Chapter Text
From one of the windows on a corridor on the second floor of the magnificent baroque castle, Kazuha scowled as yet another princess and entourage arrived in the castle courtyard. This time it was Princess Momiji of Kyoto.
She had already lost count of how many marriage candidates there had been, and each time she was glad when they disappeared again. It was not that she, as a maid, had a right to judge for the prince which of these women would be good for him, but in her eyes, none was. In her eyes, it would also be all right if he didn't marry at all, or if....
Kazuha quickly shook her head. She had to concentrate on keeping her good manners. She was a maid. A companion for His Majesty, the heir to the throne of this kingdom of Osaka, His Highness Prince Heiji. The currently apparently most sought-after bachelor in the world.
Again she shook her head. No. That cynical undertone. Wrong again.
Political weddings were normal in his position. It was not his fault that this kingdom, with its military superiority, worried the surrounding kingdoms so much that they tried to position their selves well by marrying him.
Kazuha detached herself from the window. And the prince could not help it that the tradition of Osaka demanded that an heir to the throne could only ascend the throne already married. Ideally even already with descendants. Because of this military power, through an uninterrupted succession it was meant to prevent the country from falling into the wrong hands. For the time being it was a peaceful kingdom - despite the power. At least since Heiji's fathers reign, King Heizou, who used this power mainly for protection. Protection from outside attacks - and also as support for neighbor kingdoms. Heiji would hopefully continue this tendency one day. Kazuha was sure of that, but the people still experienced him as too temperamental, hot-headed, childish, unreliable... Kazuha sighed.
Well, sometimes he was a difficult character - even when they met as children and she wondered at the impression of this spoiled, cheeky boy how he could have been born as a prince at all - but at the same time she often experienced him since they had grown older so different, so...
She faltered in her thought when she noticed a movement in the hallway. One of the wall curtains had moved. Immediately, the young maid knew what this meant, and she narrowed her eyes before running with hasty steps toward the wall hanging. Quickly she looked around, then slipped behind it. She pressed the hidden lever for the secret passage and actually caught the expected escapee in it, as he just moved away quickly.
"Stop!" she called after him and followed him after she had carefully closed the door behind her. Although she saw him only in the semi-darkness and only from behind, she would have recognized him among hundreds. She lifted the skirt of her dress and ran after him across the cold stone floor. "Highness!"
She had seen him every day for almost 15 years and probably knew every detail of his silhouette, his complete movements, his gait - even the smell he gave off - by heart.
But the guy didn't even react, unperturbed he continued walking along the corridor. Ignored her apparently consciously.
"Hey! You can't leave now! Stand still!" she became more emphatic and now dropped the manners as well. "Heiji!"
At last, the person addressed stopped and turned to her already almost at the end of the aisle. "Gee, what do you want, Kazuha?"
There he was again. He always deliberately turned a deaf ear to the polite tone. Emphasized again and again, they were friends. But a too familiar contact caused too much sensation for Kazuha to let that happen in the presence of others. And lately, he seemed to like to play it up with the deafness in his ear - to her displeasure. But that was not the point which needed to be discussed in this situation.
"There's a full entourage just arrived. You can't just leave, what kind of light does this shed on your parents?"
Annoyed, the prince rolled his eyes and turned to leave. "That's a wasted effort anyway. I'm not in the mood for this eternal farce and the exaggerated friendliness. The women always get the wrong idea and only make more problems for me with their further advances. After all, I tried with the first few candidates." He fumbled for the stone that would open the next passage for them. "But go ahead. Tell on me." Then he laughed lightly, and Kazuha already guessed what was about to follow. "Or represent me. I'm sure you'd make a good husband, too-OUCH!"
Kazuha put down the fist with which she had punched him in the kidney area and Heiji rubbed his side a little offended. Then he opened the passage and slipped through. As if it were a matter of course, however, he held the stone door open for her so that she too could pass through without any problems. Kazuha complied, but crossed her arms again in the corridor behind and stood threateningly in front of him while he closed the door.
"But you are violating your duties as crown prince of the country," she admonished reproachfully. She didn't really want to give this moral lecture, since it sounded as if she wanted to get him married to one of those princesses. But she knew her position. She knew that she could not let herself be guided by her desires.
Heiji clasped his hands at his sides, seemingly momentarily put in his place and impressed by this one head shorter maid. But then he raised an eyebrow, and Kazuha's hopes of a humble prince fulfilling his duties only faded further. "I did not choose to inherit this fate. If they had once cared for siblings, they would have had a little more choices and chances." He shrugged slightly and Kazuha made an indignant sound while blushing. Then he pushed past her and headed down the stone stairs in the dark secret passage. Kazuha followed him, one hand always on the cold stone of the wall.
As they had already run through and played often in it, they knew these corridors since their childhood inside out. And that was a good thing, because since Kazuha was no longer just a friend for the prince, but now also hired as a maid and companion, she probably also had the job of nanny for the prince. Often enough, she had to chase after him when he escaped again and went on his self-chosen forays through the country and sometimes even into the neighboring countries.
Get to know the kingdom and its people. Solve criminal cases of all kinds. Enjoying the freedoms of the common people. That's what he called it.
She followed him everywhere to keep an eye on him, to watch over him. To protect his identity, so that nothing about these escapades of the prince could slip through. But in the end, she could only watch helplessly as he did stupid things again. Although he did a lot of good, this was not an appropriate behavior for someone of his position. At least he learned a lot about his kingdom and its people. At eye level and from their point of view instead of from the point of view of the prince before whom they knelt and paid homage. Perhaps that was also the argument that appeased his parents the most, because his father in particular could be very strict with him.
But perhaps just because of this prowling his parents wanted to get him hitched. Or at least it was one of the reasons. It was said that men become calmer with a woman at their side.
Strained, Kazuha sighed at this thought as they reached the last chamber before the secret exit.
She wondered how many more princesses there were in this world? How many times would she have to go through this play with him, although he probably knew for a long time that she was only half-heartedly stopping him? At least, she suspected that knowing his intelligence.
"Your parents are getting really mad. They were last time. A-and the princesses of course!" She at least tried to put emphasis into her voice. Apparently noticing this, he looked over his shoulder at her, a little irritated, before frowning.
"Still, nothing happened. What are these princesses going to do if I refuse to go to the meeting? Throw their fans at me? Or the handkerchiefs?" Pure sarcasm resounded in his voice, and sullenly Kazuha screwed up her face.
"A fan can of course be a useful weapon." She sighed with strain. "But I meant more that your parents might punish you..., or the countries might feel offended and start a war."
Heiji pulled a simple linen shirt from a pile of clothes and gave her a meaningful look. "Declare war on a superior military power? They might as well set themselves on fire."
Seemingly without any shame, he began to remove his clothes. Kazuha blushed at the sight of his naked torso and quickly averted her eyes, then turned around completely. She preferred to keep her gaze lowered anyway; with Heiji around, you never knew when he would next forget that he was naked in front of a maid.
"W-well, then just remember that it was at the audience with Princess Sonoko of Tokyo that you met your current best friend, The Honorable Shinichi!" she then declared in a fit of defiance and displeasure. And instantly she could have slapped herself, already suspecting the consequences. Cautiously, she peered behind, but the rustle of fabric had already paused. Then he came closer and propped himself against the wall with one hand, bent down beside her and put on a superior grin.
"A really great idea, Kazuha! We should pay Shinichi another visit," he fluted happily. "Then it's decided: we'll go to Tokyo today!"
Startled, her eyes widened at the sight of his naked arm and she pushed him slightly away from her before she could catch a glimpse of anything more. In doing so, she suppressed a squeaky sound that he would have been only too happy to tickle out of her - she knew that. His laughter also proved that.
"Please put something on, your highness! Y-You'll catch a cold!"
Heiji clicked his tongue slightly when she switched back to the formal tone. After all, this was always her sign that he was going too far. And he didn't like this polite manners between them, because it always showed distance. But he was respecting it, complied and slipped on the linen shirt, followed by a few more inconspicuous clothes of the normal bourgeoisie completed by an inconspicuous hooded cloak with which he could cover his face.
"If you want to come with me, you should wear something appropriate for the journey on horseback." He glanced briefly over his shoulder at her with a knowing smirk at the corner of his mouth, then stepped through a heavy iron door into the open. Kazuha looked after him wordlessly.
She paused for a moment and just stared at the open door.
Sometimes she really didn't know how she could stand this impossible prince at all. He played with her in such a teasing, cheeky and blatant way that almost made her doubt his origins. And yet he proved again and again how well he knew how to read her.
She sighed and wondered if she really was such an open book.
Silently she apologized to Sir Goro - Heiji's guardian - while she threw on one of the more practical clothes and tied it up. Poor Goro never had it easy with them either and would search the castle for them again today in vain.
When Kazuha put on her cloak and stepped outside, Heiji was already waiting on one of the rocks whose sight would accompany their way down the slope. He briefly glanced at the maid's choice of clothing, then the young man of royal blood rose from his less-than-noble chosen throne in his not-so-noble attire.
"Let's go to Tokyo!" he then declared with substance and anticipation as he spread his arms open.
Kazuha didn't say anything back. She had a bad feeling about this, but Heiji would not listen to her anyway. Strangely enough, he had even somehow managed to convince a young stable boy at the foot of the slope to always keep a few horses ready and to keep quiet about it.
If he had set his mind on something, nothing could stop him from doing it.
But at least he didn't go alone and she could take care that nothing happened to him. She didn't know if she would be able to do much, but at least she would be able to try. And maybe she could stop him from doing something really stupid.
That's why this time, too, she had no choice but to climb down the stony slope after his Highness, Prince Heiji of Osaka, rather inelegantly, and to make off with him.
From his duties. From his admirers.
Not what she was hired for.
But what she felt called to do as his best friend.
