So if you're reading this and think to yourself "Moro, that's from Princess Mononoke!" You're 100% right. Morokami's named for Moro because she's awesome. Anyway, this chapter's the parade from her perspective.
Two weeks ago, she'd been playing with her older sisters – dressing in their mother's array of fine clothing, cosmetics and jewelry. Such things hadn't been allowed before the siege upon their city, but their mother had been desperate to keep her children preoccupied while a war waged outside the city walls. Their favorite part of the game had been to dress their little brother up as well.
There would never be another game of dress up with her siblings. There would never be any games at all. They were gone, all of them. It finally dawned on her that she was utterly alone. Her eyes watered at the thought, and the chains felt heavier than before, causing her to stumble. One of the soldiers prodded her forward, which did nothing to help her balance. She kept her eyes on the ground in front of her. The princess didn't want to see the crowds. They were happy that her family had been killed. That was why they'd come to the parade, right? She was too lost in her pain to realize the cheering had turned to boos. Her feet throbbed. She wasn't used to walking this much and without shoes. She was hungry and thirsty and wanted a hot bath. More hot tears welled in her eyes and trickled down her ash stained cheeks.
Morokami, last princess of Tiehuyu, wanted to go home, but despite her young age, she knew there was no home to go back to even if she could escape the Fire Nation. Maybe there wasn't even an Earth Kingdom anymore. If her father couldn't stop the Fire Nation, who could? There was no hope.
One of the soldiers stopped her with a rough hand on her dainty shoulder. Without having to look, she knew the Fire Lord was in front of her. For the first time in her life, Moro felt what must be hate, and there was nothing more pitiable than a child who knew hate. It was not what her mother would want her to feel, but this man had her family and her people killed. And for what? She'd once asked her sister Sumika why the Fire Nation wanted to hurt them. Sumi hadn't been able to answer. Maybe there was no good answer.
She could hear them talking about her, and it was only then that she looked up at the Fire Nation royalty. The Fire Lord was not the monster she'd envisioned. He was just a man and somehow, that made it worse. It was be easier if he'd been a monster. Yet, his wife, the Fire Lady, Moro found kindness in her expression and couldn't understand why. Whatever the reason, Moro would not find out now because she was quickly shuffled away by other servants.
A matronly woman, clearly a higher ranking servant, gently took her by the arm, "come child, let's clean you up. The Fire Lady will want to see you when this charade is finally over. Get some food in you too."
Moro remained silent but perked noticeably at the mention of food. She hoped it wasn't stale bread, but judging by the gentleness of the woman, Moro dared to believe it would be something more satisfying. Perhaps there was some hope left for her. If she lived, then some small part of Tiehuyu remained, and maybe that was enough.