Back to where it all started
Nothing had changed since the last time Kyoko had been imprisoned. The same dark walls had the same musty smell with the same hard bed that she was currently sitting on. The only difference was this time, it wasn't her fate that weighted on her mind.
Kyoko looked down at her hands, feeling numb. They were red from the blood, and swollen slightly from the poison. Prince Kuon. She couldn't get the image out of her head.
She turned her hands over, looking at the bracelet they had placed on her. It was enchanted to block the wearer form using magic. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get it off. It had to be removed by someone else. They had slipped it on her when they'd grabbed her and she'd been so distracted she hadn't noticed.
I wonder if the prince is alright she thought, letting her hand fall. At least the guards had gotten there quickly. He was probably at the clinic, getting help from Sawara. She'd never seen a poison like that before. Perhaps it would be a good idea to brush up on them when she returned. If she returned.
Kyoko grimaced. It was obvious that she, Kyoko was suppose to be the victim. It was her food that had been poisoned after all. It was scary to think that someone wanted her gone to the point of taking lethal action. She had just barely escaped death, and now Kuon was paying for it.
Kyoko ground her teeth in frustration. She could only think of one reason someone would want to kill her, jealousy, and there were only a few people that hated her enough to do something like this.
A loud scraping sound echoed down the hall. The door to the dungeons had opened and she could hear the footfalls of someone walking down the hall.
Kyoko shot to her feet, wondering if she was finally going to get released. But the person that stepped in front of her wasn't a guard. It was Setsuko. She held a lamp, the dark shadows casting a haunted look on her face.
"Setsuko?" said Kyoko, not understanding. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm getting you out." said Setsuko, and from her pocket she pulled out a key, unlocking the cell door. It swung open and Setsuko stepped aside to let her out, but Kyoko didn't move.
"What's going on?" said Kyoko. "It's this treason? Why are you helping me?" The woman had said the first day they met that she wouldn't help Kyoko no matter what trouble she got into, and she'd stayed true to her word with all the stuff concerning Aya.
"This isn't for you." said Setsuko. "It's about Kuon. He needs your help."
"My help?"
"He's not getting better."
Kyok's stomach dropped.
"What do you mean?" said Kyoko. "Didn't he go to the clinic and get help?"
"The antidote isn't working." said Setsuko. "They can't figure out this new poison. He doesn't have much time to live."
Kyoko leaned against the back wall, feeling weak. Kuon was dying? How was that even possible? It explained Setsuko's haunted expression, her eyes tight with anxiety as she pushed the door further open.
"Come one." said Setsuko,"We don't have much time, You need to go help him."
"Help him?" said Kyoko, confused. "How can I help him? I'm not even a licensed physician."
"Lory isn't here." said Setsuko. "And he won't be here till tomorrow. By then it will be too late. No one can figure out why the antidotes aren't working. They've run through all their options. You're the last hope we have at saving him."
Kyoko shook her head. "No." she said. "If they can't figure out the antidote to the poison, then an amateur like me isn't going to figure it out."
Setsuko scowled, and for the first time since Kyoko had met her, there was anger in the woman's face. Here lips drew a tight line as she glowered daggers at Kyoko.
"So you're just going to sit back and let Kuon die?" she said, and Kyoko flinched at the venom in the woman's voice. "Didn't you come to this castle because you discovered a new medicine? Haven't you been fighting every stupid obstacle that has tried to knock you down? And now you're going to give up without even trying?" She let out a breath, running her hands through her long hair in frustration. "I expected better of you Magami Kyoko."
"I didn't say I was going to give up." said Kyoko, recovering from Setsuko's outburst. "I just said it was useless for me to try to treat Kuon."
Setsuko paused, confused at Kyoko's words.
"Look." said Kyoko. "It wasn't Kuon's lunch that was poisoned. It was mine, which means that whoever poisoned Kuon probably meant to poison me. All we have to do is find the person who tried to poison me and make them to give us the antidote."
"It makes sense." said Setsuko slowly. "But I think you'll be wasting your time. No one is going to admit to accidentally poisoning the prince."
"It's the best shot we have." said Kyoko. "I can think of a few people who dislike me enough that they might, just might try to poison me."
"Aya and Chieko." said Setsuko.
Kyoko nodded.
"Even if they won't admit it, assuming it's one of them, we can sneak into their room and look for the antidote."
Setsuko stood for a moment, tapping her face with a finger as she thought. Kyoko held her breath.
"It's worth a shot I guess." said. Setsuko. "I didn't think about searching the person's room. We may find the antidote yet."
Kyoko let out a sigh, glad Setsuko wasn't angry anymore. The woman was intimidating.
"Let hurry." said Setsuko. "He only has a few hours left."
Kyoko stepped out of the dungeon, letting Setusko lead the way through the dark halls. She took several unnecessary turns, winding her way through the different halls. As they reached the entrance, Kyoko slowed down, sure the guards would grab her and throw her back into her cell. Setsuko noticed her reduced speed. She grabbed Kyoko's wrist and pulled her along, passing straight in front of the guards stationed at the entrance.
"How come they're just letting us go?" said Kyoko, bewildered at their blatant ignoring of her departure.
Setsuko kept walking, but shot a glance back at her. "Do you want them to throw you back in the dungeon?"
"It's a legitimate question." said Kyoko, feeling defensive.
Setuko faced forward as she answered "I called in a few debts and favors. Getting you out of the dungeon wasn't hard. It's staying out that I can't help with, but should be relatively easy thanks to you."
"Me?" said Kyoko, not understanding. They turned a corner and a familiar kind face greeted her.
"Hikaru?" said Kyoko. The man smiled nervously."What are you doing here?"
"He's going to help keep you out of the dungeon." said Setsuko. "He'll be our cover in case something happens."
"But Hikaru." said Kyoko, very concerned. "This is considered treasonous behavior. If they catch us, you'll be the one in the biggest trouble." The punishment for insubordination from the palace guards was harsh, to discourage rebellious behavior from those that held others lives in their hands. Hikaru waved away her concerns.
"I'll risk it Lady Kyoko." he said. "I promised that next time you were in trouble, I would help you. I know you're innocent, and I believe that you can save Prince Kuon. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to the prince because I was too scared to do what I thought is right."
Kyoko's heart swelled at Hikaru's gesture. She was still worried about them being discovered and Hikaru being punished, but she knew if they wanted to save Kuon, they needed all the help they could get. Kyoko ran up to the guard and hugged him, Hikaru chuckling as he patted her head affectionately.
"Enough." said Setsuko, her voice hard. "We don't have much time. Lets keep moving."
The three of them made their way swiftly through the corridors. The only light came from the crystal lamps hanging on the walls and the occasional moonbeam streaming from the window. Kyoko couldn't help feeling that the whole castle could hear them as they walked. It was the middle of the night, so the only people in the halls were mostly guards. They were easy to dodge them using Hikaru to scout ahead before moving forward. But once they reached the harem quarters, they had to stop.
Like always, the entrance was watched by two guards. Their attention would usually slack this late at night. Kyoko had, on occasion, returned late from the clinic and found the guards playing cards. But there was none of that tonight. These two were one high alert, probably the effect of someone sneaking into the harem with poisoned food.
"Kyoko." said Setsuko, her voice a low whisper. "Can you make an illusion good enough to slip past the guards?" Hikaru had taken off Kyoko's restraining bracelet.
Kyoko channeled, attempting to make her face look like Midori's. She couldn't see the effect of the spell, but Setsuko frowned.
"Not detailed enough." she said. "They're on the look out for anything odd. You won't get past with just that."
Kyoko glanced at the guards. Yup, they were on high alert. There was no way they could slip through.
"You go ahead inside." said Kyoko to Setsuko.. "Me and Hikaru will go to the prince to see if we can help." She doubted there was anything she could do, but she couldn't stand around doing nothing.
"I'll meet you guys there." said Setsuko. "Be careful not to get caught." She left, walking through the harem gates towards the guards. Kyoko watched for a moment while they gave her a hard time about returning without her guard before she slipped off down the hall, Hikaru following close behind.
They were approaching the clinic wing of the palace when Hikaru stopped Kyoko with a hand. He put a finger to his lips, then gestured down the next hall. The light footfalls of someone walking reached her ears. They were too light to be a guards, and they were sporadic, as if the person wasn't sure where they were going. Cautiously, Kyoko peaked around the corner, making sure to stay hidden in the shadow. Ruriko, fully dressed and looking very distraught, was creeping down the hall, constantly glancing over her shoulder as she walked away from them.
Why would Ruriko be sneaking around in the middle of the night?
She paused, then made a split second decision. She quickly, silently hurried behind Ruriko, pulling Hikaru along with her.
"What are you doing?" whispered Hikaru.
"Trusting my guts." said Kyoko. They plastered themselves against a wall, leaning out only slightly in the dark to peer at Ruriko. The girl was acting way too suspicious for Kyoko's liking. Could it be?...
Knowing it was a rash decision, Kyoko stepped out from her hiding place and into the corridor where Ruriko stood.
"Ruriko." said Kyoko.
The woman jumped, almost tripping over her own feet as she whipped around to face Kyoko. Then her expression relaxed, but only slightly.
"Kyoko you scared me." said Ruriko, putting a hand to her heart as if to still it. "Did they let you out of the dungeon? That's good. You are innocent after all."
"You seem to know that I'm innocent." said Kyoko. "But that's cause you're not guessing."
The color drained from Ruriko's face.
Looks like I'm going to find an answer. Thought Kyoko. Ruriko definitely knew something, and hopefully just a little push would break it out of her. " You know who poisoned my food don't you?" continued Kyoko, "And now you're scared because of what happened. Do you think they will let it slide once they find out what you did?"
"I didn't know it was poison!" she cried.
Kyoko took a step back, shocked that her tactic had worked. Tears started to fall down Ruriko's face as she blubbered her excuses. "It's not my f-fault. She told me it would just give you a bad stomach ache for a week. I didn't think it would kill you. And I didn't think that Kuon w-would get hurt. I just wanted to do the opening show..."
Kyoko was speechless. She had thought that Ruriko knew something about the poisoning, but never would she have thought that she herself was the perpetrator.
Hikaru popped up the next second, trying to shush the duchess.
"Please keep it down duchess." he said. "Kyoko wasn't let out of the prison, she escaped. We can't risk her getting caught."
"What?" said Ruriko, looking between them in fear.
"Kuon's not getting better." said Kyoko quickly. Knowing Ruriko's bad personality she might call the guards to arrest them and blame the poisoning on Kyoko. "If he doesn't get an antidote soon he will die. We've been trying to find out who poisoned him so we can heal him. And that person is you."
"How will finding me help?" said Ruriko, still suspicious of them. Kyoko knew she had to continue convincing her not to yell for the guards.
"We were hoping you'd have the antidote." said Kyoko. "Or you can tell us what kind of poison you used."
Ruriko took several shaky breaths to steady herself.
"I don't know." she said finally. "I was just given the potion and told to put it on your food. I have no idea what it was."
"Then who's the person that gave you the poison?" said Kyoko, They could find the answer from them.
Ruriko rubbed her eyes,
"It was Aya."
"Aya..."
Several things started clicking into place in Kyoko's head.
"You were the person Aya was talking about." said Kyoko. Ruriko cocked her head in confusion, but as Kyoko continued talking, recognition dawned on her features. "You were the other person she told everything to. She told you the prince slept on my lap, and then the story I told maria. You were the one that ripped up the flowers and painted the words on the ground."
Aya had seen Kuon sleeping on Kyoko's lap and Kyoko remembered seeing Aya near them after talking to Maria about the crystal aster. It was possible she had over heard the story and realized that the flowers were something special to Kyoko. Then she had probably told everything to Ruriko and let her do the dirty work.
Ruriko nodded, her face blotchy and red.
"I-i'm s-so sorry Kyoko." she blubbered. "I-I've been s-such an idiot. I-"
"You can apologize later." said Kyoko firmly. "Right now we need to get to Aya, and fast. Let just hope she has the antidote."
"She's not in the harem quarters." said Ruriko. "I've been trying to find her..."
Great. Well if she wasn't in her room at least it would be easier to Setsuko to search the room.
"Where did you guys meet?" said Hikaru. The girls looked at him and he shrugged. "Obviously you never talked to her in the harem or else the other concubines would have talked. Which means you two had a spot you would meet."
"Good idea." said Kyoko. "Did you have somewhere you met often?"
"Yeah." said Ruriko. "It's not too far from here."
"Then lets go."
They again made their way down the hall, though it became much harder to avoid the guards. Ruriko was not as adept at sneaking around as the other two, and they had to pause often to let guards pass so they wouldn't be heard. Even with Kyoko using magic to keep them quiet it was a tricky business, and she felt every second that passed. Every moment was a second closer to the prince's death, but there was nothing she could do about it. So she pushed down her frustration, telling herself that getting caught now wouldn't help anyone.
Kyoko and Ruriko were crouched, waited as Hikaru scouted the next hall when Ruriko broke the silence.
"I'm really sorry." she breathed, bangs covering her face as she looked down. "I didn't want this to happen."
Kyoko studied Ruriko. She couldn't see the girls expression, but Kyoko could tell she felt horrible. Her shoulder were hunched, the orange aura of regret and sadness hanging from her.
"If you're talking about the poisoning, I'm not the one you should apologize to." said Kyoko, returning her watch of the corridor behind them. "But if you want to apologize about what you did to the crystal asters. Then I am more then willing to listen."
"The crystal asters?" said Ruriko. Kyoko saw from the corner of her eye that she was confused.
"Yes. The flowers you tore up." said Kyoko still looking ahead. "Those flowers are extremely important to me. They represent two people that I love and will never see again."
Kyoko swallowed, two images drifting in front of her minds eye. Her father, a strong man with a kind face who spent hours studying medicine and working to help people. Ren, a fairy prince who had been suffering yet took the time to listen to her worries. Two men that could never be replaced that she'd never see again in this life.
A flash of pain crossed Ruriko's face before she hung her head again.
"I'm sorry." Ruriko mumbled. "I didn't know."
Kyoko suddenly stood up.
"Someone's walking this way." said Kyoko. "Even if it's not clear, we need to go meet with Hikaru."
She held out a hand, and Ruriko hesitated before taking it, letting Kyoko pull her up. They quietly backed away from the person approaching, meeting up with Hikaru who was just coming back to get them.
"It's clear till the end." he said. "We should have no trouble reaching the room."
Finally thought Kyoko as they approached the room.
The door was ajar, the room inside completely black. She pushed it open, the light from the hall illuminating someone laying on the ground.
It was Aya.
Cold fear rippled through Kyoko as she lifted a shaking hand to her mouth in horror. She couldn't feel any sort of aura from Aya. The girl was dead.
"Aya." said Ruriko, stepping forward. "What at you doing? We-."
Kyoko blocked Ruriko with her arm. The duchess gave Kyoko a strange look, before glancing back at Aya. Then realization dawned on her.
Ruriko screamed.
Kyoko quickly clamped a hand down on Ruriko's mouth.
"Clam down." said Kyoko. "Do you want to wake up the entire palace? Remember that I'm suppose to be in prison right now."
Ruriko's eyes were still wide in horror, but she nodded, indicating that she wasn't going to scream again. Kyoko removed her hand.
The duchess staggered, then ran a few steps down the corridor before retching against the wall. Hikaru hurried over to help.
While he took care of Ruriko, Kyoko entered the room. She grabbed a lantern form the wall and activated it's magic, the light spilling across the dark room. The second she crossed the threshold, there was an immediate change of atmosphere. The room's temperature dropped, making her shiver against the stale air. A sickly wrongness caused Kyoko's stomach to start churning, and it grew stronger the closer she got to the body.
Still five feet away, Kyoko stopped, unable to stomach getting any closer.
The ground beneath Aya was black, jagged glyphs scorched into the ground. The same dark pattern that was on the ground had been seared into Aya's skin and clothes. The glyphs spread from her chest outward, the sockets of her eyes turned dark.
Kyoko took a shaky breath, almost unable to stand the horror of it. She couldn't recognize any of the individual glyphs, but she knew what they were. They were glyphs of The Accursed, a dark society that had long since been eradicated from the kingdom. Or at least they were suppose to have been, but here they were, their evil seeping in the the palace.
"What the hell is this?"
Hikaru had entered the room behind her. He stood by Kyoko, eyes fixed on Aya's body. The same disbelief and horror she felt, mirrored in Hikaru's face, except there was also anger. He suddenly started spouting a steam of curses Kyoko had never heard in her life.
"What kind of messed up #^*& is this?" he said, "I've never seen anything like this before."
"Neither have I." said Kyoko, her emotions becoming numb from the shock. She had seen people die before, it was inevitable after working in physician clinics for most of her life. But this... this was something completely different. This was murder.
Hikaru stepped forward to get closer, but Kyoko stopped him.
"Don't." she said. "There's some powerful dark magic going on here. It wouldn't be smart to get any closer."
"What do we do now?" he asked, desperation in his voice.
"I don't know." said Kyoko, gripping the lantern so hard it hurt. Aya was dead, Kuon was poisoned, and there was an unknown murderer that had killed using magic of the Accursed. There was too many unanswered questions and she felt helpless to do anything about it.
"We can't do anything for her now." said Kyoko, turning from Aya's body, unable to stomach the sight any longer. "Let hope that Setsuko found something. She may be the prince's last hope."
Thanks for reading!
Holy cow this story took a dark turn! Honestly, I didn't even see this happening until after I started writing this chapter. Took myself by surprise.
After my last chapter post, I'm not sure if you guys hate me or love me, and I doubt this chapter helped me. Hmm. Maybe a tad too many cliffhangers...
OH and image update. Yay. Been wanting to do that for a while. Drawn by yours truly. :)
Thanks again for reading! Please don't hate me. Please. I love you all! XD
-Blushweaver
Dear readers,
I am not the writer of this story, nor do I take responsibility for the endless cliffhangers in this series. It should be called the book of endless cliffhangers. Also, I feel like Kyoko needs to pour some salt around Aya's body and call Dean and Sam, but once again this is not my brain child.
-Imouto