Welcome to my first Magi Fan Fiction, which is additionally my first english Fan Fiction. Special thanks goes to my Beta Reader daemon-howl. But I don't want to talk that much, so please enjoy the prologue of
A Piece of Paper
The sky was grey, the clouds had contracted and a pleasant cold spread out about the country. Few hours ago it had started to rain and Kougyoku spent her time watching the raindrops falling and as they dripped from the blossoms of the cherry tree, which spread out with full splendour about the palace. The life of a princess could be wonderful, however, was also very lonesome at some times, above all if you became separated from the population until your wedding day and if you had the feeling that the staff avoids you, because they won't bother you. Because her brothers were always occupied – because of political reasons or with women - only her bodyguard Masrur remained by her side who unfortunately had not always time for her, due to his post. But at the moment he was with her, stood beside the door of the too big room and watched the princess as she looked sadly out of the window.
"Is there something else I can do for you?" he asked politely, but she sighed.
"Masrur …" she answered carping. "You should not be so polite if we are alone. After all, we are friends."
She had murmured the last sentence rather to herself; however, he had understood her very well and regretted immediately that again he behaved so elegantly towards her. Because he was the only one who dealt with her, he meant everything to her. He was her only friend and he knew how important it was for her to have friends. Kougyoku also had an exact picture of friendship. She longed for being recognised by everybody as herself, and not as the small princess who always had to function perfectly. She wanted somebody who shouted at her if she made a mistake. Somebody, who she could talk to when she didn't feel well, even though it was late in the night. Somebody who would show her the world, instead of locking her behind walls and not somebody who would ask for forgiveness because of every little thing.
"Forgive me, Kougyoku." he begged and she bit her lower lip. There it was again.
"How much time do I have left?"
"A bit more than one month."
She slowly turned around to him. She looked not fazed, because secretly she knew for a long time, that it was about time. After all, there was no other topic of conversation in the royal family. Not even two months and Kougyoku would reach her eighteenth year of life. Therefore it was bitterly necessary for her to get married before her birthday. She turned again to the big window.
"If I am married, I can go out and see the world."
Masrur was glad that she apparently found something positive in the future wedding. Since weeks she cried every night, fearing the marriage with somebody whom she didn't love. The fact, that in her case a wedding was only intended for the preservation of the blood line, she didn't want to understand and refused strictly, to get to know just one of the candidates. Though he could understand her, neither he nor she could do something against it.
"I will not accept this." she suddenly said and got up with a determined look. He believed he had misheard.
"What do you want to do?"
"Maybe I'm not able to prevent the wedding, but I don't want to leave this palace as a slave of a prince, but as an independent woman!"
She had clenched her hands in fists and now paced up to him.
"Would you help me, Masrur? Would you help me to go outside?"
He looked at her disbelieving. He was nobody who left anything untried; however, the plan of the princess was very risky. Should one of her brothers - especially Kouen - notice it, both of them would be in incredible trouble. It was simply a law that the population wasn't allowed to see a princess of the royal family, as long as she was underage and unmarried. He was not selfish, but there would be huge consequences for the princess and that made him sceptic. Furthermore there still was the Magi of the royal family, who had covered the castle in a protective veil. Masrur wasn't sure if Kougyoku had thought about all of this.
"Outside nobody knows your face. What would you do if someone injures you or something else happens? Because out there, you aren't princess Kougyoku but rather a normal girl."
"But this is exactly what I want!" she started explaining. "I want them to treat me like everyone else and as long as I'm unknown, I still have the possibility."
She smiled at him confidently and he briefly closed his eyes. He knew that she could handle this.
"What about Scheherazade?"
"What do you mean? Do you believe she would notice it, if I disappeared for a while?"
"I'm sure. She is a Magi. If she wouldn't notice, then I don't know who else would."
This made her contemplative. She didn't know the Magi of the house well, so she didn't know whether she would support her. For Kougyoku, Scheherazade always seemed to be very kind and quiet, but she also was extremely loyal to the royal family. If everything should work out as she planned, then the only person who stood in her way was Scheherazade.
"I have to try it." she said after a while. „And if something fails, I have to live with the consequences."
"Are you su-" her guardian wanted to ask, but she interrupted.
"I would regret it if I wouldn't do it." she replied and looked at him beseeching. "Please, Masrur. Only for this time, I want to be free."
He looked at her for a while, searching for something that he couldn't find. In that moment, there was no place for doubts and fears; instead he found something that made the decision for him: Decisiveness and adventurousness.
"When do you want to go?"
Kougyoku couldn't trust her ears. Her firm look changed and she was aglow with happiness. The fact that he wanted to help her, made her unbelievably happy. A feeling she hadn't felt for a long time.
"I have time from seven o'clock tonight, until six o'clock early in the morning. This is the only time in which I can arrange time for myself."
"You want to go overnight?" he asked a little confused. He didn't know what she expected to see if she went overnight. Maybe she had a few hours to meet other people, but soon everybody would barricade themselves in their houses and she would be alone.
"Everything else would be too dangerous." she answered him and somehow looked amused. "I know what you think, but I want you to trust me. If this is the only chance I have, then I have to use it."
He nodded slightly. Now it was too late to talk her out of it.
"What else have you planned?" he wanted to know and the princess pointed at the big tree at her window which stood a little closer, than the big cherry tree.
"As you know, the palace is surrounded by guards and to be sure that no one will notice us, we have to use the tree to get outside."
She counted completely on his physical strength. Because he was a Fanalis, for him her weight felt just as much as a pebble stone.
"That's no problem."
"Very nicely!" she shouted in anticipation and clapped her hands enthusiastically together. Her plan was idiot-proof, even Masrur knew it, but anyway he was worried whether everything went as the princess desired it.
Slowly it became quieter in the long corridors. Because Kouen held the position of the king and because of the forthcoming wedding, he was very busy and already went to his room. As the first prince, Koumei considered it as his duty to support his brother by all important decisions, which was why he also wasn't nearby. Hakuryuu finished his training one hour ago and even Kouha didn't frolic around in the big castle garden, which spread out in the middle of the estate. Only Hakuei, wife and cousin of the king, still walked through the big corridor and wished here and there an employee a pleasant night. But it didn't need long and the palace became very quiet. Kougyoku took the chance to pull back the curtains of her windows. Outside was still some daylight left, but because the sun hadn't appeared throughout the day, it was difficult to tell, when the darkness would arrive.
„We have to hurry." she whispered to Masrur, who didn´t hesitate and threw her carefully over his shoulder. Immediately she held onto him, so she would not fall. He turned his head in her direction.
"Are you absolutely sure?" he wanted to ask once more and Kougyoku grinned in anticipation. "Definitely."
This was like a start signal for the Fanalis and immediately he swung himself out of the big window and aimed directly at the gigantic tree which stood a few metres from her window. Kougyoku had to suppress her shout. Underneath her she saw guards that stood directly before the protective veil, ready to start an attack any time. In this moment she realised how dangerous the whole plan was. The men stood not even six metres under her and she wasn´t so naive to think that no one would notice them. Masrur landed with her on a thick branch between thick branches.
"Are you alright?" he wanted to know and held her.
"Yes." she answered. She breathed hard and trembled slightly. Masrur noted that she stood under adrenalin and in addition, she was afraid and didn't know what she should do. A wrong step could have huge consequences and she seemed to realise it now. However, they hadn't made it yet, because they still were in a dangerous area and only if she was safely back on the ground; she would venture a deep breath again.
"They have noticed us." whispered her companion and Kougyoku looked anxiously at him. He pointed at the small gaps between the leaves. She looked carefully through them and spotted the guards which stared at the tree and already held their weapons ready in their hands.
"They were alerted by the rustle of the leaves. It was too loud to think that birds caused it." he explained and continued with a tense look. "They only wait for a mistake."
"And what should we do now?" she whispered desperately and Masrur started to look around, as far as it was possible.
"There is no going back. If we would jump back in your room, everyone would notice us. We have to go further."
Kougyoku nodded timidly. She was incredibly relieved that not only she but also Masrur had dressed simply. Due to the monotonous colours and the hoods they wouldn't attract attention because of their clothing or their hair colour.
"Please wait a minute." these words were everything he said and then everything happened very quickly. He swung from branch to branch, higher into the tree crown. He crashed his feet on purpose against the small branches, making them rustle and made some noise. When he reached the top, he jumped back down until he landed beside the princess. Then the first arrow landed in the tree crown and he threw the now confused Kougyoku back over his shoulder and jumped with breakneck speed from the branch and landed on another, that belonged to another tree. Masrur was not about to stand still, he just jumped from tree to tree and left the palace behind.
"How did you do that?"
Kougyoku had slowly realized that they were now in safety. "I made them believe that we fled into the tree crown. They got distracted."
She seemed a bit flabbergasted. This was a tactic she never thought of and she realized that thanks to him she could go outside. And also the fact that she was now undetected outside and that they weren't caught.
"You're incredible!" she cried and laughed softly in relief. Never before, she had been so tense. Masrur replied nothing and jumped from the small tree on which they were at the moment. Back on the floor, he looked down to her.
"I have to leave." he spoke quietly and Kougyoku nodded. She knew that he couldn't accompany her forever; after all, he had a job he had to occupy soon.
"Take care." he added and she beamed with joy again.
"The same goes for you. They better not catch you." she replied and looked towards the ground. If he got into trouble, it would all be her fault.
"Since I'm alone now, I can go through the main gate. Nothing will happen."
This was something she had totally forgotten. He was of course allowed to go on and off as he wanted.
"You're right, there is nothing to worry about." she said and looked up again. She wanted to encourage to herself and it worked. She took a step back and started to smile again. "I will go now. Thank you very much, without you I wouldn't have made it this far."
He also managed a small smile, which always was difficult for him. He turned his gaze away from her and pointed a finger in one direction. "If you go this route, you will reach a small village. But you will have to go on for a while. I'll be here at half past five tomorrow morning and pick you up." he assured and jumped back on the tree. He turned around once more, before he jumped on the next tree and soon disappeared from her sight. She still looked after him for a while, until she reminded herself what she had to do now.
Time passed and Kougyoku still wandered through the forest, always strictly in the direction, Masrur gave her. Everything she saw were trees in different forms and heights. The foliage cracked under her feet and her hair was dishevelled, because it was very long and got caught up all ten metres in annoying branches.
She was neither tired, nor exhausted, but she was worried, because the forest didn´t seem to end. She didn't know how long she was already on the move and how many metres she had left behind, but what frightened her the most was the fact that it was slowly getting dark. What should she do if she would be stuck in this forest in the darkness? For a short moment she thought that was a stupid idea. She had hoped to get to a town. Maybe she should have told Masrur… However, if she wanted to get out of this forest, she had to hurry up and, just maybe it would be no bad idea to start running. And this was exactly what she did.
She had raised her cloak and ran in the direction where she expected the way out. Her hood flew from her head and single strands of hair escaped, only to tangle again in the small branches, but this didn't bother her at the moment. She just wanted to leave the forest, to see more than leaves and trunks, and after some running and a lot of oxygen loss she finally saw something that she had never seen before. On one hand it was beautiful, because it was so strange, but on the other hand, she knew that it would just stand in her way. A wide stream stretched horizontally through her way and glittered innocently from the last daylight. Kougyoku wheezed, after she had stopped before the stream and gazed at him with a dejected look.
"Oh no." she wailed and fell down on her knees, but she tried to catch herself fast and not to despair directly, because this wouldn't solve anything... She knew that she had to find a solution and that as soon as possible. She looked to the left and because she didn't found what she looked for, she looked to the right and stood up.
With tired legs she strode up to a big branch which lay on the ground. She tried to lift it, but it was too heavy-weight and therefore she tried to lug the branch. In front of the stream she dropped it, went to the other end and pushed it across the water, so that the branch formed a narrow bridge. However, this was not wide enough to walk over it and therefore Kougyoku looked for other branches which were also thick, so that she could form a bridge that would carry her.
Perspiring she stood in front of the masterpiece and gazed at it. Now the small bridge was wide enough and also seemed to be robust, but she feared that the branches would roll away if she should venture a wrong step. Therefore she decided to lay some more branches horizontally across the vertically branches, only to make sure.
"Do you always do it the hard way?"
She was about to pick one more branch, when suddenly the foreign voice rang out. The voice scared her dreadfully and she dropped the end of the branch which scarcely missed her foot.
"Who is there?" she asked carefully and looked in all directions. The voice suddenly appeared so she couldn't say from where it had come. She revolved herself constantly, in hope to see somebody, even if she wasn't sure if she wanted to know who was nearby. It was a male voice, she noticed; however the person to whom the voice belonged wasn't in the mood to answer her because he didn't talk again. For a short while she believed to have imagined the voice, but then it rang out once more.
"Hurry up already."
"Where are you?!" now she shouted unintentionally loud and she started to scan the forest again with her eyes. She didn't want someone to observe her. The thought not to be alone anymore, but not to know where the other person was or who he was, made her fear and let her nervously knead her fingers.
"You don't have to scream." the voice appeared again, but this time it sounded irritated. "How about you try to look up?"
A little bit confused she stopped her hectic movements and directed her eyes upwards. There, on a high tree, sat a young man, spread out on a branch as if this was the most comfortable place in the world. His long black hair dangled in a spherical plait through the air, but his hair wasn't the most remarkable thing on him. He had red eyes which made Kougyoku insecure. As a Fanalis it was normal for Masrur to have red eyes so this wasn't something new for her, but the boy on the tree was definitively not a Fanalis. His eyes were too bright, his hair too black.
"Can I help you?"
She forced herself to calmly ask him what she wanted to know. Even though she didn't have a good feeling, she also didn't have the feeling of being in danger. Nevertheless, the boy seemed to be less interested in her, because he only bit apathetically in a fruit which resembled a peach. It could also be an apple; however she couldn't recognise it exactly.
"Why so polite?" he put the counter question, after he was ready with chewing.
"To answer a question with a counter question is rude." she nagged and was surprised because of her sudden self-confidence. He looked down at her and lifted an eyebrow.
"Rude, hm? Well, I am not the person who was overly polite from the start. Did you expect something else?"
He bit again in the small fruit and closed his eyes with pleasure. She looked at him for a while, she really didn't know how to deal with such a person. Maybe it was also the fact that she thought his behaviour was cheeky. A behaviour that no one ever displayed towards her. She sighed.
"So what do you want?" was her question and he opened his eyes again to look down at her.
"I thought counter questions are rude?"
She believed to have misheard. Did he want to tease her?
"Then why are you doing this?" she asked angrily and he closed amused his eyes.
"You'll never make it."
In bewilderment she looked at him and grabbed furiously a small branch.
"Do you want to kill me with that?" he wanted to know, but she knew that he just made fun of her.
"I want you to leave!" she informed him and turned away to concentrate on her real problem.
"Of course I will obey this order without objections." he answered sarcastically and changed his position on the tree, so that he now lay on his belly. In this position it was possible for him to observe her while she stacked other branches over her small bridge.
"What does a small girl like you do so late alone in the forest?" he enquired, after he felt ignored by her.
"I am not a small girl." she contradicted without turning around.
"Okay, what does an old hag like you do so late alone in the forest?"
The provocation hadn't missed the target, because she clenched her fists, grabbed another small branch and threw it at him with the ambition to throw him off. She didn't miss him completely; however, she struck the long plait which started to swing again.
"Next time a little higher." he grinned, nevertheless he was really surprised that she actually hit him. Kougyoku wasn't happy and simply decided to do nothing. Everything that she did would be commented on by him or made fun of.
She didn't want to be his source of entertainment. All what she wanted, was to get out of this forest, but bit by bit her motivation vanished. The boy looked at her critically, after he realised that she didn't move anymore. He sat up and threw the core of the fruit at her, which hit directly her shoulder. She didn't react, had only laid her head on her knees and covered her face with her arms. He couldn't recognise or hear if she was crying, because she showed no reaction. It wasn't like he had a bad conscience; however this silence was intolerable for him, which was why he swung off the tree and kneeled down in front of her.
"Do you have a name?" now he asked rather carefully, even though he didn't expected a reaction. It lasted long, until she started murmuring something.
"… Yoku..."
"Yoku?" he repeated and she paused. Until yet she hadn't wasted a thought about what name she should say, if somebody would ask for it. And, to tell the truth, she never expected that somebody would ask for it, however, now the moment had come and she had almost revealed her real name to the stranger. She looked up to him, in his questioning face and she was relieved when she recognised that he really hadn't understood her completely.
"Yes." she confirmed and the guy in front of her sat down in the cold foliage.
"Well, Yoku. What do you do here?"
"I … am lost." she lied, even if it wasn't completely a lie. "I come from far away and only want to… meet other people." she kept on talking and it surprised her that he seemed to listen to her carefully. "A friend of me told me that I will find a village if I follow this way."
She pointed in a direction and his eyes followed her finger. He lifted both eyebrows and directed his eyes again on her.
"You want to go there at night? Then even the trees can entertain you better."
Irritated by his statement she looked at him a little bit furiously and stood up again. He wouldn't talk her out of her plan. She would go where Masrur sent her, no stranger would interfere.
"I am on my way home." he suddenly said, but, Kougyoku remained unimpressed.
"Then leave already." she nagged and he lifted his hands in innocence.
"Woah, don't be so touchy. I only wanted to ask you if you want to come with me because it can get really dangerous at night for you and in addition you will need another two hours, until you arrive at the village."
"You seriously think that I would believe that?"
"What do you mean?" he wanted to know and crossed the arms before his chest.
"I won't allow myself to get dragged in the house of a stranger. I am not that naive." she clarified and he looked a little bit confused, then he sighed.
"If I wanted to do something to you, I could have made this a long time ago. We are alone, after all."
Though she knew that he was right, she didn't feel comfortable with the thought of follow him home.
"Actually I don't care about what's happening to you." he said calmly, but she still ignored him.
"Then why are you still here?"
There was no end to her defiance and that annoyed him. It didn't happen often that he behaved so nicely towards a foreign person and she didn't even appreciate it, but reacted continuously snotty. He came to the decision that he didn't need this kind of conversation, consigned a short "Bye" and walked away.
Kougyoku turned back and looked after him. She hadn't expected that he really would disappear and she slowly got a bad conscience. What if he really just wanted to help her? Maybe she had overreacted. And now she was left alone in the forest, which was not what she wanted. If she really need so long to get to the village, her escape wouldn't have been worthwhile at all. However, what should she expect if she followed him? Would she meet other people? She bit her lower lip and slowly panic spread out, when she registered that he almost disappeared completely.
"Please wait!" now she shouted at him, but he didn't react. She bit her lower lip again, this time more firmly, and started to run after him, without even think about what she did. Because she ran and he went without any hurry, she caught up with him easily. Then she walked beside him and he still ignored her completely. She looked embarrassed to the ground.
"I didn't want to overreact, I'm just a bit overwhelmed with the whole situation." she tried to explain and he only gave her a sceptical side glance, as if he didn't believe her.
"I'm serious. Would you accept an excuse?"
"What a major honour." he answered sarcastically and Kougyoku was glad that he reacted at all.
"I need your help, I think." she admitted honestly and he stopped. He looked at her distrustfully, had crossed his arms before his chest and seemed to consider whether he should give her one more chance or if he should leave her behind in the forest.
"I won't go with you to the village."
"I don't want that." she answered and he pulled up an eyebrow.
"If I go with you… Will I meet other people?" she asked timidly and felt a bit silly. However, he grinned.
"Sure."
Her eyes widened in surprise. Did he forgive her?
"So this means I can go with you?!" she wanted to clarify the situation and he scratched his head.
"Yes, if you promise that you not get on my nerves."
She easily puffed her cheeks. How impertinent to call her annoying. But she didn't want to start a new discussion, in the end, she accomplished that he would help her.
"I promise." she quietly murmured with what he also was content.
"There you go …old hag."
She clenched her fists, but decided to remain quiet. This guy really knew how to make her livid with rage.