Author's Notes: Huzzah, three chapters up within two weeks time! :3 Chapter Thirteen will take longer to get here though... Sorry about that in advance. Also, this chapter is much shorter than the previous ones. Ah well. I hope you enjoy it anyways. Constructive Criticism is always welcomed.
Ceteris Paribus
Chapter Twelve: Stepping Up, Stepping Forward
Ryunosuke now watched Mako and Takeru like a hawk, but his worries were unfounded as the two were so embarrassed that they kept a safe distance from each other. Even their Agnitio game remained unfinished on the table.
Genta thought the entire situation was as amusing as hell.
"You know Ryunosuke," he started in with a cheeky grin, unable to resist the slight jab. "I never had you pegged for the Mother Hen role."
Chiaki snorted openly and Kotoha covered her mouth with her hands in an attempt to bite back her sudden fit of giggles.
Ryunosuke turned to glare at the troublemaker.
Heedless of the warning, Genta pushed on. "What are you going to do when she gets married, huh? Ward off her husband?"
"If I have to," Ryunosuke all but growled, his eyes darkening at the thought.
Genta and Chiaki looked at the young man before them with startled expressions when they realized he was serious.
"Mako's likely to be sold off to the highest bidder," Kotoha explained in a quiet tone, making sure her voice couldn't carry to her older sister who sat on the far side of the room, engrossed in one of her books. "She's Father's best bargaining chip when it comes to creating allies. He's already promised her hand to several men of important countries, but hasn't made a decision yet. He's waiting to see who will offer the most for her in return."
"Do you know who any of these men are?" Chiaki inquired casually, as much out of his own curiosity as for the savory tidbit of information.
Kotoha shrugged. "That kind of information isn't shared with us. We're supposed to just 'sit here and make ourselves look pretty.'" She scrunched her nose up in distaste. "Father's other daughters see it as a high honor to be chosen for such an important role, but many of the men Father sees as useful to him are…"
"Assholes?" Chiaki filled in for her when she couldn't find the right word.
Kotoha started at the language and Ryunosuke shot him a look of warning, but Kotoha quickly recovered her smile grim. "In short, yes." She watched Mako as her older sister flipped the page, her eyes devouring every word, heedless of the rest of the world. "The rumors say they are as ambitious and unyielding as Father. Many are as old as him too, with a harem of wives already themselves."
"Cheery place, this," Genta muttered.
"Mako is…different than most of our other sisters," Kotoha continued. "She's stubborn, willful, and intelligent – not the kind of wife most men in power are looking for."
"They want a wife who will obey their every whim without question, not an equal who will stand beside them," Genta stated more than asked.
Kotoha nodded.
"What would happen if your sister was sold off to one of them?" Chiaki asked.
Kotoha bit her lip, afraid to give voice to her fears.
"They would probably do their best to break her," Ryunosuke cut in, his voice an emotionless monotone. "She's strong so it would take some time – a few years would be my best guess, but they would ultimately succeed."
There was a heavy, uncomfortable silence that followed. Everyone shifted in their seats, subconsciously trying to rid themselves of the feeling.
Takeru, who had been sitting close enough to listen as it was as far from Mako as possible in the confines of the room, felt a flare of anger rise in his chest. He couldn't – wouldn't imagine those keen, dark eyes and gentle smile broken down until she was nothing more than a living doll – some decrepit old man's play thing.
That's not what you're here for, a voice inside him reminded him sharply. These kinds of things happen all the time, you know that. It's unfortunate but…
His hands fisted at his sides. But this time it was different, he insisted to that incessant voice.
It was one thing to hear about different countries' customs and another thing to actually watch them play out right before your eyes.
Daughters being sold off to pay the prices of their parent's decisions? Yes, he'd heard of it, had felt the disgust toward the practice and had even felt sympathy for the poor girls. But to get to know one of those girls, one who had saved your life, one that had treated you with supreme kindness where you expected to find nothing but abhorrence…it was another matter entirely.
"What about Kotoha?" Chiaki asked, glancing down at the petite girl beside him.
"She'll become somebody's second or third wife compared to Mako's status as a first wife, but the prospects as to who her husband will be are largely the same as her sisters'," Ryunosuke informed him bluntly.
Chiaki felt his blood boil in his veins and struggled against the sudden urge to hit someone – hard.
"It's okay," Kotoha's eyes were downcast. "We've known our fates since birth. There isn't much that can change it."
"This is stupid," Chiaki muttered before making the rash decision to grab Kotoha's hand, turn on his heel abruptly and all but drag her out the door with her stammering his name behind him.
All the room's occupants stared after the pair in surprise, but only Mako's face held bright eyes and a knowing smile, the abrupt commotion having pulled her from her studies. She wasn't sure what they had all been talking about to spur Chiaki forward like that, but she couldn't help but feel grateful for whatever had caused it. She'd have to remember to ask Ryunosuke about it later.
With a meaningful glint in her eyes, Mako returned to her book, more determined than ever to absorb as much information as she could in the shortest possible amount of time.
Kotoha did her best to stay at an even pace with Chiaki, not wanting to throw those around them into suspicions as he led her further and further away from her sister's quarters, never once wavering in his determined stride.
It wasn't until he pulled her into a secluded sandstone hallway, devoid of any other visible bodies, that he finally halted.
"Chiaki?" Kotoha finally prompted when he continued to stand with his back to her, but his grip on her hand remained solid. "What's going on?"
"Is it true?" His voice was a harsh whisper as he fought to keep his voice down so as not to attract unwanted attention.
"Is what true?" Kotoha asked, puzzled. She couldn't for the life of her figure out what had sparked such a fury in him.
"You're supposed to be sold off to some guy old enough to be our grandfather to be just one of his many wives," he stared, biting out every word. "And you're okay with it?"
Kotoha's eyes widened in sudden realization. "You know how this country works," she answered. "You were born here too so you know how the King is." She mistook his flinch for another sign of his anger. "You know that if nothing in this country changes it will continue to operate as it always has. You know that."
Chiaki bit back the words that threatened to spill from his mouth. The words of how no, he didn't know – hadn't known, hadn't cared because this had just been just the enemy country, one that needed to be overturned so that its citizens could be rescued from the tyranny and terror they lived under.
He hadn't known that when he'd met her, this tiny, naïve, tender-hearted young woman, that she would change his world like someone had turned on the colors in the world for the first time.
He hadn't known what kind of life had awaited her if nothing changed; that she had resigned herself to such a fate long ago.
He hadn't known.
And he was not "okay with it."
Chiaki's grip on Kotoha's hand tightened, her only sign of warning, before he spun around and pulled her toward him in the same instant, enveloping her in a fierce kiss.
Kotoha's eyes went wide from the shock. Their previous kisses had been almost shy, tentative, but now he was kissing her as if the world were ending tomorrow. Butterflies swarmed in her belly and the blood in her veins sang as she began to meet his passion with her own.
They surfaced for air some time later.
"Are you really okay with it?" He asked, his voice almost a growl as he fought to catch his breath.
"No," Kotoha shook her head, her forehead resting against his.
"They why?"
She pulled back and met his confused eyes with forlorn ones of her own. "Unless something drastic changes, I don't have a choice, Chiaki."
He reached out to play with a lock of her curls, his fingers gliding through the soft strands as if memorizing the texture of it, his expression intent.
"Chiaki?"
"Something will change," he vowed to her fervently. "I won't let some fat, old creep take you anywhere. I don't care who your father is."
His fingers threaded their way through her hair until his hand rested at the nape of her neck and drew her in gently for a soft, lingering kiss.
"I'll protect you," he promised against her lips. "I won't let them take you away from me."
Kotoha's answer was to pull him as close to her as was physically possible, daring anyone, even her father, to try and pull them apart now. It was a reckless thought, but a challenge she would fight for all the same with every breath she had left in her.
"If that's to be the Princess' fate," Genta asked Ryunosuke softly in the wake of Chiaki and Kotoha's sudden departure. "Why be so overly protective of her now? Shouldn't you be more worried about later?"
"It's exactly because of her future that I'm overly protective now," Ryunosuke answered curtly. "I want her to be as happy as possible now before she forgets what being happy is." He watched his princess with a resolute eye. "I'll do what I can to protect her later, when it comes to that, but it won't be enough. You must realize that."
Genta propped his arms up on the table he was sitting at, subtly shifting his body as he wouldn't be surprised if the princess sitting contently across the room could read lips. "Is that why you finally agreed to join the resistance?"
Ryunosuke glanced at Mako. "One of the reasons, yes."
Genta's brow rose. "There's more than one?"
"For this suicide mission?" Ryunosuke snorted. "The more reasons you have, the more invested you are in it." He sighed heavily. "My mother started this when she came with Mako's mother to this country in the first place. I wasn't thrilled with the prospect of taking up her mantle when she passed so suddenly, but I did it out of respect for the friendship and allegiance she held with Mako's mother.
"As Mako and Kotoha grew up, I realized exactly why my mother had volunteered so readily to leave everything she knew behind to follow her friend to this place, why she risked her life every day to create a spy network within these very walls.
He glanced at his princess. "You'll do anything to protect those you love – to protect your family."
Genta looked at Ryunosuke in surprise, having not expected such straight-forward confessions from the prickly caretaker.
"And whose allegiance do you align yourself with?" Takeru's sudden intrusion drew both men's eyes, but his gaze remained intent on Ryunosuke's.
"I ally myself with Aduro's enemies; I side with Pluvia and Caelestis Via," he answered without hesitation, causing Genta's shoulder's to relax minutely. "But if push comes to shove," Ryunosuke's voice was a warning as he met Takeru's steady gaze. "I won't hesitate to follow Hime's orders before yours or anyone else's."
Genta watched the two stare each other down, wisely keeping quiet as the two assessed each other, tension suffusing the room anew.
Finally, Takeru nodded. "Fair enough."
Genta breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
There was a rustle of movement and they watched as Mako unfolded herself from her chair, setting the book down in her place. She walked gracefully, if not hesitantly over to the other side of the room, stopping in front of Takeru with a faint flush on her cheeks, having finally made a decision of her own.
"Would you like to continue our game?" Her voice was shy, almost demure in its apprehension.
Takeru found a small smile work its way across his face as he watched her nervously pick at invisible threads on her emerald colored veil. "Same rules as before?"
Mako froze, her eyes darting to his in an instant when she realized he had spoken aloud to her in front of others, but his steady gaze never wavered and she smiled quietly in return before shaking her head. "Just the usual battle of wills and strategy I think." Her smile grew. "I think we're in enough trouble as it is." She nodded to Ryunosuke who tried not to look affronted.
Takeru's smile grew to match hers. "You're probably right." He stood up and followed her to the little table against the wall and resumed play as they slid into their usual seats.
Ryunosuke was at a loss for words as he tried to comprehend how things had seemed to just return to normal even though everything had altered completely.
Genta, on the other hand, was grinning from ear to ear. He reached out and patted the other man's shoulder in a sign of camaraderie. "Things are definitely changing around here," he said. "And if we're all very, very lucky, hopefully for the better – for everyone."
Ryunosuke grimaced suddenly at the not-so-subtle reminder. "Do you really think we'll get that lucky?"
Genta shrugged nonchalantly. "I can hope." He eyed Ryunosuke seriously. "It's better than giving up, right?"
Ryunosuke seemed to contemplate Genta's words for a moment, his eyes resting on the two locked in a battle of small stone pieces and strategies. He sighed. "Perhaps you're right."
When Chiaki and Kotoha emerged some time later, it was with a thrill of happiness that Kotoha found Mako and Takeru all but back to their usual selves as they moved their pieces carefully across the board.
Mako inquired as to their abrupt departure and if they had behaved themselves with the proper decorum while they were out, the answer to which she received were stammers and heavy blushes, breaking Mako out into laughter before finally relenting and leaving the happy couple be.
Both Kotoha and Chiaki started when Takeru then turned to ask Mako a question, their eyes nearly identical in their saucer-like appearance.
Mako did her best to hide her amusement, though it was difficult, at their bafflement and incredulity. She had decided that the best way to get everyone past the unease of Takeru speaking was to act as if it was the most normal thing in the world until it eventually became so.
As she let her eyes wander about the room as Takeru contemplated his next move, Mako felt a bubble of content rising in her chest as she gazed about at her odd little family. She never could have imagined that her life would take this spin – that she could find these small moments of joy in a largely bleak world.
But still something nagged at her, something that wouldn't allow her to rest nor relax comfortably in such a peaceful atmosphere.
It felt like how the land became eerily quiet and calm just before a raging storm hit – one that threatened to tear everything down to the very foundations of stone.
The kind of storm that had long been brewing and building, unseen, just beyond the horizon before appearing seemingly out of nowhere and destroying everything in its wake.
Mako shifted uncomfortably in her seat as a small twinge in her neck started up. She rubbed at the spot, the bruises all but completely faded by now and the use of a scarf to cover the obvious signs long gone.
Her companion caught the movement and looked up with a slight frown.
"Is your neck still bothering you?" He resisted the urge to reach out and touch the tender area.
Mako shook her head with a small smile. "I'm fine, it's nothing to worry about."
He didn't look entirely reassured but let it slide for now. "It's your move."
Mako studied the board, new strategies forming in her head as she read his new position in their game, swiftly viewing and rejecting each one until she found a more solid locus for her offensive before moving her next piece into its new place.