Erina sat beside her grandfather in the throne room, back straight and face impassive as a parade of weary farmers came and bowed and begged for alms or a deferment of taxes because their crops had failed. All of their stories were the same—an auspicious growing season and the promise of a strong yield suddenly thwarted by a rotting of the crops, as though the soil itself were blighted.
When she was younger, Erina had often wondered if her father truly understood what he had done when he sent his curse, whether he had meant it. But now she knew with certainty that he had. If her grandfather had even a shred of weakness inside him, he would have relinquished land and title to put an end to it years ago. And if Erina herself had been any less proud, she would have begged him to.
When the day's last supplicant, a widow, came in, flanked by two small children without shoes and begging for grain to feed them, Erina was reminded of her burden once again.
"Lady Arato," she whispered to her friend once her grandfather had finished his last audience. "I wish to ride out to the fields. Will you accompany me?"
Hisako had always possessed the ability to read her mind, and today she seemed less than pleased with her thought process. Her eyebrows knit together in the way they always did when she worried. "Princess, it is highly inadvisable," she said. "You've only barely recovered from the incident on the riverbanks. Overtaxing your magic again so soon—"
"Is my duty," Erina said, sighing. "As the future queen, I cannot allow my people to starve when I have the power to prevent it."
Hisako sighed heavily, and Erina knew that she was taking mental stock of her potions inventory, weighing the benefits of her various healing charms. "Still, you know that this isn't sustainable. You need to consider your health. If it hadn't been for that fool merchant, Yukihira, your people would be mourning you right now."
Just the mention of that upstart peasant set Erina on edge, but she hadn't a thought to spare for him today.
"My health will recover, as always, as long as I have you with me." The princess clasped her lady's hands between her own, and by the flush spreading on Hisako's cheeks, Erina knew that the argument was won. "Will you ready the horses?"
"Of course," she said. "Just be careful, please."
"I will," the princess promised. "For if I am not, you will never let me hear the end of it."
By sundown, all the agrarian fields of Totsuki overflowed with golden wheat and vegetables, and the people drank and danced in town and farmstead, singing the praises of their princess with the power of the gods.
"You're so unfair, Erina," her cousin Alice whined, riding up to her and Hisako on their way back from the last field. "How on earth am I to become the favorite if you're always pulling stunts like that?"
"Simple. You aren't."
"So prickly," the Princess Alice said. "It's almost enough to make one forget how softhearted you really are."
"Who's soft?" Erina snapped, then paused, taking a sip of the restorative tonic Hisako had made when the fatigue started creeping up on her again.
"Do not provoke her today, Alice," Hisako chided as they approached the center of town.
The people threw roses and shouted praises at the trio as they rode into the town square. Alice waved and blew kisses at them, while Erina offered dignified half-smiles and Hisako kept watch for potential assailants.
"Oh look, there goes your champion," Alice said to Erina, pointing at a particular head of spiky red hair.
"My champion?" Erina scoffed. "That person is grandfather's pet project. He has nothing to do with me."
"Hey, Sir Saiba!" Alice called out to him, completely ignoring her cousin's denial. "Saiba! Doesn't he hear?"
"He doesn't answer to Saiba," Erina said before she could think better of it. "He goes by his mother's name, Yukihira, for whatever reason."
"You know an awful lot about him," Alice said, smirking. "Hey, Yukihira! This way!" She waved him over to them, all smiles.
"Oh, what's up, Nakiris?"
"You will address the princesses with more formality," Hisako quipped, scowling.
"Ignore her. Alice is fine," the white haired royal assured him. "What are you up to today?"
"I'm actually looking for a blacksmith," he said. "I need to get a sword made."
"Oh, then you need to go to Ibusaki's place. It's not too far from here. We can take you if you'd like."
"We can?" Erina repeated, her voice dripping with disdain.
"Of course. We all have errands to run, anyway. Lady Arato has to visit the apothecary shop, and I've been meaning to check in with the seer, so you'll take Yukihira to the blacksmith, right Erina?"
And because her cousin was absolutely impossible, and Hisako actually did need to visit the apothecary, Erina somehow ended up alone with the commoner.
When they reached Ibusaki's shop, Yukihira helped her down from her horse as a gentleman would, and she was begrudgingly grateful because in her current state she might not have be able to manage the descent on her own.
"You sure you're up to this?" he asked, taking a good look at her. "That stuff with the wheat probably took a lot out of you."
"Keep your voice down," she snapped, watching as he hobbled her horse. "What you're speaking of isn't common knowledge."
"So they don't know that pulling off miracles makes you sick?"
"It's not a matter for commoners to concern themselves with," she said. "Least of all foreign ones."
Yukihira shook his head at her, laughing a bit as he opened the shop door. "I almost forgot about that part of your personality."
"Next time, don't. It will prevent you from becoming too familiar," she said. "And what does a tradesman need with a blade, anyway? You don't expect to open casks with it, do you?"
"So you're capable of humor after all," he replied with a broad grin, one that Erina found slightly less irritating each time she saw it. "I figured that if I'm going on a quest, I should probably have something more than a knife."
His words made Erina's blood run cold. "You've accepted it then." She sighed. "You helped me once before, so I feel I should warn you. You may be Lord Saiba's son and heir, but from what I can tell you're no warrior and have no magic to speak of. If you try to oppose Lord Azami, you will die—needlessly and without honor."
"I'm touched," he said dryly.
"I'm serious," she replied, crossing her arms. "My grandfather means well, but he is blinded by his memories of your father and the kingdom's golden age. He does not realize he's sending you into a situation far out of your depth."
Yukihira gave her a long look, and for a moment Erina hoped, more than believed, that he would see reason. "I appreciate the advice, princess. But you're wrong," he told her. "The way I see it, your grandfather is just another customer, and this talisman is a highly coveted product. The Yukihira Trading Company has never failed to deliver before, and it won't this time."
Erina had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from returning his smile. "You're either brave or simple," she said with a sigh. "But I guess it can't be helped. If you insist on seeing this through, you'll need proper armament."
With that, the princess walked up to the front of the shop and addressed the owner's son. "Ibusaki the younger," she said in curt greeting. "This one needs mail and a longsword. The blade is to be made in the claymore style with a good grip. It should be finished in a week's time, all charges posted to the royal account."
"Yes, princess," the blacksmith's son said with a small bow.
"One more thing." Erina reached for the crystal attached to her necklace and placed it down on the counter. Then she took the dagger at her belt and made a small slice across her left palm. After a few drops of blood touched the gemstone, Erina whispered the words of old and the clear stone turned red. "Embed this in the hilt."
She looked up and saw Yukihira glancing at her incredulously. Once he had recovered himself, he ripped a piece of cloth from his tunic to bandage her hand. "Blood magic?" he asked, once he had finished.
"Protection. It will save your life one time," she said. "Be sure not to waste it."
Author's Notes: Thanks for reading, everyone! Enjoy your day!
