AU Yeah! August 12: Royalty

Princess Maki finds herself in the garden talking to a fairy, who

warns her her safe years on the Nishikino estates are coming to

an end. She's already mourning her cousin Nico. Life is so unfair!

The royal garden at Nishikino Castle didn't have a clear boundary. Descending south from Yake Mountain, the woods simply became sparser, the clearings larger. Closer to the castle, flowers, then vegetables, and a rice paddy near the large pond, became noticeable. There was no fencing, just ancient carved poles delimiting it, even there. Wildlife was free to roam in the garden, and the vegetables were protected only by netting.

It was High Koushaku Nishikino Maki's favorite place, especially when she was troubled. Of course, there was a music room in the castle, and her parents had even bought a Western musical instrument, a grand piano, in China and had it shipped to the castle at great expense. But she simply wasn't in the mood for that.

While it was as relaxing as ever, especially by the pond, she must still have been distracted. The garden had enormous fairy rings for some reason, particularly in this part of it. However, right now a toad was sitting on one of the toadstools. Worse, it looked like it was winking at the princess.

The distressing news Maki was walking in the garden to calm herself over was that forces connected to Kira Genshin, daimyo of Yuchiekusu, had invaded the Margravate of Yazawa, apparently eliminating the Yazawa family line, including her cousin, Low Koushaku Kotono, mother of Maki's cousin Hakushaku Nico, and that girl and her tiny siblings. Daimyo Kira had at first denied responsibility, but at the same time had claimed that the Yazawa margravate was a disputed territory between Yuchiekusu and the Nishikino kingdom of Otonokizaka.

Maki was well versed on the history of the last two centuries, and such a dispute had never come up in her studies. Then again, Genshin claimed every region he wanted in Otonokizaka, regardless of the history. Poor Nico's father had been assassinated by Genshin's agents when she was much younger, so it was perhaps expected that he'd finished the job eventually.

Maki had never met her cousin, who was of a similar age, but Nico's cheery letters to Maki had touched her heart every time she got one, and Maki, not normally friendly or communicative, had faithfully replied to all of them. Her grief surprised her; she was a highly stoic princess in general.

Unfortunately, Otonokizaka was in no position to attack Yuchiekusu, so for now her father the daimyo was simply gearing up for war and had sent the Yuchiekusu away. Which was a relief for Maki. Despite his perfidy, Daimyo Kira had had the effrontery to continue pressuring Otonokizaka to force the princess to accept a wedding contract with his son, Gen. Who was a chip off of Genshin's block, minus the intelligence.

But all had not gone Kira's way. In fact, the population had destroyed everything it could and taken to the woods which covered nearly all of the margravate. The Yazawas and Nishikinos had both been beloved in the margravate, and the little contessa Nico in particular. The population was carrying out a campaign against Kira's allies, using bandit tactics, and it had been so effective the daimyo had been forced to commit his regular forces to pacifying the region. Daimyo Nishikino had used his own allies to reinforce the bandit raids, so the entire region was still boiling over. The forces of the "child-killing tyrant" were so terrorized it had drained Kira's forces, bought Otonokizaka several months time to prepare, and sent Yuchiekusu a strong message.

Hated as he was by all the neighboring kingdoms, Kira couldn't commit fully to an invasion of Otonokizaka. He'd clearly hoped to weaken the kingdom by an easy takeover of the Yazawa region, and failed. The Marquess and her children were being well avenged. Not that that made their fate any less sad. And now, Maki was seeing things.

"Well met, Princess!" And now she was hearing things. The toad changed to a tiny female, still crouching on the toadstool the way the toad had been. "You are neither dreaming nor mad, child."

Maki decided that, even if she was dreaming, it didn't hurt anything to be polite to what was clearly a yousei. Offending one was said to bring the worst possible luck. So, just in case, she politely asked, "What do you wish from me, fairy?"

"As the last of your line, as has been the tradition of your family for generations, I, Rilu, stood as godmother to you, child. As such, you are granted a wish as you come of age. It can be nearly anything, and if it is beyond my power I will tell you, never fear."

Maki's thoughts went back to her cousin. In one of her letters she had declared that a fairy had talked to her and granted her a wish. Nico was very theatrical and imaginative, so Maki had ignored that as a charming fantasy. But now …

"O Yousei Rilu! I have no wish to offend you, But did my cousin Nico have such a wish? She so claimed to me once. I am puzzled, since her brother Cotarou was the heir, and none of them were the last of the line. Moreover, with such a wish at hand, why was their family unable to save themselves?"

"As for that, princess, the wishes of others are not your affair, nor do we fairies discuss them. But I may say this much: you could ask your parents, but the truth is Kotono decided Nico was her heir, and your family agreed. The times were too uncertain to wait for the youngest child to be the heir, only because he was the only male."

"Ah," Maki said. So, presumably, Nico had had an actual fairy wish. Well, considering what little she knew about her, it was still likely she'd immediately used it to make herself more popular or better at music or the arts, with which she'd been obsessed. It would be unfair to chide the fairies for that.

With that in mind, she asked the fairy if she could hold the wish against future need. The fairy told her that that showed precocious wisdom indeed. "As expected of Maki-hime."

If Nico had been the darling of the Yazawa margravate, even performing for the populace on festival occasions, Maki was just as much so for the kingdom of Otonokizaka. A beloved figure, and a symbol of what made the Nishikinos respected. As such, her parents decided to send her away from Nishikino Castle to stay with relatives near the Yazawa margravate. Or ostensibly to do so.

In reality, they planned to spirit Maki away before she arrived there, and have a servant impersonate her. Their real plan was to trap most of Kira's forces in the region, either en route or besieging the relatives. As it worked out, they succeeded so well that Maki's entourage was never seriously threatened, so Kira was led to believe that she was holed up in a more vulnerable location that he could attack later. So great were his losses when Maki was en route that he had to have his own and his allied forces withdraw from the Yazawa region and regroup, in a haphazard fashion, across the border in Yuchiekusu.

In the general confusion, they didn't notice every retainer and servant that came back with them.

All of the children of Hakushaku Kazuno adored their new tutor, Toriifure Kuro. She claimed to be the daughter of a displaced donshaku, separated from her family by the fortunes of war. Some of the recent conflicts with various kingdoms including Otonokizaka had spilled back over the border into Yuchiekusu, so it wasn't an uncommon situation for minor nobility to find itself in. Nor to have a baroness as a governess. The count was old-fashioned and had several wives. All of them appreciated Toriifure's modesty and grace — she was an excellent role model and a credit to her upbringing. She was brilliant on koto or shakuhachi, and even an expert pianist. Extremely quiet, she nonetheless had a tender heart for children. They were the only thing that ever made her smile, and misfortune happening to children the only thing that would move her to tears.

She normally retired early, and this night was no exception. Her normal routine at the start of a week was to open the bottom of her trunk and take out one of the potions that kept her eyes colored brown, then to make sure that hair was still black from tip to root, touching it up with a little bottle of dye, also from below the apparent bottom. She didn't have to think about her routine, which was a good thing.

Today, with the children, she'd seen a performance that her trained eyes and ears recognized as being somewhat subversive. A very unusual thing to happen here in Yuchiekusu, especially so near the ongoing Yazawa debacle.

The wandering players said they went from kingdom to kingdom, so perhaps what seemed like pointed references to the Kira daimyo and his rule were passed off as undirected mockery of royalty, typical for comic actors and troubadours. Their leader was a young woman a little younger than Toriifure, very charismatic. Guuzouane was her name — it was pretentious but somehow cute.

Toriifure's number one goal was to avoid the public eye, so when the girl seemed to focus on her, she left her expression completely blank. She even avoided her usual nervous gesture of twirling a lock of her hair. It had taken an effort to cure herself of the habit, and she was pleased to see she could still avoid it even when a performer — an intimidatingly cute one at that — was making her nervous.

In fact, out of self-preservation, the next day she had to herself, Toriifure decided to investigate the troupe. Fortunately for her, she ran into one of the younger members, himself wandering around taking in the market. She complimented their troupe on behalf of her charges, which made him blush and smile. When she innocently inquired where they'd come from, and where they would go after leaving the town they were in now, he told her in detail. It was as far as Toriifure wanted to go — after all, asking specific questions about Guuzouane would probably alarm him and draw attention to her.

Nonetheless. Somehow, the simple information made Toriifure was missing something, she was sure of it. But when she got back to the Kazuno mansion, the place was abuzz with news that drove such thoughts out of her head.

Daimyo Kira's heir had met with representatives of adjoining kingdoms to justify their aggression against Otonokizaka and the Yazawa line. In order to subvert the popularity of the Nishikino heir, he had claimed she, herself, was angling to bring an end to their line in any event, leaving the kingdom in chaos, inviting foreign invasion. Not only, he pointed out, had she refused honorable offers to marry into the superior Kira dynasty, but she had entertained no offers from any other kingdom. That much, the other kingdoms' representatives were aware of. They had assumed the Nishikinos were being prudent in not committing their sole heir too early.

Not so, Gin claimed. In fact, the Nishikino heir was unnatural and unlikely to ever provide an heir. Kira family spies had observed her on more than one occasion behaving like a lover with two of the family retainers, Rin, Shishoku of Hoshizora, and Hanayo, Shishoku of Koizumi. They had been known, themselves, to be unnaturally paired, he said, and the princess was of the same kind. If they wanted to save Otonokizaka or the Nishikino line, they'd all be supporting the Kiras, not questioning them. It hadn't been that simple, of course, given how unpopular the Kiras were. But he had nonetheless sown the seeds of doubt about the Nishikino heir, from what the Kazuno family was saying. The two oldest, Sara and Leah, were very upset, as they were both "fans" of the princess and saw Gen as a legendary villain threatening her. But since they were in his kingdom, they couldn't say so, outright. As for Toriifure, she kept her expression entirely blank, and simply changed the subject. She said she was unusually tired, and retired earlier.

She wondered if fairy wishes could be used for something as dark as a painful, lingering death for an evil suitor. She really didn't think it was likely.

The next morning brought news that was more welcome for Toriifure. It seemed Yuchiekusu had its own "princess problems." Not only had Low Koushakus Anju of Yuuki and Erena of Todo gone into hiding rather than face his marriage plans for them, but his own daughter, High Koushaku Tsubasa was missing. Of course, Daimyo Genshin claimed that the Nishikinos had done something to the girls, but no one really believed him, even in his own realm. Still, when noble girls had gone into hiding in conquered regions between Yuchiekusu and Otonokizaka, which the Minami, Sonoda, Kousaka, Toudou, Ayase, Hoshizora and Koizumi daughters had done, they were declared dead by Genshin and their estates forfeited. It was harder to do that to Yuchiekusu's nobility without facing an internal revolt. Indeed, Tsubasa's disappearance with her high-born friends was already endangering him so much that Daimyo Genshin had withdrawn his troops from their foreign mischief to make sure he could keep order. And rumors had it that he was struggling, even there.

Something stirred Toriifure's memory: the last time the wandering players had come through their area, the size of the troupe had more than doubled. They now named themselves, occasion to occasion, with "Ame-No-Uzume" or alternately "Muse." The rumors were that they lived and practiced near the hot springs at Takarazuka, but no one knew for sure. All of the new arrivals were women of the same rough age — the boy she'd talked with about the troupe leader remained the only male associated with the group. And one of the new members, "Pan," had suggested that all the members should take turns being the center of a given performance, which had served to make them more popular. Wherever they went, after all, different elements in their audience had different favorites and they enjoyed seeing them have their moment in the sun. Something about the new members was triggering a memory, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

The content was another issue. One of their ballad skits had, in fact, involved a wicked tyrant of a daimyo whose daughter fled him with her two best friends to form a ginyuushijin group. And they had watched that … before Tsubasa's disappearance. It was a miracle Genshin's spies had not already captured and tortured them.

Princesses and contessas and barons becoming ginyuushijin … seven new members of "Muse." She wouldn't be able to bring Sara and Leah to the troupe, she decided. What was the phrase her cousin had used signing off her letters? Well, she didn't need to remember the whole thing.

When she arrived at the inn where the players were, she spotted Guuzouane right away. She made a point of cheering and clapping whenever she saw her, and making eye contact. Her manner of dress suggested she was a spinster governess of some sort, so having a passion for one of the performers wouldn't be unusual at all. Guuz-nee played to her, winking and hamming it up. Torii sent her a bottle of plum wine, a bouquet of lilies, a bag of coins, and a note.

. . .

Guuzouane was looking forward to meeting up with her fan, who was quite attractive, if a bit severe. "What sort of love note will the number one ginyuushijin in all of Japan get this time?" she cooed to herself. Then she dropped the note from her suddenly shaking fingers, but not before reading it, as it couldn't have been shorter or more to the point:

"Nico-nico-nii!"

Later, after the Yuchiekusu kingdom had tossed its daimyo and his son into the deepest, darkest and slimiest dungeon in the realm, Maki could see how Muse and "Arise" — the ginyuushijin troupe created by Kira Tsubasa, currently the daimyo of Yuchiekusu - had traveled all over the region around Yuchiekusu spreading dissent and rallying people against Genshin. Indeed, after Maki joined, Muse had gone "on holiday" to remote Uranohoshi in Shizuoka and created a troupe of noble children led by High Koushaku Mari of the Ohara family "for future generations of girls to learn initiative," as Nico said, winking. They were in correspondence with her former students Sara and Leah, who were training themselves in music and dance, unwilling to be left in the dirt in imitating their beloved Toriifure.

Generating heirs for the Nishikinos and Yazawas had not been an issue, after all.

"I still can't believe you didn't use your wish, Nico!" Maki said to her grinning wife. She was wiping Emma's face, which had rice grains in the corners of her mouth.

"Well, I was saving it. You probably thought I used it as a substitute for facial cream or something, knowing Maki-baka," Nico said, quietly so as not to wake little Shizuku, who had finally fallen asleep in her arms.

Maki blushed and looked guilty briefly, which put a triumphant expression on Nico's face.

"Whatever. If it had come down to life and death," she continued, "not just exile, I would have, of course. It's not like you can do dark things like kill Genshin with a fairy wish."

"Ahem."

They both looked up to see two fairies. They seemed to be amused, which somehow made Nico and Maki blush.

"You've both been assuming that, but we never said so," one said.

"Of course, having a fairy do it with a spell isn't as fun as taking it into your own hands," the other said. "Not that we'd know."

Actually, the second fairy's hands seemed to have what looked to Maki like blood on them. And as a healer, she thought she'd recognize it. Watching where Maki was looking, the fairy swiftly made a gesture and her hands were spotless.

With a popping noise, another fairy appeared. "Yes, you can use our wishes for lots of things girls are too modest to do — look at Tsubasa. Now, there's a girl who knows what she wants. They used Honoka's wish to have twin heirs and Tsubasa's to make her daimyo. Easy as pie."

Maki had wondered about that. "So, that's why Yuchiekusu accepted a woman as daimyo?"

The fairy shrugged. "Well, there was precedent. Ii Naotora comes to mind. And of course Uesugi Kenshin."

"Wait!" Nico exclaimed. "Uesugi Kenshin was a woman? The strongest-ever general and daimyo Uesugi?"

"Baka!" one of the other fairies said. "She had monthly stomach cramps and had to schedule campaigns around them. She died handicapped by cramps. Her cause of death was listed as cancer of the uterus. She was allowed access to the shogun's harem. She was described as feminine and beautiful whenever anyone wrote about her. She never married and had to adopt children. When she died, her family immediately hid her remains. You tell us."

"Does the word Onna-bugeisha mean anything to you two?" Nico's godmother said, irritated.

Maki's fairy, like her, was composed. "Don't get them started if you can avoid it, Maki-hime. Well, we have goals, too. And if you look at the big picture — all the nobility of Otonokizaka and Yuchiekusu will be ruled by girls, married to girls, and passing on their titles to their daughters, conceived by fairy magic. In other words, we win!"

Tsubasa was already negotiating with Maki's bemused father to join his kingdom with Yuchiekusu in a "Yuritopia Alliance." Fortunately, he found the concept of a kingdom full of yuri "stimulating," and her mother said Maki might have a little sister soon. She informed Maki that she'd been an heiress as well, and used her wish in a fit of pique against Maki's father, who'd apparently been a jerk when they were engaged as children, to make sure she would only have daughters. He had shocked her by insisting on marrying anyway.

"But that's not why we're here," Tsubasa's godmother said. The other two nodded. "You have kept up a correspondence with Aqours, and we are pleased."

"But we want you to start training your girls. Singing, dancing …"

"Espionage, hand-to-hand combat …"

"Combat?" Nico murmured. "She's one year old!"

"We fairies have a Dream Project to expand Yuritopia to cover all of Japan."

Oh no, thought Maki. Here we go again. Emma just looked up at her and smiled.

AN:

These are the titles used in this story. I chose to occasionally translate the Yazawa family's titles to match the description of their holdings, which were a central part of the story.

• Local King (Daimyo): Gin, Maki's father.

• Prince/ss, the equivalent of a Duke/Duchess (公爵 kōshaku) High Koushakus: Maki, Tsubasa.

• Marquis/Marquess (侯爵 kōshaku) Low Koushakus: Nico's mother, Kotono, Anju and Erena.

• Count/ess (伯爵 hakushaku) Hakushakus: Nico.

• Viscount/ess (子爵 shishaku) Shishakus: Rin, Hanayo

• Baron/ess (男爵 danshaku) What Maki is pretending to be as Toriifure

Some of the names:

Uchiekkusu: UTX

Toriifure: 鳥居 降れ、meant to evoke "fallen shrine"

Guuzouane: The kanji Nico uses means "Palace gift sister" but the name sounds like "Moth" if you just hear it.