Chapter 1
I leaned against the wall pulling the hood more and more over my face, trying to stop breathing. I kept checking that my curly, golden hair was completely hidden. If anything, that would bust me immediately. But only, if someone saw it. There was no problem if nobody would.I looked left and right one more time and crossed the street. There it was, right in front of me; the theater. I went to see all kinds of boring dramas and showy art performances there. I hated them.
I kept my eyes in the huge, decorated door of the theater. One showy art performance was on at this very moment. A dance performance, to be exact. The Fujisaki family. They were one of the most well-known and most respected families in the country. I found it weird that I had never seen their performance. Not that I had anything against it, though. I didn't like dance that much.
But then why was I sneaking behind the theater, looking for the back door just to meet one particular member of that dancing family?
"I have a good reason", I kept repeating to myself. "This is not just rebelling."
My parents would run around the town like two headless chickens if they noticed that I was gone. But they wouldn't. Today, as always, they would be working late to provide us. And to avoid each other.
I shook my parents off my mind. There was something much more interesting right in front of me; the back door. I laid my hand on the handle and pushed it down, trying to open the door. It was locked. And right at that moment I realized that my plan was very incomplete.
I was stupid as hell. Damn idiot. They would never keep the door open when such a remarkable family was in the building. And if they did, how would I know which Fujisaki was the one I was looking for? From the posters I had seen they all had pale skin, they were tall and had straight, silky black hair.
And most definetely they would kick me out immediately. I was a random girl who snuck in from the back door, trying to hide my identity.
I sat down on the street next to the door, suffocating the desire to kick the damn door open. What was I doing? Why? Yep, definitely rebelling, a mean voice in the back of my head mocked.
To prove myself wrong, or right or whatever, I had to remind myself why I had snuck out of the house exactly tonight.
"In this country, we have five rulers," I told myself. "King's Chair, Queen's Chair, Jack's Chair, Ace's Chair and Joker's Chair. They start to rule when one of the previous five dies or is unable to do their job. All five rulers change if one does. The position usually passes down from a family member to another, but if there isn't any heirs that fulfill the criteria, the family will be switched and position will be given to another person."
I sighed. I didn't even remember the criteria or the history of this weird tradition. Everything I knew was that the rulers were called Guardians because their duty was to protect the country, and that the new Guardians must be age 16-18 when they start. I wasn't sure why was that, I thought it was careless to leave the country in the hands of five kids. It probably had something to do with the myth behind the whole thing, which I, of course, didn't remember.
And yet it was extremely ironic for me to even think so. I should be the one defending the system at all costs; in thirty days, I would be the new Queen.
My family didn't have any former Guardians. We were just a little below average in money. And for some reason, they picked me to follow in the footsteps of the previous Queen.
When the letter arrived, my parents almost dropped their eyes. I don't know if either one of them actually wanted to ask me to stay at home. The Guardians must live at a building known as Seiyo. They controlled everything from there. When I was gone, my parents would have to stand each other without me.
I'm rather sure there won't be any difference, though. When my parents were in the same room due to some navigation mistake, they usually fought too intensively to notice if I was there or not.
I glanced at the back door again. I was so very unlike the Fujisaki family. They were not only one of the most, if not the most respected dancers, but they also had political influence. Two former Queens were both Fujisakis. Sadly, Queen Izumi didn't have a daughter to take over in her place. But it was well known that she did have a child. Queen Izumi never revealed any details about her child, not even gender. It was known that the child did perform dancing, but every year many pale-skinned, black-haired Fujisaki brats started performing, it was impossible to tell which one had Queen Izumi's jawline.
But I had found out more. Immediately after figuring out that I would be the future the Queen, I started to look for information about my future colleagues. Especially the Jack. The Guardians are not allowed to meet each other before they take control over the country. But of course I wanted to know what kind of people I would have to work with. Especially Jack.
Even inside the Guardians, who were the top of the country, there was something like roles. As a citizen I wasn't supposed to know this, but I couldn't avoid the rumors. And the Jack was the servant, the protector, the trusted one. For the Queen, especially. Many Queens and Jacks had married in the past. Was it so weird if I was interested to see my future lapdog?
It was rumored that even if it should be technically impossible, Fujisakis got Izumi's son in the position of the new Jack. Manipulated and blackmailed whoever decides about it, in other words, not that anyone would say that out loud. And that's why I was sitting on the empty corner of the street at night, thinking that I was a total fool.
A squek brought me back to this world from my self-blame. Before I could stand up and run, the back door opened. I didn't know what to do so I pretented to be invisible against the wall.
The door closed. I looked at who had stepped out. The person had their silky, black hair in a high ponytail, decorated with flowers. Her clothing seemed reduced from what I had seen in posters promoting dance performances; this person was only wearing a long, white dress and a big lavender scarf around her shoulders.
The person let out a small sigh. She moved away from the door, luckily not to my side, and leaned against the wall. There she stood, staring at the wall on the other side of the street only a couple steps away.
I couldn't get my eyes off of her, even though I couldn't see her properly in the dark. I could see that she was beautiful, just like Queen Izumi. When I was sitting in the street, my own scarf as a hood over my face, staring at her like a stalker, she suddenly turned her face towards me.
She almost gasped when she saw me, but for some reason she seemed to swallow it. I didn't know why. If I was her, I would scream for help. I quickly jumped up, letting the hood fall down.
"I'm not a stalker or anything, there's no reason to freak out!" I said convincingly.
The girl looked at me with her eyes widened. Then she cracked a small smile.
"If you're not a stalker, who are you?" her voice was soft and gentle.
I gulped. She was from the Fujisaki family so she should know how important some things could be, right? But for the same reason there was a possibility that she was excellent at manipulating.
"You can call me… Mari." I said quickly. That was probably that dumbest thing I've ever said but revealing my real name would be a risk.
When the new Guardians were to be revealed in 30 days, she would notice that the new Queen is not only my copy but her name resembles mine alarmingly much.
She smiled a warm smile.
"My name is Nadeshiko. I perform here." she nodded towards the theather.
"I thought so." I nodded too. "Your clothing is very different from what I've seen in the posters, though."
"Oh, in the posters we always have the most magnificent outfit of the performance. We use multiple for one. This isn't for a performing, though. I needed some air. I won't be going on stage for a long time so it's fine. But they're probably looking for me anyway."
"You ran away?" I nearly smiled at how carefree she was.
"I needed air." Nadeshiko repeated, still smiling. "But why are you here, if you don't mind me asking? This is kind of a peculiar place to spend a night, and uncomfortable too."
"It's quiet here, no people to bother me!" I said. Then I remembered why I actually was there and sighed.
Nadeshiko looked at me kindly.
"You can tell me."
I shook my head. I almost felt bad for rejecting her offer. Her tone and the look in her face was so kind and understanding that for a second I just wanted to tell her all the worries of my life.
"No, I can't."
"Well, I suppose you shouldn't trust strangers." she winked and I smiled at her in return.
I couldn't tell the whole story to Nadeshiko; but I could try asking about the new Jack's Chair at least. I had to!
"So, you perform here so it's fair to suppose that you're from the Fujisaki family. Do you happen to know if the rumors are true?"
It might've been my imagination or the darkness, but I thought I saw her smile getting less carefree. She still replied with enthusiastic tone.
"What rumors?"
"You know, the rumors..." I had to be sneaky. I leaned towards Nadeshiko, lowering my voice. "That the new Jack is in fact Queen Izumi's son."
She quickly straightened her back as I whispered my secret to her. All of sudden, Nadeshiko looked really nervous. She still managed to smile when she spoke.
"Queen Izumi keeps us out about the political matters. It is also her duty. Honestly, I don't know about that."
I wouldn't give up so easily.
"Oh. But do you know him?"
"Who?"
"Queen Izumi's son!" I smiled my sweetest smile of a devil.
Nadeshiko gulped. Then she managed to smile again. Everything in less than a split of a split second. How did she do that.
"I don't think he would make a very good Guardian, to be honest."
"How come?"
"He's unreliable and socially a little bit inept. That doesn't make a good ruler, right?"
That was better be a bad joke. Both the rumor and what Nadeshiko just said. I didn't want an unreliable lapdog.
"What's his name?" I wanted to know.
"How do I know you're not publishing this somewhere? Maybe you're from some magazine." She giggled at her own joke.
"You know that's forbidden. If someone leaks any information about the future Guardians, they will be punished." I repeated what I had read somewhere. "It's… just important. But I can't tell you why. I totally sound like a paparazzi." I added muttering. Then I got my pride back. "If he's not the Jack's Chair, it shouldn't be important, right?"
Nadeshiko smiled her kind smile. Suddenly she grabbed my both shoulders and leaned close.
"I will tell you but it must be a secret, okay?"
I nodded slightly. I was afraid to move too much or events could take a very awkward turn.
"Na-gi-hi-ko." She whispered. Then she let go of my shoulders and turned me her back. "I will go now before they will turn the whole theater around because of me. See you, Mari."
"Um, wait." I said. She turned around. "How are you two related?"
She smiled and winked.
"He is my twin brother." with that, she walked inside and I was left on the street. I could feel my jaw dropping.