6
The Setting Sun
Morning had come and Kuja had woken her just minutes after sunrise.
"Get up, get up, get up, Sayuri!" His voice teased, and he lifted her covers and tossed them—somewhere. She didn't know. She was trying to sleep.
The rude awakening was hardly welcome—she groaned, reminded of the many times he'd woken her in the exact same manner. Their families had always been close, due to the bond her father shared with Kuja's father: as children, she and her siblings spent their winters in Ariavat, whereas Kuja and his sister spent their summers in Jishou.
And the summer palace in Tohouku had always been one of their favorite haunts; perhaps that was why Kuja seemed so determined to disrupt her usually languid morning routine. After all, it had been a while since he'd last been there.
Sayu shivered, curling up and hugging her legs; the cool mountain air was not kind to such unprotected things. She muttered, "Be glad I'm wearing two robes, Kuja."
She groggily opened one eye, squinting at the blurry vision of the Ariavatan prince setting down a tray on her bedside table.
"You've been neglecting your morning routine, I see—" He remarked, and she could practically hear him furrowing his brows, "—when you returned from Caera all those years ago, you were waking up even before I did. And that was saying something."
Sayu turned away from him, twisting her eyes shut. She yawned, trying—failing, really—to smother her mouth with a single hand.
When I returned from Caera, she inwardly groused, someone had just died.
Which made it very hard to sleep—more so when that dead someone was a person you happened to care about deeply.
"It's a very interesting situation, the one happening here," A new weight settled beside her on the bed. This new weight thoughtfully said, "you seem very attached to your court's guests."
That woke her.
She slowly sat up, finding Kuja sitting beside her. He'd donned some Jishouan robes today—normally the sight of him so easily wearing her country's clothes would draw a smile from her, but today she just quizzically quirked a brow at him.
Two steaming cups of tea were sitting on the tray; she reached for her cup, silently welcoming the warmth it brought to her cold fingers.
Kuja said nothing. He was smiling at her, using his usual genial smile; the sight of him, sitting a foot away from her, would've been wonderful—he was comfortably clothed in a simple turquoise blue robe, painted with slender bamboo shoots. It was a nice contrast to his smooth umber skin, and his warm amber eyes were sparkling with mirth, even in the grey morning.
But Sayu remained unmoved, mind still curiously picking apart what he'd meant by that statement. She took one draught of her tea, savoring the mildly bitter brew on her tongue. She looked at her friend, "You're only half-right, mind you, I'm only fond of the younger of our two guests."
Kuja flippantly shrugged in response.
Slowly, Sayu continued, "But you ask me this…for what reason?"
His amber eyes had then turned musing—but he kept his smile, and it was a look she'd seen on him often; it was that half-distant, half-playful look that he used whenever he was thinking of something deep.
"It's the Kou Empire, Sayuri." He tilted his head at her, raising his own brow in reply.
How cryptic. It made her huff.
"I haven't forgotten, if that's what you mean to say," She said, darkly. "Mameha will be marrying into the Ren family. An alliance is still better than vassalage in this day and age...I suppose."
Kuja nodded sagely. It made the lush black curls crowning his head bob for a bit. "A steep price, for peace in the Triangle."
She nearly choked on her tea. But she just nodded, swallowing the liquid with a chagrined expression. "If we could have it any other way, you know we would have it so."
"I wonder about that," Kuja idly said. She watched as he distractedly reached for his own tea. His voice pondered: "…she'll be requiring a lot of help, your sister. Someone to stand by her, when she is removed from everything she knows."
Sayu pursed her lips, gripping the cup in her hands.
"I know she will."
They returned that mid-morning to the training grounds, where Koumei and Mameha's small retinue were sitting at a shaded pavilion. The day was still cool, however, and Kuja pointed out the crowd gathered by the wide field as they passed by on their way back to the main keep.
"Ah, look!" He said with a grin, "that's Mameha's soon-to-be-husband, isn't it? The one with the red hair?"
Sayu paused. "Hm, indeed it is," She looked at the rest of the grounds, and upon seeing the numerous archery targets and Mameha speaking to the arms master in her training clothes, she mirrored his grin.
They drew close to the pavilion; Mameha's retinue was silently talking amongst themselves, and Koumei—dressed in his Kou robes—was sitting on a separate rug with a tea setting for two already laid out. Sayuri recognized the delicate porcelain as belonging to her younger sister's personal set.
Koumei was observing Mameha from afar, but he looked to the side as they came to stand at the base of the pavilion's steps. Sayuri took off the large straw hat she'd been wearing—after their morning tea, she and Kuja had gone for a hike in the mountains like they'd done as children, and she'd worn the hat for protection.
"P-Princess Sayuri," The Kou prince said, haltingly, and he (with slight hesitance, she also noticed) turned to the Ariavatan prince beside her. "…Prince Alihaddra."
Sayuri smiled, raising a brow. "I thought it was Sayu, now."
Koumei rubbed the back of his head. "Ah—yes…I've been reminded by your brothers, too."
Kuja amusedly glanced at her, but he returned his warm gaze to the younger prince. He chuckled, "Call me Kuja, if you will, Prince Koumei. Any friend of Sayu's is a friend of mine."
Koumei then fanned himself, hiding the lower half of his face. He looked away. "...You are kind, Prince Alihaddra. Yet surely I cannot be so familiar with you." He looked down for a moment, then as if remembering something, he gazed at her again. "But please, sit, there's space."
The redhead's refusal was not something unexpected—Sayu had come to know Koumei as a stickler for formality, after all: his reluctance to call her siblings by their given names was just further evidence of that. So she smiled at Kuja, and motioned for him to sit.
Sayu sat beside her old friend, and one of Mameha's attendants approached her; the princess greeted her with a smile, thanking her for the tea that the other attendants then served.
Kuja reached for the teapot. "Oh, allow me to pour. Prince Koumei, would you like a cup?"
"…Yes, thank you."
"I don't believe you've been formally introduced to each other yet, have you?" Sayu mused out loud, silently thanking Kuja for her cup with a nod. "Koumei, this is Kuja. Kuja, this is Ren Koumei, the Second Imperial Prince of Kou." She looked at Koumei briefly, quirking a corner of her lips, before looking again at Kuja. "He's become a good friend of mine."
She could feel the shift in weight as the Ariavatan prince sat back beside her, gripping his own cup. He smiled sincerely as he held his cup down by his side, "It is an honor to meet you, Prince Koumei. The Magisterium and my country have heard many great things about the Kou Empire growing in the west, not least of all its alliance to Jishou."
Sayu eyed Koumei's reaction. He seemed a bit taken off guard by Kuja's affable manner, but she inwardly chuckled and said nothing. She took a sip of her tea, turning her gaze to the training field.
There was a breeze going, that morning; distantly, she could hear the two princes' quiet conversation, with Kuja explaining that they'd gone for a hike in the morning, and were to eat breakfast when they eventually returned to the castle.
Sayu gazed at her sister in the distance; Mameha was wearing a long pair of pleated pants, and a short fold-over robe tucked into the pants, bearing smaller sleeves. Her hair was tied back in a practical, no-nonsense ponytail. The arms master handed her a sleek longbow—when she held it up and pulled the string back to test it, Sayuri thought the girl had never looked more adept for the large task looming ahead of her.
Mameha looked tall and supple like that, with her back straight and her pale arms firmly gripping the longbow.
She'll do fine with the right guidance, as Kuja says, Sayuri reminded herself, she'll do fine.
Beside her, Kuja placed a hand on her arm, as if sensing her thoughts. He turned his smile on her, but then glanced at Mameha: "It looks as if Mameha has been practicing, at the very least."
Unlike you, were the words spoken by the glimmer in his eyes. Sayuri grinned impishly at him. She regarded Koumei, "Mameha—she's a capable archer. She's been on hunts, although a little up north is where all the game is, during the winter."
A pity we don't have them as often anymore, she silently added. Her younger sister needed more things to do other than stay in the palace, penned in with her chaperone and her retinue.
"I would never have guessed," Koumei replied, looking at the field as well. The weapons master was handing Mameha a quiver of arrows, and she accepted it with a nod before hanging the article by her waist. She gazed once at where they were sitting, and both Sayu and Kuja waved a hand.
Her little sister waved back, momentarily setting her longbow at the ground. She waved a little more reservedly when her gaze eventually turned to the redhead.
"There's a meeting this morning, isn't there?" Sayu curiously asked Koumei. That was what Shiro had told her anyway, and what the ministers had told her as well.
Across from her, the Kou prince laughed sheepishly. He mildly said while fanning himself: "My lord brother bid me rest this morning…Princess Mameha invited me before the meeting was scheduled, and I had to refuse then. Fortunately Kouen's order allows me to now accept her invitation."
It seemed a bit chivalrous, but when it came to Koumei it was perhaps nothing but pure politeness—after all he had always taken great pains to be an exceedingly courteous guest of theirs, graciously taking astride whatever frivolous request or scheme Nobushiro would manage to rope him into.
She would rather not assume his growing fondness for Mameha.
Kuja's grin broadened at Koumei's remark, but he stayed silent. She herself just nodded, before turning to watch Mameha practice shooting targets. Sayu could tell: Kuja was slightly pleased at Koumei's sentiments, which were at least an honest declaration of not wanting to disappoint her sister.
They stayed quiet as they watched Mameha knock another arrow into place and she pulled her arm back; the longbow was thin but masterfully crafted, and it snapped as it unbent a second later, and the arrow was flying.
Minutes passed as arrow after arrow whistled through the wind and hit their targets; it was relatively silent in their pavilion, even with Mameha's entourage excitedly murmuring to themselves at her sister's performance.
After a while and when her quiver was spent, her younger sister turned back to look in their direction, beaming in a half-nervous, half-proud fashion.
"Koumei!" Mameha called over with a wave, setting her longbow down on the ground with her other hand.
The redhead in question hurriedly put down the cup of tea he'd been about to drink, shedding his purple outer robe and handing it to one of his attendants. He stood as he looked at her and Kuja with his customary sheepish smile. "Excuse me, I promised to shoot a few targets as well today."
Sayu exchanged a glance with her best friend, grinning. "Please, don't keep my sister waiting. I think we were just leaving anyway…?" Kuja's brows knitted for a moment, and a beat of silence passed before it was replaced with a grumble from his stomach.
The magister chuckled: "Forgive my stomach's rudeness, but it seems to be agreeing, at the very least. Sayu and I still have to make the trip back to the keep for breakfast." He stood up from the rug and offered a hand to help her, which she took with a nod and a laugh. The two said their goodbyes to Mameha's entourage, before they made it out of the pavilion with Koumei.
They parted ways as Koumei walked off to join her sister, and the pair was left to observe them from afar. Kuja held her straw hat for her, and although they were beginning their trek uphill to the main keep, they both couldn't make their eyes stray from the archery field.
They watched as Mameha and Koumei's figures receded further into the distance.
"An odd couple," Her dark-haired friend commented absently.
Sayu's lips quirked at that. "As I recall, people were saying the same thing when it was my betrothal about to be announced." She lifted an amused brow at Kuja. "Perhaps you're just running out of cryptic things to say."
The Ariavatan Prince barked a laugh. "I'm a magister, Sayu, and knowledgeable as you are with us, you ought to know more than anyone else that I will never run out of cryptic things to say."
She pretended to think about his rejoinder. "Hm. True enough I suppose, but that doesn't mean you get away with it."
This time he looked at her with his own raised brow. "I try to be less obtuse with you, you know. And you've got the brains for the riddles, at least."
She shrugged playfully at that, dimly acknowledging the tacit compliment in his words.
The sudden arrival of Ariavat's Crown Prince came as no great surprise to Kouen; he had anticipated the remote possibility of some courtier or another arriving from Jishou's closest ally in the Triangle, but he hadn't truly expected the Ariavatan court—unfamiliar as he was with it—to send someone so…crucial.
Which spoke volumes about the political landscape of Triangle. Though Kou's diplomatic commission (and that included, more recently, Koumei) put together as much information as they could about the Triangle, both Caera and Ariavat were still alien to him, and he relied on secondhand information more than he liked to.
Hence why there was a purpose to everything, and why he was sitting on one of the Jishouan summer palace's highest and most luxurious balconies, a low table already set in front of him.
Across from him, Alihaddra Kujahabar Salman smiled. He drew something out of his robes—Jishouan robes that he wore with ease, Kouen noticed—a small metal canister, which he then placed on the table, along with the rest of the tools he'd already set for Kouen.
"It's a pleasure to have finally met with you," The magister said, with a twinkle in his eye. His many ringed fingers, glinting gold in the sunlight, reached up to tap his chin. "Prince Kouen."
"Likewise." Kouen replied.
"King Mameyoshi was gracious enough to lend me this room for our meeting today, so rest assured that he is fully aware of the pact I'm about to propose," He continued, sitting back and folding his arms. "In fact, this visit was planned entirely beforehand with His Majesty's help, to coincide with your fortuitous visit to the Triangle."
Fortuitous?
Yet he said nothing, sensing that Ali wasn't finished.
"However, for the peace of mind of many officials and magisters that depend on this meeting, I am bringing along one formal witness, who can relay all that is about to occur in exceeding detail. The Magisterium is bound in service to the Triangle, and as such everything discussed here will be passed on to not only the Kingdoms of Jishou and Ariavat, but the Caeran Republic as well."
His eyes darted to the side, where the entrance to the room was. At that moment, the attendants slid open the doors, to reveal none other than his brother Koumei, comfortably conversing with Sayuri Jie.
Her face was curtained by her long silver hair as she spoke to his brother. When she turned her head, she pushed her hair back behind an ear and a mild smile appeared on her lips. As the two of them arrived at the balcony, the princess dipped her head at him.
"Prince Kouen," She glanced at the man sitting across the table. "Kuja."
Wordlessly, Alihaddra gestured to his right hand side, where Sayuri duly sat herself. Koumei came to sit by Kouen's right as well, and as everyone settled the magister's grin trained itself on him once more.
"This is more discreet," Alihaddra continued, pouring a cup of tea for the princess, "and expedient, for both the Triangle and the Magisterium. Sayu is a trusted diplomat, working in Jishou's chancellery." He looked at Kouen sincerely, "I hope this will raise no objections."
"It will not."
And so the meeting went: Alihaddra Salman had unexpectedly paid a visit to his suite of rooms early that afternoon, with a formal request for him and his brother's company in tow. Kouen had been in the middle of looking through reports and archival scrolls Koumei had managed to compile for him; two hours later, here they were.
He and Koumei had surmised the meeting had something to do with Ariavatan affairs, especially since the Crown Prince of Ariavat had arrived in Jishou with a royal retinue, not a magisterial one; yet the moment Ali had mentioned the Magisterium and the doors had slid open to reveal Sayuri, Kouen knew that what they were about to discuss would be something else entirely.
Fleetingly, his eyes glanced at where the First Princess of Jishou sat; she was taking a draught of her tea. Her mere presence right then betrayed just how entangled she was with the Triangle's politics—or just how valued she was by the court, or how valued she was by a certain magister.
A combination of those three perhaps, he reflected. The implication was not unthinkable; it certainly wasn't useless either.
Interesting, if nothing else.
"You've said before, Prince Ali," and here his name rolled off of Kouen's tongue so easily, and the Crown Prince of Kou didn't bother keeping the slight intrigue out of his tone, "that you've come to Jishou first as a magister, second as a prince. Am I to think that the Magisterium will be the subject of this meeting?"
"Right you are, Prince Kouen." It was Sayuri who replied, this time; there was a sharpness in her green eyes that regarded him steadily. The corners of her mouth were lifted in a wisp of a smile.
"The magisters have conferred upon this matter already, and the Triangle has given their whole-hearted support," Alihaddra completed for her. His ringed fingers left his chin for a moment as he inconspicuously flicked his wrist.
A metal cylinder, which had previously sat on Ali's side of the table, seamlessly slid over to where Kouen and Koumei sat. Koumei reached for the cylinder—it was large and fashioned with metal snakes coiling themselves up and down its length—its cap came off, and he proceeded to pull out and read the scroll contained within.
Kouen impassively watched as the magical glimmer dancing across Ali's fingers died down, and his brother's eyes widened while silently reading through the scroll's contents.
"It's an agreement," Alihaddra said, "we formally invite the Kou Empire's top magicians to come and train in the Magisterium."
When silence met his remark, Sayu added: "Jishou is now allying itself to Kou—which shows how much trust the Empire has earned. It sits well with the magisters, frankly."
This was no hastily thought out move—no, this proposal had come through enough deliberation, and had probably already made its rounds in the Triangle. What was more off-putting was the Triangle's "whole-hearted support" for the proposal, and the ease with which both foreign officials were treating the issue.
"The agreement isn't a corollary of Kou and Jishou's alliance," Koumei commented. He looked up from the scroll, "is it?"
"No." Alihaddra grinned. "But the alliance helps a great deal. The Magisterium isn't usually proactive with recruitment, you see. The alliance was enough to influence their decision upon this matter, however."
Up until this moment Kouen had kept himself silent, turning over the proposal in his head and examining it from all angles. "Why the interest in Kou's magicians?" Perhaps there was a hint of suspicion and challenge in his words as he next spoke, eyes narrowed—"I would've thought that the academy was open only to the magicians born in the Triangle."
"Technically," Sayuri looked at him, "The Magisterium is open to everyone. It's just few people outside the Triangle make the journey to Ariavat, and even fewer make it through the desert and reach the academy."
"We're simply formally inviting your best, Prince Kouen." The magister's grin tempered itself into a smile that Kouen took to be gentle, "Although it may not be for all magicians, my organization has always been very eager to teach anyone the way of the rukh, so long as they are willing."
Koumei's brows knitted at this. His younger brother traded looks with him before gazing at the magister once more with a brow lifted, "Forgive us our skepticism, but entrusting our top magicians to a country whose only form of relation with Kou is through Jishou—it is out of the question."
...
...
"Don't send them all at once, then."
Kouen's eyes returned to Sayuri's position, at Ali's side.
"Kou reserves the right to officially send their magicians whenever they want," She ploughed on, "and however they want. They could send three thousand magicians at once or over the span of ten years—"
"—the Magisterium simply wants to make ourselves known to magicians residing in the West." Ali finished. "We want them to know it's an option for them to receive training now, if they feel it. The Kingdom of Ariavat is well-versed with the consequences of regularly accepting such foreigners in their borders; they've already given their blessing, anyhow, and there are separate ports secured by the Magisterium that directly lead to the academy in the desert."
"This access," Kouen drawled, "is not restricted to only magicians, then? Since you expect Kou to send delegates, I'm sure the Emperor would like the safety of his most gifted citizens ensured."
The magister humbly bowed his head, like he'd done during his introduction at last night's banquet. "Of course."
Koumei nodded quickly at him and the princess. "Then it seems there is little else to discuss," His younger brother closed, "the terms are acceptable."
Across the table, Kouen spied Sayuri smiling tiredly at Ali.
Notes:
Because there are far more important things in life than writing fanfiction. But oh, my dear perceptive readers, how I've missed all of you, I'm sorry I have to repay my absence with this boring chapter. I love politicking, I really do. Sorry.
(1) I've read some recent reviews; and agh do I love them, since they seem to be giving the characters I've written some measure of thought. The dead husband is attracting attention. And there's not a lot of love for Mameha, which amuses me, since yeah admittedly I didn't really bother writing too much about her (yet.) Give me one last chance! This arc's about to get spicier.
(2) Vague not-too-important hints everywhere this chap; also since this is a semi-AU featuring a cast of OCs, I hope everyone isn't put off by me trying to properly set things up. Maybe you've intuited it by now, but the Magisterium's important in this fic. To Kouen, at least. Which is why I'm expanding on their lore here lmao...
I'll be responding to all your kind reviews in some hours! Thanks, everyone, that followed and favorite-d this fic. I am truly sorry about this chapter, but I just couldn't get it to work any better, since the next chapter is supposed to be more interesting than this one. I hope you stick around for that chapter - many more intriguing things going on, dancing and drinking, more Sayu/Kouen, as well as the betrothal announcement (finally.)
Thanks again y'all!