Sleeping Beauty's little Sister.

Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Gakuen Alice, they belong to the lovely Higuchi Tachibana-sama! Any Ooc-ness is on me. Inspiration from E.D.B.'s story.

Author note: I advise y'all to follow me, if you aren't already. I post update delays, schedules, and things of that nature! ^-^

Mikan waited in the Great Hall while Natsume and Kuonji prepared for the trip ahead. She stood to the side, out of the way and unnoticed, only half watching the whirl of activity. Exhausted, she would have fallen asleep standing up if her mind weren't thrumming with unasked questions, most of which would have to wait until she and Natsume were alone.

Mikan didn't like the thought of traveling with Kuonji. She had a lot of questions for Natsume, and had no desire to discuss any of them in front of Kuonji. In addition, she and Natsume had established their own routines and recognized each other's moods; anyone traveling with them was bound to change things. And from what she had seen of Kuonji, he was as self-centered as most of the princes she'd met, unlike Natsume. For a moment she wondered how two brothers could be so different, and if it had anything to do with magic the way it had in her own family. Natsume was handsome, but not overwhelmingly so, while Kuonji looked to good to be real, like an artist's idealized portrait of what a handsome man should be.

 She was musing about what it might have been like to grow up in Natsume's family when Kuonji entered the Hall. When he didn't seem to see her, she shrank back against the wall, not wanting to have to talk to him without Natsume around. A moment later his mother appeared and strode directly to Kuonji. Mother and son spoke briefly, then the queen tucked what looked like a piece of parchment under the flap of Kuonji's saddlebag, kissed him on the cheek, and left.

Natsume arrived shortly after and spotted Mikan right away. Smiling, he waved and hurried over to talk to her. "Everything is ready," he said, showing her his stuffed saddlebag.

"Good," said Mikan. "I should have returned to Alicean days ago. How long will the trip take us?"
"Almost two days," said Natsume.
"That long? I suppose it's just as well. I need to talk to you about a lot of things."

"I know," said Natsume, his smile fading. "I apologize in advance for most of what you're going to say."

"There you are," said Kuonji, motioning to the servant carrying his saddlebag. "How many servants are you taking?"
"None," said Natsume. "And neither are you. An entourage would hold us back and we don't have time for that."

"That's preposterous!" spluttered Kuonji. "Every prince needs an entourage when he travels."

"Let him take one, Natsume," said Mikan "We'll go now and he can follow with his servants. It shouldn't take more than a day or two extra before he joins us. By that time all the princes who are already there will have kissed Taru-chan. Since they've all hurried to reach her side, one of them is bound to be her true love."

"Never mind," said Kuonji, taking his saddlebag from his servant. "I suppose I can rough it if you can."

"Too bad," Natsume said, and winked at Mikan.

~line break~ 

They were out in the courtyard when Natsume saw that she was struggling to keep her eyes open. "You're riding with me," he said, boosting her onto the back of the stallion he was to ride. "The last thing we need is for you to go to sleep and get hurt when you fall off your horse." After settling on the saddle behind Mikan, he reached around her to grip the reins.

"This is nice," she murmured, snuggling into his arms.
"What did you say?" Natsume asked, but Mikan was already asleep.

She dozed as she rode tucked against Natsume's chest and didn't wake while they clattered across the drawbridge and down the main road. They were passing through a village when she woke, still tired, but not nearly as much as she had been. They traveled straight through for most of the day, stopping to stretch their legs only once when Kuonji's complaints grew too loud. By mid afternoon he was dawdling, so they rode ahead after telling him that they were going to make sure the way was safe. Mikan was relieved when they could no longer see Kuonji behind them and she and Natsume were finally alone.