Disclaimer : I do not own Saiunkoku Monogatari. It belongs to Sai Yukino.

Rating : T for theme only

Genre : Humour

Warning : None except for references to m/m, which you should know by now!

PLEASE REVIEW. EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER, I APPRECIATE YOUR NOT-LOGGED-IN COMMENTS (MY RESPONSE WILL BE ON THE REVIEW PAGE IF I CAN'T SEND YOU A PM).


Chapter 7 : WEDDING

The wedding was the talk of the capital. Same-sex pairings were many, and accepted openly, but none had ever held a wedding. And the guest list was impressive. Topping it was the emperor himself.

Shuei arrived at Secretary Ko's manor on horseback, resplendent in a red robe with a black collar trimmed with gold. With him were his four brothers, come all the way from the Ran province to attend the wedding. Ran Ryuren personally held the tray containing Koyu's matching red, black and gold outfit, and a Ran family wooden pass emblazoned with the double dragons of the Ran family crest.

Shuei himself held in his hand a paper scroll, his marriage proposal. What was written in that scroll was to become the topic of much speculation. Koyu's tears flowed upon reading the scroll. The embrace that followed was tender, and left no dry eye among all who witnessed it. And, if the stories repeated endlessly were to be believed, Shuei had whispered into his love's ear the words "I'm home".

The tea ceremony was performed. Lord Reishin and Lord Kijin gave their blessings to the wedding couple clad in matching red, gold and black outfits. Shuei wore his sword with the Twin Irises engraved on the hilt, and Koyu his waist-hung ornament of the Twin Irises carved on a green jade disc. Koyu was carried in style in a sedan chair decorated with the Twin Irises, from Secretary Ko's Manor to the Ran Manor, escorted by Shuei on horseback.

The wedding dinner was a boisterious affair with many wedding gifts, some magnificent, and some unusual. Lord Reishin's gift was tops in terms of beauty. It was a large work of double sided embroidery on a translucent silk screen. On one face were the Twin Irises, joined at the base of their stalks. Backing that, on the other face, were very good likenesses of Shuei and Koyu laughing, with their arms around each other's waists, fully-clothed, of course.

The most unusual gift was from the eldest of the Ran brothers. It was a reading of a very mushy poem written by Shuei describing the love of his life. This poem was obtained through coercion and deception. Brother #1 had demanded it as payment for dropping everything at such short notice to attend the wedding in the capital. The poem was meant for Brother #l's private perusal. Before the gift was presented, Shuei found himself flanked by Brother #2 and Brother #3. Their duty, which they perfomed admirably, was to to hold Shuei down when the reading commenced. For the sake of public decency, Brother #1 refrained from reading out a certain portion of the poem. Shuei, of course, didn't know that Brother #1 would show such restraint. Shuei's struggles to break free from Brother #2 and Brother #3 as the afore-mentioned portion of the poem approached, and the colourful expletives he used, were stories to be told over and over again, particularly within the ranks of the Left Army.

After the dinner guests left, as was the custom, those close to the wedding couple crowded into the wedding chamber for what was known as "Stimulating Stories". Lord Reishin held court with his tale of how he met Lord Kijin.

It was the first day of Lord Reishin's internship at the palace. He was running late and took a short cut by climbing over the railing of the palace walkway. He lost his balance and fell. Lord Reishin saw somone dive under him to cushion his fall. He landed and found himself on top of what appeared to a fellow student in the same white tunic. The man was so beautiful (here Lord Reishin explained that Lord Kijin didn't wear a mask during his student days), that Lord Reishin forgot to remove himself from his position atop the man. Nothmg could be more romantic, this man saved him from a nasty fall, was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, and this beautiful creature was throbbing under him. Lord Reishin waited with bated breath for the man to speak.

"I'm having an erection!"

At this point in the story-telling, everyone in the wedding chamber turned to look at Lord Kijin. Lord Kijin's mask was, of course, impassive.

Lord Reshin continued his tale.

Disappointed and disgusted, Lord Reishin rolled off the man and said, "Well, good for you, kijin" ("kijin", of course, means "weirdo"). With that, Lord Reishin left the man and his erection. But that was not the end of it, he was accosted by the man in the classroom, in the walkways, even in the lavatory. Lord Reishin had already decided that he wanted nothing to do with a man, no matter how beautiful, who had no better conversation than "I'm having an erection".

Lord Reishin only began to be intrigued when the man made an official request to have his name changed from Ko Hongju to Ko Kijin. Then came the two-page letter. In it Lord Kijin explained how, at the age of 18, he still hadn't experienced any sexual stirrings. Convinced that he must be a freak, he had made a wish on his 18th birthday to meet a woman, or man, or an animal even, that would evoke lust in him. And the next day Lord Reishin fell on him. After that letter, the rest, as they say, is history.

Egged on by the merriment resulting from Lord Reishin's tale, the wedding couple regaled those present with the story of THEIR first meeting in the Archives. Half-intoxicated, they half narrated and half-re-enacted the events. Perhaps due to the effects of alcohol, Koyu's vice-like grip became more akin to a caress, and Shuei's moans sounded a lot closer to pleasure than pain. Alarmed, Lord Reishin bundled everyone out, including the emperor himself, who was wont to leave without hearing the end to the tale.

These tales, entertaining as they were, were never repeated outside the group of close friends that gathered in the wedding chamber that night. Within that group, of course, they were repeated at every opportunity.

[THE END]


Author's Notes :

I have posted some watercolour illustrations for this fanfic in LiveJournal and deviantART. To view, click on links in my profile.