By popular demand, I am posting the April fools chapter I wrote for Blushweaver. This chapter begins right after chapter 55 of the prince's Concubine. Koun just told her that he's breaking up the harem. Hope you enjoy it!
Kyoko stared at Kuon, all words escaping her. He couldn't dismiss the harem! How would she stay near him? Should she even want to stay near him? How did this man always manage to destroy her peace of mind?
"Kyoko?"
Ren was looking at her, his eyes full of something she couldn't place.
"Yes prince?" she said as composedly as she could manage.
" I hope you know that this doesn't mean you have to leave. The palace is you home."
"I-" she tried to speak, but the words seemed in her throat, and tear unbidden swam in her eyes. Embarrassed she quickly turned to go, pulling the door half way open before a hand closed it firmly from behind her.
"Kyoko what's wrong? Please talk to me, don't run away from me."
She couldn't face him, she just wanted to run and hide. Fighting her feelings, she turned to face him. golden-brown meet bright green. Eyes she could trust, but he'd lied to her! But she loved him. But how could he love her? She'd lost his one last hope, the pearl! And then there was her stupid nature and how ugly she was, and-and-and-and-and everything!
Kyoko's internal whirlwind was dissolved by a hand gently wiping a tear from Kyoko's cheek. Kyoko jumped and Ren retracted his hand, looking embarrassed.
"Please" he said again "let me help you."
Oh he couldn't know what he was doing to her heart!
"I CAN'T EVEN! Wailed Kyoko, catching Kuon off guard as she threw her arms around his middle and sobbed into his shirt.
Kuon was dumbfounded. Unsure of what had caused this outburst, but very happy Kyoko was hugging him. He resisted for a moment, but unable to help himself, he began to pet her head, and softly try to coax her to tell him what was going on.
After what seemed like a moment to Ren and a year to Kyoko, she finally peeled herself off Koun, eye's red, but emotions settled.
"Kuon, why didn't you tell me you were Ren?" she said with all the calmness she didn't have.
Kuon, totally unprepared for this line of questioning was shocked.
"Well I- he began then stopped. He had been beginning to say he didn't think it was important, but that would be a lie.
He sighed "I didn't want to ruin your memory."
"Ruin it?" said Kyoko confused, "how would you ruin it?"
"Well, by being a cursed evil piece of crap with half the light magic and goodness that I had before. How could anyone not be disappointed? I mean, your memory of Ren is so important to you that Rosa even turns in to him."
At this Kyoko stiffened, and looked at him incredulously. She stared so long that he began to be uncomfortable until she began to laugh. It started out as a giggle, but it grew and grew until she was crying again, but this time with laughter.
Kuon was smiling to see her so happy, but he really was lost.
"So you really have no idea?" She finally managed.
"Um no?" said Kuon thoroughly confused.
Kyoko giggled again and leaned forward and kissed Kuon gently on the lips. Kuon froze, heart beating out of control.
"Kuon, Rosa doesn't turn into you because of the past, but because of me now."
Ren looked at Kyoko, not daring to believe.
"this has to be a dream." He said, not daring to believe that she could love him.
"But it's not" said Kyoko staring shyly into his eyes, trying to read their expression. She hadn't meant to kiss him, it had just happened, but what if he didn't want her to? What if he was angry?
Kuon walked towards his parent's room with a spring in his step. The world seemed brighter, better, nothing could darken this day. Kyoko loved him! How? He was so flawed! And yet none of that seemed to matter to her. He could practically sing he was so happy!
The Djinn formed in the air right in front of him, and Kuon stopped dead in his tracks.
'Please hear me. There's not much time!'
Kuon started, that wasn't how the Djinn normally sounded. What was going on?
'Kuon you can't trust them. You can't trust her! They're-'
But as quickly as it had come, the Djinn vanished again.
"Are you okay prince Kuon?" asked one of the guards standing outside his parent's rooms.
"Yeah I…" He trailed off. What had that been about?
"Prince Kuon" Kyoko came running towards him and threw her arms around him. A pain exploded in his back, and as Kyoko pulled back, there was a knife in her hands slick with his blood.
But it couldn't be Kyoko, her eyes were… orange!
"If you will not fall to the light, I will find someone who will!" Rosa hissed, before stabbing the knife into Kuon's chest, and running away with unnatural speed, knife still in hand.
Kuon sunk to the ground gasping for air. She must have hit a lung.
"My Lord! Prince Kuon!" the guard shouted panicking, reaching for Kuon.
"Help! Someone!"
His parent's door opened and Julie gasped, running to her son. He smiled, or at least tried to. She was a wonderful woman. But who he really wanted was Kyoko. They would never marry now. With the last heaving of his breath a tear rolled down his cheek.
Kyoko twirled around her room as she packed up. Ren loved her! Julie had been right! All they needed was some clear communication. She was so full of energy! She needed to talk to someone about this! Right on que Kanae burst into her room.
"Kanae!" said Kyoko happily, but she cut her off.
"You need to go. I don't know why, but they think you killed Kuon."
"They w-what?" asked Kyoko shocked. Did she just say that Kuon was…
"Yes it's sad, you love him I get it, but we need to get out of here!" Kanae grabbed the stunned Kyoko by the arm and began pulling her towards the hall. Kyoko let her self be hauled along, trying to process what was going on.
They exited the room only to come face to face with Julie and a group of guards.
"You," hissed Julie, pure venom painted her face.
Kyoko stepped back at that look.
"I trusted you, and now you've taken my son!" Tear tracks were evident on her face. Her beautiful face that was always so kind. The whole thing seemed surreal.
"I didn't" said Kyoko faintly, overwhelmed by the whole confrontation.
"Don't lie!" screamed Julie.
"But I-"
As she spoke, her shadow guard appeared, forming from the shadows.
"Your majesty, Kyoko has been in my watch, she didn't kill prince Kuon."
"You're lying" said Julie, her voice laced with deadly calm. "I saw the back of Kyoko as she ran from the corpse of my dead son. If you're trying to cover for her, you must be in on this."
Shadow breathed in deeply and stomped his foot before turning to Kyoko. "Lady Kyoko, I've taken control of their shadows, it will not last long. Run. You are our only hope."
"W-what-" but Kanae was pulling at her arm, and she knew she needed to go. "Thank you shadow."
"Thank me by living" he said turning to look at the frozen queen obviously straining at the effort of keeping up his magic. When they were out of earshot he added to himself. "Live for us both." He held it for as long as he could, but it was only about 10 minutes before he slipped, and a bolt of magic shot from a guard piercing straight through his heart.
Tears streamed silently down Kyoko's cheeks as they ran. Kuon. Could he really be dead? All that life they could have lived together. Now gone, and if she wasn't careful, hers would end right now. How could the queen think that she had killed Kuon? How could she have seen her kill him?
"Kyoko!" Kanae's voice broke through her thoughts, she had slowed her pace.
"We should go through the window and hide in the bushes for a while and come up with a plan."
Kyoko nodded deftly.
"We're on the second floor, do you think you can handle that?"
She nodded again. Kanae squeezed her hand before throwing the window open and checking to see if the coast was clear. If Kyoko hadn't been so out of it, she would have been deeply touched by the rare show of physical affection, but as it was, she was numb to it.
"It's clear," said Kanae, and she jumped, using her pulse magic to slow down the fall. Kyoko followed with a little less grace, but Kanae helped her as best she could before setting up an illusion barrier. It wasn't perfect, but it could bide them some time.
"Okay, we need to figure out how to get you out of here," said Kanae trying to pull her friend from her trance like state. "Is there a drainage system or some sort of underground something we could take advantage of?"
"Kanae," said Kyoko, turning her blood shot golden eyes towards her. "You know I didn't do it, right?"
"Yes you idiot, but innocence does not guarantee you'll get out of this. We need to come up with a plan."
Kyoko nodded, and rubbed the tears from her eyes as she tried to pull herself together.
Kyoko
Kyoko and Kanae turned the latter raising her spear in defense, but it was only Rosa, flying towards them in her phoenix form before landing and turning into Ren.
"I heard what happened Kyoko, and I know it wasn't you." said the demi God. Moving towards her. In a flash, she lunged for Kyoko, but Kanae, already on alert for an attack threw herself in front of her, and the Phonix's blade caught her in the stomach pushing her back on top of Kyoko.
"Oh dear I killed another one" sighed the phoenix, putting a hand to her face, Ren's face, Kuon's face.
"Why?" whispered Kyoko, eyes fixed on a creature she had revered, that she had talked with, that she had thought of as a friend.
"Hmm. Well because she knew you didn't kill Kuon, so she had to go."
"But why kill Kuon?"
'Oh I've been planning on killing him for a long time. Too much dark magic in him, I could never control him like I do the others.'
Kyoko was only half listening, she was trying to heal Kanae. She had the instrument that should help, even if Kanae was awkwardly on top of her.
"You should really give up on trying to heal her with light magic my dear." said the phoenix smiling condescendingly at the helpless girl pinned under her dying friend. "You know that stuff comes from me, and I certainly don't want that filthy warrior woman to live."
Tears were failing from Kyoko. She seemed to have cried a life's worth of them just in this day. Instead she glared at the pseudo-ren, the fallen demi god, and as she did, the Spector, or the dark Djinn came sharply into focus.
What is your wish?
The words sounded in her ears. Not grating or harsh as she would have suspected, but deep, melodious.
"I wish to save those I love!" yelled Kyoko.
The phoenix looked at her confused. The look changed to horror as every shadow pulled towards Kyoko, and she began to lift up from under Kanae.
"NO!" screeched the phoenix, sending a bolt of light at Kyoko, but the darkness swallowed it easily. Shadows continued to come, like metal to a magnet, clothing Kyoko in a robe of shadows, her black hair rippling as if pulled by the wind, gold eyes shining. The darkness burst forth from Kyoko, enveloping the Phoenix who's form disintegrated before it.
Kyoko landed back on the ground and the shadows returned to their position, but she was still robbed in them. Bending over Kanae, she effortlessly healed the wound Rosa had inflicted. Soldiers had come, no one could have missed that display back there, but they had no idea what to do. They stared at her dumbfounded. Kanae breathed deeply eyes flying open.
"ROSA!" she cried, jumping up. "What happened!?"
"I took out her physical form," said Kyoko, watching her friend apprehensively.
"You what? Said Kanae "You do realize she a demi god-" at this Kanae seemed to finally see Kyoko. "What the Hell happened to you?"
"That's not important I need to get to the throne room."
"Not important my ass!" said Kanae, but Kyoko gave her a look.
"We need to get to the throne room ASAP."
"What are we going to waltz past every guard in the castle and head to the most guarded of the rooms in the palace."
Kyoko nodded.
Along the way many guards tried to stop them, but each one found themselves frozen in place. Once there, Kyoko lifted a certain oil lamp and sighed looking at Kanae.
"Kanae you need to promise me you'll take care of the kingdom."
"What the hell are you talking about Kyoko? What is going on?"
"Kanae, I formed a contract with the Djinn."
"WHA-"
"But we were wrong" she said quickly. "He wasn't evil, The accursed were just using the Djinn for their own purposes, he was trying to protect us from Rosa. It takes a demi god to kill a demi god."
"No Kyoko, you can't." For the first time since Kyoko had met her, Kanae looked like she might cry. "I still don't know what all is going on, but I need you."
"No," said Kyoko smiling. "You have Shin, he'll be the next king, he'll need a strong woman to keep him in line."
Kanae laughed, covering a small sob.
"Kanae, I'm scared."
Kanae cupped her hands under Kyoko's which was still holding the vessel.
"You've always been strong. You can do it."
Kyoko looked at her "Thank you my friend."
She chaneled the darkness into the vessel and it shattered. Kyoko's robe of darkness enveloped her and swirling like a tornado before shooting through the ceiling. Outside clouds formed and rain fell on the land of Ashuron, where it fell, grass grew. The tyranny of light ended.
King Shin and Queen Kanae ruled many years, in a time of change and growth for their people. They lead them to further prosperity and peace, and yet every year in the anniversary of her death, Kanae would lay a crystal aster on the grave of her friend and acknowledge what so few knew. That they had her to thank for the end of the light.
There you go! now you see why Blushweaver did not post it. I think she was afraid there would be violent protests at the abrupt and bloody ending.