I lived in a town that was located next to the largest sea of them all. That's what my grandmother told my mother while raising her, and that's what my mother whispered in my ear when I was a child. The fishermen's cursing woke me up early in the morning, mixed with the salty scent of the sea, the waves hitting the stony barriers at the harbor. From my window in the third floor I was able to see the awaking harbor, ships sailing and arriving, an old woman trying to sell the same rotten fish every day, working citizens.

When I moved in our rather modest apartment with my mama and papa, I demanded to have this room solely for that reason; the sea, dawn, sunset. As the years consumed the romanticism I used to see in the harbor, eventually what I had left when I woke up in the morning to the sailors slandering whoever they were arguing with that particular morning and seeing the beautiful dawn, was fatigue. Now I saw the harbor as it truly was; nothing that special, a place in the nation where people lied and shouted.

Going down from the third floor and walking amongst the citizens might have been an important factor, too, as for how I saw the town. Six months ago my mornings became earlier and a stuffy stink got permanently stuck in my clothes; papa found me a job as a helper in the weaving mill. For the most part my job wasn't physically challenging; I carried cotton, yarn or cloth around, I was asked to bring this or that to someone because they forgot, sometimes I weaved. My days, however, were long, and I came home exhausted. But I was proud to participate in providing the family. As sending me to school was no longer possible, I wanted to give my everything in order to help my parents.

That being said, when the letter arrived with all the other letters, I suddenly remembered the romanticism of the harbor again. That night I didn't just fall asleep as usual, I sat in front of my tiny window, staring at the harbor as I used to do years ago. Even though the sun set and people got less, the harbor was never empty. The weird, old woman sold her rotten fish to no one, ships sailed, some fished. The next morning I walked to the weaving mill amongst my own people; it was ridiculous how different it felt just because of words written on a piece of paper with ink.

But again, the time did its' cruel tricks and eventually the beauty of nostalgia faded, leaving nothing but the fear after itself. When I woke up and looked outside I thought: 'I will never see this again.' When I walked on the street all I could think about was 'I will never walk here like this again.'

All because that devilish letter arrived and placed the heaviest pressure on my shoulders.

That letter contained the identity of the new Queen's Chair. Rima Mashiro, You have been chosen… I wanted to tear it, burn it, make the words written with ink disappear, together with their consequences. But that would be childish, of course. Even if I burned the words, nothing would make my newly written fate disappear. And that made me very distressed.

Mama and papa embraced me delighted when they read the news. There has never been a Guardian in our family, I would be there first one, which made choosing me even more peculiar. But the main reason of their rare bliss was that my salary would develop our financial situation drastically. The words '...the Guardians live in the Seiyo-building in order to manage their responsibilities easier.' were easily ignored.

Even though I wanted to help my parents, participate as a grown-up daughter, I didn't want to become a Guardian. I had no idea how to rule a nation. I was bad with people, I tickled their bad side without even trying. I had never been taught such manners I knew were necessary for the Queen, such as how to walk gracefully. The current Queen, Queen Izumi, was the definition of graceful, meanwhile I…

"...you are a sailor on a way to his fifth daily cigarette. Maybe you're trying to hide it from your wife and trying to walk slightly more quietly." my savior, teacher Nikaidou snorted and yawned after my attempt of a graceful walk.

I couldn't disagree, but Nikaidou, who had appeared behind our door one day, carrying a permission marked with the Seiyo's stamp, a permission to insult me on my day offs and call it 'teaching', looked like a drunken beggar. Everything about him was messy from his brown-orange-ish hair to his rumpled clothes. I wouldn't even swear that he just looked like a drunken beggar; while he wasn't a beggar as far as I knew, I suspected that he had given me a lesson or two hangover.

"The thing is, Mashiro, Queen Izumi has the benefit of being a dancer. You have the benefit of nothing at all." Nikaidou reminded me of what I already knew. "Are you even trying to learn?"

I sat down without showing any signs of regret. On my first lesson, when papa had desperately wanted to stay and watch, I tried. I really did. But it resulted to nothing. After that I only got worse. And after the night I snuck behind the theater and met that girl, Nadeshiko, all my motivation was gone. Now that I knew that the Queen's Chair wasn't supposed to belong to me and that the real Queen was everything I wasn't; graceful, beautiful, able to handle people, she had the benefit of being a dancer and actually being a part of the Queen Izumi's bloodline. I was clumsy, short, ugly daughter of workers.

"Mashiro", Nikaidou said in an ironic sing-song voice. "I asked are you even trying?"

"No", I answered honestly.

"Well, you better start trying because you have less than a month until your inauguration. And I won't receive my salary unless you're an exemplary lady."

"Then I wish you luck with finding a new job."

Nikaidou rolled his eyes, sighing.

"Look, neither one of us really cares about this but listen kiddo, sometimes in life you have to do shit you hate. First of all, control your tongue. You might cause a war."

I settled for nodding, having to swallow the remarks I had on Nikaidou's language. Not that I would have never heard worse; I had learnt some rather imaginate insults from the fishermen. And my parents had some impressive anger stored inside themselves too. When it came out in the form of words, it was painfully original.

"Alright, then walk again. This time try not to creak the flooring, your wife might hear and you won't get your cigarette."

And I walked, trying to cooperate with Nikaidou, trying not to be a sailor. I wasn't, not anymore; Nikaidou made up much slyer insults. I was losing the rest of the small focus I had for this crap; my mind was wandering back to the theater, in front of the back door, to the black-haired girl.

Nadeshiko was Queen Izumi's daughter, that meant she should automatically become the new Queen. Why not? She seemed perfect for the job, she was able to at least pretend nice and trustworthy in front of her people, and most commonly the Chair is heritable. There was basically no way to refuse a Chair, still there was some reason for her to do so. It had to be remarkable; maybe she was fatally ill? Had life expectancy of days?

Everyone in the nation knew that Queen Izumi had real influence, maybe she simply didn't like her daughter inheriting her Chair? But if so, why to give up her influence and possibly use blackmailing to make her son the new Jack, the lowest Chair with the least authority? After Nadeshiko's reaction to me asking about Nagihiko, I was quite certain that my future lapdog would be the unreliable Fujisaki twin.

"Pay attention, Mashiro!" Nikaidou snapped. I lazily tried to obey him.

Unironically, Nikaidou was the first one to tell me about the Guardians' inside pecking order. Until that point of my life I had only seen the rulers as public figures and socialites. Basically the Queen and the King were the strongest ones; they had the last word. The King was the leader and the Queen was the leader in shadows. The Ace was the helper who was supposed to bring the Guardians to an agreement when they weren't able to do so. The Joker was in charge of visitations. And The Jack was the defender; their duty was to protect the other four even if it would cost their own life. The Jack was meant to be a soldier; the Jack's Chair was only there for sacrifice, so low it was.

Nikaidou decided to end my lesson for the day because I was slightly more hopeless than any other day. I was pretty sure he would head to the tavern in order to drink away his own hopeless life. I headed in my room and grabbed an old book, full of comical stories and sketches. I stole it from papa when I was small and I had succesfully kept hiding it for almost ten years now. My parents disliked the fact that as I child I grew a preference for comedy instead of things appropriate for a lady, or at least some other, less vulgar form of art. Dancing, for example.

I shook one particular dancer away from my mind. Nadeshiko didn't belong there, and moreover, the fact that she should be the Queen in my place wasn't going to save me. I decided to try and accept my fate, as I had no choice; at least I would be able to help mama and papa with my salary after the Queen's tiara would be placed on my head. I decided to focus on that and that only.

I was able to somewhat keep my word until the much anticipated day of inauguration. When I knew that the rickshaw that would take me away from my life, away from my parents, was waiting right in front of the house we lived in, the panic formed a ball inside my stomach, from where it began to slowly spread to my head, fingers, toes.

"I am so proud of you, Rima", papa held my shoulders, looking into my eyes. I nodded, startling slightly.

"You will make a wonderful Queen", mama asserted.

What lies. Both of them hugged me before pushing me out of the door. I wondered if they would even notice that I was gone; my parents always left for work before I even woke up and returned late at night. I walked down the stairs as slowly as possible, glancing at the different apartments on my way. The creaking stairs, peculiar smells, I was sure this was better than the megalomaniacal Seiyo.

As much as I tried, I wasn't able to drag my feet forever. What felt like a blink of an eye I found myself sitting in a rickshaw, next to a blonde girl who grinned widely at me as we left the workers' area.

"My name is Aina but everyone calls me KusuKusu. I'm your personal maid from this day on, your guardian-ness." the girl introduced herself.

"My what-ness?" I asked.

"It's a word I made up. Do you like it?" the girl's back rounded as she giggled with her hands in front of her mouth. The sound was peculiar, at first I thought she was whispering to herself. KusuKusuKusuKusu...

I didn't know what to say. We left the town and rode through a forest until it rised in front of me; the Seiyo. I saw some of the forecourt as two soldiers opened the gates many times my size for our rickshaw. I was sure arriving to a dreamland felt like this; the grass was greener, the plants bloomed more beautifully, the building itself looked as if it was shining in the morning sun, and the water in the fountain that was in the middle of everything was the purest water in the country.

But I knew it was all result of hard work of someone who wouldn't get to enjoy the end result. I wouldn't let myself be enchanted by the perfection. Instead I followed Aina, face rock hard and stone cold, as she lead the lead me inside the building and walked me through what felt like thousands of hallways until arriving to our destination.

Our destination was a room full of dresses, make-up and servants, who were ready to attack me immediately before I could even step in the room. They dragged me in, scrubbed the dirt away from my skin, washed my hair, they even did something to my teeth. Finally they put me in a cold blue dress.

I saw a glimpse of myself in a mirror before I was dragged to the next room. Even though I could tell they tried, I didn't resemble a Queen, not even the slightest. My petite body and round face made me look like a 12-year-old at the best. No citizen with self-respect would obey commands from a kid.

Nikaidou, the light of my life, was waiting me in the next room. The servants pushed me to sit on a chair as he observed me, lazily laying on a couch.

"We reread the inaugural ceremony so many times I expect you to remember how it goes", he announced. "But if you have any questions, better ask them now."

What can cancel this? A voice in the back of my head wanted to know. I shook my head quietly and for once Nikaidou seemed happy with me. He was able to continue laying on the couch in all peace.

Suddenly the lofty doors of the room opened; Queen Izumi walked in, followed by two security guards. I gulped.

She observed me from a far after gesturing for her guards to leave. A small, calculated smile spread on her face.

"You will be such a fine Queen for this nation, miss Mashiro."

"Thank you", I forced my mouth to form the words.

Queen Izumi was here, that meant there was almost no time left. I imagined that the huge panic trying to take over me was a small ball and forced it inside my stomach. It would have to stay there forever.

Queen Izumi placed her hands on my shoulder and guided me in front of a window. Right now it was closed, covered with thick curtains, but soon it would open a way to the balcony of this room. There, above citizens who had gathered to follow the inauguration, I would swear to be loyal to this land and something else, what was it, what was it again…

Even though the curtains looked thick enough to cover the noise of a bombing, I somehow heard the horn toot. It wasn't for me, not yet. It was just to get the attention of the citizens. Someone spoke, and then another toot, for the King.

"I, Tsukasa Amakawa, will now abjure my position as the King's Chair in order to let the new minds see brighter… I, Tadase Hotori, will swear…"

A toot. The King's sceptre was given to the new King. People clapped. A toot. Two guards opened the doors of our entrance to the balcony. I followed Queen Izumi, not believing myself as Nikaidou's voice played in my head: Chin up, but not too much. Back straight. Focus, dammit.

I didn't hear much of what Queen Izumi said to the crowd. I only felt the eyes staring at myself. I knew what some of them saw, what I would've seen if I was down there where I belonged; red, bruised elbows, harsh eyes, dubious look. A worker bee.

Queen Izumi took the tiara off her head. I knew that it was my turn now. Stay calm, mama would have said.

"I, Rima Mashiro, swear loyalty for this land until the end of my days. I will lead it wisely and do what is the best for my citizens." I repeated what Nikaidou had forced me to read million times, surprising myself by remembering the whole thing.

Queen Izumi nodded as a sign of her acceptance and placed the tiara on my head. It was heavier than it looked like, and I knew the physical weight wouldn't be even half of the tiny thing's true weight.

For the next moments I stood still, forcing the calmness in myself. Happy greeting when the Ace, Yuyu Yaiki or something was introduced. The Joker's name was Ami Himamori, I'm quite certain about that one.

"I, Nagihiko Fujisaki…"

Who. Where had I heard that name before?

"…swear to protect this land…"

Right, Nadeshiko. Nadeshiko, who should be here, standing next to her mother instead of me, a weaving mill helper girl. It was true after all, Fujisakis had somehow arranged the Jack's Chair for Nagihiko Fujisaki. The questions started to spin in my head again. Why bother?

"…loyally, even at the cost of my own life."

Silence. The crowd didn't clap. How could they? It was a young boy, promising to sacrifice himself for them if necessary. It would be impolite. This was the first time any Jack had ever acknowledged their position in such a public way. I glanced at Queen Izumi. Her expression remained stone cold, she wasn't looking in the direction of her son; she stared somewhere far away above the crowd.

We all bowed and curtseyed, the citizens applauded for the last time before we exited the balconies. The entrances were closed, curtains were pulled in front of the windows again. Queen Izumi smiled at me one last time before she left the room, the smile didn't reach her eyes. Aina patted my back so violently that the first thing I did as the new Queen was to almost fall down face first.

"You were great!" she asserted as she dragged me through new and new hallways.

"Where are we going now?" I asked on the alert.

"To your own habitation, miss Queen!"

We arrived in front of two huge doors. Aina handed the key to me and forced me to open them. We arrived in a round-shaped hallway, full of doors. There were paintings on the walls and flowers neatly in pots, everything was organized, clean and beautiful.

"And here's your room your guardian-ness!"

Aina made me open one of the doors and I arrived in a room that was around twice the size of the apartment I lived in with my parents. The bed was the size of my old room. My bags had been carried in the room sometime earlier as they were now waiting for me in the corner of the room.

"Thank you, Aina…" I mumbled, staring at the huge room.

"No problem! I'm gonna help you..."

"You don't have to. I'd like to be alone for a moment please. Thank you, Aina."

Aina looked at me, surprised. Then her inhumanly wide grin spread on her face again and she did a exaggerated bow.

"Alrighty! When you need me, just ask for KusuKusu!" I made a decision to never, ever in my life call her that.

As Aina closed the door I walked to my bag. I only had two; I didn't have much to pack anyway. I opened the another one and on top of my clothes, I saw my old comedy sketch book, right where it was supposed to be. I took it, leafed through it, let the old classic jokes to bring a smile on my face again. With the book in my hands I headed to my new window.

The garden. Fountains, plants, no workers in sight. I realized I was still wearing stupid heels, which hadn't helped me to look less puny next to Queen Izumi and kicked the shoes off, frustrated. My feet hurt.

I fell down on my new, way too enormous bed holding my book against my chest and still wearing the cold blue dress and some decorations in my hair. I was simply too tired to take them off, so that is how I fell asleep and that was how Aina found the new Queen the following morning; make-up all over my face, expensive dress rumpled, hairpins wherever.