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A long long time ago, there was a kingdom named 'Anteiku' in which the Kirishima royal family have ruled for a long time. In this era, a particular king named Arata decided to hold a ball for his daughter—Touka—to celebrate her coming of age (21 years old) and for the purpose of getting her to marry someone in their guests.
"What? Papa, I don't want to marry anyone!" Touka protested, stomping to him. "I just turned 21! I still have time!"
Arata sighed. "Darling, your brother Ayato married at 19 years old. Yet here you are unmarried at 21 years old." He reached to hold her hands. "I'm only doing this for your own good. You need someone—a man—to protect you when your mama and I are not around anymore."
"B-but Ayato married because he met someone he likes! I don't like any of the men here! They're all so...arrogant and ugly!"
"You can't expect Ayato to protect you all his life, he has his wife Hinami and this kingdom to care about. Please just humor me and attend the ball? If you don't meet anyone you like, we can drop this. But just try, okay darling? Not every guy is bad. Besides, I'll be inviting all of the unmarried men, not just from our kingdom but from others as well. You're bound to meet someone you like."
Touka sighed heavily. She didn't want to upset her parents and hesitantly agreed. "Just one ball."
And so out of the countless balls her father has hosted, this ball had the most number of males she has ever seen in a ballroom. There are, of course, some married couples, and families in the mix, but the majority of the guests were unmarried men, whom all looked at her as if they were predator, and she, a prey. They were all aware of her intention to marry someone here tonight and continued to barrage her with conversations, questions and offers to waltz.
A black-haired male stood in the corner and watched her all the whilst deciding when was the appropriate time to approach her.
After waltzing with many men whom she was unimpressed with, her feet were aching and she was just about to go rest when another gentleman asked her to dance. She wanted to reject but she knew she couldn't as it would reflect badly on her family. A black-haired male stepped in and offered her a smile. "Princess Kirishima, would you have a talk with me in the gardens?"
Anything but dancing, she decided.
"Yes, of course, errr, Prince..?"
She has never seen this man before. Maybe he was one of the guests invited from other kingdoms.
"I'm Prince Kaneki."
She took his offered arm and walked away from the man who asked her for a waltz, leaving him sputtering in embarrassment and anger. They were soon in the garden and the male got her to sit down on the bench first before he got on his knees in front of her. He looked at her feet and met her gaze. "May I raise your skirts for a bit?"
"W-why?"
He smiled. "Just to inspect your feet."
"Why would you—"
Touka swallowed her scream as he lifted her skirts just above her ankle and removed her high heels. It revealed her swollen feet from dancing all evening and painful-looking blisters on both feet. He brought out plasters from his pockets and proceeded to bandage her blisters with them.
"How did you know..?" She asked. She had tried to cover it by preventing the pain from showing on her face.
"I saw your grimace when you were dancing. It became more and more evident the more you danced and when that gentlemen earlier asked you for another dance, you looked as if you would rather die."
Kaneki took her feet in his hands and started to massage them one by one.
"Thank you but that's not necessary. I'll be fine after some rest."
"You need it. And I don't mind massaging your feet for you." He smiled.
"Okay."
She didn't know whether to think this as his way of courting her or to be touched that he actually noticed and made an effort to help her. For now, she was feeling the latter.
She paused to think. "Wait, if you knew that I was suffering, then why didn't you approach me earlier to do this? I could have saved a whole lot of pain." She huffed, then regretted her words immediately. Most men would be turned off by her rude behavior and words and the least she wanted to do right now was to make this kind Prince run away.
He gave a small smile and rubbed his nape nervously. "Actually, I wanted to approach you but I couldn't because there were so many men around wanting your attention. So I decided to stand around and wait. I'm sorry it took me this long."
At his apology, she didn't feel as pissed as before and even felt remorse. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scold you or anything. I'm..just sick of everything. I'm supposed to marry someone here but I didn't like all of the gentlemen I was with. All they do is talk about themselves and their kingdoms and even if they did ask about me, it was about shallow things like my hobbies... I feel they just want to marry me to get the name and position as King."
"Well... the safest topic is always hobbies. It won't do if they were to suddenly ask you something personal. You wouldn't want to share it with them either, would you?"
She hesitated. "That's true but... I feel they didn't bother to know the real me."
"What is the real you?" Kaneki met her gaze and she felt her cheeks warm. This was the first time she was having a completely honest conversation with a man, with her just letting out her words and not bottling them up.
As a princess, she has always had to hold in her real thoughts and say words that pleased others. It was the easiest way to prevent making enemies and to gain people's affection and approval. Only with her family, she could speak her mind but with strangers, she could never.
His kind grey eyes made her feel as if it was okay to tell him the truth. "The real me wants to run in a field of flowers in my bare feet. I want to shout at the top of my lungs and eat all the food that I want. As a princess, I'm always stuck in the castle like a bird in its cage. I want to be free. Even if for just one day."
His eyes widened at her answer and she expected a lecture about how a princess shouldn't act like that and whatnot but he surprised her by laughing. He stopped massaging her feet and put her heels back on. "Then... is it alright if I call on you tomorrow? I would like to bring you out."
"Out where?"
He grinned. "It's a secret."
4 days later, Kaneki visited her at 2pm, dressed not in his normal royal clothes, but commoner's clothes; a brown cap, long brown buttoned shirt, khaki pants, and black shoes. She cocked her head in confusion and it seemed that he read her mind. "Change into these and we can set off." He said, passing her a matching brown dress, something less flashy than her usual dresses.
She changed quickly, surprised as to how nicely the dress fit her and climbed into his carriage. The journey was a short one, which made up of Touka mostly trying to pry answers from him on where they were going and what they were doing to do. To her frustration, he remained tight-lipped but she was secretly excited.
An outing! Her parents would never let her do this. She was always locked up in the castle, for her safety and the only time she could somewhat enjoy herself was when they hosted balls. She couldn't even go down to the nearest village to see the bustling of the city, the shops selling many items and enjoy the freedom—as mentioned by her maids and servants when she asked.
They soon reached their destination and after he helped her down from the carriage, she was shocked beyond words. She was in the village she had always wanted to visit! Many people walked past the alleyway they alighted at, and the colorful ornaments sold at stores caught her eye. Brimming with excitement, she turned to Kaneki and exclaimed, "how did you know I wanted to come here?!"
His eyes widened. "Well, the other night you did say you wanted to come here. I wasn't sure if this was the correct place... but this is the only village in this kingdom, as far as I know, and searched... And nearby, there's a field of flowers that not many people know of so you can run with your shoes off and shout all you want. Are you okay with this..?" He played with his fingers and looked nervously at her.
Some part of her was touched he actually listened and remembered her words. Not many people do that. Not only that, he actually made an effort to go find the location of the village and the field, just to make her happy.
She grabbed his hands, surprising him. "Yes, thank you! I-I'm so happy! Come on, let's hurry and go!"
His eyes crinkled as he smiled at her excitement. It was the right decision to bring her here after all.
They spent the afternoon in the village, looking at the various interesting products sold and purchasing delicious food displayed at the stores. The sun would be setting soon and they rushed over to the field before it got too dark.
Kaneki set down on a bench as he watched Touka run around in a field of daisies whilst barefoot and laughing. She suddenly stopped and shouted at the sky, "I'm tired of being the princess! I want to be free!!!!"
Despite being in plain commoner clothes and her feet dirty from all the running barefoot, he thought that she was pretty. He thought her prettier when she walked back toward him, out of breath, cheeks red. Since she didn't sit down, he stood up, for it was basic manners.
"Prince Kaneki, thank you for bringing me here. It's the first time someone has ever done something like this for me." She grinned.
With the sky turning into a mix of orange and red behind her, Kaneki gazed at her. Beautiful. He stepped forward, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned down to kiss her.
It was exhilarating, being kissed so romantically—in a field of flowers and during sunset and he withdrew before she could do anything, to her disappointment.
His hand rubbed his nape as he smiled nervously. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. You just looked so beautiful that I couldn't help it." He took her hands into his and met her eyes. "I like you, Princess Touka. I don't expect you to return my feelings but please just know that I will work hard to make those feelings mutual, and I hope to make you my Queen someday."
Her cheeks warmed at his confession. Her first kiss and confession.
It made her speechless and all she could say was "okay."
—
Kaneki visited her more often, staying a long time each visit to chat with her. They can be talking about the shallow stuff and sometimes the deep stuff.
But what Touka found was that she enjoyed his company very much. He actually listened to her when she talked, and gave his honest inputs. He's not arrogant like other aristocrats and princes. She liked how he tries to be funny sometimes, which often fails but she appreciated the effort. Each time he visited her, he would bring her something; flowers, gifts, food and they would sometime sneak down to the village to have fun.
Unknowingly she had fallen in love with him, and him, with her.
During another ball, a certain black-haired prince named Furuta, noticed how close the two have become. His eyes narrowed at the two who laughed as they talked and decided to make his move. Better now than later. Before Prince Kaneki does anything.
—
A few days later...
"Touka! You received an offer of marriage from Prince Furuta, of all Princes! That's great news, darling! He's a prince from a big kingdom and marrying him will definitely strengthen the bond between our kingdoms!" Arata exclaimed, excited.
Touka deflated. "But I... I like Prince Kaneki."
He raised a brow. "Then has he asked you to marry him?"
"N-no.. not yet."
"Then you should accept Prince Furuta's offer."
—
Touka laid in bed all night without sleeping and decided to tell Kaneki the next day.
As soon as Kaneki arrived to visit her, he noticed that something was amiss, from the way she remained so quiet, unlike her usual chatty and cheery self, and seemed to be thinking about something other than their current conversation. He took her hands that rested in her lap and squeezed them. Her eyes finally met his and he smiled. "If you have something on your mind, I can listen. That's what I'm here for."
"I... Prince Furuta offered to marry me. He went to my parents straight."
He remained quiet. "...did you accept?"
"No, I.. I like you, Kaneki. But my father wants me to marry Furuta."
He smiled and his hand disappeared into his pocket. "I wanted to take our relationship slowly and didn't want to rush you into marriage. But now that there's competition, I can't afford to go slowly, can I?" His hand reappeared with a ring and her eyes shined with tears at the sight of it.
She raised her head to meet his gaze. "Will you marry me, Touka? I promise that I will make you happy. I want to know your answer before I go to your parents for permission."
Touka tackled him with a hug. "Yes!"
—
Despite being upset that Touka wants to marry Kaneki, Arata still allowed them to marry as he wanted his daughter to be happy. It was set on a Saturday and many people were invited to watch the ceremony.
—
Dressed in her white wedding dress, Touka couldn't stop the excitement and held her breath as she waited for the announcement for her to enter the church. But it never came. She went to find her father and mother but was informed that Kaneki hasn't reached the church yet.
Her heart lurched, why? Did something happen to him? Did he..run away? Her hands came away sweaty and fear gripped her heart. Before she knew, she fell to the floor and everything blacked out.
—
When she awoke, her parents were looking down at her worriedly and her mother quickly called for the doctor to come.
"What happened?" Touka whispered.
Arata held her hands with a frown. "You fainted before the ceremony, darling."
"What about Kaneki? Did he come?"
Her father hesitated. "No, he didn't. No one knows where he is. There's no news of him. I thought he was a good guy, but he might have run away, Touka."
"No! He wouldn't..abandon me. He promised he would make me happy! Maybe something happened to him! Did you send him a letter?"
Arata sighed. "Touka, we did send a letter. Several. But we didn't get a reply to any of them. The fact is that he didn't come and now you're seen as the bride who was abandoned by her groom. You need to marry Furuta now to restore that reputation."
"B-but.. Kaneki.."
The doctor came to examine her and after that, she was left alone in her room. She sat up and thought about all of the good and fun times she spent together with Kaneki. Hugging her knees to her chest, tears escaped her eyes and she sobbed. She couldn't believe he would abandon her... he would never. But why didn't he come?
—
To protect her own and the kingdom's reputation, Touka married Furuta.
On her wedding night...
"Do you love me?" Touka asked.
Furuta scoffed. "No."
"Then why did you marry me?"
"I married you to spite this little bitch called Rize who laughed at me saying I would never marry a princess of a good and big kingdom and be king. But I did. Don't get me wrong, you're not ugly, but I will never love you. We will sleep in separate bedrooms forever."
Her lips trembled at his response and only after he left the room that she allowed her tears to fall. It broke her heart to marry someone who didn't and would never love her.
Every day, she wondered how Kaneki was doing and where he was. She trusted him. He would never abandon her. Something must have happened to him.
Her efforts in trying to locate him were fruitless. She wrote so many letters but never got a reply. She even tried to get a horse to ride out to find him, but Furuta found out and locked her in her room.
Touka was truly a locked bird in a cage now. Before this, she could still roam the castle grounds but now, she couldn't even leave her room. Furuta had stationed guards outside her room to prevent her from escaping.
She tried to escape from the window once and almost got away until one of the guards caught her. That night, Furuta hit her and the bruise on her cheek lasted for one whole week. She couldn't even tell her parents about this as he threatened her that if she did, she would get more than one slap from him.
This painful way of living lasted for 6 months.
—
Laying in bed one evening, she heard some scratching and rustling from the window and got up to check what the noise was about. She dropped back to the ground when Kaneki entered through her window and he held a hand out for her with a smile.
With a shaking hand, she took his hand and the warmth of it made her believe that he was here in the flesh after so long. As soon as she stood, she was pulled into a warm embrace. Kaneki buried his face into her neck and sighed in relief. "I missed you."
Tears brimmed in her eyes. "I missed you too. Why didn't you come to the wedding? Where have you been all this time?"
Hesitantly, he pulled back and cupped her cheeks. "I was at war. I couldn't make it to the wedding because someone ambushed me at my castle the night before our wedding."
Horror filled her eyes. "Who would do that?"
"Prince Furuta."
"But why..."
"He didn't want me to marry you, he told me himself. I wanted to come for you as soon as the fighting ended, but I was stuck with rebuilding the kingdom until now. I'm sorry for making you wait. Come with me to my kingdom, Touka."
She hesitated. "I can't... I'm married..to Furuta."
Kaneki gave a sad smile. "I know. Was the marriage consummated?"
Shaking her head, Touka gazed at him with a smile. "We sleep in different bedrooms, for which I'm thankful for."
He grinned. "Then, it's not too late."
—
With the amount of expertise Kaneki got her down from the window and to their waiting carriage some distance away from Furuta's castle, it got Touka thinking that he had done this before, even though he denied it. He got the knowledge from his friend, he said.
It took about 7 hours to reach his kingdom and Touka was devastated by the disaster Furuta had wrought on Kaneki's kingdom from what she saw outside the carriage's window. Things and rubble all over the floor, buildings and houses crumbled to dust, and the people looking tired and hungry as they tried to put everything back together.
"I'm sorry, Kaneki, I'm so sorry.." Touka sobbed and Kaneki put his arms around her.
"It's okay. It's not your fault."
—
Once they reached the castle, he gave her a room to stay in. Standing at the door, Kaneki kissed her and pulled back. "It's been a long night in the carriage for both of us. Get some sleep first. I'll introduce you to my parents in the morning and then head to the village to check on things. Will you come with me?"
Touka smiled. "Okay."
—
After being busy with a large load of duties, Kaneki finally retired to his room. Apart from seeing Touka in the morning, he hasn't seen her for the rest of the day and he missed her. He decided to pay her a visit to her room, hoping that she was still awake.
A knock came on the door as Touka combed her hair at the dressing table and she turned to the door. "Come in."
He entered and stopped when he saw the comb in her hands. "I'm sorry. Are you busy? Do you need me to come back later?"
"No, it's fine." She set her comb on the table and stood up. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to see you." He walked to her and hugged her tightly. "I missed you."
She returned the hug and inhaled his scent. "I missed you too."
Kaneki was the first to pull back and they gazed at each other. Hands cupping her cheeks, tangling his fingers into her soft hair, he leaned forward to kiss her. Returning the kiss clumsily and without experience, her hands wrapped around his waist and gripped the back of his shirt.
"I'm sorry, I..I don't know how to do this... it's my first time..." Touka mumbled, cheeks burning.
"It's my first time too. Let's learn together, shall we?" He grinned.
She nodded.
He guided her over to the bed and they fell onto it together.
—
Laying on the bed with his arms around her, Touka drew circles on his naked chest whilst humming. Kaneki played with her hair with his fingers and kissed her head.
"Are you okay?" He asked, worriedly.
She smiled up at him. "A bit sore but I'm okay, thank you."
They laid in each other's arms in silence.
"Can I ask you about the time you spent at Furuta's castle? What did you do there?"
"I didn't do anything. I read books and slept all day. I wrote you so many letters, Kaneki but I didn't receive a reply to any of them. Since I wasn't getting any replies to my letters, I tried to escape and he wouldn't let me out of my room after he caught me."
His eyes widened in surprise. "You wrote me letters? I didn't receive them!" Then his eyes hardened in anger. "He locked you in your room?!"
She faltered. This was her first time seeing the gentle-natured Kaneki angry. It touched her that he cared so much about her.
"Yes.. Furuta must have intercepted the letters and threw them away. He's that kind of person... he..hit me when I tried to escape."
His hand that rested on her slender waist turned into a fist. Anger burned in his eyes. "He hit you. I'll kill him. How could he hit you and furthermore, hit a woman?"
Touka cupped his cheek. "Don't be angry. I..I would be angry also if I found out that you were escaping to find another woman."
He relaxed at her touch and caressed her cheek. "You know I wouldn't do that... I'm sorry that I left you to suffer under him. Where did he hit you?" He asked gently.
"My cheek that you're touching. It took a week for the bruise to heal. It hurt so much, but not as much as I missed you."
"Oh Touka.. I'm sorry." Kaneki peppered kisses all over her face and finally landed one on her lips. "I'm here now and I promise I will protect you with all I can and my kingdom as well. I love you."
She smiled. "That's all I wanted to hear. I love you too."
--
The next day, Furuta came to Kaneki's kingdom, demanding to see Touka.
"I know you got her. Bring her out!" Furuta roared.
"She's not here." Kaneki tried to control his anger from showing. As much as he wanted to kill this bastard, he couldn't without being hanged for murder.
Furuta snickered. "Oh, so you're going to play the hide and seek game eh? I hate people like you! Going around stealing other people's things, my things! Touka is my wife, she's mine! How about I wage war on your puny tiny little country again and see you choose between Touka or your country? Give me her or war!"
He narrowed his eyes. "War? You speak of war as if millions of people's lives don't matter. There's no need to endanger my country and your country's people for a personal matter. As this is not the citizens' problem, but only between you and me, I challenge you to a duel. We will fight with swords and the one who survives gets Touka. The duel will happen tomorrow morning at 11 am on the castle grounds."
--
"A duel?!" Touka screamed and Kaneki winced. "But you can't do this... Furuta is cunning. He will cheat and he's good at everything! If you die, I don't know what I will do.." her lips trembled.
He held her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. "Do you trust me?"
"I do, but..."
"I have been doing sword training since young and I would like to think that I'm quite good at it. I promise you that I will come out of it alive. Even if I die, I would die happy knowing how much you love me."
--
The day of the challenge came and the two men stood 6 meters away from each other on the castle's grounds. The only spectators were Touka, Kaneki's parents, a doctor and a knight to be the judge.
"Ready, set, go!"
They ran toward one another and it happened in an instant. Kaneki gritted his teeth as he felt pain in his chest, his sword piercing through the left side of Furuta's chest, directly through his heart.
"You lucky bastard, you have everything I don't. Nice parents, a good kingdom and a woman. I hate you." Furuta coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. The doctor ran over to check on Furuta and he was pronounced dead.
It was over. Kaneki sighed in relief and looked down at Furuta's sword stabbed in his chest. It went straight through his chest and out his back. Blood trickled down the sides of his mouth and he fell to the ground, laying on his side.
The last thing he heard was Touka calling his name.
--
Thankfully, Furuta narrowly missed stabbing his heart by a few inches and Kaneki is not in serious condition. According to the doctor, depending on his body condition, he should awake within 3 days to 1 week. For the days he slept, Touka never left his side to take care of him like changing his clothes and toweling him.
At the end of the fourth day by his side, her body was screaming at her to rest, her eyes closing every few seconds but she forced herself to stay awake in case he awoke or worsens so she could call the doctor.
Eventually, she was convinced by Kaneki's parents that she has done all she could and should go back to her room to rest. They will stay by their son's side and will inform her when he wakes. She returned to her room and slept like a log for almost the whole day.
A knock came on her door, where the queen entered with a smile. "He's awake."
She flew to his side and held his hand tightly. Her heart thumped in her ears as she saw how his eyes still remained close. His parents left the room and allowed them to be alone. "Kaneki, it's me, Touka."
His eyes fluttered open, crinkling as he smiled weakly. "Touka. I'm alive."
Tears filled her eyes. "Yes, you are."
--
After helping him up to lay against the headboard and feeding him food, Touka settled in her seat beside the bed and stared down at their intertwined fingers.
"Can you do me a favor and grab the square box inside that drawer over there?" Kaneki asked, using his right hand to point to the drawer behind her.
She returned with the box in her hands and he nodded at it. "Open it."
Her eyes widened at the diamond ring that laid in the center of the box. "This..." she directed her attention to him and he smiled.
"Do you remember how I promised you that I would return alive from the duel? At that time, I made myself a promise, which was to marry you when I came back alive. Many things have happened since we first met but I still am in love with you and wish for us to have a future together. Will you marry me, Touka? This time, I promise that I will make you happy." He paused. "And I promise that I will turn up for the wedding." He joked.
She hit the uninjured side of his chest and he winced. "Of course I'll marry you!" She exclaimed, lip trembling as she held her tears back.
Kaneki grinned and reached for the box. He struggled to get the ring out with one hand, refusing her help and slid it onto the finger. The gold band shined in the light and at that moment, he knew he was going to be the happiest man alive, and he was going to make this woman, his future wife's happiness, his only goal in life.
—
Arata was guilty about how his daughter suffered under Furuta after forcing her to marry him and gave his blessing for Kaneki's and Touka's wedding. It took place at Kaneki's Kingdom, in a large church with close family and friends and some of the citizens in attendance.
As Kaneki slid the ring onto Touka's finger and pressed his lips to hers, it was his promise to her for a lifetime of happiness together.
And they did live happily ever after.