Heavy Lies The Crown: Chapter One

by Starrify

You left your home. You're so far from everything you know.
Your big dream is crashing down and out your door.
Wake up and dream once more.

There was a short shuffle of footsteps outside her door. Cagalli raised her blanket up to her chin, closed her eyes, and tried her best to give an impression of someone sleeping. She knew that if it was her father coming to her, and there was no doubt he would scold her for staying up so late and not resting when she had a grand celebration to face tomorrow.

Ah, yes, it was going to be her thirteenth birthday. In excitement, Cagalli giggled in her bed. She had often been teased for her not so pitchy voice, but she quickly made those people regret that they had insulted her by promptly kicking at their shin.

The door creaked open and Cagalli had to bite back a gasp as she pulled her covers even further up her head. Oh no!she thought. Now it's obvious that I'm still awake!

And just as she guessed, her father had come to see her before he would retire for the night. He came into the room with a candle in one hand, lighting a small area of the large living space.

"Cagalli," Uzumi started in a tired yet still teasing voice. He put down the candleholder on the drawer beside her bed. "I know you're awake so there's no point—"

She threw her sheets upward and it landed on his face, temporarily setting him back as she tried to dash out of her room, but since he was bigger, he also could do bigger steps, Cagalli remembered in the last second, before she was caught in the arms of her father and was being tickled back into her bed.

"St-st-stop it!" she managed to croak out in between her mirth. "Father, it tickles!"

Uzumi smiled tiredly at his young daughter. "Okay, but you have to tell me why you're still awake."

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted, sitting up. "I was so excited! Can you guess what happens tomorrow? You have five tries!"

He gave his best calculating look. "A meeting with the different representatives?"

"No!"

"A meeting with foreign delegates?"

"No!"

"Kisaka and Manna scolding you?"

"Yes! Maybe! No—no!" Cagalli furrowed her eyebrows and glared at her father. "You're not even trying!"

"You're going to meet with Kira?" he tried again, pushing her back down onto the bed. "You're going to your Aunt Caridad's and play with the other children there? Is that it, Cagalli?"

"No!" This time, she was pouting. "Father, how dare you?" she wailed, raising her arms above her head. "How dare you forget my one and only birthday? I know that you have your responsibilities to Orb, but come on! It's only one day out of a whole year!"

At his daughter's sudden display of…herself, Uzumi could not help but not hold back his smile. It was only natural for his Cagalli to not give him a last fifth try and just burst somewhere in the middle. What a spoiled brat she turned out to be, he mused to himself. But he was undeniably proud of her for that very spirit she had. One day, Cagalli, you're going to inherit all of this—all of Orb, the burden of the people and your new responsibilities to them included. She was admittedly the only person he could trust in continuing their ideals, the very foundation of Orb. He trusted her more than his parliament, those damned representatives who could be so easily swayed by others.

He was not going to give up Orb to them—not without a fight, at least.

He looked back at his daughter's big amber eyes staring at him. "Father, you haven't said anything." She pouted again, crossing her arms as he tucked her into the fleece blanket. "Were you even paying attention to what I said?"

"Yes," he chuckled, but pretended to be exasperated at Cagalli. "It's your birthday tomorrow and you think that's reason enough for you to forego your bedtime." He raised a brow and Cagalli giggled at that. "Manna would have my head for allowing you to stay longer, wouldn't she?"

"She can't!" Cagalli immediately argued. "No one can have the king's head!"

"And no one should be dictating the princess other than her father, but she follows orders from other people because—?"

"Because she's not old enough to make decisions by herself," she recited under her breath, gritting her teeth at the line she's memorized because the question had been asked so many times before. "But I'm turning thirteen tomorrow!"

"Yes, you are," he finally agreed, standing up from her bedside. "So you should go to sleep now or you won't be awake tomorrow when everyone else is celebrating. You don't want that, do you?"

"No, I don't," she started to mutter. "But they'll be there tomorrow, won't they? It's Kira's birthday, too. He'll be there with Miri, Tolle, Sai, Juri, Mayura, Asagi; even Yu—" and her babble turned into light snores against the sound of the waves crashing on the other side of their castle. He sighed and kneeled down next to her daughter's sleeping figure.

"I'm glad it was you," he whispered, pushing back the bangs framing her face. "I could not have asked for a better daughter."

He kissed her once on the forehead before standing up and retreating to his own room. He looked back once and smiled peacefully. "Good night, Cagalli."

There was another round of scurrying footsteps outside her door, only this time, Cagalli was sure that shouldn't be. Dawn hasn't arrived yet—unless her father was right earlier when he said she would miss out on her own celebration, so perhaps it was night? No, that couldn't be. She got out of her bed and checked her closet—yes, the dress she was supposed to wear for the day was still there. She frowned. What's going on—

Suddenly, her door was open and she gasped when she saw the panic-stricken faces of Kisaka and Manna, and then the calm one of her father. They seemed to be arguing over something and it irritated her how they had to pick her room out of all the other rooms in their big house. She glared at the three elder figures she all equally considered family, but none were paying attention to her.

"But would she be safer there—"

"She'd more likely be spared there than here."

"And what of the people? What will be of them once—"

"It would be a stupid move if they risk the lives of civilians—"

"And how exactly do you plan to escape?"

"I will defend Orb and her ideals with everything I have—"

"And what about her? Would you leave her just like that?"

Cagalli looked back and forth as Kisaka and Uzumi shared a fast yet quite heated exchange. Poor Kisaka, she thought.He was so young compared to her father, yet he already had lines forming on his forehead. When there was no reply from Uzumi, Kisaka stomped loudly on the floor.

"You're her father! Don't you care for her enough to make sure—"

She did not need another word to know it was her they were arguing about. She turned to her father and saw all the years of piled stress and pent up frustration in his dull grey eyes. It was in moments like this that the thought came to her mind: Why don't I look like you? And she didn't realize that there were tears welling at the bottom of her eyes and that she started to shake in her worry for her three guardians: Kisaka, her personal bodyguard, Manna, her governess; and Uzumi, her very own father.

What was going on? Why were they talking about her?

"Manna," Uzumi started, his tone firm and resolute. "Evacuate everyone else here. Tell them to go home, go hide, go anywhere else but here. Here is not safe—not now, not yet. Tell them the consequences if they don't immediately comply."

Manna nodded once and looked back at the younger Cagalli. It was probably going to be the last time she was going to see her, she thought. Quickly wiping the gathering moisture in her eyes, she ran off to the servants' quarters.

"Kisaka." Uzumi turned to the trusted general. "Quickly pack what you think Cagalli might need in your journey. Make it as light as possible and make sure they are necessities. I will have a word with her and when we are done, you are to leave immediately."

Kisaka answered with a curt nod before turning his heel to Cagalli's wooden cabinets and drawers. Cagalli's eyes widened at the sight. "What's going on—?"

"From here on, Cagalli, you have to be brave for me," he said, not showing any hints of the gentle tone he used only on her. "Not just for me, but for Orb, for everyone else who is depending on you to bring Orb back to her old state. Remember her ideals, Cagalli. You carry the name of Athha, so you must never lose sight of them—" His voice wavered a bit before he continued, "If you do so, then we would have lost all hope of recovering Orb, do you understand me?"

Cagalli nodded, but in truth, she had no idea what she was agreeing to.

"Cagalli, I don't know how to say this, but I just want you to know that I do love you." Cagalli was now in tears—her father had never told her that before. He showed it the best way that he could, but sometimes it still was not enough to satisfy that ache she had in her heart every time she tried to call for his father when he was busy with work. "And that I could not have asked for a better daughter," he repeated, causing Cagalli to jump to reach her father's neck and envelop him in her small arms.

"You make it sound like you'll never have the opportunity to show that again! I still have my birthday—and my birthdays to come! Each time, you'll give me a gift and I would be the happiest princess in all three kingdoms! That's what you told me then!"

And tears were also flowing down the old man's face, Kisaka noticed. Ah, this was the bond of the lion of Orb and his little cub. He paced to the other side of the room where Cagalli and Uzumi were still locked tightly in a hug. Kisaka's heart twisted—he did not want to ruin their last moment together, but he had to take the princess away before the outside forces arrived at the castle.

He coughed once and Uzumi immediately pulled himself away from Cagalli's grasp. She still tried to reach for him, struggling against Kisaka's big arms. "Kisaka, let me go! Let me go with Father! I'll be with him forever, I—"

"Don't be so foolish, Princess!" he stated, readjusting the strap of her bag by swinging his shoulder. "This is his sacrifice for you—"

Cagalli started kicking against his well-built torso—not quite giving the effect she wanted, causing her to thrash around in his arms. "Kisaka! Kisaka, let me go! I want to be with—"

Uzumi followed them out to the corridor. He always felt the need to indulge his daughter, but he could not grant her current request—not now, not ever again, he knew. He frowned, making the lines on his face more evident. He ran his hand through his long gray hair and looked at the small girl trying to catch a better glimpse of him.

"Father!" she was crying again. "You can't leave me! You can't let me leave you! Please, do something—" she pleaded in between sniffles. "You don't love me—you're lying. If you did, you wouldn't be doing this, you—"

And Kisaka and Uzumi stopped at the top of the staircase leading to the reception hall. "Your Majesty," Kisaka started, turning around to face the king. "It has been my honor to serve you. I will personally see to it that Cagalli gets to safety."

"Thank you, Kisaka," Uzumi replied, giving a small lopsided grin. "And you, my dear daughter," he brushed back Cagalli's bangs. In Kisaka's arms, Cagalli was struggling again to get a hold on her father. "May Haumea bless and guide you always."

He gently held Cagalli's face in his hands and planted a kiss on her forehead. Cagalli was gripping on the fine fabric of his tunic. "You can't leave me," she argued again. "Not like this—" But Uzumi hushed her; took her hands off of his clothes and put them down on her sides again. He looked at Kisaka and gave him a curt nod, signaling him to move on.

Kisaka was half-carrying, half-dragging her out of the room and down the flight of stairs which were, like the hallway, lighted by the torches hanging on the stone walls. He would not let her escape his hold—given the opportunity, she would run up back to her father and stay with him. It was Uzumi's last wish to keep her safe and he was going to make sure he did exactly that. Cagalli was punching at the air, trying to reach for his hands and bite into them, but Kisaka kept cool and did not mind the small pains inflicted on his body.

"Let me go now!" she demanded, kicking her feet up and down. The tears were streaming down her face and Kisaka immediately knew that her heart would be her downfall. She was too much of an Athha to be anything else, really, and he could not help but pity the little crying girl—soon-to-be orphan.

He knew what Uzumi was putting himself in—he saw it in his eyes, the same ones that were usually so emotionless in conferences, yet softened always at the sight of the young girl. He had seen what Uzumi wanted, had seen that he firmly believed that he was doing it for her sake—so that she could live in a peaceful world.

What a fool Uzumi was—he was leaving his daughter, yes, but look at the world he left her in, left her to have. No child should have to go through that, through knowing that their parents were simply playing hero and acting like they knew what they were doing.

Cagalli was still putting up a fight when they reached the stables. The different horses the Athha family owned were stomping their feet against the muddied ground as if they knew of the ominous dangers coming to the castle. At the end, a large, intimidating horse was waiting for them. It was dark, yet its white color gave a somehow ethereal glow against the light of the torches.

Kisaka mounted Cagalli onto the saddle and quickly followed suit—not giving the princess any chance to escape.

"Are you okay?" he asked, trying to arrange her such that she's somehow comfortable on his lap. Of course she's not, you idiot, Kisaka mentally berated himself. She just lost her father.

Kusanagi, that was the name of the horse, whinnied when Kisaka pulled on his reins and started driving Kusanagi out of the barn and into the open forest grounds that was a direct passage out of Orb. It was usually guarded night and day by guards for at any time for bandits could come from the forest—that is, if they survived such a long journey from outside of Orb—and attack the castle, but now, given the situation, no one was there.

They made their way into the forest, trying to avoid hitting the warped branches and tripping on the twisted roots scattered everywhere on the ground. It wasn't dawn, but there were soft traces of light passing through the canopy—and it was enough for Kisaka to guide them a good distance away from the castle. He breathed out in relief—at least pursuers would have more difficulty in catching up to them now.

And after half an hour of simultaneously riding and struggling, Cagalli fell limp in Kisaka's hold. "Princess?" he called out. "Cagalli, are you dizzy? Would you like me to slow down? We should be twenty miles in the forest. Safe, for now."

"Kisaka?" she said faintly. "Kisaka? Please, please—tell me what's going on." She arched her neck to face him properly and Kisaka could see that her usually bright eyes were red and puffy all over, and just plain exhausted of tears, as if there were no more she could possibly give to grieve for her losses. And he frowned, pulling on the reins to completely stop.

Kusanagi neighed loudly in protest—he was building up momentum, after all. Kisaka mumbled his apologies before jumping off of his horse. He offered his hand to Cagalli, but she jumped off after him, falling to the ground, next to Kusanagi's front legs, causing him to step back and object again.

"Oof—" she grunted and then tried to stand, but fell again. Kisaka's eyes widened and picked her up from the ground.

"Princess, are you okay—"

"I sprained my ankle, but it could've been worse," she immediately answered and then brushed off the dirt on her chemise. Kisaka frowned at her display of nonchalance—Cagalli was a girl driven by emotion, but now he could see her suddenly mature and be broken at the same time.

All because of the death of her father, he noted, still frowning disapprovingly at her tone.

"Now tell me," she continued. "If I am to lead Orb one day, I have to know what's happening now—how terrible the situation could possibly be to have me flee like this into the forest to—Plant, I presume." The look on her face was very grave, not that of a thirteen year old on her birthday. This was the only time he could properly see her as Uzumi's daughter, the one he raised to be strong for the sake of everyone else.

"Kisaka," she demanded in a softer tone. "Tell me what I need to know, please. I am the princess of Orb, and I've never used it to gain an answer like this before, so I'm hoping that you will at least give me that this once."

He sighed, running a hand through his grey hair. "Princess," he started, unsure of how to explain this in terms of a little girl. "Let's start with this: I'm not sure if I should still be technically you that—you'll always be the rightful heir to Orb to me and I'm sure that others share my sentiments, however—" He was choking on his own words, he knew, so he gave up on trying to censor things out. She could understand—she had to if she wanted to survive and follow her father's wishes for her.

"Basically, the Seirans—you know of them, don't you? At least their boy?" When Cagalli gave an affirmative nod, he continued, "Quite simply, they've taken over Orb. A well planned coup d'état. Most of the army is loyal to you, though, Cagalli—that much, I can assure you, but right now, they're under the command of Unato Seiran."

He sighed again. "Do you understand so far?"

Cagalli's small blonde head bopped and leaned onto the tree trunk for support. "So Uncle Unato has betrayed father?"

"Yes," he said grimly, remembering the balding bastard. "Not just him—some of the other representatives, too. In any case, what we have to do is get you to Plant, someone there is bound to take you in even without the knowledge that you're of nobility."

"And what about you, Kisaka?"

"I'll find a way."

Somehow, that knowledge that Kisaka was unsure of his own fate did not sit well with Cagalli. She had just lost her father, she already knew that, and she knew that he would not want her to be crying over him like she had during the ride to where they were right now. She would not lose Kisaka, too.

She looked up at her typically foreboding bodyguard who was now trying to reassure her with a small grin. She gave one back, still leaning onto the trunk for support. Kisaka gave her a concerned look.

"Come here, Cagalli, I'll check up on your ankle."

She treaded slowly towards his figure. It was dark before she succumbed to the tiredness brought on by her continuous crying, and now it was somewhere in the middle of the morning, maybe.

She was sitting on the horse again as Kisaka carried her up on Kusanagi. He slowly removed her sandals and found a swelling spot just above her foot. Yes, she did sprain it.

He quickly took a roll of bandages from the bag he packed for her, put some balm on her ankle and then wrapped it around with the cloth. She winced once as he straightened her ankle properly, but she did not yelp out or protest like she usually would. When he finished, he put the materials back inside her bag.

"It may be a bit heavy for you, but I'm sure if the need arises, you can carry this," Kisaka said, referring to the bag tied to the side of the horse. "It has everything you should need during our trip to Plant, including clothes, food provisions, and medicine. Yes, that's all you have to know, I think."

"And what about you, Kisaka?" she asked again, genuinely concerned for her personal guard.

The twenty-something year-old ruffled the princess's hair and she only frowned. "Hey, you, cheer up. I know things aren't as sunshine as the days before, but it'll get better."

Cagalli snorted softly. "It's sunny, Kisaka. Things aren't as sunny."

"I didn't exactly have to learn everything to become a general."

"Well, when you're a princess, you have to."

"Thank Haumea I don't have to wear your frilly dresses, right?" Kisaka joked, causing Cagalli to laugh a bit louder. "And I don't have to know where my utensils should be or how the books should be balancing on my head."

"Yes! Manna always—" and she stopped before she could continue with what she was going to say. "Do you think she made it out okay, Kisaka?"

"Knowing that woman, she probably did," he answered. He took a step back before leaping onto the horse's back. He started to drive Kusanagi again. "Now, come on. Do you know your geography?"

"I do not know much of outside Orb," she replied uneasily. "Only that there's a desert near the The Alliance and that Plant is quite surrounded by mountains, but I have been to parts of the two countries already. Why?"

Kisaka grinned cheekily, at least happy he was able to distract the young princess. "I'll teach you some things. This forest adjoins Orb and Plant, actually, but no one uses this route because they are afraid of the spirits here. Instead, you have the properly paved trade route which is somewhere on our…left, supposedly."

Cagalli looked at the direction Kisaka pointed to and pursed her lips at the sight. "Kisaka, there are only trees there."

"Well, we're quite far from the road as we're somewhere in the middle, so it'll take a while to get to that side of the forest," he tried to explain. "Next, on the other side of this forest is the ocean."

Cagalli frowned again. "But I can't hear it, Kisaka!"

"That's because we're in the middle of the forest—I just told you that." He sighed. At least she's being normal now, he reminded himself.

"So what of it?"

"If you completely go right, you'll end up at the edge of the forest, right?" he asked; Cagalli nodded. "Well, it's actually elevated—more of a bunch of cliffs and big rocks in between the land and the ocean. It's not a beach like what you have near your castle."

"I see…" Cagalli focused her attention on the different trees they passed. They all look the same, she realized. The trees were all tall, dark, and a bit foreboding because of the moss covering parts of the bark. Perhaps it was because the sun wasn't completely up yet so it couldn't properly light the forest. They seemed to be at least a meter in diameter and spanned...twenty feet? Thirty? Kisaka was going on a too fast rate for her to properly tell. "What else can you tell me of the forest, Kisaka?"

"Hmm," he thought for a while. "There's a river that starts Haumea knows where, but I think it's somewhere in the heart of the forest itself. It leads to…to the beach near the castle of the Plant royal family, actually," he said, a bit surprised at his own knowledge. Cagalli's eyes sparkled in interest.

"So that means the two castles are actually connected?" she asked, piqued. "That's so cool! So it means they also have a guarded area like we do?"

"I suppose so."

"But why are we in the forest? I mean, we're not going into Plant through there, obviously."

"Because we don't want to get caught," Kisaka pointed out plainly. "If we go onto the open road, the Seiran's troops or whoever can easily track and run after us. Meanwhile here in the forest, we can still lose them—" he stopped when he realized that there was a light drone of snores coming from the small figure in front of him.

They had been riding at a not so leisurely pace for about three hours when Kisaka heard the neighs of other horses, the clashing of hooves on the rocks, the striking of metal on branches and other hanging twigs, and the loud jeers of those people pursuing them.

"Damn," he cursed under his breath, looking at the little girl sleeping in front of him. He had to protect her—she was the embodiment of Orb's hopes and ideals and he had no doubt that this strong girl would be able to fulfill these one day and lead the country properly.

"Cagalli," he shook her awake. Cagalli's eyes fluttered open as they adjusted to the light. "Cagalli, wake up—I want you to hold on tightly because we're going to have to go even faster."

"But why—"

"Athha! Athha—yes, that's the little princess!" Cagalli turned her head around and found three men running after them. Her eyes widened as these men recognized her. "Clotho, Raider's faster than us, go get her!"

Clotho, the one with the red hair, Cagalli assumed, was the one chasing after them right now. She gripped tighter onto the neck of Kusanagi. "Kisaka, what—"

"Princess," Kisaka cut her off. "Do you see the bend up there? I'm getting off there and you keep riding. That path is paved and if you just go straight and ride in the fastest speed you can go, you'll get to Plant, do you understand?"

It was the second time she nodded that day to something she really didn't. It was more for fear, the uncertainty of the near future which nothing could quell. And there was no turning back once the bend came, she realized. She looked at the determined Kisaka behind her and bit her lower lip. There was no thanking him enough—he and her father, they were sacrificing themselves for her sake. She didn't ask for it, but she understood her new duty well enough to not question them further.

"Ready?" Kisaka asked gently, handing her the reins of Kusanagi. Tears were threatening to fall down Cagalli's face, but she held it in—for him, for her father, for the rest of Orb. She nodded once and when she did, he immediately let go of the reins and mounted off the horse.

Kisaka stood there, on the edge of the forest that lead to a small opening in the paved routes connecting Orb, Plant, and the The Alliance. He unsheathed his sword and held it in front of him in a defensive stance. The three soldiers pursuing them stopped in front of him and quickly jumped off their own horses and unsheathed their own swords. Soon, only the sounds of metal crashing against metal could be the only sound heard in the forest.

"Where is the princess?" the chartreuse-haired one demanded. "Where is she, damn it!"

Kisaka grunted as his sword was being pushed down his own face. His strength, however, was not to be underestimated as he easily pushed the young soldier's sword back and stabbed him somewhere in his torso.

"You will not get her!" he shouted back, retrieving his sword from the man's body. The soldier fell, and his colleagues immediately called out to him.

"Shani!" Clotho screamed, racing after Kisaka with his saber. "Damn it, you shall pay, you bastard!"

Clotho surged forward and Kisaka ducked down, avoiding his blow by a few inches. The other blond with him also tried to hit him, but he also evaded it just in time. It went on like this for a few minutes: just the two alternating, trying to get a shot, and with Kisaka avoiding all of them and pushing away their swords.

Finally, when Clotho found a way to distract Kisaka for a little, the other one, Orga, successfully stabbed his side. Kisaka howled in pain, clutching his side with one hand, and holding his sword in the other.

Cagalli turned around to the sudden shouts. "Kisaka!" she cried, pulling on Kusanagi's reins to stop him. "Kisaka, he—"

And as if the horse could understand, Kusanagi pulled her reins away from Cagalli's hold and began to sprint to the direction Kisaka pointed to. Cagalli yelped and tried to regain control, but the stubborn horse would not give in to the rather weak force of her pulling, so she gave up and cried instead in her seat.

There's nothing I can do, she thought to herself, still crying. I'm so weak—so weak, Father, you're disappointed in me. I'm sorry, I can't—

"She'd more likely be spared there than here."

She remembered her father's words—but doubted the truth behind them. He may have sounded so sure back then, but from what she's gathered in the past few hours, one could not easily trust others.

Starting there, Cagalli did not trust anyone.

Using all the force she could muster, she pulled on the reins of Kusanagi. The horse, tired from running for so long, couldn't fight back and had to stop. He protested when Cagalli jumped off to the side, stumbling a bit because of her still-recovering ankle.

"I'm sorry, Kusanagi—" she started, untying the bag Kisaka left for her. "But I can't go to Plant. You understand, don't you? It's better if I stay here. Who knows who'll find me there, who'll desert me, who'll try to kill me like those soldiers did to Kisaka, to Father, to the others at Orb…you understand, don't you?"

She limped her way back into the forest, carrying the rather heavy knapsack on her back. Kisaka was right—it was rather heavy, but it was still incomparable to the weight she was trying to shoulder, the ache she felt but could not express. She could not grieve because it did not make sense for her to—nothing could bring back the lives of those she loved; not even the old sheltered life she had in Orb.

The horse followed her into the forest, but he did not really understand, and that made Cagalli feel all the more lonely.

End of Chapter One

Song of the Chapter: Come Back When You Can by Barcelona

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