Her ears swivel, picking up a certain sound.
Quickly, but quietly, she heads straight for the door that is exactly next to the Prince's chamber. She knocks on the door, loud enough to be heard through the heavy rain, before opening it.
"Eri?"
She slowly pushes the door open, revealing a room that is very well lit by multiple lanterns. Her eyes instantly draw to the bed, mainly at the occupant. The little girl is sitting up, hands press tightly against her ears as her blanket pools on her lap.
Tears are streaming down her face as she sniffles.
Despite the burning worry inside her chest, despite the urge to jump from her spot and onto the bed in one single leap, she doesn't rush. Instead, she takes her time approaching Eri.
The little girl is still recovering.
"Eri?" she calls out again, louder this time. The little girl snaps her head up, red eyes wide and stares at her.
"R-Rumi?" Her voice is so delicate.
A flash of light along with a thunderous boom cause the girl to shriek in fear.
Unable to resist her temptation, she rushes to the bed. She sits on it, putting herself right next to Eri but stops herself from landing a hand on the little girl. She is still sensitive to touch.
Thankfully, Eri quickly throws herself to her, wrapping her small arms around her frame. Thankfully, she doesn't wear any armor tonight so it won't make Eri uncomfortable.
"It's fine, everything fine," she shushes, wrapping her own arms around the little girl. She runs her hand over Eri's hair in a comforting manner. "It won't hurt you, not while I am around."
Lightning flashes through the window, and the thunder is immediately heard after. Eri shrieks again, pressing her face further into her chest as her arms tighten.
"It's okay. It's okay. Everything is going to be okay," she whispers into Eri's ear, comforting her as she sways side to side while the rain falls harder outside.
"When is Shouta coming home?" Eri whispers very quietly, almost inaudible against the heavy rain, and full of fear.
"He will be here soon," she reassures her as she pulls her little body up and gently puts her down on her lap. "He will be here soon. I promise. For now, I am here for you, okay?"
Faintly, she feels Eri nod her head. She seems to be slightly calmer now. She discreetly releases a sigh of relief as she gently runs her hand over Eri's head, soothing the little girl.
Then, she curses colorfully in her mind.
Due to his order, she is forced to be separated from the Prince's side and stay by Eri's side.
It's extremely difficult, for both of them.
There is nothing she could do but trust that he would return as soon as possible.
.
She watches as the Prince calmly does Eri's hair, who sits down in front of the mirror and has an intrigued look on her face. She thinks the little girl is still fascinated by the way the Prince's hands move as he weaves her hair.
She could understand. She is still at awe just how knowledgeable the Prince is when it comes to hairstyles. She also knows that having your hairdo by the Prince is intriguingly calming.
She knows that feeling very well.
"Done," the Prince says as he releases the braid and lets it fall over Eri's shoulder. She watches as the little girl runs her fingers over the braid, eyes pretty much glowing.
"Thank you, Shouta," she hears Eri say quietly. The Prince merely hums in reply, though by this time she guesses Eri understands it okay enough.
"Shall we go?" he asks. Eri looks up at him and nods her head. She then jumps off from the chair, helped by the Prince, before she pats down her gown and slips her hand into the Prince's.
She pushes herself off from the wall when the pair approaches her, getting ready to leave the room. She opens the door to let them through before she herself goes out and closes the door behind her.
"Are they at the hall?" the Prince asks as he, hand in hand with Eri, walks down the large hallway, lined with windows and lights shining through, while she follows them from behind.
"They should be," she answers while shrugging her shoulders even though he can't see it.
Her spot at his side has been taken, but she's not complaining. In fact, she likes the view.
"Rumi?" Eri's voice gains her attention. Looking down at the little girl, she sees her red eyes looking up at her.
She also has her free hand reaching out towards her.
Her breath leaves her body.
She gives the little girl a warm smile before gently puts her hand in hers.
Look at how far has Eri had come. She still remembers the time when she would only trust the Prince, trust only Shouta. Eri was still hesitant with her, even though she could tell Eri really wanted to believe in her, to trust her, but her past had scarred her too much.
So to see her here, holding hands with her, it warms up her heart. There, the three of them walk side by side, with Eri in the middle.
It seems their duo is now up to three.
The journey to the hall feels too short for her liking, and she is forced to let Eri's hand go to peek out the door. With one eye through the door crack, she counts the number of heads one more time, just to make sure they are all here. Then, she turns around and gives the Prince a nod.
"Eri," the Prince suddenly starts as he kneels down on one knee to be on Eri's level. "We will be meeting a number of people now. Will you be okay?" he asks, hands on her shoulders. She sees Eri's hands ball her gown.
"Why?" Eri asks, the hint of fear is evident in her tone. "Who are they?" She is still afraid of new people, it seems.
But… she doesn't outright refuse it. So, she is getting better.
"They are… special… to me," the Prince answers haltingly, and she has to bite her lips from showing her smile.
That is the first time he ever admits they're people he cares about.
"Are they like me?" Eri asks, fear slowly ebbing away as she releases her gown.
"Yes, but a little older than you," the Prince answers while nodding his head. "They want to meet you, because they care about you. Just like how Rumi and I care about you."
Eri's face scrunches up and now she can't even stop the smile.
That's how Shouta looks when he's thinking deep.
"Okay," Eri finally says. "I… I want to see them, please."
The Prince squeezes her small shoulders before he stands up. As he grabs onto Eri's hand, she opens the door to the main hall.
A little over twenty pairs of eyes that belong to young teenagers instantly glue to Eri.
.
He knows his son very much, just as much as he loves him, even if they are not blood.
He knows his son is never the person who would ask for help; he humors on the thought that it would hurt his son more to ask for help than the pain he is experiencing at that moment due to how introverted and antisocial he is.
That means the very few times where his son would willingly ask for his presence, it is no small matter. It would be something that shakes his son to the core, just like the time of Dark Cloud.
He knows his son still hasn't recovered from that.
So when Knight Miruko suddenly came up to him and told him that his son was requesting for his presence, he quickly dropped everything he had in his hand and commanded the Knight to bring him to his son. He is led to the main hall, where his throne is sat. Right in the middle of the hall is his son, crouching down and back turning towards him.
"Son," he immediately calls out, quickens his steps. Shouta stands up and turns around towards him. He quickly scans his eyes over his son, trying to find anything that is wrong. He finds nothing.
"I am fine, Father, if that is what you are concerned about," Shouta reassures. His shoulders sag but the worry still remains.
"Then does something matter, Shouta?" he asks, looking up into his son's eyes. Shouta doesn't answer immediately, hesitating. That only makes the worry grow.
Then, Shouta looks down and slightly to the side. Confused, he follows where his son is looking.
He freezes at what he sees.
There are very little things that could surprise him. There are even fewer things that could break his façade that he is proud of. After all, he was tortured to the littlest inch of his life back when he was a warrior, when he was Nedzu the Tortured Conqueror before he was King Nedzu of Yuuei.
But this… this is not one of those things.
Because what's staring at him is a pair of ruby red eyes, belonging to a little girl with white wavy hair.
She's hiding behind Shouta, peeking around his leg to look at him. One hand is gripping on to Shouta's pant a little too tightly for a little girl like her. At first, he thinks that she is just very shy, much like Shouta, which is why she is hiding from him.
But he focuses back on her red eyes, he doesn't see hesitation.
He sees fear.
And instantly, he knows.
"This is Eri," Shouta introduces with a soft voice as one hand gently pets the white hair. The gesture catches his attention, and he finally sees the little stump on the little girl's right temple. It's a tiny horn, he realizes. "Eri," he hears the gentle urge in Shouta's voice.
The little girl, Eri, finally looks away from him and up at Shouta. The fear disappears, replaced with hidden trust; wary but still trust.
"It's fine," Shouta reassures her, still with the softest voice he had heard from his son, much softer than when he is with Knight Miruko. "He's fine."
He watches as the little fist tightens slightly as Eri looks up at Shouta with a look of hesitation. Then, she slowly looks away from his son and meets his eyes. Then, she hesitantly steps away from Shouta's leg, no longer hiding behind it.
"H…Hello," Eri greets very quietly, almost whispering, and bows politely. "I-I'm… I'm Eri," she introduces herself and straightens up. As soon as she finishes her words, she immediately turns and wraps her arms around Shouta's leg.
He could feel his heart melt at the sight. Despite her absolute distrust of strangers, she doesn't hesitate with his son.
"Hello, Eri," he greets back in his own soft voice. "You may call me Nedzu. I am Shouta's father."
That gains her attention, it seems, judging by how she turns her head and gives him a confused look.
"Fa…ther…?" Eri looks up at his son, giving him an inquisitive look.
"He is someone who has looked after me, took care of me, when I was around your age and since. He… He is someone who I hold very dearly. That is a father."
He tries not to melt at Shouta's rarely heard words. He very seldom says out loud his affection for others, even to Knight Miruko. For him to openly say those words, the little girl needed all the truth and no lies from him. It must be very meaningful to her.
"Like you?" Eri asks, surprising both him and his son, but more on his son because it had taken him by surprise.
"It is too early for you to call me that," Shouta answers.
"But you take care of me," Eri states innocently while tilting her head to the side. He can tell his son is a little awkward at the topic, and that is his queue to step away and let him handle it, since Eri trusts his son the most and definitely not the fact that he wants to see his son fumbling around, which does not happen very often.
"He had found her alone in the forest two days ago," Knight Miruko suddenly starts as she stands by his side. "She was malnourished, wore nothing but tattered clothes, and was very, very scared."
So Shouta had Eri for two days, and it seems it is enough to gain the little girl's trust. As he watches his son, who is now crouching down to Eri's height, having a quiet conversation with the little girl, he begins to think to himself.
He shouldn't be really surprised, truthfully. He already knows his son has a soft spot for children, no matter how many times he denies it. Shouta is actually quite good with children.
He had heard stories from his Knights about how children of all shapes and sizes would run up towards his son, surrounding him with loudness and excitement that are too much for him to bear but does so for them. He had personally witnessed children of all ages and races dragging his son away to play with them, despite his protests and resistance that he never really meant.
Despite his scary look, despite his harsh nature, his son is very kind hearted. He just doesn't like to admit it out loud.
So he shouldn't be surprised that Shouta would eventually take in a girl under his care.
But… he can tell this little girl is special.