Impasse
Chapter 1
In a cold winter night stood a grey castle, purple flags waving in its glory. The King himself wondered if this was perhaps fate, for it wasn't every day that you spot a small child in the white snow unconscious. Even rarer was the fact that he was only out of the castle to visit the grave of his wife.
The young child's golden hair was covered with snow, he was sure that the child would be dead by tonight if she wasn't found. The piece of paper by her side read 'Please save her', and the King frowned upon the words. It would seem like he hadn't done enough for the poor.
The gentle man took off his cape, wrapping the child in it before cradling her in his arms. His young toddler by his side grabbed his sleeves, green eyes betraying worry.
"Papa, is she okay?" Nozomi asked, taking off her own coat and holding it out with her other hand. "Nozomi will help!"
The King chuckled, along with two of his retainers, patting his daughter on her head.
"Don't worry this child will be fine," The King laughed. "She'll grow up to be a fine person just like you."
The man thirty years of age turned around to face one of his favourite retainers.
"Hey Sonoda, do you think Umi would want a sibling?"
"They have become good friends!" The King chuckled, sipping tea by the stone table with his favourite retainer, both of them watching as three children played by the edge of the lake they had in the garden.
"It is all thanks to the princess my dear friend," Sonoda laughed, raising his cup to his liege. "Umi was actually scared of the new kid, so much for me teaching her about being brave!"
"There there, don't go too hard on your daughter Sonoda."
"She needs to… She's my only bloodline. The Sonodas swore to protect your family, my King…"
"And now we have one more knight!" The King nodded at the blond child who was climbing the tree with two others looking upon her worriedly from below. "She has quite the courage you so desire!"
Gold shimmered under the morning sun, the gentle rays reflected off the girl's hair, as if rejecting the colour of its own kind. The tree by the garden barely provided any shade as the little girl leaned on its bark, gently flipping the pages of the book, silent in reading. Nozomi thought that scene was pretty much like a piece of artwork, like the girl herself; she wondered what Eli was thinking at the moment then.
The soft grass damped the sound of her footsteps, aiding her in sneaking behind her friend. She listened as Eli softly hummed, engrossed in her own world. It was only when the humming stopped before she dared to interrupt, even as she wished for the moment to last a little longer.
"Elichi?" The fingers by the pages stopped its motion, and Eli looked up with a bright smile upon recognizing the tone, blue eyes lighting up. It would seem like somebody sneaked out, though she couldn't say she wasn't doing the same.
"Princess?" Eli hastily patted her pants, attempting to get up, till Nozomi pushed her down on the shoulders and told her to stay where she was. A retort awaited by Eli's lips, but Nozomi placed a finger on them before the blonde could reply.
"Stop calling me that, or I'm going to address you as a trainee," She pouted, sitting by Eli's side on the fresh grass, leaning more onto Eli's shoulder rather than the bark. "I thought I could finally find some peace here…"
"Yes Princess. I'm going to graduate soon though…" Eli replied. She shut the book tight, bounding it by the leather binds as she stiffened, feeling Nozomi leaning on her. It would seem like the princess was in no mood to read, with her eyes closed and head on Eli's shoulder.
"How impressive. Youngest trainee ever to graduate at the age of ten," Nozomi teased, feeling a surge of pride. The rumours that had been circulating around didn't affect her the slightest, for she knew the efforts Eli had put in. She lightly traced the scar on the back of Eli's hand, the guilt would always be there, but she knew Eli wield it with pride, not unlike a medal of honour. The assassination attempt left her a scar of her own and prompted Eli to join the ranks of the military at a tender age of seven, the blonde swearing to never let anyone lay their hands on Nozomi ever again.
"You'll officially be a knight then," Nozomi continued as Eli hummed in reply. The wind was gentle that day, though it still brought over the petals from the East garden. The princess tucked a stray petals within the leather binders of the book, unsure of her own conflicting emotions.
"This means… you can't sneak out anymore," She concluded, the weight of finality hanged in the air as quietness took over, a silent impasse. It felt oddly still after the wind subsided, leaving scattering trails of petals.
"You shouldn't sneak out too, Nozomi," Eli sighed finally, flipping Nozomi's hand over before gently holding it, hoping the scabs on her palms wasn't prominent enough to be noticed.
"Ehh…? But the things I do is boring," And sometimes Nozomi felt that Eli was too uptight, as if she never really gotten over what happened three years ago. Silence was Eli's reply, and Nozomi sighed, before deciding to ask one final question before her tutor came looking for her.
She reached out and touched Eli's hair, it was soft like she expected, her hands trailed down, stopping by Eli's cheeks, before she leaned in and gave a small kiss, delighted at the tinge of red on the blonde's face.
"Promise me that we'll finish that story someday?" Nozomi laughed as the redness spread to the blonde's ears, even as the trainee stuttered out a reply.
"I promise!" The knight-to-be answered a little too eagerly, giving a mock salute.
And she realized she might just have a thing for Eli in a knight's armour.
The grassy area behind the barracks became their favourite spot, it was getting harder to steal Eli away from her sibling, and her trainings. She wondered if Eli thought of her as a spoiled princess for finding various excuses just to get her playmate away from the training ground.
Eli's companionship was silent, not uncomfortable, it would be lucky if she could get a few words out of the stoic child. Even when they played together for the past few years, Eli barely spoke throughout their time together, only intervening when it was needed. What was worrying Umi and her was Eli's increasing reluctance to participate in their activities any longer.
"Elichi!" Nozomi eagerly patted Eli's shoulder after they settled down on the grass, lying down while facing the sun hanging in the sky. "Elichi!"
"E-Elichi…?"
"That's your new nickname!" Nozomi smiled, turning to the side to find a bewildered face.
"Also, Elichi doesn't spend time with Umi and me anymore! Am I not your friend?" Nozomi pouted, giving Eli a light push by the sides. She was delighted at the expression she received on the other seven year old's face, for she hadn't seen such a horrified expression in a long while, any expression in fact.
"No! You're my best friend…" Eli hastily grabbed her hands willing herself to explain with words that were so difficult to find. "Umi is important to me too…"
The blonde raised her head and stared straight at those wondering green eyes, before puffing her cheeks out and shouting at the cloudless sky. "B-But you are more important!"
"Really?" The princess questioned. She had to will herself not to blush; it was one of the few times when Eli actually spoke of her feelings.
"I'll never forget how you came over to check on me every day since you all found me in the snow…" With another sigh, Eli added, "It's just that I've been wondering about my life before I met you. I just wish I could remember what happened before I came to this place."
With eyes that spoke of sorrow, Eli gave a small smile. "I wish I know who I was. And where my parents are."
"That doesn't matter anymore does it? You have us now Elichi!"
She loved the mornings, when the air was fresh before coated with the dust of the noon, and occasionally she would get visitors from the skies, little winged creatures dancing on her window sill. They were not the main reason for her love of mornings, she hated the court duties that came almost immediately afterwards.
The rapid triple knocks on her chamber doors sent her heart fluttering in excitement, Nozomi gave herself a quick glance in the mirror by the wall before hastily opening the door to reveal the face that she had been waiting for. Golden strands by the sides hanged snuggly behind the knight's ears while the ponytail handled the rest of the hair; right before the opened door was Nozomi's knight with a small smile on her lips.
"Princess-" She pulled the blonde in for a tight hug, loathing their height difference. Puberty had done Eli justice, as if God himself personally crafted the blonde, and she used to be the shorter one.
"I hate how much you've grown in three years," Nozomi sighed as she pulled Eli to her bedside, she knew how much the thirteen year old had made heads turn, even with armour donned. She cursed the fact that a bodyguard had rather different armour designs, rather plain for simple movement, with just leather pieces and pockets. She made a mental note to redesign Eli's outfit, it was a little too tight fitting.
"Princess-" She pouted, letting Eli's hand go and turning her back on her knight.
"My knight." She nodded slightly, sighing at the usual pointless conversation.
"My liege…?" Eli tried once more, reaching over for Nozomi's hand. The morning was cold and her palms was missing Nozomi's.
"My stupid bodyguard."
"Princess Nozomi…" Eli sighed, wishing her princess was less wilful and a little less teasing.
"My caretaker…" She spat out the word in mild amusement, almost forgetting that Eli was twice as stubborn as she was.
"Nozomi!"
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Nozomi chuckled, turning around to give Eli a peck on the cheek, laughing at the redness that was spreading over Eli's face.
It was as if they never changed, even though things could never be the same. The brief time they had before the court duties was precious, something that she looked forward to everyday. Before her ailing father and the ministers that made snide comments, she had to uphold the dignity of a princess, but in front of Eli she had nothing to bare but her soul.
"What do you plan to do today, Nozomi?" Eli's strong voice echoed around her chambers and Nozomi felt her heart pound, even as the question itself made her cringe.
"Be with Elichi," She sighed in reply, maybe things would be different if she was never born a royalty. The blonde stiffened, it wasn't a request that was difficult to grant, for they were together for most of the day anyways, but Eli was sure that wasn't what Nozomi had meant. The cool morning air breezed through the open window sills, leaving the almost tangible silence that dapped across the small chamber, and neither of them spoke, like a silent deadlock.
"If I told you all I wanted to do was to hear you read again will you let me?" Nozomi finally asked, reaching for the book by her bedside. The pages were yellowed, ripped at the edges, some even torn, but it was her favourite, a birthday present that she shameless asked for. The leather binds on the book was no more, courtesy of a trip gone wrong, but more scribbles were added since then. She loved Eli's handwriting.
She yearned for Eli, but maybe the knight didn't, and they couldn't. Nozomi made a mental note to cut down on the teasing, cursing her own linage.
"Nozomi…" Eli began, the frown was slowly showing. Nozomi sighed once more, before rising up from the bed and heading to the exit of her chambers.
"I know." She finally said, the weight her duties almost made it hard to breathe, to the point that there was no longer any hesitation in the mornings. The door shut behind her as she took in a deep breath, appreciating the temporary privacy from Eli.
And she realized she just might hate the fact that Eli was her knight.