~*~
There was a gasp from all three girls when Eiyo came into sight. Being born and raised in the country, they were unaccustomed to big cities. All the sights and sounds were new to them.
Julia, who was sitting directly behind Hotohori on his horse, gave his waist a tight squeeze.
"The city is so big," she told him. "It's almost scary."
"You'd better get used to it," Hotohori replied. "You will be living here until Suzaku is summoned."
"All three of us, or just Julia?" Kinu, who was sitting behind Julia, asked.
"It's your decision," Hotohori said. "You can return home if you want to, but I would be honored if you decided to stay here in the palace."
"The PALACE?!?!?!" all three girls said in shock at the same time. Chika almost fell off the horse.
"Of course," Hotohori said calmly. "That's where all the seishi live."
Hotohori led the horse in through the back gate. Once he was in, he helped the girls off the horse and led the horse to the stables. Julia wondered if Hotohori was a servant of some kind.
The girls were led into the palace by Hotohori. As they were walking through the corridors, Hotohori pointed out all the rooms.
"... and this is the throne room..." Hotohori said, pointing to a door over his left shoulder. "Most people say it's the most beautiful room in the palace. Personally, I hate it."
Chika asked if they could look inside. Hotohori said they could. Kinu then wondered if the emperor would get mad.
"Why?" Hotohori asked. "He's not even in there." The girls looked in, and sure enough, the emperor was nowhere in sight.
Julia wondered out loud where the emperor could be. Didn't he spend most of the day sitting on his throne?
"Sometimes he spends time meeting with his advisors in different rooms," Hotohori explained. "But he's not there, either."
"Where is he?" Kinu asked. "I would very much like to meet him, if that's not too much trouble."
Just at that moment, an old advisor walked through the hall. When he spotted Hotohori, he bowed low to the ground.
"Your Majesty," he said. "I trust you had a safe trip?"
This man is the emperor? Julia thought.
"Yes, thank you," Hotohori replied.
"Did you find Julia?"
"Yes," Julia said, stepping forward and bowing to prove that she was indeed found.
"Wonderful," the old advisor said. "I'm thrilled." Julia found it odd that he should say he was thrilled, when his face had not changed its expression.
Hotohori and his advisor lapsed into conversation over some matter or another. Julia wasn't paying attention. She was still getting over her shock of discovering that Hotohori was the emperor. He didn't seem like the type to her, with his casual manner, his plain clothes, and his cheery smile. It was not what you would expect in a ruler. But what struck Julia as the most interesting was how young he was. She expected seeing a middle-aged man sitting straight and proud on his throne. Not a young man with too many burdens on his shoulders.
He's too handsome for that, she thought. Ah! Why did I just say that?
Eventually, Hotohori and his advisor finished speaking. Hotohori turned to the girls, who all has looks of shock on their faces.
"What, didn't expect me to be the emperor?" he laughed. The girls all shook their heads. "Well, to tell you the truth," he continued. "I personally prefer the life of a commoner. Any excuse to get me off the throne and into the country."
Kinu was about to say something, but was interrupted by the squeals of a brunette rushing towards Hotohori and enveloping him in a tight hug.
"You returned!" she cried. "You brought Julia!"
"Yes, I did," Hotohori replied, smiling down at Miaka. Julia saw a glimmer in Hotohori's eyes that wasn't there before. Seeing it, she smiled as well.
Miaka looked up at the three women standing by Hotohori. She then introduced herself as Miaka Yuki, Suzaku no Miko and offered her hand to shake. The girls, unfamiliar with this introductory custom, had to have it explained to them.
Once they were all aquatinted, Hotohori brought the girls to the garden, where the rest of the seishi were. Miaka went around introducing the girls to all the seishi and their powers.
"...this is Chiriko," she said, introducing the girls to the last seishi. "His seishi power is brains. That kid is super smart. And this is..." Miaka looked around for a second, looked like she was going to say something, but shut her mouth. "I was about to introduce you three to Nuriko," Miaka explained to the girls. "He's been such a part of our lives, and now he's gone." Tears started to glisten in her eyes.
"Now that we have all the seishi," Chiriko piped up. "When will we summon Suzaku?"
There was much debating, but everyone agreed that the summoning should be done as soon as possible, especially since Nakago knew who Julia was now.
At Hotohori's command, preparations were made for the summoning ceremony and wards were put up, not allowing anyone who wasn't a Suzaku seishi to enter.
"I think it's best that you three should rest," Hotohori said, turning to Julia, Chika, and Kinu. "You should gather your strength. We shall perform the summoning first thing tomorrow."
A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter seemed to go nowhere, but I've been suffering from a serious case of writer's block. I also have no idea where this story should go after Miaka summons Suzaku. She goes back to her own world, and I haven't decided what should happen to Julia & co. I also never saw the summoning, so I don't know what happens.