Messenger

Chapter 12

Well, this is really bad, Maika thought as she rushed through the back halls. They had all known that King Howard would be at their doorstep soon, but now they were left with a single hour to finish up preparations and Maika had yet to inform Flower of this change. All the people that knew of this (and that was practically everyone at this point) was left running around like a chicken with their head cut off. Suffice to say, it was not a good time.

It certainly wasn't helped by the fact that Flower liked to be in one of the more out of the way areas of the palace. Maika understood why, but that didn't matter in the face of her having to haul down to the servant quarters and hope that "Her Majesty" was there. She had been spending much more time in that area, so chances were good, but not 100%.

When Maika did enter, she was met with a very warm scene. She almost felt bad about needing to break it up. Before her was Flower and Piko sitting on either side of the small runner, Oliver, at a table placed by the mail slots for others to write quick messages only now it was being used for an impromptu writing lesson. They guided his hand as he printed out letters in tilted handwriting under a set of gently scripted ones. He appeared unsure, but the two beside him encouraged him that it was fine if it wasn't perfect and that he shouldn't expect to get this exact the first time. Maika had to admit, it was very cute, but what wasn't cute was getting reprimanded for being late.

She cleared her throat, causing the trio to realize that she was there. "I hate to interrupt, but King Howard will be here very soon and you both need to clean up before then." She tried to not let her nervousness shine through. If Maika was shown to be nervous then that would put Flower on edge too.

"So, how much time do we have?" Flower asked tensely.

"About an hour, so I recommend we hurry."

The two nodded and Piko turned to the other boy. "Sorry 'bout this. You could try doing some of the letters by yourself and see what you can do without our help?"

"Ok, but just make sure to check them later. I don't want to be practicing the wrong thing." Oliver answered.

"Sounds good. With luck, we won't be gone long."

Maika definitely hoped for that, but the odds were low. She gave an apologetic look to Ollie and pushed the others out the door knowing that those two being unprepared for the task ahead would only make this all run longer. Plus, she assured Yohio that she could handle getting them ready by herself and she didn't want to make him worry.

Piko was left by Len and a group of other guards to get him into some official uniforming that was deemed unnecessary until now. They had been briefing him on procedures and the way he was "supposed to act" as a guard to the crown for the past week and a half and Maika would be lying if she said that he was completely ready. He normally wouldn't need all of this considering how lax his position was, but at the time being, good presentation was everything.

Speaking of which, Flower glared at the get up laid on her bed. It looked out of place among her relatively simple (in comparison to other nobles) room that now had a pile of quilts and blanket off to the side for someone who should be standing guard at night but was instead invited in for sleep. Once again, neither Maika nor Yohio minded though it was clear that when this light job was over, this would not be the last time they saw the semi albino. He's going to be a large part of getting Flower through this without her yelling at officials and as much as she hated to admit it, Yohio was right to let Piko stay here.

Okay, Maika's train of thought veered wildly off track. She didn't expect to get so attached to these pains in the neck, but that was not what she should be considering right now. "I get that this dress looks like a torture device in your eyes but,---"

"We need to keep up a good appearance or else the world will burn down." Flower finished.

"Something like that." They shared a knowing glance for their situation. They understood that as much as they wanted to stop all of this and go take a nap, they knew that the best way to get through everything was to get it over with.

The mutual agreement left them to put Flower together to the best of their abilities. She had a lavender gown that bellowed out with drapes of fabric meant to be laid over a frame; Flower's worst nightmare. It all followed classic upper-class dressing standards trying to give the effect that this was the picture of a model princess that totally doesn't want to kick your shins. Granted that was far from the truth, but King Howard didn't need to know that.

"End me, please. I'll probably mess up our deal just because I whacked someone with my skirt." She complained, swimming in the overwhelming amount of material.

"I wouldn't put it past you. Now, I would love to stick around and help you not be too sulky, but I need to freshen up as well." Maika went over to the door. "I trust that you'll brush down your hair and all of that."

Flower nodded. "Yes, mom. I've got this."

"Ok." She hurried out. This was not the time to get flustered, despite how Maika and Yohio have in a sense been her parents for the last three years.

On the other hand, this was when Flower truly realized what she said. Heck. She dragged her comb through her unruly hair that was a lost cause. Honestly, this whole thing seemed like that. There was no way that this power hunger king would knock it off if he got to see a castle even if it was a "show of good faith."

She was about as ready as she could be or at least cared to be. Her guardians had been very clear about what she needed to do; stomach her urge to punch this guy and be nice. It didn't sound that hard, but Flower couldn't stop the thought that this was the person keeping everything at a standstill and Flower trapped inside. How was she supposed to keep her cool around that?

"Hey Flower, are you ready?" Piko called from outside the door.

"Yeah." She really hoped so.

Flower couldn't fully believe the sight in front of her. Piko actually looked put together. Not that he looked like a mess before, but he always was a little loose around the edges because he didn't care to fix it. Now, that was long gone with a carefully fitted coat in dark blue material that fell just above his knee with an embroidered patch signifying his rank and a cleaner version of his normal pants and shirt ensemble. Even the front part of his hair was tied back neatly.

"Is this ok? Len said that I needed to look professional and not like I just stepped out of a dust storm."

Flower shot her eyes anywhere else but the person in question. "I think you're fine. I kinda thought they'd give you armor or something like that."

"Apparently, they didn't find it necessary. I just hope I won't have to use what they did give me." Piko showed the inside of his coat to reveal a small dagger latched to his side. "As much the week of instruction helped, I don't think I could do anything in a fight."

"Eh. I could just hit an attacker with the fencing attached to my waist and we'll be out of there in no time."

Piko smiled. "Then I have nothing to worry about."

As nice as this was, there was still a job to do. "Since we have everything at least kind of set here, we should get going." Flower noted with a touch of bitterness.

"You're right." He agreed. "Just tell me if you need help."

"Ok. You can talk to me too." She didn't know how much she could help, but it was worth mentioning. What she did know was that Piko had no clue what he was about to get into.

This isn't the longest chapter I've done, but it's something. More stuff was supposed to happen, but I decided that a little bridging chapter would be a good idea. Next up, plot shenanigans. Stay tuned.

-TheLavenderNarwhal