Kyoko left the eerie room, looking for Ruriko. She spotted the duchess, sitting behind a column, her knees pressed tight against her chest as rocked back and forth, terror obvious in her aura. Kyoko understood the duchess struggle. Although she was fighting it down, she was panicking, terrified at seeing Aya dead and the marks of the Acursed on her body. But she swallowed her fear, because right now she didn't have time for it.
"Ruriko." said Kyoko, approaching the girl. She flinched, but otherwise didn't move. Kyoko knelt down in front of Ruriko, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Can you stand up?"
She didn't answer.
"Ruriko." said Kyoko again, a little more firmly. "We need to move. Who ever killed Aya could still be around. We need to leave."
But the duchess just kept crying. Kyoko didn't want to be mean, but they couldn't stay. They still had to find a way to save Kuon and Kyoko wasn't going to just leave Ruriko here.
Kyoko saw Hikaru approach from her peripherals. Putting a finger to her lips, she gestured to the area around them. He understood, and stared setting up small glyph that would reduce the noise leaving the area.
Carefully, Kyoko sat down beside Ruriko, putting a comforting arm around the duchess.
"When I was little, I was really scared of the dark," said Kyoko. "It kept me up all night and I couldn't sleep. Later, I was taught a little trick. When I was feeling scared, I would sing a song. It would help me forget my fears and I could sleep soundly. Will sing with me?"
No response.
Kyoko took her silence as a confirmation rather then a rejection and started singing. She chose a lullaby, one that her father used to sing to her at night. Her soft voice drifted through the halls, mixing with the sobs from Ruriko.
Slowly, Ruriko's cries quieted, until the only sound in the corridor was Kyoko's song.
Kyoko finished singing, the last note disappearing in the empty air. She was trying to think of what she could do next when someone started singing. The voice was soft at first, then slowly gained strength, a beautiful sound filling the corridor with light. Unlike Kyoko's weak voice, Rirko's sound carried power in it. It transformed the dark desperate atmosphere into a calm solemn one.
The song ended.
Ruriko was still shaking. Her eyes were red, but her gaze was steady as she finished her song.
Looks like she's finally calmed down.
"Very good" said Kyoko quietly. "Are you ready to go help the prince?"
"How?" said Ruriko, and the desperation returned to her face. "How can we help him? The person who could help is.." Her voice trailed off.
"You can still help." said Kyoko. She had been trying to think of a way to help Kuon the second she had seen Aya. She had an idea, but it included Ruriko admitting that she had tried to poison Kyoko, which wasn't necessarily going to happen. "You were the one that poisoned my food, which means you saw it right? You can tell the physicians any details about the poison that may help them identify it."
"Alright." said Ruriko, without hesitation. "Lets go to the clinic."
A surge of relief and pride surged through Kyoko. The duchess was still shaking and scared, but she wasn't letting it consume her. Hikaru helped Ruriko stand, and she continued to lean on him as they walked towards the clinic. Each time they ran into a guard, he would tell them that the duchess wasn't feeling well so they were going to the clinic. She didn't have to fake it, and the two went unhindered as Kyoko was careful to keep her head down as they walked.
There was no one guarding the main door to the clinic, and they entered easily, but she doubted it would stay like that for long. Sure enough, once they reached the corridor with the individual rooms, there were several guards stationed outside of one of the rooms.
"Is that where you think he is?" said Hikaru, glancing from behind a corner.
"Undoubtedly. " said Kyoko. How were they going to get past them and into the room? Even if Kyoko wasn't wanted, she doubted they would have let her inside. The prince was poisoned, they weren't going to take any chances of someone betraying them. But then a sound from the guards made her heart stop
"Who's there!"
Hikaru cursed "Crap. They must have spotted us."
"What do we do?" she said, trying hard not to panic. They had come this far, to be only turned away now...
Hikaru put a hand on Kyoko's shoulder. "I'll take care of this." he said. "Hide and wait until we're gone. Then cause a distraction and sneak inside."
Kyoko didn't understand, but before she could ask anything, Hikaru had turned the corner and jogged down the hall towards the door. Kyoko listened as the guards hailed him and told him to state his business.
"It's one of the concubines." said Hikaru, and Kyoko could hear him speaking as if he was out of breath. He was probably pretending to have run the whole way here. "I was told the commander was here. Someone's been murdered."
He's reducing the amount of people we have to get past. Thought Kyoko, understanding Hikaru's plan now. She grabbed Ruriko, and quickly walked to a side door in the hall.
"Where?..." said Ruriko.
"Going around. " said Kyoko. "There's another way to get into the hall. A guard will be down here soon and we don't want to be here when they do."
Sure enough, seconds after they had left the hall, she heard the sound of several guards walking where they had just been. As quietly as possible, they hurried around to the other side of the hall, peering around the corner again. Only one guard stood at the entrance
Carefully, taking her time to aim, she fired a small pulse of magic down the other end of the hall. The surge of magic bounce off the side of the wall and into the next hall, where it loudly ran into something. The guard jumped, calling for whoever was there to come out. When no one did, he walked into the next hall leaving the door completely open.
"Quickly." said Kyoko, dragging Ruriko down the hall. They hurried as fast as they dared down the hall, then silently slipped inside the room. Kyoko closed the door behind them, leaning against it and giving a sigh.
They made it. Somehow they had made it.
She jumped when someone said her name.
"Kyoko?"
A kind face sporting glass greeted her inside.
"Yukihito!"
The councilor stood up, walking over to where she was. To her surprise he gave her a hug.
"It's good to see you." he said, pulling away. "How are you doing?"
"Fine." she said, glancing around the room. Sawara was also there, standing by a mobile research rack, different vials and concoctions littering the top of it. There were also two other people that Kyoko didn't recognize, but she knew they were light magician's by the robes they were wearing. They stood beside a bed, the aura of active magic around them.
Her eyes searched and found who she was looking for. The prince, eyes closed, laying on the patient bed. She approached slowly, oblivious to the looks she was getting from everyone in the room. Prince Kuon did not look well. He was deathly pale, the purple veins everywhere as they invaded his body, causing him pain even as he slept.
"Kyoko. What are you doing here?"
This time it was Sawara who spoke. She looked at him, this time really looking at those in the room. She could feel their ache, the tiredness and despair they all felt was visible in their faces and continuance. They had all already given up hope.
"We've come to help." said Kyoko. She refused to submit to despair."Me and Duchess Ruriko."
"You escaped from prison didn't you?" said Sawara.
She didn't answer.
Sawara rubbed his eyes, heaving a huge sigh. "I'm sorry Kyoko, but there's nothing we can do. We don't know what kind of poison this is, and normal antidotes aren't working. If I don't report you, all of us will go to jail as accessories to murder."
"Assuming they can prove that I was the one that poisoned the prince." said Kyoko, glancing at Ruriko. She hadn't said anything since entering the room, her eyes currently fixed on Kuon's silent body. The duchess had said she would admit to poisoning Kyoko, but it was still a hefty crime to admit doing.
"I'm going to get a guard." said one of the light magicians. Fear spiked within Kyoko. She refused to be taken away after coming this far.
"Please wait!" she said, moving to stand between the man and the door. "We've come to help. If you'd just listen to us-"
"Why should we?" said the magician. He wasn't angry, just tired as a hint of pleading entered his voice. "I'm about to fail my prince and let him die. I'm not going to lose my license in the same day as well. I'm sorry but there's nothing else we can do."
"You should listen because of me."
Ruriko had finally spoken. She moved to stand between Kyoko and the magician, glaring at the light mage. "You should listen because I was the one that poisoned Kyoko's food."
All the heads in the room snapped towards her. The light magician's mouth fell open, staring at Ruriko.
"I didn't know it was poison." she continued, her expression darkening. "I was told it would just make her sick. I didn't know it would have killed her." She swallowed, holding her head high as she spoke with new strength. "I might not know the type of poison that I used, but I can tell you what it looked like, smelled like, or anything else that might help. I will do everything in my power to help remedy my mistake."
Stunned silence met her declaration. Sawara was the first to recover.
"It might help." he said, a glint of hope flickering in his expression. "There's no reason why we shouldn't try. Thank you for coming. You're our last hope Duchess Ruriko."
She grimaced. "Just let me know what I should do."
Sawara took Ruriko over to the table where he had been working. He started asking her questions about the poison, what it looked like, the type of poison and so on. Kyoko approached Kuon's bedside, listening intently to the conversation behind her but keeping her eyes on the prince.
A stab of guilt hit her as she looked at his distressed state. She hadn't been good enough to get all the poison out. At this point, using the same technique was impossible, the poison was mixed into the blood stream and everywhere by now. If only she had been a better magician. If only she hadn't made Aya misunderstand her intentions towards Kuon.
Something Sawara had said caught her intention.
"What was that?" said Kyoko whipping around. "What did you just say?"
He paused, hands filled with a couple poisons as Ruriko examined them, trying to identify what her's had looked like.
"I said, 'If it was a combination of the two poisons, it would be difficult to replicate due to it's.."
"Not that." interrupted Kyoko. "About what you were saying about the two poisons she was describing."
"Oh." said Sawara, putting down the vials. "I was telling her that she perfectly described the poison we call hell's dreamer. The only difference between it and Kuon's symptoms is the curse. The only known poison to cause a curse is shodow's bane. Which I was saying was odd since we only know of it in liquid form, and Ruriko was saying that she had used a powder."
"Wait.." said Kyoko, thinking on what he had said. "Does that mean you haven't identified the poison that was used on Kuon? I thought there were different tools and glyphs you can use to identify them."
"Not all of them." said Sawara. "Both poisons I mentioned are ones you can't distinguish except by the symptoms once it's been ingested."
Kyoko's mind was working on overdrive, thinking about what Sawara had said. If they couldn't be sure about which poison had been used on Kuon, and the only difference between the one Ruriko had used and the symptom of a curse... was it possible that Sawara didn't know that the prince was cursed before the poisoning incident?
"Sawara." said Kyoko. "I think he was diagnosed with the wrong poison. The curse isn't a symptom. He was already cursed before being poisoned."
There were noises of exclamation from everyone in the room. Sawara almost dropped the bowl he had been reaching for.
"Are you serious?" said Yukihito, pushing his glasses back up. "How do you know that?"
"Long story." said Kyoko, deciding it wasn't important at the moment. "But I know for a fact that Kuon was already cursed."
Sawara swore. Ruriko looked offended at his use of language. "That changes the diagnosis completely." said Sawara "But are you sure? How could we not have a correct medical history on the prince!? Do you know what kind of curse he had on him? It still might might be a different one."
"I can check." said Kyoko. "I got a good look at it a couple days ago..." About a day ago now that she thought about it. It felt like a lifetime away, so much had happened.
"Please." said Sawara. "If you're right, then we may be able to save him. If you're wrong..."
He didn't finished his sentence, but he didn't need to. They all knew what would happen if the curse wasn't the one she was talking about.
Determined, Kyoko walked up to Kuon, the other magicians making room for her as she approached. She placed her finger tips on the side of Kuon's face, closing her eyes to concentrate better. But when she pressed her magic against his, there was a shock, pushing her away.
"How did you know he was cursed when he's closed off like this?" said Kyoko, rubbing her hands. That one had hurt considerably more then the last one. She hadn't been able to get any reading off of him.
"This detects curses." said Sawara, gesturing to something on his table. It was a strange triangular device that was currently balancing on it's tip, the top of it lighting up. Kyoko narrowed her eyes at it. She had seen it several times in Lory's office, resting on it's side. Yet had is gone off when Kuon entered? She didn't think so. Did that mean he had another curse on top of the other one he already had? She had to make sure.
Kyoko steeled herself, silently preparing again the delve towards Kuon's soul. Placing her hands again on his temples, she initiated her magic. The shock was there again, sending sparks of pain through her arms, yet this time, she didn't pull back. Instead she held her ground, gritting her teeth against the pain as it washed over her wave after wave. She had to see through the fog. To know if it was the same curse. It was like walking against the wind in a sand storm. It sliced at you, sapping your strength, blinding you what was ahead.
Come one she thought, Please, your highness. It's me. Kyoko. I want to help. Kuon... Let me through!
The storm wavered, causing her to nearly lose her grip. It didn't receded, but it meant she was getting through.
That's it Kuon. She thought, grunting in effort. It was getting hard not to pass out from the combined strain of using her magic and the pain. It's me Kyoko. You trust me remember?
Kyoko had no idea what she was doing. There was no way the prince actually could hear anything she was thinking, but it was the only thing she could do.
I want to help. Please... Kuon.
Slowly, miraculously, the pain receded, the storm that pressing against her fading away. She nearly fell from exhaustion, but she could see it. The outer edge of his soul just as it was before. She recognized the same darkness that had been clouded him before.
"It's the same." she breathed, her voice hoarse. "It's the same curse. He doesn't have another one."
She removed her hands, stumbling backward into someone. They caught her and steered her to a seat where she collapsed into it. She could make out Yukihito out of the edge of her vision before she closed her eyes for a moment to regain her senses.
Sawara was quickly administering the correct antidote to Kuon, his voice both excited and worried as he voiced his fear that it still might be too late. Ruriko was crying again, and the two magicians were channeling their light magic furiously, trying to help Kuon in any way they could.
Kyoko couldn't help a small smile on her lips, her eyes still closed. She had seen Kuon's soul. It was still strong and fighting. He wasn't going anywhere yet.
The sound of the door bursting open made her eyes fly open. A dark, broad man in a decorated military uniform entered. Everything about him, from his mustache to his neck were thick, his face thunderous as he looked around the room, his eyes finally landing on Kyoko.
"There you are." growled the stranger. "I should have set more guards on you." He strode over the Kyoko, grabbing her by the arm. She yelped, but didn't struggle, too tired to even try.
"What are you doing Dyrus?" said Yukihito, racing over the Kyoko's side and attempting to stop the larger man. "There's no need to arrest her. She didn't.-"
"If she wasn't guilty of anything before, she is now." said Dyrus, anger coloring his voice. "She escaped prison and forced one of the guards to rebel against his king. She is now guilty of treason."
Hikaru thought Kyoko, a pang of guilt hitting her. How had they found out he had helped her?
"But she didn't poison the prince." Yukihtio said, exasperated. "She came to help and-"
"I've already heard enough." said Dyrus, now glaring at Yukihito. "If you don't stand back, I'm going to have to arrest you under suspicion of assisting her."
Ruriko and the other two magician's added their voices to the fray, trying to tell Dyrus that Kyoko was innocent. But the more they protested, the stronger he stood his ground.
"I will listen to your excuses later." he said. "Come with me." he said to Kyoko, dragging her along. But a new voice made Dyrus stop.
"What's going on?"
Everyone paused, looking towards the bed. Kyoko's heart was beating quickly, joy washing through her.
"Your highness!" said Kyoko, in relief.
Prince Kuon, still pale and shaking, was attempting to sit up, clutching his head as he stared at the guard. He didn't look too happy.
"Captain Dyrus." said Kuon. "May I ask why you are holding my concubine like that?"
The guard addressed the prince in a polite yet firm tone. "Your highness." said Dyrus. "Kyoko has been arrested and accused of poisoning your food sir. She escaped prison, and I am now returning her to her cell."
"Accused of poisoning?" said Kuon, examining Kyoko. His green eyes searched her own. Her heart was pounding, wondering if he was going to believe that she had done. He took a few more breaths before speaking again to Dyrus. "If that's the reason, then you may release her. Kyoko did not poison me."
She felt the tension leave her body, breathing out in relief, but her relief was short lived. Rather then releasing her, Dyrus, gripped Kyoko's arm harder. She winced, her arms still hurt from using magic earlier.
"Your highness." said Dyrus, his eyes determined as he spoke. "We can't trust her. The whole reason you brought her into the harem was because you were suspicious of her. Now, not only were you poisoned, but Aya was found dead, killed by the Specter. All of these things have happened after bringing her into the castle. Doesn't this prove that your first theory about her is correct?"
What!? Kyoko's eye wend wide in shock. Kuon had suspected her? That's why he had brought her into the harem? To watch her? And what was this Specter he was talking about?
"Aya is dead?" said Kuon, disbelief in his voice. His expressed grew grave as he pondered this new information. Kyoko heard a few other in the room start murmuring at the news as well. She noticed that there were other guards in the room as well.
"Regardless." said Kuon, recovering. "That was in the past. I no longer feel that Kyoko is, or ever was a threat. So release her."
Dyrus opened his mouth to argue again, but Ruriko spoke up.
"Kyoko did not poison her own food. I did."
Dyrus gave her a shocked look, turning to her in surprise.
"Duchess?" he said, disbelieving. "What are you saying?"
Ruriko glanced at Kyoko, then took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Kyoko's heart went out to the duchess as she held her head high, admitting to her almost deadly mistake.
"I poisoned Kyoko's food." she repeated, "I didn't know it was poison. Aya was the one that gave it to me. She told me it would make Kyoko sick. I didn't know what it was."
The other guards started whispering to each other under their breath, surprise and disbelief evident. But Kyoko was watching Kuon's expression while Ruriko talked. At the mention of Aya poisoning her food, he didn't seem surprised.
Dyrus hesitated, then reluctantly let Kyoko go.
"Duchess Matsunai." said Dyrus. "Would you come with me please? We will need to question you further on what happened."
She nodded, allowing two guards to escort her out of the room. Dyrus turned to leave, but paused beside Kyoko.
"You may be off the hook this time," he said under his breath, so that only Kyoko could hear. He wasn't looking at her, rather the wall behind her. "For your sake I hope Kuon is right about you. Don't do anything funny. I'll be watching your every move."
She didn't respond, but watched as they left the room. Sawara quickly rushed to Kuon's side, checking his vitals to see how he was doing.
"I'm fine." said Kuon, waving away the physician. "I'd like to speak to Lady Kyoko alone."
Sawara obviously wanted to protest, but Kuon's expression told him he wasn't going to listen. Sawara delayed as long as he could, making sure Kuon's condition really had stabilized, before leaving, closing the door behind them.
As soon as everyone was gone, Kuon slumped back down on the bed, exhausted from the effort of sitting up.
"H-how are you feeling?" said Kyoko, suddenly nervous at being in the same room as him. The mixture of her exertion, lack of sleep, and the tension she had been feeling all day was making her jumpy. It didn't help that she couldn't get the new revelation out of her head. The one that he hadn't trusted her. It hurt more then she thought it would.
"Like hell." he muttered, a soft chuckled passing his lips. "That was a nasty poison, what ever it was. It's a good thing you were there or else I would have died." He gave her a kind smile, and Kyoko felt her heart leap.
"Sawara gave you the antidote." she said. "And it was the combined effort of those two light magicians and everyone else that saved you your highness. I didn't do much."
He beckoned to her with a hand. Reluctantly, she approached. He grabbed her hand, giving it a soft squeeze. She was so shocked by the gesture she didn't know how to respond but to stare at him.
"The last thing I remember before passing out was you pulling out the poison." he said, eyes still locked with hers. "And then again, I felt like I could hear your voice before coming out of it."
He gave her hand a squeeze again. "Thank you Kyoko. You seem to be helping me out a lot lately."
"Does.. that mean you trust me?" she said, then immediately bit her lip, wishing she could take it back. Kuon gave her a confused look before realization dawned on his face.
"You're worried about what Dyrus said." said Kuon smiling.
She nodded reluctantly.
"He's telling the truth." said Kuon, and Kyoko's heart sank. "The reason I made you enter the harem was to keep an eye on you. But it's been a long time since I've felt that way. Now, you are one of the few people I would trust with my life."
Kyoko grinned.
"I'm glad you put so much trust in my abilities as a physician. " said Kyoko, glowing with happiness. "I will do my best to continue to live up to your expectations."
Kuon gave her a trouble expression "That's now exactly..." he sighed, then let go of her hand.
"I'm sorry." he said, closing his eyes "It's getting hard to concentrate. Could you send in Sawara now?"
"Of course." said Kyoko, giving a curtsy. "I'm glad that you're better your highness."
He didn't response, and Kyoko noticed that he had fallen asleep. It was no wonder. He had to be completely exhausted, much like how she felt at the moment. Combined with the relief she felt, It was almost overwhelming her. She quickly struggled to restrain her emotions.
Not yet. She thought, squeezing her eyes shut before opening them again. Not yet.
Quietly, she exited the room. Yukihito and the two light magicians rushed back in as soon as she left. Sawara paused at the door to speak to Kyoko for a moment.
"You can stay in room 203 for the night if you want." he said. "It will be safer, and I'm sure you're tired."
"Thank you." said Kyoko, plastering a smile on her face. "I'll gladly use it." It was getting close to morning, and she'd been awake all night. Her body ached from the mixture of stress and fatigue, and her arm was bruising where Dyrus had held her. Sawara gave her a tired smile before entering the prince's room.
Kyoko staggered into the guest room, shutting the door behind her. Now, finally alone, the smile on her face dissolved. She grabbed one of the pillows, squeezing it tight against her body as she let herself feel everything that had happened today.
The fear, terror and sorrow she'd been holding in tumbled forth. A chocked sob escaping her lips. Her body began trembling at the onslaught of emotions she had been suppressing.
"She's dead." cried Kyoko. "I-I..."
She couldn't get the image of Aya out of her mind, the charred marks and body of her former friend, dead on the ground. A part of her had hoped, that one day they could make up and become friends again. But it looked like that wasn't going to happen now. She was gone. And the Accursed were back. Kuon had nearly died, and she had been helpless to do anything substantial.
She slid to the floor, hugging the pillow to her chest as she cried herself to sleep.
Lory strode through the clinic halls, passing the guards that stood at the entrance. It was unnerving to think that they needed guards here in his clinic. But there was nothing that he could do about it. The Specter had returned and killed again. An event he had hoped would never repeat itself. Yet here it was, haunting the castle once more.
He entered Kuon's room, not bothering to knock before entering. He spotted Sawara, slumped in a chair by the bed. He stirred as Lori drew near, then quickly stood up, blinking the sleep from his eyes.
"Duke Takarada." said Sawara. "I'm glad that you're finally here."
"I came as soon as I heard." said Takarada, "I'd like to talk to the prince alone."
"Eh?" Sawara was surprised. "But sir, he needs his rest. He only received the antidote a few hours ago."
"He can rest after I talk to him." insisted Takarada.
Sawara started to protest, but he was cut off by the prince.
"It's alright Sawara." said Kuon, sitting up in the bed. "Please let me talk to the Duke."
Sawara gave Lory and Kuon one last worried look before leaving. Lory sat down in one of the chair beside Kuon's bed.
He examined the boy with a professional eye, noticing the pallor and weakness he was exhibiting. He was putting up a good show, attempting to look casual as he leaned against the headrest. But it was obvious to Lory he wasn't well. Not well at all.
"How are you feeling?" asked Lory
"Fine." said Kuon. "Did you hear everything that happened?"
"I did." said Lory. "I think I'm going to be killed by your parents when they come back. I promised to keep you safe after all."
A look of pain entered Kuon's expression "Looks like we're both breaking our promises." he muttered
Lory knew what that look was for. "It's not your fault." said Lory, wishing he could stop Kuon from putting too much blame on himself. "The dark seed inside of her had been unstable for a while. How were we suppose to know that it would spiral out of control like that? And so suddenly without warning."
"So you suspect that it was part of what drove her actions?" said Kuon, some of the pain receding from his expression.
"There is evidence suggesting it." said Lory. "It's probably what drove her to poison Kyoko."
Kuon thought for a moment. "Why did the specter kill Aya?" he said finally. "Surely it wasn't because she failed to kill Kyoko was it?"
"I'm not sure." said Lory. "But my guess is that it has something to do with you. The Specter usually only appears when you're involved. It's possible that after Aya found out you were poisoned instead of Kyoko, the seed could have lost strength. We've been receiving a lot more cases where seeds fluctuate in power and potency depending on the persons current emotions. My guess is that she regained her senses and was going to admit to her actions. But the specter saw an opportunity to get rid of you and killed Aya to silence her."
Kuon's expression turned dark again. He was obviously blaming himself for Aya's death. The reason Kuon had added her to the harem was to find a way to remove the dark seed inside of Aya. She'd been the first case they'd been able to identify, and she'd been improving. At least, until the specter appeared again.
They'd been looking for two years, and still hadn't found a way to cure someone of those blasted seeds. There were ways to suppress the seeds, hinder their growth, but no way to completely stop them, as was evident in Aya.
Part of the reason for their research, was in the hope that finding a way to removed the dark seeds would also find a way to remove the curse on Kuon. But little to no progress had truly been made.
"We're going to keep her part in this quiet." said Lory. "She's already paid her price, and there is no need for her family to suffer shame along with the pain of losing their daughter. We're also keeping quiet Ruriko's part of everything as well."
Kuon made some sort of sound in his throat, only half listening.
"Also." said Lory. "There's one more thing. I'm pulling you out of the sword tournament."
"What!" said Kuon, sitting up quickly. He immediately groaned, clutching his head as he sat back in against the bed. Lory watched him silently, his own heart going out to Kuon's current pain. After Kuon recovered from his bout, he asked calmly. "Why?"
"Because you can't use your light magic anymore." said Lory.
Kuon was surprised. "How would you know that?"
Lory gestured at Kuon. "You've proven it to me with this poisoning occurrence. You were given a poison that uses the roots of the fellock plant. You should have had no problem curing yourself if your light magic been working correctly. But obviously you didn't, so that means your can't control your light magic at all."
Lory had been toying with the possibility of taking Kuon out for a while. But when he had heard which poisons had almost killed Kuon, he had made his choice.
"Please. Give me just a little more time." plead Kuon. "I'm close. I know I can beat this."
It's not something you can beat. Thought Lory sadly. It had always been one of Kuon's biggest problems. He thought that both the light and darkness were something he could force to follow his will. He still hadn't learned to embrace both parts of himself. The good and the bad.
Kuon was bowing his head, silently pleading for Lory to reconsider. Lory knew what this tournament meant to Kuon. He wanted desperately to prove himself worthy of his fathers name. To take up this duty was another step into one day taking the throne. Telling him he couldn't do this tournament was like telling Kuon he wasn't ready to be king.
Lory gave an irritated sigh.
"Your cousin will be home soon." said Lory. "When he returns, you two will have a duel. If you can't beat him, he will take your place in the tournament. I think this is fair chance for you to prove yourself."
"Thank you." said Kuon, lifting his head. "I won't disappoint you."
"Don't make promises you can't fulfill boy." said Lory, crossing his arms disapprovingly. He really was too soft on him sometimes. "I seriously doubt that you'll be able to beat him. While you've been here, he's been helping me take care of some sticky business. He's gotten quite adept at fighting since you dueled him last. I suggest that if you want to beat him, take my advice and use simplest way to control your light magic."
"Which is?.." said Kuon.
Lory wanted to smack the boy over the head. Had he really forgotten such a simple thing?
"Love." said Lory, face serious.
Kuon's expression instantly darkened.
"Don't give me that look Kuon." said Lory. "Love is the greatest power in this world."
"Of course." said Kuon, obviously humoring Lory.
Irritation flared inside of Lory.
"This is not a light matter." said Lory. "You almost died Kuon. Aya is dead, and the Specter got away again. You're just lucky to be here. If you don't learn to control your light magic, history is just going to repeat itself."
"I know." growled Kuon, barely controlled rage burning behind Kuon's eyes. As fast as it had appeared, it vanished, replaced with pain. "I know." he repeated softly. "I'm doing everything I can."
"So am I Kuon." said Lory, wishing he could do more for his godson. So am I...
Thanks for reading!
And so ends the first big major arc! (Maybe you could even call it the first book.)
A big thank you to all of you that are reading/reviewing/fav/following this!
Miss Terious: Saiunkoku Monogatari, man I haven't read that in years! Now that you mention it I can see some parallels.
Here's an announcement:
I am taking a (hopefully) brief break
Sorry guys, but I'm completely worn out. Like, this chapter was super hard to write. I hope to be gone no more then a month. But the time will not be wasted. I will be outlining the rest of the story and working out the kinks. I will return when the desire to write drives me like it did when I first started this story.
Also, a guest requested that I draw the concubines so they could see how I imagined them. The link is in my profile if you're curious. (And you're welcome! Glad you liked them. :D )
Thanks so much for all your support! I wouldn't be doing this anymore if it wasn't for the constant support from you all! This story is not even close to done. Ugh. It will never end! I hope to see you all again when I return!
-Blushweaver