Chapter 15: Daily life at Hoshido, Part 1
Silence filled the dark room, only interrupted by the sound of the pen that followed it´s master will. As the minutes passed every piece of paper in the desk moved from one side to another as the blonde prince signed every piece of paper, just marking, approving or placing the denial seal on the various documents. It was a daily ritual, one that he hated in the last months, but with the news about the border and what happened in Hoshido, it was a kind of blessing being the first to read those papers. He sought any kind of clue or insight on the whereabouts of his brother, or rather brother-in-law if that term had any significance at that point. To be honest he always had a hint of jealousy from the attention the albino attracted, but now it proved to be one of the things he missed. Seeing the papers and flinching every time it was something unrelated to the albino, reports of the troops, harvest, mines, population or law, paper after paper proved to be troublesome for his mind after a couple of hours. The time was irrelevant when he was in his room reading all the papers, looking for something, anything to find the slightest of clues. Frustrated, he threw the pen at the desk and placed his hand on his face, leaning on his chair. As the last paper was piled at the top of the documents at his left he grumbled "….no luck today either…" another voice interrupted his thoughts. Looking at the door, he spotted his retainer with his trademark smirk.
"None of your business, Niles," Leo groaned as he straightened his posture. "Any luck at the borders?"
"Uh? So skip right ahead to the info then? Not that I have a problem with it, but you should reconsider your health, this is your third sleepless night, Lord Leo," Niles said, leaning against the frame of the door as Leo massaged his temples. It was true that he already had black eyes from the lack of sleep, but at that point he couldn't take the luxury to rest, not when Camilla was losing her mind from the last reports.
"Fine, I´ll think about it, only if you drop your act and start talking about your findings."
"Fair enough," Niles shrugged as he took a parchment from his pouch. "It seems that there´s something wrong with our neighbors, none of our spies can get beyond the new barrier. Not even our Faceless, they just stand looking at the sky for days until their magic runs out."
"Outsiders not allowed, huh?" Leo thought with his hand on his chin. Although he never was happy to send Faceless to siege the villages, this time he wanted to use them as a distraction to invade the halidom, but now all his schemes were put into hold, "So none of our people or forces are able to invade…."
"Under normal circumstances no, but there is a rather suspicious group walking in and out of the border," Niles said, taking one of the papers from his pouch and handing it to his liege. "Aside from people looking for a better life, there´s a certain group that has been sneaking under our noses."
That tone in his voice, Leo always hated to hear it. There was always something nasty in his mind when he smirked like that, waiting for him to take the bait. He groaned, looking at the paper and not sure was he was looking for. "Just spill it already."
"There~ there, no need to be hasty about it," Niles laughed. "Our goody two shoes Niles and his group are gathering at the border, with the other members of Kamui´s group. It´s quite interesting that they are able to go pass the barrier, but they decide to stay at the border."
"Hiding from us?" Leo thought for a moment, but while looking at the markers in the map that thought disappeared. It looked like they moved rather quickly from Nohr to Hoshido and back, there was no meaning behind his movements, or that he could see, just random towns or villages that were visited. Of course he needed to see their destination in Hoshido, but from Nohr they just visited some villages known for their ore or their tools, nothing too interesting "So I guess it was useless to send you."
"Easy there, I managed to hear something really good actually," Niles said, crossing his arms, but his smile disappeared as he looked away. "If you want to hear it, it would be better if the other hear it as well."
Leaving the papers on the desk he massaged his temples again. That morning the thief had a really awfully whimsical mood, sadly he had to deal with it. "Fine, I'll gather the others, but be aware that if Camilla doesn't like what you´re going to say, it will be really hard to convince her not to eviscerate you."
"Indeed? Hah! You know what I think about that woman, not that she can be more heartbroken, right now I'm sure that she´s in her little shrine w-"
"Great! Then you DO know what will happen if you tease her right now, right?" Leo huffed, walking to his side and finally preparing for what could be a really bad family reunion, at least with that information. He had the much-needed information. If they managed to get in touch with Silas and the others perhaps they could get the albino back.
Having his share for the time being, Niles decided to follow him through the hallways. "It will be interesting, when was the last time that Selena and Odin spoke by the way?"
"Thank the dragons that we still need you, otherwise I swear that Camilla would throw you in the deepest dungeon," Leo groaned as he had to tolerate his attitude.
Dawn, one of the most important times of the day. Reina knew it, as did every Kinshi warrior in the castle. At that point of the day she was always training the new recruits as she had to make sure that the importance and strength of the new generation wouldn't fall back. She was glad to see that even if she had to decline most of the generous new people in her ranks, she was happy to see that the potential in their lines were too good, not too shabby. Not to brag about it, but there were some great assets in the new recruits, those who could block and attack, who could learn faster than the other and a few that would never yield in sparring as they continued until they were forced to forfeit the match. Some of them too bold for her liking but then again, she dived into the enemy lines to take care of the troublesome Warriors of Nohr. Right now she was looking at the recruits strolling around the training camp at one of the fields near the castle, the view was great and she was happy to see that after a couple of hours, they would be over for the time being.
"Easy guys, just a couple of laps and we´re good for a little rest," she cheered them as the recruits groaned exhausted by her attitude. It wasn´t uncommon that Reina had an iron hand when it was something to do with the military force of Hoshido, but that morning she was particularly motivated to hone their skills and push their limits, all behind her trademark smile when she was getting excited in the battlefield, "C´mon guys, one last lap, otherwise it won't be good enough for Lord Ryoma. Keep it up!"
"Not good enough? I can practically see them giving the best of themselves!" Reina looked back and bowed as Ryoma approached, dismissing her with a gentle gesture of his hand, "I think that the recruits have done enough training for now, Reina."
"Is not enough, Lord Ryoma, is only the warm up. After this they´re to spar and to finish the preparations for the coming weeks, after all they´ll assist the royal guard in the autumn harvest, so we can't be behind schedule."
"A warm up, you say?" He looked at the tired warriors that were barely strolling around the place, some of them were about to fall as they just continued for his presence, "Okay….Listen up everyone, I´ll take your commander for a while, so take this time to rest. She´ll join you at the afternoon in the general quarters, dismiss!" Ryoma said clapping his hands, almost everyone sighed in relief. With a gesture Ryoma invited her to walk at his side.
"Lord Ryoma, you´re too soft with the new recruits," she said with a weak sigh. "Then again that´s the reason I'm here, to support you and your br-family and Hoshido as well I can," she corrected herself, although Ryoma noticed it.
"If everyone were as good as your job, your only job would be as a retainer, Kamui's retainer I assume," Ryoma laughed as Reina stopped for a moment and looked at the ground.
"So….. What about Kaze? He´s supposed to be Lord Kamui's retainer but I haven't seen him in a while."
"That´s part of the reason why I'm here, actually," he looked around and, once he was sure that they were alone, from under his sleeve he handed a couple of parchments to her before resuming their walk. "He´s been assigned for the next weeks to explore border, and….neither he nor I can face Kamui. Every time we try to talk with him it's just…impossible, to say the least."
"He´s been suffering for quite a while, Lord Ryoma, I can't exactly approve of the method you used to bring him back… especially when you used Raijinto against him in such an…. Ungraceful moment."
"Even you know about that?" Ryoma scratched the back of his head as he flinched at her words.
"For starters, Raijinto is supposed to be used against foes who are willing to fight back or threaten our land. I only heard rumors, but if they´re true then I can hardly say that a weak and ill little girl is a threat, even a Nohrian one."
"…..It wasn't that simple," Ryoma said, massaging his temples. "And I didn't attack her, from the very beginning everything went wrong."
Rarely the eldest son looked so troubled. Reina just stared at him for a brief moment before taking a seat on one of the stone benches of the garden, inviting him to join her. "Then explain," she said with a soft smile, Ryoma just sighed.
"'So far, so good,' I thought after sneaking in his camp," the prince said, crossing his arms. "After the small fight and 'retreat' when he found out about the medicine, it was too good to be true. The guards were busy helping the injured people around the area, and with only a few soldiers we found out the tent we were looking for. After all, we had our trump card."
Thinking back, Reina remembered the whole reason that plan was possible. "…..Kaze…..to think that he would break his vow…" she shook her head. It was far more complicated than that, perhaps he was missing information. After all a ninja wouldn't do something like that without a good reason, and talking about Kaze, there was no way it was an easy decision. Perhaps she needed to speak with the ninja, "…..and the girl? Who was she?"
"She was the youngest of the royal Nohrian family," Ryoma stated, taking the woman by surprise. "Elise, I believe…..she was walking with him, apparently she was taking a small stroll to stretch her legs and to fully recover. Yukimura said that some members of his group were sick, but I never imagined that one of them was royal."
"Then you just attacked them like that? In the open?"
Even with his stern expression he was again taken back for her words, "…..that's…one way to put it, but not exactly. Everything went wrong after some hours, one of the guards was speaking with him and then the whole alert was set throughout the camp. At first we thought we were found out, when they were walking away we saw that some of them were walking to a kind of portal. Kamui was leading them to a place I never saw before, it was like a door of light opening to another world. I saw how everyone was running to that place and how he was about to leave the camp, just when we thought that we had lost our chance….at the last minute Kamui returned to his tent as some of the soldiers under Yukimura's orders managed to take the little princess by surprise."
"…..Please tell me that he didn't do what I'm thinking," Reina said as she massaged her temples.
"That idiot, he took the chance to use one of the bottle with the disease and forced her to drink it. Kaze and I were forced to stand back until we got our masks to protect our faces and being sure that it was safe. Kamui, fortunately, was immune due to his dragon blood….but that girl got worse in seconds…"
Only minutes after starting their conversation and she was already disgusted for what the tactician schemed under their noses. "…I want to assume that before your leave, at least you made sure that the poor girl survived."
"Before we left that place I left a small sample of the cure, but that of course was for the poison that was supposed to freeze them in place….I'm afraid that I don't know what happened after that."
"Right…..Lord Ryoma, can you tell me the purpose of this conversation? Aside from putting my patience to test," Reina said crossing her arms and tapping her fingers.
"Easy there, I know it's not something pretty to hear, but I want to be honest with you, that and….. I want you to take care of him in my absence…..I´ll be away for a couple of days….." by the look on her face she wasn't convinced, at least not fully convinced for his words, "….and you´re the closest thing to a mother in this situation, so I felt that you needed to know…at least a little bit, I'm ashamed to confess how everything went wrong that day…. "
"….And that´s it?" she glared at him. Ryoma was taken back for her words and her attitude, "Listen, you´re the future King of this land, most importantly, his brother," she stood up, fixing his collar "If you´re really sorry then be sure that in your return make time for him, even if he doesn't want to stay with you, keep pressing. The worst thing you could do is to give up and rely in the others to fix your mistakes. You can still make amends with him."
"…..Kind words, Reina, really kind" he laughed, scratching his head. "I´ll try my best. Please take care of him, I´ll be leaving in a hour or two."
"Have a safe trip, my lord," she said, brushing away some leaves from his hair. "I have some things to say about your performance, but first I need to gather my thoughts…"
"I understand…..then I'll be taking my leave, please keep everything in order…..and don't be so harsh on me the next time we meet," Ryoma said, walking away and leaving her alone in the gardens. Reina massaged her temples. There was something inside her head, a crawling and lingering feeling, unlike the thirst for the battlefield. This was something else. Seeing his reflection in the water of the pond she smiled.
"…..Mother, huh?" she whispered, looking at herself one last time before walking to the castle. "Forgive my boldness, milady, but I'll do my best to protect him as well as you did," she said with a faint smile.
The time passed at the castle. The morning didn't last and before the albino noticed it, the sun was already taking its place in the sky. Watching from his window he saw Ryoma and a small group of guards and nobles leave the castle. It was strange to see them depart from the castle. Of course the prince tried to talk to him but he wasn't interested. Sighing he decided to take a small stroll through the hallways, although he did enjoy the events in the morning he wasn't willing to admit it, less in front of the maids that were gleaming with happiness. Perhaps he got a little attached of them, Rin and Miyu were so different of Felicia, Flora and Jakob but similar in a unique way.
Easy to say that at that point he wanted to see them again, with all and flaws that he loved to see, and more importantly, to see all of his friends and her, more than anyone else. Closing his eyes and leaning on the frame of the window he remembered all those days and her fragrance, he loved to see her sleep aside of him every morning, perhaps he was getting too homesick but at that point he didn't care if someone saw him being a little happy remembering those days.
"Aahh…..I finally found you," his skin bristled hearing that voice. Opening his eyes and looking to his left he saw that man that he hated so much. Yukimura was approaching. "And I was wondering where you were."
Reading himself Kamui took a back step, glaring daggers at him. "What´d you want?" he spat as he looked around. Unlike other times, Yukimura was alone, strangely alone and with a soft smile on his face, the way he curled his lips was disturbing.
"Oh? Why so hostile? It´s been a while and I need a fav-" before he could continue a shadow appeared in front of Kamui, gently pushing the albino away. Kagero draw one small scroll of her pouch and readied herself for any incoming fight.
"Under no circumstance are you to go near Lord Kamui in the absence of Lord Ryoma," Kagero said. Yukimura just stared for a moment before laughing and face palming with a hysterical laugh, taking by surprise both of them.
"Then you´re his guardian for the time being," he said, still laughing. "Lord Ryoma did it this time, it's quite amusing how he tries to protect you, or bring you back to our side, heh…" he stopped with a long breath. After some seconds he glared at him, searching for something in his own pouch, this time his eyes were full of contempt. "He even try to make me look like a bad person in the council, saying that what happened in Nohr was a mistake….do me a favor, and show them that you´re either just as barbaric or a coward like your so proclaimed 'true' family," he said, throwing a small object in the air.
He was taken back as the small object was spinning in the air, Kamui couldn't believe how that metal thing moved, taking or 'absorbing' the light. His heartbeat rose as he started to tremble, the object finally fell to the ground, rolling away behind him.
It wasn't until he looked back that he noticed that the object was a small coin of some kind. He looked around trying to find the ninja but failed. His vision was blurry and when he raised his hand to see if it was to that darkness that he couldn't see, he was filled with fear when he saw his own gloved hand, looking down he noticed that he had his armor again, his cape, his sword, a reflection of what he had lost, and more importantly, one fact.
Solitude.
He was alone in that place, no sound or wind, just the lingering feeling of an incoming eldritch horror, a chill ran through his spine that in his desperation he looked around trying to find a way out. He tried to scream but his voice was missing again. He trembled as his head hurt, he felt like something moving under his skin as breathing turned harder by the second, then again he was surprised by something else.
Even if he was alone he could hear some giggles away of him.
As if by some kind of spell, a door appeared in front of him, surfaced from the darkness of that place, slowly the door 'emerged' little by little and took for of a known place in his memories. He felt a void in his stomach as the door of his own bedroom in the treehouse appeared, withered and with an ominous air. It cracked as it slowly started opening, his heartbeat raised again as he felt that his chest was about to explode and the tears fell from his face, someone was behind the door and it was looking at him. The door stopped just with enough space to show a white face covered with blonde bangs, the once beautiful face was now full of cracks, it was as if the face was made of porcelain, only a void in her eye sockets as there was a black liquid falling from them.
"READY TO PLAY HONEY? I´VE BEEN WAITING QUITE A LONG TIME" She said, again her voice resonated in his head as her lips remained in place, then another cracks appeared as she smiled with the same liquid falling from her lips. "YOU´RE NOT FORGETTING ME, RIGHT? YOU STILL LOVE ME, RIGHT?"
Those words ignited something inside him. Memories flowed of that day, seeing her stretching her hand to reach him when he was taken away as she lost all the color of her face. How he tried in vain to stay at her side as she clumsily tried to crawl just to stop moments later and how her hand hit the ground with a deafening sound. His heart stopped as the figure in front of him smiled with a sickening curl in her lips. "THAT´S RIGHT, HOW COULD YOU FORGET? IF YOU ABANDONED ME! BUT THAT´S OKAY HONEY, I STILL LOVE YOU." She giggled again as Kamui finally took a back step with his right hand on his mouth. It felt like a dagger was twisting his guts, his breath was missing and with one final look he fell to another nightmare with a silent scream.
AAAAAAAAAAAAND THAT'S ALL FOR NOW!
Phew, it´s have been a while, sorry for the delay guys, but you know, life suck sometimes, good thing that it´s almost over with all the pending work xD
Anyway! What´d you think? It´s been almost a month since the last update and quite a large chapter if I may so, hope you enjoyed (or hate it, as some of you hated Yukimura since he´s kind of a jerk here) and wait for the other updates.
Just before leaving, it seems that nobody have found out the secret message in the last chapter (that or you dont care :v ) but i still left another one in this one, lets see if you find it :v
As always, your reviews and comments are welcome, thanks again to my beta reader for helping me and you for reading my work, hope you enjoy it and have a good weekend and a nice day/night.
SHIDESU! OUT!
