Game of Touhou

Chapter 37

Miko

Day after day, life appeared to sour and spoil for Prince Miko Shotoku. The war had damaged her troops more than she could afford, thanks to an unprecedented amount of reinforcements from Sado bolstering the rebels' otherwise paltry army. Her men had been led by Ser Tojiko Soga, and even though most of her men had been killed, she had the gall to remain living, albeit with a large, slightly blue scar on her face where she reportedly had been cut by a bastard sword, yet had somehow survived.

Today was going to be a coronation. Miko would normally try her best to enjoy a coronation, to herald the rise of a new king or queen, one that the realm would hope to bring a new age of peace and prosperity, however, all this coronation heralded was House Sanzu's, and in turn, House Shotoku's impending demise.

The palace's dining hall was filled with aristocrats, fools no doubt as ignorant as the smallfolk of their fast-approaching doom, eating hog roasts and drinking mead as if there was no war at all. Miko had been seated at a table of her own as she waited for the new Queen Komachi to summon them to the throne room, surrounded with all of her least favourite people in the world; Tojiko Soga, Futo Mononobe, and, worst of all, Seiga Kaku, who was spending most of her time eating pork sausages in a manner that looked suspiciously like an activity one of her whores would be more accustomed to doing while giving meaningful looks to various male aristocrats that passed.

Finally, Miko grew tired of the woman, and muttered, "If you had told me that you wished to be a whore, I would never have placed you in this royal court. Otherwise, eat your food like a normal woman."

Seiga chomped a piece off the sausage she had been fervently licking and spat half-chewed flecks of said sausage out when she replied with, "But to you, a normal woman is a bitter, unmarried sort that would rather command armies than find herself a man to give your house a successor..."

Miko's hands trailed across the table, her right hand gently fingering the handle of her meat knife, before she decided that Seiga Kaku was not worth suffering for the taboo of murdering someone over dinner. Although... Miko had to wonder. The woman was certainly hatching something, and it naturally involved the death of Queen Komachi, however, she would have to make it swift if she was going to. Komachi, like Miko, couldn't stand the woman, and so, she would have been mad not to use her power to instantly remove her from the line of succession.

Yet, at the same time, Komachi was a competent battle commander, and perhaps she would even be able to stabilize the realm. Seiga Kaku was a treacherous, treasonous little weasel of a woman, but she was not commander, and if she knew her right foot from her left, she would wait until the continent wasn't at war to make her bid for power...

Miko's thoughts were interrupted by the weak, forced shouting of Maester Rin Satsuki, who called out, "Beloved guests! Her grace, Komachi Onozuka, Queen of the Norosians, Braavosi settlers and all islands within its oceans to come bids that you bring yourselves to the throne room for her crowning."

The guests did as bid, and soon Miko found herself standing and walking beside her worthless comrades to witness an event that she had little love or time for. To make matters worse, Lady Tewi Inaba suddenly appeared within the crowd, pushing through the much taller nobles within it just so she could stand next to Miko with her content smile plastered upon her face. However, to counterbalance this poor run of luck, Seiga had left Miko to take her place at the side of the throne, as new Hand of the Queen.

Tewi looked up to Miko, and whispered so that the chatter of the crowd would mostly drown out her speech, "When this ceremony is over, come with me to the courtyards. I have much I have to talk with you about..."

Miko sighed to herself, No doubt news from the Woodlands, or some other trifle, she thought to herself, Probably a ploy to keep me away from the queen while matters go on unbeknownst to me.

However, Miko did not wish to appear suspicious to the odd young girl lest she would get something from her refusal also, and simply obliged, "...very well."

With that, Tewi simply retained her smile and looked towards the great entrance to the room as horns began to sound. Shortly after the horns' blaring was over, a man's voice was heard shouting, "All kneel, for her grace, Queen Komachi Onozuka of House Sanzu, Queen of the Norosians, the Braavosi settlers, and all islands within its oceans!"

The crowd instantly became silent, and all, Miko included, knelt out of courtesy as the slightly flummoxed Komachi Onozuka entered the palace, two retainers laying out a carpet along the centre of the room in front of her as she walked, while two handmaidens followed behind her, throwing Higanbana petals on the floor where Komachi's regal-looking and probably one-use purple cape trailed.

Komachi herself seemed quite unable to believe the whole ordeal, and wore a sheepish expression on her face as she slowly walked towards the black and white throne that the now dead Queen Eiki once sat. Finally, she sat herself on the throne, tapping her fingers on the solid ivory and iron arms impatiently as she awaited Maester Rin Satsuki's arrival with the crown.

Finally, the young Maester scurried out of her chamber in a less than dignified manner, struggling to carry both a large book and the Sanzu crown in her weak arms. Handing the crown to Seiga, Maester Satsuki opened the great tome she had brought with her, and began to intone an ancient set of words, ones used to crown the Sanzu kings since times long since forgotten.

"We are gathered here today to witness, in the sight of the Old Gods of the Borderlands, men, women, and children, the crowning of a new queen of the realm. Komachi Onozuka, you must now make some solemn vows to the Gods of old. Do you wish to undertake these holy vows?" Maester Satsuki droned.

"I do." Komachi bluntly replied, and with that, Satsuki's rambling continued.

"Do you, Komachi Onozuka, promise to uphold the peace, the integrity, and the lives of the smallfolk you shall take under your protection?" Maester Satsuki asked.

"Yes, I do..." Komachi muttered, her eyes already beginning to glaze over.

After what seemed like thousands of oaths being taken, Komachi's hair was then covered with lavender oil, and Seiga did the 'honour' of placing the crown upon the woman's head, and finally, Komachi Onozuka was a queen, and the crowd had free reign to stand. Miko's hearing had become naught but a fuzzy blur, however, it soon returned to clarity when a sudden gasp in the crowd erupted as Komachi began to speak, not for the crowd, but for her concerns.

"My... uh... dear subjects." Komachi unsurely said in a less than queenly manner, "While feasts and festivities have been provided in honour of my coronation, I would like to remind all of you that war is upon us. The people of King's Landing are starving, and with war ravaging the continent, there is no guarantee that we shall be able to feed the people as we wish. Therefore, my first order as queen is this: we shall give our feast's food to the smallfolk, and let them eat what we do not need!"

Miko couldn't help but smile as the crowd began to worry and gossip in fear, Seiga seeming more than a little confused. Perhaps the Sanzus would have a half-way decent queen after all. Knowing that such a controversial, yet necessary decree would require at least some support, Miko walked out into the centre of the room where Komachi's carpet was laid out and declared, "I, for one, support Queen Komachi's generosity. What is a queen, if not a protector of the people?"

Suddenly, the crowd stopped their murmurings, and looked at the prince in confusion. However, the queen herself looked at Miko with a smile, "You, my prince, are a true ally. That is why, from this day forward, you shall be my hand, and Lady Seiga Kaku will be placed behind you in the line of succession! In addition, as I perform my queenly duties, I shall find my duties as Master of Ships that was granted to me by the sadly deceased Eiki Shiki difficult. Therefore, naval commander of House Shotoku, Ser Futo Mononobe, shall be Master of Ships, and will command a naval force to fight the rebel fleets of House Murasa!"

Miko's eyes widened. So much had just been said in one speech, and she didn't know if she could take it all in. She had imagined Komachi would have thrown her power around, but she had never expected her to do this right now, at her coronation... she was just as taken aback as the rest of the crowd, and soon fell to her knees as Futo stared, wide-eyed, at her from the crowd.

"Your... your grace, I am..." Miko suddenly paused, to look upwards at Seiga Kaku, who was doing a terrible job hiding her anger behind a very pained smile, "...honoured to accept my position as Hand of the Queen. I promise you, I shall not be a disappointment, and, although it may take a few clouts around the head, I shall see to it that Ser Futo is not a disappointment either."

With that, the crowd laughed at Miko's remark, although Miko meant it as much for true as she did as a jest. Komachi looked to Seiga momentarily, a grin on her face, before turning to address the crowd once more, "With that, my loyal subjects, the coronation is over. Go to your bedchambers and enjoy the company of your closest friends rather than feasting with people you despise and merely pretend to like. I have a city to feed. You are all free to take your leave!"

Once this was said, the crowd began to disperse, and a great crowd of people were packed at the exit of the room. Miko herself walked up to the throne with a satisfied smile on her face, and stood face-to-face with Seiga Kaku, before reaching for her chest, plucking the badge of the Hand that had barely been on the woman for a morning.

Seiga's face reddened, and she muttered, "This... this is... this is wrong..."

Komachi simply looked on as Miko secured the badge onto herself, and then said, "I'm the queen. Judging right from wrong comes with the territory. And you... you're not even the hand any more. Prince Miko is. Miko, it is your job to advise me. What do you advise I do to make sure Seiga remembers her place?"

"Make her be one of the ones to hand food to the smallfolk." Miko replied, "Perhaps she can lick a sausage to please the sex-starved men too poor to buy one of her whores."

Komachi grinned at this, "Wonderful idea, Hand. I believe we will work together to make this realm great, you and I."

Seiga growled at this, causing Miko to draw her attention to the woman as she glared at her with naught but ferocity in her heart, "You shall regret this. You both shall."

"You shall regret saying that if I remove you from the line of succession altogether." Queen Komachi quickly replied.

With that, Seiga stormed towards the crowds, her face a black tempest surrounding her head. Miko folded her arms and walked into Seiga's place beside the throne, and whispered, "Thank you, your grace. I'm beginning to think you're the only person that I could begin to like in this whole world."

Komachi chuckled, "Do not become too affectionate, my prince. The realm would begin to hate me if I were to marry another woman."

Miko smirked at that, and then turned her head away from the queen, when suddenly, a duty of hers reappeared in her mind. The rabbit girl! Miko thought, I have to meet her in the courtyards, she said.

And so, Miko rather abruptly said, "Your grace, would it be wrong of me to take my leave?"

"Not at all, my friend. However, I expect to see you in the library later. Your mind is a necessity to us taking the realm back from those blasted Hijiris and their savage Sadonese wargs." Komachi commanded.

"As you say, your grace." Miko replied with a bow, and from there, Miko approached the exit to the palace, the way now clear of dissatisfied, selfish nobles that were still angered about losing their precious feast.

Walking brusquely towards the courtyards, Miko jumped in shock as Tewi appeared around the next corner she turned, saying in a calm voice, "Greetings."

Miko attempted to recover a little dignity, and muttered, "Why did you have to scare me in such a way?"

"I didn't. I merely find it amusing to see such a capable, confident woman such as yourself lose that veneer of dignity when they succumb to the very normal feeling of shock..." Tewi quite honestly said, "...all jesting aside, I have brought you here to deliver bad tidings, I'm afraid..."

Miko's heart sank. After all that she felt she could have celebrated about, the girl decided that she should bring bad tidings. However, Miko knew that ignoring bad things did not make them disappear, and so, reluctantly, she decided to listen to Lady Tewi.

"What is it?" Miko asked.

"The Kazamis..." Tewi said, before pulling a slightly tattered piece of parchment from her pocket, "...Lady Yuuka Kazami is dead."

Miko's eyes widened, however, she was unsure how this was a particularly bad thing, "...why is this a problem? Elly Kazami is a far kinder woman than her sister ever was. It is one less obstacle if she is the lady of the City of Flowers."

"Not if she's under the impression that you are behind Yuuka Kazami's death." Tewi very simply put, "Do you wish to read the letter?"

Knowing she had no choice, Miko took the letter from the rabbit girl, and read it over silently. It read as such;

'To the vile Prince Miko Shotoku.

Your wicked, treacherous Qartheen Warlock has murdered my sweet sister, Yuuka. She may have been cruel, and she may have been the one to capture your men, including her murderer, but I am a woman who loves her family, and cruel or not, Yuuka was kin. You have taken what I love, and so, I shall do the same to you.

While you hide with your Sanzu queens, I shall be marching my forces to the City of Desires. When we are done, none of your smallfolk will remain, and the flag that shall fly will be our own, the bloody sunflower of the Kazamis, while your crowned sword will join your smallfolk in the ashes.

Yours sincerely, Elly Kazami.

Throwing the letter on the floor, Miko's composure collapsed, and she screamed, "WHY? Why is it that I am blamed for things I know nothing of? I did not kill the Hijiri bitch that started this war, and I didn't send a fucking warlock to kill Yuuka Kazami! Such a thing would be folly! Absolute folly!"

Miko then reduced her dignity further by grabbing her hair and tugging on it harshly, to the brink of it leaving her head, breathing heavily as she did. Tewi seemed visibly shocked by this, her smile wavering.

"Prince Miko... there... there is a way out, you do realise." Tewi mused, looking to make sure no-one was around.

"How? What can we do now?" Miko asked in a despondent tone, "The Kazamis will sack my city while I can do nothing to stop it, the rebels will find the city under Kazami control, Elly in all her bloody kindness will join their cause, and together, they'll put every one of us to the sword!"

Miko shut her eyes harshly, refusing to let any tears leave her eyes. Her father was a man who cried, but Miko had resolved not to show weakness in any way, and so, by the time she had opened her eyes, she had placed her weakness within her chest, never to leave again.

Tewi observed this display with acute fascination, and smiled as she said, "The way out is only for you... as much as you must care for the new queen, now that she has done you the kindness of elevating you to Hand of the Queen, you must leave her. I have ships that sail to Essos, ones which sail from the Bay of Death in the dead of night. I suggest that you take your wealth, and make a new start, a carefree life as a sellsword or a pirate prince on the Summer Sea..."

Miko clenched her fists, before grabbing Tewi, lifting her tiny body by the scruff of her dress' collar, "Listen, Inaba. You may see a sinking ship and want to flee, like that white-haired bitch Yuyuko Saigyouji, but I am the Hand of the Queen. As long as I live, I must stay with this ship, even if I sink with it. I will not leave my men to die while I live in luxury in Essos."

Tewi laughed slightly, "A... a mere jest, my prince. Of... of course you must stay true to your duty. An... an admirable choice, my prince."

Miko dropped Tewi, who landed softly by crouching slightly, and scowled as she said, "Leave. Leave this city alone, if you see a disaster to run from. Do not try to make me as craven as you. Leave."

Tewi shrunk into herself as she got to her feet, and she soon began to run from Miko's glare, her face a confused attempt to keep a consistent grin on her face. Miko looked down, and shook her head as she thought, Even if my father was a fool, I am worse. I am going to be the Shotoku that let her dynasty die...