A/N: Hello~! Now we get to see the 21st chapter of Hämnd! In this chapter Kanon and Ouka are planning the birthday ball and Shade and Svida get a mysterious letter. :D (I skipped the Oak funeral part because I wasn't able to get anything good from my head...)
This time's music is Shiro Sagisu's "A Storm is Coming to Us All" or Yuki Kajiura's "A Song of Storm and Fire". They both foreshadow what happens next (I'm sorry, Kanon...)
Please start reading~!
The day that followed Kanon's eavesdropping had been catastrophic. General Oak had been found dead in a fountain and Shuri had had a breakdown which had been a really bad one. Konatsu and Kanon had desperately tried to comfort him with its only result being a huge headache that Kanon got. The Blackhawks had gone to general Oak's funeral and there had been explosions and apparently one of the Oak's servants had died in the middle of all the explosions. In the middle of everything, Teito had fainted and he had to be taken to the military hospital ward. After over twelve hours Teito finally woke up. In the same day the planning for guarding the princess' birthday ball was started. Kanon was ordered to guard the princess with her three attendants; Gyokuran, Oururi and Kikune, so she had started planning with them right away.
"Is your head any better, Kanon-san?" Kikune asked while the four were walking down the corridor to princess Ouka's room. "I heard that you almost passed out thanks to your headache…"
"Somehow I'm feeling better now, thanks", Kanon answered with a smile. "Being away from Blackhawks has made me healthier… Maybe I'm allergic to wars?"
Kikune laughed at Kanon's comment. Gyokuran grunted angrily and Oururi smiled. Soon the girls arrived to princess Ouka's room. Oururi opened the door to Ouka's room and revealed a beautiful lady whose hair was the exact same color as Kanon's. For few moments Kanon and the princess only stared at each other with eye as round as teacups. Then Ouka suddenly smiled at Kanon like they'd known each other for ages.
"This is the guard the Blackhawks ordered to stay with you at the ball", Gyokuran said as angrily as she could – at least it sounded like that. "She is Ayanami's younger sister Kanon."
"It's nice to meet you!" Kanon exclaimed and bowed deeply. She had no idea what she was supposed to do when she was in the same room as the princess. She was way too nervous but when she saw Ouka's face right in front of hers, her nervousness slowly faded away.
"You don't need to be formal, Kanon", Ouka said with a smile in her face. "You're older than me and you're a girl just like me and these three friends of mine. You can think of me as your friend. And you're not allowed to be stiff like Gyokuran, Oururi and Kikune. I want a friend who teaches me things about the real world. These three just don't seem to understand that even though I've said it hundreds of times…"
"We can't be informal towards you, princess Ouka!" Gyokuran wailed. "It would be the same as calling you names or telling bad rumors of you!"
"Don't be so stiff", Ouka laughed. "I'm interested in Kanon-san. After all, she's the only one who has survived dueling Ayanami-san. And having Kanon-san as my friend would give me so much happiness."
Is this girl really a princess? Kanon thought. She's more like an angel… I definitely want to spend time with someone like her…
"I promise that I'll try to get rid of my stiffness", Kanon said with a smile. "Now we probably need to start the planning for your guarding, Ouka-san."
"Of course", Ouka said. "Should I ask the maids to bring some tea and cookies for us?"
"What?" Kanon asked. "Can we get cookies for planning? That's awesome!"
Gyokuran sighed with an annoyed tone. Oururi laughed and Kikune excused herself to get the cookies and the tea. Ouka sat down on an armchair and motioned me to sit on an armchair next to hers. If everything Kanon did with the princess would be like that, Kanon would definitely love the time she spent with the princess. Gyokuran wouldn't like Kanon that much but maybe Kanon could bear it. She actually liked Gyokuran's temper and she hoped that someone would open Gyokuran up a bit. She already had started planning some nasty pranks to pull on Gyokuran.
"So, what have the Blackhawks planned?" Ouka asked. "Do I get some special guards from there?"
"Well, they decided that only Ayanami, Hyuuga, Teito, Yukikaze and I will be there", Kanon said. "Teito will be your personal guard but we others are guarding you too. I don't really understand how Ayanami got invitations for us, though…"
"Your invitation was from me", Ouka said with a warm smile. "But Ayanami seems to have made you my guard. He sure is a disappointing man."
"But why would you invite me?" Kanon asked.
"I wanted to have you there as my female friend", Ouka laughed. "Gyokuran, Oururi or Kikune would never agree to it but I really wanted a friend there…"
"Of course I'll do it!" Kanon said before she could think what she actually was saying. She felt Gyokuran's icy glare on her back but Ouka's happy expression somehow warmed her up. She could somehow imagine Ouka's life and how she had been locked up into the castle without any friends. Kanon really wanted to change it so she was – hopefully – able to bear Gyokuran's icy glares from now on.
"Would you do that?" Ouka asked with happiness clear in her eyes. "Do you even know how amazing person you are, Kanon?"
"I don't think that I'm really amazing, princess", Kanon stuttered. "I'm actually everything else than amazing…"
"What are you saying, Kanon?" Ouka asked. "No one else would ever do that for me. You are amazing!"
I'm not amazing, princess, Kanon thought. You just haven't seen my bad side. If you knew my bad side, you'd fear me like everyone else does…
"We're back!" Oururi exclaimed. "We took Ouka-sama's tutor with us to enjoy the snacks!"
Kanon looked at the door and almost chocked on her breath when she saw Hakuren who clearly didn't enjoy being captured by Oururi. When Hakuren saw Kanon, he shook Oururi away and ran behind Kanon's armchair. Both Ouka and Kanon looked at him with amused expressions. Gyokuran looked at him with eyes that would look like the most hated person of hers.
"What are you doing here, Hakuren?" Kanon asked. "Weren't you supposed to study under Castor?"
"I was – until I got an invitation letter to become the princess' tutor", Hakuren wailed. "How are you here, Kanon-san?"
"I'll be Ouka-san's personal guard during the ball and the coronation ceremony", Kanon told. "We are planning the guards' places to ensure her safety."
"You sure have a hard job, Kanon-san", Hakuren said. "I still have to talk to the other guard… And see if he knows how to dance."
"I'm pretty sure he knows", Kanon laughed. "He's capable of almost anything…"
Meanwhile in Barsburg church…
"There is a letter for you, bishop Löngja!" a young boy exclaimed. "Your second name is awesome!"
"What do you mean?" Shade asked when he took the letter from the boy's hand. The boy grinned and ran away. Shade looked at the letter and his eyes widened. A beautiful handwriting had written "Shade Laurentz Löngja & Svida Gloria Löngja" on the envelope.
"What is it, Shade?" Svida asked suddenly. She had walked behind Shade with no sound. "Has something happened?"
"We got an invitation", Shade said. "We are invited to princess Ouka's birthday ball and coronation ceremony."
"How does the imperial family know about our whereabouts?" Svida asked.
"I think that Kanon sent this", Shade said. "She must have sneaked into the palace and sent this… Maybe she has something to tell us…"
"What do you mean?" Svida asked. "Could she be in danger?"
"If someone is in danger, it's us", Shade said. "She may also have found out why that happened…"
"Then we should probably go", Svida whispered. She had instantly known that Shade meant the day their parents were killed.
"Yes", Shade said. "We need to leave tonight. You should get ready and take your dress with you."
Svida nodded with a sad smile and walked to her room that she shared with three other nuns; Erva, Alilla and Saria. They had taken care of Svida ever since she had come to the church with wounded Shade and so she was a bit sad to leave the three. She still wanted to go to meet her best friend again.
This time they'd definitely find out why…
What do they find out? What will happen at the ball? The next few chapters will reveal that. They will also reveal a bit more of Kanon and Labrador's relationship ;)