10, 12
On his way to bring Sir Alan lunch, His Majesty passed Tamotsu, and his eyes lit up at the sight. "Oh, Tamotsu! I have a request for you, if you would hear me out?" Tamotsu quickly bowed as low as he could manage, and nodded, knowing that a request from royalty was only a polite demand you could not refuse. "Ah, thank you. I'd like you to follow around my youngest daughter when you can spare the time. She's been getting into some problematic situations and I'd like someone her age with a sensible mind to keep her out of trouble." The young king smiled and reached out, pulling Tamotsu up from the bow. "And you know formalities are not needed between residents of the castle. We live under the same roof, we should not have to bow every moment we pass by." Tamotsu shyly nodded, quickly accepting the request and continuing his way towards the Arena, where Sir Alan waited for the food that was quickly getting cold.
Tamotsu would not get the chance to join the Princess on an adventure until a few days afterwards, when Tamotsu caught her sneaking out of the West Wing Exit. She was heading for the city. Stepping in front of her, and giving a quick bow, he muttered, "Your father wishes me to accompany you, Your Highness," whilst holding a hand out for her to take. Mist scoffed, pushing him to the side.
"There's no need. I don't require protection." She tried to step harder to make herself sound more intimidating. Tamotsu managed to stifle his laughter.
"Then think of me as a friend, or a-"
"A sidekick! You're my new sidekick, and I shall call you Tamo. That's a funny name, Tamo..." His eyes widened in surprise as she took his outstretched hand, leading him away into the bustling city. "I've always wanted a sidekick."
"A... Sidekick." Mist nodded and led him through the narrow streets, towards the marketplace.
"Yep!" She poked the pendant he wore on his coat. "Your father raised you in the bad part of the city, right? You know how to blend in with the people there. I need your help to blend in." Tamotsu grew concerned, his eyes narrowing.
"Why would you want to blend in with the slums?" She huffed and pulled him into a small clothing shop.
"I want to fit in with them, and figure out what they truly need. I can't fix anything if they see I'm a Princess and don't want to ruin their image to me. So, I want to find out myself and fix it." She ran her fingers through the rough cloth on display.
"That is very noble of you, Your Highness." She glances back at him.
"Will you help me?"
"Of course." Swiftly, he eyed the assortments of cloth with a trained eye, picking two basic tunics from the selection. "I wish you had told me earlier. I have clothes of my own we could've used."
"I want something to keep." Tamotsu laid the garments on the salesman's table, digging in his pocket for his monthly spending money.
"I have clothes of my own you could've kept, Your Highness. The things I own are yours." He places extra on the table and told the salesman he'd like to keep their presence a secret, and to use their changing rooms temporarily,. The salesman glanced down at the extra coins in amusement, before nodding.
"They shouldn't be." Tamotsu led Mist to the changing rooms, the salesman following their movement with curious eyes.
"Everything I own was given to me because of you and your family. I owe my life to your father's kindness, and therefore will never refuse your wishes, even if they are to own something of mine, Your Highness." Mist took one of the tunics and headed into one of the stalls. Tamotsu took the stall next to hers.
"Stop calling me that, you'll blow our cover." The tunic was rough against her skin, and she quickly missed her gown, as impractical as it was. She stuffed the gown in her traveling bag and left the stall.
"As you wish." Tamotsu had already finished, his page uniform folded neatly and attached to his undershirt, hidden quite nicely by the tunic. He helped Mist put a belt around her hips, and he roughened up the material with rocks and dirt. Soon, they were off to explore, and they first explored the better-looking areas. Tamotsu introduced her to the people he knew: the baker, the candle maker, and blacksmith. He told them she was his distant cousin, and it worked well enough. The lower district was next, where they played with the other children. Lastly was the slums; Tamotsu pretended to not notice the shocked expression of the princess beside him.
He watched as she explored on her own accord, using her unfailing curiosity and strange wit to figure out the dusted and rudimentary ways of the area. She wrote notes in her brain, cataloging the images of crumbling buildings and shacks made of old wood and thin cotton sheets. After only a while in the area, the wilted surroundings soon became the least of her worries- She played with the children, discussed maturely with the adults, poking and prodding with natural ease to get the information she wanted. When the light faded from the sky, Tamotsu led her back to the shop to change back into their clothes, and they slid back into the castle just in time for dinner.
The next time his Majesty passed Tamotsu in the hallway, the mighty king slipped a few gold pieces and a rare type of candy into Tamotsu's pocket. He decided to give the candy to his little sister and use the money to get his mother a new coat.
11,13
On a foggy September evening, Tamotsu was heading towards the kitchen to fetch Sir Alan's meal, as he always did in the evenings. As he strolled, he passed by Princess Mist, who stood silently by a hallway window. Concerned, he moved to stand beside her, his mouth opening to ask what was wrong,
"Something doesn't feel right. The dreams... Something awful is going to happen..." The marks of the gods she had forgotten to cover, placed on the backs of her hands and forehead, gleamed softly in the dark shade of night. For the first time in knowing her, Mist suddenly looked... Regal, the true princess she was. A brief image flashed into Tamotsu's eyes: of Mist, eyes wide with terror, her face already tense with worry lines, even though she couldn't be older than 14.
Tamotsu never thought of himself as a very hopeful person, but that day, he hoped with all his heart that Mist was wrong.
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