AUTHOR NOTE : I apologize for the weird formatting on the chapters, it keeps on happening and I will try to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Thanks for reading and all the love! Please review and send me your ideas!
"It seems the same" Shirin says nostalgically as they land in Samarkand. "They didn't lie, everything is still the same".
"Well, Miss Governor, are you going to introduce yourself to the people" Yunan says as he watches Shirin spin around.
" I shoulddd" Shirin says despite not actually paying attention. She was just too into everything around her.
"Come on" Yunan says with a small sigh and starts dragging her into the city.
Suddenly, everyone around her starts murmuring, Shirin's ombre hair already signalling who she was.
"Princess?" a hunched figure says as it stumbles towards them.
"Huh?" Shirin says as she turns around, the bony fingers grasping onto her's.
The old woman's eyes start watering, the tears dripping down her face. "You're still here".
"The old housekeeper …" Shirin says unsure what to do as the old woman collapses to the ground, crying. .
After a while, the crying stops and Shirin helps the old women stand up. "We'll all be okay" she whispers and then to the whole crowd, she says " I' have come back to take control of Samarkand on the behalf. "
The whole crowd erupts into mess of emotions, relief and excitement and some regret all mixed together.
"Princess, if I'm mistaken, but you have re-aligned us with Kou, correct?" a voice says icily, riling up the crowd and creating a mass of whispers.
Shirin turns to face of the dissenter, already realizing that it was the daughter of a former court member, Silvia Siran.
"Weren't you already aligned with Kou? " Shirin states, completely ignoring the main point that Silvia had pointed out.
"That's not it" she says exasperated. "Why didn't you fights to make Samarkand independent? Do you realize how much we have suffered under them?" SIlvia asks, growing more and more confident with each word.
"I'm sorry, but… You know… But from what I see " Shirin says as she gestures around her, " Kou hasn't really been able to do anything to Samarkand… And you do realize that if we don't go along with Kou, Reim or Magnostatt or Parthevia or Sindria could all come in and try to conquer us. With Kou. I at least have some leverage within their system." Shirin says, trying to ease the tensions.
"Leverage. How could you have any leverage" Silvia says admonishingly. She didn't know that Shirin had already been in Kou and the deal she had managed to make.
"I am now a general in the Kou army and with permission with the Emperor, will most likely marry into the Ren line. At least, that's what they usually do for situations like this. " Shirin states. "Now unless the other countries can create such favorable advantages for us, I think this is the best deal we have and should take. "
The crowd is shocked into silence when a few more figures start crying. "Princess, why are you going so far for us, you know they can't touch us. " Shirin took their comments lightly, knowing that emotions like these could easily change.
Kou really couldn't harm the landscape and change the way the people lived, but they could still kill them. The land itself had a magic so deep that it had seeped into the people's culture and enforced the will that kept it alive, ensuring that the base of Samarkand couldn't disappear .
"They can kill you, and they can kill me, isn't that enough reason for me to go this far?. Either way, from now on, Samarkand is mine. " Shirin calmly says and the crowd finally starts celebrating the downfall of their previous governor and the return of the ruler they thought they had lost.
"I think that went well, you really are a King Vessel" Yunan says with a small smile, hiding his laughter as they leave the city center.
"People change very quickly, don't they" she murmurs, trying to sort out her feelings on being back. "Was that okay. I didn't screw up, did I" Shirin asked nervously as she leaves her stupor and starts wringing her hands. "I know that i shouldn't be like this, but just being back here makes me think I need to do something big to make a change, and that may not have been enough. "
"You were fine, and really, I think you should be more worried about your entrance back to Kou. " Yunan says as he places her hands in his to stop her from shredding her nails out of worry.
"That is the last thing I'll worry about" Shirin says with an plotting grin. "Who do you think would make a better statement, Seir or Andromalis?