The Prince and The Pauper (23/24)
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, but you don't have to have read it to understand the story. You can find the prologue for that fic here. Please, enjoy!
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22
"I have dinner waiting." Daiki told him in between kisses, and after two or three more he pulled back, intertwining their hands and dragging Keito back to the adjoining kitchen, where sure enough, a small table was set for two, next to an open window, a gentle breeze drifting through, carrying with it the scent of fresh bread, and fish, and they took their places, using their right hands to eat, keeping their left hands connected across the small spans of the table. They were about halfway through their meal, Daiki jokingly trying to get Keito to refer to the King as 'Dad' when behind Daiki, through the window, Keito noticed a large group of people and horses almost at the castle stable, and disbelief washed over him for the second time that night.
"Daiki, they're back." Daiki's joking grin dropped, and he blinked in confusion.
"Your brothers, they're back." Daiki stood, turned, his gaze locked on the window, and when he saw them he gasped, bolting out of the room. Keito too stood, watching as the mass of people mulled around the stable entrance, picking out familiar figures. There was Prince Ryutaro, and Yabu-kun. Prince Inoo and Prince Yamada, and-he froze when he caught sight of his father, filthy but healthy looking, wrists chained behind his back, with guards attached at each elbow, glaring at some unfamiliar northern soldier. He tore his eyes away. He should inform the others. He broke out in a run, Daiki's ring thumping against his chest with every stride, and he tore into the dining hall, announcing
"Prince Inoo and his brothers are back!" Prince Chinen sprang from his seat, letting out a small squeak of excitement, and ran from the room. Yuto too stood, and at a slower pace they made their way toward the side castle door closest to the stable. They were almost there when they were stopped by none other than the king himself. Immediately, they fell into bows, but the king just said "See what's taking my sons so long, would you?" With a smile to Yuto, before continuing on his way. Keito pushed open the door, taking in the reunion, finding himself unable to speak. Instead Yuto passed along the King's message, before pulling Keito off the steps and stepping out to join them, Yuto immediately taking a place next to Prince Yamada's side. Keito lost Daiki in the mass of people and movement for the front door, and he found himself falling further and further behind, until he was bringing up the rear, afraid to see the end of his free life burning away in the smiles of these loving people and the terrifying gaze of his father.
They all reentered the castle through the main doors, the King waiting for them, a warm smile on his face as he greeted his sons, Keito slipping through the doors as the northern King expressed his gratitude to the Northern Kingdom's ruler, creeping to the right edge of the entryway, unnoticed in the proceedings. Then, an ear splitting shriek jolted through the festivities, and Keito turned to see Princess Ayaki, rage smattered across her face, as two palace guards rushed for her, grabbing her as the King announced
“You are under arrest for treason towards your kingdom, terrorism, and the attempts on 3 royal lives.” She just screamed again, nearly drowning out the words, eyes searching frantically for something, someone, to stand up for her. Suddenly another voice joined Ayaki's, a fearful yell coming from the hallway. The sound of it put Keito into motion, one though on his mind. MOM!
She was being held by two palace guards, one holding her wrists behind her back, the other with a firm hand on her shoulder. She was looking at them in fear and confusion, but they held no sympathy, and when they caught sight of Keito one of them lunged for him, seizing him by the arm, his hand rough, and Keito winced at the grip as the man started reciting
“You are under arrest for-”
“No!” Stunned, Keito had no time to react, as Daiki pushed through the throng of people, pulling Keito away from the guard, putting his body between them. Gasps and murmurs broke out, and Daiki was furious “I won’t let you-"
“Daiki!” The King's voice was sharp, confused and angry. “What’s going on here?”
"Daiki, it's okay, just..." Keito's frantic whispers fell on deaf ears as Daiki turned to face his father, his hand still on Keito's arm, desperation and anger rivaling for dominance in his voice as he said
“Dad, they’re trying to arrest-"
“And what’s the problem?” The King cut him off.
“They’re innocent.” Daiki's words were solid, cutting, full of confidence. Keito felt the dread tangled around his internal organs twitch, and he launched into another whispered mantra of "Please, it's okay...you don't have to...you shouldn't..."
“Daiki, please don’t-"
"Just because their dad did what he did doesn’t mean they’re involved!” Daiki was nearly yelling at his father, his voice almost harsh, his conviction spilling over as he spoke. “They didn’t know this was happening, I promise. They didn’t do anything wrong." Daiki was almost yelling, the gaze he fixed his father with solid, intimidating. He released his grip on Keito's arm to lace their fingers together, squeezing his hand so tightly Keito felt his circulation begin to strain within seconds, but he gripped back just as hard, the unspoken message clear. I love you. I know.
“But Daiki, it’s dangerous.” The King told his son, as if willing him to see reason. Daiki remained unchanged, and his father frowned, before tentatively saying
“We… We’ll have a trial for them. Tomorrow morning, alright?” Daiki narrowed his eyes suspiciously, pulling Keito's hand close to him, and the King added
“Nothing will happen to them over the night. I promise.” Those words were enough. Daiki slowly stepped back, loosening his grip on Keito's hand but not quite letting go. The palace guard once again put a rough hand on Keito's shoulder, this time forcing Keito's arms behind his back, forcing Keito to let go of Daiki's hand, and Keito felt cold iron cuffs encircle his wrists, and heard the clank of the chain, and fear ballooned in his chest. He was shoved in the direction of the dungeon, and he couldn't help but take one last glance of Daiki over his shoulder, trying to memorize the way he looked, just in case...just in case it would be the last time he would see him ever again.
"Keito...Keito, do you know what happened? Why are they doing this to us?" Were the first words out of his mothers mouth, as soon as they were left alone. They had been put in cells side by side, unable to see each other, bars making up the wall adjoining the hallway. There weren't any guards in the immediate area, so he spoke, hoping to calm her.
"It's because of Dad. He...they found him. He was involved in a terroristic plot along with Princess Ayaki against the kingdom. And...they think...we might be in cahoots with them." His words were only met with silence for long stretched out minutes. Then, softly, she said
"So now they're holding a trial for us tomorrow...and we need to prove that we're innocent. That we didn't know anything about Ken's plans." There was a pause. "Oh Ken, why? Why would he-" Her voice was getting that slightly shrill pitch it got when she was upset, on the brink of tears. Keito put a hand on the wall, wishing he could offer her comfort.
"I'm sorry Mom."
Dusk quickly faded into night, a guard came by with a tray of soup for their dinner, and afterward Keito curled up in a ball on the stone floor, the rock sapping heat from his body, and he tried to sleep. He mostly felt sick, like he was going to vomit. Hours stretched through the thick bars of the cell achingly slowly. Eventually he heard the comforting sound of his mothers breathing, soft and even. At least one of them would get some sleep.
Yet somehow, at the crack of dawn he found himself blinking in the light, and he sat up, every muscle stiff and cold from laying on the hard ground. He felt fatigued, exhausted with fear and stress, but he just sat and waited for a change. Sure enough, within the hour he and his mother were being led back up out to the ground floor of the castle, to the front meeting room, where the King, his advisors, a scribe, and more guards than Keito would like to count were all waiting for them. He stood next to his mom, and he could feel her shaking, as she faced the King. Immediately they both bowed low, staying down until he told them to rise, the chains from their cuffs jangling as they stood tall.
"Now, let us begin; you are Katsue Okamoto, formerly Katsue Nishi, are you not?"
"Yes, your majesty."
"And you are Keito Okamoto, son of Kenichi Okamoto and Katsue Okamoto, is that correct?"
"Yes, your majesty." And so the questions began. Hours and hours of questioning, sometimes the same question as had been asked twenty minutes previous, just to see if they'd slip up and say a different answer. Keito ended up telling him everything-his less than stellar relationship with his father, the relationship he was having with the King's middle child, and every possible memory he had pertaining to any question the King asked. His mother as well was brutally honest, and honestly Keito felt that they both learned more about the others romantic life than they would have liked. His stomachs growling grew more and more insistent, his eyes aching with lack of sleep, his chest tight with nerves, and then finally, the King said
"That will be all." The king and his advisors all retreated to a large table stretched along the back wall, and Keito and his mother could only stand and wait in silence at the other end of the room, stomachs knotted with nerves. Keito tried to let his mind wander. their fate was out of their hands. He glanced out of the long narrow windows. It must be around noon, the sun high in the sky. He tried to focus on guessing the exact time of day, something to keep his mind busy. His attention was drawn back to the table however, when the mass of people all stood up, gathering the pages of dialogue the scribe had provided them with, and shutting their law books, and Keito felt that he might be sick.
"We have come to a verdict." The King announced, and one of the guards nodded, slipping out of the room. He must have made some announcement, because a moment later the doors behind Keito were thrown open, and he heard the sounds of many pairs of feet entering the room. He wanted to turn, to see who it was, but he didn't dare look away from the king. Once the shuffling of feet had stopped, the King began to speak.
“Your father was involved in horrible treachery. The two of you however, have shown no displays of treason, want to commit treason, or events of past treason toward your kingdom, so we have no reason to believe anything except that you two are innocent.” Keito felt relief rush through his body, but at the Kings next words he froze.
"But...your father was involved in horrible treachery. For the safety of my family more than anything else, I will have to ask you to leave this castle, with guards escorting you out. I'm sorry, but this is how it has to be." Keito considered the results. He couldn't have hoped for anything better. It was fair. His mother would be safe. He was strong, he could find work, and then-
"What... No! You can't do that!" The yell came from behind him, the voice a shock. Daiki?!
Next