Fuji Syusuke, the crown prince of Akuhara, woke up the day of his wedding so early it could not even be called 'morning'. Getting out of bed, slowly and quietly so he doesn't disturb the sleeping body next to him, he went to stand next to the window. He moved the curtains away and looked at the city – dark and silent and asleep.

     He stood there until the sun started to rise.

~8~

Fuji's wife-to-be was the youngest princess of Kanumi, Sasaki Harumi. She came to the castle the day before, accompanied by over two hundred counts, dukes, servants and soldiers.

     The castle was full and crowded more than usual, and it made it hard for the prince to sneak out of his lover's room and go back to his own chambers before anyone noticed his absence. In fact, it took him so long that he barely made it into his bed before there was a knock on his door and Zaizen Hikaru, his manservant, got into the room.

     "It's time to wake up, Fuji-sama," Zaizen said, and then he saw his prince sitting in his bed with eyes full opened. "Or, well, it's time to get out of bed, sir." He opened the curtains and let the sunlight in the room.

     "Good morning, Zaizen-kun," Fuji said with a smile.

     "This is the first time I see you waking up before I'm here to do it. You must be very excited for the wedding!" he clapped his hands together. "Princess Sasaki is very beautiful, sir, if I may say. She will be a great queen one day!"

     Fuji laughed. "It takes more than beauty to be a good queen, Zaizen-san," he said. "But yes, she is very beautiful."

~8~

Princess Sasaki Harumi of the islands kingdom Kanumi was the youngest of the royal family children. She was only sixteen and was already forced to marry a stranger and leave her homeland for good because of political reasons. Her kingdom was a large place rich with resources like iron, coal, copper and sulfur, but poor with fertile lands for agronomy. It was only a matter of time before the royal families of Kanumi and Ibizia – which was the exact opposite of the first – would sign a treaty by marriage.

     The prince found it hard to believe the princess wanted to get married. But he also doubted she didn't want that more than he. For five years he refused any marriage proposal, no matter who it was from. But he was twenty three already and people started to wonder, and in the end he had to accept Kanumi's royal family proposal. It was too beneficial for both sides to turn down such thing.

     The look on his lover's face when he announced his engagement to princess Sasaki haunted him in his dreams for weeks. He would wake up, breathing heavily, and ocean blue eyes burned in his mind - angry and disappointed. Blaming.

~8~

The wedding day was the busiest day Fuji ever had, even though he himself did almost nothing. He had breakfast in his chambers