Shirayukihime and The Lost Fox

Chapter 21: Stalker

Third POV

"The prince should know better than to let commoners inside the castle," Lord Haruka said as he leaned against the wall, nobody in sight. He vexed over the idea of the two commoners he had seen in the castle on numerous occasions. Though he knew they were official guests of the second prince, he detested that they were not of sufficient social standing. The prince was a fool to let them in.

The red haired girl would prove to be a nuisance. He had to get rid of her, quickly, before the prince fell for her schemes. She would have too many expectations of the prince, he thought bitterly.

And what about that strange boy? The one with the headband and oddly colored eyes? He seems dangerous, too. Lord Haruka has seen him practicing with the prince and his aides before, and he has reluctantly admitted that he has skill and potential with a sword. But he seems to be close with the prince, and that could not be allowed for a commoner. He could also become a threat. Lord Haruka knew the boy was highly attentive to his surroundings, seeing as he noticed the Lord so quickly.

Lord Haruka grimaced. They both needed to go. "Follow them," Lord Haruka spoke, "and keep an eye on the girl especially."

"And the boy?" a voice asked. The Lord was not alone, for there in the abiding tree sat a man dressed in tan clothes that blended well into the greenery. He was young, maybe being twenty-three and had peculiar eyes that reminded many of a cat.

Lord Haruka waved a dismissive hand. "He will almost always be with the red haired girl. Follow him if you wish." With that said, the Lord turned and began to leave.

The man smirked at the noble's words. He knew he had taken an interesting job if this noble wanted his work. This will be fun, the man thought giddily. "yes sir," he mumbled before disappearing from sight.

He quickly made his way to the roof of the castle where he had a perfect view inside of the room in which Shirayuki and Zen conversed. He pulled out his small pocket-sized telescope and places it to his eye. The prince had fallen asleep, and the young girl took a blanket and placed it over the prince. The man momentarily questioned why the girl would be a threat to the Lord who hired him, but dismiss the curiosity. This was a job, and he was going to be paid. He had no place to question the motives of his employers.

After it was made clear that the girl would do nothing more than sit and read her books, the man decided that he should leave and scope out the boy. He knew nothing of him, not even his employer, the noble, had given him much information on him. The Lord had just told him that he would most likely be training with the prince's aides or the royal guards, which the man found odd but didn't question his employer further.

"A boy who trains with soldiers," he mumbled to himself, smiling at the idea. "How interesting!"

Soon he found the training court, but couldn't see the boy anywhere. He huffs slightly before turning to leave when he heard one of the guards shout, "Hey guys! Cavalry is back!" He turns back to the scene, wondering what 'cavalry' could mean. In the center of the growing crowd of soldiers stood who he knew to be the prince's aides and a boy with sliver hair, his target.

After a moment or two of the guards talking to the boy and referring to him as Cavalry, Mitsuhide clapped his hands to get their attention. The guards scrambled into their formation as he announces, "Ready for a training session with Cavalry again?" The guards shout an affirmative answer, and the man couldn't help but feel amused. Cavalry? What kind of name is that?

The other aide, Kiki, steps forward and asks, "Alright, who's first?" To the surprise of the man, nobody volunteers to spar. After a moment, Kiki sighs and points to a guard. "Then you're first," she said flatly as she tosses a practice sword toward the guard. He sighs as he catches the sword, and his comrades snicker at his misfortune, peaking the man's curiosity. Why don't they want to spar with him if they were looking forward to this?