A/N: this is a story i wrote with my friend. the idea of the story is mine, and i really enjoy thinking of this story. i'm kind of stuck in the second chapter.. i have tons of art requests to do, so don't expect the next chapter to come out any soon. the first chapter was done thanks to my friend Abbie~! *asdfghjkl* i hope you enjoy reading this ヽ(；▽；)ノ
Makoto was in the courtyard, again; a large expanse of space covered in carefully laid concrete slabs, and no walls, only shrubbery and the occasional tree separating it from the rest of the world. She was watching members of the kingdoms guard from behind a rose bush manoeuvre and charge towards each other in mock battle, as she had done almost religiously since she turned 4. The way they moved was poetic, almost like a dance, despite the bitter coldness of the spring morning, which never failed to make Makoto gasp in amazement or cheer in excitement as she watched. The fighters used artfully carved swords that glinted in the golden rays of the sunlight, causing her to turn and wince every time a particularly bright light was reflected her way.
Makoto was 5 (although when speaking to others she would adamantly insist that it was 5 and a half), and whenever she was away from the Castle with her sister or mother, this is where she would be. Did I mention she was daughter to the queen?
Yes, Princess Makoto was everything expected of a Prince, not a Princess, however much she tried to prove them otherwise.
On the other hand, Yukiho, her only sibling, (the youngest, at 4, less than a year until she reached 5, like her sister) was the embodiment of grace. If you only observed her from afar, and never ventured to talk to the girl, you would assume that nobody was more perfect for the role of a princess, from the way that she stood, to the way you could always tell she was quietly absorbing her surroundings, learning everything about her environment.
In actuality, Yukiho rarely ever got anything done, due to her fear of not being good enough for the task, or for the fact that her shy nature prevented her from talking to strangers. She almost never left the castle because of her fear of the unknown (and of course, there were so many dogs outside the castle walls!), so of course Makoto found it impossibly strange and unnerving when she caught sight of the white dress she was so fond of wearing.
Makoto turned to find her walking behind one of the castles many butlers - albeit the one both the children were most fond of; a reserved yet charming man named Hokuto - clutching his hand as if her life depended on the contact. She walked close behind him, so close that every few steps she tripped on the back of his shoes and fought to regain her balance before Hokuto got too far ahead. She had grown to just below his knee now, though Makoto was definitely taller.
"Makoto," the butler cooed. He always used this tone on the siblings, which annoyed Makoto to no end. She wasn't a child! "You need back to come to the castle now, I've-"
"But I'm not finished watching yet!" Makoto whined, gesturing towards the guards still in their fake fight. The noise of the scraping swords and grunts of exertion echoed around the courtyard, a much more alive soundtrack than the gloomy silence that almost always haunted the wide halls of the castle.
"Come home, Makoto." Yukiho whispered. Around her sister, she was normally so vibrant, and Makoto put her nervousness down to her being in such a crowded place. "Mommy is sick. Sicker than before. Daddy says we all need to come to her quarters and give her strength to keep fighting hard."
With a nod of agreement from Hokoto, Makoto shot a glance back to battle that was still raging behind her. It has turned into less of a serious practice now, one man pushing his sword between the gap of his partners arm and chest, who proceeded to let out a laboured cry and fall to his knees. It earned a laugh from those around him, and from Makoto. But with a sigh, she took Yukiho's hand and was led back home.
It was a short trip back to the castle, though still being long enough to observe the darkening clouds cover the sky. There was going to be a storm, Makoto feared. She would spend the night in Yukiho's room, then-
the younger sibling was terrified of thunder. After a short while longer they were sheltered by the walls of the castle; covered in only a few raindrops that had begun to fall. They took a left at a top of the main hallway, then went straight up the winding staircase that led to their Parents room in the most extensively decorated part of the castle. Gold thread lined the tapestries covering the walls and was artfully sewn into the carpets, a little like it did on the corridors leading to Makoto and Yukiho's rooms. Hokuto stopped at the guarded mahogany door that led to their parents room, and took the handle.
"Stop!" One of the two men stood to attention grunted, looking down at the children. He inclined his head to Hokuto, who leant his head forward as the guard spoke quietly to him. There was a long silence that made Makoto want to pace, or just march through the doors herself, or just do something! Finally, Hokuto stood up straight again.
"Alright…. I understand. Of course." He turned to the siblings "To your bedrooms." he resolved, his voice a little lower than usual. Why couldn't they go in? Makoto wanted to check on her Mother!
"But-!"
"I'll have none of that young lady, orders are orders." His lips curled into a sad smile. "I want to tell you something. Here, we'll all go to Yukiho's room and talk together, alright?" He pushed Makoto back down the corridors, knowing Yukiho would be following. She wouldn't disobey orders and run into the room like her sister would.
They walked in companionable silence to the girls' quarters, and went into Yukiho's bedroom, to sit on the brightly coloured bed at the back of the room. The walls were a very soft grey colour, the colour of clouds in summer; it made her bed and chest of drawers stand out against the dull colours.
The sound of thunder suddenly broke the silence, sounding quite near to the castle. Of course, Yukiho yelped and jumped, making Hokuto laugh. But his smile faded, and he began to speak.
"The guard told me some bad news back in your parent's hallway. You know that your Mother has been very ill in this last week-or-so?" Both nodded, so he continued. "Do you know how ill? I suppose not, because your Father wouldn't want you to be worried. But she has been scaring us in these last few days and…. well-" He shuffled on his feet, and looked away from the pair of girls, who sat waiting on the bed unknowingly.
"Your mother has passed away."
It was a few days after the girls, and the rest of the kingdom, too, had found out about their beloved Queens passing. People lined the streets, not in the usual hustle and bustle of their normal Saturday market-time, but walked unusually formally, in black suits and ankle reaching dresses - some with bouquets of white lilies or poppies.
No one in the kingdom would be anywhere else today, every man; woman and child walked slowly towards the castles private graveyard, just on the inside of the great wall that separated the Kingdom from the rest of the world - the unknown. Just for today, chairs were lined in the formation of pews across the area, almost the size of a field. The castles inhabitants - The King, Makoto and Yukiho, and all the staff that cleaned, cooked, guarded and waited upon the royals each day - got front seats to view the casket covered in flowers in middle centre of the open space in front of the seats. Slowly, people started arriving - the first one to sit being His Majesty. Makoto and Yukiho were about to join him, both dusting down their pitch black dresses that they would never wear anywhere else.
"Makoto?"
"Hmm?"
"Black suits you."
That being said, they walked through the already open doors into the cloudless, sunny day. It didn't seem to fit the with people's feelings today, or the sea of black clothing that coated the ground like a blanket. They took their seats at either side of their Father, and the ceremony began.
It was a surprisingly short event, the Priest seeming to sense the crowds just wanted to see their Queen put to rest, without the unnecessary speeches. He finished the service by reading the deceased's will to the crowd. She had left almost everything to her Husband and children, spare a few things for her favourite servants and close friends.
The excessive amount of money Makoto heard she would receive didn't mean anything to her at all. It could be thrown into the nearest river, for all she cared. The only thing that did mean something to her, however, was a sword. Nothing that would look too special, to a stranger, just a plain, long and slim blade with a golden handle and a few gems to cover it; and way too big and heavy for the tiny Makoto to hold up, but to her it was the world. She had seen her mother polish this sword countless times, and saw her place it in a shiny glass cabinet in her room. It was obviously important to her, but Makoto had never thought to ask why. And now she would never be able to. They left the grassy area in silence only interrupted by the cheerful birdsong echoing around the area, oblivious to the dismal mood of the humans.
The sky was clear. So cloudless and bright that Makoto had to hold an arm over her eyes to avoid the suns harsh glare. She was 16 now, and watching the guard in the courtyard - behind the same bush like she did almost every day before dinner time. The fighters were up early like always, clashing swords and moving their feet to an invisible rhythm. Watching the story of their battle unfold was still as fascinating and exiting as that very first day Makoto saw them.
Ever since the queen died the Kingdom had become so much more melancholy; something had left them that was irreplaceable and brought a bright spark to the land. Still, life went on, however slowly, even for Makoto. She had chosen her favourite fighter over the past years - a young man, probably about Makoto's age, called Ryo.
He was smaller and skinnier than all the other guards training, but had wit and cunning that helped him outsmart the brawn of the others. She admired him, the only one to show up to each and every training session. She observed him deal a particularly swift blow to his current opponent's knees, making sure he didn't harm him, but still showing he could, when the sound of a canon ricocheted across the land. It interrupted the guardsmen's fight, and they stopped to listen to where the noise came from, seemingly the eastern wall; not very close to the courtyard, then. There were other noises, too, a repeating banging sound, like a hammer on wood, only a thousand times louder. Was someone trying to break through the gates? Makoto couldn't think of anything else it could be, and ran as fast as possible back to the castle.
Just before she made it into the security of the castle's walls, there was a noise easily doubling the volume of the recurring thuds that had been happening for the past few minutes. It was followed by cheers, wails, and the thundering of thousands of feet rushing through the gates.
Someone was definitely coming. Somebody who didn't mean well in the slightest.
Horns sounded from the castle- so they had noticed, then.
Makoto burst into a run again, in an effort to find a familiar face so they could tell her what was going on, or what to do. After wandering onto a slightly less decorated hall that she rarely visited, she found the one of the king's Advisors - Kotori. Her face was panic stricken and was moving round the room as if she didn't know what to do with herself.
"Kotori!" Makoto paced forward eagerly, glad to find someone she recognized. The assistant turned to her and immediately grabbed Makoto by the arm, half dragging her out of the room. As they walked, Kotori talked.
"I need to take you someplace safe, a group of soldiers from another Kingdom have snuck into the castle through the sewer - we just found out about a larger group taking down the gates too, this is definitely a planned attack!" They turned a corner onto a carpet coated hallway. There were large windows all around the room, letting the bright sunlight filter through. It also brought with it the sounds of the men outside fighting, the guard Makoto watched play fighting just minutes ago surely in real battle now. "We didn't know what they had come for until they had fought their way out, but we know now, something to keep the King from retaliating. Something he wouldn't dare risk loosing; so he would just let the soldiers come into the kingdom without a fight.
They took Yukiho."