Waves Upon the Sand




"You're worried about Yamato, aren't you?" King Ishida watched his wife from across the room, reading her turbulent emotions in her tense stance as she gazed out the window, looking at something he couldn't see. The queen allowed herself the luxury of a sigh.

"Yes…" She finally admitted, turning to face her husband. "I'm worried that he's too picky when it comes to choosing a bride, and I'm worried because he's so discriminating…he seems so miserable."

"Yamato has always been a free spirit." The king replied, bemused. Ever since their oldest son had been born, it seemed as if he'd had a mind of his own. The king was inwardly relieved to see his headstrong tendencies were overridden by a healthy smattering of common sense when it came to important issues, though. That was the sign of a boy that could grow up to become a wonderful king…

"I don't want to break his spirit," The queen insisted. "I just wish I could ease his suffering…"

"It's something he has to work through on his own. We can't be there every step of the way to catch him when he falls." The king replied as the queen made her way over to his side, peering over his shoulder at what he was working on. She squinted to read the flowing script.

King Ishida never ceased to be amazed over his luck; his marriage had been arranged when he was little older than Yamato, a political union that was supposed to double the size of their small kingdom. Yet, he and his wife had a partnership bound by true affection, and he had found a kindred spirit in the shy girl he first saw on the night they were to be married. Through the years her common sense and intelligence, already formidible, had blossomed as her husband included her in running his kingdom. It wasn't that they never quarreled, but rather any dispute was eventually comprimised upon and forgotten. He honestly thought he wouldn't be able to run the country without her.

Years may have added slight lines to her face, and her burnished copper hair had been slightly muted by time, but in the lamplight she was still the girl he had grown to love so many years ago.

"I'm redrafting some old treaties." He said in way of explanation at her curious look. His advisors were none too thrilled with their monarch's habit of going over even the most teadious treaties by hand. King Ishida privately took their objections and continued to do the same thing he always did, he thought this was the best way to cut down on pocketlining and general corruption, and the years had proven him right. "The High Council is meeting in a few months."

The High Council was a meeting of all the major kingdoms on the continent. It always took place on neutral ground, just in case two warring countries leaders were attending at the same time. It was a time to renegotiate treaties and grievances, and, due to ancient tradition, the heads of the royal family were expected to attend. Not to do so was considered an insult of great magnitude, though some of the larger houses got away with sending a prince to be a delegate, most of the kingdoms represented would be by their own monarchs.

"I know, dear heart." The queen said with obvious affection. "I have already finished with our travel plans. Do you need my help with any documentation?"

"Always."

***

Takeru's heartbeat grew to a dull roar in his ears until he was sure that it couldn't escape attention. Currently the young boy was underneath an elaborate wall scroll, the smooth marble wall behind him a chilling slab of ice. Inch by inch he was moving, expecting a cry of discovery to be raised at any moment. Fortunately there was ample room between the wall and the fabric for a slender boy to move with relative ease. Any strong movement caused the tapestries to move, thus the overwhelming need for caution.

The marble grew almost unbearably cold beneath his bare feet as he carefully made his way through the halls, until he finally made it to one of the lower levels. The chances of him getting caught here were significantly less, so he finally left the safety of the tapestry. Takeru watched with muted interest as the hallways grew less and less lavish—barren, he would say—as he worked his way down to a previously unexplored area of his home. He allowed himself to let go of his fear bit by bit, an inch at a time, until he finally stood before a darkened staircase descending down into the kitchens.

Once he stumbled down to the base of the stairs, he found himself in an impossibly narrow hallway that eventually widened into a gigantic room. Paradoxically, Takeru felt almost hemmed in as he made his way silently what he had divined—correctly—what was the main kitchen of the castle. A huge fire burned at one end, sending up huge arms of flames to grab at the ceiling as if this room was the very gate of hell itself. The only sound was the ghostly crackle and pop of the flames as the cast their hauntingly transforming light upon the kitchen, creating dark and imposing shadows in the deep corners. Takeru quickly made his way to the other side, a little lost phantasm himself in his pale tunic and luminous baby-blue eyes.

Takeru ran headfirst into someone, so intent was he upon leaving the kitchen. He felt his small heart skip a beat in panic, and for one spit second was sure that it would never start again…until the other boy set him on his feet with steady hands, the torchlight making his face otherworldly in the vaguely dancing flickering of light and shadow.

"Whoa, little one! Where are you running to so late at night? If you were sneaking food, you know Shin'll have your hide! You should be asleep."

Takeru sighed in relief, it looked as if the dimness of the hallway had kept his secret for him faithfully. He swallowed, moistening his parched throat.

"I…I'm looking f-for Jyou." He finally stuttered, hoping this stranger would willing to point him in the direction of Jyou's room.

"Jyou, huh? I guess he's a pretty popular guy tonight…I just came from his room." The stranger inspected Takeru's face with an intensity that made him faintly uneasy. "Turn down the next hallway, it's the second room on the right."

"Thank you kindly!" Takeru said warmly before squeezing past the older boy and continuing on his way.

***

Ryo quietly watched the boy go down the hallway, waiting until he was out of eyesight before letting out a sigh. He had hoped he would be able to grab a few hours of sleep before he packed his few belongings and headed out early the next morning. Now it looked as if he would be paying Shin's room an unexpected visit.

He had felt the fine silken garment underneath his fingers as he helped the younger boy up, so similar to Yamato's nightwear. There was no way a member of the kitchen staff would be wearing something as nicely woven as that…

Yamato had often talked about his younger brother with Ryo, sharing and exalting over Takeru's small triumphs as if they had been his own. He had mentioned with pride how well he read and wrote, how studious he was, how sweet natured. Ryo had never seen the boy himself, except from a distance while he took his horseback riding lessons. Still, he had noted the honey-blond hair and small graceful frame, if only to make subconscious comparisons to Yamato.

Shrugging in confusion—he honestly had no idea what business the younger of the two princes might have with Jyou…Takeru was a bit young yet for any sort of romantic liaison—he went to go inform Shin of his royal visitor.

***

Takeru unconsciously gaped as he peered into what was—to him—the worst squalor he'd ever seen. This "room" was little more than a hole in the wall, a small pallet made of straw in the corner that nonetheless took up most of the space. At first he wondered if this was Jyou's punishment, until he took a glance around and noticed all the rooms along the hallway seemed the same size. It looked as if his little journey down to the servants' quarters was going to be a rude wake up call, like icy cold water splashed on his peacefully slumbering face. He tentatively took a step inside, almost jumping as something stirred in the darkened corner, on the pallet.

Jyou's tousled head soon appeared, as if by magic, but his eyes were bright without a sleepy blurriness to them, so at least Takeru had the relief of knowing he hadn't awoken the older boy. Jyou sat all the way up and although he looked rather surprised by his late night visitor, he quickly managed to get a hold of himself and motion for the distraught looking boy to come in.

"I…I just wanted to make sure you were unharmed…" Takeru finally said awkwardly, before sitting down. It had looked as if Jyou was about to stand, and Takeru already felt guilty enough as it was. "Please, you don't have to get up." He insisted. Now he felt ill at ease, as if he was completely out of his element and didn't know quite what to say.

Jyou regarded him with frank curiosity as the younger boy interlaced his fingers nervously. "I also wanted to say…I guess I just wanted to thank you for listening to me today. It was nice to have someone pay attention to what I have to say, instead of politely brushing me off. Usually oniichan is the only one willing to do that, and he's always so busy…I feel like I'm just a bother to him sometimes, he has so much on his shoulders."

Jyou privately doubted that the elder of the two princes felt the same way, just from what he had seen of the two was indicative of a very deep love on the elder brother's part. At the same time, it did seem as if Yamato had something weighing on his mind as of late…all the castle had been gossiping about it like mad.

"Do you think…" Takeru suddenly look heart wrenchingly young, shadows blanketing his face until it was hard not to think of him as a lonely spirit, desperately searching for any sort of companionship. "I could come to you, or I could summon you, if I just needed to talk about something?"

Jyou nodded, and was surprised to see the prince let out a breath he had been holding in a large sigh. Obviously he was expecting a different answer altogether, most likely the one he was all too used to. Takeru, for his part, felt as if a weight had just been lifted off of his back, he almost felt like laughing, amazing what knowing you had a confidant could do to your mood. There was something about Jyou; he could sense the other boy genuinely liked him and that he wasn't just humoring him.

"I guess I'll let you sleep now…" Takeru said, suddenly shy as he stood up. Somehow he thought there should be more to say, that the trip down here had seemed longer than his purpose. At the same time, he was happy to discover that the kitchen boy hadn't been punished and was doing well, at least he could finally get a few hard won hours of sleep with that knowledge.

***

Content with his knowledge, the younger prince wasn't as careful as he should have been while making his way across the expanse of kitchen once more. Had he been more alert, he might have noticed the man waiting for him in the dark, the flames of the endlessly burning cookfires outlining him ever-so-slightly as he kept his silent vigil while leaning confidently against one of the upraised chopping tables.

"My liege, had you wished for something to eat, you might have called one of your servants. I hardly think a personal visit was needed."

Takeru started, feeling his heart leap to his throat at the sudden sound. He whirled to meet the man, inwardly angry at his own carelessness. Shin stepped closer to the smaller boy and gave a curt bow, a mere formality. Shin was not the type of person given towards lavish signs of respect if one had yet to earn it, the mere fact that he had bothered with a bow at all showed that Takeru was well on his way to earning it, however.

"I…I came to see Jyou." Takeru finally said in way of explanation.

"And you couldn't wait until morning and ask someone?" Shin's voice was dry, with a bewitching undercurrent of amusement, as if he was used to royalty parading about his kitchen in their nightshirts. Takeru met his eyes, trying to dredge up some of that commanding presence that seemed to come and go at its whim where he was concerned.

"They would have lied to me." He finally whispered, not quite what he had been hoping for, but the tall head of the kitchens did create a rather imposing figure. Surprisingly at those words, Shin knelt on one knee, now better able to meet the prince's gaze. "They always tell me what I want to hear…as if I'm some sort of baby!"

"You could always ask me." Shin said, and Takeru realized with a sudden burst of clarity that Shin wasn't angry, or even annoyed with him. "I wouldn't lie to you."

Still, Takeru felt he had to ask. "Aren't you going to scold me?" Shin looked genuinely surprised at the prince's question.

"Why would I scold you? It's your palace; you can come and go as you please. You're always welcome here, milord. I would just prefer to have a little bit of forewarning before you decide to fraternize with my staff."

"But you could get in trouble…" Takeru insisted.

"Only if you get caught tonight." Shin laughed. "And I'm sure that if you got here in one piece then you can certainly get back to your room without mishap. Now get going before someone besides me and Ryo catches you here." Takeru did as he was bidden, stopping only to adjust his sweaty tunic and give Shin a winsome smile.

"Thank you…I think I might take you up on your offer in the future." He ended politely, before ducking down the hallway, disappearing before Shin's eyes silently as a specter.

***

Yamato squinted in an attempt to keep the sun from blinding him as he parried a lightning swift lunge by his younger brother. His sleep deprived muscles protested this harsh treatment even as he pressed his advantage, fencing sword a bright slash of light as he counterattacked.

After escorting the princess to her room late last night, he had finally fallen into a light uneasy sleep. When he had woken up early the next morning, he had found the bedsheets twisted around his legs like a serpent's coiled embrace, bedcovers discarded on the side of his bed.

The princess was watching their morning ritual with avid interest, seated delicately upon a bench in the courtyard as the two boys practiced. Any move of extraodinary grace or skill was met with enthusiastic applause on her part, causing the boys to fumble more than once at the sudden sound echoing off the walls. Neither one of them had the heart, or courage, to ask her to stop, however. Her presence was just as alien to them as theirs was to her, and both parties fumbled to meet at some sort of proper common ground.

Obviously it wouldn't do to treat her like a prince of their own age. Actually, the last time they'd had a prince near Yamato's age at the castle, Yamato had been nine years old. The two had taken an instant disliking towards one another and all of their parents' efforts to get them to play together amiably had been in vain. Yamato remembered, with satisfaction to this day, the look on the other boy's face when Yamato had sent him sprawling into a muddy puddle. Of course, he had been severely punished, but he had never explained the reason behind his shocking behavior had been because the other boy had been picking on Takeru.

Speaking of which, his younger brother's night must have been mild and calm compared to his; Takeru's smile was even more sweetly heartwarming than usual, as if something had transformed him overnight. His eyes held a light Yamato had never witnessed before, as if he was privy to some amazing secret that not even Yamato could understand, just as Yamato had his own puzzles to add depth to his own often stormy gaze. A whisper across the ocean-blue surfaces that was almost like love, but not quite at that depth.

Yamato frowned slightly, a bit uncomfortable at his insights. It was disturbing somehow to think of his younger brother growing older, but at the same time there wasn't anything Yamato could do to stop it. He knew they would grow apart as the years went by, and yet he found himself struggling every time Takeru showed some sign of his impending independence.

Takeru took the chance Yamato's distraction offered to quickly worm through Yamato's defenses and land a point on the taller boy's shoulder, still in a ready stance until Yamato sighed and motioned for Takeru to relax. Yamato bestowed an approving grin upon his brother before ruffling Takeru's hair in an offhandedly affectionate manner; Takeru really was improving with leaps and bounds…

Takeru wiped his forehead in an attempt to make himself look halfway decent as the two of them made their way back to where Mimi was waiting patiently. He still hadn't had a chance to talk to the princess, and when he had quizzed his older brother as to what she was like, he had shrugged and said "she's nice", which was about as close Yamato would come to saying he approved of her, but didn't exactly tell Takeru much about her.

Yamato took a seat on her right-hand side while Takeru took the left. There were a few moments of silence as the two princes tried to catch their breath until Yamato spoke. "Our lessons are canceled for today, and you were saying something about wanting to go to the beach, princess?" He was getting into the swing of things, rout politeness becoming easier as the hours passed.

Mimi nodded in reply, smoothing out her periwinkle-blue dress in a quick graceful movement as she basked in the undivided attention emanating from the two boys. "Yes, if it's not too much trouble…"

"I have an idea." Takeru said, a heady feeling infusing him as Mimi's full attention turned to him for the first time. "I could ask the cooks to prepare us a picnic lunch! We could eat it on the grassy knoll right before the sand starts down to the beach…"

The idea obviously caught Mimi's fancy, because the sparkle in her eyes grew as she began making a lengthy list of supplies that were absolutely needed to have the perfect picnic. Yamato threw his brother a confusedly lopsided grin as he allowed the girl to ramble on. It was probably impossible to carry all the supplies to the beach, let alone find them all, but Takeru had a feeling Mimi was a girl that didn't always have her feet carefully grounded in reality. Nor had it escaped his attention that most of this list was being dictated to his older brother…

Takeru didn't want to be a nuisance when it might be better for the two to go alone…but he was also torn by the feeling of wanting to visit the beach as well. It had been so long since he'd been able to go down to the lower part of the garden, the part that opened up into the private beach of the Ishida royal family. Perhaps if he had something to distract him from being a pain…

"Oniichan?" Now it was Yamato's turn to hear his brother's request. "Can Jyou come along? He won't be able to lift a lot of stuff…but I'd really like it if we could include him. I know that it might not be really proper, but he's my friend and—"

Yamato by this point, had been racking his brains trying to think of the names of their usual entourage; as far as he could tell, there was no "Jyou" among their ranks. A glimmer of an idea began to take root. Yamato could remember back when he was young and intense loneliness had caused him to conjure up an imaginary playmate. He had driven the castle half mad, insisting a place be set for the invisible boy, getting angry at the servants if they didn't address the "two of them" as "they" walked along. Certainly it would behoove him to take his little brother as seriously as everyone else did his flight of fancy. Of course, he had been a bit younger than Takeru, but who was he to say what might be normal for Takeru's age?

"Sure he can." Yamato said generously. "You can invite Jyou any time you want." Takeru's eyes lit up.

"I'll go tell him and Shin right now!" He exclaimed before darting off. Now Shin was a name Yamato did recognize, and he seized his chance with both hands.

"Why don't you take Mimi with you!" He offered, perhaps a bit too hurriedly to be truly polite. "That way she can relay this list to the head cook himself!" Mimi also threw a grateful look Yamato's way as she hurried off after Takeru, no doubt eager to get going on what sounded like a delicious lunch.

Even better, Yamato finally had some time to himself…

***

"That's not fair!" Takeru protest as Mimi ran into the kitchen a few moments before he did, shoes in one hand and chest heaving as she laughed sweetly. A surprised cook narrowly missed slamming a heavily laden tray into the young girl and one dropped an earthenware pot with a crash at the commotion. "You cheated!"

"I did no such thing!" She insisted, looking horribly affronted at the thought.

"You pretended you fell, and then ran right past me when I stopped to help you!" He insisted.

"That's not cheating!"

Meanwhile, one of the kitchen boys had managed to work his way through the rapidly growing din over to Shin, and was pointing to the two strangers in consternation. Shin sighed and pushed his glasses back up from where they had started to slide down to the tip of his nose before waving the kitchen boy on to his task and going to see what all the fuss was about.

"Shin, I was wondering if it would be possible to prepare us a picnic lunch…" Takeru said when Shin drew into hearing range. "Also, is Jyou at leisure to attend?"

"Well, what did you have in mind?" Shin asked, unsuccessfully trying to hide his grin as the outraged cook behind the two children finally realized exactly who his rage was directed towards. "As for Jyou, you'll have to ask him yourself. It's fine with me, but I'm not going to order him to go with you, majesty."

If Mimi was surprised at the offhand way Shin spoke to his royal prince, she gave no sign, instead she was engrossed by the finely oiled working machine that was the royal kitchen, stopping her gaping only when Takeru asked her to tell Shin exactly what she wanted in their lunches as he went off to seek his older friend.

Takeru eventually found him working at making pie crusts with about fifteen other boys of various ranks and ages. Jyou seemed surprised to see Takeru there, but when Takeru requested his attendance, Jyou paused and thought for a few minutes. It was only after Takeru remarked that his brother and Princess Mimi would be attending as well did Jyou give a hesitant nod of approval, as if steeling himself for a task that would take monumental effort on his part. Takeru then dragged Jyou off to be properly introduced to the princess, who took being introduced to a common kitchen boy with remarkably good grace, treating him as if she was being introduced to another member of the royal family and enquiring about his job at length.

Takeru just watched as Shin carefully disappeared back into the crowd, not wanting to be burdened with any more requests, and Jyou stood silent under the curious girl's onslaught of inquiries. He wondered how long it would take her to realize Jyou was mute…

***

It took a good hour to prepare the picnic baskets, but finally the three of them slowly made their way back to the courtyard. Jyou ended up carrying both he and Mimi's baskets until Takeru noticed and relieved him of the burden, only to stagger under the weight himself as Mimi skipped up the stairs into the light. She looked back down at them curiously from her perch on the rough marble, as if pondering something.

"What's taking you two so long?"

Takeru could see how Mimi could be so utterly easy to get along with, yet completely innocent of other people, and how it could be irksome and endearing at the same time. You would begin to get annoyed, only to have those cocoa-colored eyes fix on yours and before you knew it, you would have forgotten you had anything to be upset about.

"I'll go tell Yamato that you two are on your way!" She exclaimed before dashing off, leaving Takeru to let out a befuddled sigh and slump against the wall. It would never occur to her to help them with the baskets, would it? Ah, well, that's the way she was… Jyou made a move to grab the other basket, but Takeru stopped him and gave him a look of childish earnest, expressing that he could do it!

By the time the two of them made it to the top, Yamato was waiting outside with Mimi. He was nodding halfheartedly along to her conversation only to stop as Jyou stepped outside and shielded his eyes to allow them to get used to the sudden brightness. Yamato turned to his brother with an urgent face.

"Takeru, who is this?" Yamato hadn't taken his eyes off of Jyou the whole time, but Jyou, after a deep bow, hadn't met his gaze once.

Takeru blinked in confusion before answering. "This is Jyou, oniichan. Is there something the matter?"

Yamato seemed captivated as the kitchen boy's cheeks colored under the prince's watching expression, a slight tinge of pink that contrasted with the ivory of his skin to create a mesmerizing visage.

"No, there's nothing wrong, Takeru. Nothing at all…"


End of Part Eight
To be continued…