AN
This story is inspired by The Eldritch Heart books. I was initially planning on writing this with Kanami and Hiyori but felt that Maki and Suzuka was a better fit. Let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestions, I will be happy to hear them.
One more thing I should mention. In this story, Maki and Suzuka can use swords but are not as skilled as they are in the anime.
Suzuka
Suzuka hates the night. The silence makes her feel so alone, and the shadows could be hiding anything. Sleep never comes easy to her these days. It has not for years. Rolling onto her side Suzuka can see the shadows the moonlight casts across her room, and stroking her fingers back and forth across the soft silk of her bed does little to calm her down. Any one of those shadows could be hiding an assassin or so her mother, the queen warned.
Suzuka hates this. He hates the loneliness her big empty room offers and the constant fear that someone might be watching her. Suzuka longs for her friend's comfort, but she can find no way of convincing the queen into letting the only person she can even call a friend share her room. It makes her argument even less convincing when she is constantly reminded that the girl was only meant to be her handmaiden and nothing more. Or at least that was what she was meant to be. Maki has been forced to sleep in a small room across the hall only slightly bigger than Suzuka's wardrobe. Even that tiny privilege causes Maki to suffer the jealousy of the other servants. After all, none other have the honour of sleeping so close to her. Even the servants born into the highest of nobility are not allowed to sleep this close to the princess.
But princess is a word Suzuka hates. For years that title has kept a gap between her and her dearest friend. For four years, Suzuka had to watch as Maki was treated little better than a slave and forced to take on duties a handmaiden should not. The word princess has built a wall between her and Maki. Suzuka would give anything to go back to the days when she and Maki could be themselves around each other. When they were still children, ignorant to tittles and the Foretelling.
Foretelling, another word Suzuka hates. If the old ones spoke the truth, then one day, thousands would die by her hand. The thought of causing so much death weighs heavy on Suzuka's heart and is yet another reason she struggles to fall asleep. All the luxuries in her life do little to lessen the burden placed on her by the Foretelling. All the treats taste sour, and the fancy soaps smell four whenever Suzuka thinks about all the blood that will soon stain her hands. If the Gods are willing to let her, Suzuka would gladly give up her fate of destruction, her life of luxury and live as a peasant if it meant she could spare all those people. And keep Maki by her side.
Rolling onto the flat of her back, Suzuka stares up at the ceiling. The lines and patterns carved into the ceiling cast shadows across the ceiling. The dark patterns used to scare Suzuka as a child. Often, she would wake up from a nightmare only to mistake the shadows for giant bats or some other monster her mind would conjure up. Maki would always come in and hold her until she fell back to sleep. Suzuka smiles, thinking back to the times when she was younger and got to wake up next to Maki, then blushes when she thinks about waking up to Maki now.
She does not know when things changed between them but things, she would not think twice about doing with Maki in the past now make her blush and feel embarrassed. Suzuka can remember running and rolling around the garden, swimming naked in the pond and sharing a bath. She would giggle about those things years ago, but now they make her cheeks burn with just the thought of doing them now. Suzuka would do anything to go back to those days when she was young enough to not realise the danger of assassins or must worry about what might be hiding in every shadow. To days when she could hold Maki without anyone calling it inappropriate.
A frown crosses Suzuka's lips as she thinks about how she and Maki separated over the years. As she got older, Suzuka found less time to spend with her friend. She was a princess after all and had plenty of duties to attend to. Maki, meanwhile, was forced by either Yuzuki Souraku or Yukina Takatsu. Yuzuki is not so bad. Suzuka knows that she may ask Maki to do things a handmaiden should not, but those tasks are nowhere near as bad as what Yukina would make Maki do.
Suzuka cannot understand why her mother will not step in and stop that treatment. The queen always gives Suzuka whatever she asks for, except for allowing her to leave the castle. Still, when she asked for Maki to only attend to her, she is refused. Her mother would tell her that the Kingdom does not need a pampered princess, but Suzuka thinks there is more to it than her mother is willing to say. She even asked for Maki to be given a title so they could be friends, and no one would frown about it, but Suzuka found even that quest denied. Suzuka prays that it is just the war keeping her mother busy, that the queen would soon do something to end Maki's suffering. Still, as the days pass by, Suzuka is getting more worried that nothing will change until Maki has been worked to death.
Suzuka just wants her friend by her side. To many, Maki is worse than a commoner. She is an orphan from an unknown family. That Maki is someone who only was taken in by the queen because Iroha Gojou, her oldest adviser, had taken pity on her. Her lowly status was more than enough for Maki to be persecuted by the other servants. Still, the fact that she had been allowed to work so close to Suzuka created outrage. It was simply unheard of for a commoner to work for the princess. Much like the royalty, servants had hereditary hierarchies. Scullery maids gave birth to scullery maids, and so on. The royals' personal attendants came only from the upper echelons of the servant caste. After a long, challenging climb through the castle ranks, only rarely is a parlour maid ascend to royal attendant… and Maki had swooped in out of nowhere.
Things always seem to get between her and Maki now. A few years ago, Suzuka could spend her days with Maki, happily playing and laughing their days away without a care in the world. Now she must be a princess and Maki a servant scrubbing floors. Not to mention the entire Kingdom that wants nothing more than to end her life. Suzuka does not think it is fair that she must live in fear, and Maki forced to be more of a slave than a servant. All because of a foretelling told before she was even born and the queen turning a blind eye.
"Stupid Foretelling,"
Suzuka lets out a resigned sigh as she gives up on getting any sleep. Flinging the covers away, not caring that they fell off her bed and landing on the floor, Suzuka dangled her feet over the edge of her bed. Her feet look so pale in the moonlight as they poke out of the bottom of her nightdress. The moonlight makes her feet glow in its pale light as she climbs out of bed and pulls on her nightrobe. Despite it being in the middle of summer and the days being warm, the bitter chill of the night still makes her shiver and hiss as her bare feet hit the cold stone floor. Suzuka curses herself as she slips on her slippers for not thinking about putting them on before her feet hit the ground.
Extending her arm out, Suzuka calls forth her guard against the darkness. A shimmer of light formed around her hand, growing into a ball before blooming to the size of her fist. Her magic called and shaped the light, creating a and orb that floated up to her shoulder, emitting soft crystalline bell tones. The orb had two brighter spots giving the impression of tiny eyes and giving the appearance of a cute face on her magical little friend. Static electricity from the magical orb power caused Suzuka's red hair to stand up. Still, she paid it no mind as the orb circled around her head.
Suzuka walked towards her door, and as quietly as she can, she pulls the heavy wood door open. Winching at the creaking from angry hinges in need of a good oiling. Suzuka peaks her head out to check if the coast is clear with her magical friend cutely imitating her. The orb's light gives Suzuka enough light to make out the marble floors and smooth grey stone walls of the castle while keeping the shadows at bay. She scans the hall making sure no one is there to either kill her or scold her for still being up at such a late hour. When she sees only an empty hall, Suzuka lets out a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat safer. When Suzuka heard her mother talk, she started to suspect hidden threats around every corner while guards would surround her. But Suzuka sees none of those things.
"All because some old men say queen Yukari's heir will end the war, and everyone wants me dead," Suzuka feels more frustrated the more times she thinks that. "It's so stupid."
Not wanting to get caught, Suzuka makes her way quickly across the hall, trying not to make too much noise and hissing at the coldness. She never would have imagined the floor could get so cold with only a few hours not under the sunlight. Even though her slippers, the bitter coldness can assault her feet. Her little magical orb keeps pace with her burning brighter than a candle and casting shadows off torch holders and shields hung from the stone pillar lining the hall at regular intervals.
It only takes her a few steps to reach Maki's door. Suzuka hates that Maki must sleep in such a small room as her wardrobes have more space than Maki does. There is barely enough room for a small bed, a tiny table, one chair, and a shelf of cubbies against the back wall stuffed with threadbare clothes. Maki herself is spread out across her mattress, looking too big for her simple bed with her feet hanging off the edge even with her body curled up into a ball. Maki was not as pale as her, and her short orange hair looks messy but still pretty in Suzuka's eyes. Then Suzuka narrows her eyes at Maki's hands that are still covered in the dirt that Suzuka herself is never allowed to touch.
Suzuka wills her magical ball of light to wait in the hall as she tiptoes into the room. The sight of her friend filled Suzuka's heart with just as much sadness as it does happiness. Selfishly Suzuka wants to wake Maki up and spend time with her friend, but the exhausted look on Maki's face halts Suzuka's plan. Suzuka knees down beside the bed and brushes the strands of orange hair away from her friend's eyes. Grim and dirt even mark her face, and Suzuka can tell that she had been made to work in the garden again. Most likely alone. Suzuka gently strokes a finger of Maki's cheek, finding the contrast between Maki's rough skin to her soft flesh that has been treated with more products than Suzuka could count. Bending over and placing a light kiss on Maki's cheek Suzuka says a silent prayer as she watches her friend sleep for a few seconds longer. Hoping that Maki will not have to suffer another hard day of work when she awakens. Then as quietly as she can, Suzuka steps back into the hall.
Once she is back into the hall and silently shut the door to her friend's room, Suzuka stretches out her limbs. This castle was her home and birthright but feels more like a prison. For the past two years, the feeling of being a prisoner has only grown. Suzuka is not allowed to leave the castle grounds during the day or the keep at night due to her mother's fear of spies and assassins that could be lurking around every corner. Suzuka has never wanted to stroll through the garden at night, but the thought of that being forbidden to her still feels wrong.
But nighttime strolls have become a nearly nightly routine for her. As Suzuka found herself having one sleepless night after the other, she found her room to feel confining. Hence, she took to walking the castle halls at night with her cute magical orb. Sometimes the walks would tire her out helping her sleep, but most of the time, Suzuka still found herself failing to sleep at night.
Suzuka walks past her room and down the hall with no destination in mind. Her cute tiny orb faithfully follows her, resuming its orbit around her head. The curved hall containing her, and Maki's chambers ended at a straight corridor. Her father's bedchamber, library, and trophy room lay to the right. She headed left past tapestries and a few empty suits of armour. Old childhood nightmares of those things coming to life and chasing her leapt to the forefront of her mind, but she dismissed them. Ten years ago, Suzuka worried about her magic getting away from her and doing all manner of strange, scary things. As of late, she did not fear a mysterious accident as much as a Mokusa spy. Suzuka wished her mother never told her about the spies and assassins, thinking she would have preferred living in ignorance than have the constant fear of death hanging over her.
Suzuka first learned about the threat to her life several years ago. She had been throwing a fit about the strict security messages, and the queen hit her hard with the truth. Her mother told her the barbaric savages from the Kingdom of Mokusa have been after her blood for years. Twenty years ago, the queen of Mokusa, despite being Suzuka's aunt and her mother's younger sister, declared war on the Holy Empire of Japan. Queen Akane Origami denied her sister permission to spread the empire's faith across the Kingdom of Mokusa. Fearing Yukari might invade, Akane invoked the darkest of dark rituals, calling forth beings of pure evil that the light had long ago banished from Japan. Queen Yukari told Suzuka that it did not take long for the demons to possess her sister, destroying her mind and driving the armies under her control to attack Japan without mercy.
The story stopped Suzuka from voicing any more complaints despite how frustrated she feels about her mother's measures to keep her safe. A foretelling claimed Queen Yukari's heir would stop the fiends. Also, hearing the Foretelling, Queen Akane wasted little time in ordering Suzuka's death. Yukari told her about how assassins first came for her when she was only an infant, managing to breach the castle walls before they were caught. Suzuka tried to be understanding since her mother's concerns were justified and assassins already claimed her father's life. However, she still found the whole situation frustration.
But despite being frustrating, being cooped up in a castle all her life has not been all that bad. Suzuka can remember the kindness of her tutors despite them being strict and wearing outfits that looked utterly ridiculous. Suzuka smiled, thinking of all the games she would play with Maki as they laughed the days away. But even back then, people would glare and question why the queen would allow Suzuka to have such a lowborn friend. Then the older they got, the harsher the glares and the louder the comments condemning their friendship become. It is no secret that everyone in the castle bar Suzuka and Maki, felt their friendship was inappropriate. Suzuka hates the way people would shame Maki whenever she treated her friend as an equal.
"I'll choose my friends as I please, thank you very much,"
The sounds of muffled voices startles Suzuka out of her trail of thought. She pushed the light orb off to her side and let it trail her as she hurried forward to a set of double doors carved with the royal crest of the Holy Empire of Japan. A red sun rising over a mountain that looks stunning during the light of day but in the darkness of night looks eerie.
"Unconfirmed, your majesty," Suzuka can recognise the soft, gentle voice of Iroha Gojou but finds it strange to hear tinges of worry in her voice.
"It concerns me that they've been allowed to amass such a force south of Renpu," Queen Yukari replies, and Suzuka can hear the sharp strike of boots on stone echoed from her mother's pacing.
"I agree, your majesty," The voice of Yukina Takatsu voice causes Suzuka to clench her fist. She cannot help but think of all the times she heard Yukina order Maki to do something unreasonable just because Maki is a lowborn servant. "We are moving forces from Minoseki, but it will take them at least a week to arrive."
"Don't we have no one closer?" Yukari asks as Suzuka hears her mothers pacing come to a halt.
"Our forces at Heijou are closer, but we can't afford to move them since they repel regular incursions from Mokusa," Iroha tells her.
"We have to pray that the garrison at Renpu can hold the savages at bay," Yukari sighs and Suzuka is shocked to hear her mother sound so defeated.
"Our forces are also exhausted all along the border," Yukina informs her. "The way Mokusa has control over the elemental magic is starting to overwhelm our soldiers. The fact they can create bridges in only a matter of minutes gives our armies little time to rest between patrols and engagements."
"We are destined to win this war," Yukari says. "Try to find a way to speed up the troops from Minoseki and remind everyone that the Foretelling proves our victory is not only near but destined to happen."
"But I fear your daughter is not ready, your majesty," Iroha says, and Suzuka agrees with her. Suzuka does not want to go into battle and watch people die all around her.
"She is destined…" Yukina starts but is quickly cut off.
"She is destined," Snapped Iroha, "To end the war… but the Foretelling makes no mention of when that is to happen. What if she is to do so when she is a grandmother? I fear we will have run out of time by then."
Suzuka runs from the door and finds herself sprinting down the hall with her little orb of light, struggling to keep up. When she finally does stop, a single thought is terrifying her and making Suzuka worry that the blade meant to end her life is moving closer to her heart. "We are losing the war," Suzuka can barely believe it, but what she overheard just now cannot be explained any other way. The thought is unthinkable, but Suzuka does not think anyone in that meeting was lying.
Suzuka can feel herself start to panic as she pictures herself wearing a heavy suit of armour, struggling to move. "Will they send me to war?" Suzuka prays they will not. She prays that Queen Akane will come back from the demon's control and the war can end peacefully. Suzuka prays the Foretelling is wrong, and she will not have to spill blood to bring the war to an end. Suzuka already knows that if she were to set foot on the battlefield, the Mokusa soldiers would not show her any mercy. Her mother let slip during one of the war meetings Suzuka was invited to that the people of Mokusa believe she would wipe them all out. "No wonder they wanted me dead even as a child," Suzuka hates that she may have to wipe out an entire kingdom of people just because of some Foretelling.
Suzuka starts to shake, wondering why she even listened at the door. The bad news about the war was another thing she wished she never heard. She does not think she would be able to sleep at all tonight after overhearing that meeting. If the war continues to worsen, then the chances of assassins approaching her increase, and that thought chill Suzuka to her bones. Looking around the dark empty hall, she starts to suspect that a man with a knife might be watching her at this very moment. Suzuka wishes that Maki were here with her to tell her that there is nothing to worry about and everything will be okay. "Maybe even convince me that I am not the heir," That thought sounds oddly appealing to Suzuka.
The Foretelling only speaks of an heir. Suzuka hopes there is a chance the gods find her unworthy of the throne and her father has another child. As guilty as it makes Suzuka feel about wishing to pass the burden she carries onto another, she still finds the idea appealing. "Mother is young enough to remarry and have another child," Suzuka smiles at the thought of not only becoming free of the burden she carries but also the fact that her mother may smile again if she were to remarry. Queen Yukari rarely smiles these days.
Noticing her cute little orb has begun to dim, Suzuka adds a little bit more of her magic to keep the light bright. The orb's eyes widen, and it hops up and down, seemingly happy with the renewed energy Suzuka fed it. "I'm not ready to go to war," Suzuka sighs. She has been training to use a sword, but she is still only a beginner. Her mother has been teaching her how to harness her light magic, but her teaching focused solely on defence. So far, Suzuka can only do flashy things like creating a wall of light and a floating orb like her cute little companion. None of them is handy on the battlefield, with her light orbs only marking her as a target and wall of light shattering after a few blows.
It became pretty clear that her mother dreaded the idea of Suzuka using her magic as a weapon but would never explain her reason why. Still, Suzuka finds herself agreeing with her mother. She dreads the idea of killing people and would prefer to use her magic to heal rather than kill. Unless it meant saving Maki. Suzuka knows it is selfish to put one person above others, but for Maki, she would do anything to keep her friend safe. For Maki, she would try to win this war before any harm would befall her friend.
"But if I am to win this war, I need more than just sparkling light," Suzuka's little orb shook its head as if disagreeing. Suzuka finds herself almost smiling at the sight of her cute little ball of light puffing itself out as if to scream. "I can fight!" But willing to give her little orb of light a chance, Suzuka holds out her hand and closes her eyes. Focusing her magic into an attack, Suzuka tries to will her little light orb into an attack. Still, after a minute passes, nothing happens. Two minutes pass, and Suzuka starts to pull strange faces as she concentrates, then it happens. A thin stream of blinding blue light streaked from her hands with a bang, breaking a small statue set in a recessed alcove. Ozone and the scent of scorched stone brushed her nostrils as the dust starts to settle.
The blast echoes through the halls sending vibrations through the floor and walls. Suzuka can feel the floor shake beneath her and begins to worry someone is going to come and investigate the explosion. Not wanting to get caught, Suzuka hikes up her nightgown and runs away like she used to with Mika when they were little and accidentally broke a vase. Unfortunately, she is too slow and has to hide in the shadows she fears as guards suddenly round the corner. Holding her breath, Suzuka can only watch as they rush past her, silently praying none of them would notice her hiding there.
Thankfully, none of the guards spots her, and soon Suzuka can leave her hiding spot and breath once again. Suzuka walks instead of runs this time, not wanting to cause the guard to look over their shoulders with her footsteps' echoes. Suzuka weaves her way through the corridors, still with no idea where she is heading. She passes the throne room and then a grand staircase but sees no one guarding the area. "They must be looking for the source of that explosion," Suzuka concludes as she heads down a thinner corridor that is mainly used by the castle staff. Suzuka only comes to a halt when she hears voices ahead of her.
"I don't get it," A female voice complains. "Why does that lowborn girl get special treatment?"
"Agreed," Another female voice, this one sounding younger. "She should never have been selected as the princess handmaiden. What has she got that we don't?"
"She even gets a private room all to herself," A third female voice chimes in. "What makes her so special?"
It does not surprise Suzuka that the servants would have a little private meeting about Maki. The nobles already have plenty, and she bets that Yukina spends her nights thinking up ways to punish Maki for her lowborn status. No one seems to like Maki. That thought weighs heavily on Suzuka's heart as she creeps closer to the meeting. Apart from herself, it is only the queen and Iroha who seem to care about Maki.
Peeking around the corning, Suzuka can recognise the servants involved. Hokuto Asahina, a girl only a few years older than Suzuka, looks displeased as she shakes her head. Hokuto is a tall girl and surprisingly strong for a woman. Suzuka can remember seeing her beat some of the guards in an arm-wrestling completion. Wakako Naeba, a maid who Suzuka worries might only bully Maki because of how close she is with her. Sawano Fukuda is the final member of the group, and she holds a lot of power being the head maid. Suzuka frowns when she sees them. These three bully Maki the most second only to Yukina Takatsu herself. All three of them seem intent on driving Maki to quiet and hate the fact that such a lowborn person could become Suzuka's handmaiden instead of one of them.
"It is unusual," Wakako says, looking disgusted. "I don't even trust that girl. She could be a spy for all we know."
"I doubt she's a spy," Sawano comments. "She has known the princess since they were kids, after all."
"That is still something she should have never done," Wakako spits out. "The guards should have arrested her before she could even speak to the princess."
"I have even seen her eat meals with the princess," Hokuto adds, making Wakako look even angrier. "They even eat at the same table."
"Unacceptable," Wakako growls. "I swear when I see that girl again, I will…"
"That girl," Suzuka finally makes her presence known, stepping out from the shadows startling the servants. Suzuka keeps her voice low and calm as the servant's rush to stand at attention for her. "Is my handmaiden."
All three girls jump with Sawano's eyes widening, Wakako's watering, but Hokuto looks surprisingly calm despite being caught. Wakako looks like she is on the verge of tears, and Sawano, like she is struggling to come up with excuses, but Hokuto just stands there staring back at Suzuka's glare.
"Your highness," Hokuto says as her fellow servants struggle to stand up straight. "Forgive us."
Suzuka walks closer to the girls. Stalling its orbit, her orb of light changes from a light blue colour to an orange one indicating her anger. She glared at each of the girls, with only Hokuto not flinching away.
"You all have high positions in the castle," Suzuka reminds them. "Miss Fukuda, you are the head maid, Miss Naeba, you serve the queen directly, and you Miss Asahina practical run the kitchen. Why is it that you girls who have achieved your positions at such a young age should be unhappy?"
Sawano, who is only eighteen is half the age of the last head maid. Wakako, who is sixteen, is nearly four years younger than the previous girl to hold her position. Hokuto, who still refuses to show fear, is only nineteen. Despite not having any titles, she carries enough respect that most of the kitchen staff turns to her for leadership. None of the girls speaks, although Suzuka can tell Hokuto is tempted to say something.
"I will warn you all only this one time," Suzuka glares at each of them in turn. "If I hear or see that any of you have miss treated Maki, then I will have you all transferred to the laundry staff."
"Yes, your highness," Both Sawano and Wakako bow their head.
"Yes, your highness," Hokuto replies a few seconds behind the others but keeps her head held high.
"Make sure that you all keep your word," Suzuka says before walking away.
Suzuka can hear the servants disperse as she walks away and feels happy that maybe she managed to secure Maki even the little bit of respite. Still, that scolding also makes her want to throw her crown into the moat. Reminders of her rank and how much it drives a wedge between her, and Maki make Suzuka want to scream. Suzuka wants nothing more than to throw away her rank and spend her days by her friend's side. The fact that being a princess causes others to hate Maki only makes her title even worse. The harm it does to Maki is on par with the destiny she has to slaughter an entire kingdom with the level of pain it stabs into Suzuka's heart.
But instead of heading for the moat, Suzuka heads for her room feeling fatigue catch up with her at long last. Suzuka walks to her room, feeling her tiredness weakening the hold her fear of assassins and worry for Maki's safety has over her. As she walks back to her room, Suzuka prays to the gods for guidance and for Maki's safety.
Suzuka barely makes it onto her bed before she collapses. Cradling her little orb in her arms as it dims and dies. Suzuka's eyes slowly close as her orb finally explodes in a soft puff letting tiny sparks fly before darkness engulfs her room once again. Suzuka crawls under her blankets, feeling little warmth from the soft silk sheets. Slowly though, she feels her body relax, and her mind drifts off to sleep. Think of Maki as the last pieces of her consciousness fade. Suzuka thinks back to the days when titles were meaningless, and they could act as friends instead of master and servant.