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Title: A Rite of Passage
Inspired by: Chapter 10 of the Manga Akagami ni Shirayukihime
Characters: Izana Wistalia, Zen Wistalia
Wordcount: 573
Rating: General
Five Years Ago
All too soon, our sojourn at my summer palace had come to an end. After handling the cases of the two warring Lords of Rid and Sui, I was glad to put a dot on this episode. Obtaining assurances from the new Lords of the two provinces that they would elevate the living conditions of the citizens, I gave instructions to make preparations for our journey back to Wistal Castle. Queen Haruto, our mother, had professed her wishes that we need to get back in time for the celebrations of the founding of our dynasty.
Zen continued to ignore me during the rest of our journey back to the castle.
I tried to bait him with my usual teasing, but he wouldn't budge.
Zen acted too much like a normal brat his own age, brash and hard-headed sometimes. I couldn't wait for him to outgrow this phase. Still, I was pleased by his declaration of loyalty.
"You need not stand alone. When I am old enough, I will be your shield. So until I can surpass you with my own strength, you must stay alive. You will be a good king. And I will follow the path where I can proudly stand by your side."
My dear brother. As long as I was alive, I would try my utmost to raise him like the fine prince that he needed to become. That was the only way I could ensure he was protected from our enemies. But, a city wasn't built in a day. And as long as he was learning to be a prince, I would be there to protect and guide him. My work was cut out for me, but I relished the challenge of grooming Zen into a worthy prince.
Before we began our journey back to Wistal Castle, I began to worry a little more than usual when I noticed Zen seemed to be under the weather, and looking a little paler than usual. He might still be feeling a little down with my teasing, or he was probably not looking forward to leaving Castle Grisaille, where the atmosphere was more relaxed than Wistal Castle. I took note of his brooding expression, and I finally decided that he might be coming down with a flu.
Slightly concerned, on the day we began our trip back home, I made him sit in a carriage with me instead of riding our own horses. The journey would be a few days slower, but if I needed to take precautions about his health, I concluded that this would be a wise decision. Without protest, he dutifully followed my lead, making himself comfortable on the seats.
However, as I sat opposite him while he stared out of the window, I realized that I was worrying about nothing. I glanced at the thick tome spilling from his leather satchel sitting next to him.
Cyropaedia by Xenophon.
I smiled.
My brother had just graduated from being a brat to becoming a fine prince.
"What are you smiling about?" He asked, removing his gaze from the carriage window before his hand absentmindedly fingered the book I was eyeing earlier. The solemn look on his face, which I was admiring earlier, disappeared into the mask of his annoyed expression. Feigning ignorance, I hid my smirk and began to peruse some of the parchment papers I intended to review while travelling. All too soon, he went back to being a brat.
"Nothing."
Notes:
Cyropaedia by Xenophon – The Cyropaedia, sometimes spelled Cyropedia, is a partly fictional biography of Cyrus the Great written around 370 BC by the Athenian gentleman-soldier, and student of Socrates, Xenophon of Athens. The Latinized title Cyropaedia derives from Greek Kúrou paideía meaning "The Education of Cyrus". Aspects of it would become a model for medieval writers of the genre known as mirrors for princes. In turn, it was a strong influence upon the most well-known but atypical of these, Machiavelli's The Prince, which was an important influence in the rejection of medieval political thinking, and the development of modern politics. However, unlike most mirrors of princes, and like the Prince, whether or not the Cyropaedia was really intended to describe an ideal ruler is a subject of debate.