, and once Keito had taken the pages he gave him a short bow and left.
"Keito, you can go and read them if you want, we can finish up in here." The Nakajima's told him, and he bowed in thanks, hanging up his apron before returning to his room, fingers swiftly pulling the leather cord off of the scroll, the papers springing loose. There were 9 pages, making up a total of six letters. And they were all from Prince Daiki. Excitement rose in his chest as he peeled the pages open, fighting the curled edges to see the words written there.
Dear Keito,
Did you sleep well? I'm going to write you these letters, and tell you all about our trip, so that I can pretend you are here with me, okay? We just left this morning. I'm glad I got to see you before we started the trip, I was worried that I wouldn't have been able too. We spent all day riding. Ayaki, my new sister, keeps complaining. She's afraid of horses, and she thinks it's too hot and too long. We should have left her behind. I don't want to be near her. The others, especially Chinen, are handling her much better than I am. Sometimes I wish I could have that much patience. You seem to have a lot of patience like that. How do you do it?
We've stopped for the night now. My brothers and I all are sharing one huge tent, but the sky is pretty and it's not too cold, so we're probably going to sleep outside. Have you seen the sky recently? The stars are amazing. Of course, Ayaki doesn't like it, but she gets a tent all to herself, so I don't understand why she would complain. Inoo says that maybe it's just what girls do, complain. I've never really met many other girls, and I've never lived with any, so I don't really know. He could be onto something. Oh, Hikaru says to tell you he says hi, by the way. And so does Yama-chan. And Yama-chan says to tell Nakajima-kun hi too. Actually, they pretty much all say hi.
I've been thinking, if you enjoyed the fencing I could teach you more, when I get back. We could practice together. Just a thought. The fire is getting low, I can barely see what I'm writing, so I'm sorry if my handwriting is sloppy. It's almost time to go to sleep now. I'll write you again tomorrow. Goodnight!
Daiki
Keito felt an inescapable grin take over his face, plastered there so long that his cheeks started to hurt. He flicked through the letters one by one, learning a lot about Daiki and his brothers and sister from the snippets of stories on the pages, and through them he began to feel like he knew the boys more. He also could feel Daiki's dislike for his sister, which surprised him. She seemed to be even more of an outsider in Daiki's world than him or Yuto. Or at least a less welcome one. Also enclosed in Daiki's letters were questions. Things like Keito's favorite color, what he was doing while Daiki was gone, and what his family was like were asked in the lines of the letters. The last letter, from Day 6 was signed with an I miss you. that sent excited shivers down Keito's spine.
"He sent you letters?" Yuto had his usual surprised look.
"Six so far. He said he's writing one every day until they get back." Keito said, handing them to Yuto to see. His friend shuffled through the pages, eyes scanning them and as he read his expression became serious.
"He likes you." Yuto announced, looking up from the pages. Keito snapped back in surprise.
"What?!"
"He likes you. It's obvious."
"What do you mean he 'likes' me?! Keito muttered. Yuto grinned.
"I mean he has he hots for you. He thinks you're handsome. He's falling for you. He-" Yuto burst out giggling at Keito's expression.
"You're so red!" His skinny friend exclaimed, putting his hands on with either side of Keito's face, examining it closely.
"Do you like him too, Keito?" Did he like him? Did he have feelings for Prince Daiki? If he was honest with himself....yes. He was very attracted to the prince. But-
"But he's royalty. He's one of the royal princes! I'm just a poor kid whose house got burned down. I'm not worth-"
"Obviously you are. He thinks you're worth winning over. Just you watch, I bet you he doesn't care one bit about your class difference. Besides, that wasn't the question. The question was if you liked Prince Daiki. Keito, answer me. Do you like Prince Daiki?" Yuto had one of those 'I know you're in denial' smiles on his face.
"Yes." Keito sighed, burying his face in a hand. Finally admitting it out loud made him giddy, and nervous. When he looked up, Yuto was grinning ear to ear, and at the sight of it Keito sighed a small sigh.
"What do I do, Yuto-riin?" Yuto took pity on him, slinging an arm around him and pulling him close, snuggling into Keito's side, the letters still clutched in his other hand, which he rested comfortably on his stomach.
"Keito, it's not that hard to figure out. You just love him back, and see what he does. If he wants to be with you then he'll probably ask you out. If not, then at least you have a good new friend, right?"
"Yes." Keito had told himself this, but it was good to know that Yuto supported his crush. They sat in silence for a while, feeling each other breathing, listening as their heartbeats aligned. Keito didn't know what he'd do without Yuto. He was the best friend in the world.
"Did you see Prince Yamada's messages to you?" Keito asked after a while. Prince Yamada had left a little message for Yuto in almost every letter. Yuto nodded, a smile spreading across his face.
"We've never talked just the two of us. He hasn't come and asked to follow me around all day or stolen me for hours instead of doing his packing." Keito frowned slightly at how pessimistic his usually optimistic friend was being.
"So? That just means he's not so straightforward, or impulsive. That doesn't mean he's not interested. Besides, he's thinking about you, obviously. And you have plenty of time to make him fall for you, if he isn't falling for you already." Yuto looked over at Keito, and Keito smiled at him, able to tell his reassurances were doing good for his friend. Yuto set the letters down on Keito's bedside table, and before he had time to react Keito pinned him down, straddling him and attacking his friends skinny sides with dancing fingers. Yuto yelped in surprise, the noise quickly followed by raucous laughter that filled the room. Keito laughed with him, the sound contagious. Yuto futilely attempted to retaliate, but Keito's attacks were unavoidable, and he kept them coming until Yuto was red in the face from all of the laughing. He stopped, both of them breathing hard, smiling widely.
The next few days were spent mostly exploring the castle, finding sparsely used hallways and back routes to destinations. They even found gardens and the royal family's private stable. The stable became their favorite spot to disappear to for a few hours. They'd bring a picnic lunch and sit out on the rooftop, wondering what the princes were doing, and how the reconstruction was going down in their hometown. They'd discuss the fires, making up wild tales about why their homes were burned down, far-fetched stories about secret organizations and treachery, and they'd laugh. Keito still practiced with Nokogiri after everyone else went to bed, building up stacks of hay from the stables and climbing them as he practiced, this often resulting in him tripping and falling. But he could feel his stamina increasing, and he'd often wake up sore in the morning. In this manner, another week went by.
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