Blue Moon, Crimson Sky
By Guubear
Disclaimer: I don't own Mai HiME/Mai-Otome.
Chapter 1: Duran Shoukan
It was the first time Shizuru Viola had ever been glared at by such cold, hate-filled eyes.
It was also the first time she had ever been attacked by someone, something, with such frightening eyes.
It happened when she went out of Windbloom Palace for a stroll on the evening of her tenth birthday. Naturally, she was escorted by a dozen guards for she had a very protective father who also happened to be the King of Windbloom. She had begged for her father to let her out of the castle so many times, and she finally had her wish granted as her birthday present.
Maybe her father was right. She shouldn't have left the safety of the Palace.
She thought she was going to die when the monster knocked her over and snapped at her neck.
Shizuru did not die. She did not even have a scratch on her.
"Protect the Princess!" Before Shizuru could figure out what was going on, the monster had leapt away from her. Scared, but at the same time deathly curious, she sat up from the snow-covered ground to observe the battle between the monster and her guards.
As it turned out, the thing that had attacked her was not a monster at all. It was the biggest and most beautiful wolf she had ever seen.
Suddenly feeling very cold, Shizuru stood up from the frozen ground and realized her cape was gone. The fur cape was a present the lord of a neighbouring country had given her for her birthday. They said it was worth more than the same weight of diamond for it was made from a rare magical beast speculated to be extinct.
Shizuru finally understood. The wolf was not trying to attack her; it was trying to take the cape back.
"Stop! Don't hurt it!" Shizuru shouted. But the guards could not obey her unreasonable command for they were ordered by the King to eliminate all threats to the Princess.
"Stop!" Shizuru screamed again and ran toward the centre of the battle. She was too late. Before she could do anything, two spears had run through the wolf's body and nailed it to the ground. The wolf's painful yelp made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on ends.
"Please stay back, the beast is not dead yet." The leader of the guard tried to stop Shizuru from getting near the wounded wolf.
Shizuru had never been more furious in her life.
"I told you to stop! How dare you disobey me!" Shizuru swatted away the guard's hand and strode toward the wolf.
Although bleeding profusely, the wounded animal refused to let go of the cape between its jaws. Its icy green eyes had lost the sharpness Shizuru first saw in them, but to her, they were still as beautiful as ever. "I'm so sorry." Shizuru carefully laid a hand on its furry head and stroke it. "You were only trying to get the cape back, weren't you? You poor thing. I won't let anyone hurt you again." Turning toward the baffled guards, Shizuru ordered in a stern voice: "Fetch me a doctor. Hurry up!"
The wolf's injuries were grave, but its stunning vitality kept it alive. The King only allowed his stubborn daughter to keep the beast in the Palace on the condition that it was to be locked in a cage at all time. Hating the idea of robbing the magnificent creature its freedom, Shizuru still agreed to the condition because she knew the wolf would most likely die of infection if it were not properly cared for.
"… So you see, I can't let you out yet. Please understand," Shizuru said to the wolf lying in the cage. The animal didn't seem to have heard anything Shizuru said. All it did was lie on top of the fur cape with tears silently streaming down its face.
"Are you in pain? I'm so sorry. I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen." Shizuru sighed and stuck her hand into the cage to stroke the wolf's head. Its smooth, dark blue fur felt incredibly soft in her hand. "They told me they've given you drugs for the pain. Is it not working?" Shizuru paused for a second and chuckled: "How silly of me. I forgot you don't speak."
The wolf stared back at the young princess with unblinking eyes. Shizuru had the strangest notion that the animal somehow understood everything she said.
"Let's see, what should I call you? Do you have a name already?" Shizuru asked, but the wolf only stared back. After a few moments of contemplation, an idea struck her. "How about 'Duran'? It's the name of the Wolf God in the ancient HiME legend. Can I call you Duran?"
Of course the wolf did not answer her.
Before long, Princess Shizuru had grown attached to the giant wolf she rescued from the guards. Being the only child and sole heir of the Windbloom Kingdom, Shizuru rarely had a chance to make friends. She only got to see other kids her age when her distant relatives from faraway countries visited the King on special occasions.
On the surface, Shizuru might be a princess who had everything anyone could ever ask for, but in truth, she was only a very lonely child.
"Duran, you've gotten thinner again. Why won't you eat?" Shizuru petted the wolf's head affectionately and chided it with a concerned frown on her face. The animal seemed to have lost its will to live despite the swift recovery of its physical wounds. It had stopped crying for some time now, but instead it spent all its day curling up on the cape and staring into nothingness. "Please be a good girl and eat your food. You must be starving." Shizuru said and pushed the bowl of chef-prepared gourmet beef stew closer to its nose.
The wolf did not move an inch. If not for the slow raising and falling of its chest, Shizuru would have thought it to be dead.
The thought of losing her only friend was unbearable. Shizuru fought back her tears and tried again. "Please? It's really tasty. See?" She took a small piece of meat from the bowl and put it into her own mouth.
Much to Shizuru's delight, the catatonic wolf slowly rose up to its feet and finally started feeding for the first time in a whole week. Shizuru was exhilarated. "Good girl," she cooed and stroked the wolf's back. The animal didn't seem to mind being touched during its meal. It only looked up from its bowl for a second and continued wolfing down every last piece of food.
Shizuru's good mood did not last long. For the very next morning she went to see her canine friend, all she found was an empty cage.
The lock on the cage was never damaged.
Eight Years Later:
Windbloom City was the capital of the Kingdom of Windbloom as well as one of the most important economical centres in the Central Continent. However, the densely populated city was even more crowded today than usual for it was Princess Shizuru's eighteenth birthday. People from all over the world were visiting just for a chance to witness the Princess' coronation with their own eyes. The day was made even more special since it was common knowledge that Princess Shizuru would officially announce her engagement with the Grand Duke of Artai tonight after the ceremony.
No one expected an ambush on such a festive day.
"Yo, Princess. Or should I say, former Princess. Why are you so surprised to see me? I thought I was invited to the party," Nagi Dai Artai greeted with a lopsided smirk on his face.
It was quite easy, really. Security at the City Gates had been less than perfect because of the increased amount of traffic. Besides, no one dared question the Princess's future fiancé's request for extra personal escort. Taking the Palace from the inside was practically effortless. It took him less than an hour to seal the Palace and cornered the only living Viola in the Thorn Room.
Though boiling with rage, Shizuru maintained her calm demeanour and coldly glared at the hateful midget of a man. "Honour means nothing to you, it seems. What happened to the treaty? It clearly stated that with our future 'marriage'," Shizuru stressed with venom in her voice. "You should gain the right to co-rule Windbloom. Is a coup d'état really necessary?" Surrounded by about three dozens of Nagi's armed force, Shizuru felt no fear, only disgust and hatred toward the traitor.
"Ah, about that…" Nagi grinned even wider at Shizuru's accusation. "The engagement is by no means void. I am still marrying the Princess of Windbloom one year after her coronation. Oh, I mean your younger sister's, Princess Mashiro's, that is."
Shizuru's crimson eyes widened in disbelieve. "My sister is DEAD!" She hissed, her hands balled tightly into fists. "My mother and sister both perished during childbirth twelve years ago. I was there!"
"Of course, of course." Nagi nodded with mock acknowledgement. "One could certainly interpret it that way. But if I were to say the poor, young Princess was only 'confined' inside the Palace against her will because she had a frail body and a very jealous older sister," the Grand Duke of Artai sneered, "how many people do you think would believe this version of the story?"
It doesn't matter. Shizuru thought darkly. Even though there are so many holes in that lie, no one would care.
Artai had more than ten times the military power than Windbloom did. If Nagi wanted, he could have taken Windbloom by force. The only thing stopping Nagi from doing just that was the peace treaty established generations ago. Apparently, ruling over Windbloom while having Shizuru co-signing every document was not enough for the power hungry Grand Duke. He wanted ALL of Windbloom, not just the half of it. The manipulative man intended to bypass the peace treaty by setting up a false Princess as his puppet. Shizuru hated to admit it, but Nagi's scheme had worked. He had won.
"Don't kill any more people in the Palace. You don't want the World Council to prosecute you for treason and armed invasion," Shizuru said placidly. She did not wish to see more bloodshed.
"Don't worry." Nagi raised his right hand. Rows of archers beside him took aim at the Princess, waiting for the signal to release their arrows. "I'm smarter than that," he said. With a twisted smile plastered on his pale face, he swung down her hand.
No one hit the mark.
A bear-sized giant of a wolf crashed through the window and landed in front of Shizuru. With a deafening roar, all the arrows aiming for the Princess were blown away by the blizzard blasting out of its mouth.
"Forget the beast, kill the girl first!" Nagi shouted.
More soldiers swarmed in the Throne Room at the Grand Duke's command. The wolf clawed through scores of Nagi's best fighters like they were nothing more than ants. Not wasting anymore time, the wolf nipped on the Princess's waist and tossed her on its back.
"Don't let go."
Shizuru didn't have time to think about the gentle voice telepathically transmitted into her head. The second she tightly latched herself on the giant wolf's back, it jumped through the window with great speed.
"What are you waiting for? Kill her!" Nagi demanded with a shriek.
The wolf roared in the direction of the arrows flying toward them again. However, this time it failed to blow away all the arrows. Shizuru muffled a cry with her face buried in the wolf's soft fur when an arrow struck her on the left side of her waist.
"How dare you!"
Shizuru heard the voice in her head again. It was the same voice as before, but it was not gentle at all. It was murderous. Suffering from pain and blood loss, Shizuru felt her consciousness slowly slipping away. Can't let go, she thought faintly, but her hands refused to listen to her. Just when she fell off the wolf's back, she was caught again by a pair of naked arms.
They have the same eyes.
That was the last thought that went through Shizuru's mind before everything went black.
TBC
Author's Notes:
1. Plot bunny strikes again! This story is a Mai-Otome AU, setting in a medieval fantasy world where magic and mythical beasts exist. I'll refrain from making this a very long story (I hope).
2. "Duran Shoukan" (デュラン召還) is the title of Duran's theme song (aka the cool background music you hear every time Natsuki summons Duran). Please read and review.
3. Thanks, Dr. Leebot. You're an awesome beta.