Shangri La Pt. 1

82: Missing

"You– You think she'll get the freedom she wants if I take her outta here?" 

Gin shrugged and answered with; "Won't know till you ask her."

And for some strange reason, hearing this all come from the Vice Captain clicked in the blond's brain to the point that he rushed to his stand on his feet. 

"What're you doing?" 

"I gotta go find her and tell her!" the blond yelled before running off. 

"Wha– Hey! That doesn't mean you can– Hah~ Seriously? When's he gonna learn that you can't rush love?"

( Meanwhile... )

After finishing their peaceful morning meal together, Shoto gave his Princess some fresh clean robes–just her size–to change into whenever she decided to change. 

"I need to do a checkup on my knights and see if they fared well after last night's events, will you be alright with me leaving you?" 

"Hmph– Of course, Shoto, and I do wish that when you're done, maybe you can accompany me for a stroll in the gardens?" Momo requested nervously. And without even having to think about it, the Prince knelt before her and pecked her forehead so effortlessly. 

"Ah–" 

"I'd love to do that." he answered, practically whispering. 

"U-Um, r-right! N-Now go on and tell your knights that I hope they enjoyed the festivities!" she stuttered. 

"Mmmh~ I could do that later and stay here longer with you." he sighed as he could only hug her and squeeze her in his arms.

"Ack! S-Shoto we mustn't! N-Not during the day!" 

"But the day's still young, we can continue where we left off." 

"Ah– B-But we're still not married yet, and the noise could be heard from outside if we aren't careful! I can't get my parents to be upset if we go too far when we're not married yet." Momo answered, only for her Prince to rest his head on top of her shoulder. 

"S-Shoto?" 

"Hah~ I suppose you're right, we still need to keep with tradition too, even if I enjoyed last night." 

"I e-enjoyed last night as well, but we're still an unmarried couple, so we must be careful." 

"Yes, you're right. Alright, then I will inspect my knights as fast as I can and meet you in the gardens afterwards." 

"Hmph, very good." she giggled as she couldn't help but lift his face off her shoulder and peck his cheek with such sweetness.

And soon, the Prince left his Princess in his chambers and rushed off to find the training grounds, leaving Momo to get dressed and still thinking about everything that happened the night before. Right as she was about to start putting on her clean robes did Momo find herself looking down at her body and seeing all the small red smudges on her skin and couldn't help blushing when thinking how this all happened. 

'Me and S-Shoto... we were together... all night long, and he kissed me... and my body. I never knew he'd have such a soft side to him towards someone like me. I... I'm so happy~~~' she thought as she could only hug her clean robes with excitement.

But it was clear that that happiness wouldn't last long, as there was a subtle knock at the door. 

"Hm? Someone's at the door, could it be Kyoka? Does she already know where I am and is going to escort me to the gardens? I must hurry and change then." Momo mumbled to herself as she made haste and dressed herself in all the layers of robes that she needed on.