Hello! How is everyone doing? I've been doing another AnS reread, and it's so beautiful and wonderful, and so hilariously painful how quickly and obviously Obi fell in love with Shirayuki that my feels are just everywhere. Chapter 54 was great! I think, however, that all is not as it seems...

This flash piece was quick and fun to write. It's always fun to think about what Obi and Shirayuki experienced in Tanburn (Tanbarun? Well, simplicity is everything), and I've taken some liberties with the time frame covered in the manga. I think they were at the palace for quite some time, not to mention traveling time. This will definitely not be the last Tanburn chapter.

Happy reading!

"Silence is a true friend who never betrays."
-Confucius

#11: Noise

Every second Shirayuki spends in Tanburn is a second stretched to the point of cracking the furthest edges of its allotted time. So far, they've been pretty strange seconds, too. Seconds filled with noise.

Every day at two and six P.M., there is the cripplingly uncomfortable sound of herself and Prince Raji drinking their tea. She can almost hear Raji silently wishing he could strangle himself with his cravat over their polite, wet sips. There is the constant rustle and hush of fine, starched fabric about her calves and forearms, sounds that fire little itches up along her knees, elbows, and shoulders that probably aren't really there. And, of course, there is the cacophony of the palace itself, much different from the friendly, busy hum of Wistal - involving many more bangs, thuds, shouts, and staff members scurrying from room to hallway to stairwell, mainly, Shirayuki is finding, because of the nefarious twin royals, Rona and Eugena.

However, not even the terrible twins (as she begins to affectionately call them in her mind) can raise a ruckus equal to the one going on inside Shirayuki's own head.

Thoughts racing faster and faster, Shirayuki quickly lets them slip out of her control. Tanburn feels like a trap rather than the home she'd once loved. Faceless whispers follow her around corners, and there is always, always the possibility that she won't be allowed to leave even once the ball is over and she packs up her long skirts and gowns for good. Memories of Raji's insufferable idiocy crash over her mind in nauseating waves, eating away at more recent recollections of his sincerity and unexpected smiles. Worst of all, there are Prince Izana's half-concealed threats, sly and patronizing and drifting like smog over her every step.

The blood in her veins (common as dirt) roars in her ears.

A touch to her elbow, warm and featherlight to near nonexistence, interrupts. Her thoughts are silenced. Effortlessly, she anchors her mind to Obi's presence mere inches behind her.

Obi is so easy to forget about these days. He is utter quiet adrift on a sea of whispering staff, Raji's bumbling, training, politics, and the unfamiliarity of the palace. But he is always there, she remembers now; always in her line of sight and ready to deliver perfectly timed eye-rolls or weird faces to make her laugh and snort, unprepared, into her sleeves and kerchief when no one else is looking. Always there to murmur encouragement and bits of advice near the back of her neck the instant she begins to doubt herself. Always steadying her - she remembers strong hands catching her in the library the day before, his warm smile later that night in the dark.

A small, blonde shape scuttles across the hallway in the distance; a trail of maids hurries after, their cries of annoyance and worry finding Shirayuki and Obi further back on the grand stretch of red carpet and stone. The sounds are clear and bright in Shirayuki's ears.

When Obi murmurs, "How are you doing, Mistress?" she can honestly whisper back, "Better."

Yahoo, Shirayuki's perspective! It's a much less turbulent point of view to write from, which is interesting, since Obi is so lighthearted and hilarious. He's a mysterious guy, and Shirayuki is totally straightforward in everything she says and does. I also think I stuck to the actual prompt better in this chapter!

Please do review, dear readers, and stay beautiful!

-ISM