Chapter 2

Shunrin coughed. There was a pounding in her head and a lethargy in her limbs that would not go away with time. This she knew. How her heart ached to know that. Her pure king. Her righteous king. She must stop him.

"Jyakyo," she whispered. It was with a tone of despair as she commanded her loyal shirei, "Tell Kei Queen, thank you."

Not too long ago, she had sent her shirei, Houku, to beg for aid from Yoko. Yoko would not have willingly stood aside and watch her die and even if she had to, she would have passed the message so. A week has passed since then, but there was no word. She must have gone to Mount Hou to verify what actions she could take to assist Shun. Shunrin closed her eyes in bitterness. If she waited any longer, there would not be anymore country left for her to save. She must do what only a kirin can do.

Struggling upright, her limbs fought with her desperately. The weight of her body compelling her into a fetal position as she struggled.

"Taiho-" Hisaoki said faintly. "Please don't do this, Taiho."

Shunrin could feel her head spin as she finally propped herself up. A wave of nausea overcame her.

Born for a king, die for a king.

In her heart was great joy to die for him, to protect him. Her pure king. She could remember the first day she met him. The pure joy that ran through her as she laid eyes on him. He had given up so much for Shun: his family, his fiancée. No, she was not going to let Shun fall. She promised a kingdom of eternity to Yoko. Shun was meant to be a co-existence with the unchanging Kei. King Shun was a king like no other king. He had a vision and a system. Undeterred with his lack of knowledge, he had pressed on and ruled the kingdom for almost 150 years. It was not going to fall to such a small bump.

She shifted, the form from human to beast, there was nothing difficult about it. There was a lightness in her body as she shifted. Through the open windows and into the sky she flew, her hooves cantering into the empty sky. Though her heart sang as she reached her king, there was stench that permeated from the ground. She cried for the hundreds and thousands that had died.

The ground scorched and seeped in their blood.

There was the faintest whisper as they saw her riding through the air: whispers of hope and whispers of despair. Was she here to assist the king in killing them or was she here to stop the king? To hope that she would stop the king was too much to hope for.

Now battling not only the weakness in her body but the blood sickness, Shunrin braved on into the heart of the battlefield. She staggered onto the wall. Her hooves landed unevenly. Her hooves skidded and landing onto a knee, she strained to keep herself upright. Her limbs faltering, one step after another, falling, lurching, it was only through sheer willpower that brought her to King Shun. Flanks heaving, her lungs gasped for air, she felt as though a whole train had ran over her head.

"Master," she gasped, not really catching her breath despite the fact that she struggled greatly to.

The three generals stood behind him, holding their breaths half in awe, half in hope. They were good people, simply following orders because they had no choice. No choice was a coward's way was something Shousen, the Daishiba, had said. He had chosen to be here, to stand here and watch people die because it was the only way. Should there be a person to replace him, there would be no guarantee that he would be as lenient as possible as he already was. Shousen secretly hid people and spared as many as he possibly could without the king noticing. The three sported large purplish bruises on their faces as they watched her limp towards them. If they could they would have whisked her away, but there was nothing they could but watch with painful hearts to see the once glorious kirin stagger.

No longer the brilliant red she once was, her white pelt was a motley shade of black and dark brown patches. Her mane hung limply down.

"Please stop this madness," she begged. Her form shifted as she fell to her knees.

Shousen hurried forward, wrapping her with his cape. In this state, none of her shirei would be able to move. Shunrin would not even be able to move was it not for her exceptionally strong will.

Tears rolled down her face. Tears of despair, of bitterness to what her king was doing, for the dead and dying, there was too many things for Shunrin to weep for. However they were none of those tears, she wept for what her king had become and for the broken promises that he had made.

"Blue skies and green fields," she spoke so softly that it barely made a wind.

King Shun swiveled around. With eyes large with rage, he flung his hand at Shunrin. She flew backwards, the last of her conscious dimming as she did. Her body landed in a heap. There was no energy left in her except to gaze hazily into the bright blue sky of Shun.