"We'll find a way to get him back, Miaka," Hotohori stated quietly, hugging the heartbroken girl close. "I promise." Miaka shook her head; tears which had filled her eyes were set free and spilled down her cheeks.
"No," she said, her voice muffled by Hotohori's heavy tunic.
"What do you mean?" Hotohori asked in confusion.
"No. Let him be. He's happy with Yui, he doesn't want to come back to me," Miaka said, the lump in her throat growing larger and larger until talking became too difficult and she began to sob. "Just… let him go."
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Miaka had cried herself to sleep, standing with her face nestled against Hotohori's chest and his long elegant fingers stroking her hair. Her knees had suddenly collapsed and Hotohori had carried her to his bedroom and laid her down carefully.
Hotohori didn't think she could possibly be comfortable sleeping in her usual clothes, but he didn't want to wake her so she could change. So he removed her shoes and the bracelet she always wore – a multicoloured woven 'friendship bracelet' Yui had made her years ago – and pulled the silk sheet over her legs.
When he was sure Miaka was sleeping comfortably, he walked over to the window. Although it was late – more evening than night, really – the sun was still casting its last rays over the palace gardens. It was a hot, humid summer evening, and Hotohori wished he was ensconced in his bed with the cool sheets caressing him.
Then he turned back to see Miaka shiver. He watched, his heart heavy with the knowledge of her pain, as she buried her head in the pillow and began to cry.
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Miaka jumped when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned over and came face to face with the emperor of Konan.
Hotohori wasn't sure what to say. Being the emperor of Konan, he hadn't had much experience with crying women in his bed.
"Would you like some time alone?" he asked. Miaka shook her head and reached out to him.
"No… stay here with me please," she answered in a choked voice. Hotohori nodded and called for a chair. Sitting down in the embroidered seat, he took Miaka's hand in his and began to trace patterns on it with his index finger.
"Miaka…" he said quietly a few minutes later. Miaka looked at him sleepily. "Don't forget that I love you." Miaka nodded.
"I know," she said.
"Go to sleep now," Hotohori commanded her gently. She nodded again and closed her eyes.
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"Your eminence, his majesty wishes to see you," a servant told Miaka. She grumbled as she got to her feet; she had been lying in a secluded corner of the palace gardens soaking up the sun.
"Summer is not meant to be spent indoors," she muttered to herself. "The sun is the best thing about it, and I have to go inside. Just great."
"You do not like the summer?" Hotohori asked.
"It's too hot to eat nice things like pies and stews! Summer and good stodgy food just don't mix," Miaka complained. Hotohori had to hide his amusement.
"Why don't you join me for lunch out on the balcony. That way you can be outside and eat at the same time," Hotohori suggested. Miaka grinned.
"Sounds good to me," she said cheerfully. "Can we eat now?"
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They hadn't spoken about the night she gave up on Tamahome. Hotohori hadn't wanted to push Miaka, and Miaka had been too nervous to bring the subject of love up with him.
They didn't see each other very often that summer. The hot, humid days of the longest heat wave Konan had seen in years had driven Miaka to lying in a shaded spot near the lake all day, while Hotohori retreated inside the palace to be constantly fanned by his many servants.
When the haze of heat dissipated and autumn crept in on a wave of cool air, Miaka began to spend her days locked up in her room brooding. It was uncharacteristic behaviour for the chipper girl, so much so that after a few days of it Hotohori came to investigate.
He was just about to enter her room when the door opened and she ran straight into him.
"I was about to come and find you," she said breathlessly. Hotohori leaned his head back slightly to look more closely at her face and saw that her eyes were rimmed with red.
"Let us talk privately," he said, and guided her back into the room. "Now. What is this all about?"
"I… I'm sorry," Miaka said. "You told me you loved me and I never said anything back to you, and then you were avoiding me so I couldn't say anything, now you probably hate me and I've fallen in love with you, and –"
"You love me?" Hotohori asked, stopping her mid sentence. Miaka nodded.
"I'm sorry, I know you probably love some other woman now, I shouldn't have told you…" Hotohori cut her off with a kiss.
His kiss was soft and gentle, but passionate and commanding all at once; it matched his personality through and through, Miaka thought. When he broke the kiss, she saw the look of love and possession in his eyes that previously had been muted.
"Marry me," Hotohori said softly. Miaka stared at him in complete shock.
"What?" she said in bemusement.
"Marry me. Be my empress. I love you Miaka, and you love me. I want you to be by my side my entire life," he told her. "We've spent only one summer apart and I know you hated it as much as I did. Please, be my bride." Miaka thought it was probably the first time Hotohori had said please regarding something important to him.
"Yes," she said. "Yes, I'll marry you!" She kissed him again, her fingers running through his hair.
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"When will our wedding be?" Miaka asked, resting her head on Hotohori's shoulder.
"Well, you once said you wanted a summer wedding, but summer is almost gone," he said thoughtfully. Miaka sighed.
"I guess we'll have to wait until next summer then," she said. Hotohori smiled.
"Or we could be married within the week, if you wish it to be so," he suggested.
"Really?" she said. Hotohori nodded. "Yes, I wish it."
To be continued :)
