Disclaimer: Magi is the property of Shinobu Ohtaka and Shogakukan.
Beautiful
The moonless sky turned from inky black to indigo as night gradually turned to day. Golden, almond-shaped eyes parted open and blinked as it adjusted itself to the dimming darkness. A sense of hearing that was honed like a sharp blade by caution and promptness on the battlefield picked up the sound of soft breathing from the left. The flame emperor that had subjugated the eastern world turned his head on the pillow, and a smile curved his lips at the sight of the defenseless woman sleeping next to him that was bathed in the ethereal light of the dawn.
He extended a hand to brush away her hair that concealed half of her face, a snicker reverberating from his throat at the drool that leaked from the corner of her mouth. He ran his hand along her exposed backside, and his smile turned into a frown at the sensation of soft and damaged skin that simultaneously met his touch.
Cuts inflicted by swords and brownish spots left by arrow wounds that marred a woman's skin that should have been as creamy and smooth as porcelain glared back at Kouen, guilt nipping at him like a rodent as he thought for what she had sustained them and bore with them until now.
Kouen had lived most of his life on the battlefield that had burned into his mind grotesque images of severed limbs, exposed innards and death. He grew up admiring military leaders who had been recognized by the scars and eye-patches on their faces. They had all established that scars were a symbol of bravery and toughness. Each one, depending on its shape and position, told a story. During his first night with Hakuei, and as much as he had half a mind to hunt down whoever had dared to point their swords at her, in the back of his mind, he could not help but study each of them like a terrain on a map and try to figure out how she had got them. She had told him that the one on her face was a result of a misunderstanding, but he could see she was trying to cover for the culprit. Was it one of the Kouga men that had taken it out on her thanks to Ryosai's plot?
He recalled that night that had followed her twenty first birthday when she paid him a visit in the archives. The conversation started with Hakuryuu's progress in fencing and built up towards the dungeons he had captured and the trials and dangers he had faced in them. Kouen had been aware of Judar's interest in Hakuryuu and how he had been nagging him to go to a dungeon. Ever since the great fire that had overturned his rank from a retainer to the crown prince, Kouen had been regarded by Hakuryuu as an usurper of the position that had once belonged to his eldest brother, Hakuyuu, and would never see eye to eye with him. He had thought Hakuei might have come to consult him on his behalf. In the next morning, he almost choked on his tea as Seishuu interrupted his breakfast with the news that Hakuei had up and left with Seishun to the most recent dungeon that Judar had raised.
Normally, women could not break into the army. But with Hakuei's dogged resolve to live as a warrior that was fueled by her urge to be strong for Hakuryuu, combined with the value his father had seen in her after she had captured a dungeon, Kouen had found himself too powerless but to comply with her wishes. The ideal life he had pictured for her was one in which she was doing needlework instead of swinging a sword and talking about fashion, cooking and skin care rather than politics and battle strategies.
The first sunlight pierced through the curtains, accompanied by chirping of the birds and sound of footsteps outside as servants were getting things ready before the royal family awakened. A moan emanated from Hakuei's throat as the brightness and tweeting stirred her from her sleep, bringing the scar that extended from her right breast to her collarbone into view. When her eyes that parted open met Kouen's, she smiled, kissed him good morning on the cheek and her soft curves squished against his rock-hard flesh as she snuggled closer. With his eyes watching the serene expression on her profile as she stroked his chest, Kouen reached a hand over the mattress and closed it around his sword that he had propped up against the nightstand.
"Hakuei..."
He rolled her over on her back. One hand gripping his sword next to her head while the other caressed her scarred cheek as she looked at the sword questioningly out of the corner of her eyes.
"I'm going to use Phenex to remove the scars on your body."
"Kouen...!"
Kouen silenced her with a finger pressed on her lips. "I've been wanting to do this for a long time. I was worried you might take it that the scars on your body are an eyesore rather than me thinking they could be distressing for you."
"T-That's not true..." Hakuei objected. The sexist notion that she cared that much about her looks and could not wear her scars like medals hurt her pride as a warrior.
"Shut up!" Kouen cut her off, his voice raising a notch. "You think I haven't noticed whenever I look at your body? Whenever I touch you? You think I've been comparing you to those women I used to sleep with: that you're ugly compared to them. You're filled with the insecurity of a woman who wants to be the most beautiful in the eyes of the man that she loves."
Hakuei turned her face away from his touch, lips puffed defiantly and tears sparkling in her eyes as his words struck a cord in her. For Hakuryuu, for Kouen, for her people and for the world she wanted to bring peace to, she did not care about getting hurt. However, every time she looked herself in the mirror, she could not help but imagine what her less than perfect body looked through the eyes of Kouen who must have bedded a lot of alluring concubines. Not only that, maintaining their beauty, tending to a man's needs and bringing him utmost comfort was their specialty. Compared to them, she must be a disfigured tomboy that smelled of dirt and horses with catastrophic cooking skills and needlework that was a mixed bag.
Callous fingers grasped her chin and turned her face to meet with Kouen's, his voice and the look in his eyes softening. "Just so you know, you're the first woman I've ever cared for her feelings and needs, and I'll continue to honor you and make love to you regardless of how you look. However, with Phenex in my possession, what kind of man do you think people will see me as for not tending to your wounds? What kind of woman people will see you as for being neglected by me? You're the woman that I've chosen, not because your father is Emperor Hakutoku, but because you're a brave woman with a good head on her shoulders. From now on, the only marks you'll bear on your body are those left by my teeth."
Without bothering to know whether she liked it or not, he held his sword up with the hilt ornament that housed Phenex dangling over her face. Next, translucent feathers sprouted from his back and extended towards her to erase the scars off her body like waves washing off doodling on the sand.
Astaroth's sword dropped on the sheets with a thud, a moan escaping Hakuei's mouth as Kouen made his earlier point with his goatee brushing against her neck. As the warmth of his body, the tickling sensation of his goatee and his trademark scent of agarwood, frankincense and sandalwood assaulted her senses all at once, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her eyes turning half-lidded. She had told him time and time again to stay away from her neck!
Hakuei frowned as she assessed the red marks on her neck and sighed after she concluded what she had to wear for the upcoming days to hide them.
"Why the long face? Everyone will know I can't keep my hands off you."
Hakuei scowled at Kouen's reflection in the mirror that was watching her from their bed with his head propped up on his palm and a smug look on his face. She strode towards her side of the bed and hurled at him a pillow, which he blocked effortlessly with his free hand.
"Thanks to you, I'll have to wear turtle-neck robes for the upcoming days. The only one who won't figure out the reason behind it will be Kougyo-!"
In the blink of an eye, Hakuei was yanked by her arm and on top of Kouen. One muscular arm around her waist while the other entangled in her hair as he drew her lips to his. With her out of breath, he whispered mere inches from her swollen lips with his thumb stroking her chin, "Tonight at dusk, meet me at the hot springs. I need you to wash my back."
'And other things that will make a prostitute blush.' Hakuei rolled her eyes as she dislodged herself off him.
They got out of bed and slipped into their clothes with Hakuei helping Kouen with his obi, hair and securing the black jeweled ornament atop his head. All Kouen could assist her with was tying the ribbon that held her hair in a low ponytail and helping her into her shoes. They heard knocking on the door, and after Kouen voiced his permission, servants poured in with trays laden with their breakfast. After they were done, they saw each other off outside the room. With his household trailing behind him, Kouen headed towards the courtyard to set out to a nearby fortress, while as Hakuei was accompanied by Seishun to go oversee the training of her household army. Their day had just begun.