On Your Shore
~a songfic~
Note from Cat: The muses picked up a plot bunny today while I was listening to Enya. I know, I should really be working on KTSB, but I thought it was a good idea. So, without further ado…
~
Strange how my heart beats
To find myself upon your shore
Strange how I still feel
My loss of comfort gone before
Yukimi noh Daiomoru dreamt she was flying. She soared on wings of sapphire over the Emerald Ocean. Only she knew her destination, though not why she was compelled to go there. A solitary golden cloud appeared in the otherwise unbroken sky, far off on the horizon. Somehow, Yuki knew that underneath that cloud lay the land she was called to.
She woke with a start. Outside the window, the sun had not quite risen, but a line of gold stretched across the horizon. The clouds that lined the sky were beginning to show tinges of rose and violet. All was silent, save for the soft sounds of the ocean. Yuki stood and walked to her window. Staring at the gentle waves breaking across the sand, she thought about the dream she had had every night for several weeks. Abruptly, she turned and raced outside, still wearing her nightclothes.
Cool waves wash over
And drift away with dreams of youth
So time is stolen
I cannot hold you long enough
Yuki waded into the ocean, just in the wake of a small wave. Another, right on the heels of the first, washed around her bare feet and ankles. With every wave that ran up the beach and back, the voices of the ocean called to Yuki. They whispered to her of the land across the waters, and as she had so many days before, she longed to sprout wings and fly to that place the ocean spoke of. She watched a boat move across the horizon, visible only as a tiny black dot silhouetted against the rising sun. How many times have I come here? she wondered. How many times have I stood here, wishing to be there? I have no reason. I'm perfectly happy here, she told herself. Indeed, there was no reason for Yuki to long for places unknown. She was a lady-in-waiting to the princess and lived well at the imperial court. Her parents were happily married, unlike several noble familes they knew. She had the best friends anyone could ask for. Life was good… so why did far-off lands call to her?
And so
This is where I should be now
Days and nights falling by
Days and nights falling by me
I know
Of a dream I should be holding
Days and nights falling by
Days and nights falling by me
Soon it would be time for Yuki's family to arrange her marriage. In the manner of the Yamanis, she expressed no emotion at the prospect. It was strange to her, though, that she couldn't bring herself to feel anything inwardly either. Yuki knew many of the young noblemen around her age, and was good friends with most of them. She did not exactly mind the thought of spending the rest of her life with one of her close friends, but a tiny part of her desperately longed to be swept off her feet and carried away to live happily ever after.
Soft blue horizons
Reach far into my childhood days
As you are rising
To bring me my forgotten ways
As if reading her mind, the mysterious voices of the ocean now whispered snatches of the romantic fairy tales Yuki had loved to hear when she was small. Her thoughts turned once more to the land across the sea. Could those tales await her there? She banished the thought from her mind- there she went again, dreaming of things that had long since ceased to exist.
"Yuki, are you out here again?" She heard a familiar voice behind her and turned to see Princess Shinkokami, her best friend since childhood, looking for her towards the back of the beach.
Yuki waved at her friend. "Over here," she called. Shinko came to the water's edge where Yuki was standing.
"I have been looking for you since last night!" Shinko exclaimed. "Have you heard? I'm betrothed to Prince Roald- in Tortall, you know, across the ocean." The princess looked at her friend expectantly. "You will come, won't you?"
Most uncharacteristically, Yuki grinned. "Do you even have to ask? Just show me the way!" She spared a last look at the horizon and the early dawn sun before following Shinko back up to the palace.
Strange how I falter
To find I'm standing in deep water
Yuki knew that she had just made a life-changing decision- to leave her country and the life she knew- but she didn't hesitate. Her dreams and the ocean's whispers seemed more true than ever, and she looked forward to the promise of a new, exciting land. I'll be there soon, she thought to herself. Perhaps fairy tales do come true…
Strange how my heart beats
To find I'm standing on your shore
~
Disclaimer: Yuki and everyone belong to the great Tamora Pierce. The song "On Your Shore" belongs to Enya, not me- although I do have it on CD.