It was just a dream
By Hibana
A Ronin Warriors Fanfiction
Disclaimer: I don't own the Ronin Warriors.
A.N.-- whoa, it's been way longer than I meant it to be. Sorry guys (if I still have any faithful readers left!). Good thing this one was almost finished anyway...
As usual, read and enjoy!
Cye sat on a stool, staring at the lump of clay he was supposed to transform into a beautiful and elegant vase. Behind him he heard his mother give advice to his sister.
"Relax, dear. Release the tension in your shoulders and your hands will be steadier."
"I know, Mother," he heard his sister reply. Then she sighed and Cye could see her do as their mother instructed.
He took his mother's advice to and tried to relax. There was so much on his mind that he didn't know where to begin with sorting it, and it wouldn't do to begin until he had cleared his mind and could focus on the clay. He tried to do so but sighed, his thoughts tangled, and began anyway, pressing his foot on the pedal so that the soothing sound of the spinning wheel began.
First and foremost, as usual, was concern for his mother. She had been determined to come into the shop today, despite his and Sayoko's protests. She had insisted, though, saying it would help her to do something productive and it was her own shop and what kind of mother let her children run it? She insisted that it was relaxing and promised that she wouldn't let it tax her strength. Cye had seen no other option but to bring her, and while he was here he had decided to make some general pieces for the shop itself, since Sayoko had been so busy with the special orders lately. He glanced over at his mother, and saw the warm smile on her face as she watched Sayoko work, and realized it was helping her to be in her shop, surrounded by what she loved to do, and let that worry go.
His second concern was his own little project, which had not been going well at all. He sighed heavily, his hands slick from the clay as he guided it into the shape he wanted. It was very frustrating, trying to read some four hundred years of illegible text. Educational when he could make it out, but on the whole frustrating. He didn't want to know about the rice yield of his clan's farms in 1741! He wanted to know about the armor…
Once again he sighed, and let his thoughts drift, the sound and the work soothing, and he focused on the spinning clay until his another thought emerged.
The armor. The one that the Ancient spoke of in his dream. At times like this he doubted himself and wondered why he was even looking for it. How could it be real? How could his dreams be real? Yet he could not dismiss them, and the notion had guided him like a boat in a strong current, causing him to return to the old texts every time after he had given up in frustration.
Frustration…he barely even knew what he was looking for. It was all so cryptic…he was so cryptic, the Ancient One. He hadn't come to any of Cye's dreams in some time, since the initial few that had started Cye on this quest. He had only told him about the legend of the armor and that the secret lay in his family's history. Which was helpful, but not when faced with all the documents of the clan's history. He felt his frustration build, but then let them go, exhaling softly. He had made up his mind to look for this armor, and so he would continue to look for it. Did he really want to give up on it? He asked himself again, and decided once again that he did not. If it wasn't real, well, he had wasted his time. If it was…
The clay rose higher, slowly taking shape.
What would happen when he found the armor, if he ever did? It seemed rather silly to think of that, especially when he wasn't sure if he ever would find it, but now that it had come up he had to consider it. Why did the Ancient want him to find the armor? What purpose would it serve? The Ancient One had said that the armor had come from a battle with a demon…he wasn't supposed to fight demons in the armor, was he? He certainly couldn't fight. The idea seemed rather silly. He, in armor, fighting demons? He wouldn't know what to do with a weapon, to start, and he certainly wasn't strong enough to fight…and he really didn't believe in it, either, he mused. Violence could almost always be avoided if people were willing to compromise. Well, maybe there was another purpose for the armor, Cye tried to tell himself. Or maybe he should just stop now before he got himself into something he couldn't handle.
But what if the Ancient One had come to him because he was the only one who could, somehow? He wasn't sure how that could be. Surely there was someone better.
But the fact of the matter was that the Ancient had come to him and told him, not anyone else (as far as he knew). He said it had been his destiny, his very own. Somehow that was encouraging and frightening at the same time. He wanted to know and yet not really know, if it meant what he suspected.
But the Ancient had seen something in him. He had told him to find this armor, that it was for him… and while Cye had only known the mysterious figure for a short time, he somehow felt he could trust him. Trust what he said. Trust his faith that he, Cye, could do this.
His mother had faith in him too…even if she didn't know exactly what he was doing or why, she had faith in him…she trusted him. That thought warmed him.
So, yes, he still could not find that armor, and he was still unsure about its purpose or what he was supposed to do with it, but they had faith in him…
He'd just have to trust them, and have some faith in himself…
"That's beautiful, Cye," came a warm voice near him, and he nearly jumped with shock. His mother steadied him and he quickly stopped the wheel so that the his work would not be damaged.
"You were in a daze," murmured his mother to him. "While you were making it."
Cye took a long look at what he had made. It wasn't bad at all; the proportions were right and the neck was rather elegant…But there were odd, irregular grooves along it, followed by eerily smooth bars, so smooth one would think they had been sanded to perfection. It gave it a rather unique look.
"Well, it is unique," he said to his mother, who shook her head.
"No, no, I like it! Look at the design in it… I suppose you didn't intend it, then?" she asked with a knowing smile. When he shook his head, she went on. "It looks deliberate, Cye, and it gives it a beautiful quality to it." A smile entered her eyes and her lips crinkled upwards. "You were thinking so deeply while you made this… and I can tell exactly what you were thinking."
"Really?" he asked.
"Indeed. See this first rough part right here?" She pointed to it. "You were troubled by what you were thinking about. But here," she pointed to the smooth band. "Here you figured it out, at least for a moment, and your mind was at ease. This next rough bar is where you began to doubt yourself, dear, though it is not as wide as the first, so not as much. But again you worked it out. And the pattern continues till you reach this part of the neck," she pointed to the beautifully smooth section. "When you at last came to peace with yourself."
Cye stared at his mother for a long moment in disbelief. Could it be true? He reflected on it and realized it could be. He stared at the smooth part at the top of the vase.
Sayoko came over to see. "Huh, that is different, Cye. Let's get it to the kiln to fire it. With a little paint it'll be nice."
"Actually, I want it just the way it is," said his mother. "I am going to keep it."
"Okay, Mother," said Sayoko with raised eyebrows, taking it anyway to the kiln.
He watched her sister take it away, and then looked at his mother who was smiling. And the question slipped right out of him.
"Mother, do you remember any legends about the family?"
"Legends?" she asked.
"Yes," he said, and flushed a bit. "I, uh, have been doing some research through our family's history, and I was wondering about legends."
"What kind of legends?" she asked.
"More like myths, with, uh, magic or impossible things in them," he said, afraid to mention the armor.
"Well, now that you mention it, I do remember one story… your father told it to me," she said, and a sad sort of smile appeared on her face. "He told me that all the young men in the family had to pass a rite of manhood or some such thing… each young man, when he became of age and if he was able, was required to dive off of a certain cliff into the sea in order to become a man in the eyes of the clan. Right about your age, in fact."
He blinked with surprise, for he had thought he had heard all of Dad's stories before. "Really?"
"Yes," she said.
"Did Dad do it?" he asked.
Her eyes smiled. "He did indeed. Oh, you should have heard me scold him about it when he told me the story, even though it had been years since he'd done it. Oh…" she gave a little sigh.
"Do you miss him?" The question fell out of him again.
"Very much," sighed his mother, and turned to give him a sad smile. "But he died doing what he loved, and I suppose there is no better way to die. Though I was so sad to see him go…"
The look on her face made Cye reach up and hug her, carefully, so that his clay-covered hands did not touch her clothes.
"Thank you, Cye," she said.
"I miss him too," he replied, and after a long moment sat back down.
There was a comfortable silence between them until Cye thought of something.
"Mother? Why were the young men supposed to dive off the cliff?"
"Oh, I'm sure it was to prove their courage, but that's not the reason you reminded me of it. There was some legend that the one of the clan ancestors had hidden a magic item at the bottom…what was it…" she frowned, trying to remember. "It didn't make sense… ah, that's right. There was supposedly an old armor at the bottom of the sea there, but heaven only knows if it really is," she gave a laugh.
Cye, though, felt as if his head was spinning as fast as the pottery wheel had been. "Yes, ha ha, that is strange…" He turned back to his own wheel, afraid the expression on his face would show it. "Which cliff was it?" he asked, careful to keep his voice light.
"The one right behind our house, dear," she said, getting clay to start her own project. "The one your father proposed to me at."
His heart was racing and he sought to steady his hands in case she noticed.
"Well, that does it," said his sister, walking in. "It's begun." She looked around. "Cye, you'd better hurry up!"
For a moment Cye froze again, thinking she was talking of something else entirely, but then she continued, "Since Mother wants that one, you better hurry up and make another one! Though maybe not so rough," she added in an aside.
At the other wheel, his mother was preparing to start. After adjusting her apron she looked his way. Mirth entered her eyes. "Don't let your excitement rush this one," she advised, smiling.
Cye smiled too, but kept his excitement at bay as the wheel began to spin again.
So....what did you all think? I live off of the comments you guys give me!
Oh, and I know Cye is doing a whole lot of thinking this chapter, but he's always been sort of a thinker, ne?
And I love his mother. She's awesome. And did you guys catch the whole, "cye hurry up thing?" as in, Cye, hurry up already and go get the armor! Ha ha ha, i crack myself up sometimes...
ANYway... give me feedback! Later!