"Now you're gonna hear my story!"
The group stands transfixed on the princess, who insisted on telling her side of the story. Meanwhile Ja'far is unsuccessfully trying to brace himself for the worst, and Reibun rushes to his side, wrapping an arm around his waist to support him.
Kadia stops laughing long enough to listen, and then everyone is still, waiting for the princess to explain.
"That night, I stayed in the corner of the room, at the banquet. But the festivities were already over before I ever got the chance to speak with you." She says with a slight pout.
"And after that...I was assaulted by some unknown person and lost consciousness! The next thing I knew, I was waking up the next morning is Lord Sinbad's room!"
Ja'far frowns and sighs in exasperation. "What does this mean?"
"IT MEANS THIS IS LIKELY WHAT HAPPENED!" The princess' attendant screeches, stepping forward and pointing at Sinbad. "In order to satiate his own twisted desire, he knocked the princess unconscious, and then went about committing the deed!"
This said, Kougyoku squeaks, and the generals start muttering amongst themselves about their king's alleged crimes.
"Curse you for defiling the body of a Kou empire Princess!" Kougyoku shouts, holding up her sword once again and pointing it up at him. "Duel with me right now! Refuse and I will kill you! Then too shall die!" She sobs, and her attendant rushes to comfort her in the face of such a scandal.
Sinbad clutches his head and closes his eyes a moment to think, meanwhile Ja'far breaks from Reibun's grasp and starts to scold him.
"A lewd act by Sindria's king! Then a princess' suicide! Leading to war with the Kou Empire!" Ja'far shouts and Sinbad's eyes bulge.
He whirls around to face the others and cries out in frustration. "You guys! Have faith in your king won't you?! For crying out-loud do you really believe that I'd get drunk enough to act so disgracefully in the middle of a diplomatic mission?!"
The generals are silent a moment before Ja'far speaks up. "I do." He says with a frown. "When it comes to your drinking habits I don't trust you."
Reibun comes to her fiance's aid. "If I recall correctly, you did just that when we first entered Artemyra too."
"It's always the same," Masrur mutters indignantly.
"Sorry babe, they're right, I can't help you here," Kadia chirps, clearly enjoying her king's suffering. Not that she isn't worried though; this isn't something to take lightly, as Sindria would likely be destroyed if the Kou empire were to attack them over this.
"We've had an endless stream of complaints from women you've propositioned." Spartos says disgustedly.
"The other day I saw you hitting on an old lady!" Pisti chirps, causing Kadia to snort.
"Although we did take preemptive measures," Hinahoho explains.
Reibun groans at the memory. "Don't remind me."
"Actually, he even hit on me once." Yamuraiha says bitterly.
Noah and Sharrkan's eyes both bulge. "What did you say?!" They burst at the same time.
"Umm….uh...actually," Everyone directs their attention to a timid looking Lulu. "He sort of got a bit handsy with me back during the Maharajan festival."
"What?!" Mariam snaps angrily.
Reibun whirls around and takes holds the younger girls face gently, examining her. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Why didn't you tell anyone?"
Lulu averts her gaze nervously. "Well I mean it's not that big of a deal...He didn't do anything that bad he just….I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Mariam assures her, resting a loving hand on her shoulder.
Meanwhile Reibun returns to Ja'far and faces her king with a scowl.
Sinbad scowls back at them in frustration. "All of you…" he whispers. "Each one of you...you're all my vassals. We shared great adventures, built up a bond of trust… and yet… just look at you now."
He frowns looking to the male Fanalis. "Masrur, you have that same hopeless look in your eyes from your days as a gladiator." He says grimly.
Then he looks to his advisor. "And Ja'far, you're looking at me with the eyes of the Assassin you once were."
Then he gazes over at Ja'far's assistant. "Reibun… even you are gazing at me with the same animosity you had for the people of Reim. Do the promises you made to create and protect this country mean nothing to you anymore?"
His eyes fill with tears as he gazes at all his generals and friends, a look of betrayal and horror etched upon his face. "How can this be?" He asks darkly. "Was the trust between us nothing but a lie?!"
"We don't want to hear any of your drunken ramblings!" Ja'far shouts, he and the other generals pointing at Sinbad angrily.
"Although normally I think he's a really good king!" Pisti chirps, trying to smooth things over even just a little bit.
Suddenly, the attendant from earlier speaks up. "To take responsibility, there's no other choice but to marry the princess!"
Sinbad gasps and whirls around to face him. "Marry her?!"
Kadia smiles bitterly. "Oh there you go Rei, you can have a double wedding." she says sarcastically.
Reibun scowls. "No. Just no."
Their banter goes ignored, the princess is still sobbing her eyes out, and her attendant is ignoring her in order to converse with Sinbad.
"Yes. Of course! If you'd been her husband, the princess' honor would have remained completely unscathed." He explains. "I'm quite certain that our emperor would be willing to offer her to such a man as you."
Sinbad's brows furrow in frustration. "NOW HOLD ON JUST A MINUTE!" he shouts angrily. "WHO ARE YOU TO—"
Ja'far interrupts him. "It can't be helped." He says, repressing a sigh.
"He's marrying into the Kou empire…" Yamuraiha whispers nervously.
"Oh really?!" Kadia hisses back sarcastically. "I thought he was marrying into the magical rainbow kingdom!"
Reibun shushes her, and receives a scowl from the older girl.
Ja'far stares ahead at the scene playing out before him grimly a moment before answering her. "Between goodwill or war, he doesn't have much of a choice here."
Sinbad's eyes dart back and forth between the princess and his generals nervously.
"There's no way around it," Hinahoho mutters.
"To share the fate of a disgraced master…" Drakkon trails off.
"Is a vassals job after all," Masrur finishes bitterly.
"King Sinbad!" Ja'far shouts, stepping forward with the other generals at his heels. "Decision please."
Sinbad groans, and throwing his head back, he lets out a scream. "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" He shouts and turns to his magician.
"YAMURAIHA! I WANT YOU TO USE YOUR POWER AND PROVE THAT I'M INNOCENT!"
"She can do that?" Lulu asks curiously.
Mariam shrugs. "I guess so"
"It's a type of water magic," Aafje explains. "I read about it once."
Yamuraiha just frowns. "Are you sure you want me to do that?" she asks. "After all I can only show what really happened between the two of you."
"That's fine with me!" Sinbad says determinedly.
Yamuraiha nods and beckons the princess over to them, meanwhile her attendant shouts an objection.
"What's his problem?" Winter mutters, this guys is really starting to get on all of their nerves.
"It's likely a power struggle of some kind," Reibun whispers in reply.
Mariam nods. "It appears, there is something that he doesn't want us to see."
They stop talking when Yamuraiha calls out her spell and summons two figures made of water, one of Sinbad and one of Princess Kougyoku.
"What is this?!" Alibaba asks.
Yamuraiha beams. "I'm having the Rukh show us exactly what happened, step by step… and you cannot lie to this particular magic."
The scene now playing before them is what captures everyone's attention. The princess is walking through the hall, meanwhile Sinbad is very clearly asleep in bed. Suddenly, the princess falls over and begins to float.
"She floats?!" Aladdin exclaims confusedly.
"It means that someone is carrying her." Yamuraiha explains, still watching the water figures. "And now it looks like she's being placed next to king Sinbad."
Aladdin looks back up at his instructor innocently. "So I guess he didn't do anything after all huh?" He says.
The generals gasp nervously.
"It's not over yet," Yamuraiha says with a disapproving frown.
"Somebody carried her for him!" Sharrkan exclaims.
Suddenly Ja'far dives forward and covers Aladdin's eyes. "Children shouldn't watch such things!"
Masrur then covers Morgiana's eyes, and Reibun quickly does the same for Lulu.
Lulu trashes a bit and leans her head back in an attempt to look at the older girl. "Umm...you know I'm not that innocent right?"
Reibun shakes her head. "Shush, you don't need to watch this."
"But… we have a duty to see this through to the end," Spartos says disgustedly.
Meanwhile, the remaining generals perk up, and Drakon grins.
Kadia rolls her eyes. "Oh don't even PRETEND you aren't enjoying this," She huffs grumpily.
However, as the scene before them plays out, and even when Yamuraiha fast forwards through the whole thing, nothing noteworthy happens.
Sinbad is innocent after all, surprisingly.
A lot happens after that. Sinbad manages to save face, and the princess apologizes, making everyone but a select few sorry for her. The princess' attendant however, continues to push the issue. Then, Reibun and Mariam's suspicions are proved right when it is revealed that said attendant was the one to blame for all of this.
When Ja'far orders the man and his vassals are taken into custody, the man draws his weapon and is going to try and fight, however Prince Hakuryuu chops the sword out of his hands.
"I think we've had enough of this," Hakuryuu says boldly.
Everyone then nods and sighs in relief of the fact that the excitement is over.
"King Sinbad, this uproar was caused by the immorality of my countryman," Hakuryuu continues and then bows respectfully. "My country also has clairvoyance magic, and it confirmed your findings were correct. Am I wrong Ka Koubun?"
The attendant averts his gaze in fear before sighing. "No."
The prince continues to apologize, and then Ka Koubun has a tantrum, gaining the Princess' forgiveness then.
Reibun averts her gaze and groans. "How dispicable… manipulating a child like that."
Lulu frowns. "She doesn't look like a child to me…"
"Rei thinks everyone is a child," Kadia says softly.
Reibun shakes her head. "No, I mean, he has likely been doing this since the princess was at a very young age… I've seen this kinda thing happen before."
Ja'far stares at Ka Koubun murderously for a moment, and then making sure no one will see him, he walks over to the man and spits in his face.
Reibun smiles softly and pretends not to see, as do any of the other generals who saw what happened. More so than anything, they are all too relieved that everything is over to try and take issue with anything Ja'far did. Not only that, but no one could argue that he didn't deserve it anyway.
…
Winter stares at Prince Hakuryuu as he strides away with king Sinbad and the princess.
"That's it…" She mutters. "I want him… enough to do something about it."
She starts to walk away but Reibun grabs the back of her shirt and drags her back. "Sorry hun, that's not happening."
Winter scowls and whirls towards Reibun. "Why not?!" she demands. "You think I'm not good enough for a prince?!"
Reibun shakes her head. "Not at all… however, there is a time and a place for everything. Because he is a prince, you need to be very formal around him at first, and only address him when it is appropriate to do so."
Winter sighs. "Alright fine…. but I'll charm him, you'll see."
Reibun smiles. "Besides, I wanted to speak with you… you are originally from Sindria are you not?"
Winter nods, a frown finding its way onto her face. "Yeah that's right…"
"Why did you leave?" Reibun asks softly.
Winter sighs. "Because my family sucks! And there was no way I was going to stick around and put up with their crap! They don't love me, and they don't even deserve to be in the same country as me… but I got homesick… not for them but for Sindria… it really is my homeland I guess."
She is interrupted by Reibun pulling her into a hug. "I once promised someone I really admire that I would see to it that in this country, no one would be without a family of some kind." she explained softly. "If your own family does not treat you well… and if you find yourself in need… just know that you are always welcome here with me. Okay, hun?"
Winter nods and takes a deep breath to calm herself. "Understood, now can I please go now? I want to go get something to eat."
Reibun nods and releases the younger girl, beaming proudly at her as she strides away.
"Hey, Reibun!" Aafje shouts. "What did Sinbad mean when he said you had animosity towards the people of Reim?" She asks curiously. "Do you have something against my country?"
Reibun frowns. "Well when a child dies in your arms because his master beat him one too many times, and everyone considers you mad for caring about it, you tend to be a little upset at the way things are run…"
"Aah. I see." Aafje says with a nod. "I suppose the slavery system is a downside that cannot or perhaps should not be ignored…"
Reibun smiles. "Aside from that, Reim is an alright country… I have nothing against much of its culture, and I admire its extensive knowledge and I especially adore its many libraries."
Aafje smiles then, when she sees the passionate glint behind her friend's eyes she realizes that she understands.
…
"It's been quite a day," Ja'far sighs as he wraps his arms around his fiancee.
Reibun sighs with relief and leans into his embrace. "Never a dull moment is there?"
"Do you ever regret it?" He asks curiously.
"Regret what?"
Ja'far frowns. "Do you ever think back to that day… and wish you would have done something else… I mean…. we've been through so much…. but don't you ever wish you would have never gotten yourself tangled up in all this?"
Reibun shakes her head. "Not once," she whispers. "From the moment I joined the company… to right now… I've never even considered turning back."
Ja'far smiles and rests his head on her shoulder. "It's only going to get harder from here," he whispers. "After all… that prince seems to have more than just studying in mind…"
He didn't have to say anymore, they both knew what was bound to happen; it was only a matter of time before Sindria and the Kou Empire would go to war.
