"We have called you here today," the King said, "to discuss the small matter of the succession." Everyone on the Council, King and Queen included, groaned inwardly. This was not going to be pleasant. The King and Queen had two children, the 18-year-old Prince Taichi and the 16-year-old Princess Hikari. The prince and current heir had no diplomatic talent whatsoever, merely average intelligence, and a strong stubborn streak. These traits taken together, although no detraction from the fact that he was an extremely nice human being, would make him a horrid ruler. Princess Hikari, on the other hand, was invariably kind and tactful, and always took care to analyze the situation before rushing in. In short, a perfect Queen. There was just one tiny problem…
"Two years ago, when Taichi was Chosen as a Guardian, we
all hoped that one of two things would happen. One, that the responsibility
of Guardianship would mellow him somewhat, or two, Hikari would be Chosen,
allowing us to confirm her as Heir and bump Taichi down to heir-presumptive.
Neither has happened. Or rather, the first has happened, but he hasn't
mellowed enough. The good news is that he won't drive the country into
ruin in five years; the bad news is that he'll instead wait ten. And
Hikari is now sixteen, and each passing day lessens the probability that
she will be Chosen by a Digipartner, allowing us to install her as Heir.
We are therefore facing a slight crisis. Any ideas?" The Queen's
monologue ended on that questioning note.
"Would it be possible to marry the prince off to some obscure,
faraway kingdom, and therefore get him out of the line of succession?"
queried Sir Ichida, the head of the army.
"I think that that would be a horrible idea," objected
Gennai, the oldest and wisest mage in the land. "First, it would be
a horrid blow to the general morale of the people if we eliminated the Heir,
who after all is a symbol of continuity for the people. And also, it would
mean that if Hikari is not Chosen, then it would hand the kingdom of File
to some foreign country. Bad idea all around. Especially as the Prince just
announced his engagement to Sora Takenouchi."
"What?!" demanded the Queen.
"He announced his engagement to Sora Takenouchi a minute or
so ago. I'm a mage, I can be expected to know these things,"
he said rather snappishly. He didn't like having his wisdom doubted.
"Takenouchi… where have I heard that name before?"
questioned Healer Jim Kido, the head of the Healer's College.
"Takenouchi Family controls the Duchy of Merame Mountain, in
northern File." supplied Sir Ichida. "They're a very small
Family. The Duke died a year after the sole child, the aforementioned Sora,
was born." Sir Ichida took this fact as an almost personal affront,
as it meant there would be no knights for him to order about at Merame Mountain
this generation; Sora Takenouchi had a minor healing Gift, and because of
that was completely averse to becoming a Valknight, or female warrior. "In
this context, I actually think a marriage to Sora is a good idea. She needs
to marry in order to preserve her Family, and if Hikari is Chosen, after
all, the small size of Takenouchi Family would be a good pretext for making
her Heir."
After some discussion it was generally agreed that Sir Ichida had
proposed a good plan. They then discussed the only other piece of Council
business at that time; Sir Ichida believed that his eldest son, Squire Yamato,
was ready for knighting.
A small fireball grew in Prince Taichi's hand and he threw it
at a target. He missed, causing his fiancée to shriek in pain. She
started to yell at him. "I might be a demiHealer, but that doesn't
make me a practice target! Taichi, aim next time!" She continued in
this vein for several minutes while her wound healed. She was a demiHealer,
or one with a healing Gift so small it could not be used consciously. However,
she could unconsciously and automatically Heal herself of any wound she received.
She could also similarly Heal anyone who she had a deep emotional bond with.
The strength of the Healing, of course, depended on the strength of the bond.
The other Guardian-trainees looked on not with concern but with amusement.
The present spectacle was not exactly an uncommon occurrence. Prince Taichi
was something of a klutz and could never aim his fireballs correctly. More
often than not, the errant fireballs would hit the Lady Sora. This was rather
fortunate, as she could recover the quickest; a demiHealer's instinctive
reaction to injury was usually much quicker than the conscious response of
a true Healer.
It was amazing that that the stubborn, "Let's use twice
as much force as necessary to avoid the need to aim" prince had proposed
to the quiet demiHealer who never used more force than was needed. It was
even more surprising that gentle Lady Sora had responded "Yes."
But despite the almost incessant arguing that could be sparked during practice
sessions, it was generally agreed that they would make an excellent
couple—once Taichi learned to aim.
To forestall further argument, a fellow trainee, the orphaned but
brilliant Koushiro, stepped in. He suggested that they step aside to allow
him to do some target practice. They stepped aside rather quickly. In addition
to being a trainee Guardian, Koushiro was also an apprentice mage. Who knew
how many offensive spells he could use? He began to throw purple lightning
at the target. Soon, their trainer Gennai told him that he should stop hogging
the target as he didn't need the practice. He blushed to the roots
of his already red hair and stepped aside. A few people later, Squire Yamato
was throwing balls of blue ice at the target when a messenger arrived from
the palace. He was told to report to his father immediately after finding
his younger brother Takeru, who was not a trainee and therefore could be
anywhere.
"So, sons, I think you're probably wondering why I called
you here." They shook their heads. "Oh! No, I didn't mind
about that. The Queen found it rather creative, in fact." They
sighed their relief. They had expected to be punished for a practical joke
they had played about a week ago. But with punishment out of the way as a
topic, what could their father want them for? "Yamato, you've
been a wonderful squire to me. You've always been helpful and paid
close attention to your training. So close attention, in fact, that it's
time for you to leave me as a squire. I'll miss your constant attention,
but I've been selfish to hold you back as long as you have. Squire
Yamato, on the next full moon you will no longer be a squire. Page Takeru,
on the next full moon you will no longer be a page."
"Father! You can't mean…?" They both gasped
their astonishment.
"Yes. You will undergo the ceremony of knighthood, Yamato, and
you, Takeru, will be bound to him as a squire in that same ceremony. Now,
you must prepare. First step is a full royal audience to confirm your readiness
and willingness to undergo the ceremony."
They got into full formal garb, which, in accordance with centuries
of tradition, was as uncomfortable and awkward as possible. The purpose of
this was, presumably, to speed up court functions, which File's founders
had correctly believed to be necessary but only in moderation. The theory
was that if everyone wanted to get away and change as soon as possible, they
would hurry up in order to leave and get out of these nasty, heavy, hot,
etc., clothes.
Their suits consisted of scratchy shirts, pants that pinched in embarrassing
places, and heavy jackets that would have been sweat-traps even in winter.
As it was full summer, they were absolutely miserable and just wanted to
find a very large block of ice, rather than spend the day in a stuffy throne
room. Apparently the theory worked in practice.
When they got to the throne room, they were amazed. It was a lot less
crowded than it was for most state functions. Instead of the usual gaggle
of any and all nobles that lived within a day's travel, there was just
the immediate royal family. King, Queen, Heir, and… "Who's
that?" whispered Takeru.
"The Princess Hikari, little bro. You don't see much of
her. She might have been Heir, but she's unChosen so she's not.
Too bad. She'd be a wonderful Queen." He didn't say, "Much
better than Taichi." But the Takeru heard that unspoken comment.
"She's so pretty." Yamato smiled at his little
brother indulgently. He was sixteen, but he seemed much younger than that
in so many ways.
They walked together down the carpet that led to the thrones, following
their father. He stopped about a yard before the thrones and stepped aside,
but motioned to them to continue. They stopped a foot in front of the King,
Queen, Prince, and Princess. The King spoke first. "You, Squire Yamato,
have been recommended to us for knighthood. We have a few questions for you
to determine your suitability." Yamato gulped. His dad hadn't
said anything about questioning… Oh well, maybe it was just a formality.
"First," the Queen said, "and foremost, do you think
you are ready to accept the responsibility of knighthood?"
"No, ma'am." He immediately began to berate himself
for that piece of stupidity. He could never become a knight if he didn't
think himself ready. But in his heart he realized that he wasn't ready,
and probably never would be, for that enormous responsibility.
"Good answer," replied the Queen. "If you had said
anything else, we would have questioned you much further. As it is, we have
no further questions. Go to the temple and see the priest. He will instruct
you in what to do during the ceremony.