Disclaimer: I do not own this awesome anime/manga

Disclaimer: I do not own this awesome anime/manga.

Characters, information and events that you've never heard of before most likely belong to me.

Every chapter is written at dawn, so it:

1.might not make any sense…which indicates exactly what the author is like. -.-

2.might have a lot of grammatical errors…so please inform the one at fault (me)

3.that's all…enjoy! (I hope)

Oh by the way, I'm refraining from using too much Japanese titles, as I am not very familiar with them. Shuurei was called Kou-kihisama by her ladies-in-waiting, but I'm not very comfortable with using it…so Jyuusanhime will just be referred to as 'Lady' or 'Mistress'.

Chapter 4

It was a very cold night, with snowflakes falling heavily to the earth and preventing anyone from walking outside on the streets without sinking onto the snow-covered ground. Most people are inside their homes, eating dinner or just chatting about how their day went over a nice warm cup of tea.

The Kou manor, however, was completely devoid of its inhabitants, save for a young mother and her two sons. Seiran was stranded in one of the neighbor's houses, having gone there earlier to help with some house repairs, at Shuurei's insistence. Shouka and Shusui were still in the archives due to the Emperor's order that no one is to go outside the Palace until the snow outside was cleared and it was already safe for people to be outside.

Aside from snow, there was also a very thick mist that surrounded the Palace, making it hard for anyone to see beyond three feet. This allowed two masked men to slip out of the Imperial Harem and over the wall without being seen.

Roughly two hours later, they were already climbing another wall, this time to get inside a manor. Already aware that the only people at home were Lady Kou and her children, they sneaked in without much care to their surroundings.

At the Palace, the Ran Princess was trying very hard to fall asleep and forget about her unexpected visitor just a few moments ago. But her mind didn't seem to agree with her and kept on replaying the events that happened earlier…

"Lady Ran, are you awake?"

A sleepy moan emanated from the woman's room, and the handmaiden, Juri, knocked once more.

"Lady Ran, it is me, Juri."

She heard a yawn, then some shuffling sounds. After a few minutes, the door slid open and revealed a very sleepy Ran Princess.

"What is it, Juri?"

"Lady Ran, may I speak to you in private? There is something important I must tell you."

Jyuusanhime nodded and bid her entrance. A few minutes later, they were sitting across each other, a cup of tea in the mistress's hands.

"So, what is this thing that I have to know and can't wait till morning?" she asked, quite irritably. She had just given birth hours ago after all, and all she wants is to rest for a whole day.

"Mistress, your baby, as you already know is quite tiny and weak," Juri began slowly. "However, the other handmaidens and midwives told you-"

"That he'll be fine-" the other woman cut in. "Yes, I know that. What about it?"

"Mistress, please forgive me for what I am about to say," she said softly. "I assure you I mean you no harm and-"

"Just tell me," she bit out, the tea doing nothing to soothe her impatience.

"He's going to die, Milady."

She choked on the tea, making her splutter and cough for several seconds. Juri, unsure of what to do, awkwardly patted her back until her Mistress was able to regain her composure and wiped her face with her handkerchief.

Jyuusanhime took in a couple of breaths and tried to get over her shock as her mind processed the words she just heard.

Her baby is going to die. Her baby-no, her and Shun's baby is going to die. Her only link to Shun will be gone. Her only reprieve from having to 'spend time' with the Emperor will be gone. But that doesn't even compare to the fact that her son is going to die.

But wait, who's telling her this? A handmaiden. That's right. Not a doctor, a medical student or someone with enough medical knowledge.

She turned to Juri. "You're lying. The midwives wouldn't dare lie to me!"

"Milady, they only did that so you could rest in peace- I mean, rest peacefully. However, they already had their suspicions and the doctors themselves confirmed it," Juri insisted.

Speechless, shocked and still a bit sleepy, the last thing she heard before fainting was Juri saying, "Don't worry, Mistress, I have everything under control."

"What did she mean by that?" she muttered. Rolling over, she once again resumed her attempts to fall asleep.

A few minutes later, she shifted again, pondering once more over her handmaiden's last words. "She has everything under control."

What an odd thing for a handmaiden to say.

She's not planning anything, isn't she? She's just a handmaiden after all.

So is Shusui. Who's a former member of the Wolves of the Wind (A/n: Right?), an inner voice shot back.

Shut up. She's a lady-in-waiting, she retorted. There's a difference.

The inner voice ignored her. Kourin was also one. And she tried to kill the former mistress.

"Shut the hell up!" she yelled, and winced at how loud she sounded to her ears, making her head hurt. "Ow, what's this, a hangover?" she muttered.

Then she frowned. Where are the guards? They had to have heard her shout.

"Oh whatever. It's not like I need them anyway," she huffed, momentarily allowing herself the luxury to boast about her fighting skills. "Now let's get some sleep."

Several hours later, the heavy falling of snow receded. The people were already starting to wake up, because in just a few moments the sun will begin to rise, marking the beginning of a new day. Women went about their chores while men cleared the streets and their roofs of snow.

As soon as he was able, Seiran hurried back home, having spent (reluctantly) the night at their neighbor's.

"Ojou-sama must be awake by now," he said to himself. "That is, if she hadn't stayed up all night waiting for us."

With that thought, he sped up his steps and soon he was at the door of their manor.

"Tadaima," he called as he went inside.

Hearing no reply, he figured she was still asleep. He was three steps from the door when he heard it.

Someone crying. Sobbing. It didn't sound like an infant.

He was at Shuurei's door before he knew it. "Ojou-sama, may I come in?" he asked even as he pushed open the door...

…and was momentarily knocked out of breath when a white blur pounced on him and he fell to the floor.

It took him a moment to recognize the white object in his arms as Shuurei and that the sobbing sounds he heard were coming from her.

"Why are you crying, Ojou-sama?" he whispered, gently stroking her back.

With her face buried in his chest all he could hear was a muffled response interrupted by sobs and hiccups. He decided to try to get her to stop crying first before he asked again.

Long, weeping and sniffing moments later, Shuurei finally raised her head from his chest and rubbed at her eyes, which were now slightly red and swollen, as well as her nose, and her ears. Her cheeks were wet and her hair was all mussed up, sticking to her face and giving her an unusually scruffy look.

While waiting for the now small sobs to wane, he tenderly removed the stray locks of hair from her face and wiped her cheeks.

When she had finally gotten quiet, he spoke up once again. "What happened, Ojou-sama?"

"They took him away," she muttered, head down so he couldn't see her eyes.

"Took who?"

"Kosuke! They took Kosuke away!" she shrieked and started to cry again.

That's it for now...I'm currently suffering from writer's block, and that's the best I could do...

School's also fast approaching...so I'll probably be too busy to write...

Hope you understand..thanks..