A/N: Thanks to sherytra for the picture that inspired this.
Disclaimer: Magi The Labyrinth of Magic belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka.
According to legend, there was once a woman who could slay and resurrect giants.
In the first year of the reign of Her Imperial Highness Ren Kougyoku, the young empress was credited with the singular feat of awakening a war-torn country from economic slumber. Records say she breathed out azure fire upon the four corners of the land, melting the frosted borders and welding the inhabitants into the greatest citizen army the world has ever known. She was called the Dragon Queen of the East, and she carried her title with pride.
But there are those who believe the opposite. Scholars claim she was an ordinary flower-loving girl from humble origins, whose greatest asset was her mysterious acquaintance with a desert phoenix. It was the phoenix who helped save the country. At her request, the creature blazed a many-splendored trading path that would later be dubbed the Silk Road. Afterwards, the pair ruled from the shadows with their fellow monsters, and were revered by all for their kindness.
Still another account depicts them as a prince and a princess, brought together by circumstances beyond their control, who toiled and labored to make their dreams for the nation come true. Maybe reality is a mixture of all three, and if the grand backdrop were torn away, they would be revealed to be simply a boy and a girl sharing the most common and rare of precious things.
Once upon a time, she was the eighth imperial princess.
Once upon a time she had been a general of the Kou Empire. Once upon a time she had fought to protect her brother mere hours before pressing her blade into his neck.
Once upon a time, people called her by name and nickname and she was happy.
That was a long time ago.
That was before the war.
And then there was silence.
A hoarse voice startles the sleeping empress, sweeping her into a disjunction of books and pale-barked trees. Something's amiss; she has no recollection of ever falling asleep in a forest.
And then the human-sized plant-life begins to speak.
She recognizes the timbre of each utterance, though the fog of sleep carries away what is being said. So, the blurred patches of autumn landscape encircling the table are nothing but court officials dressed in Kou's traditional palette of mahogany and gold. Momentary disorientation clears up; now her hazy memory cooperates, and she hopes her vision will follow suit.
Kougyoku's eyes are crimson liquid, and useless. She has to close her eyelids and blink, blink, sandpaper-on-sharkskin blink, to moisten the withered orbs. It takes a while before they hone in on the figure of her friend, from the bite-marks on his left arm to the spike of pineapple hair petrified on his head.
"We did it!"
"At last!"
"I never thought we could actually finish this, but we have!"
"Aren't you happy, Kougyoku?" someone asks her.
There's only one person who calls her that way.
"Eh?" She's pressing her knuckles into either temple, doing her best to extinguish the residual effects of two weeks of sleep deprivation. Her neck is stiff; her lower back feels embedded with a mouthful of white-hot crocodile teeth. A slight headache lingers, stubbornly insisting on hide-and-seek among the hallways of her mind, where no sword can exorcise it.
"Can't you see how tired the empress is right now?" whines a hyena - er, Ka Koubun - slumped over a bundle of scrolls transformed into a makeshift pillow.
Alibaba leans down to press his palm against her forehead. It feels cool on her skin, which means she's feverish, and may possibly show more symptoms of a cold before nightfall.
"Not feeling well, are you?" he observes, comparing her temperature with his own. "Yeah, you're positively worn out." He looks down guiltily - for what, she can't fathom. "Sorry for-"
"I'm glad we finished this!" Kougyoku perks up, assuring him as cheerily as she can with a voice that mimics rattling beans. "Now we can finally-" go to sleep for a month and eat all the food we've been starving for and indulge in hot baths all day" -start rebuilding this country!"
Two weeks of breathing dust and moldy scrolls and they're ready to make their first move. Now they can get a much needed rest, and for the weary empress, that's all she can think of.
"Don't forget, this is only the beginning. The true battle starts right now!" Alibaba reminds them with more enthusiasm than ever, but the snoring of their companions is all that registers in Kougyoku's mind as she, too, gives in to the nudging of unconscious bliss.
Kougyoku does fall sick. Thankfully, the sparse chills only last a day. By the time her temperature returns to normal, Alibaba and the committee have formulated a detailed plan for Kou's revival. The empress does her best to comprehend it, and provides some input when she can, even when the royal physician advises her to rest.
His words go unheeded. Kougyoku is determined to see this through at whatever expense to her person.
"It's the least I can do for my country," she tells him. "I can never show my face to Kouen onii-sama if I don't give it my very best."
He accedes to her reasoning and expresses his gratitude for her efforts, assuring her of a swift recovery as long as she doesn't push herself too much for a few days. Before leaving, he recommends a medicinal tea to boost her strength.
Alright then, back to work!
She heads to the royal archives, where Alibaba, Ka Koubun, and the other officials are staring distraught at a freshly-bound stack of paper outlining their findings and resolutions.
"Are you sure that's just the summary? It's enormous!" Lying before her at last is the fruit of their combined efforts, the first thing to be proud of in a year. They have devised a policy that, right now, is the empire's only hope.
"Now, the question is, who will relay this information to the public?" one of them inquires.
"Alibaba, I leave this to you. You're the one to come up with it, after all," admits Ka Koubun, surprising everyone by what appears to be a change of heart.
"No, I can't do this," is Alibaba's equally startling response.
"Then who will? You can't mean-"
Alibaba leaves his seat and walks to where the empress stands with hands pressed to her chest. "You have to do it, Kougyoku!" he urges her.
Her, of all people. Still, he's right, and no matter how Ka Koubun protests, she knows in whatever remains of her warrior heart that this duty is hers to carry out.
But.
"I've made a mess of so much. Do you really think I can do this?" she asks him, with the same genuine honesty and twice the desperation as when she begged him to teach her how to string together little flowers to make something that reminded her of home.
"Kougyoku." He speaks her name like no one ever has, and it gives her the shivers when she realizes how uncannily similar this scene is to their last meeting before the war. "You once told me that you want to be a warrior to serve your nation in the best way you can. This is your chance! You may have failed in the past - we all have - and maybe you think yourself unprepared, but there is only one person who can take your brothers' place and rescue this country. That's none other than you, Kougyoku!"
Kougyoku, Kougyoku. Crimson jewel in the mud. Queen of stones and stone of kings. Nobility and passion, bravery and devotion. She-who-protects. This is what she was born for. Ka Koubun and her men have always been looking out for her; now is her turn to repay the favor.
It's with newfound conviction that she answers, "I'll do it."
In less than a week, states the imperial decree, the former eighth princess shall pioneer the restoration of a dilapidated empire.
How very, very dreadful.
It's one thing to affix a royal seal to a contract. Delivering a speech before a thousand-man crowd is a completely different matter. All her life, she was taught how to serve tea, entertain guests, hold a sword, or choose suitable outfits for state affairs. Her greatest contributions to the country were supposed to be signing a peace treaty and being a dutiful wife. There was nothing, absolutely nothing in her background to prepare her for this.
"Relax, you can do it," her friend reassures her. "These are the facts we've gathered. All you have to do is communicate to the people that you have a new scheme to remedy the situation and need everyone to pitch in to start the work."
That leaves only the most basic of basic concerns.
"How do you make a speech? When I was in Balbadd, I saw you address the crowd in the plaza. It was..." an amateur's ramblings, unbelievable and downright impossible "...full of hope. Yes, hope - that's what my people need to rebuild their lives, but I don't know how to do this. I've never encouraged anyone in the past, or ever comforted someone who needed it..."
It's true, right? No one ever asked her for advice. If, once upon a time, her brothers called for help, it was always her skill with a sword that they needed to back them up.
Alibaba thinks for a moment. She watches him stare at the table and watches the table's indifference, but neither helps. A fly comes to inspect a drop of wine, oblivious to the girl with loops in her hair planning to impale it. A cupped hand slams on the table, startling the insect away, unharmed.
She missed. Now her prey is on the opposite end, daring her to give chase.
I could have stabbed you with a hairpin, she thinks, and quickly scans the room for a pair of chopsticks, when Alibaba swats off the offender and speaks. "The first thing I ever learned is that it helps to use gestures for emphasis. Your audience will better understand how much you want to help and need their help."
"Like this?" Kougyoku tries, but the forceful swinging of her limbs reminds her of a fish flailing for lack of water.
Ka Koubun stops her in record time. "You're embarrassing Her Majesty! Princ- Empress, don't listen to his suggestions! A firm, indomitable posture is exactly what you need! Make yourself look intimidating. Threaten to set their houses on fire if they don't obey your command!"
"Set fire to their houses? They're already suffering! Why add to their troubles? That's practically instigating a riot!" Alibaba counters. "Kougyoku, the citizens seek a determined, yet concerned ruler. They desire sympathy, not indifference!"
"If Her Highness is soft, her men will not obey! A ruler must be firm in his stance or his men will be undisciplined, lazy gluttons of no use to their country!"
"Still, for you to threaten their homes and families is going too far! These people have feelings. They want security and happiness! You can't force them around and trample on their dreams."
"They will get that happiness if they obey the state's orders! What is freedom if it leads to weakness? The Emperor of Kou must possess an iron will to crush his enemies and enforce commands!"
"A leader shares his vision with his constituents! He translates their wishes into his mission and works to serve them!"
Stop it, she wants to plead. She doesn't know what to do anymore, and their well-intentioned counsel merely serves to confuse her. If only she could make them stop arguing and grant herself some peace and quiet.
Wait. Why can't she? She's the empress, is she not?
"Everyone, please leave me alone for a few hours. Feel free to disturb me only regarding matters of immediate concern. Otherwise, I expect you to fulfill your responsibilities for the day." Having said that, she holes herself up in the study to deal with expectations ratcheted up beyond belief.
Disregarding her request for solitude, Alibaba drops by every couple of hours to inform her of their progress and wish her well. The maids bring her lunch and dinner, but it's Ka Koubun who reminds her to drink medicine to improve her "brittle state of health."
Whoever thought something as simple as writing a speech could make me sick? What kind of ruler can slay a hundred monsters yet feels intimidated by a blank sheet of parchment? I'm pathetic.
Sighing for the dozenth time, she reaches for more tea to scare her worries far, far away.
Towards lunch, Alibaba eyes her emptied cup with interest. "You guys drink a lot of this stuff, huh?"
"Tea?" Why of course, Kou wouldn't be Kou without its tea.
"Why don't you try exporting this? Some of the lighter blends might appeal to the foreign market," he suggests. "It shouldn't be too difficult to mass-produce, right?"
Ka Koubun disagrees. No, it's not as easy as you think, he tells the younger man. "Tea-making is a delicate ritual. First of all, the origin of the water makes a notable difference in the flavor of the finished product. That is the most vital step! Second, depending on what type and color of brew you desire, the leaves may be dried, smoked, steamed, roasted or aged for several years. Third, numerous factors determine whether the infusion has a light or rich aftertaste, such as: if young shoots are to be used, or mature leaves, the length of time the leaves are steeped, the garden they were harvested from, the manner of transport, the kinds of flowers or essential oils used, and whether the tea is a blend of different flavors or not. In addition, we often use extracts from various plants, like jasmine or rose blossoms, spices, or even honey; different additives, different scents."
"I see! There's a lot more to the process than I imagined. All the while I thought you simply boil leaves and flowers and pour them into a cup."
"You do not just boil leaves and flowers! That is an insult to centuries of tradition! For someone like you to make such an ignorant remark is a testament to how uncivilized your culture is in comparison to ours!"
Alibaba shows no averse reaction, but his subordinates do.
"Hey, isn't that a bit too-"
"Please don't say that, he might-"
"Perhaps you should take back what you-"
"Silence!" the empress thunders out, intervening before the tension escalates into a conflict of wills. "As the ruler of this country, I shall not tolerate such disrespectful statements from my men." It hurts to do this, to side with someone else against this person who raised her up like his own child. But, being a leader means to bear this curse. For the sake of peace, and her country's future, she disregards the responses to her jaw-dropping remark.
"If we will not help each other, if we waste all our strength tearing one another down, how will we uplift our empire from where it lies in the dust? How can this country be united if we ourselves are not?" Her words, spoken with a cocktail of emotions she's been wading in for half a month, garner silent nods from across the table. They agree - she is not Kouen, or Hakuryuu, but her brothers' advisers listen.
"I am well aware that Alibaba-chan has not even the remotest understanding of how to brew tea. Therefore, Ka Koubun, I command you to find someone to teach him all he wishes to learn about our country's finest art!"
With that, Kougyoku's first order of the day is spoken. The officials disperse to attend to their respective duties, leaving the empress alone with the former second-in-command. He's sulking, extremely dissatisfied by the new arrangements. After everything he did or tried to do as Prime Minister, she rewarded him by installing another in his post. To make things worse, his successor, Alibaba, isn't even a bona fide citizen of Kou.
She approaches him gently, as a daughter would to the man who nurtured her, for is that not their relationship?
"Ka Koubun, you've been like a father to me. Whatever I am now, I owe most of it to you. And it's because of your tireless efforts that Kou managed to stay afloat these past months. For that, and so much more, I will always be grateful. However, these are desperate times, and there's a big chance that Alibaba-chan can succeed where you and I have failed. So, for everyone's sake, myself included, please don't resent Alibaba-chan! I don't want any more fighting over this; I've already...lost...everyone...else..."
Her eyes sting. She doesn't want to cry anymore. It's just a memory - there's no reason to weep over a memory! She bites down to compose herself and fights to arrest the quivering in her throat.
And then, slowly, Ka Koubun bows down. "Empress," he says, and he does not struggle to call her by this title, "forgive me for being a selfish fool. I promise to do my best to protect the nation entrusted to you. It is my homeland as well, but I have been so blinded by trivial matters that sometimes I forget." In these moments, his dignity falls apart, and so does hers, as they dissolve into a teary mess.
She lays a trembling hand on his shoulder and tries to smile. They're all that's left - her and Ka Koubun and Alibaba and what remains of the state government - but they will take what little they have and join hands to attain the impossible.
Ka Koubun pledges to refrain from antagonizing the new prime minister, and she thanks him for letting go of his resentment. Twice forgiven, he heads off to purchase dozens of leaves in various forms and stages of drying.
And so Balbadd's third prince begins experimenting with different recipes to achieve just the right mixture for taste buds overseas. One turn of the sundial later, he bursts into the study to offer Kougyoku a cup of his own preparation. She thanks him and samples the drink. It tastes like tea. A bit mild for her liking, but still tea.
Ka Koubun follows behind him, sipping a bit of the concoction.
"So what do you think?" the blonde asks.
Ka Koubun dismisses it as "too bland for comfort." Alibaba tastes his own work, ponders his next move, and excuses himself from the room.
Kougyoku returns to her writing, hoping the mild rebuke won't dampen his spirit. Minutes later he emerges from behind and hands her another cup. This time, the flavor is strong enough to jolt her in her seat.
"Too bitter."
Again.
"What is this, muddy water?"
And again.
"What on earth did you put in my drink?"
This goes on for hours. The novice tea connoisseur comes and goes, bringing a tray of at least five different types each time. Ka Koubun rejects and rejects but she can tell by his expression that her dear friend is making good progress, unlike her, whose dwindling supply of parchment is full of scribbled nonsense. Her mind is a banyan tree, shooting off in all directions, everywhere and nowhere all at once, and she is lost. Kougyoku rewrites the opening line half a dozen times, and, unable to continue, resorts to calligraphy, curving the letters, refining edges, turning picture words into pictures. An hour passes and she accomplishes four visually exquisite sentences. And she is nowhere closer to finishing the draft than she was when the day started.
"Here! I guarantee this is authentic, perfectly-blended Kou tea!"
It's good to see Alibaba hasn't lost his optimism. She's just about ready to give up.
Ka Koubun pours himself a cup. "Fine, I'll test your creation. But if this doesn't work out, then I suggest you pursue another sort of merchandise."
Why make a big fuss over it? Contrary to what Ka Koubun says, Kougyoku believes tea will be tea, regardless of what exotic flower it tastes like. Besides, no one can be expected to learn the hundreds of different techniques in a day.
The tea-tester is silent for once. What a surprise.
"Well? How does it taste, Ka Koubun?"
"Would you believe that...I fear I'll have to revise my opinion of you, Alibaba. This excellent batch of tea has gained my respect. You should try it out also, Empress."
Alibaba serves her some of the yellow liquid with chrysanthemum petals floating on top. It's strange and soothing and altogether delightful.
"Mmm...it's good. What do you call this?"
He grins, obviously pleased by his achievement. "I named it 'The Taste of Success!'"
Not bad for a moniker, I guess. She carefully sets down her cup midway, reserving half to savor later, once she has had her own taste of victory.
"I suppose you're finished now, Alibaba-chan?"
"Nope. Now I'll be going through wine, grain, vegetable-production, and other staples."
"Eh, all that?" It sounds overwhelming. Can he accomplish everything in such little time?
"If we want this venture to succeed, we'll have to explore all possibilities. As for our dear empress..." he says, looking over her shoulder to read the parchment in her grasp, "...you have yet to reach the middle of your grand speech!"
He chuckles as Kougyoku flops into her chair with a very unladylike groan, wanting to submerge the planet with Vinea so she'll never have to see that accursed sheet of paper again.
Will the work ever end? My back's about to snap and I still haven't gotten that hot bath!
The next morning, Kougyoku resumes where she left off. Once again, she finds herself floundering aimlessly, chasing sentences with a net full of holes.
The fate of your country is at stake. Whether Kou sinks or rises is up to you. That keeps her going, and soon enough, she has something to show for her trouble.
"Alibaba-chan! How 'bout this? Or this? Or this!" She dumps five different drafts into his folded arms.
Kougyoku waits with an expectant look as he scans the documents. "Well?" she asks, when he finally lifts his gaze from the last page.
"The first one is...quite...long."
"And the rest?"
He scrutinizes them carefully, comparing and recomparing until he arrives at the answer.
"What I notice is, you sound like you're addressing the nobles and officials alone. While there's nothing wrong with that, I don't think this will appeal to the masses, who we can expect to comprise a huge portion of the audience," is his depressing evaluation of her work.
She rereads the script, noticing for the first time the flaws he pointed out, and many more.
It's hopeless. She is not Kouen. She is not Hakuyuu or Hakuryuu. Even Hakuei would have done a better job, but Hakuei is with Sinbad.
What would my brothers do in my place?
She tries to recall Kouen's speeches, or the late emperor's, but nothing helps. She searches the past, and the present, what they could have done, what she has to do, and one common factor emerges.
Blood.
A ruler is a general and a general is a warrior. That's what it means to be a Ren. Her blood may not be purely royal, but it's purely Kou, and Kou is a nation of fighters.
Alibaba himself had said that former soldiers shall make up trading company. She has led an army before; this time will be no different. Be it spears or shovels, they are the same. Let the training ground become a trading ground, and they will press forward until the very end.
That's it! Every self-respecting citizen understands the call of battle. They will fight, for sure! Tomorrow, we will rewrite our destiny!
The tip of her quill pen kisses bleached bark, never to stop until it has bled out the sparks in her soul. When she shows Alibaba the finished work with nervous fingers, she is certain victory is within their reach.
In the early evening the rustic strains of the guzheng waft through the palace halls, serenading the fireflies with a childhood lullaby. It's a song for calling rain, a melody of farewells and new beginnings, a celebration and a prayer.
"It's been so long since we had such a beautiful tune played in court. What's the occasion?" one of them queries Ka Koubun as he puts away scrolls for future reference.
"This is a toast to Her Majesty's triumph on the morrow. And all of Rakushou will be there to witness it!" he declares with unbridled joy.
Together they settle down to listen, bathed in serene music and torchlight, and piece by piece, their load of worry banishes itself into the cold outside.
"Empress Kougyoku's skill with her zither is impressive."
"I've never heard anything that good in forever."
She takes their encouragement with a smile, enjoying the familiar rasp of strings on finger. It's one of the many things she's abandoned, and has resolved to revisit once again.
"Wow, Kougyoku, what amazing music! Too bad you can't sing that well!"
That was not a compliment.
The melody comes to an abrupt halt as Kougyoku gets up. "Ali…baba...chan...Here, you play it!" She shoves the koto-like instrument into his lap and strides away fuming.
"Hey, wait, I can't play this thing! Wait up, Kougyoku!" He passes the guzheng to a nearby official, who then hands it over to Ka Koubun, who also has no idea how to make it work.
Apparently, there are some things that will never change. There will always be someone teasing her. She will rise to the bait and throw silly tantrums, just like before. Now she's ashamed of herself.
"Kougyoku, hey, I was kidding! Come on, don't get mad! Please? Tell you what, after you say your thing tomorrow, I'll get you as many flowers as can fit in your room. And then we'll make wreaths all day."
Yet the banter and the laughter - all those little bits of what is called friendship, that's one thing she wants to preserve, today and forever.
Because a friend is more than history; a friend is a secret world, and when your own world falls apart, you'll have steady ground beneath your feet, and whether you're princess or empress or an ordinary girl, that's what elevates you to where you can dream, and hold on.
"Kougyoku…"
She turns to face him, to say all is forgiven, and she'll gladly accept his offer to make flower crowns the next afternoon, but one of the guards sprints toward them with horrifying news.
"Your Majesty! Come quick! I think Ka Koubun just destroyed your instrument!"
Dawn arrives with the eruption of birdsong, dragging an unprecedented multitude to the city's epicenter.
The hour has come for the empress to stand before her nation. Shellfish-dyed clothes hide her shaky legs, and her battle-hardened demeanor takes care of the rest. Face your opponents without fear. Don't forget, you come from a nation of warriors.
The murmuring of the crowd threatens to overpower her; all her misgivings crash over like all the silt-laced rivers in the land, but it takes more than that to make her back down. Raising the imperial staff, she silences the people and begins.
"My brothers and I, we are all criminals. We have all taken part in a terrible war that should never have happened. We have killed and nearly gotten killed; we have lost the fight and lost our country. Outsiders have taken so much from us. Conquer and ravage and wreak havoc, they did. Now, look at us! We are ruined! But this is not the end! Where we were divided, we will unite! Though we were destroyed, we shall rise from the ashes and fight for our dreams!" The words flow out from her heart, from memories, from hope that cannot be dashed to pieces again. Little by little, the confusion and despair give way to a raging battlecry, and she knows for sure that all is not lost.
As her speech draws to a conclusion, she steals a glance at the two men who have supported her this far, Ka Koubun and Alibaba. From the distance she spots a trio of guards cheering wildly. Beside them, Ka Koubun can scarcely contain his excitement. And Alibaba - Alibaba is beaming with all the approval she ever hoped to find.
We'll make it, we just will!
"It's time to show our enemies that we will never, ever give up! My soldiers! For your country, for your lives, for your future, for your pride, FIGHTTTTT!"
It was a roar that would shake the world.
A/N: This fic takes place between Remembering Light and These Broken Roads, which is then followed by Hymn to Tomorrow. You might want to check those out if you haven't already. Thanks. :)