Nanashi slept fitfully that night after she snuck back into her rooms. She kept dreaming about Jin, and Hiei, and King Hayate, and Sakyo. All of them were mixed up in her mind in a tangled mess of dreams. She rolled out of bed the next morning, getting ready quietly to herself before the two maids Queen Minha had given her could assist her. She found it unnecessary for them to dress her and do her hair when she could do that by herself. She usually only let them do a little bit so they would not feel like she was wasting their time.
They had shown up though as she was busy brushing her hair. She conceded to letting them finish her hair, braiding it tightly in two braids that started at the top of her head. They worked in silence, having been told they were not allowed to talk to her if she did not speak to them first. Usually she talked with them, asking them questions and getting to know them. She knew their names, Midori and Sayuri. Today, she did not feel like speaking. If either of them noticed her hair was silver now, they did not say anything.
"Thank you," she said softly, not wanting to admire their handiwork in the mirror this time around. She was tempted to cover her hair today, but her wings were too large or noticeable to be covered. She would have to let her hair show.
"You're welcome, angel," Midori said to her. Sayuri studied her hair and nodded.
"You're dismissed," Nanashi told them, sitting herself down on her couch by the unlit fire place. It was too warm outside to imagine lighting it yet.
She sat there, unsure what to do with herself. She did not want to go down to breakfast. The king would see her, and would demand to know what happened. Her stomach grumbled, but she ignored it. She wished she had asked one of her maids to bring her food before dismissing them.
She sat by herself, waiting for the minutes to tick by until she could acceptably go down to the stables and see Jin. She felt safe with him, wanted to be near him. She slipped out of her rooms, getting herself down to the stables with the fewest people seeing her as possible.
She nearly got there, just in sight of it when she heard someone come running up behind her and calling after her. "Angel, wait," Jiro panted, coming to a stop behind her. He stared up at her hair a little too long for her comfort. "His grace wants to see you, immediately."
"I..." she started, not sure how she could deny him or the king. "Yes," she conceded, following after Jiro when she would rather turn around and go to Jin.
Jiro lead her at a fast pace through the castle. She grew more and more nervous as he lead her towards the king's throne room. He let her into the vast room, but it just held the king and two of his guards. Nanashi recognized them as Kouhaku, who was friends with Jin, and Ayane, a fierce sound demon. The king was pacing in front of his and his queen's throne, looking like an impatient lion. The guard stood still at their post. Jiro kept walking towards the king, but she slowed down in her steps. When the king stopped his pacing and stared over at her, she stopped walking.
Jiro stopped, too. He looked between the two of them. "Leave, Jiro," the king ordered him. It sounded vaguely like a growl. "Ayane, Kouhaku, do what I've asked of you, please," he dismissed them as well.
Jiro looked between the two of them. She nearly asked him to stay, but knew he would not, even if she begged him. He left the room with the two guards. The door shut behind them, echoing across the room. She closed her eyes, wincing at the sound.
King Hayate moved forward towards her. She wanted to back away, but froze in panic. He took one of her braids in his hand none too gently. His lip curled in a snarl. He let her hair go. "Where were you last night?" he demanded. She felt herself begin to tremble, not wanting to betray Jin at all. "Answer me."
"I... I... I was..." she did not want to answer, but was too intimidated and terrified to lie. "Stables." Her hand covered her mouth. She could not look up at him.
"All throughout dinner?" he asked. She nodded. "Why?"
She closed her eyes. "One... one of- of the-"
"Speak clearly," he insisted. She could hardly catch her breath, let alone speak at this point. "If you won't answer," he preempted. He stepped closer to her, hands reaching for her head. She stepped away from him involuntarily. "Speak or I will look," he warned her.
She got her breathing under control. "One of the foals is sick. We cared for her."
"Whose 'we,'" he asked her, voice going slightly softer.
"Jin and I," she answered honestly.
"Alone?" His eyes narrowed. She nodded. "Speak."
"Alone," she felt her breathing shake.
"Then what happened?" he asked her.
She felt her stomach drop. He knew. He knew something, knew enough. Jin had told her to lie and be vague about it. "We... fought," she lied.
"About what?" he pressed.
Vague, she had to come up with something vague. Something vague that would explain her new hair and wing color. "The.. foals..."
The king sighed down at her, trying to catch her eye. She tried to keep her breathing steady and was failing. "You're a terrible liar," he accused.
"Please," she pleaded, almost feeling the temptation to use her wind serpent to stop him from questioning her. Her stomach flipped, making her want to be sick.
"You were heard screaming. Tell me what happened," he raised his voice. She shook her head, stepping back from him. He grabbed her forearm, stopping her from going any farther. "Or else, show me."
"Please," she whimpered, wanting to flee.
He held tight to her arm, pulling her closer. "Were you forced?"
"No," she answered, hating she was being forced to betray Jin like this. "Please, I I... I told him not to say anything. It was all my idea. I convinced him to-"
"You're a worse liar than my son," he interrupted. "You might not have been forced, but I highly doubt you initiated any of it." He let her arm go with a shake. "According to legends, do you know what happens to an angel when they sin so much their hair and wings turn black?" she shook her head. "They turn evil. Wreak havoc and destruction. The only way to stop them is to kill them. You've set yourself on that path, an impossible child born from an impossible union. I will not let you lead yourself to your own demise."
"I wasn't..." she began.
"Thinking," he finished for her. "A half angel that fell from the sky. You had so much potential. And then you revealed who you really are. I meant for you to be wed to Jiro once your friends were rescued, but likely you've ruined that chance for yourself. He had to be convinced to take you as a half breed because half of what you are is angelic. He hates half breeds. Now I'm going to have to convince him to take you on after you've slept with one."
She felt her temper stir. "There's nothing wrong with being a mix of the three- four races," she grumbled.
"Not if one is angelic, no," the king spoke. "Anything less than that brings out the negative, more evil aspect of a person."
"That's not true," she insisted, thinking back to how she had been treated in her hometown because people thought she was half demon. "Even if that was true, a person is not just what their parents were. Nature aside, a person still has a say in the choices they make."
"Your half human side is showing," he insulted. "Humans age so fast, mature so fast, that it's no wonder you gave into Jin."
She stared up at ruefully, temper keeping her brave. "I chose him," she said.
"Here I thought you would be hung up on Hiei, or even Ruka," he informed her. "That's part of why we delayed wedding Jiro to you right away. That delay was a regret." He stood up taller, staring her down. she blinked first. "You're dismissed. You will remain in your rooms for the rest of the day and night. You are not allowed out until breakfast tomorrow morning." He walked towards her, pushing her towards the door with him. He opened the door. She saw the guard Ayane standing in front of them. "Ayane, escort the angel back to her rooms. She is not to speak with anyone or to leave there until tomorrow morning. See that her windows are locked so she cannot escape out of them." Nanashi frowned at his last sentence. He had cut off her escape, even before she could come up with the idea on her own.
"Yes, your grace," Ayane said with a flourish of a bow. Nanashi recalled she had forgotten to do that herself when she saw the king. She gave her head the slightest nod to him before she let Ayane lead her off.
Ayane was moving swiftly and silently in the direction of Nanashi's rooms. Nanashi had to half run to keep up with the shorter woman. When they hit a T intersection, Ayane lead her right. Nanashi followed her.
She heard a familiar echo off the walls of the passage behind her. She could not quite make out the words, but she knew who it was. "Jin?" she whispered, turning around.
She looked back, standing stock still. She watched him walking behind Kouhaku. He met her eyes, but kept following behind Kouhaku. He shook his head at her. They turned the corner, walking towards the king. Nanashi began to follow after them, wanting to warn him.
"Angel," Ayane called after her in warning.
Nanashi moved faster, the urge to warn him outweighing her fear of the sound demoness. "Jin," she called out to him. His shoulders twitched, showing he had heard her. He went through the door by himself. Kouhaku stood guard in front of it. Ayane had caught up to her, yanking her by the hand to resume walking with her. "Jin," she called out his name louder. Ayane pulled her back, making her follow. She slipped out of her grip, moving in a rush to reach him. Kouhaku was on her faster than anticipated. He shoved her back down the hallway towards Ayane. "Please," she pleaded with him. She tried to get around him, but could not. "Just let me talk to him, please," she begged.
"Angel, you were ordered by the king to return to your rooms," Ayane's voice rang clearly through the hallway.
She looked between the two guards, tempted to attack them and to get to Jin. It would be a fruitless endeavor. She had been trained by both of them. She would not be able to get around them both. Even if she did, it would only make matters worse for her and Jin. She turned away from the guards, and walked away in silence towards her rooms. She heard Ayane run up behind and walk in step with her.
Once they were at her rooms, Ayane saw to binding her windows shut so she could escape out of them. Nanashi slumped on her bed, half laying on it listlessly. She bemoaned being caught by the king, kicking herself for it. Jin had told her not to scream, yet she had anyway. She had not been able to help herself.
Sun beams streamed through the closed windows, showing her the passage of time as she dozed off where she lay. Moping to herself. She heard a knock on her door, but she did not respond to it. She hoped if she ignored it, whoever it was would go away.
They did not. Asa opened the door, coming through it. She had a tray of food and a steaming mug. "Dear Angel," she said softly. Nanashi watched her, but did not sit up. "Skipping meals in light of other things will not help you get stronger," she scolded. She sat the tray down on Nanashi's nightstand. "Sit up, sweetness," she suggested comfortingly She sat down next to Nanashi on the bed. Nanashi sat up ruefully, not making eye contact with her. Asa took the steaming mug in her hand, holding it over to her. "You don't have to explain to me why, but you should drink this moon tea. The king insisted upon it."
Nanashi took the cup from her, tempted to drop it on the floor in rebellion against the king. For how powerful he was, he sure was pompous. He tried her patience. She sipped from it without tasting it.
Asa took her hand, holding it tenderly. "Last night, were you hurt?"
Nanashi took a sip from her mug. "Last night, no," she answered truthfully. She drank again. "Now, yes," she choked out.
"Sh, sweetness," Asa soothed her. "The king will make the best choice for the realm."
"Not for the realm," she corrected. "For himself and his family." She drank more, hardly wanting to.
Asa took a steeling breath next to her. "Adding angel blood into the royal family is his goal, yes. But protecting you, and your virtue are just as important to any of us, for any woman."
"Then marry me to Jin," she said forlornly. "Honor saved," she spat. She finished the tea, handing the mug back to Asa.
"He's a bastard and not a full elf. That doesn't fit his or his queen's goal," she explained gently. She set the mug down on the tray.
"I should have a say in who I am wed to," she responded. "My uncle at least had enough sense for that. He refused Sakyo, but also refused two others." She leaned her head down upon Asa's shoulder.
"Jin is to be sent away for now," Asa informed her. Nanashi whined under her breath. "Sent to the stables stationed at the summer castle in the West with the newborn hippogriffs and their mothers, seeing as how he knows how best to handle them. The king is saying publicly its for the health of them."
"He's only here because his talents outweigh everything else. Otherwise he would not be sight of the precious royal family," she griped.
"What happened should be kept secret," Asa informed her. "You'll be thankful for it in the long run. Also, your uncle had been sent for by the way. Soon after the king's men were sent out to find your friends. He is to be brought here so Jiro can ask for your hand." Asa tore a chunk of bread from the tray of food. "You need to eat a little bit of something," she advised. "The tea may upset your stomach."
Dispute the fact that she was not hungry, she ate that, trusting in Asa's advice. "What happens now?" she asked, enjoying Asa's company and comfort.
"Lay low for a while," Asa advised. "Try not to draw attention to yourself." Nanashi nodded, feeling groggy herself. She sunk her head down into Asa's lap. Asa brought a gentle hand up to her hair, stroking one of her braids. "Rest now, sweetness."
"Will you stay with me?" she pleaded meekly.
"Of course," she promised. "Rest now."
Nanashi laid beside her, dozing off a little. Another annoying knock rapped on the door, making her cranky at just the sound of it. Nanashi sat up, head rushing, giving her a minor headache.
"Shall I answer it?" Asa asked her. Nanashi grumbled under her breathe, but nodded.
Asa went up to the door, answering it. In rushed Jiro of all people, all excited. "My angel, my angel," he exclaimed. He was speaking to Asa at first, but halted. He turned to the bed, seeing Nanashi sitting there. He rushed over to her, but stopped short. "My angel, are you ill?"
Asa answered for her, saying, "she is, but only mildly and it's not contagious."
Jiro looked between the two of them before he addressed Nanashi. "I'm sorry to bother you when you are unwell, but your friends have arrived at the castle."
"What?" she rushed out, feeling suddenly alert. "When?"
"A few minutes ago. The troops who found them had sent a raven to warn us, but it must have strayed," Jiro explained. "One of them, your friend Hiei, is quite unwell. He will need a healer to look after him."
"Asa," Nanashi turned to her, giving her a pleading look.
"I will be his healer," she agreed.
Nanashi turned back to Jiro. "He's to be brought here, to be cared for in my rooms." She lost Jin, but she was not about to let the king take Hiei away, too.
"My angel, that's not-" Jiro started.
She cut him off firmly, "that's what I command." Jiro seemed to weaken beneath her, giving evidence that he was not strong enough for her. "I'm only here because of him, and I will look help look after him."
"Yes, my angel," Jiro conceded, wanting to please her.
"Show me to them," she said.
"This way, my angel," Jiro told her, leading her out the door.
Only she did not make it much farther than the doorway. Ayane stopped her. "Angel, you have been ordered to stay in your rooms by the king. You may not leave."
She opened her mouth to contest, but closed it. It was a fight not worth having, and impossible to win. "Jiro, please, have Hiei brought to me, please," she begged.
Jiro gave her a conflicted look. Asa came up behind her. "These rooms would be best for me to care for him, as we have agreed," she reminded Jiro.
"Yes, my angel," Jiro promised. He stepped over to her, standing too close to her. He kissed her soft lips unexpectedly. When he pulled away from her, she tried not to look like she was cringing.
Jiro turned from the three of them then, running down the hallway. She turned back to her rooms, feeling like her energy was renewed. She pretended she did not notice the brooding scowl etched on Ayane's face. Hiei was here, Hiei was back. She was going to help him. She was not going to lose him again.