Dripping Wings

Yuugi awoke with a sharp breath when the door to their bed chambers banged open. Atemu sat up just as quickly as he and looked to the intruder. It was Isis, and she was standing in a nightgown and robe that she hadn't bothered to tie. Her hair was a mess of tangles and static electricity, and her eyes were blood shot. "There's been a rape," was all she said. Formalities had been all but forgotten, for without even a bow she left.

"Oh Goddess," Atemu whispered. His voice sounded deflated.

It was only then that Yuugi realized there was a hum of noise outside of their balcony door, and when he looked over, he could see little spots of yellow light from torches. They extended far back into the city. "There are thousands out there," he said in disbelief. Atemu was already up. He pulled on some breaches and a shirt, then hastily affixed a robe-like cape that was a deep maroon in color. Yuugi was doing likewise. "Couldn't a rape case wait until the morning?" Yuugi asked. "Or noon? I mean, it's not like we're under attack from an enemy-"

"Yuugi," the Prince broke in. "Think." Atemu opened the door and motioned for the two of them to go. "Think really hard. Out of all of the books you've read, the history texts you've studied, out of all of the court cases you've witnessed, how many of them were rape cases?"

Yuugi was shocked when a blank space of memory came up in his head. He couldn't think of anything. "None," he said in shock.

"Yes. None. Rape is, perhaps, the most horrific and deadliest crime one could ever hope to commit in this country. It just doesn't happen."

Yuugi pursed his lips together. "In a female centric society, I can see that. But still, it's so hard to control, how do you keep it out of society?"

Atemu did not have time to answer for as they rounded the bend in the hallway, a mass of people were suddenly all around them. Their faces were angry and stretched, and many of them were pumping torch holding fists in the air. "Rape, rape, rape!" They were crying. "Justice! We cry for justice! Rape!" Atemu pulled Yuugi along by his hand to the front of the area, where an entrance door to the palace was located. There was a sea of people that bled out into the darkness beyond. "Show me the accused!" Atemu boomed loudly over the roar of the crowd.

Like waters parting, people shuffled aside. A small group of people were suddenly spit out of the crowd like vomit. Four Guardians were holding on to a man that had a hard time staying on his feet. Yuugi could smell alcohol, even over the smell of the burning torches. Beside that group, two more Guardians came into view, holding on to a girl who looked to be about sixteen years of age. Rivulets of blood dripped down her temple and there was a gash in her lip. Yuugi cringed when he could see stains of dark red blood running down her bare legs, and her torn skirt was stained in red. She was crying.

It had been a rather violent one.

"Justice!" The crowd roared again. Isis pushed her way up and stood before the accused man. She gestured her hands in a complicated pattern and created a truth spell over him. She looked at Atemu, letting him know that he could ask questions.

"Did you rape this woman?" Atemu asked.

The man sobbed. "I...I didn't mean to, I-...really, I'm sorry! I've been drinking and...Please! I have a family! I have children! I didn't mean to-!"

The truth spell hadn't even been needed. The man lacked the ability to lie, it seemed, in his drunken state.

Atemu sighed and dropped his head to the side. "You know the law," he said. Someone Yuugi recognized from the High Council walked up with a sword and scabbard in hand. It was a bright red trimmed with bronzed gold. Atemu drew the sword from the scabbard and slowly walked back to the accused, who was still weeping as he was pushed to his knees by the Guardians.

"Please, your Highness! I beg for mercy!" He sobbed. "I didn't mean it! What of my family!"

"You should have thought of that before your first sip of alcohol tonight," Atemu replied. "In accordance with the laws of Sekesha, any man found guilty of raping a woman of his own volition will suffer the sentence of swift and expedient death. May the Goddesses have mercy upon your soul." Atemu raised the sword, and the Guardians backed up. Yuugi closed his eyes, but could not block the sound of the sword slicing through the air and cutting through skin, flesh, and bones. There was a soft thud as the body hit the floor. Yuugi's thoughts were swept away with the thunderously loud cry that erupted from the crowd. Like the water they mimicked, the sound rolled like a wave throughout the entire city, one row of people at a time. A rape at the dawn of our Bonding Day. Such an awful omen as any could occur...

It was no wonder rape didn't happen in Sekesha. If death was the sentence, and in such a bloodthirsty manner as the riotous crowd that brought him, no man would ever dare such a crime. And, it seemed, this was a law that not even Atemu could break, bend, or rewrite.

Atemu cleaned the sword and re-sheathed it, and handed it back to the Council man without a second look. "Come," Atemu whispered when he grabbed Yuugi's hand. "Let's go get ready for the day." Yuugi nodded. He wouldn't have been able to get back to sleep if he tried.

As Yuugi bathed and dressed in the glow of the early morning sun, a shadow hung over his head. Atemu did not believe in coincidences, and made his unhappiness at the pre-dawn's events well known as he readied for the day. His actions, sadly, made Yuugi all the more unsettled. Just as Yuugi was finished drying his hair with his towel in the bathing room, Atemu came him and beckoned him back into the bedroom. "I am going to have to leave you for now, love. Aids will come in and help you dress. Sekeshan standards for Bonding Ceremony dress are ridiculously picky and meticulous, and I will see you in the Hall of Celebrations later this morning."

Yuugi hugged the Prince tightly. "I love you."

Atemu kissed him deeply. "And I you. I shall see you soon." The Prince caressed Yuugi's cheek delicately before finally taking his leave.

Yuugi took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Even as the handmaidens of the palace came in and began to fuss about his attire, Yuugi still was unable to get the unease out of his system.

xxx

The Hall of Celebrations was grand. Yuugi had only been in the room once a year for the Winter Solstice celebrations, and hadn't given it much credence at the time. It was hard to see just how large the room was with so many people in it. This time, however, a large isle was cleared for him and the Prince, and draperies that hung from the ceiling seemed to stretch on for eternity. Vases the size mountain boulders were everywhere, filled with every kind of flower Yuugi could imagine. The vegetation of the Sekeshan landscape was, at times, radically different from Japan, and yet again at times very much the same. The biggest difference came in blossom variety, and apparently the florist had made sure to awe and bedazzle as many people as possible. Yuugi noted a few star flowers, which were believed by many to be extinct. The flower was so delicate it was hard to keep them alive and germinate them. Yuugi was standing behind a sheer vale that hung over the arched entryway of the hall. Yuugi would wait until Atemu was standing beside him. Then, they could proceed.

A soft music was playing somewhere out of his sight. It was a beautiful, melancholy tune that was being played on a harp. Yuugi had heard it a few times, but did not know the name, nor what the words to it were. Perhaps it didn't even have words. People began to file in. None of them sat, but rather, were standing off to the sides of the isle. Yuugi noticed as the crowd quieted, and Analeah, the High Priestess from the High Temple of Tranquility, and two other priestesses came up. Yuugi knew them as the High Priestesses from both the High Temple of Eternity and Divinity.

"Are you ready?"

Yuugi turned sharply in shock to see Atemu standing next to him. He looked glorious in his formal attire. Deep maroon and rich blacks colored his garments.

"You look amazing," Yuugi commented.

Atemu smiled at him. "I could say the same about you." He held out his hand, palm up. "Once again, are you ready?"

He nodded his head, words leaving him. "Yes," was all he said. He placed his hand on top of Atemu's.

Atemu smiled again. With one motion of his hand, people around them were alerted. The music picked up, and the vale in front of the opening was pulled away. The isle was open for them. Yuugi took a deep breath, and followed as Atemu started walking.

Everyone in the room was deathly silent, but their moods were bright. When they finally reached the end of the isle and were standing at the foot of the dias, all three of the high priestesses were smiling.

"Welcome, Prince Atemu of Sekesha, and Yuugi, honored Betrothed, to your Bonding Day. Today, your minds will become one, so that you may rule this country as one." Analeah smiled, but Yuugi could see that her face was still pale. She as tired, but had to be present for this ceremony.

"Do you promise, Atemu, to commit yourself to Yuugi, and honor him as the Three Sisters honor their children?" The golden haired priestess of the High Temple of Eternity asked.

"With all of my heart, I promise, and vow, with all of my power, to uphold that promise."

"And do you, Yuugi, promise to commit yourself to Atemu, and honor him as the Three Sisters honor their children?"

Yuugi swallowed. "With all of my heart, I promise, and vow, with all of my power, to uphold that promise."

The three women smiled.

"Then together," they all three spoke in unison, "we shall bind you together with the powers of the Goddesses. You will be one, and speak as one, as they speak as one. You will be committed to each other, and bound to each other. Love each other as though your life depended on it, for it shall." Together, they moved their hands in a complicated pattern. In a split second, Yuugi and Atemu were encased in a whirlwind of light and color and air. Yuugi felt a stab in each of his temples. His head began to ache, and his eyes clouded with white, but as quickly as it began, the pain ebbed away, and his vision cleared.

:Yuugi, can you hear me?:

Yuugi smiled broadly. :Yes, love. Loud and clear.:

"Speak your heart!" The priestesses called out.

Atemu pulled Yuugi, and they turned around and faced the room. They held their clasped hands high. :Whatever comes, we will overcome through together,: Yuugi said mentally.

Atemu did not look at him, but he nodded. Yuugi did not see the slightly sadder expression on his face. "Whatever comes, we will overcome through together!" They said together.

The room cheered.

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I know it is depressingly short, but because of the delay in postings, I wanted to get this up quickly. The coronation ceremony will be next, and then...

War...