Destiny
Author: HanaHeart
Beta: Mikawa
Fic Information & Disclaimer: See the Prologue
Chapter One
The warm sun filled the gardens with its golden rays, as if it was smiling warmly down at them, and the cool breeze of the morning caressed the green grass, the flowers, and the trees alike, with softness and gentleness. It was another peaceful and beautiful summer day in Ryonan, the capital of Kanagawa Empire.
Prince Sendoh Akira stretched his hands and inhaled the fresh morning breeze, as he stood out his balcony, enjoying the view of the palace garden.
"What a beautiful day," he said, smiling to himself before turning to his companion. "It's a good day for a horse-ride, don't you think, Hiroaki?"
"I suppose." Koshino said, yawning. "It's better than staying here and doing nothing. Where to?"
"I don't know yet." Sendoh said with a shrug. "Go and tell the servants to prepare the horses, while I think of a good place."
"Ok," with that Koshino left the room.
Sendoh turned his gaze to the horizon, enjoying the sight of the blue sky.
Suddenly, his gaze caught the sight of a big, dark mountain, a few kilometers away from the palace. His usual smiling face turned into thoughtful frown. For many years now, that mountain has attracted the young prince's interest. That mountain was the place where the non-winged slaves would work, every day, in the crystal mines.
/What's happening there right now/ Sendoh wondered. /I wish I could go and see how the slaves' lives are like. Their lives must be so hard. /
Sendoh recalled when he was just a young boy. He and Koshino used to hide behind some trees and watch the guards drag a long row of chained slaves from the mountain to the concentration camps at the end of the day. An idea started to form in the prince's mind.
At this minute, Koshino entered the room.
"The horses have been settled, Akira." Koshino said. "Shall we go now?"
Sendoh turned his face to his friend and stared at him oddly before speaking.
"Hiro, I've changed my mind." He said quietly. "I don't want to go riding anymore. I want to do something else."
"Something else? What?" Koshino asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Come, I'll tell you later." With that, Sendoh left the room followed by Koshino. The two walked along the corridors of the palace until they reached the Imperial Library.
"The library?" Koshino asked in amusement. "You wanted to come to the library? Boy, the sky must be falling!"
Sendoh rolled his eyes in annoyance, but said nothing. He pushed the huge wooden door of the library and entered with Koshino.
"Aida, my friend," Sendoh exclaimed, flashing the young librarian a sweet smile. "How are you doing?"
Aida, who was buried behind a mountain of books, jumped from his seat and appeared from behind his desk.
"I'm fine your highness." he replied nervously, bowing to his prince. "How may I serve you?"
"I need some maps, Aida." Sendoh said, looking around the shelves.
"What kind of maps, your highness?" Aida asked in surprise at the prince's request. Koshino blinked in confusion as well.
"I need maps of all the secret passageways of the Crystal Mountain." Sendoh said simply.
"WHERE?" both exclaimed in unison.
"Akira," Koshino said. "I hope you didn't say what I think you said. You didn't say, 'the Crystal Mountain', did you?"
"In fact, Hiro…I did say the Crystal Mountain." Sendoh said. "I want to go inside there…I need to go inside."
"Have you lost your mind, Akira?" Koshino exclaimed. "No one is allowed to go there except the guards. We'd be punished if we were ever caught there."
"Very well then, I'm going alone." Sendoh said, determinedly, before turning to Aida. "Aida…the maps."
"Ye…yes." Aida said uncertainly before disappearing in glance behind a small door.
"Do you think that I'd let you go to that place?" Koshino asked firmly, crossing his hands in front of his chest.
"Hiro, I will go." Sendoh simply said. "No matter how much you protest…no matter what you do…I'm going."
Koshino sighed deeply before trying again. "Akira, why the Crystal Mountain?" he asked in defeat. "Of all the places in Ryonan, you choose that place to pass your time in!"
"I've always wanted to go there, Hiro…and you know it." Sendoh said with a sigh. "Ever since we were kids, the slaves and their lives have been a mystery to me…I need to find out more about them. I don't know what is attracting me to them but there is a voice inside of me that is urging me to know more about their lives."
"I don't think going to the Crystal Mountain will answer your questions, Akira." Koshino said. "It may even worsen your dilemma more."
"It may, but it's the only way to get answers."
"And what are you going to do when you arrive there?" Koshino said sarcastically. "Go and say, 'Hi, I'm Prince Sendoh Akira and I want you to satisfy my wild curiosity'?"
"Well, that would be a good idea." Sendoh said with a grin. "But, I don't think that I would be welcomed there. Besides, we must remain unseen by any of the palace guards. Using the secret passageways will take care of that. We will only go and have a look around."
Koshino sighed in defeat. "OK, you win. I'll go with you but just a quick look, ok?"
"Deal." Sendoh replied excitedly.
At this moment Aida appeared, holding some folded papers.
"Here are all the maps that I could find about the crystal mines, your highness." The young man replied, piling the papers on the desk.
"Good job, Aida." Sendoh said, picking up one map and opening it. "How do you read this thing!" he asked with a frown.
"Let me see," Koshino said, taking the map from Sendoh and examining it. "…Hmmm, well, I can't read it either."
"But your highness, those kinds of maps are very easy to read!" Aida said, a little confused.
"Can you actually do it?" Sendoh asked.
"Well, certainly, your highness." Aida replied.
"Alright, then. Can you come with us, please, Aida?" Sendoh said, smiling sweetly.
"To-To the mines?" Aida asked, nervously.
"If you don't want to come, you don't have to, Aida." Sendoh said firmly. "Just teach us how to read the maps and that will be all."
"No, your highness…that's not it." Aida said, shaking his head. "I'm just a bit unsure. But well, you see, I'm curious about the non-winged ones too. I'd like to join you."
"Very well then, let's go." Sendoh said excitedly.
"Are we going to ride horses?" Koshino said. "Because they'll be easy to spot."
"Well, we can ride the horses through the gardens until we're beyond the Palace walls," Sendoh said. "Then, we're gonna use our lovely wings."
"We're going to fly there!" Aida asked as he gathered his maps inside a small, shoulder bag.
"Sure." Sendoh replied. "What's the use of our wings, if we don't use them for sneaking in? We'll fly past the barriers outlining the forbidden zone that surrounds the Crystal Mountain."
"And what if we were spotted by guards?" Koshino asked.
"Don't worry." Sendoh said. "We'll go through the forest side. There aren't many guards there since the Forest is very abundant. The trees will provide us with some cover."
"I must have lost my mind when I agreed onto this." Koshino sighed in defeat. With that, the trio left the room and headed to the huge, dark mountain as they planed.
When the three young men reached the Crystal Mountain, they hid behind a large tree next to the main entrance, leading to inside the mountain, which was heavily guarded.
"Now what, Aida?" Sendoh asked. "Can you find us another entrance to the mountain?"
"According to my maps," Aida said, studying one of his maps. "There should be some secret entrances around the mountain. Let me see…" Aida looked around them for a while then looked at his map before looking up again. "There," he pointed to a nearby, lonely, maple tree on the top of one of the mountain's rocks. "A secret entrance should be right there."
"And how are we supposed to climb up there without the guards' noticing?" Koshino asked. "We will be caught in no time."
"We won't climb, obviously." Sendoh said, a little bit annoyed. "You can fly above two rocks, can't you, Hiro? Moreover, the guards will not see us, because the mountain will cover us, and the tree is at angle hidden from the main entrance."
"Well, I'm sorry for being worried that we might get caught and find ourselves in a long road of needless troubles." Koshino snapped.
"Nevertheless," Aida said before his prince would say anything. "We have to proceed with extra caution and complete silence."
"Alright, let's go then." Sendoh said. The trio walked carefully to the base of the mountain and flew quietly up to the tree. Once they landed on the narrow rock that held the tree, Aida walked to the rocky wall and examined it carefully.
"What are you looking for, Aida?" Sendoh whispered.
"The door's lock," Aida replied. "It says that these doors have secret locks, I'm trying to locate it."
Suddenly, Aida's fingers discovered a moving piece in the wall. He pushed it slowly until a small rectangle appeared to the three, revealing a set of buttons with incomplete symbols on them and a small screen.
"This must be the lock." Aida murmured softly.
"An electric lock! Great! Just what we need!" Sendoh exclaimed in annoyance. "How do we open it? Do you know what buttons we should press, Aida?" he asked.
"Not yet, but…" Aida's voice trailed as he stared at the symbols thoughtfully. "I may be able to think of something."
"Why don't we go back?" Koshino suggested. "We could get caught if we entered the wrong password."
"Well, I came this far and I'm not leaving." Sendoh said.
"I think I might be able to guess the password." Aida said, checking his notes from a little black book. "Let's try!"
Hesitantly, he pressed some buttons, forming a symbol on the little screen. A soft beep was heard and the screen flashed red.
Aida frowned, and then looked at his notebook. He turned some pages and read, before looking at the buttons again and pressing some more. Another beep was heard, but this time the screen flashed green before a door opened, soundlessly, from the wall. Quickly, the three youths entered before the door closed again behind them. Inside, they saw a stairway that lead deep down into the heart of the mountain.
"Aida, how did you do it?"
"Well, your highness, I've noticed that the incomplete symbols on the buttons could form a drawing, if pressed correspondingly. There are such locks in The Imperial Library and The Imperial Family's Treasures Hall. The only thing that you have to do is to know the right symbol to draw from those lines, then the right order to do so. I drew the Imperial Symbol of the Empire, but it didn't work. So I tried something else."
"What symbol did you draw?" Koshino asked.
"The slaves' tattoo," Aida replied.
"Ahem," Sendoh said, feeling an unexplained uneasiness in his heart. "We better continue on our way."
Taking a torch from the wall, they followed the stairs until they reached a caved crossroad leading to five different caves.
"Well, where do we go now?" Koshino asked.
"According to the map," Aida said. "Each of these caves will lead us through a long corridor, then to a door that opens to the crystal mine on this level. They form a network surrounding the mine, thus, each cave will lead to a different place in the mine."
"So which cave shall we choose?" Koshino asked.
"I say, we take the one straight ahead." Sendoh said.
"Alright." The two youths said, following their prince. The three walked through a dimly lit corridor until they reached the end, where they found themselves in a small hall with three locked doors. Strange sounds echoed from behind the wall, and the three were positive that they had finally reached their destination.
"Aida, tell me," Sendoh asked as the librarian examined the wall, looking for the door's lock. "Is there only one mine in the whole mountain?"
"There are several mines in this mountain, your highness." Aida replied. "And they are above one another. I think, we are in the lowest mine in the mountain."
"Then how could anyone go up and down the mountain?"
"There are doors that open to staircases, just like the one we used earlier, that connects the whole mountain. In addition to that, there are lifts that carry the crystals up and down."
"What about the main entrances?" Koshino asked.
"There is one main entrance to each mine, plus one to the mountain's main entrance." Aida said as he pressed the buttons of the lock. "The secret passages lead to several openings in different locations in the mine. They, also, form a network around it."
"Wow, that's cool!" Sendoh said. With a small sound, the door opened and they gasped, in surprise, at the sight in front of them.
The Crystal mine was truly a remarkable sight.
The walls of the mine were covered in glassy blue crystals. Sparkles of light, coming from the large torches on the wall, reflected beautifully, against its clear surface.
The three boys were standing in a dike, hidden by crystal rocks. Approaching the rocks, they, carefully, popped their heads and peaked into the mine.
Thousands of wingless slaves were working hard, cutting the crystal, collecting it in mobile carriages, then sending it away. The guards, with their unique uniforms and three-point spears, were watching over the slaves as they worked.
Suddenly, a sound of loud lash echoed through the mine. The three friends looked at each other, then back into the mine, searching for the non-stop lashing sounds. Their eyes widened, in horror, as they saw a guard, mercilessly, whipping an old slave nearby. A group of slaves stood near them, witnessing the event in silence.
"Stand up, old man." The guard snarled without stopping his whipping. "You are good for nothing, old pig. You're a waste of food and space." with that, the guard took out his sword and stabbed the old man in the back.
"PAPA!" a young girl yelled, running from among the slaves to the dead man. She knelt next to his corpse and shook it violently. Tears were falling like rivers from her eyes. "PAPA, ANSWER ME! PAPA, PLEASE!"
The guard laughed cruelly at her. "He won't answer you, little brat. His soul is rotting in the underworld now."
The little girl looked up at the guard, hatred filling her teary eyes; her tiny fist grabbed a small crystal stone and threw it directly at his face.
"WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT!" the guard exclaimed, rubbing the small lump on his forehead. "HOW DARE YOU?" Angrily, he raised his sword and separated the girl's head from her body. Her little body collapsed over her father's and blood poured on the crystal floor.
Sendoh felt his body freeze at the sight of the double murder. To witness such murder wasn't something he expected to see. An old man and little girl were murdered, ruthlessly, and no one had moved an inch.
The slaves watched the corpses with silent sadness in their eyes, then returned to their work when they were ordered to, while the guards chuckled and laughed at the murder, and they even prevented some slaves from moving the corpses away.
What is happening here? Sendoh asked himself.
Sound of someone about to retch snapped Sendoh from his shock. He looked at his friends and saw Koshino turning his face, while covering his nose in a futile attempt to prevent the fresh blood smell from tickling it. He heaved with difficulty, as his stomach jumbled from the smell.
All the while, Aida stood in his place, too stunned to move. He stared at the dead bodies with wide eyes; his face started to turn into an unhealthy shade of green.
"Hiro—" Sendoh started to ask, in concern, but Koshino cut him off by raising a hand.
Nodding, Sendoh looked at Aida.
"Aida," he said softly, placing a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. He felt the body underneath his hand shivering slightly.
"Aida." He called again. This time, the younger boy looked back at him and did a double take, as if he had just waked up from a dream.
"Your highness," Aida said softly.
Before Sendoh could respond, another scream rang through the mine.
"NO, LET ME GO. HELP!"
"HEY, TAKE YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HER…………AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH."
"KAEDE!"
The shouts helped the trio to recover, quickly, from their shock. They ran through the hidden way, until they reached the source of the voices.
What they saw were two guards were holding a teenage boy, preventing his body from collapsing, as a third guard punched and kicked the boy's face and body.
Two slaves stood nearby, holding a very inflamed slave and preventing him from approaching the group. A girl was crying near the trio.
After a while, the two guards let go of the boy, who fell on the ground immediately. The third guard kicked the laying boy hardly ordering him to get up; a soft groan escaped from the slave as he tried to get off the ground, however all his attempts to get up went in vain.
"Looks like our little hero here can't stand by himself." the guard sneered. "What's wrong, kid? Got tired that easily?"
"Fukuda," one of the guards said. "You're forgetting that he's not as strong as normal kids. He needs some energy to do so. What do you say I help him?"
"Be my guest, Fujin."
"YOU BASTARDS…NO!" the slave, being held, yelled.
Fujin looked up at him then smirked, pointing his three jointed pike towards the boy and pressing a small button on it. An electric wave escaped from the pike and ran through the boy's body, who released a horrible scream and lost consciousness.
"KAEDE!", "RUKAWA!" The four slaves yelled in horror.
"YOU MONSTERS!" the slave struggled to free himself from his friends' tight hold, but failed as both slaves tightened their hold on him. "IF ANY THING HAPPENED TO KAEDE… IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO MY COUSIN, I SWEAR I'LL CUT YOU INTO PIECES, FUKUDA."
"Mitsui, calm down." One of the slaves said. "You'll lose your life before you touch one of them."
"LET GO OF ME, MINAMI." Mitsui struggled like a wild animal. "LET GO OF ME."
"Minami is right, Micchy. You'll only cause your death." The second slave with flaming red hair said.
"SHUT UP, SAKURAGI." Mitsui hissed.
"You better listen to your friends, Mitsui-kid." Fukuda said, calmly, with a smirk. "Or you'll join your cousin in the underworld."
"You dirty beast," Mitsui hissed, glaring dangerously at Fukuda. "I swear that you'll pay for this…"
"Mitsui…" Minami tried to interrupt him, but Mitsui ignored him completely.
"I swear, by all the Gods, that I'll make you pay dearly for this, Fukuda."
Fukuda chuckled and shrugged carelessly before leaving, followed by his friends.
As soon as the guards disappeared from sight, the four slaves ran towards the unconscious boy.
"Someone call Kiminobu now." Mitsui, who was kneeling beside Rukawa and checking his pulse, yelled.
"I will." Sakuragi said, before rushing away.
"Kaede," Mitsui called, softy, as he gave the boy mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and an external cardiac massage. "Kaede…answer me. Kaede…Don't you even think of dying in my hands, kid, hear that? Don't you dare!"
Minami and the girl watched with heavy hearts, as Mitsui did his best to save his cousin. A few minutes later, Rukawa let out a gasp, before opening his eyes slightly.
"Hisa—shi," he whispered. "Ay—ko?"
Mitsui sighed in relief, and looked up at the said girl, raising Rukawa's head to his lap.
"I'm here, Kaede." The girl said, running towards the two youths. "Thank you. You saved me." Tears slid down her cheeks as she stared at the lying boy.
"I'm glad." Rukawa whispered weakly, feeling the world around him spin.
"Kaede!" the slaves looked behind and saw another youth running towards them, along with Sakuragi.
Ayako stood up, making way for the newcomer, who knelt quickly beside Rukawa and examined his pulse.
"How do you feel, Kaede?" he asked, taking out a small bottle from his bag and giving it to Rukawa. "Drink this."
"I'm—alright." Rukawa replied, drinking the liquid in the bottle then gave it back to Kogure. "I just feel—" he couldn't complete his sentence for he passed out again.
"Kaede!" Mitsui exclaimed.
"Don't worry." Kogure said calmly. "He had just passed out. He needs to rest. Let's get him out of here."
Kogure and Mitsui carried Rukawa and laid him near the crystal rock, where Sendoh and his friends were hiding.
The three winged youths sank down to their knees, hiding themselves from the slaves.
"What now?" Mitsui asked in concern, looking at Rukawa, then at Kogure.
"Nothing." Kogure said, shaking his head. "We'll leave him to rest here."
"Kimi, what about—" Mitsui was interrupted by Kogure's finger on his lips.
"He'll be fine. The medicine will help his heartbeat return to its regular pace." The gentle youth said, before standing up. "I have to go. I'm needed elsewhere." With that, Kogure left, nodding his assurances to the three waiting slaves.
Minami approached Mitsui and knelt beside him.
"Mitsui," he said, placing a hand on the youth's shoulder.
"Why didn't you let me kill that bastard?" Mitsui hissed, dangerously. "I'd have torn his neck with my bare hands."
"And kill yourself." Minami said. "You won't do us any good if you die. Remember your duty, Mitsui. You still have a sacred duty to fulfill."
"But—"
"BACK TO WORK, YOU SWANS." A guard yelled at them.
Mitsui turned his head towards the guard, eyes just screaming hatred. His heart was strong with the urge to smash the guard's face with his tight fists. Seeing that dangerous glare in Mitsui's eyes, Minami tried to reason with his friend.
"Hisashi!" he hissed warningly. "Don't let your anger get the best of you. Think of your father, Kogure, Rukawa, and your sister. Think of your duty and vows to your father. Do not get yourself killed over nothing."
Hearing those words forced Mitsui to calm himself. He took several deep breaths before standing up.
"You're right." He said looking at Minami. "My death won't do anyone any good. I'll have my revenge...sooner or later." With that vow, Mitsui left with Minami.
"Akira," Koshino whispered with a sharp edge to his voice. "Let's go. I can't stand being in this place anymore. I can't stay here another minute."
"Wait." Sendoh said, straightening up a little bit and peaking from behind the rock. He took a glance at the unconscious boy and his eyes studied the beautiful creature before him.
Midnight-black hair that was partially covering almond-shaped closed eyes…Ivory white skin that was stained with red cuts and purple bruises…Partially opened lips that started, slowly, to regain their rosy color…A slender body that was hardly covered by the semi-torn, sleeveless, blue chiton.
Sendoh reached out his hand and brushed the bruised cheek, gently; his hand, then, traced the perfect jawbone until it reached the long, white neck. His eyes caught the sight of black lisle, and pulling it out, gently, a piece of round-shaped crystal appeared at the end of the pendant.
Suddenly, a soft groan emitted from the boy and Sendoh watched in amazement as beautiful, almond eyes opened slowly. Too stunned to react, Sendoh stayed in his place staring at the eyes that gazed in his direction, unfocusedly, before closing again.
"Akira," Koshino's angry hiss snapped Sendoh from his reverie. "Let's go. Aida isn't feeling well. And I think I'm going to throw up, for real, any minute now."
Forcedly, Sendoh looked at their companion, and, indeed, the younger boy didn't look well at all.
"Yeah," he said, looking back at Rukawa. "We better go." But before leaving, Sendoh took the pendant, gently, from Rukawa's neck and shoved it into his pocket. Then, he and his friends left the mountain with many questions in their heads.
T.B.C.
