Title: The Powerful New Mage...
Part: 3/?
Pairings: None (probably at the moment)
Genre: AU, Non-yaoi, maybe, I don't know.
Ratings: Up to you.
Author: Mia_Alexia
Email: Angelic_approdite@hotmail.com
Warnings: Actually, none. Though let me warn you, I have a twisted sense of
humour.
Notes^ I said that I wanted to retire, why haven't I?
Disclaimer: All these characters belong to me! I wish... (In case some
people misunderstood the meaning of this message, it literally means that
NONE of these characters belong to me, well with the exception of Midnight
and Soar, they belong to me! No suing should the breed and name coincide
with any character you own).
----
'Wake up Kaede! Wake up! You're the only who can save them,' Soar screeched loudly both in his head and out of it.
'What... yeah, I'm up, I'm up!' Kaede muttered under his breath, trying to stop Soar from giving him a headache.
'Kaede, are you alright?' Yosuke asked, peering into Kaede's eyes and checking to see if they were unfocused.
'Yes, I'm fine. What happened? How long have I been out?' Kaede asked, still uncertain about what had happened.
'Two days, one of the soldiers, probably a weaker mage threw a pre-cast spell at you, but Sendoh and Midnight saw it coming and threw themselves in front of it. Though Midnight got in front of you first, Sendoh covered both you and Midnight and took the brunt of it. You got hit with the spell as well, though not so potent as at the time it hit Sendoh, all of you were unprepared to put up a magical barrier so it got all of you,' Yosuke said, glancing over to the two limp bodies beside Kaede's.
'Have you tried to revive them?' Kaede asked, getting up slowly, groaning as he stretched sore muscles.
'Yes, but every time we try to, we encounter a barrier of some sort, all the herbs for healing are pointless,' Yosuke said as he gently stroked Sendoh's forehead.
'Soar, what sort of magic was used?' Kaede questioned, immediately taking control of the situation.
'Nature, but it is unlikely that it was pre-cast by the soldier mage, he probably acted as the activator of the spell,' Soar said, shifting from one claw to the other.
'I see; could you two please leave this room as I revive them? And prepare a feast, they are going to be ravenous,' Kaede asked, shifting his attention to the injured pair lying before him.
Sitting in-between the two, Kaede raised each of his hands above their heads. His palm held a soft glow before becoming brighter. Kaede closed his eyes and began chanting the healing spell; Kaede felt the magic of the soldier's spell being removed but felt some resistance from Sendoh. After a while, Kaede felt Midnight began to stir, opening his eyes a crack, Kaede saw Midnight open his eyes and blink several times before he telepath Kaede.
'Hello, how long have I been out?' Midnight asked, his mental voice still a little slurred.
'Two days, would have been out longer if it weren't for me,' Kaede said, smiling slightly and closed his eyes again.
'Do you know what sort of spell was used? I was floating endlessly, nothing to grab on to and then you arrived, thank you,' Midnight said, stretching slightly, feeling his muscles scream in protest.
'Nature, now will you stay still?' Kaede asked as he concentrated on purging the last of the poisonous magic.
'Kaede, stop. You know you'll just drain yourself out. And you obviously know that I am fine, will you stop healing me before you lose it?' Midnight said as he got to his feet.
'Oh fine, there's a feast downstairs awaiting you, enjoy,' Kaede said, the glow from his palm vanishing. Without opening his eyes or removing his palm from Sendoh's head, Kaede turned his body towards Sendoh, placed his other palm over Sendoh and concentrated on healing him thoroughly.
After a moment, Sendoh groaned, opening his eyes, he encountered a bright light.
'Am I in heaven?' Sendoh murmured, lifting his hand slightly and letting it fall back to the ground.
'No, you are still on Earth and in your bed no doubt,' Kaede said, without opening his eyes, his concentration still centred on healing.
'Oh... the last thing I remember was that I saw one of the soldiers throw something at you, I dove to block it and the next thing I know, I was in floating in oblivion,' Sendoh muttered, wincing as he tried to move his entire body.
'Stay still!' Kaede commanded, perspiration breaking on his forehead as he fought for concentration.
'Sorry, but Kaede, I think you should stop right now, you look like you are just about to collapse yourself,' Sendoh said, feeling invigorated with new energy.
Finally, Kaede conceded defeat and stopped, the glow beneath his hands had already dimmed as he worked on Sendoh, now, the glow was just nothing but a small glimmer that disappeared very quickly.
'Thank you very much, I appreciate you healing me,' Sendoh said as he got to his feet.
'The spell that was used was nature, it was meant to keep the person it was cast on floating in oblivion forever, only the most powerful wizard could remove such a spell because it could very well kill the victim altogether, so I should be thanking you for taking the blow for me,' Kaede replied, eyes closed; unmoving as he sat and collected himself, now drained of his energy.
'Are you alright?' Sendoh asked, noticing that Kaede had not made any movement even as he responded.
'Shall we go down? Your father would be very worried by now and they have prepared a feast,' Kaede murmured as he struggled to get up and eventually succeeded.
'Yes, now that you mentioned it, I am starving!' Sendoh replied enthusiastically, his usual grin back in place.
'Lets go then,' Kaede said tiredly,' edging towards the door very slowly.
'Ahem!' Kaede cleared his throat as they appeared from the corridor.
'Kaede!' Yosuke exclaimed as he turned around, stopping immediately as he absorbed the sight of a very weary, pale and depleted boy instead of the proud regal stranger he had come to know.
'Yosuke, have you prepared the feast?' Kaede asked wearily, dragging up a slight smile for the benefit of the old man, Midnight and Soar.
'I... yes, it is ready, why don't you have a seat?' Yosuke asked, unsure of how he should act now that Kaede had disclosed that he was the King.
'Yes, but first... Sendoh, could you do me a favour?' Kaede asked, swaying slightly.
'Yes? Anything, just name it,' Sendoh said readily.
'Catch me...' was all that passed Kaede's lips as he closed his eyes and fainted and fell into a deep slumber. Sendoh immediately put Kaede's words into action as Kaede swayed and pitched forward. Sendoh grabbed Kaede's shirt and pulled him backwards, Kaede's limp body crashing instantly into Sendoh's lean torso. Stumbling at the sudden unbalance of the additional weight, Sendoh fell and landed on the wooden floor, Kaede, unsupported, fell heavily on top of him.
'Sendoh! Kaede! Are you alright?' Yosuke let out immediately as he saw them both fall backwards.
'Yes father, I am all right except for having the wind knocked out of me. Kaede is well... he's asleep,' Sendoh replied once he got his lungs to work again. Peering down at Kaede whose face was snugly placed on his chest, he found that Kaede looked much younger in his sleep and more adorable.
'Sendoh, why don't you carry Kaede to his room? I shall come along shortly with a bowl of water and a towel,' Yosuke said as he moved towards the kitchen.
***
'Why is Kaede in this state?' Sendoh asked, looking at both the animals while waiting for his father to come.
'Kaede is... how you would say, he does not like to keep debts,' Soar replied, looking, if a hawk could, tenderly towards him.
'He is in this state because he hates debts?' Sendoh asked, waiting for the animals to elaborate.
'Well, he drained his life force and gave it to you because he felt that he should help you. It was also the fact that you had saved his life earlier...' Midnight said, standing up and going over to Kaede's bedside.
'Oh... so are you saying that I shouldn't have saved his life?' Sendoh asked, not liking the idea about Kaede's view on debts at all.
'If you didn't, you wouldn't have a King after this,' Soar said, appearing to have gone to sleep to avoid being questioned further.
***
Kaede woke up to sunshine and to the fact that he sensed a presence in his room.
'Good morning Kaede, I hope you have had a good rest?' Yosuke asked, bringing in a breakfast tray.
'Quite fine thank you, how is Sendoh?' Kaede questioned, sitting up in bed as Yosuke put the tray across his lap.
'Sendoh is fine, I thank you for saving his life, his...' Yosuke said, breaking of after a while, realising he was about to reveal more than necessary.
'Yosuke, Sendoh, he... he isn't your son, is he?' Kaede asked, glancing at the old man to catch a glimpse of his reaction.
'How... how did you know? I have never told anybody about this,' Yosuke stammered out, shocked that Kaede knew the truth he had sworn to hide.
'I suspected it, Sendoh does not have an occupational sign and I encountered some magical resistance when I was healing him,' Kaede replied, staring at Yosuke as he gestured to the old man to sit in the only available chair.
'I never knew you could tell so much from just that,' Yosuke replied, sighing as he sank into the comforting support of the chair.
'So, who is he and what happened to his parents?' Kaede asked, digging into his breakfast, knowing that Sendoh was outside.
'His father was Reyes and I'm sure you know all about him, he was your father's best friend ever since childhood and he excelled in everything he did, the King made him his top minister. Then, the other ministers got jealous because of the King's favouritism towards his best friend. Reyes' most pre-dominant ability was to tell the future, he helped the King win many battles and he also knew that he was going to die. The other ministers plotted his death, they sent a group of mages to kill him and he knew but he was not strong enough,' Yosuke said, sighing deeply as he remembered the old days.
'What about his mother? What became of her? And why is Akira here in this town?' Kaede questioned, finishing his breakfast and setting his tray aside.
'His mother was Princess Hairra, your aunt. She was attracted to Reyes and fell in love with him. Your father saw it as a good match between them. When they married, it just sealed his fate further and the determination of the ministers to get rid of him increased. Hairra had already been married to him for a year then, she was already expecting by then but it did not show and Reyes persuaded her to leave the palace before he died and she came to the village after his death, I was assigned to her by Reyes himself before he died. She was hit hard when he died, she mourned his death everyday, by the time she came to realise the miracle that was left of Reyes, she had lived only about three years when pneumonia took her away. Grief made her extremely weak and vulnerable,' Yosuke ended with a vague smile and a sigh as if he had gotten rid of a load that was on his shoulders.
'So, you vowed to look after Sendoh as your own and keep his parentage a secret?' Kaede asked incredulously. 'Well yes, Princess Hairra pleaded with me to look after him and give him all the love that Reyes and herself could not give him. Sendoh was only three at that time and he did not even know that he had lost his mother, I just told him that she went away,' Yosuke replied, looking older than his forty years.
'Did it never occur to you that someone might find out about him one of these days?' Kaede asked, strongly wanting to probe this man's mind but wanted the information on free will.
'Reyes did mention something like that, he told me to look after Hairra and Sendoh after his death and to tell Sendoh of his heritage when he neared his eighteenth birthday that was provided if someone did not come to realise Sendoh's heritage by the time he reached eighteen,' Yosuke remised, looking at Kaede.
'So are you saying that Sendoh knows none of this at this point of time?' Kaede asked, knowing full well that Sendoh had already acquired knowledge of everything.
'Um... yes, I have hinted to him once or twice that he was not meant to be an innkeeper nor was he my son, I don't know how to tell him otherwise, I love him as my own even though I am forever in debt to Reyes and Hairra for providing me with the son that I would never have,' Yosuke said, tearing.
'Sendoh, would you care to come in now?' Kaede asked, seeing a very panic- stricken Yosuke.
Sendoh opened the door cautiously, peering in to see a grim faced Kaede and a panicky Yosuke.
'Se... Sendoh!' Yosuke gasped as he watched the boy push open the door.
'Fa... Yosuke!' Sendoh choked out as he saw fear war with apprehension in the old man's eyes, as he reached the old man's side, he bent down and gathered the old man up in his arms, comforting him, telling him that he had not a made any mistake in revealing everything to Kaede.
'Sendoh, I'm so sorry, I knew I should have told you but I made promises to your father and mother,' Yosuke murmured as he embraced Sendoh.
'I know, I am very glad you did confess everything, I am only sorry that they burdened you with me and that you could not get a life of your own,' Sendoh said as he stepped back from Yosuke.
'Sendoh, you have never been a burden to me, I have watched you grow up from when you were an infant, I have seen and know all your joys and sorrows and you have let me be all I wanted by seeing me as your father,' Yosuke said, smiling gladly. 'Thank you, I love you too and thank you for looking after me,' Sendoh said, giving Yosuke last hug and turning to Kaede.
'So, now that I know that I am Princess Hairra and Minister Reyes' son, so what am I to you?' Sendoh asked, looking both at Kaede and Yosuke.
'That means you are a Prince and of course, my cousin since your mother is my aunt and I am your King,' Kaede replied, looking at Sendoh and studying him carefully.
'So, how is it that I don't have that crown thingy above my head?' Sendoh asked, pointing to the space where the supposed crown was supposed to be.
'Well, that is because nobody of a royalty has acknowledged you, I believe that Hairra was very grief-stricken and did not acknowledge Sendoh as royalty?' Kaede asked, quirking his right brow in question and seeing Yosuke give his confirmation.
'So, now what am I suppose to do? I have nothing indicating anything,' Sendoh exclaimed, flinging up his hands in surrender.
'Well... I could do it for you, that is if you want to,' Kaede said, his eyes searching for consent.
'Of course I want to, but how?' Sendoh asked, startled that it was all so easy.
'You get down on one knee and swear allegiance to me and then I will say a few lines and you will get your crown, I promise,' Kaede replied, shrugging slightly.
'Ok... what do I say? I mean is there a set line or is it something I make up?' Sendoh asked, thinking of some almost immediately.
'I guess it is something that you come up with, you know, I am after all new to this, I have never done this before,' Kaede said, looking intently at Sendoh.
'So, here I go. I, Akira Sendoh, swear total allegiance to you, Kaede Rukawa, my cousin and my King,' Sendoh said as he knelt and said the words as if they were put there into his head.
'I, Kaede Rukawa, present King of Kanagawa accept your pledge of allegiance, I hereby give you your crown and your position as my closest trustee and minister of the court once we arrive at the palace. You will claim your rightful place as a Prince and my cousin. Rise Prince Akira Sendoh,' Kaede's voice boomed, as if magnified ten folds.
Immediately as Kaede finished speaking, he raised his hand above Sendoh's head and his palm glowed a brilliant light. The space above Sendoh's head glowed with the same brilliance. Suddenly, a crown spun out of thin air and appeared on Sendoh's head. At the same time, the room was basked in a glow and an archway appeared in one of the wooden wall and four figures came through. The first pair, which walked through both, had pale features, marine eyes and splendidly sculpted crowns rested on their raven heads. The second pair came through and the woman had raven hair and green eyes and the man had brown hair and blue eyes, the crowns that rested on their heads were splendid in their simplicity.
'Mother, Father, Princess Hairra and Minister Reyes,' Kaede said as acknowledged them with a nod of his head as he strode towards his parents and were enveloped in their embrace.
'Princess Hairra! Reyes!' Yosuke exclaimed from where he had watched silently the whole crowning process.
'Mother? Father?' Sendoh asked as he gazed into their faces trying to memorize their every feature.
'Sendoh!' Hairra exclaimed as she laid eyes on her beloved son, she rushed from her husband's arms to hug her son.
'Sendoh,' Reyes acknowledged in his deeply resonant voice, as he strode over in his wife's wake.
'Mother! Father! I never knew you yet I miss you so much!' Sendoh exclaimed, tightening his hold on his mother and including his father in the embrace.
'We know Sendoh, we did watch you grow up from above and I must say, Yosuke definitely did a great job raising you,' Reyes said as he pulled back and walked over to Yosuke to embrace his good friend.
'I am sorry Yosuke for burdening you with the responsibility of raising Sendoh even though you were so young,' Hairra said as she smiled a beautiful smile at Yosuke for all his help.
'No my lady, Sendoh was no burden at all, I treasure his presence in my life as a gift from you and Reyes,' Yosuke said, bowing lowly despite his old age.
'Yosuke, thank you for your years of service, but we have agreed that it is time that you enjoy your retirement and let Kaede lead Sendoh into a whole new life that is more suited for him,' Reyes said, gesturing towards the trio in the corner quietly conversing.
'As you wish Reyes, I would love to see Sendoh thrive in his rightful environment, he has always been mocked by the children here for being an outcast because he did not have true sight and no occupational sign,' Yosuke said, bowing deeply once again.
'Come here Sendoh, your mother and I have a gift for you,' Reyes said, holding out his tightly clasped fist.
'What is it, father?' Sendoh asked as he approached.
'This is for you to focus your magic on, it was mine and your mother and I have added several things onto the current spells and charms that it already contains,' Reyes said as he open his fist and revealed a beautiful dark emerald encased in silver; that if you stared hard enough, you could see a small green flame dance in the jewel.
'Thank you father and mother, I love you so much,' Sendoh replied as he rushed forward to embrace his parents.
***
'Mother, Father, it is so good to see you again, I have missed you so much!' Kaede said as he embraced his parents.
'Kaede, we are so proud of you, you mastered your magic so fast, you managed the better part of your telekinesis with only three weeks of training and defeated an army of soldiers,' Minaru said, pressing a wobbly kiss to her son's cheek as she tried to prevent herself from crying.
'Kaede, we want you to have this; it is something like Sendoh's only that it is a sapphire. I created it before my death. I put most of my magic into it, of course it is definitely more powerful than Sendoh's but each has it own brand of magic in it. I want you to have it, to protect you from dreadful spells like that particularly nasty one that was hurled at you just several days ago,' Minamio said, giving Kaede a knowing look as he slipped the amulet which was set in a cradle of silver glowed a brilliant shade of navy blue over Kaede's neck.
'Oh and Kaede, I know you don't like debts but could you find some other way to repay them instead of draining your life force?' Minaru asked with a wry smile.
'Oh but mother, Sendoh was on the brink of death and I knew that I just had to bring him back and restore him back to normal. But if you wish mother,' Kaede replied beseechingly.
'We understand, but we don't want you die just for repaying a debt,' Minamio replied, looking Kaede straight in the eye with the same soul searing gaze.
'Yes father, I will try. Anyway, Midnight and Soar are always around to remind me,' Kaede said, his face and tone softening with fondness at the mention of the two animals names.
***
'Kaede, could please come here?' Reyes asked as he interrupted the trio's conversation.
Kaede looked up and nodded his acknowledgement of the request before turning back to say something to his parents and altogether they came forth as a family.
'Yes, what is it?' Kaede asked as he came to a halt in front of Reyes.
'I would like to hand you and Sendoh something that would prove that you are the King and the Prince of Kanagawa, the guards are of royal birth so they obviously cannot see the crowns and these days, craftsmen are producing counterfeits and they can no longer verify its authenticity. So here,' Reyes said as he held out both his hands. He opened his fists and revealed two gold signet rings, one had an emerald and the other a sapphire, both bearing the imperial symbol and also and inscription on both their initials, a 'K' and an 'S' respectively.
'These still don't prove their authenticity; I mean anyone could forge these rings!' Kaede said as he picked up the sapphire signet ring held out to him.
'No, these cannot be forged because they each have an individual spell, each spell cast will proclaim their ranks and also it is records who enters or exits the palace. They have a slot in which they put the rings in and the spells verify who you are and so they cannot forge a ring and enter the palace without the spell and there is a similarity in the spells cast; a signature left by the wizard or witch who cast it so no one can enter the palace with a forged ring and spell. So that is why they no longer have any security for the castle on the outside because they have no need for it as their security plan is fool-proof,' Reyes said as he watched both boys slipped on the rings.
'Mother, I have to ask you something, I have the ring to cloak my crown, but Sendoh doesn't have anything to cloak his crown with, now that I have given him his crown,' Kaede said as he gestured to the space above Sendoh's head.
'Here is the spell for you to cloak your sign, your actual crown can go into Kaede's box as no one else can open it except him since he cast that spell on it,' Minaru said to Sendoh as she handed a piece of paper to Kaede.
'Thank you, your majesty,' Sendoh replied gratefully as Kaede accepted the piece of paper.
'No Sendoh, called me Aunt Min,' Minaru said softly.
'Now we must leave, they are summoning us, we have given you all the advice we can give for this moment but should you need us, all you have to do is look in the amulets and call for us,' Minamio said, glancing around him as if he saw other beings.
'Thank you father, mother, Princess Hairra and Minister Reyes, your advice is of the utmost value to us in our journey to claim our rightful place in the palace,' Kaede said as Sendoh, Yosuke, Midnight, Soar and himself bowed as the royal couples exited the room through the archway that they had entered the room through.
The glow that basked the room quickly vanished as if it had never been there before. Thick silence hung in the air, thick enough to be sliced with a knife. Kaede turned around and faced Sendoh, Yosuke, Midnight and Soar.
'Tomorrow we set off, prepare enough food and water for a weeks trip to the next town. We have to leave soon, my crown will reveal itself soon enough and so we have to hurry. I have three more weeks to get into the palace,' Kaede said determinedly.
'Yosuke, father... I have to leave you now, please promise to take care of yourself because I will be back for you,' Sendoh said, holding the old man gently by his shoulders.
'Go Sendoh, I know you will be back for me. But go now, I will always be here. Now, lets go and pack, you don't have much time,' Yosuke said, wiping several stray tears from his eyes.
***
The next day, they all woke up to a bright and chilly morning. They packed the last of the supplies that they needed and got on some thick clothes for the chilly weather as winter approached, Kaede cast the spell needed to cloak Sendoh's crown and stored Sendoh's actual crown together with his in the box.
'Thank you, Yosuke, should you need help against the soldiers, should they come after you, just call to the forest animals for help, I have gone to seek their help for you and they will respond to your call of help,' Kaede said, shaking Yosuke's hand as they were about to depart.
Thank you Kaede, you are just too kind,' Yosuke said as he bowed slightly in acknowledgement of Kaede's new position as the new King of Kanagawa.
'Goodbye father, I shall be back for you, I promise,' Sendoh said as they began to walk away from the inn.
'I know, you learn your craft well, make me proud and your parents too!' Yosuke said as he waved goodbye, knowing it would be another month before he would see Sendoh.
As they ventured further from the inn, Sendoh began to look over his shoulder wistfully; he huddled into his thick layers of clothes further.
'Don't look so glum, we are royalty, we should not wear our expressions on our face,' Kaede chided teasingly.
'Easy for you to say, you were breed for this life, I wasn't. I did not even know that I was adopted,' Sendoh said, tears welling up in his eyes.
'Well, you may think I was, but I wasn't breed for this either, I used to live in a hut in a village similar to this, all of this came to me in a rush, in fact, I had to learn everything without a guiding hand except for those two,' Kaede said as he gestured to the panther was quite happily chasing a butterfly and the hawk which was perched on his arm, snuggled into Kaede's body for warmth.
'So how did you cope? I mean it must have been a heady combination to be given,' Sendoh said in disbelieve, his tears having vanished.
'I didn't, I just allowed things to take their natural course and followed. I have had a lot of support backing me up anyway,' Kaede said, his voice hardening and becoming steel again.
'I see,' was all Sendoh could say because in fact, he did not see.
'Today we start your training to be a powerful new mage, to follow in your father's footsteps, we just have to start your gift up a little, it will just take time,' Kaede said, giving Sendoh a slight grin.
They were off, venturing from the village in the cold winds into the forest beyond, plotting their quickest route through the forest into the next village as time was running short.
~ THE END ~
'Wake up Kaede! Wake up! You're the only who can save them,' Soar screeched loudly both in his head and out of it.
'What... yeah, I'm up, I'm up!' Kaede muttered under his breath, trying to stop Soar from giving him a headache.
'Kaede, are you alright?' Yosuke asked, peering into Kaede's eyes and checking to see if they were unfocused.
'Yes, I'm fine. What happened? How long have I been out?' Kaede asked, still uncertain about what had happened.
'Two days, one of the soldiers, probably a weaker mage threw a pre-cast spell at you, but Sendoh and Midnight saw it coming and threw themselves in front of it. Though Midnight got in front of you first, Sendoh covered both you and Midnight and took the brunt of it. You got hit with the spell as well, though not so potent as at the time it hit Sendoh, all of you were unprepared to put up a magical barrier so it got all of you,' Yosuke said, glancing over to the two limp bodies beside Kaede's.
'Have you tried to revive them?' Kaede asked, getting up slowly, groaning as he stretched sore muscles.
'Yes, but every time we try to, we encounter a barrier of some sort, all the herbs for healing are pointless,' Yosuke said as he gently stroked Sendoh's forehead.
'Soar, what sort of magic was used?' Kaede questioned, immediately taking control of the situation.
'Nature, but it is unlikely that it was pre-cast by the soldier mage, he probably acted as the activator of the spell,' Soar said, shifting from one claw to the other.
'I see; could you two please leave this room as I revive them? And prepare a feast, they are going to be ravenous,' Kaede asked, shifting his attention to the injured pair lying before him.
Sitting in-between the two, Kaede raised each of his hands above their heads. His palm held a soft glow before becoming brighter. Kaede closed his eyes and began chanting the healing spell; Kaede felt the magic of the soldier's spell being removed but felt some resistance from Sendoh. After a while, Kaede felt Midnight began to stir, opening his eyes a crack, Kaede saw Midnight open his eyes and blink several times before he telepath Kaede.
'Hello, how long have I been out?' Midnight asked, his mental voice still a little slurred.
'Two days, would have been out longer if it weren't for me,' Kaede said, smiling slightly and closed his eyes again.
'Do you know what sort of spell was used? I was floating endlessly, nothing to grab on to and then you arrived, thank you,' Midnight said, stretching slightly, feeling his muscles scream in protest.
'Nature, now will you stay still?' Kaede asked as he concentrated on purging the last of the poisonous magic.
'Kaede, stop. You know you'll just drain yourself out. And you obviously know that I am fine, will you stop healing me before you lose it?' Midnight said as he got to his feet.
'Oh fine, there's a feast downstairs awaiting you, enjoy,' Kaede said, the glow from his palm vanishing. Without opening his eyes or removing his palm from Sendoh's head, Kaede turned his body towards Sendoh, placed his other palm over Sendoh and concentrated on healing him thoroughly.
After a moment, Sendoh groaned, opening his eyes, he encountered a bright light.
'Am I in heaven?' Sendoh murmured, lifting his hand slightly and letting it fall back to the ground.
'No, you are still on Earth and in your bed no doubt,' Kaede said, without opening his eyes, his concentration still centred on healing.
'Oh... the last thing I remember was that I saw one of the soldiers throw something at you, I dove to block it and the next thing I know, I was in floating in oblivion,' Sendoh muttered, wincing as he tried to move his entire body.
'Stay still!' Kaede commanded, perspiration breaking on his forehead as he fought for concentration.
'Sorry, but Kaede, I think you should stop right now, you look like you are just about to collapse yourself,' Sendoh said, feeling invigorated with new energy.
Finally, Kaede conceded defeat and stopped, the glow beneath his hands had already dimmed as he worked on Sendoh, now, the glow was just nothing but a small glimmer that disappeared very quickly.
'Thank you very much, I appreciate you healing me,' Sendoh said as he got to his feet.
'The spell that was used was nature, it was meant to keep the person it was cast on floating in oblivion forever, only the most powerful wizard could remove such a spell because it could very well kill the victim altogether, so I should be thanking you for taking the blow for me,' Kaede replied, eyes closed; unmoving as he sat and collected himself, now drained of his energy.
'Are you alright?' Sendoh asked, noticing that Kaede had not made any movement even as he responded.
'Shall we go down? Your father would be very worried by now and they have prepared a feast,' Kaede murmured as he struggled to get up and eventually succeeded.
'Yes, now that you mentioned it, I am starving!' Sendoh replied enthusiastically, his usual grin back in place.
'Lets go then,' Kaede said tiredly,' edging towards the door very slowly.
'Ahem!' Kaede cleared his throat as they appeared from the corridor.
'Kaede!' Yosuke exclaimed as he turned around, stopping immediately as he absorbed the sight of a very weary, pale and depleted boy instead of the proud regal stranger he had come to know.
'Yosuke, have you prepared the feast?' Kaede asked wearily, dragging up a slight smile for the benefit of the old man, Midnight and Soar.
'I... yes, it is ready, why don't you have a seat?' Yosuke asked, unsure of how he should act now that Kaede had disclosed that he was the King.
'Yes, but first... Sendoh, could you do me a favour?' Kaede asked, swaying slightly.
'Yes? Anything, just name it,' Sendoh said readily.
'Catch me...' was all that passed Kaede's lips as he closed his eyes and fainted and fell into a deep slumber. Sendoh immediately put Kaede's words into action as Kaede swayed and pitched forward. Sendoh grabbed Kaede's shirt and pulled him backwards, Kaede's limp body crashing instantly into Sendoh's lean torso. Stumbling at the sudden unbalance of the additional weight, Sendoh fell and landed on the wooden floor, Kaede, unsupported, fell heavily on top of him.
'Sendoh! Kaede! Are you alright?' Yosuke let out immediately as he saw them both fall backwards.
'Yes father, I am all right except for having the wind knocked out of me. Kaede is well... he's asleep,' Sendoh replied once he got his lungs to work again. Peering down at Kaede whose face was snugly placed on his chest, he found that Kaede looked much younger in his sleep and more adorable.
'Sendoh, why don't you carry Kaede to his room? I shall come along shortly with a bowl of water and a towel,' Yosuke said as he moved towards the kitchen.
***
'Why is Kaede in this state?' Sendoh asked, looking at both the animals while waiting for his father to come.
'Kaede is... how you would say, he does not like to keep debts,' Soar replied, looking, if a hawk could, tenderly towards him.
'He is in this state because he hates debts?' Sendoh asked, waiting for the animals to elaborate.
'Well, he drained his life force and gave it to you because he felt that he should help you. It was also the fact that you had saved his life earlier...' Midnight said, standing up and going over to Kaede's bedside.
'Oh... so are you saying that I shouldn't have saved his life?' Sendoh asked, not liking the idea about Kaede's view on debts at all.
'If you didn't, you wouldn't have a King after this,' Soar said, appearing to have gone to sleep to avoid being questioned further.
***
Kaede woke up to sunshine and to the fact that he sensed a presence in his room.
'Good morning Kaede, I hope you have had a good rest?' Yosuke asked, bringing in a breakfast tray.
'Quite fine thank you, how is Sendoh?' Kaede questioned, sitting up in bed as Yosuke put the tray across his lap.
'Sendoh is fine, I thank you for saving his life, his...' Yosuke said, breaking of after a while, realising he was about to reveal more than necessary.
'Yosuke, Sendoh, he... he isn't your son, is he?' Kaede asked, glancing at the old man to catch a glimpse of his reaction.
'How... how did you know? I have never told anybody about this,' Yosuke stammered out, shocked that Kaede knew the truth he had sworn to hide.
'I suspected it, Sendoh does not have an occupational sign and I encountered some magical resistance when I was healing him,' Kaede replied, staring at Yosuke as he gestured to the old man to sit in the only available chair.
'I never knew you could tell so much from just that,' Yosuke replied, sighing as he sank into the comforting support of the chair.
'So, who is he and what happened to his parents?' Kaede asked, digging into his breakfast, knowing that Sendoh was outside.
'His father was Reyes and I'm sure you know all about him, he was your father's best friend ever since childhood and he excelled in everything he did, the King made him his top minister. Then, the other ministers got jealous because of the King's favouritism towards his best friend. Reyes' most pre-dominant ability was to tell the future, he helped the King win many battles and he also knew that he was going to die. The other ministers plotted his death, they sent a group of mages to kill him and he knew but he was not strong enough,' Yosuke said, sighing deeply as he remembered the old days.
'What about his mother? What became of her? And why is Akira here in this town?' Kaede questioned, finishing his breakfast and setting his tray aside.
'His mother was Princess Hairra, your aunt. She was attracted to Reyes and fell in love with him. Your father saw it as a good match between them. When they married, it just sealed his fate further and the determination of the ministers to get rid of him increased. Hairra had already been married to him for a year then, she was already expecting by then but it did not show and Reyes persuaded her to leave the palace before he died and she came to the village after his death, I was assigned to her by Reyes himself before he died. She was hit hard when he died, she mourned his death everyday, by the time she came to realise the miracle that was left of Reyes, she had lived only about three years when pneumonia took her away. Grief made her extremely weak and vulnerable,' Yosuke ended with a vague smile and a sigh as if he had gotten rid of a load that was on his shoulders.
'So, you vowed to look after Sendoh as your own and keep his parentage a secret?' Kaede asked incredulously. 'Well yes, Princess Hairra pleaded with me to look after him and give him all the love that Reyes and herself could not give him. Sendoh was only three at that time and he did not even know that he had lost his mother, I just told him that she went away,' Yosuke replied, looking older than his forty years.
'Did it never occur to you that someone might find out about him one of these days?' Kaede asked, strongly wanting to probe this man's mind but wanted the information on free will.
'Reyes did mention something like that, he told me to look after Hairra and Sendoh after his death and to tell Sendoh of his heritage when he neared his eighteenth birthday that was provided if someone did not come to realise Sendoh's heritage by the time he reached eighteen,' Yosuke remised, looking at Kaede.
'So are you saying that Sendoh knows none of this at this point of time?' Kaede asked, knowing full well that Sendoh had already acquired knowledge of everything.
'Um... yes, I have hinted to him once or twice that he was not meant to be an innkeeper nor was he my son, I don't know how to tell him otherwise, I love him as my own even though I am forever in debt to Reyes and Hairra for providing me with the son that I would never have,' Yosuke said, tearing.
'Sendoh, would you care to come in now?' Kaede asked, seeing a very panic- stricken Yosuke.
Sendoh opened the door cautiously, peering in to see a grim faced Kaede and a panicky Yosuke.
'Se... Sendoh!' Yosuke gasped as he watched the boy push open the door.
'Fa... Yosuke!' Sendoh choked out as he saw fear war with apprehension in the old man's eyes, as he reached the old man's side, he bent down and gathered the old man up in his arms, comforting him, telling him that he had not a made any mistake in revealing everything to Kaede.
'Sendoh, I'm so sorry, I knew I should have told you but I made promises to your father and mother,' Yosuke murmured as he embraced Sendoh.
'I know, I am very glad you did confess everything, I am only sorry that they burdened you with me and that you could not get a life of your own,' Sendoh said as he stepped back from Yosuke.
'Sendoh, you have never been a burden to me, I have watched you grow up from when you were an infant, I have seen and know all your joys and sorrows and you have let me be all I wanted by seeing me as your father,' Yosuke said, smiling gladly. 'Thank you, I love you too and thank you for looking after me,' Sendoh said, giving Yosuke last hug and turning to Kaede.
'So, now that I know that I am Princess Hairra and Minister Reyes' son, so what am I to you?' Sendoh asked, looking both at Kaede and Yosuke.
'That means you are a Prince and of course, my cousin since your mother is my aunt and I am your King,' Kaede replied, looking at Sendoh and studying him carefully.
'So, how is it that I don't have that crown thingy above my head?' Sendoh asked, pointing to the space where the supposed crown was supposed to be.
'Well, that is because nobody of a royalty has acknowledged you, I believe that Hairra was very grief-stricken and did not acknowledge Sendoh as royalty?' Kaede asked, quirking his right brow in question and seeing Yosuke give his confirmation.
'So, now what am I suppose to do? I have nothing indicating anything,' Sendoh exclaimed, flinging up his hands in surrender.
'Well... I could do it for you, that is if you want to,' Kaede said, his eyes searching for consent.
'Of course I want to, but how?' Sendoh asked, startled that it was all so easy.
'You get down on one knee and swear allegiance to me and then I will say a few lines and you will get your crown, I promise,' Kaede replied, shrugging slightly.
'Ok... what do I say? I mean is there a set line or is it something I make up?' Sendoh asked, thinking of some almost immediately.
'I guess it is something that you come up with, you know, I am after all new to this, I have never done this before,' Kaede said, looking intently at Sendoh.
'So, here I go. I, Akira Sendoh, swear total allegiance to you, Kaede Rukawa, my cousin and my King,' Sendoh said as he knelt and said the words as if they were put there into his head.
'I, Kaede Rukawa, present King of Kanagawa accept your pledge of allegiance, I hereby give you your crown and your position as my closest trustee and minister of the court once we arrive at the palace. You will claim your rightful place as a Prince and my cousin. Rise Prince Akira Sendoh,' Kaede's voice boomed, as if magnified ten folds.
Immediately as Kaede finished speaking, he raised his hand above Sendoh's head and his palm glowed a brilliant light. The space above Sendoh's head glowed with the same brilliance. Suddenly, a crown spun out of thin air and appeared on Sendoh's head. At the same time, the room was basked in a glow and an archway appeared in one of the wooden wall and four figures came through. The first pair, which walked through both, had pale features, marine eyes and splendidly sculpted crowns rested on their raven heads. The second pair came through and the woman had raven hair and green eyes and the man had brown hair and blue eyes, the crowns that rested on their heads were splendid in their simplicity.
'Mother, Father, Princess Hairra and Minister Reyes,' Kaede said as acknowledged them with a nod of his head as he strode towards his parents and were enveloped in their embrace.
'Princess Hairra! Reyes!' Yosuke exclaimed from where he had watched silently the whole crowning process.
'Mother? Father?' Sendoh asked as he gazed into their faces trying to memorize their every feature.
'Sendoh!' Hairra exclaimed as she laid eyes on her beloved son, she rushed from her husband's arms to hug her son.
'Sendoh,' Reyes acknowledged in his deeply resonant voice, as he strode over in his wife's wake.
'Mother! Father! I never knew you yet I miss you so much!' Sendoh exclaimed, tightening his hold on his mother and including his father in the embrace.
'We know Sendoh, we did watch you grow up from above and I must say, Yosuke definitely did a great job raising you,' Reyes said as he pulled back and walked over to Yosuke to embrace his good friend.
'I am sorry Yosuke for burdening you with the responsibility of raising Sendoh even though you were so young,' Hairra said as she smiled a beautiful smile at Yosuke for all his help.
'No my lady, Sendoh was no burden at all, I treasure his presence in my life as a gift from you and Reyes,' Yosuke said, bowing lowly despite his old age.
'Yosuke, thank you for your years of service, but we have agreed that it is time that you enjoy your retirement and let Kaede lead Sendoh into a whole new life that is more suited for him,' Reyes said, gesturing towards the trio in the corner quietly conversing.
'As you wish Reyes, I would love to see Sendoh thrive in his rightful environment, he has always been mocked by the children here for being an outcast because he did not have true sight and no occupational sign,' Yosuke said, bowing deeply once again.
'Come here Sendoh, your mother and I have a gift for you,' Reyes said, holding out his tightly clasped fist.
'What is it, father?' Sendoh asked as he approached.
'This is for you to focus your magic on, it was mine and your mother and I have added several things onto the current spells and charms that it already contains,' Reyes said as he open his fist and revealed a beautiful dark emerald encased in silver; that if you stared hard enough, you could see a small green flame dance in the jewel.
'Thank you father and mother, I love you so much,' Sendoh replied as he rushed forward to embrace his parents.
***
'Mother, Father, it is so good to see you again, I have missed you so much!' Kaede said as he embraced his parents.
'Kaede, we are so proud of you, you mastered your magic so fast, you managed the better part of your telekinesis with only three weeks of training and defeated an army of soldiers,' Minaru said, pressing a wobbly kiss to her son's cheek as she tried to prevent herself from crying.
'Kaede, we want you to have this; it is something like Sendoh's only that it is a sapphire. I created it before my death. I put most of my magic into it, of course it is definitely more powerful than Sendoh's but each has it own brand of magic in it. I want you to have it, to protect you from dreadful spells like that particularly nasty one that was hurled at you just several days ago,' Minamio said, giving Kaede a knowing look as he slipped the amulet which was set in a cradle of silver glowed a brilliant shade of navy blue over Kaede's neck.
'Oh and Kaede, I know you don't like debts but could you find some other way to repay them instead of draining your life force?' Minaru asked with a wry smile.
'Oh but mother, Sendoh was on the brink of death and I knew that I just had to bring him back and restore him back to normal. But if you wish mother,' Kaede replied beseechingly.
'We understand, but we don't want you die just for repaying a debt,' Minamio replied, looking Kaede straight in the eye with the same soul searing gaze.
'Yes father, I will try. Anyway, Midnight and Soar are always around to remind me,' Kaede said, his face and tone softening with fondness at the mention of the two animals names.
***
'Kaede, could please come here?' Reyes asked as he interrupted the trio's conversation.
Kaede looked up and nodded his acknowledgement of the request before turning back to say something to his parents and altogether they came forth as a family.
'Yes, what is it?' Kaede asked as he came to a halt in front of Reyes.
'I would like to hand you and Sendoh something that would prove that you are the King and the Prince of Kanagawa, the guards are of royal birth so they obviously cannot see the crowns and these days, craftsmen are producing counterfeits and they can no longer verify its authenticity. So here,' Reyes said as he held out both his hands. He opened his fists and revealed two gold signet rings, one had an emerald and the other a sapphire, both bearing the imperial symbol and also and inscription on both their initials, a 'K' and an 'S' respectively.
'These still don't prove their authenticity; I mean anyone could forge these rings!' Kaede said as he picked up the sapphire signet ring held out to him.
'No, these cannot be forged because they each have an individual spell, each spell cast will proclaim their ranks and also it is records who enters or exits the palace. They have a slot in which they put the rings in and the spells verify who you are and so they cannot forge a ring and enter the palace without the spell and there is a similarity in the spells cast; a signature left by the wizard or witch who cast it so no one can enter the palace with a forged ring and spell. So that is why they no longer have any security for the castle on the outside because they have no need for it as their security plan is fool-proof,' Reyes said as he watched both boys slipped on the rings.
'Mother, I have to ask you something, I have the ring to cloak my crown, but Sendoh doesn't have anything to cloak his crown with, now that I have given him his crown,' Kaede said as he gestured to the space above Sendoh's head.
'Here is the spell for you to cloak your sign, your actual crown can go into Kaede's box as no one else can open it except him since he cast that spell on it,' Minaru said to Sendoh as she handed a piece of paper to Kaede.
'Thank you, your majesty,' Sendoh replied gratefully as Kaede accepted the piece of paper.
'No Sendoh, called me Aunt Min,' Minaru said softly.
'Now we must leave, they are summoning us, we have given you all the advice we can give for this moment but should you need us, all you have to do is look in the amulets and call for us,' Minamio said, glancing around him as if he saw other beings.
'Thank you father, mother, Princess Hairra and Minister Reyes, your advice is of the utmost value to us in our journey to claim our rightful place in the palace,' Kaede said as Sendoh, Yosuke, Midnight, Soar and himself bowed as the royal couples exited the room through the archway that they had entered the room through.
The glow that basked the room quickly vanished as if it had never been there before. Thick silence hung in the air, thick enough to be sliced with a knife. Kaede turned around and faced Sendoh, Yosuke, Midnight and Soar.
'Tomorrow we set off, prepare enough food and water for a weeks trip to the next town. We have to leave soon, my crown will reveal itself soon enough and so we have to hurry. I have three more weeks to get into the palace,' Kaede said determinedly.
'Yosuke, father... I have to leave you now, please promise to take care of yourself because I will be back for you,' Sendoh said, holding the old man gently by his shoulders.
'Go Sendoh, I know you will be back for me. But go now, I will always be here. Now, lets go and pack, you don't have much time,' Yosuke said, wiping several stray tears from his eyes.
***
The next day, they all woke up to a bright and chilly morning. They packed the last of the supplies that they needed and got on some thick clothes for the chilly weather as winter approached, Kaede cast the spell needed to cloak Sendoh's crown and stored Sendoh's actual crown together with his in the box.
'Thank you, Yosuke, should you need help against the soldiers, should they come after you, just call to the forest animals for help, I have gone to seek their help for you and they will respond to your call of help,' Kaede said, shaking Yosuke's hand as they were about to depart.
Thank you Kaede, you are just too kind,' Yosuke said as he bowed slightly in acknowledgement of Kaede's new position as the new King of Kanagawa.
'Goodbye father, I shall be back for you, I promise,' Sendoh said as they began to walk away from the inn.
'I know, you learn your craft well, make me proud and your parents too!' Yosuke said as he waved goodbye, knowing it would be another month before he would see Sendoh.
As they ventured further from the inn, Sendoh began to look over his shoulder wistfully; he huddled into his thick layers of clothes further.
'Don't look so glum, we are royalty, we should not wear our expressions on our face,' Kaede chided teasingly.
'Easy for you to say, you were breed for this life, I wasn't. I did not even know that I was adopted,' Sendoh said, tears welling up in his eyes.
'Well, you may think I was, but I wasn't breed for this either, I used to live in a hut in a village similar to this, all of this came to me in a rush, in fact, I had to learn everything without a guiding hand except for those two,' Kaede said as he gestured to the panther was quite happily chasing a butterfly and the hawk which was perched on his arm, snuggled into Kaede's body for warmth.
'So how did you cope? I mean it must have been a heady combination to be given,' Sendoh said in disbelieve, his tears having vanished.
'I didn't, I just allowed things to take their natural course and followed. I have had a lot of support backing me up anyway,' Kaede said, his voice hardening and becoming steel again.
'I see,' was all Sendoh could say because in fact, he did not see.
'Today we start your training to be a powerful new mage, to follow in your father's footsteps, we just have to start your gift up a little, it will just take time,' Kaede said, giving Sendoh a slight grin.
They were off, venturing from the village in the cold winds into the forest beyond, plotting their quickest route through the forest into the next village as time was running short.
~ THE END ~