Tale of Two
Chapter FourSorry if I just updated… my account was shut off temporarily because I did something rather bad… but since I'm back, well! On with the story!
Taichi paced back and forth in his room. He certainly couldn't take this pressure and frustration any longer. He knew that Sora was important to him. Heck, Sora had become his essence… and he wouldn't know what he'll do when he'll hear the news that Sora…. His beloved Sora is dead.
But no.
He should not think of that.
He has to believe that Sora… will overcome this…
"Sora… please… please be alive…" Taichi pleaded.
And out of everything he could possibly think, Taichi did something that he never did in his whole life…
He prayed.
Takeru and Yamato looked back from the path they had come from and heard the loud beating of the drums of war.
"It has started, brother…" Takeru said as he sighed.
"But I still don't understand it. Why does Princess Sora insist on fighting? She's… she's a princess for crying out loud!" Takeru said, irritated and somehow confused.
"If you're a leader, you have to understand one thing, Takeru. And that is to be always prepared in any given situation. I think Princess Sora thought not only of her welfare but of her country's as well. She knows that she is the sole foundation and hope of her country, without her, this war would mean a great loss." Yamato said.
"But… what does she need to fight? This… I am sure, big brother. Princess Sora will not stand a chance against the army of the Hakutsi. They're the most powerful soldiers in the whole world!" Takeru exclaimed.
"We have to believe in Princess Sora's capabilities, Takeru. We have to. I'm sure…that whatever you're feeling now is something Taichi is feeling as well… and knowing Taichi, he'll be pacing back and forth in his room and murmuring his words of exploits and anger. But I do know Tai to be calm and understanding. I know he understands this situation better than anyone else." Yamato said, trying to avoid Takeru's question.
"You still haven't answered me brother. Wait… maybe you know why Sora went out to fight…" Takeru said looking at his brother.
"Sora wants to fight for what she believes in." Yamato answered simply.
Takeru did not reply. He knew that his brother is lying. There has to be a greater reason for all of this. Surely, Sora did not just go to war because she's just fighting for her country. Certainly, her people have commented that a battlefield is no place for a princess and surely they would convince her not to join.
"Or because she just wants to prove herself to the other countries that she can be a ruler just like her father…?" Takeru asked, or rather stated.
At this, Yamato remained quiet and from that, Takeru understood that what he thought was right. Princess Sora wanted to fight because she wants to prove herself to everyone that she can do what her father can do.
"I just hope she can…" Takeru muttered as he and his brother left the Takenouchi boundaries.
"Big brother…" a voice said.
"Big brother." Another one called, followed by a knock on the door.
Taichi stirred in his sleeping form from the window and looked around.
"Big brother!" a voice hissed.
"Kari? Kari, is that you?" Taichi called out as he stood up and walked towards the door.
Taichi's door slowly opened and in came Kari.
"How'd you get in?" Taichi asked.
"The war's over, big brother…" Kari said.
"Really! That's great! …Oh no," Taichi said as he saw the expression in Hikari's face.
"What happened? Where's Sora?" Taichi asked.
"The Takenouchi Kingdom was burned to the ground, big brother…" Hikari said silently as Takeru appeared behind him.
"Sora! What happened to Sora?" Taichi almost yelled.
"She's greatly injured, Taichi. Your parents had sent for her…she must be on her way here…" Takeru said.
Taichi did not wait for any more explanations. He rushed out of his room and down the hall.
"Tai! Where are you going? The carriages had already picked her up!" Hikari yelled.
"Those carriages will arrive for another hour or so and that can't wait. Sora's injuries might have gotten worse by then! I have to go to her and bring her here myself!" Taichi yelled back.
Taichi rode his horse as fast as he could. Probably the fastest run he ever had. He knew that Sora was greatly injured and he would not waste any more time in not saving her.
Finally, he saw his countries' carriage coming to view.
He stopped in front of it and ordered the carriage to stop.
"Where is she?" she demanded.
The elderly man pointed inside the carriage.
Taichi hopped out of his horse and quickly peeked in the royal carriage.
There, he saw Sora lying by the couch. Her form was as fragile as a porcelain doll. Her features showed pain and distraught. She had blood all over her body and scratches and bruises on her face, arms and legs.
Taichi didn't think anything else.
He took Sora in his arms and carried her to his horse.
"Go back to the Takenouchi Kingdom and see if there are any survivors left. Whoever you see that might still be alive, bring it back to the castle at once." Taichi ordered the man who was driving the carriage.
"Yes, your highness." The man said as he pulled his horse towards the other direction and went back to the route towards the Takenouchi kingdom.
When Taichi got on his horse once more, with Sora in his arms, he notice a tear sliding down from Sora's cheeks. He brushed it away as he planted a small kiss on her forehead.
"Don't worry, Sor. I'm here." Taichi said.
"You're not going anywhere, Prince Taichi. Not until you give me back what's mine." A voice said and a puff of smoke appeared in front of Tai and in place was the same hooded man he had encountered before.
"I don't understand this, father! How could that happen?" Hikari asked as she looked at her father, who was sitting on the throne with her mother.
"That I do not know, Hikari…" the King said.
"If the Hakutsi's aren't the ones who forwarded the letter, then who did?" Takeru asked.
A moment ago, a message from the Hakutsi Kingdom reached the Yagami Kingdom. It stated that they did not issue a message of war to the Takenouchi. Even if they were sworn enemies, they still remain loyal to the efforts of King Takenouchi's rule towards them.
"so, who?" Yamato asked, also puzzled as everyone in the room is.
"This is all becoming too complicated, my husband. I really do not understand any of these at all. If the Hakutsi had no plan in getting the Takenouchi Kingdom, then who, in his right mind, would actually wage a war towards the Takenouchi?" the queen asked.
"There is only one possible answer that I am thinking." The King replied.
"who?" everyone asked.
"The Reigens."
"What do you want from Sora? Didn't she tell you that she doesn't want you?" Taichi asked angrily as he and the hooded man fought once more.
"she may say that now. But once that I have given her the magical potion of love and forget, she'll love me every day of her life." The man said.
Taichi roared in disgust.
"I will never allow that!"
"I am not asking for your permission, dear brother. I am stating a fact!" the man said as he hurdled his sword towards him.
"Brother? Why do you call me brother? I have no brother!" Taichi yelled.
"even if I may have, I know that he wouldn't be as bad and as cruel as you!" Taichi added with another swing of his sword.
The man had fallen backwards to the ground with a thud.
Taichi took his opportunity to see Sora by the tree he had put her against and saw that she was still asleep.
"Didn't you know, Taichi? You and I share one half blood…" the man said.
"what…?" Taichi asked almost in a hoarse whisper.
"Our fathers may be different, but our mothers are the same. My father had loved our mother dearly, but your mother had preferred your father over mine!" the man said in fury as he got up once more and started to fight with Tai.
"And let me guess, your father raped my mother?" Taichi asked sarcastically.
"No! my father made a potion that would allow our mother to love him. But it did not work against her since our mother loved your father so much!" the man said as another blow and sparks appeared.
"Ha! If your father had the same attitude as you, I wouldn't ask my mother why she didn't like your father!" Taichi retorted with a laugh.
"But your father should have given in to my father, Taichi! they were brothers! My father was older! Your father should have understood that my father was the priority! Your family had always been the top priority. My father was always the one being left behind. He is always the one that is cancelled out. Not called for. Your family did this to me! I will take everything you have, Taichi because I hate you. I hate you. I will take Sora away from you!"
"No! no one will take Sora away from me!" Taichi said as their swords clash once more.
"your father and Sora's father had been the greatest of friends before… and they teamed up to fight my father who just wanted something to own on his own. Someone to love, someone to cherish, something he can be proud of. But what did your parents did to him! You made him to a pathetic little shell! Your family turned him into a damn tree that couldn't talk, couldn't walk, couldn't move at all!" the man cried as he suddenly vanished into thin air.
Taichi was left there, surprised and confused…
"Mother! Taichi is back! And he's got Sora with her!" Hikari said in delight as Taichi came running down the corridors with Sora in his arms.
"Mother! Sora needs to see the doctor!" Taichi said as he saw his mother and father by the end of the corridor.
"let us handle her, Prince Tai." One of the doctors said.
Taichi handed Sora over to them carefully.
Taichi was about to follow the doctors but his father called him.
"What is it father?" Taichi asked.
"I want to talk to you privately, Tai." The King said.
Taichi looked at the doctors who were carrying Sora down the corridor then, nodded back to his father.
Taichi, the queen, the King and Yamato entered the throne room.
"Would you want me to leave, King Yagami?" Yamato asked.
"No, Yamato. I want you to stay… I want you to understand this as well." The king said.
Yamato nodded.
"Taichi… our family has a secret that we've been long keeping… and we want you to know it before it's too late." The King said.
"And what would that be, father?" Taichi asked.
"our family, was never of royal blood." The Queen said.
"Not of Royal blood? What are you talking about, mother? You're a Queen. Father's a King. I'm a Prince…. We're-"
"No, Taichi. You don't understand. Our lineage doesn't come down to the blood of royalties… your great great great great great grandfather was a peasant who revolted against the Reigen Kingdom. He and thousands of people moved out of the Kingdom and established a Kingdom of their own, known as, the Yagami Kingdom." The King explained.
"The Reigen Kingdom? But… isn't that a kingdom now too?" Yamato asked.
"yes. But not known to everyone, the Reigen Kingdom is a Kingdom full of black arts and magic that is beyond anyone's knowledge."
"It's a horrible place, Taichi… a very horrible place…" the Queen said as she shuddered.
"I came from Reigen, Taichi… I escaped there when I was fifteen years old. I can no longer bare the tourcher inside of that place. My father, the king… was so much consumed by the black arts that he would do anything just to be powerful. When I escaped, the person who found me was Kyono Yagami, your father's older brother. He was the one who saved me and eventually brought me to the castle. I fell in love with your father, Kazuma… but Kyono was against it."
"Kyono and I fought over your mother and in the end, he did a cruel thing that made the kingdom throw him out."
"What did he do?" Yamato asked.
"He killed our parents." The king said.
"My father wanted me to be king… but of course, Kyono said that it has to be him since he is the eldest. But father did not like the way Kyono acts around people and he believes that with him ruling the Kingdom, the Yagami Kingdom will have a downfall. My brother was really angry so he plotted to kill my parents and me and get away with your mother, Asuka. But your mother learned of it and told me, but unfortunately, it was too late for my parents."
"Kyono was thrown out of the Kingdom and he in turn went to Reigen. There he became King and practiced black arts. He waged war on us and together, the Takenouchi, Ishida and Yagami Kingdom fought to beat him."
"was he turned into a tree?" Taichi asked.
The King and queen looked at each other.
"How did you know that?" the king asked.
"…the one who's been attacking Sora told me that he was my brother. And that his father had become a tree."
"Oh my god… it's him…" the queen gasped.
"him? Who him?" the King asked.
"Kazuma… I never told you this because I feared that you would kill Kyono… but you see… there was this one time when Kyono came back to the castle and went to see me in my room. Of course, I tried my best to talk him out of going on with the war but in return he wanted me to… to sleep with him…so, he carried me to his castle…and… we… slept together…"
"was that the time when you disappeared for almost a year?" Kazuma asked.
Asuka nodded.
"I bore him a son. Which… I never saw. Because after I gave birth to him, I ran off from the castle and went back to you."
"But on the day you went back to the castle… we… we… well, we you know…" The king said.
"Yes. I know. That's when Taichi was made…" the Queen said with a small laughter in her.
Taichi's eyes widened and shook his head. "Parents…"
Then, they all laughed.
"But how did he became a tree?" Yamato asked.
"He made himself that. He couldn't control the power he was trying to use and it backfired against him. He became a tree." The king answered.
"But now…he wants revenge. Well his son does…" Taichi answered.
"Don't worry about it, Taichi… as long as you practice your swords skills, you'll be fine. You see, the Reigens practice magic and black arts only. Their swordsmanship was never put into use…"
"I see… then-"
"Princess Sora's awake!"
"Sora?"
TBC