Okay... Note of warning: this chapter is Yue-centrific, so, yeah.Don't worry - it's still SS, but Yue and the princess(es) have an "interesting" relationship that is important to the plotline (though it doesn't seem like it now)...
So, please bear with me, and read this chapter, because some large hints are dropped.
Just skim it if you're really against this pairing.
The actual chapter itself may have to undergo some tweaking anyway, as there are a lot and yet very few things that happen, sorry...


Chapter 7 - "Malignant Morning"
The dawn is subtle, creeping upon the castle in pale lavender and periwinkle, like the blooming of these flowers upon the white marble walls. The navy of the ocean floor recedes from the sky, withdrawing its twinkling array of soldiers to another night elsewhere.

Gradually, the faint irises are replaced with water-color washed chamomille and cherry blossoms streaking the clouds, their petals falling up into the vast expanse of morning. They blush the sky with color, as the sun breaks free of its restrictive mountainside and breeches the tips of the trees to coat them black in contrast to its brilliance.

And as the dawn fades back to its respectful blue for the day that has arrived, two green eyes watch the branches tossing to a non-existent wind, and a princess in her nightgown shivers.

Above, a pair of wings folds as her guardian prepares to descend, having spotted his ward. The other sleeps still.

Below, a murmur stirs as shutters open, chores begin, children are called, greetings are passed - as life starts afresh with the rebirth of the sun.

Within the castle, another pair of eyes watches the scene, the nightmarish painting of fire making the sunrise sinister. Reality flickers. He shivers.

The day is begun.

A light tap announces his arrival, but the princess is too engrossed in her own thoughts to hear. For a moment, he is content simply to watch the young ruler, wondering what matters plagued her.

No doubt the plan is on her mind still...

A sigh nearly crosses his lips, but he holds it in, dropping gently from the railing - where he first landed - to the cool stone, still hiding in shadow, untouched by the stretching rays that climb higher with each steady silent step.

"You'll catch a cold standing out all night like that."

She turns at last, startled at the intrusion, but he simply smiles, draping a cream-colored cloak about the thin shoulders.

The worried light in her eyes melts to relief, and a warm smile returns his. "Oh, it's you, Yue."

"You should take better care of yourself, princess. It would not do for you to get sick right now." Turning from her, his eyes catch a figure at another window, its dark blue curtains raised, unveiling the brown-haired young man with an intense gaze at the village below. "Even if you are... worried..."

She turns also, first to look at her guardian, before tracing his indifferent glance to the one standing below them. A shade of sorrow washes her green eyes - a tint, a hint of memory - and she sighs, looking away again. After a moment's pause, she speaks, though asking the last question he expected. "Yue... what did you think of her?"

"Her?" Think of... her?

She simply turns her emerald eyes to him, where emotions conflict as much as in his own. A memory flashes in his inward eye, and the scene fades to a past, where another pair of green eyes and another princess asks, "What do you think of me?"

"Why do ask, princess? Is she..." He isn't sure how to finish the question, and looks away.

"No, I am not the one who asks."

The voice is different, but he recognizes it immediately. Whipping his head around in shock, his surprised violet eyes meet two green - yet rather than the innocent emerald of before, they're of the darker shade that match the tossing forest trees. A pair of ruby lips smiles, and a delicate hand reaches up to touch his cheek.

"You wondered, isn't that right?" A 17-year-old princess, but not the one that belongs. "Don't worry - I'll not be present long. You need to take better care of your princess though. Her worry fatigues her greatly. Oh, and answer her question."

The apparition - of a sort - disappears, and he can barely relax before another falls into his arms, unconscious. A shadow falls across the guarded features, as pain struggles to surface against the cool mask of aloofness. The wings fade as well - he knows he likely will not be leaving for a while - as he gently lifts the princess, moving into her chamber and laying her gingerly behind the billowing curtains to rest.

Standing up, he turns to wait upon the balcony, when her hand catches at his wrist, missing and tugging fabric instead. He looks back, but it's a subconscious action, roused no doubt by a dream.

You look so innocent... it hurts.

A hand reaches out, brushing the mangled orange strands, smoothing them as the traditional guard is dropped, revealing a deep sadness in his eyes. "What did I think of her... princess?" Yue takes her hand, and holds it tenderly in his own. A bitter smile alights, as he brushes the back lightly with his lips, hesitating before bending over the sleeping form and kissing the fair forehead. "Not so much, nor feel so strongly... as I do for you."


The wind stirs his hair in its untroubled serenity, its sprites whispering in his ear. Their laughter dances in each subtle motion, asking his sorrow, his coldness to the world. "Why mask?" They flit, chattering amongst themselves, "Why ask?"

A slight touch at his elbow causes him to turn. The princess is awake again.

"How long have I slept?" She turns her troubled green eyes to him, somehow confused, somehow lost in her own domain. "How much time have I lost?"

"Not enough to change your plans." His reply is soft, quiet, but without emotion. "You've slept barely half an hour. The morning hasn't changed much."

"I had a dream, Yue. No, it was more like a nightmare..." She shivers, pulling the cloak he had draped about her closer about her form.

"I felt it." His face is turned away from her, violet eyes dimmed, as though remembering.

"You felt what?"

"I felt your dream." He glances at her. "I felt your fear."

She casts her gaze down, then away, above the white stone railings to the kingdom below. To the guards lowering the drawbridge, the stablehands preparing breakfast for the horses, knights arriving, lords leaving, carriages of meticulous ornamentation. To the walls, glinting with armor at the top, where archers stand patrolling. To the town beyond, with hens clucking and cows mooing as eggs and milk are collected, as children dally and are scolded, as bakers and venders prepare their stocks, calling greetings to each other. To the forest then, its shadows unbreached by sunlight, its leaves tossing to a different wind, its mysteries calling... Calling to her... Warning... Mocking...

"I saw a fire."

"From their- no, your- memories?" Yet didn't you say-

"From a vision." She grips the ornamented marble as though it's the last tie to humanity, her pale hands getting even whiter, light blue veins surfacing, like the white veins in the already white marble. "They were thoughtful enough not to give me their last memories - those of the destruction and terror. I have only the first seventeen years - there is never a final day."

"Then this fire..."

"It's a prophecy. A prophetic dream." Her mouth opens to add to the statement, but nothing comes out. As a strong wave, the magic comes out - the dam broken - with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. "I'm scared, Yue. I- I-" A tear slips, paving the path for another as words fail.

Then... two strong arms enfold her.

"Just do what you planned to do." He lets her loose a bit, getting down on one knee to look up at her. "You were going to tell him today, right?" She nodds, sniffing. There's still some fear though, in her eyes. He smiles kindly.

"It'll be okay, princess. I promise. I'm sure you'll be all right."