Hiro merely looked down at his food, taking a bite when his father accused him of scaring Akito with his magic. His eyes moved to the furry little creature that resided in Akito's clothes. Having not seen it since breakfast, the prince completely forgot about it. Now that it had its own plate he didn't have to worry about the creature crawling on him unexpectedly. The prince looked quite surprised when Akito spoke up, and then even speaking up about the craft. He couldn't hide the smile from Akito's actions, so he simply took another bite of what he had been eating. [I]'How sweet of him. Of all the things he could speak up about . .'[/I] 

The group grew silent for some time, indulging in the meal. However, the Empress decided to speak up, not wanting the silence to draw out too long. "So, Akito, I've been thinking about the wedding and I was thinking of what colors we should use! Of course, I have ideas in mind, but I'd love to know what color you liked. For ideas of course." Hironori coughed lightly and glanced at his stepmother. 

"It's only the first day. . . What happened to giving us time to get acquainted?" He pushed his now empty bowl aside, letting a servant quietly take it for him. The Empress smiled and waved her hand at him as of shushing him. 

"The wedding can't be postponed! You two have all week to get acquainted. I think you two will be a fine couple." She was full of happiness and optimism about the whole situation. In fact, she seemed to be the most excited about the wedding considering she was the one to bring it up multiple times. "Oh, could we dress up your cute little pet too? It would adorable!" The prince sighed, a little louder than he planned and looked away when his father turned his gaze from his babbling wife. 

"A day is hardly enough to start assuming things." Hironori muttered softly. Despite not immediately hating Akito, he still didn't like the tradition. It was just. . . unfair in his eyes. What if he didn't want to get married? What if he didn't even want to uphold such an important title? 

The Emperor spoke up this time. "Now, don't go complaining about this again. We've discussed this before. Tradition is set in stone. And you won't be the one to break it. Why must you be so difficult? Just accept things as they are and be happy! You have your magic after all, I'm allowing you that silly hobby of yours." The Empress looked a little worried, but stayed silent and watched as Hironori sighed again. 

"Seeing that I'm done, I'll be excusing myself. Thank you." The prince stood and walked off, deciding to find one of the more floral indoor gardens to sit in. After some time walking, he decided to go to the one that his mother loved so much. The most significant thing about the garden besides the miniature waterfall, were the deep reds and purples of the flowers that decorated it. He laid under the one blossoming tree that was there and sighed. "I know I'm going to have to accept this..." He mumbled and picked up a few of the petals that had scattered on the ground.