Please let me have misheard that, Koza prayed silently, then turned to catch sight of the figure of King Cobra as he strolled slowly into the plaza. Chaka and Pell were at his side.
Nope, he thought. This gets worse. “K-King Cobra!” he said. “I, um…”
“Your Majesty! Koza wrote a love letter! To Princess Vivi!” Mari exclaimed jubilantly, cutting him off.
“What’s that?” the king asked. “Koza?”
“To Princess Vivi?” Chaka startled.
“No!” Pell exclaimed.
Chaka and Pell were both taken aback. They seemed to think it was impossible.
Cobra, meanwhile, wore a terrifyingly blank expression. He simply said, “I see,” without so much as a raised eyebrow, then demanded quietly, “Show me.”
A shiver ran up Koza’s spine. How could the man’s tone of voice be so gentle and calm, and at the same time so steely and commanding? Koza reflexively handed over the letter that he’d just gone to such humiliating extremes to retrieve. Beads of cold sweat ran down the back of his neck. King Cobra took the letter and began to read it in silence.
Chaka and Pell, reading over the king’s shoulder, looked at one another and murmured together, “Blue rose!”
King Cobra’s expression did not change. He scanned the letter with a sternness that was rare for him, even with official business.
Why? Why did he show up now? Koza groaned, inwardly. How did this happen?
“Koza,” the king said, looking up as he finished the letter. “Certainly you must understand what it means to marry into the royal family. Are you prepared for the responsibilities that would entail?”
A stretch of silence ensued. Koza took back the letter without a word.
If he said he was prepared, that would only confuse this situation more, and if he said he wasn’t, it would be akin to stating that he was willing to shirk the duties of the royal family. If he told the truth, Fata would be devastated. There was no good option.
When Koza could not break his silence, Pell grew impatient and strode forward to ask the pivotal question: “Koza, what are your feelings toward Princess Vivi?”
My feelings for her? Koza pondered. I’ve never even thought about it that way.
Vivi was his childhood friend. She’d been a play partner and a rival since they were little, and a close member of the Sand-Sand Band. Since he’d moved to Yuba with his father, they hadn’t met nearly as often, and during the matter with Crocodile, they had even stood on opposite sides of the conflict, but he had never once doubted her love for Alabasta.
As a companion, and as the princess of the kingdom, Koza had nothing but heartfelt respect for Vivi’s earnest and dedicated character. It was his hope that he would continue to protect Alabasta alongside Vivi far into the future. But… He stared down at the sheet of papyrus in his hands. All of that was a different matter from if he would ever call her “a beautiful blue rose.” The problem was, the emotions described in that letter were not his own.
Okay, this is awkward, Koza thought, panicking slightly. How can I escape? How could I describe how I really feel about Vivi?
“Answer the question, Koza,” Cobra insisted.
Koza faltered before the king’s fierce glare. Pell and Cobra were looking at him as though he were an enemy of the crown. Amid this intense atmosphere, a lighthearted voice cut through: “Father! What are you doing here?”
The star of the moment had arrived. Princess Nefeltari Vivi was standing at the entrance to the plaza with her companion, Karoo.
“Your Highness, what a wonderful surprise,” Mari blurted out. “I haven’t seen you much lately.”
“It’s good to see you too, Miss Mari,” Vivi responded. “I’ve been busy preparing for the Reverie, but I’m getting tired of being cooped up in my room, so I decided to read out in the fresh air for once.”
Vivi lifted her arm to show the book she was carrying, completely unaware that she had been at the center of a recent controversy involving a love letter addressed to her. By her side, Karoo added a cheerful “Quack!”
How to explain the letter to Vivi? Should they tell her at all? Should they stay silent? No one in the crowd was immediately certain what to do—except for Koza. With a look of relief, he strode across the plaza, toward Vivi.
“Oh! Koza, what’s up?” Vivi asked him.
“Took you long enough to get here.”
“Huh?! What’s that supposed to—” she started to ask, taken aback when Koza pushed the letter into her hand.
“This is for you.”
Fata’s mouth gaped. Whispers began to circulate through the plaza.
“Koza gave the letter to her!” they muttered.
“Right in front of the king! What a daring move,” they marveled.
Vivi looked at the sheet of papyrus with curiosity. “What is this, a letter?”
“Read it,” Koza directed. “Now, please.”
“K-Koza! What are you thinking?!” hissed Fata, who had come back to his senses and resumed pulling on Koza’s leg. However, Vivi was already perusing the letter. Her suspicious expression gradually softened as she read further. When she reached the end, Vivi carefully rolled up the papyrus sheet, lifted her head, and said, “Thank you, Koza. Where is Fata, the boy who wrote this letter?”