The path of happiness: Snow white with the red hair

Chapter 9: Reunited

Shirayuki sat in a chair next to a window and braced herself for the moment she had secretly wished for for five years... seeing Zen again.

When the doors to the throne room swung open and Zen and the others were in sight, Shirayuki's breath hitched in her throat.

  For the first time in five years, she was gazing upon her former lover. All the feelings that she had been suppressing came flooding back, and she had to resist the urge to throw herself into his arms.

She took in all that was Zen Wistaria, and internally sighed. After five years, Zen had grown even more handsome, and his appearance was more mature. Even with all his clothes on, Shirayuki could still make out his muscles which had definitely gotten more pronounced.

'Lord give me strength. He's even more gorgeous than before.' Shirayuki thought. Then she took notice of his eyes.

Zen's once vibrant crystal blue eyes, had a dull look to them. They had lost their light. A feeling of sadness took over Shirayuki, as she looked at the love of her life. Deep down, as much as she hated to admit it, she knew that she was the cause of the dullness of Zen's eyes. 'This is all my fault.'

"So, what brings you back to the castle so soon?" Raji questioned, bringing Shirayuki's attention back to reality and out of her guilty thoughts.

"Obi said that he forgot his Kunai's here. Apparently they were a gift from his mother." Zen responded.

  Shirayuki stifled a laugh behind her hand. 'Seriously? That's the best excuse he could come up with?' She thought in amusement.

Mitsuhide heard her slight snicker and looked in her direction, and Shirayuki immediately turned her head away, hoping that he hadn't gotten a good look at her face.

"Well, I haven't seen any Kunai's, but I'll keep an eye out for them." Raji responded thoughtfully.

At that moment, Zen seemed to realize something, and he turned to face Obi, who was attempting to look as inconspicuous as possible... but failing miserably.

"Obi, tell me something. Did you really leave Kunai's here or was this just a ploy to waste our time?" Zen asked, in an accusatory tone.

"Ooh, busted." Shirayuki mumbled.

Obi sweat dropped, and scratched the side of his face with his index finger, and avoided eye contact with Zen.

"I didn't lie exactly. There may not have been Kunai's left here, but I can assure you that I'm not trying to waste your time." He said nervously and Zen growled in annoyance.

"Then why don't you tell us the real reason, that you made us return here?" Zen demanded.

Shirayuki flinched at his tone. 'Was he always like this?'

"I-I. Um..." Obi stuttered, trying to think of a legitimate excuse. He wanted desperately to tell them all the truth. That he had made them come back to the castle so that Shirayuki and Zen could meet. But he knew that Shirayuki would never forgive him if she let it slip that he knew where she was. He knew that Shirayuki wanted to tell Zen herself, and that he shouldn't interfere.

Zen, Kiki, and Mitsuhide grew increasingly annoyed and suspicious towards Obi, who was flailing desperately. He had never lied to his friends before and he didn't like the way it made him feel.

Shirayuki sighed, and then looked up at Raji, who looked right back at her. Their eyes met, and Shirayuki knew what she had to do. She had to help her friend.

She cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention. They all looked at her. Obi took one look at Shirayuki's face, and smiled slightly in relief.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you had a guest Raji. I'll let you get back to it." Zen said as he turned to walk away.

Shirayuki started to panic. She couldn't let Zen walk away. She needed him in her life, now more than ever. She had to stop him from leaving if only she could just open her mouth to speak. But she was terrified.

Zen opened the door to leave, and Shirayuki knew it was now or never. So, she took a deep breath and spoke.

"Wait!" She shouted desperately, stopping Zen dead in his tracks. He turned to face her as she stood up and walked over to stand next to Obi.

She looked to Obi, who gave her a look of encouragement. Shirayuki sighed deeply... and pulled her hood down.

The room fell completely silent as Zen and the others stared at Shirayuki in shock. Shirayuki stood there awkwardly, looking down at the ground and twiddling her fingers.

Raji was the first to break the silence. "So you finally decided to reveal yourself to them. I must say, I'm surprised." He said.

Shirayuki chuckled nervously. "It's not like I had much of a choice. I couldn't let Obi get in trouble and lose their trust."

"Shirayuki?" Was all Zen said as he stepped closer to her.

  He couldn't believe his eyes. After five long years, he was finally reunited with the love of his life. He thought he must be dreaming. Then a realization hit him and he turned to Raji and glared angrily at him. Raji blanched and stepped back in fear.

"Have you known that Shirayuki has been here this whole time?!" He shouted. Everyone in the room flinched at Zen's tone.

Raji opened his mouth to speak, but Shirayuki cut him off. "Yes. He's known that I was here. I bumped into him about 8 months after I left Clarines. He's been helping me ever since."

Zen looked at her in shock. "How could you tell Raji where you were, but not me?! Do you have any idea how worried I've been about you?!"

Tears of frustration and anger pricked Zen's eyes, causing tears of guilt to prick Shirayuki's own.

"I'm sorry. It just seemed like the best thing to do at the time." She mumbled apologetically.

"What are you talking about? Why did you leave in the first place?" Zen questioned.

"It's kind of hard to explain. And right now, I really don't have the time." Shirayuki said, remembering why she had come to see Raji in the first place.

"Raji, it's getting dark, we have to go." Shirayuki said worriedly. Raji cleared his throat. "Ah, yes. You are quite right."

He turned to Zen and the others. "I'm afraid that we'll have to pick this conversation up another time. For the moment, Shirayuki and I have important business to attend to." Raji said.

  Zen and the others frowned. "You're not getting out of this that easily. Whatever important business you have to attend to, we'll be coming along." Zen said.

  Shirayuki was about to protest, but she knew that she needed all help that she could get, even if that meant that Zen would find out about their children.

"Fine. Come along if you wish." She stated flatly,
before walking out the door, with Raji following close behind.

   Zen and the others made confused eye contact, before hurrying out of the throne room and trying to catch up with Shirayuki and Raji.

___________________________________

* Woohoo! I finally wrote a new chapter. Even if it is short, I'm still gonna cheer. Because that means this story is one step closer to being finished. Although there's still more story left to tell. My guess is that I'll be writing at least 10 more chapters. Stay tuned for more!