Disclaimer: I don't own it. I can only write fanfics and dream of finding a love like Gii and Takumi's...

Way in the north, trouble was brewing. With Takumi gone, the people were doing more than just speaking about rebellion. They were dreadfully tired of living in the always-snowy lands, barely surviving. Crops had to be tended to inside special buildings if they were going to grow and the same went for livestock. Magic helped to make sure no one starved, but they were getting fed up.

They were ready for a change. For too long they had dealt with this life and they had promised to continue dealing with it, putting aside their growing resentment for the Hayama King and Queen, all for the sake of the children. But after Naoto had gone insane and eventually died, the people only had Takumi to keep the promise to. Now that he was safe in the south, there was nothing holding them back.

Magic could be used in a much broader scale, but the current King and Queen kept most of the magic to themselves. They allowed just the barest to their people to keep the lands from descending into total disaster, but the people deserved more.

With magic, they could alter the weather so that they could enjoy feeling the sun on their skin more often. Currently they could only experience it if they had a rare day where there was no snow falling from the sky. Temperatures rarely climbed high enough to allow the people to wear less-bulky clothes.

The people began to meet late at night, in houses and in the local pubs. Messengers went between towns to share information and combine plans into one grand-scale uprising.

It was time to unseat the current leaders and make room for someone else.

Takumi wasn't sure what he should be feeling.

News had reached the Saki lands that the people of the Hayama clan had begun to stage an uprising on a massive scale. The people were flocking to the capital, armed and ready to unseat their King and Queen.

The Emperor had been informed and was currently planning what to do. It was no secret among the Emperor's subjects that the Hayama King and Queen were not favored rulers. While he had a duty to help the nobles, he also had the duty to protect the subjects beneath the nobles.

The Emperor didn't always let rebellions happen, but there were instances where he found that the needs of the people outweighed the needs of the nobles.

This was a case of that.

The Hayama rulers would receive no support from the Emperor. The Emperor decreed that the time had come for change and that the time to listen to the people of the Hayama clan was now.

No one jumped to defend the Hayama King and Queen.

Takumi felt like he was going numb, the more he heard about what was happening in his home. If the King and Queen were unseated, then he would inherit the cold lands.

He wanted nothing to do with them, but the King and Queen were his parents and although they had been awful, he still felt some little attachment to them. While they had let rather awful things happen to him at the hands of his brother, they had kept him alive and they had allowed him to be betrothed to Gii.

News that his home was about to be turned upside down broke a giant hole in the icy wall that still gripped his heart. All the feelings that he felt for his parents spilled out of that breach, overwhelming the young man.

At the words "The rebellion is not going to be stopped. We don't know what they will do to the current King and Queen" – Takumi collapsed.

Gii sat beside his beloved, stroking Takumi's hair and waiting for his love to wake up. He'd just barely managed to catch the smaller boy as he'd collapsed, the weight of everything crashing down on his shoulders.

The Saki Prince was concerned with what was going on. While no one would be awfully sad to see, the rulers disposed of – they were still his fiancées parents and he did hope that they wouldn't meet a gruesome end. He also wondered what was going to happen now, as the rebellion would mean that Takumi would technically become the next King of the Hayama clan. He didn't know if this meant his love would have to go back home or if they would be able to stay here while Takumi managed his homelands from a distance.

He wasn't entirely sure that Takumi even wanted the snowy lands in the first place. But that was something to figure out in the future. Right now, the more important thing was to care for his beloved during this extremely stressful time.

Takumi groaned and began to come around and Gii shifted a little closer, anxiety and worry clear on his face.

"Takumi?" he murmured softly. "Are you waking up?"

Dark eyes fluttered open and the boy looked around before his gaze settled on his betrothed.

"Gii...? Was I dreaming? I thought someone was saying something about my home..."

"Your people are rising up," Gii replied softly. "We're not sure what's going to happen but things are changing in your home lands. It seems the sudden stress caused you to faint. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts," Takumi answered. "And I feel foggy. Gii, what's going to happen?"

"I'm not sure, love," Gii said, shaking his head. "No one is going to defend them, Takumi. Your parents, I mean. Even the Emperor isn't. He knows this must happen. He's using it as a warning, a lesson to the rest of the noble clans. You're going to be a King soon, Takumi. I don't know what that's going to mean."

Takumi was recovered from his fainting episode a couple days later and was out in the gardens when a servant came running to him. The boy turned and gained a look of huge confusion as the servant dropped to his knees in a bow usually reserved for the highest royalty.

"Your Majesty!" the servant gasped out, panting from running. "The Hayama Clan nobles are overthrown. You are King!"

A/N: Ah yes, time for some drama. Can't have everything be super fluffy forever...see you next chapter...