Disclaimer: I do not claim any of TP's characters/places as my own.
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Fifty Themes on Lady Yukimi noh Diaomoru
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01. Ring
Bells sang as Yuki followed Princess Shinkokami down the docks and into their new home, happily bidding life on the seas farewell.
02. Hero (s)
At a welcoming ball for the princess, Yuki felt out of place in the presence of King Jonathan, Queen Thayet and Lady Alanna.
03. Memory
Yuki's father had died when she was six. His last words would echo in her mind forever.
"Be brave, Musume."
04. Box
The chart was covered in tiny boxes, each with a name penned in it. Yuki held it at different angles, staring at the squares. She wondered if she would ever be able to read this strange palace map.
05. Run
Yuki had learned to run and hide from her grandfather when he got into one of his private drunken rages.
06. Hurricane
Yuki shuddered as she heard of the destruction wrought on the coastal villages by the weather. On the crossing from Yaman, their ship from the Imperial fleet had nearly been swallowed by a great storm.
07. Wings
Sometimes when Shinkokami was worrying about the prince, Yuki wished she had wings so that she could fly them back home to the islands.
08. Cold
Yuki sensed danger in the pale blue eyes of Kel's arch-enemy, Squire Joren.
09. Red
Shades of scarlet always made Yuki a little homesick. Red was the color of her father's crest.
10. Drink
Yuki hid her face behind a fan and politely turned down the wine that had been offered to her. After her father died, both her mother and grandfather had turned to the drink.
11. Midnight
The moon was full and the stars were bright, but Yuki couldn't sleep, not until Lady Haname returned from her latest conquest.
12. Temptation
Yuki watched Haname shoot a longways glance at a soldier from beneath her lashes. The man winked at her, then came over and led her onto the dance floor. Yuki wished that she had Haname's power to keep a man under her spell.
13. View
Shinko looked very graceful as she and Prince Roald sat before the entire court at the Midwinter ball, but Yuki could tell that she was very bored.
14. Music
"May I have this dance, my lady?" the squire had asked. His grip was too strong as he led Yuki around the dance floor. She smiled and bowed politely at the end of the dance, dismissing Squire Joren.
15. Silk
Shinkokami wore peach, in the Tortallan style, but Haname and Yuki wore Yamani kimonos fine silk garments that whispered gracefully when Yuki lightly brushed her fingers over them.
16. Cover
Yuki saw Squire Joren coming to ask for another dance. Her eyes scanned the room for a place to hide. Luckily Keladry appeared at her side, asking the Yamani to help with a plot to bring Shinkokami and Roald closer together. Yuki accepted, knowing Joren would leave her alone if she was with Kel.
17. Promise
"Yuki, you said you'd like to explore your Gift more here," Shinko said quietly. "Go with Nealan."
Yuki sighed and looked at Kel's tall friend. He had offered an invitation to a mage's party.
"I don't bite," he said, eyes dancing merrily. Kel let out a cough that sounded a lot like the word "much." Yuki smiled at Neal.
"It seems my mind has been made up for me," she said, taking his arm. "Lead on."
18. Dream
Yuki had always wanted to meet Numair Salmalín, the Tortallan black-robe mage. Nealan introduced them, even though he seemed to harbor a secret grudge against the older mage.
19. Candle
Yuki grinned. The mage's party had been much fun for the Yamani. At the end of the evening, Nealan led her back to her room by the glow of a single candle. Just before she opened the door, he leaned forward and brushed her cheek with his lips.
"Midwinter luck, my glorious lady," he drawled. Yuki lowered her face, glad for the darkness that concealed her blush. When she looked up again, Neal was gone.
"Good night, squire," she whispered.
20. Talent
On the fourth day of Midwinter, a page brought a gift to Yuki from Squire Nealan. It was a piece of parchment rolled into a scroll, and a red rose was tied on with a golden ribbon.
A poem was penned on the parchment in Neal's elegant scrawl.
"Your ruby red lips
Shine like the Queen's red jewels
Laughing at the world"
21. Silence
It was very quiet as Yuki showed Lady Haname her poem. The other Yamani looked confused at first, but then she smiled knowingly.
"Why, Lady Yukimi, I think you've made a conquest."
22. Journey
One purpose of the Grand Progress was to show off Princess Shinkokami and Prince Roald. It not for the corresponding census, Yuki would have felt that the trip was a royal waste of time.
23. Fire
There was a glowing light in Roald's eyes whenever he looked at Shinkokami. Yuki had never before felt so jealous of the princess.
24. Strength
Yuki still missed the calm and quiet of the Islands, but with each passing day she became more adjusted to her new home.
25. Mask
When Nealan almost severed his fingers on a shusuken, Yuki had to keep her face stiff just to be sure she wouldn't tell him what a nuisance he was making of himself.
26. Ice
Yuki shuddered and pulled the blankets tighter around her shoulders. Delicate icy flowers were etched across the windows. Winter had returned.
27. Fall
When the Chamber door opened, the crowd gasped. Squire Joren was dead. Even in death, Joren was beautiful. Yuki felt tears as his body was solemnly carried away.
28. Forgotten
The rest of the year's squires passed their Ordeals, as did the next years'. Joren and Vinson were dismissed as nothing more than bad apples.
29. Dance
One night Shinkokami and Haname pulled Yuki out into the falling rain as they had done so many times when they were children in the islands. They linked hands in the courtyard, running and dancing. Yuki almost forgot she was in Tortall.
30. Body
Yuki looked in the mirror. In the years since she and Shinko had made the crossing from Yaman, Yuki had grown from a stocky fourteen year-old girl to a graceful young woman. She wondered if her otosan would be proud.
31. Sacred
The Ordeal of Knighthood was a hollowed ceremony dating back hundred of years. Many, many men, and even a few women had passed through the Chamber doors and come out again whole.
Yuki wondered why she felt so scared for the squire whom she found particularly annoying.
The thought of never again hearing him drawl his odd poetry scared Yuki to death.
"I love him," she realized.
32. Farewells
"Wait for me?" Neal asked, catching her hand. Yuki looked down, trying to fight the tears the pricked at the corners of her eyes.
"Yuki?" the war-bound knight asked. When she looked up into his eyes, she found that they were as bright as her own. "Wait for me?" he whispered again, desperately.
Yuki leaned up for a passionate kiss.
"Forever."
33. World
Yuki had once felt like she'd seen so much of the world, traveling from Yaman and on the Grand Progress. But watching knights like the Lioness and the Giantkiller prepare to go to war, Yuki knew she'd seen nothing.
34. Formal
Yuki opened and closed her shusuken nervously. Since she'd agreed to marry Neal, she was to meet the Lady of Queenscove for approval. Yuki had dressed in her favorite kimono, a dark green with golden and brown bamboo shoots printed on the fabric.
She waited politely until Neal's sister, Marguerite, conducted her into Lady Kristina's presence.
"Don't worry, she'll love you," Marguerite said, echoing the words in Neal's letter. She led Yuki into the bedchamber. "Mother, may I present Lady Yukimi noh Diaomoru of the Yamani Islands."
Yuki bowed politely. Kristina stretched out her hand from her bed.
"So you're the lady who has captured my son's affections."
35. Fever
"See, you needn't have been so nervous," Marguerite said as she and Yuki lunched on the terrace. "Mama doesn't discriminate; she's just happy to have a possibility of seeing her grandchildren."
Yuki looked back into Lady Kristina's room.
"Has she always been so frail?"
"Mother has taken ill several times these past few years. It's all she can do to go to Midwinter functions. None of us are really sure how much longer she'll be with us," Marguerite said forlornly. Then she changed her demeanor and grinned at Yuki, hiding her pain away. "If we're going to be sisters, you should call me Meg."
36. Laugh
"And after I cleaned the rest of the mud off of their clothes, I went looking for the boys. Where do you think Dom and Neal were? Back in the mud-pit, wresting of course. That was the last time Domitan spent an entire summer with us," Lady Kristina said, finishing her story. Her beautiful brown eyes glittered with the happy memories.
Yuki and Marguerite were both perched on the end of the bed. The Yamani laughed with her new family, happy to hear stories about Neal as a boy.
37. Lies
Before Yuki left Queenscove to head north, Marguerite caught her arm.
"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell my father or Nealan about mother's latest bout," she said quietly.
"You want me to lie, Meg?" Yuki asked evenly.
"I just want Papa and Nealan to keep their minds on staying alive. They don't need anything else to worry about now."
Yuki could find fault with Meg's argument, but she selfishly wanted Neal to stay alive as well.
"You have my word."
38. Forever
Yuki glanced into the feverish green eyes of the man she was about to marry. This was it. They would spend the rest of their lives together.
39. Overwhelmed
Yuki looked around the infirmary. The door to Neal's office had been left ajar, giving her a glimpse of his messy desk.
"Well, my fair lady, this be-ith my castle," he drawled. Yuki smiled as he pulled her into a kiss. They were interrupted by a thundering crash and shouts from outside.
Neal ran to the door where he was met by Tobe, Kel's servant-boy.
"What happened?" Yuki's husband demanded with an air of command.
"Some of the villagers were going to repair the roof of their barracks, but the pulley fell and landed on some people. Lady Kel is hurt!"
Yuki's heart nearly leaped out of her chest as Neal ran to Kel and the two others.
What do I do? she asked herself.
"Yuki!" Neal called. The Yamani went to her husband. "Put your hand here and stop the bleeding."
Deftly, Yuki obeyed.
40. Whisper
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Yuki said quietly as she brought Kel her supper.
"I've been laid up for nearly a month," Kel grumbled. "I wish Neal would just give me one of his awful potions and let me be."
"He just wants to be sure that you're alright," Yuki said reflectively. She dropped her voice, knowing Neal's office was in the room next door. "Neal won't ever admit it, but he was really scared when he saw you lying there under that pile of wood."
Kel sighed.
"I know."
41. Wait
"You're sure that you're late?" Kel asked. Yuki nodded nervously. "How do you feel? We're not in Yaman anymore, you can tell me."
"I don't know what I'm going to do," Yuki said at last. "I'm not ready for this- and Neal- oh Kel, Neal's not ready. And we're here, in the middle of a war-zone and-"
"Yuki, calm down!" Kel interrupted. "Worrying will make you crazy. You don't even know for sure that you're pregnant."
"I'll just have to wait and see," Yuki said miserably.
42. Talk
Yuki finished restocking the infirmary cabinet. Her initial reaction to her possible pregnancy was far from the joy she really felt, but the joy was being momentarily replaced by fear of telling Neal. At last she turned to her husband.
"Neal, we need to talk." Neal seemed to sense the tension that Yuki heard straining her voice. He followed his wife into his office and shut the door.
"What is it?" he asked with concern, hands on her arms so that his Yamani lily could look into his eyes. Yuki leaned forward and hugged him close.
"There's a baby, Neal," she whispered. Neal fell back a step, his face filled with wonder.
"Oh, Yuki," were his only words. Yuki let the shocking news sink in. "Are you sure?" he asked a few moments later.
"Oh, I know this is bad," Yuki said, looking down. "I'm sorry."
"I'm not," Neal said, pulling her back into his arms. He gave her a deep kiss, a kiss that traveled to every inch of her body and left her breathless when he finally let her go. Neal grinned. "I'm going to be a Da."
43. Search
A sharp pain raced through Yuki's belly. She pressed her arm against her body, hoping to ease the pain, at least a little.
She pushed herself out of her chair, hoping that her labor was false. The Yamani had just three days left until her due-date. The baby was healthy, strong, and ready to come. Neal was past due to return from the meeting he'd been ordered to attend at Fort Steadfast.
Yuki managed to walk across the compound without having another pain. She passed through the infirmary to Neal's office, and closed the door. As soon as she did the muscles in her abdomen contracted, and she sank down to the floor, back against the door.
When the pain stopped, Yuki felt something wet soaking her skirts and the floor where he sat.
The baby was coming.
"Oh Neal," she whispered. "Where are you?"
44. Hope
"Yuki!" Kel exclaimed, taking in the sight of her friend sitting on the floor in a puddle.
"I'm scared, Kel," Yuki said, breathing heavily. "The baby is com- coming. Fast. You have to help me."
"Me?" Kel squeaked. "I can't!"
"Please Kel- just look and see if you can see the baby's head."
Kel hesitantly lifted Yuki's skirts. Her eyes widened and she nodded.
"Yes, I see the head…Yuki, I can't do this. Let me go get someone with more experience or who at least has the Gift-"
"There's no time!" Yuki said, gritting her teeth. "You saw Neal deliver that baby last week. Just support the neck and catch."
"Yuki-" Kel tried one last time.
"I'm pushing!" the Yamani said defiantly. She felt her baby moving through the birth canal. She was aware that she was crying, shouting out in pain, and that Kel was yelling along with her, but heeding her instructions nonetheless.
It took a few minutes, but eventually a new voice drowned them out.
Kel sat back, a baby wriggling in her arms. Yuki laughed with joy, both at seeing her child and the pain's end.
"It's your baby," Kel said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. She passed the newborn to her mother.
"Hello," Yuki breathed. The baby was tiny, with slightly slanting blue eyes. Yuki saw Neal's nose and ears on her child, but the chin and mouth were her own. Her vision blurred, and she looked up at Kel.
"Domo Arigato," she whispered.
45. Eclipse
The room was dark; none of the usual northern moonlight filtering in through the window. Yuki, exhausted from her labor, was asleep, but she has always been a light sleeper, and she awoke when her husband lit two small candles.
"Hi," she whispered.
"Are you alright?" Neal asked, rushing to her side. Yuki bent down over the other side of the bed, lifting her baby from the cradle.
"We're fine," she said, placing the baby in Neal's arms. He looked shocked and overwhelmed, but he rocked the infant gently.
"She's so tiny," he breathed. "And beautiful."
"She needs a name," Yuki reminded him.
"Kishi," Neal said, thinking back to the list they'd made together. "Beautiful, tiny Kishi."
Neal and Yuki sat in silence for awhile, holding their infant and each other.
"Neal," Yuki said at last. She grinned widely. "You're a da."
46. Gravity
Neal and Yuki knew that they were parents. But the weight of the responsibility didn't dawn on them until Kishi woke them up at three in the morning, crying to be fed.
47. Highway
The traveling party followed the Great Road south to Corus. The war was over.
Yuki and Neal left their companions near Trebond, heading southeast to Queenscove. Duke Baird was with them, traveling home, ecstatic to see his wife.
48. Unknown
"Why didn't you tell me?" Neal demanded, catching his sister's wrist. Yuki rocked Kishi gently, her own tears flowing silently.
Baird was with his dying wife, shocked into disbelief. As he gathered his strength, showing a brave face for his wife, Yuki saw what she hoped was Neal's future.
"Don't blame this on me, Nealan. I've had to sacrifice a lot to care for her. Mother asked me not to tell you and Father. She didn't want you to get killed while you were worrying about her." Marguerite's eyes shone with unshed tears. "She wanted to see you again before she-" Meg was sobbing hard now, but she still continued her speech. "And- all this time, I had to be brave- and take care- of mother- I couldn't cry."
Duke Baird came out of his wife's sick room. When he saw his sobbing daughter, he enveloped her in a hug.
Neal ran out the door, uncomfortable with the amount of intense emotion in the room. Yuki begged her father-in-law with her eyes. He turned to his daughter.
"Have you met Baby Kishi, Meg?" he asked, taking Yuki's daughter from her arms.
"Thank you," Yuki whispered, following her husband to comfort his grief.
49. Lock
As Yuki watched, Neal's eyes met his mother's.
"Take good care of my granddaughter," Lady Kristina whispered dryly in one of her last lucid moments.
Days followed. Kristina's health went up and down. The people around her waited, their breath caught up inside.
Finally Lady Kristina of Queenscove closed her eyes and her fate was sealed.
Neal dissolved in tears. As she held him, Yuki felt her heart break.
50. Breathe
"Why do I feel relief?" Marguerite asked in a whisper. "It's like there was this heavy weight on my chest, and now that mother's gone, suddenly I can breathe again."
The Queenscoves They had just buried Lady Kristina, and now they were gathered together, taking comfort in each other.
"You've had a big burden to bear on your young shoulders," Duke Baird said. His eyes were rimmed in red. "You feel relieved that you don't have to watch your mother suffer through any more agonizing pain. There's nothing wrong with that."
Yuki had learned a lot of things since she'd come to Tortall, but the greatest of all these things was that family comes first. In times of peace and times of sorrow, it is good to surround yourself with the ones you love.
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Translations
(Japanese - English)
Musume - daughter
Otosan -father
Domo Arigato - Thank you
Kishi- knight