A/N: Theme number ten - Ceremony. What do you know. This one's longer than usual. XD

This one's kind of angsty/ooc, but I was in a mood to write something angsty XDD Sorry.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

I will be on vacation from 6/20 to 7/5. I probably won't be updating from that time period, unless some magic internet and computer access comes up. I'll probably keep writing, although there are no definite guarantees.

The coronation ceremony was definitely not small. As Lan Fan waited, she couldn't help but stare in wonder at her surroundings. Everything was gold and red, and the entire room was perfumed with the scent of honeysuckle. The delicate yellow and white flowers had been poured over the floor into a bed of soft petals for the emperor to walk on. Tiny carved lamps were lit around the throne, and there were myriad more decorations in the throne room.

It was dazzling. Everything was perfect. The massive doors were thrown wide open, so the people could watch the new emperor receive his crown. There was not a single mishap in sight. Except...

Where was the new emperor? Usually by now he would be appearing, flanked by two priests. But he was nowhere in sight, and the crowd was getting impatient. Lan Fan herself was not part of the ceremony, since all she did was sit behind the throne. But she knew that it was her duty to find him if he became lost. And right then, she was quite sure that he had gone off somewhere.

Checking to make sure her absence wouldn't be noticed, Lan Fan bounded away, and took off in a sprint. Within no time she had reached the place where the priests and the new emperor were supposed to leave for the throne room. Lan Fan slipped in through the open window and surveyed the room. Empty, save for two knocked out priests-most likely with a tap on the head with a dao knife. The masked guard nearly pounded her head against the wall. Your Highness...

She had no idea where else he could be. He was probably somewhere in the city limit, but the place was huge. Cursing a little bit under her breath, Lan Fan leapt out of the window and began to search the rest of the city for him. It was an exhausting task, and it took her twenty minutes just to quickly skim around. But even so, she still hadn't found him, and she was sure that the people and the guards were probably panicking. It had been twenty minutes, after all.

Cursing again, she began to return toward the throne room, hoping that he had gone there after all. But as she headed there, something caught her eye—a dense clearing just outside the city limits. She and Ling had played there before when they had been small children. Lan Fan only thought for a moment before straying off the path and heading into the clearing. And within a few seconds of full-blown sprinting, she had arrived in front of a figure with a sloppy ponytail and dirtied robes. He had a thoughtful but almost mournful expression on his face. Lan Fan's fist tightened a little. The only time her prince had that expression on his face was when something was greatly bothering him.

"Your Highness," she said. "Everyone is waiting. They are searching for you. Your coronation ceremony was supposed to take place quite a while ago."

"Lan Fan." He turned his head to face her. "Am I really fit to be the emperor?"

"W…what are you saying?" she stuttered, taken off guard. "Y…You've waited for this day for so long, and you're doubting yourself now? But…of course you're fit to be the emperor of Xing. You're thoughtful, patient, and caring, and so much more. Your Highness…"

"I'm not even the king yet, and you've already switched from 'Young Master' to 'Your Highness'. He gave a bitter laugh. "I suppose that because I got the Philosopher's Stone, I have a right to be king. But how many people have I killed with these hands, Lan Fan?" He held out his palms, before clenching it up into a tight fist. "Is this murderer really fit to be responsible for all of the people living in this country?"

"Some things are unavoidable," she said. "Some of it was necessary…some it was what that homunculus did. It's not all your fault."

"And I can just treat those people as collateral damage?" Ling shook his head. "Lan Fan…I've wanted this all my life. But now that it's actually here, I'm realizing all of these things. Once I become emperor, I'm not even going to have my old life back. And if I make one wrong move, that single mistake could start a war. And it's all going to be my fault."

"Stop that already!"

Ling looked up, surprised. Lan Fan rarely spoke against him. "Don't call yourself a 'murderer' or say that it's all your fault. It's not." She looked at him, her eyes blazing through the painted mask. "You're not going to mess up, and you're not going to treat anybody lost as collateral damage. You'll honor them, and you'll remember them. You'll be a good king. And why do I know this? It's because I've spent almost all of my life next to you."

Ling stared at her with his mouth wide open for a good ten seconds before shutting it. Lan Fan clamped her own hand over her own mouth. "I'm sorry!" she said. "I spoke out of turn. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

"No," he said. "Don't apologize, Lan Fan. Instead, thank you. I have more confidence now, thanks to you." He stood up, and turned to face her, his expression no longer one of sorrow. Instead, it was lit with determination. "I'm going to become the emperor of Xing now. Come, Lan Fan."

The coronation ceremony went on flawlessly, with Ling making up an excuse that the priests had fainted on their own and he had gone to seek medical help. Fortunately, the two old men had had no recollection of the young prince hitting them on the head with his dao, and had also believed the lie. He had received his crown, and the twelfth prince in line became the emperor of Xing. The crowd had been ecstatic and extremely loud, the loudest being the Yao clansmen. The rest of the day was filled with festivities and celebration, and it wasn't until several hours past midnight that Ling Yao retired to his new bedroom chamber.

She was already sitting outside under the window, guarding him. He couldn't help it; he let out a small laugh escape from his lips. She was so obedient and still, even on a day like this.

Lan Fan's ears pricked at the sound. "Is there anything wrong, Your Highness?" she called through the window.

"Nothing," he replied. "Nothing at all."

"Good," she said.

Ling drew back the covers on his new bed and extinguished the lamp. Lan Fan was sure he had fallen asleep, since all she could hear were the sounds of cicadas chirping. But his voice suddenly surprised him. "Lan Fan."

She jerked her head around, her hand automatically going down to her belt to reach her knives. "Your Highness!"

"Thank you. Again. I wouldn't have been able to do that without you supporting me." And then with that, there was a rustle of silk as Ling turned over. Within moments Lan Fan heard his breathing even out.

Maybe it was shameful for a guard to act this way, but she couldn't help it. As her cheeks heated up under her mask, she couldn't help but smile a little.

"You're welcome, Ling."

Words: 1,283

Additional Notes: The whole ceremony crap was made up so don't think that it actually happens when an emperor gets crowned XDD

Reviews are love :]