Stolen

Tamao peered through the key hole of her fiancé's door. The prince was scratching his head in embarrassment while his tutor stared at him with an irritated look. It seemed that Yoh had failed again to respond correctly to his personal maid's queries. Had she been there, she could have instantly whispered the answers to him. Tamao had wanted to spend time with her Yoh but old Queen Kino's warning against her interference with the prince's study session was keeping her from barging into the room. She was afraid of the former queen of Kasai ever since she was young. She did not wish to be on her bad side and so she could do nothing but to wait outside the room for the session to be over. Yet she must continue to keep an eye on her fiancé before he becomes completely ensnared with that scheming blond girl called Anna.

Yoh and I are perfectly happy. Why did she have to come into our lives? Who is this Anna anyway?

"Who are you spying Tamao?" a playful voice whispered to her ear.

The pink-haired girl veered to the right to face and reprimand the intruder of her privacy but the narrowness of their gap had unexpectedly landed her lips into his.

A loud scream from behind the door had instantly brought the occupants of the room to their feet. The door swung open to reveal an alarmed Prince Yoh followed by a startled Anna whose worried expression quickly changed to annoyance when they found out the cause of the disturbance.

Tamao was repeatedly pounding and screaming on the bulky chest of Kouri's royal bodyguard, Tona who was shielding his flushed master from the frightened girl's blows.

"I'm sorry Tamao! I swear didn't mean to! Our faces were just too close!"

"That was my first kiss you moron! It was meant for Yoh and not for you!"

A number of palace maids and royal guards were already running towards the scene of the commotion.

"People, people, we can take things from here. This is just a minor misunderstanding," the king of Kouri grew even redder.

"It's alright guys, we can handle this," Prince Yoh tried to dispel the curious crowd.

"Don't drive them away, Yoh. They have to see how I would make this pervert pay!" Tamao angrily reached for King Horokeu's robes to no avail. Tona had successfully grabbed her arms.

"Argh! Let me go!" the pink-haired girl tried to scratch the bodyguard's cheeks.

"That's enough Tamao." With a commanding air, Old Queen Kino made her way through the small crowd. "That is unbecoming of a princess."

The pink-haired girl froze with shame and bowed her head down low in front of the former queen.

"I'm sorry your Majesty…."

The old queen ignored her and addressed the blond girl by the door, "Anna, please accompany my grandson and our guests to the royal garden. I have some business to finish here."

"That was quite a ruckus there," stated Prince Yoh as they walked along the stony path. He had to admit that his fiancé was way overboard but he couldn't help but pity her for he knew how severe his grandmother could get when it came to punishments. In fact, Anna reminded him so much of the old queen.

"I'm sorry if I kissed your fiancée," King Horokeu let out a sigh. His visit to Kasai after five long years had only produced a scandal. Tamao would not forgive him that easily. "…but it was just an accident!" He had a secret admiration for his friend's fiancée but it's not like he wanted to kiss her. There's only one girl he would have done it with though there would never be a chance to do it ever.

"It's okay Horo-Horo," the Kasai royal grinned at him.

"I couldn't believe you. Someone stole your future wife's first kiss from you and you are not bothered at all. Do you even love Tamao?"

"I prefer not to answer that."

"Or perhaps another woman has enamored my dear friend?" The tall king swung his right arm over the prince's shoulder and asked mischievously in a whisper, "Say Yoh, who is that lovely lady with you?"

The prince glanced at the blond girl quietly walking in front of them. "She's Anna, my tutor and personal maid…"

"You've got a personal maid? Wow, and I thought your brother is the only demanding royal blood in this kingdom."

Prince Yoh sighed. How come everybody's so surprised that I requested for one?

"But I envy you. I wish I had a cute girl to accompany me everywhere. Ever since I became king I'm stuck here with Tona."

"How is Pirika by the way?" Yoh asked changing the topic.

"Well, in the last five letters she wrote to me all she talked about was this certain prince who was getting on her nerves."

"Is he bullying her?"

"Not really. He was just completely ignoring her. According to her, he never talked to her or even acknowledged that she existed. When they were randomly paired for a school report, the prince had requested another person to switch partners with him. Those incidences that may mean nothing are what Pirika would babble about continuously. You know my sister, she's the sensitive type but I think it's just normal for that prince to treat her that way."

"Why? Do you know him personally?"

"No, but Pirika told me that he was the prince of Kaminari."