Ashley had come to consider the halls, chambers, rooms, and gardens of the Harem as her home and knew almost every inch of it. But the rest of the palace was basically a mystery to her. She didn't like stepping out of the Harems comforting hold but she knew she couldn't stay rooted within it. The female guards and attendants of the Harem were familiar to her, they didn't give her curious stares when she walked by. But everywhere else, there always seemed to be eyes watching her every step. She knew most of them didn't mean harm in looking, they probably couldn't help it. After all, she stood out way too much in her colorful half saris and foreign looks. It was horrible for a naturally shy and antisocial person like her, the thought of messing up in front of them would constantly plague her to no end which would eventually cause her to actually mess up (like once when she tripped UP a stairwell and almost fell flat on her face). She figured if she showed herself more, people would get more used to her (and she to them). So that was what she spent the last few days doing, going around the palace and trying to familiarize herself with everything. Once again, she was at awe at the sheer size and vast space within the palace. Ashley was horrible with directions and if it wasn't for Miyu san, she would have definitely gotten completely lost. Her current obsession was with the Royal Garden of the Northern wing, especially the beautiful moon bridge that arched over a large pond. Whenever she visited, she would sit at the bridges edge and let her feet dangle above the water. Currently, she was doing just that, her big toe just grazing the surface of the water as she let her thoughts wander.

The first month in the palace, when her princess training had just began, no one mentioned her fiance around Ashley. It was as if everyone was carefully tiptoeing their way around the topic and she was grateful for it. She was already overwhelmed with trying to get used to her new lifestyle that if someone were to mention her fiance, she would probably have a mental breakdown. A passing thought of him would float into her mind at times but since he had never appeared before her, it was easy to ignore his existence (at least for a little while longer). It was during the midpoint of her training that she had finally convinced herself to find out more about her fiance, assured that she could take it in. When she had asked her Okaa san how he was, the empress gave her a sheepish look, “He has a very… peculiar personality”. It was the first time Ashley had seen the empress look unsure of herself and she didn't know what to make of the word ‘peculiar’. Was that a good or bad adjective, not to mention how vague the word was? The emperor had sensed her confusion when he cleared his throat to speak up. “Our eldest son is the heir to the throne and has always taken his position very seriously since he was young. And perhaps it's because he's had so much on his shoulders that he comes off as very… cold to those who don't know him” he said. The empress nodded her head, a sad look washing over her face as she looked off into the distance at nothing specific. “He grew up too fast. He always makes sure to never let us worry about him and keeps everything to himself…” she stated, her voice tinged with regret. “What we mean is…” the emperor quickly followed, snapping his wife out of her thoughts, “...that it's best to be be very patient when dealing with him. Just as you were, he too was very opposed to this engagement. He still is...”. Ashley nodded, folding her hands in front of her as she absorbed this new information. From what her in-laws said, she knew her fiance was not an easy person to deal with. He seemed stubborn and that was not good at all. In order to not humiliate her parents in front of the rest of her family members, she had to successfully get married to him. But if her fiance was as bull-headed as she is, Ashley was going to have a difficult time convincing him. Her low self esteem whispered things at her every time she even thought about trying to seek out the prince. Why would he want to marry someone like her? An esteemed royal said to be one of the most brilliants minds in Asia, not to mention one of the best looking, and definitely the most capable? And with that thinking, any courage she had built up to approach the crown prince rocketed away faster than a bullet train.

With her intermediate princess training not as often as her basic training, Ashley was given plenty of gaps in her schedule for free time. But, unlike what others would think, she wasn't excited at all because more free time meant no more excuses to make when Veronica asked her why she didn't meet her betrothed yet. Okay, so she said to herself that she wasn't going to run away anymore but she just couldn't help it! Accepting to become the next ruler of a country and meeting the stranger she was engaged to were two different things! And clearly, the one she was more afraid of was the latter. If she didn't know herself better, she would call herself insane but Ashley knew she would have more of a hard time with her betrothed than any of her princess training. Love and marriage were difficult subjects for her - nearly impossible since she had written off both ideas a long time ago. When Veronica had asked her the other day why she was so reluctant to, in her words, “make a move”, Ashley could feel the darkest bits of her memories push forth. But she didn't like the bitter and almost numb comatose-like state they brought her every time she would dwell in them. So she did what most people did with their hidden skeletons, swept them under a rug and and didn't look. It was easier that way. But now reality was forcing her to poke at it again and eventually, a poke wouldn't be enough. Soon she would have to clean out the rug and face her demons.

She just didn't know how.

Ashley sighed, watching fishes of different colors and shapes gather around below her, curious of their new intruder. ‘Why wasnt I born as a fish?’ she thought, pouting. She was startled out of her moping when a shadow fell across her body. Wondering why her attendants had not announced anyone's name to alert her of the arrival, she quickly turned behind her. Squinting into the sunlight she was greeted by a figure in light blue, holding up a intricately designed silk fan. Hiding her struggle to rise from her position with her skirt hung heavy around her ankles, she straightened her posture and went into what she like to call her “hime* mode”. A princess should not allow anyone to look down on her (both figuratively and literally). The first thing she noticed when the suns gleam faded was how pretty this person was, even with most of their face hidden. Their shoulder length hair was silky with a section of it tied back and curved eyes peeked out from behind their silk fan. Their posture was relaxed but not too much, just enough to exuded an air of effortless grace. ‘I didn't know there was another princess!’ she thought, internally panicking about an abrupt meeting with her surprise sister-in-law. But it was only until the fan was folded with a swish of the wrist and a full face appeared that Ashley felt her feeling of panic turn into near delirium when she was about to topple into the lake below. 

It was with the collision of a firm chest that she came to the conclusion that nope, NOPE this was not a sister-in-law! Straightening herself as quickly as possible, she adjusted her expression to something much more dignified. “Thank you” she said (‘And SO sorry for mistaking you as a girl!’ she thought privately), inclining her head to a small tilt, just as she was taught if she were to greet other royals or nobles around her age. She had a growing suspicion she knew the identity of this person and only needed something to confirm it. The young MAN gave her a small smile, a spark of amusement in his eyes as he tilted his head in greeting as well, “It was no problem but I was surprised to meet my Aniki*s fiance like this”. ‘Oh fantastic, just as I thought! He's the youngest prince and my future brother-in-law!’ she thought, feeling even more ashamed. Great, she almost took a swan dive into the pond in front of him, he had to rescue her, and she thought he was girl! Why was she so bad at this?! Plastering a calm smile to her face, she replied “Despite the circumstances, Im very pleased to finally meet His Majesty”. The Princes smile widened, “Ah, I see Tetsuya sensei etched those manners into you. I just hope it's not too imprinted that the Young Highness would deny me of going on a stroll with my new little sister”. Pleasantly surprised, Ashley couldn't hold down the slight tilt of her lip or the immense relief that filled her. “Oh how could I dare to ever deny such a simple request from his His Young Majesty?”. And just like that, the ribbon was cut. It was refreshing to slightly loosen the hold of her “hime mode”. They walked around the palace, with Prince Imai being the guide, and she enjoyed his rambles filled with memories of youth and nostalgia. “And this is where Aniki and I first learned our stark differences in the enjoyment of swords” he said as they walked into a vast courtyard. She was a bit apprehensive coming here for it led to the areas of the palace she had dared not approach yet; the Eastern and Southern wings. They were her hazard zones, each painted with a neon yellow warning sign in her head. The Eastern Wing was where both of the Princes chambers were, while the Southern Wing was where Her Royal Highness Empress Dowager* resided. Her stomach felt like a five pound weight was dropped in it as they walked closer and closer to the edge of the entrance. Ashley wasn't that naive to not know that her fiance was isolating himself in his chambers. She had never seen him by chance while roaming the halls, not a single glimpse and she doubted he stepped out the East Wing since her arrival.

He was avoiding her.

He didn't want to see her… just as much as she didn't want to see him.

“So he likes using swords?” she muttered absentmindedly, feeling a bit ridiculous that she was learning about her fiance from everyone BUT him.”He loves it. It's how he spends what little free time he has and his precious sword is always at his hip wherever he goes” Imai said, respect for his brother evident in his voice.”But Im more of a fan man myself” he gives her a cheeky grin, snapping his fan open in a grand flourish and Ashley laughed out loud. “Oh really, I couldn't tell” she replied sarcastically, wondering when was the last time she had actually laughed like this. It would be her first time since she had come here, she thought, once again grateful for receiving such a wonderful brother-in-law.

But the more wonderful her in-laws were, the more she couldn't help but think that the universe was preparing her for a horrible husband.

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*Hime: Princess in Japanese

*Aniki: Respected term for older brother in Japanese

*Empress Dowager: The Emperors Mother and former Empress

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PART 2 IS ALREADY POSTED! >>>>

SO sorry for the long wait! College and work takes up a lot of my time but please be rest assured that I wont be gone for too long! Thank you so much for being patient and I hope you enjoy my double update!