Uprooted

By the time they'd returned to the foyer, Neru had managed to wring most of the shame from her face. It had been a really, really long time since she'd cried like that. In the arms of a near-stranger, no less.

And if the queen's story of escape were as unpleasant as her own, she'd have to fight off the urge to do some more.

"Here Neru," the queen said when they had all taken a seat around the small kitchen table, "I made this earlier, you should eat something." She pulled back a checkered cloth from a serving dish.

Brioche.

"Y-You made this?" Neru stared incredulously. Since when did the queen cook?

"Well, Haku helped me." Rin smiled sheepishly. She behaved so humbly now that it almost unnerved Neru.

"Oh, not much. It was mostly Rin-ah, the tea..." Haku went to the counter and set about pouring three cups of tea, returning with them in tow and quietly taking a seat. Rin giggled and made to cut a piece of her creation and give it to Neru, but the would-be recipient caught her by the wrist.

"Y-Your highness..." Neru stared at her blankly. "...you shouldn't be...here, let me." Neru tried to take the serving utensil, but Rin resisted.

"You don't need to call me that anymore." She said with a gentle firmness. "I'm not a queen anymore. And technically, that means you're not my handmaiden anymore either, right?"

"What? That's crazy! Queen or not, I owe my life to you, and there's no way I'd forget that, or abandon you, unlike that rogue manservant." Her blood was boiling. "When they stormed the castle, I would've been by your side in a heartbeat had a soldier not clocked me right over the head." She laughed dryly, taking a sip of tea. "It really should've killed me, but as luck would have it I only blacked out for a while. I think the only thing that saved me was the fact that you played so rough with me as a young girl. It really must've prepared me for just that moment." She mused, before remembering her anger. "But anyway, since I was unable to protect you, it was Len's responsibility! How could he just run away?"

Rin's face had a sudden emptiness about it, and Neru caught her tongue. She'd been rambling away before even thinking about what she was saying, and now that she stopped to take into account that her queen was alive, something didn't add up. Neru was sure that the queen had been executed shortly after the storming of the castle; after all, that was what had so galvanized her to embark on a quest to punish him for letting such a thing happen.

But the queen was alive.

"He...didn't." Rin folded her arms on the table, hugging herself tightly. Haku and Neru were both very quiet as she began to tremble. "I did."

All at once everything clicked into place for Neru.

"Len...took your place." At this, Rin crumpled, sobbing into the sleeves of her nightgown mournfully.

"It should've been me!" the small girl wailed, gasping and shuddering as the tears continued running down her face, "It should've been m-me!" She stayed like that for a few moments. Haku's expression looked grim, and Neru felt a sense of guilt: their lives were already turned upside-down, and now her presence here was dragging the solemn young woman into their complicated affairs. Rin straightened up and tried to regain her composure, still sniffling miserably. Neru was still in too much shock to do anything. To think that the one she'd been pursuing with such fervor had, in truth, made that kind of sacrifice for the queen...

She was surprised when Haku rose from her seat, an expression of pained empathy on her face, and walked to Rin's side. Reaching out hesitantly, like she was a wounded animal, she pulled her into a gentle embrace, murmuring that she understood just how she felt. Neru watched with awe. Despite the baggage in their lives, Haku had accepted them, comforted them. Knowing that Rin was the deposed queen hadn't changed the way she shared herself with them, and although such kindness didn't make sense to Neru, it was something she could respect. She knew for sure that Haku was a trustworthy, good-hearted person.

Not to be outdone, she stood and joined the embrace, and the combined effort stilled Rin's shaking body some. She'd always known she was good at putting her foot in her mouth, but this was easily the worst offense.

"I'm sorry..." She dabbed her eyes on her sleeve again, slurring her gratitude. In the end, it was Haku who gave Neru some brioche: she broke off from the group first and busied herself refilling nigh-untouched tea.

"So...you are both from the castle then?" Haku asked. It seemed to diffuse some of the tension.

"Yeah. I served as...Rin's handmaiden since I was really little. Although," she chuckled, "I wasn't really the typical kind. Mostly I was a playmate of sorts. But I didn't mind at all. In fact, if she hadn't insisted on having such a friend at her side...well, being adopted into a family of handmaidens usually doesn't mean having the kind of life I had with Rin. She saved me from having to do real work."

"Oh Neru!" Rin couldn't help but crack a smile. Even Haku's face seemed to lighten up.

"But in all seriousness," Neru continued, "I don't know how I would've lasted if I didn't have someone to talk to. Everything in the world just feels so much heavier than you when you have to face it alone." Haku gave a sage half-nod, looking to be deep in thought.

"That's a beautiful story." Despite the nature of the sentiment, Neru could hear the sadness in Haku's voice, an almost empty quality that she couldn't get over. Before she could dwell on it more though, Rin spoke.

"By the way Neru, however did you escape? You didn't get too badly hurt, did you?"

Neru stiffened and took a long sip of her tea to stall for time. She was definitely not yet ready to relive the details of what the castle was like after she'd regained consciousness. "It's kind of a long story." She finally took a bite of the brioche; it was actually quite delicious. Purposefully, she slowly chewed the dense, cake-like treat as she thought of what to say, realizing that by taking so long to answer she was probably drawing more attention to it. Swallowing hastily, she continued. "And I can tell it later, but for right now we have to get you to a safer location."

"Why?" Rin asked, startled by the sudden urgency, "I thought the only ones that knew of this place were you, myself, and..." She closed her eyes. Neru could tell she'd loved him very much. "L-Len, and, well, Haku now too. But this, wasn't it our secret place, as children?"

"Yeah, and that's why I came here first while-" She had to choose her words carefully: Rin's loss was still very fresh. "-while I was looking. But, there's bad stuff happening in town. I think the only reason it's taking time for people to find this place is because everyone's busy with their new king." She spat the last word with obvious disgust. "You remember Prince Kaito, I'm sure?"

If the mood weren't already grim, it somehow darkened further immediately.

"That god-damned manslut-"

"Neru!" Rin scolded, "It's bad luck to swear like that in a church."

"Sorry. That..." Rin gave Neru a look. "Fine, point is, he's muscling his way up the throne."

"Hm. He sure moves fast." A hint of disdain colored Rin's words as well. She turned to Haku sheepishly. "I'm sorry, this is all probably a lot to take in..."

"Oh no." Haku frowned. "I'm familiar with the prince." Neru was slightly taken aback: until then, she'd never heard such bluntness from her; and perhaps even hostility. She was curious as to what possible relation she may have had with him, but Haku's cheeks pinkened under her scrutiny and the quiet women quickly brought her tea to her lips, avoiding eye contact. Rin took that as a cue to continue.

"But there's not much I can do about it anyway, even if I wanted to."

"You're just going to let him-?"

"Neru. I won't. I won't go back to a time where I have any sort of influence on the lives of others." Her tone was surprisingly firm. "I've done enough."

She stared long and hard at Rin. In this moment, more than anything that came just prior, she could truly see the difference the revolution had cleaved into her, and worried about what it meant for the future. More than anything, Neru wanted to go back to simpler times, just her, Len, and her queen, completely carefree. Their world had been effectively thrown into chaos, as far as Neru was concerned, and the queen seemed to be at ease with it. Her loss was great enough to overshadow any desire to even go back to a time that reminded her of it.

Rin would never really be her queen again.

"You've changed." She finally blurted. Rin laughed without humor.

"Oh, Neru. I...wish I could explain myself to you better. But, having someone special...they make you see. You'll know it sometime, I'm sure. But you have to promise me that when you do, you won't make my mistakes." She took Neru's hand suddenly, eliciting an awkward, surprised gasp. "Make sure...they know how you feel."

She sounded so old.

"Ahm, okay. I promise, if it makes you feel better." Rin seemed satisfied, at any rate. "But anyway, where you go, I go. And we should leave before you're discovered by the wrong people. I know somewhere safe, and the sooner we get there the better."

"Alright then, we'll leave midday tomorrow, because Neru," She insisted over the girl's protests, "you seriously need rest."

"Fine then. But what about Haku?" Neru turned to her, who had been keeping quiet for the most part. "I think she should come with us, it may not be safe for her to be here anymore soon anyway. And seeing as that's kinda our fault..." She twirled a lock of golden hair absently. Now she was starting to sound like the nice one. But she didn't feel right just leaving Haku behind.

Rin looked to Haku worriedly. "I couldn't insist you come along and risk getting tangled in our troubles. You've done so much for me already."

"Well...I sort of am already." The woman laughed delicately, and Neru tried to read her. She couldn't be sure whether she meant so as a result of Neru's own surprise arrival or if there was something more to her involvement.

"Even so, I wouldn't blame you at all if you wanted to separate from us."

Haku squeezed her teacup in her hands. "O-Oh no, not at all. I would like to please accompany you both, if that's alright."

"You're sure?" Rin still looked apprehensive, but Haku nodded firmly.

"I...don't have anyone left that would miss me." Her wistful voice made Neru glad she had accepted the offer. She had been so kind to them, even in the face of Neru's initially abrasive personality, and knowing that being with them would help quell the lonely feeling that emanated from her so strongly made her feel a little more buoyant.

"Then that settles it, we'll all leave tomorrow." She smiled towards Haku. "The three of us."

A/N: That chapter was probably the one that'll have taken the most energy to write, so future updates might go easier. XD Thanks for reading, please review if you feel like it~!