Chapter δΈ€
Occasionally, he would turn his head to smile at his guests and a few whispers would erupt from the crowd. Upon reaching his throne, he came face to face with his son. The young and well-built blond man leaning his head against the back of the smaller throne, looking royally displeased; the kitsune girls in the front line fawning over his beauty obviously gaining none of his attention. "I see you are punctual today, my son." The graceful man spoke gently, his deep voice rumbling in his throat.
"You held such an important meeting without informing me, Your Highness," The young man simply ignored his father's previous statement, "I am hurt." The other man laughed as he made himself comfortable in his seat, brushing his long, silver hair over his shoulder, "Forgive me, son. I have been very busy lately and have forgotten to inform you of many things." His son grunted and silenced himself, knowing that the meeting was about to begin.
The God cleared his throat, "Welcome, my fellow underlings, to our 6th Winter gifting season. I hope that all of you have made yourselves comfortable and are present with your respective house gifts." The crowd started buzzing once more, everyone turning to look at each other and nodding. "Wonderful!" The God exclaimed as he clasped his fair hands together, making a loud clap sound and silencing the guests once more, "Now, without further ado, we shall begin our ceremony with the gifts from the River Kingdom."
The Prince sunk deeper into his throne seat; the hard stone making his bones ache and scream. He was definitely not amused and had never looked forward to gifting season. Every Winter, the Court of the Gods would hold a grand gifting ceremony of some sort, but the boy knew that it was just a complete ripoff of 'Christmas'. He had tried time and again to excuse himself for this, but after many years, was of no avail. His eyes scanned the crowd for any interesting individuals - or perhaps a new God, but all he could see was squealing foxgirls and Goddesses as their eyes met his.
"Now, we welcome the representative of the Thunder God to present their gifts!" More claps sounded and the Prince thought he was going to get a headache. An old woman dressed in elaborate layers of various coloured kimonos strode onto the stage with her head held high. The Thunder God's wife. Behind her, two skimpy-looking fish maids in plain white clothing gathered the hem of her kimono so that she wouldn't trip over. The crowd roared as she personally handed the delicately wrapped golden box to the God. He smiled ever so sweetly at her as a sign of thanks, making her flush. Disgusting, the Prince grumbled mentally. The last thing he would want was some old hag fawning over his father.
He looked at the tiny clock across the hall. Quite some time had passed and they were probably already reaching the end of the ceremony. An enormous pile of gifts were stacked behind his father's throne. It would take hours on end to unwrap every single one of them. "Last but not least, of course," His father boomed proudly, "The representative of the Winter Mountains." The crowd looked confused for a second but started clapping anyway as if nothing were amiss. The Prince cocked his head to the side, a bit puzzled as well. The Gods of the Winter Mountains were introduced as rather cold and quiet individuals. Also, this had to be their first appearance at the gifting ceremony.
He sat up straighter in his seat. Wolf whistles could be heard from the back of the crowd - probably coming from some drunk old Gods. Just as the guests hushed, a petite young girl emerged from the sea of people, clad in a beautiful white flower-print kimono with a gleaming silver box in hand. She looked just as uninterested as the Prince was but seemed to be tolerating this. She was beautiful! The Prince had never seen a soul from the Winter Mountains before but this certainly was not a bad first impression. She looked a bit shy as she trotted up the short flight of stairs onto the stage, the large lilac ribbon on her back bobbing with every step she took.
She carefully handed the package over to the God, who was beaming to himself. "Welcome to the gifting ceremony for the first time, Daughter of the Snow God." The Prince stretched his neck to look pass his father's large form, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. "I am honored to be invited here, Your Excellency," She replied politely in a soft voice while bowing her head. As she looked up, she caught the stare of the fidgety Prince behind the God's figure. He noticed this and looked completely caught off-guard. Her eyes widened ever so slightly but she averted her gaze quickly and regained her composure.
She bowed her head once more as she retreated from the stage. "Now that our ceremony has come to an end, we shall now begin our banquet! Enjoy, my fellow Gods!" The God announced as the crowd quickly dispersed and noise filled the hall. He patted down his glowing robes and turned to look at his son, a smile still plastered on his face. "Something seemed to have caught your interest, son. Care to tell me what it is?" He asked, his smile looking almost mischievous. "It's nothing, Your Highness." The Prince growled, standing up and crossing his arms across his broad chest. He knew his father was a very observant one.
"The Ice Princess. She is the only daughter of the Snow God and is almost always his representative in any formal event. None of the Gods have ever seen the Snow God in person. Rude, don't you think?" His father went on. "I didn't ask you for any information," The naive boy replied sharply, "Maybe he's just a shy man. Good on him." "Perhaps you would like to get to know his daughter. I have heard many stories of her - a very adventurous young lady," The man ignored him, his smile growing wider. "If you'd excuse me, Your Highness," His son quickly spoke as he left the stage. The God, still smiling and looking pleased as ever, turned towards his kitsune servant girls and motioned to them to unwrap the gifts.
The Prince stormed his way through the crowd, a bit flustered and curious at the same time. Who was he kidding? His father was right; he did have this strong urge to talk to her. Such captivating icy eyes and glowing white hair. Really living up to her Goddess title. As though it was all planned, there she was before him, sitting properly on a red embroidered cushion that was provided for the guests. A tiny kitsune with fur pure as snow lay on her lap, enjoying her delicate stroking and petting. The Prince, known for his forward and blunt nature strode forward and plopped himself down gracefully beside her. The girl quickly looked up and stared straight into his face.
"U-Uwahh!" She squealed, immediately losing all composure and falling backward onto her backside. This made the Prince laugh heartily as he reached forward to grab her small hands and pulled her back up. "Y-Your Highness," She spoke nervously, unsure of what to say. The son of the God of Gods certainly wasn't someone you could speak casually to. "Hello, Daughter of the Snow God. I'm that guy's son, if you're wondering. You can call me Kirie." The girl stared at him in disbelief and horror, her mouth hanging open. What was she to say? "Excuse me? Do you know that I'm talking to you?" He added, looking confused and - she gasped - slightly annoyed.
"Forgive me, My Lord!" She burst out, her wide eyes becoming even wider, "I-I'm-I didn't think that the son of the God of Gods would be speaking so casually to me. It's a pleasure to meet you, My Lord." A cheeky grin erupted on the boy's face, "Kirie." He repeated. If her eyes could get any wider, they would, "K-K-Kirie," She said softly, almost a whisper. "And may I ask your name, My Lady?" He contested, obviously pleased. "Megumi. My name is Megumi," She said in a strained voice before picking up her kitsune and holding it up before the Prince, "And this is my kitsune companion, Kito."
Kirie flushed slightly at her childlike behavior but shrugged it off. "That's a cute kitsune you got there." Was the only thing he could blurt out, his hand reaching out to pet the tiny fox. Upon contact, the animal hissed and sank its teeth into his palm. The boy yelped and quickly shot his hand back to cradle it. "Oh no, Kito!" The girl looked absolutely terrified and quickly rushed over to the Prince's side, taking his hand in hers, "Please forgive me, My Lord! I forgot to inform you that Kito is not very friendly with strangers. Please do not involve the Winter Mountains in this, I can-" Kirie placed a reassuring hand over hers. How silly. Thinking that he would involve the Courts in this. "It is nothing. No need to get so flustered over this small matter, Me-gu-mi."
The girl blushed deep red and pulled back. Kirie let out yet another hearty laugh, making the girl feel even more embarrassed. He keeps laughing at me. "You're so tensed up, Me-gu-mi," he prodded teasingly. "D-Don't mention my name like that," she whispered, slightly disgruntled, "Is your hand injured?" The boy raised his arm before her and showed her his already healed wound. Her mouth hung open cutely. "We Gods heal fast so don't fret." He assured proudly. She simply nodded and went back to rubbing her kitsune.
"You held such an important meeting without informing me, Your Highness," The young man simply ignored his father's previous statement, "I am hurt." The other man laughed as he made himself comfortable in his seat, brushing his long, silver hair over his shoulder, "Forgive me, son. I have been very busy lately and have forgotten to inform you of many things." His son grunted and silenced himself, knowing that the meeting was about to begin.
The God cleared his throat, "Welcome, my fellow underlings, to our 6th Winter gifting season. I hope that all of you have made yourselves comfortable and are present with your respective house gifts." The crowd started buzzing once more, everyone turning to look at each other and nodding. "Wonderful!" The God exclaimed as he clasped his fair hands together, making a loud clap sound and silencing the guests once more, "Now, without further ado, we shall begin our ceremony with the gifts from the River Kingdom."
The Prince sunk deeper into his throne seat; the hard stone making his bones ache and scream. He was definitely not amused and had never looked forward to gifting season. Every Winter, the Court of the Gods would hold a grand gifting ceremony of some sort, but the boy knew that it was just a complete ripoff of 'Christmas'. He had tried time and again to excuse himself for this, but after many years, was of no avail. His eyes scanned the crowd for any interesting individuals - or perhaps a new God, but all he could see was squealing foxgirls and Goddesses as their eyes met his.
"Now, we welcome the representative of the Thunder God to present their gifts!" More claps sounded and the Prince thought he was going to get a headache. An old woman dressed in elaborate layers of various coloured kimonos strode onto the stage with her head held high. The Thunder God's wife. Behind her, two skimpy-looking fish maids in plain white clothing gathered the hem of her kimono so that she wouldn't trip over. The crowd roared as she personally handed the delicately wrapped golden box to the God. He smiled ever so sweetly at her as a sign of thanks, making her flush. Disgusting, the Prince grumbled mentally. The last thing he would want was some old hag fawning over his father.
He looked at the tiny clock across the hall. Quite some time had passed and they were probably already reaching the end of the ceremony. An enormous pile of gifts were stacked behind his father's throne. It would take hours on end to unwrap every single one of them. "Last but not least, of course," His father boomed proudly, "The representative of the Winter Mountains." The crowd looked confused for a second but started clapping anyway as if nothing were amiss. The Prince cocked his head to the side, a bit puzzled as well. The Gods of the Winter Mountains were introduced as rather cold and quiet individuals. Also, this had to be their first appearance at the gifting ceremony.
He sat up straighter in his seat. Wolf whistles could be heard from the back of the crowd - probably coming from some drunk old Gods. Just as the guests hushed, a petite young girl emerged from the sea of people, clad in a beautiful white flower-print kimono with a gleaming silver box in hand. She looked just as uninterested as the Prince was but seemed to be tolerating this. She was beautiful! The Prince had never seen a soul from the Winter Mountains before but this certainly was not a bad first impression. She looked a bit shy as she trotted up the short flight of stairs onto the stage, the large lilac ribbon on her back bobbing with every step she took.
She carefully handed the package over to the God, who was beaming to himself. "Welcome to the gifting ceremony for the first time, Daughter of the Snow God." The Prince stretched his neck to look pass his father's large form, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. "I am honored to be invited here, Your Excellency," She replied politely in a soft voice while bowing her head. As she looked up, she caught the stare of the fidgety Prince behind the God's figure. He noticed this and looked completely caught off-guard. Her eyes widened ever so slightly but she averted her gaze quickly and regained her composure.
She bowed her head once more as she retreated from the stage. "Now that our ceremony has come to an end, we shall now begin our banquet! Enjoy, my fellow Gods!" The God announced as the crowd quickly dispersed and noise filled the hall. He patted down his glowing robes and turned to look at his son, a smile still plastered on his face. "Something seemed to have caught your interest, son. Care to tell me what it is?" He asked, his smile looking almost mischievous. "It's nothing, Your Highness." The Prince growled, standing up and crossing his arms across his broad chest. He knew his father was a very observant one.
"The Ice Princess. She is the only daughter of the Snow God and is almost always his representative in any formal event. None of the Gods have ever seen the Snow God in person. Rude, don't you think?" His father went on. "I didn't ask you for any information," The naive boy replied sharply, "Maybe he's just a shy man. Good on him." "Perhaps you would like to get to know his daughter. I have heard many stories of her - a very adventurous young lady," The man ignored him, his smile growing wider. "If you'd excuse me, Your Highness," His son quickly spoke as he left the stage. The God, still smiling and looking pleased as ever, turned towards his kitsune servant girls and motioned to them to unwrap the gifts.
The Prince stormed his way through the crowd, a bit flustered and curious at the same time. Who was he kidding? His father was right; he did have this strong urge to talk to her. Such captivating icy eyes and glowing white hair. Really living up to her Goddess title. As though it was all planned, there she was before him, sitting properly on a red embroidered cushion that was provided for the guests. A tiny kitsune with fur pure as snow lay on her lap, enjoying her delicate stroking and petting. The Prince, known for his forward and blunt nature strode forward and plopped himself down gracefully beside her. The girl quickly looked up and stared straight into his face.
"U-Uwahh!" She squealed, immediately losing all composure and falling backward onto her backside. This made the Prince laugh heartily as he reached forward to grab her small hands and pulled her back up. "Y-Your Highness," She spoke nervously, unsure of what to say. The son of the God of Gods certainly wasn't someone you could speak casually to. "Hello, Daughter of the Snow God. I'm that guy's son, if you're wondering. You can call me Kirie." The girl stared at him in disbelief and horror, her mouth hanging open. What was she to say? "Excuse me? Do you know that I'm talking to you?" He added, looking confused and - she gasped - slightly annoyed.
"Forgive me, My Lord!" She burst out, her wide eyes becoming even wider, "I-I'm-I didn't think that the son of the God of Gods would be speaking so casually to me. It's a pleasure to meet you, My Lord." A cheeky grin erupted on the boy's face, "Kirie." He repeated. If her eyes could get any wider, they would, "K-K-Kirie," She said softly, almost a whisper. "And may I ask your name, My Lady?" He contested, obviously pleased. "Megumi. My name is Megumi," She said in a strained voice before picking up her kitsune and holding it up before the Prince, "And this is my kitsune companion, Kito."
Kirie flushed slightly at her childlike behavior but shrugged it off. "That's a cute kitsune you got there." Was the only thing he could blurt out, his hand reaching out to pet the tiny fox. Upon contact, the animal hissed and sank its teeth into his palm. The boy yelped and quickly shot his hand back to cradle it. "Oh no, Kito!" The girl looked absolutely terrified and quickly rushed over to the Prince's side, taking his hand in hers, "Please forgive me, My Lord! I forgot to inform you that Kito is not very friendly with strangers. Please do not involve the Winter Mountains in this, I can-" Kirie placed a reassuring hand over hers. How silly. Thinking that he would involve the Courts in this. "It is nothing. No need to get so flustered over this small matter, Me-gu-mi."
The girl blushed deep red and pulled back. Kirie let out yet another hearty laugh, making the girl feel even more embarrassed. He keeps laughing at me. "You're so tensed up, Me-gu-mi," he prodded teasingly. "D-Don't mention my name like that," she whispered, slightly disgruntled, "Is your hand injured?" The boy raised his arm before her and showed her his already healed wound. Her mouth hung open cutely. "We Gods heal fast so don't fret." He assured proudly. She simply nodded and went back to rubbing her kitsune.
They sat, away from the crowd and in their own world, throughout the entire duration of the banquet; Kirie enjoying their chat immensely. Just as the very last guests prepared to take their leave, the girl fidgeted in her place and proceeded to stand up. "It's about time I leave as well, Kirie." She said politely before bowing before him, "Thank you very much for accompanying me this evening." He shrugged and laughed, running a hand through his disheveled blond locks, "It was my pleasure, Princess."
She smiled sweetly, her cheeks slightly pink, and with a tinge of shyness. "I- will be departing then." She spoke meekly, gathering the sleeping Kito in her arms and snuggling him against her chest. Kirie couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of jealousy; and stupid almost immediately after. "Wait," He half exclaimed half pleaded just as she turned her back to him. She turned her head slightly to look at him. "Will I see you again? Tomorrow? Or anytime, perhaps?" He blurted out shamelessly, causing the girl to stumble off guard.
"I-I do not know." She stammered, unsure of how to respond to a straightforward question as such, "I am always around," She bit her lip, secretly also wishing for the chance to meet with the Prince once more, "Around the Inari-ji market." She added softly. "Got it." He replied almost immediately, his face that of satisfaction. She couldn't help but smile at the boy's jest.
Wordlessly, she stalked off towards the entrance, leaving the Prince standing in his now empty hall. "See you."
