Tears You Never Cried
Prologue
Disclaimer: My first actual disclaimer! Umm, okay, I claim to own nothing–except the plot, I totally own that!
Author's Note: Well, the prologue gave me more troubles than I'd expected, and I'm not really pleased with the layout. But it's all I could come up with, and other chapters will be normal story-like chapters.
And before I forget, if anyone could direct me to some well written Kekari's, it would be much appreciated.
If you are looking for a fairy tale, then I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place. I would like to say that this tale is a fable meant to awe children with its fantastic events, but that would be a lie. You see, for this to be a fairy tale, then everything would have to work out perfectly in the end; everyone would be happy and the bad guy would get what he deserves. Unfortunately, it's not so clear cut in this story. You may wonder just who the bad guy is by tale's end, and what he deserves.
But, rather than get a head of myself with declarations of what this story is not, and before I spoil the story by telling you exactly what it is, I will take you there myself and let you decide.
It all begins with a once upon a time…
The Ichijouji name was once a powerful icon; as much a show of strength and bravery as it was of compassion and honesty. But the name was ancient, and like many ancient things, it began to fade until it was barely a distant memory in the minds of scholars.
The last Lord Ichijouji was a simple man, more worried about his family than about his title. He participated little in court affairs in favor of spending time at his manor. Lord Ichijouji had two sons with his darling wife, Ayana. Osamu was the first born son, a strong and bright boy. He disagreed with his father's decision to avoid court, especially with their ideal location. The Ichijouji manor sat directly between the Ishida kingdom and the Hida kingdom. In times past, the Ichijoujis favored the Hida kingdom, though they never pledged allegiance to any country. Osamu planned to make friends with both kingdoms as soon as he was old enough to take his father's title.
Osamu was smarter than most, in that he had books smarts and common sense. He excelled in his studies by at least five years. He spent hours upon hours in the large library studying from a broad array of subjects. When he wasn't in the library, he was likely to be found in the stables taking care of his grey stallion, Rionx.
He was truly a son any parent could be proud of, and the Ichijouji's doted upon Osamu shamelessly.
But wait, what of the other son?
Ichijouji Ken was a sickly little boy with midnight blue hair that fell flat against his face. He was often ill and thus restricted to his bed for most of the time. A personal doctor was hired to care for the boy, a strange man by the name of Yukio Oikawa. He had a crooked smile and untrusting eyes, but he happened to be Ken's only friend so Lord Ichijouji kept him around. He went by Oikawa rather than Sensei Yukio, much to Ayana's dismay.
Oikawa spent long afternoons with Ken in his room, encouraging the boy to read awkward books with ancient spells and putting in the boy's mind the allure of becoming a sorcerer.
It wasn't that Lord Ichijouji loved Ken any less than Osamu, it was merely that he had a better connection with the elder son. He understood nothing about magic and sorcery, it rather terrified him. He did understand, however, hunting and wrestling and all those things Osamu was an expert at.
That was why when Osamu died Lord Ichijouji was forever changed. Osamu had been flown from Rionx when the creature was spooked by something in the woods. His spine was crushed by the impact and he died within seconds. Lord Ichijouji found him later that evening and immediately killed the whimpering stallion lying beside his master.
It wasn't long after that both Lord and Lady Ichijouji caught a flu that took both their lives in a matter of weeks.
Ken became the new Lord Ichijouji at the age of thirteen.
The first thing he did was fire all of the hired help, including Oikawa. The majority of windows were boarded up and the crops were left to rot. Ken expected to die from the next illness that took hold of him, but grew increasingly healthy with each passing day. Still, incredulous, he spent his time studying spells and incantations and waited for death to claim him.
The southern province of the Ishida Kingdom was where Lady Kamiya Yuuko and the young Baroness Takaishi Natsuko spent their youth. The Baron Takaishi married his daughter off to Crown Prince Hiroaki when her fifteenth birthday passed, even though the two were not known to get along very well. Yuuko traveled often to the capital to see her best of friends, and eventually met Yagami Susumu.
She fell madly in love with the handsome Lord instantly and their courtship lasted only a few months. She came to live with him on his small manor just outside the capital.
Yuuko had her first child two years after she was married to Susumu; a healthy boy they named Taichi. He was incredibly lively, getting into everything from the moment he took his first step. Both Lord and Lady Yagami cherished their son, and spoiled him devotedly.
If there was one thing that Yuuko wanted more than anything, it was a little girl. That's why, when she gave birth to her second child three years later, a delicate baby girl, she named her Hikari, for she truly was her mother's light.
Whether it was proper or not, Yuuko made it quite clear that Hikari was her pride and joy. You might think that Taichi would be jealous of this; who wouldn't be envious of the favorite child? But Taichi was a boy of outstanding character, and even at the tender age of three, when he first laid eyes on his infant sister, he decided to protect Hikari as best he could. He reserved no spite towards her when she was born, or in any years following.
By coincidence, or maybe fate, if you are a believer of such things, Natsuko bore two children in correspondence with her life-long friend's children. Yamato, crown prince of the Ishida Kingdom, was born two months before Taichi; Takeru was born three months after Hikari.
Natsuko and Yuuko both decided that their children should marry for love. They also thought it would be marvelous should their children fall in love with one another. For this reason, Takeru and Hikari spent a good deal of time together from infanthood until Takeru turned seven.
When Yamato was ten, King Hiroaki set up an arrangement in which Yamato would eventually marry Princess Sora of the Takenouchi Kingdom across the North Sea. This went against Natsuko's wishes, and the young queen, fed up with her unhappy marriage decided she needed to get away from her husband.
Divorce was unheard of in those days, so, under the false excuse that she was ill and needed to get away from the capital to get well again, Natsuko returned to her father's barony with Takeru by her side. Hiroaki and Yamato were left alone, seeing neither Queen nor Prince for the better part of ten years.
Hikari spent a good deal of time in the capital city after Takeru's departure. There she and her brother befriended Motomiya Daisuke, the son of the blacksmith. He was wild and adventurous, but with a compassionate side that could not be beat. He was of no noble decent, but became a Paige and eventually squire to Taichi.
Years passed by quickly in the capital, all of them carefree and prosperous. By the time Hikari turned seventeen she had become a true image of beauty. She had long, silky, light brown hair that framed her face perfectly, large brown eyes with the slightest tint of red in them, and small red lips that pulled into an enchanting smile. With her beauty was the grace of a Goddess and the heart of a dove.
She was content spending most of her days assisting her mother at home, or helping out at the castle, but she loved wasting the day away with Taichi, Yamato, or Daisuke. Daisuke always brought her with him when he sparred, always trying to show off his skill. He was the strongest and most skilled squire thanks mostly to Taichi, and Hikari adored watching him because he always looked so happy when in the melee ring.
One afternoon in the spring when Hikari came to the palace to find Daisuke, she nearly ran into a tall blonde. At first she thought it was Yamato, but upon closer inspection she guessed that the young man was just shy of seventeen years.
After ten years Lady Natsuko returned and Hikari was reunited with Takeru. They were inseparable from that day forward, much to Daisuke's dismay. Takeru had been training to become a knight with his grandfather and quickly showed Daisuke his capabilities. They became rivals more than friends, but kept that to themselves for Hikari's sake.
For the first year of Takeru's return, Hikari received many offers for a husband. Taichi went through them and found fault with all of them. Some of them were her father's age, some already had wives. Some, like a Duke named Wallace, simply lived too far away. Taichi was not about to let his sister marry someone who would take her away from him.
When Takeru spoke to Lord and Lady Yagami about his intentions to court Hikari, Taichi was present. Yuuko nearly fainted from delight, and Susumu thought it would be an honor to have Takeru as a son-in-law. Taichi neither turned Takeru down nor gave his consent. So Takeru went ahead and courted Hikari with caution; Hikari adored Taichi more than anyone and would never marry someone he did not approve of.
You are probably wondering what the tragic son of Lord Ichijouji has to do with young Yagami Hikari or even Prince Takeru. But that, my friends, is for another chapter.
