Atobe collapsed onto the ornate chair of his office after seeing out the elderly council member who had wanted to talk to him about sheep production. Sheep! Yes, he understood the importances of it all, how could he not after listening to the man drone on about it for hours at a time for years on end but that did not make him any more amenable to said droning. Especially not now when his thoughts were far off beyond the borders of his kingdom.

He looked up as Oshitari moved into the room and tried not to look too excited at the letter he carried in his hands.

Oshitari noticed his stare however and held up the envelope. "It's not what you think."

"Then what is it?" Atobe asked.

"Lord Sakaki is hosting a concert and has sent you an invitation."

"Then why is not with the rest of the missives?" Atobe asked wondering just why Oshitari felt the need to hand deliver this one.

"Because you have been neglecting those missives quite a bit in the last week. And it would be unwise to rebuke Lord Sakaki. He has been a great benefactor to you and has a lot of influence over the other higher ranking nobility."

Atobe nodded. It was all true. And in normal circumstances he was always quite fond of attending Sakaki's concerts. He had a way of finding the best talent and recruiting them to perform at his events. "Fine. I'll attend. I'll leave it to you to find me an appropriate date."

Oshitari enjoyed keeping up with the gossip and love lives of all who inhabited the castle… or perhaps the whole kingdom. He would trust his friend, as he often did, to find him a date that would be suitable to his rank without the fear of marriage rumours being bantered about. He was not quite ready to take that step in his kingly duties just yet after all.

"Anything else?" Atobe asked as Oshitari nodded and looked about ready to start suggesting beautiful young ladies to escort.

"Nothing of note."

"It's been three weeks. Why have we not heard news yet?" Atobe asked, finally revealing just what had really been on his mind this past week. But by the look on Oshitari's face, he had known all along anyway.

"The journey alone will have taken him over a week. And then any news will need to take nearly that long to get back to us. I feel that we are moving on track. At this point. No news is good news."

Atobe knew all this. It was logical and truthful and so damned infuriating. He wanted instant updates on what was happening and he wanted to ensure that everything was going smoothly. Perhaps he would set his inventors on the task of developing better communication methods… though it would cost money to fund the project and whatever they came up with and that would mean a meeting with the royal accountants who were even more dreadful to listen to than his other advisors. Which Atobe couldn't understand since the kingdom was prosperous with a well stocked treasury.

Being a King certainly had challenges that he hadn't foreseen completely as a prince. But he wasn't afraid of challenges or hard work. It would just make everything he accomplished that much sweeter in the end.

He looked at his schedule for the day and considered a meeting with the inventors just to float the idea by them and then looked up at Oshitari. "Keep me appraised of anything that we may hear from that region."

"Of course, your majesty," Oshitari said and then left with a bow.

-0-0-0-0-

Tezuka sat in the royal library sipping a cup of tea and reading a book on the history of Seigaku. So far things had gone better than expected. It took a few days but he was granted an audience with Echizen Ryoma's head tutor and queried about a job and was worryingly given one on the spot. After spending a morning with the young prince he could understand why. He was headstrong and cocky with only the basic of respect shown to his elders.

He should have expected such a display from a young prince, he had after all known Atobe when he was young and impertinent but it did mean his patience would be tried more than he expected if he hadn't done something about it.

So after the young prince had insisted that he knew the best form and moves with the rapier, Tezuka had challenged him to a friendly duel. He would not have any respect from the prince until he earned it. And since it seemed that Echizen was too young to remember that Tezuka had won the King's cup in the rapier and archery divisions that he would have to demonstrate his skill to the man.

Tezuka had wanted to see what the other was capable of in a proper match and not just practice bouts against his peers. So he had taken the defensive position making Echizen attack. He was impressed with what he saw in one so young but there were openings and flaws and when Tezuka decided to end the match he was easily able to do so.

He won five matches in a row before declaring the contest over. Echizen had been upset with him but he knew the young man was impressed too. The boys' peers and protectors were less so but they seemed to have warmed up to him in the last two weeks as Echizen began to diligently study under him during his lessons.

He was mostly just thankful he did not need to teach the prince in his academic lessons. From what he heard from the other tutors he was no easier to handle there and unlike him, they were not free to beat him into the ground.

As he flipped a page, Tezuka wondered what would become of the prince once his father was gone. He was too young to take the throne and any regent would have a tough time of handling the stubborn prince.

Tezuka liked to think that Echizen would make it to throne. Somehow his peers and protectors seemed genuinely fond of him despite his character flaws and from the little he had seen of Echizen Ryoga at court, he was fond of his little brother and seemed to hold no ambition past his current station.

Flipping another page, Tezuka looked out the window over the extensive grounds where the two brothers were currently riding horses under the watchful eyes of the Prince's guard.

"You seem deep in thought, Sir Tezuka," A soft voice said causing Tezuka to look away from the window.

"Lord Fuji," He greeted with a nod. "And no more in thought than any other occupant in the library."

"Perhaps…" Fuji said before moving close to him and looking out the window. "Keeping an eye on your new ward?"

"Only slightly. I know it is not much spoken of but he seems close to his elder brother." Talking about the King's bastard, even a favoured one who had been given a title was not always the safest topic. But Fuji was an acquaintance from previous visits and part of Ryoma's attendants. It would be wise to make conversation with him and perhaps get a little information if possible.

"He is someone the prince respects and the elder has never been one to conform to rules or expectations. The king is lucky in that way. Other kingdoms have been torn apart by half-siblings," Fuji said.

Tezuka gave a nod at that, having already come to that conclusion even before he had left Hyoutei.

"Perhaps I should invite him to training one day. He might help motivate prince Echizen to push himself further."

Fuji smiled at that as if he knew an amusing secret. At least it seemed he was willing to share this time. "Ah, that may be unwise. They may be fond of each other but they are also competitive at heart."

"I'm sure archery would be safe enough. Only the targets would take any punishment from it that way."

"Smart as always, Sir Tezuka."

"As the prince's tutor it is my duty to think things through cautiously."

"Of course. Well, I shall leave you with your thoughts. I must go remind the prince he is to greet the ambassador from the province of Saint Rudolph shortly."

Tezuka gave a nod at that and then turned back to his book. He felt Fuji watch him for a while before the other turned to leave the room. He would have to be careful of the prince's entourage, especially of Fuji. But he was still sure of his plans and if they were focused on how he was treating Echizen they would not be looking for him to do anything to the king.

Giving the window one last glance he tried focused once more on his book about Echizen's ancestors and their heroic and not so heroic deeds and not on his mission or the young king of Hyoutei and the library visits they had shared at Oshitari's. There would be time enough for all of that.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was nearly three more months until a messenger came as Atobe was sitting down for a casual lunch with some of his attendants and friends.

He barely gave the man much thought, he got messages all the time though it was weird that this one was given priority to reach him when he was taking a private lunch. Then he looked closer at the messenger and the bag he was holding.

Oh.

That was the coat of arms of the kingdom of Seigaku. He held out his hand somewhat eagerly for whatever news there was from the region. Good or bad, he had to know now.

"Someone's eager for mail," Shishido teased from down the table.

"Perhaps it's a love letter," Oshitari said causing a couple of their friends to laugh and some to make disinterested noises.

"It's an official letter from Seigaku," Atobe corrected as he opened the heavy wax seal on it. He waved the messenger off at the same time. He would not be sending an immediate return no matter the contents.

Oshitari knew what this could mean and sobered up quickly from his teasing. The others along the table followed suit until Atobe was reading in silence and hoping his heart pounding was not as audible as he felt.

"And?" Oshitari asked after Atobe had read the letter twice.

"Their king is dead," Atobe said simply. He turned to look at Oshitari and their eyes met and he gave a nod. The letter said it was from natural causes and while that could be just procedural he liked to believe it was real and that Tezuka had succeeded completely in his task.