Royalty comes with Pride

Chapter 4

"Spencer, I shall ask you for the last time. Are you in knowledge of your sister's whereabouts?" His father was the only one who had been seen around the castle since the guards found Yumiko's dress by the gate. He wanted to say so badly 'she's run away because of an issue I cannot speak of' but couldn't for her sake. "No, last time I saw her Princess Zoë was telling her she was a nuisance and always in the way." This mayn't have been strictly true, it had been around 2 months ago and his memory isn't that good.

His father looked distressed all the time and was always checking to see if there was an update on his daughter's absence. The only news they'd been informed of was a young woman had refused to remove her headscarf, but she hadn't been sighted in days. Spencer wanted to say she'd run away and not been taken but he'd promised her not to tell anyone about it. He wanted to know so badly where she was so he could help, just to do what they had done with Luna and Damien.

"Princess?" Yumiko's head whipped round at the sound of that title but couldn't see anyone around, she was in the border area of the forest which separated their kingdom with another. She ignored it and continued walking around the trees, looking for one to stay the night in. "Princess." There it was again, she couldn't identify the gender and definitely not who it was so, again, pretended she didn't hear anything and continued walking. This happened again a few times before there was a rustle of leaves before someone took hold of her wrist. "Yumiko. What are you doing out here?" Luna.

"Do not ignore me son, do you know anything about your sister?" Spencer came back out of his zoned out state to hear dis father begging for any piece of information possible. "We're trying our best but she hasn't been found. Do you know anything ? Like her favourite place outside of the castle? Or if she knew anyone from the village and could be staying with them?" The urge was so strong it was a mental struggle not to say exactly everything he knew. But he had made a promise and wasn't the person to turn against their word so shook his head and rejected the idea of him knowing anything about Yumiko's absence.

"What do you want." She was trying to make it clear she didn't want Luna here but the girl refused to leave. "Why did you run away? You're putting yourself in danger and I-" she was cut off by the runaway pushing her against the nearest tree and put her face very close to the criminal's. "It isn't your job to care. Not anymore. So leave me alone and don't rat my position out to the guards." With that said she released Luna and left before another word could be said. It was only then that she realised she was walking towards the side entrance to the castle that she and Spencer used to see Damien and her. Upon hearing guards marching around the grounds nearby she was about to leave for her safety but couldn't help overhearing something nearby.

"Zoe forget this, I don't care if our Kingdoms need an alliance they can get one another way. I'm breaking off the marriage." The runaway could hear sobbing from behind her in the entrance area to the hidden garden she had been sleeping in since she left. But it darkened even more when Yumiko felt a hand on her shoulder, followed by a voice saying "Can't escape us this time, whoever you are."

She wanted to scream or shout, Spencer would hear her and help. Right? But she couldn't, if the guards knew she knew Spencer's he'd get in trouble so she had to stay quiet. The guard led her through unfamiliar passages and tunnels under the castle until she was stood in a large, circular room with cells all around the outside. As she was led to an empty cell she saw people in the ones she passed, these are the most wanted criminals. She could spot serial killers, rapists and more highly dangerous people everyone had slowly forgotten about. The hand pushed her into a cell and locked behind her. "You're staying here until we figure out exactly what you've done with the princess." He turned and left.

Going from Royalty to runaway was something, but now criminal, this isn't what she'd signed up for.

"B-but Prince, what d-did I do wrong?" Zoe was sobbing from finding out the truth. She'd come upon Spencer spending time with Damien and heard the words of love exchanged between the two, truly heartbreaking as she thought he'd been cheating on her. "But to break loyalty I would have had to be loyal in the first place, Zoe I apologise but I love another and you can't stop that." He felt bad for not realising how much this arrangement meant to her but she couldn't expect him to love her the second they met, Spencer hoped she'd understand just because she was Royalty doesn't mean you get everything you wanted. Her expression changed from heartbroken to guilt. "It's because I made your sister run away, isn't it." The boys were in shock, Spencer had kept to his word and not told anyone about Yumiko running away.

"How did you find out?" He was generally curious as to how she knew, Damien on the other hand was still wide eyed in shock from the news. "I saw her in the village, dressed as a peasant. And over there with a guard who looks like he's going to arrest her." Spencer's head whipped around just to see nothing from the spot of which Zoe had been looking at, when he looked back she shrugged and finally Damien found his voice. "Yumiko ran away?" The royals looked at him, he didn't know how to react to this, one of his bestest friends had abandoned their life of luxury entirely out of heartbreak and / or whatever happened between the two Princesses. Spencer nodded and the two others knew he was trying to keep tears back.

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Three months passed since Yumiko was taken in by the guards, but finally they decide to force the information out of her.