"Your majesty? Your majesty? Wake up. Your going to be late." said a voice.

"What?!" I yelled as I leaped out of my bed.

Arion jumped back. I must have scared him. I looked at the time and I still had an hour until we had to leave.

"I still have an hour. Why did you say I was going to be late?" I asked.

"It is better to be early than late, your majesty." he replied.

I always hated how Arion would come up with silly saying to mock me. Though sometimes they worked and were true, they were annoying. Arion would also help me alot too. I guess he wasn't so bad.

"Is something wrong, your majesty?" Arion asked me.

"What do you mean?" I was very confused.

"Your smiling." He laughed.

I threw a pillow at him. I wasn't in the mood for his shannigans this morning. I would have thrown the lamp but then I wouldn't have an easily accessible source of light. I couldn't wait to get back to school and get my mind off of all this mess. Maybe school work would get that man's dreadful face out of my head.

"I'll be down in a few minutes and I won't be smiling. Ok?" I laughed.

Arion nodded and shut the door behind him as he left. I looked out the window and saw the castle grounds. It would be almost impossible for the man to penetrate the palace directly. It would also be very hard to get past my guards during the day when I would be going to school and returning as well. I didn't really have much to worry about I suppose.

I went down stairs just as I told Arion I would. I didn't see him around. I didn't care much though. I would probably see him later anyway. He would either be wondering in the kitchen, making the beds, or serving us dinner. I decided it didn't matter much to worry about it, so I made my way towards the door.

"Let me get that for you, your majesty." Arion had jumped in front of me and grabbed the door handle.

"Thanks." I replied.

Arion bowed. I walked to the limo and there were the guards outside the door as usual, standing there trying to intimidate anyone who would try to come into the doors of the palace. There were the guards in the limo too.

"Hurry, your majesty, or we are going to be late." said the limo driver, as he held the limo door open for me.

"Good evening, gentlemen!" I said and jumped inside, happily.

Everything was going great and it would be a great day. I waited and became impatient because it seemed as if traffic was going very slow. I knew that even that wouldn't stop the limo driver. He was known for schedule and he wouldn't let his reputation be ruined from this little problem. The driver decided to take back roads so that we would not be late. He had succeeded. I was there ten minutes early. I got out without even letting the driver open the door for me. I was to anxious to get into the school and let my mind clear from all the things that had happened over the last few days.

"Koda!" yelled a voice from behind me.

I whirled around and saw the girl who had caught me that day before I left. It was Emiko Hanada. She was running toward me. I thought it would be best to just stay where I was. Emiko stopped in front of me.

"Hello, Miss Hanada." I said. I know it sounded formal but she wasn't someone that I had become completely familiar with yet.

"Hey Koda. How are you feeling. I saw the magazines and heard what Miu had to say. Is it true? Did you really get shot?" she was really close to my face now. Her expression was full of curiousity.

"Um... Yes. I did. It's mostly healed now though." I said.

"They made you wear a sling? It looks like you have a broken arm. Why did they make you wear that thing?"

"Doctor said that it would help prevent the stitches from tearing."

"Oh. Well I'm pretty sure President Miu wants to see you. She was worried about. All the girls were, including me. Do the stitches hurt?"

"Only when this stupid jacket causes my shirt to rub against it." I replied. I could tell she was staring straight at my arm the entire time.

"You can take the jacket off. If anyone asks, you can just tell them exactly what you told me. Whoever bandaged your arm didn't do a very good job of it. Anyway, I believe that we should get to class. We only have three minutes."

"We?" I asked.

"Yes we. I'm in the same class you know. I sit right in front of you."

"Oh. I didn't know that. I must have not been paying attention."

"That's ok. Now, come on. We're going to be late if we don't hurry." she said.

I followed her because I still could not remember where my classes were. I planned to follow Miu after the first though. Emiko looked back and saw that I was right behind her. I tried to keep up with her but one of my books fell out of my bag. I grabbed it but when I looked up, Emiko was so far away that, If i didn't catch up to her soon, I would lose her. She turned a corner and I followed. I finally got up to the corner too but she wasn't there anymore. My only chance now was to peek into the classrooms to figure out which one was mine. I looked in the first room but Miu and Emiko weren't there. I had no luck with the second room either. I was almost to the third room and Emiko popped her head out of the door.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

"What? Oh. Yeah."

I got in just in time. The bell had rang just a few seconds after I walked in. The teacher was talking about boring things, so I just ignored her. I sat in the back, so she didn't pay much attention to me. I looked to my right and Miu was right there. Then, I remembered how Emiko told me that she was in my class. I looked at the seat in front of me and there she was.

"Mr. Kōzoku?" the teacher said.

"What was the question?" I asked and the room was filled with laughter.

"Mr. Kōzuku, if you would pay attention, you would know what I asked you." she said with annoyance.

She called on Miu and she answered the question correctly, of course. It was hard to pay attention to the teacher when there was so much on my mind already. I looked at the clock and we only had fifteen more minutes until the next class. I started to draw different pictures in my notebook. Before I knew it, the bell had already rang. I started to follow Miu.

"How many pages of notes did you get?" she asked.

"Notes? You mean we were supposed to take notes?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't hear her say that. I wasn't paying much attention at all." I laughed.

"You can borrow my notes. Just try to rephrase from of the lines, ok?"

"Got it." I replied.

She handed me her notes and we went off to our next class. Azami was in the next class but Emiko wasn't. I was very bored and the morning went by very slowly. By lunch break, I felt like I was going to fall asleep.

"Hey Koda. Are you feeling alright? You haven't even touched your food." Azami said.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just a little tired. That's all. I was up late doing homework last night." I replied.

"Well, if your not going to eat, maybe you should copy down those notes." Miu laughed.

"Won't that just make him even more tired?" Emiko said as she walked toward the table.

I laughed. Miu looked annoyed when Emiko sat down at the table. It was good to be back at school. I know it sounds weird but it beats sitting at home all day.

"This day is going so slow." I said, as I leaned my head back against the chair and I closed my eyes.

I think that they thought I was asleep because they talked to each other as if I weren't there.

"He looks like he's been awake for days. I don't think that staying up late for a few hours doing homework would make someone look like that." Emiko said.

"We don't know what he went through. I can't even imagine how scary that must have been." Miu said, dramatically.

"Me either. Why would someone want him dead anyway?" Azami asked.

"I don't know. I just hope they don't come back a second time." said Miu.

I never liked people worrying about me or having sympathy for me. It made me angry. I opened my eyes and got up out of my chair. The chair almost tipped over. The girls jumped. I picked up my bag and walked away. I could feel them still watching me as I walked away. I felt bad afterwards. I was almost acting as if what they said was true. I don't think I would be scarred for life and it wouldn't change me. I wouldn't let it. If the press hadn't published that story, I could have just said I broke my arm or something small like that but nothing was ever that easy. I started to remember where half of the rest of my classes were for the rest of the day. I kept a distance from each of the girls, so that I wouldn't have to talk to them. I knew the rest of the day would still go very slow and of course, it did. We got out early and I went over to the fountain and sat on the edge. My arm was starting to hurt again. I decided to start copying down the notes that notes that Miu gave me.

"Hey Koda? Are you alright?" I looked up and saw Emiko again.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I replied.

"That's good. I'm sorry if we made you upset."

"You didn't make me upset. I just remembered that I needed to do something. I was just angry that I hadn't done it when I was supposed to." I said.

"Oh, ok." she said.

It was very apparent that she didn't believe me. The front gates of the school began to open and all the limos came in. I saw mine immediatly.

"I got to go. See ya." I said.

"Wait." Emiko grabbed my arm.

"What?"

"If you need anyone to talk to, I'm always here." she said.

"Alright. Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

"No problem." she let go of my arm and waved to me.

I smiled and made my way to limo. The driver opened the door for me. Of course, he looked impatient again. I didn't care. He was being payed to do this. It wasn't like he had another person to pick up. He just liked to be on time because then, sometimes, my father would give him a raise. The driver got to the palace on the exact minute he always estimated it to be. I started to walk towards the door and saw Arion there holding the door open for me. I wondered if maybe it made me look weak that I always had people doing things for me. I knew I could open a door for myself. I had the door opened for me so many times that I laughed. I thought it would be funny if I had completely forgotten how to open the door.

I went to my father's study again first. I knocked on the door and he told me to come in.

"How was school?" he asked.

"Fine."

"Who was that girl that the driver told me about?"

"Emiko Hanada. She is just a friend. I don't know much about her." I said.

"Emiko Hanada, huh?"

"Yeah." I replied.

"Did you know that she does not come from a wealthy family at all?"

"What?"

"She is a commoner. She got into Koboyashi Academy through her grades. They saw potential in her and decided to make an acception. Koboyashi Academy doesn't only have famous boys and girls in it. There are quite a few commoners in that school too." he said.

"I didn't know that."

I felt bad for Emiko. I would never tell her because then, maybe she might not feel like an equal to us. I know that sounds very selfish.

"Interesting, isn't it?"

"Yeah...... Well I got homework to do. See you at dinner."

I walked down the hall and into the kitchen. I saw many of the chefs preparing dinner but Arion wasn't there. I don't know why exactly I was looking for him anyway.

"Wait. Why am I even looking for that fool?" I asked.

"Your majesty? Your talking to yourself again." Porcia sang, as she danced down the hall.

I walked into my bedroom and flicked the light switch up but the light didn't turn on. I couldn't see much. The door was behind a wall leading into my room so that didn't give me much light. I went into the next room beside mine and grabbed a flashlight out of the drawer. I walked back into the bedroom and I saw that my closet door had been opened. There was a small cracking noise coming from inside. I started to move closer to the closet. All of the sudden, a shadow figure had fallen from the top of my closet. I yelped.

"Sorry!" someone coughed.

I pointed the flashlight towards the figure. It was Arion, rubbing the back of his head.

"What in the world were you doing up there and.... Where did you come from exactly?' I asked.

"There is an opening in the top of your closet. One of the wires from your bedroom light snapped and I was fixing it. Unfortunatly, the flashlight I had died and when I heard someone come in I thought I should see who it is but I couldn't tell where the opening was and walked blindly into it. I will admit it was not the smartest decision but I found out who it was. Welcome back, your majesty." He said laughing.

"Are you injured?" I asked, "From the way it looks, it seems you hit your head."

"No. I'm fine."

"Arion? Your bleeding." I laughed.

"Oh. Well would you look at that." he said, looking at his blood stained glove with curiosity.

"Porcia?!" I yelled.

"Yes, your majesty?" she walked in.

"Could you fix Arion up? He hurt his head. It seems he didn't remember that I have a lamp too." I said with irritation in my voice.

"Of course." Porcia bowed.

"Thank you, Arion, but I think that is enough for tonight. I will have an electrician called in the morning." I said.

Porcia and Arion walked out of the room and I could hear Porcia asking Arion about what happened. I wondered if she thought I had done it. There was no point to worrying now though.

I walked back into my bedroom and turned my lamp on. I didn't have a book to read and I didn't have anything much to do. Then I remembered. It was only seven o'clock. I still had to eat dinner but sleeping sounded better.

"Koda!" my mother yelled.

I jumped. She was standing in the door way.

"I'm sorry." she laughed, "It's time for dinner. We have a guest this evening."

"I'll be there in a second." I said.

I turned my lamp off and she tripped over a box that was sitting on the floor. I laughed but didn't really think anything of it. I followed her into the hallway. She laughed for a second and then stayed quiet.

"Thank you so much, your majesty. I can't even begin to thank you enough." said a voice from the dining room.

I recognized that voice. I heard it almost everyday. It was Azami.

"I hope I'm not that much of a bother to you and your family, your majesty." she said.

"Not at all. Think nothing of it." said my father.

My father let out one of his great jolly laughs. I could tell that the maids were laughing at him. When my father would laugh, it would cause everyone in the room to laugh..

"Azami?" I said in disbelief.

"Hey Koda. What's up?" she laughed.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?" I asked.

My father laughed again which caused my mother to laugh along with him.

"Azami's parents are going away for awhile and they just wanted to make sure she was safe. The palace is the safest place she could be in on the entire continent." my father said.

"I don't know if I would agree." I whispered to myself.

"What?"

"Huh? Oh. Nothing."

"Your talking to yourself again your majesty." Porcia said as she walked past me.

"Where do you keep coming from?" I laughed.

I finally decided to sit down. Azami didn't seem to comfortable during dinner. I wondered if she thought I was mad at her. I did treat her and the others badly at school. She didn't talk much which I thought was kind of interesting. She was a big talker. Maybe she was just a little nervous because she had never met the king and queen before. It seemed that dinner was taking forever. Finally, after and hour, we were all finished.

"Koda? Why don't you show our guest to the spare room near yours?" said father.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Sure." I replied.

I looked at Azami and then started to walk away. She followed close behind me. I didn't understand why she looked so amazed by the palace. She had come here before.

"You look like you've never seen a hallway before." I laughed.

"I have. It's just that I guess I've never seen a house this huge for just three people. I had come here when you were hurt but I didn't really pay attention much." Azami said.

I stopped right in front of the guest room where I had gotten the flashlight from earlier. Azami ran into me.

"Well, here's your room. If you need anything, either ask one of the maids or I'll be right down stairs."

"Thank you." she smiled.

I don't think I had ever seen Azami that nice before. She seemed very excited. Azami shut the door and I started to walk down the hall.

"Hey, Koda!" Azami yelled.

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind studying a little later tonight for the english test tomorrow?" she asked.

"Sure. Let me know when your ready."

I smiled at her and then began making my way down the hall again. It was a little weird having her staying at my house but I guess it didn't matter. Her parents were out of town and she needed somewhere to go. I walked into the dining room but it looked like no one was in there anymore. Instead, I went to my father's study again. That was one place he would always be in. I knocked and the door and he told me to come in.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Why did you want Azami to stay in the room next to mine? There are plenty of other guest bedrooms in other parts of the castle."

"I thought it would be better. If anything would happen, you would hear it. Your mother doesn't want me to tell you this but some of the guards had caught sight of someone lurking around the palace grounds after hours. They didn't catch them but security has gotten even tighter. I think that if anything would happen you would be able to take care of it. If only one of the servants had heard it, they probably wouldn't be able to do anything." he replied.

"What do you think they want?" I asked.

"I don't know. There could be many of them lurking about. Right now, all that matters is the safety of the inhabitants of the palace. Just keep an eye on Azami. Make sure she is safe and protected at all times."

"I will." I nodded.

"Good. Now, make Azami feel at home the best you can, alright?"

"Yes, father."

I turned and walked out of the room. Everything was turning out to be a disaster. Although I hate to admit it, I was scared. More scared than I had ever been. Not only did I have to worry about my own life but now I had to worry about Azami's too? If anything happened and if I messed up, she could be gone forever.

"Koda? Are you alright?"

I jumped. It was just Azami again.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Are you ready to study?" I asked.

"Yes sir." She smiled.

I was just glad that for now, everything was okay.