Author's note: For some reason Saiunkoku has spawned a very large number of AUs in my bizarre brain. Fortunately this one hasn't gone any further, possibly because there's too many ways it could go. I've already got two AUs and an AU-crossover that I'm working on, so I REALLY don't need any more. Oh, and Ensei is infinitely worthy of worship. And doesn't get nearly enough.
"I have the response from the Governor's mansion, too," the messenger said.
"Finally!" the captain tossed aside the rib he'd been gnawing on and lumbered to his feet. "Somebody bring that brat from the shed and let's see how much he's worth."
One of the bandits came back to the clearing, dragging a young boy by one arm. The child's once-fine robe was filthy and torn, his long hair a hopeless tangle. It was hard to tell the bruises from the dirt on his face, save for in the case of one eye that was clearly blackened. He made no sound as the bandit shoved him roughly into the circle formed by the men, a marked contrast to the way he had sobbed when they first pulled him from the ruins of the carriage.
"Let's see, now . . . " the captain ripped through the seal with greasy fingers, staining the fine paper. He was one of the few among them who could actually read. "From the hands of the Governor himself . . . on behalf of the Imperial Palace! The kid's not just some noble's son, we netted ourselves a prince!"
The crowd roared with laughter and approval. "So how much for him?" someone shouted. "They'd better be paying his weight in gold!"
"The Prince Ryuuki, son of His Majesty the Emperor Senka--" the name was greeted with catcalls and hoots. "As for the ransom-- regret to inform you-- six sons already, so one gone is hardly a loss-- an exiled traitor to his royal father and the throne anyway-- WHAT?!" The captain's voice became a shout of outrage. "All that trouble to get him and the little bastard is worthless? DAMMIT!" The captain slammed the paper to the ground amidst the angry shouts of his men and ground it viciously into the dirt with the heel of one boot.
"The HELL?!"
"Princes aren't even worth the whores they're spawned on now--"
"We've been feeding the little shit all this time for nothing--"
"For fuck's sake, what are we supposed to do with him, then?"
"Do you think I care?" the captain snarled, his face blotched and ugly with anger. "Kill him and be done with it, at least then we can sell his body for fertilizer."
The boy curled up on the ground, his small body buffeted by the kicks and blows of the frustrated bandits. One of them drew his sword with a curse, grabbing the boy's hair as a handle to yank him to his feet. The prince's yellow eyes were blank and empty as they reflected the raised, notched blade, paused at the apex of its swing; they closed when it flashed down--
There was a clang and the sound of impacting flesh, and sword and bandit flew in two different directions. A gangly teenager landed in front of the boy in a wary stance. He was smaller than the men who surrounded him by more than a head, but the iron staff in his hands and the look in his eyes made them step back with wary respect. "Nobody's killing him," he said, and his voice already had a man's timbre even though he hadn't reached his growth. "Since he's worthless to all of you, then no one will object if I take him." The staff whistled through the air, and one of the bandits yanked back out of range, howling and clutching a broken wrist. "Isn't that right?"
"You want the Imperial turd, Shoukou-ou?" one of them men leered. "Even Meishou doesn't touch them until they're above waist height."
"The hell do you care? The best whore in the country couldn't get you to work, not for more than a ten-count." The men laughed and the targeted bandit flushed an angry red, but the tension of a moment before evaporated. "From now on he's mine, and none of you touch him."
"If he's yours, then you're feeding him," one of the bandits said as he turned away. "Don't think we'll give you anything extra for a brat so worthless his own damn father doesn't want him."
Ensei waited for the crowd to dissipate entirely, the bored and disappointed bandits wandering back to their abandoned dice and alcohol, before he turned around. The boy hadn't moved from where the bandit had dropped him, all his limbs drawn in protectively close to his body. He darted a quick glance at Ensei, then just as quickly looked back at the ground.
"It's okay, kid, they're gone." Ensei crouched down and took the boy's arm, gentle but firm when the child flinched away from him. "Easy, easy, I'm not gonna hurt you. Let's take a look at you, okay?"
The boy stayed quiet, but he let Ensei stand him up and feel over his limbs to see if they were whole. "The boss said your name is Ryuuki, right?" Round yellow eyes stared at him apprehensively, and a new scrape trickled red down one side of the boy's face. "All right, Ryuuki. My name is Ensei, and I'm gonna take care of you from now on, okay? Just keep your head down and stick with me and you'll be fine. We'll get through this. So first we'll get you patched up, and then I'll give you a haircut, and then-- well, we'll figure that out when we get there. Okay, Ryuuki? Nod if you understand me."
The boy gaped at him, showing a mouth full of gaps from missing teeth, then managed a jerky nod in response.
Ensei managed to rescue the child's worn blanket from the rough shed the bandits had been keeping him in. It was just as filthy as the boy's clothing, and probably full of fleas as well, but it was better than nothing. It would take time to acquire the things the kid needed-- a blanket without holes, sturdier clothing, a pair of shoes. They had split Ensei's dinner between them, and although Ensei was willing to bet he was hungry, Ryuuki hadn't eaten much.
"Don't wander off," Ensei had warned him. "We're a long way from the nearest village, and if you get lost nobody's going to be able to find you. Stay close to me at all times. Don't leave the camp-- if you need to make water just go behind a tree. I can protect you from the others, but you have to stay close."
The boy had nodded, but other than that he had yet to make a sound. Ensei stretched out on his back with a sigh and glanced over at him-- he was only a small mound in the darkness, barely illuminated by the faint starlight. When Ensei listened, he could hear faint, hiccupping breaths, barely audible against the sounds of the forest.
"Here, here," he whispered, and sat up so that he could pull the kid over to him. "What's the matter, does something hurt? Are you scared of the dark?"
Another one of the boy's silent nods, his shorn hair hiding his face.
"It's okay, nothing's going to hurt you. I'm here, and I'm not scared of the dark. You can sleep right next to me." Ensei lay down again, and the boy hesitated, then curled up against his side, his small head pillowed on Ensei's chest. Ensei put an arm over him, and it felt right. "I used to have a brother once, did you know that? He was just a baby then, but my mom used to let me hold him, just like I'm holding you now. But I don't have a family anymore, so how about this? You can be my new little brother, and I'll be your big brother and take care of you. We can be a family together, the two of us. What do you think, Ryuuki?"
The boy had stopped shivering, and Ensei felt his nod. "Yeah, that'll be good. Brothers can depend on each other. And they teach each other things . . . so I'll teach you about the stars. They're really pretty, aren't they? To me, the stars are my friends. I know their names, too, so I'm never alone in the dark. Once you know them, you won't have to be afraid anymore at night. Do you see those seven blue-looking ones, over there? See how they make a dragon shape, and . . ."