After the circle broke up, jubilance seemed to spread across the island like a flood. The king was back; he came bearing gifts from the world of death, and they looked like the spoils of war. Akuto filled the winds like the scent of hope, the enemy had retreated, and they were alive.

Nobody ordered a festival, but one broke out anyway. They sang and danced and talked far into the night, regaling each other with battle stories that grew with each telling and would no doubt pass into legend. Children barely old enough to wield Akuto picked up fragments of morph soldiers and defeated them anew, while teens chased each other through the streets in swift games of aerial tag. And many brought out food and wine and shared it, just for the fun of enjoying it together.

And when the moon tired of watching the reveling and gone to bed, and the sun was tapping the horizon with the tip of one luminous finger, his dream awoke.

X X X

"And the rest of Guridori's army?"

Rui shook his head. "There weren't many of them left. They're scattered, fleeing. Scouts report that fighting in the rest of the sky is dying down too. Holgooze's invasion of Enda has been repelled, and most of the other countries are calling for cease-fires."

Well, that was good. Munto rested a hand in his chin and stared at the disarray on his table. The war chambers had never been cleaned properly since Guridori's invasion, and they were getting a bit rank.

He didn't care. The scent of tired, sweaty warriors was something he'd respected since birth, and they could crowd in here all they liked, as they had the night between the attacks. He found comfort in their presence; so many people, supporting him with everything they had, down to their very lives.

Munto waited as long as possible before asking the inevitable. "And the Elders?"

Rui tapped the topmost map contemplatively. "Nothing. No messengers, no signal flares - nothing. Though I'd guess they're in heated discussion among themselves."

The king exhaled. "Let them squirm as long as they can stand it. Sooner or later, they'll contact us."

Rui laughed. "They won't be able to resist." At Munto's questioning look, he spread his hands. "Oh, you and I know that she is the answer. But to a circle of power-hungry Heads, she looks an awful lot like a weakness."

Munto cocked a brow at him. Rui held up his hands, still chuckling, and gathered up the rolls of reports. "It's been a long night. Join me for breakfast?"

"You know I don't -"

"I know, I know." Rui shuffled the rolls, dropped one, and bent to retrieve it. "I just think it's high time you stopped punishing yourself, so I keep asking."

Sometimes it was annoying to have subordinates who trusted you. They spoke their minds and said what they pleased and ignored the glares and threats. Rui saluted with a cheeriness Munto found insulting and left the room, almost skipping.

Munto pushed his chair back with a screech and went round the windows, opening all the curtains to let the air through. He didn't mind sweat, but Rui was right; it was time to start cleaning up. The invasion had been routed, the hostile forces all but annihilated. He had a feeling they wouldn't be bothered for quite some time.

His people felt the same way. He paused in tying back a curtain, taking in the activity spread out below. Men and women were clambering over damaged buildings, wielding hammers and chisels. Runners brought barrows of freshly cut stone and marble. Other groups were cutting into the enemy vessels that had crashed during the battle, slicing them into manageable pieces and piling them out of the way. They would be welcome material at the forges later.

He opened the last window. The wind accepted his invitation and swirled in, scattering papers and lifting a map or two into the air. He groaned and got down on the floor to rescue the most important ones. Cleaning up was always more work that it looked to be at first sight. But then, life was like that… it was hard to foresee all the consequences of what you did today. Of course, any idiot knew that fresh air and organized documents didn't mix.

He chased a particularly flighty roll under the table and paused in mid-reach. Someone was…

He looked up, straight into her eyes.

She was standing half in the doorway, looking lost and a little waif-like. Her hair drifted this way and that in the breeze, shining like Akuto dust; she must have brushed it out with the combs the maids had provided, since she hadn't brought a thing but the clothes on her back. And she'd found the shift they'd left for her. He could smell lilies from here, and her skin looked fresh and well scrubbed, so she'd made use of the bath too.

"Munto."

He stood up and whacked his head.

She jumped. He rubbed the point of contact and extricated himself from under the table, along with that cursed roll and what was left of his dignity.

"G-good morning. Are you hungry?"

"Ah…" She rubbed her own head, then smiled self-consciously. "Yes, yes I am."

"Oh." He rolled the document neatly and snapped the band in place. "Follow me."

He ushered her into the hall, appreciating anew the difference in height. She had to tilt her head to look at him, but at least she wasn't flinching as though he might eat her.

The dining hall would be full at this hour, bustling with people either taking breakfast or keeping company with others who were. He didn't think she was quite ready for that, so he led her down a side hall.

It widened into a pleasant sunroom, half open to the sky on one end and bursting with flowering vines on the other.

Rui glanced up as they walked in, then dropped his chai. Munto savored the look on his second's face. Payback time.

"Munto! Is that -"

Of course, those ears were a dead giveaway. Rui was on his feet before he'd finished the sentence, bowing deeply.

"I'm honored to meet you, ah…"

"Yumemi," Munto supplied. "Yumemi, this is Rui, my general." That sounded a lot more formal than the fact; the kingdom was too small to make much of a fuss over titles. Everyone knew who Rui was. "Rui; Yumemi."

"Pleased to meet you," Yumemi stammered, dipping and coloring.

Another door swung inward, accompanied by the clattering of a wheeled cart. "Master Rui, they didn't have any falafel, so I brought tiropita and a fruit dish instead."

"That's fine, I'm glad they had something." Rui smiled reassuringly at Yumemi and accepted several dishes from the maid, who stole a quick, surprised glance before wheeling her cart away. Munto pulled out a chair for Yumemi; she sat down after checking his expression.

"It's all right, Miss. Pick something." Rui spread the plates out for Yumemi's inspection, and she hesitantly took the nearest along with the silverware he nudged in her direction.

"So you joined me after all." Rui looked pleased.

Yumemi had the lid off her food and was looking at it favorably. Now she paused. "Munto, you're not eating?"

"I don't need to."

"Eh?" She looked bewildered.

"Akuto can sustain us in place of food," Rui supplied helpfully. "So technically, it isn't necessary for us to eat."

"But you're eating, Master Rui."

"Food reduces the need for Akuto. Plus I like the taste." Rui waved his fork. "Actually, most of us do. It's still an important social activity, or we wouldn't have kitchens and chefs."

"Oh." Yumemi studied her tiropita, not sure what to make of this discovery. "I can't go long without food."

Munto, remembering Shuza's injunction, snagged a pitcher and slid her a tall glass of beverage.

"Then, Munto," she ventured, "you don't, because…"

He looked away. A useless gesture; she knew far too much already. "I don't have time."

"But you're sitting down at a table. For once. You might as well be eating," Rui observed. "Besides, Shuza doesn't think it's good to rely entirely on Akuto for nourishment. It can be taken too far."

"I'm not going to become an Akuto ghost."

Yumemi looked from one to the other, alarmed. "Ghost?"

"That's how it started, though," Rui countered. "You know as well as I do - and people don't last long once they get to that stage. Not as people, anyways. The mind can only take so much. As the Ancients discovered."

"The Ancients took it to an extreme."

"Extreme is your middle name, my good king."

There was a long silence, during which Rui swirled his drink and sighed. The words sounded like an argument, but it didn't feel like one. More like a ritual. Yumemi had the feeling that they'd gone over this many times before.

"Um… what's an Akuto ghost?"

Rui and Munto looked at each other. "Some of the Ancients relied on Akuto so much that they turned their bodies into it," Munto said reluctantly. "But it's not a common practice today. There's a high risk of insanity accompanying the procedure, and those whose minds survive it eventually lose interest in having bodies at all. They just… disappear."

"He knows his history, even if he is repeating it," Rui quipped.

It sounded like a drawn-out version of anorexia to Yumemi. She shot Munto a worried look and picked at her food.

He nudged her glass. "Drink. Shuza said you needed to."

"Oh, now we're listening to what Shuza says." Rui raised his glass to Yumemi. "Well, since you can't have breakfast with Munto, you can have it with me."

Munto twitched.