November 27, Fall, year 36

I didn't find Hikari… she found me. Well, rather, the girls brought her to me. And…

Claire hadn't been sleeping very well. It was strange attempting to sleep with no Skye beside her to hold her during the night, or tease her about the bump of her stomach. She couldn't hear his breath when she woke in the middle of the night, or feel his chest pressed against her back.

In between her runs to the library to learn more about mind-altering magic and potions—something that Claire knew the Witch Princess excelled in, at least more than her regular spells—she tried to track down Hikari. The hard knot of anger still hadn't vanished from its place at under her breastbone, but it hadn't grown any larger.

Of course, tried was the operative word. No matter how hard she'd looked, Hikari had been as elusive as the weather was steady and about as impossible to track down as a wingless animal.

It had been three days since Skye had gone to Suiren's room, and Claire couldn't help but wonder what they were up to. At the same time, her mind shied away from the thoughts, the pain that they caused was too much… even for her.

The blonde let out a long, pained sigh as she climbed the stairs again to the Tower of Memory, in hopes that Hikari would be there.

But it was empty, as it had been the last two times she'd checked. The farmer let out a frustrated sigh and sank onto the nearest bench, leaning her head back against the stone.

"Hikari, where are you?" her blue eyes flashed in anger. "This stopped being funny a while ago."

Last night she'd had another dream, of the blue glass knife, and the sound of running feet. It had taken her almost two hours to get back to sleep after that, a prospect made even more difficult by the fact that she had no one to run too.

It had been a bit of a surprise though, to learn that while Tsukiko wasn't pleased with Claire as a daughter-in-law, she was less pleased about the way that Skye had been manipulated and tricked into believing that Suiren was his wife.

It was weird to be on the same side as the Queen, Claire mused, absently twirling her braid around her fingers. Heck, even Toshihiro was on her side in this, seeming less pleased over it than even his mother, which was—as Karen would have said—about three blocks south of the Twilight Zone and approaching at a fast clip.

The blonde closed her blue eyes tightly. She had managed to prevent tears for the past three days. She had to be strong, and not give in to despair. If she didn't who would look after her children, who would keep their hopes up that this situation could be fixed?

Footsteps, sharp and quick, snapped her out of her reverie, and Claire tensed slightly. She really didn't want any company. Shifting position, she opened her eyes, and blinked as Arashi and Hatoko appeared at the top of the stairs, hauling Hikari between them. Reiko and Ameko trailed behind, likely to make sure that the captured Princess didn't attempt to make a break for it.

Hikari couldn't look at Claire, her gaze was firmly rooted to the floor. She had a look similar to the farm-woman's, bags under her red-rimmed eyes attesting to long, sleepless 'nights,' apparently filled with weeping.

"We found her hiding in one of the lower libraries," Ameko said softly. "It took some doing but we brought her to you, so that you can have the full story that you wish."

Claire didn't know whether to be pleased, surprised, or a little bit of both. It explained Reiko's presence in detail. With the Princess of the Sleep Palace standing there, everything that anyone said would be nothing but the truth.

"We might have lost out to Tsuyu," Hatoko sighed, "but at least we took it with dignity. Suiren obviously couldn't, and we're not about to let a spoiled brat like her wreak havoc."

"Yes," Arashi agreed. "There are just some things that one does not do, and certainly not like this."

Surprise won out. It was the first time Claire had seen Arashi and Hatoko agree on anything. Slowly she got to her feet, running a hand over her hair.

"Thank you," she said softly. "I truly do appreciate this."

The princesses smiled, and Arashi elbowed Hikari forward. The cat-green-eyed woman stumbled slightly, then sank to her knees, head bowed, as cream-colored skirts formed a pool around her.

Claire frowned. This obeisance was actually a little frightening.

"Hikari, why did you do it?" she demanded. "I thought you were my friend!"

"Between a fragile thing like friendship and a threat of war, I had to put my kingdom before myself," Hikari's voice was dull, emotionless. "Suiren wanted Skye, as I did in the past, and threatened to bring dangerous accusations to her homeland if I did not comply."

"Can you fix it?" Claire's despair leeched into her voice. "Can you bring my husband back to me?"

"I… can." The reluctance to admit that was clear. "It will take some time, but I can return Skye to the person he was. Claire, I…" and now the Princess looked up, eyes pleading, "truly I am sorry."

"Apologies won't fix things," and the blonde's voice was cold. "Nor will it return the broken trust. Work with Miharu, and I want to know every step. I don't want to have this happen again, with a different person as the recipient."

Hikari flinched, looking down at her hands. Claire's anger was deserved, and the Princess knew full well that had it been before she knew the blonde, that would have been the first idea that popped into her mind. Switching Skye's heart from Suiren to herself.

Ameko rested a gentle hand on Claire's shoulder, her green eyes sympathetic and worried. Tension vibrated along the blue-eyed woman's frame, her work-roughened hands clenched into tight fists.

"Lady Claire, she is sorry," Ameko's voice was gentle. "You know she can say nothing but the truth…"

"Yeah well, in this case, 'sorry' doesn't cut it Ame," Claire snapped. "Through her machinations and abilities I lost my husband."

She had to cut herself off, she felt the rise of tears over the anger, and she would not give in to them.

"I'm going to check with Miharu daily," she said when she got herself back under control, "so you'd better be working on this."

Before she could say anything else—and there was so much bubbling in her throat—Claire turned sharply on her heel and started down the stairs.

Arashi and Hatoko exchanged looks. They had dangerous tempers, but somehow, seeing Claire angry was scarier than whatever destruction they could cause. Even knowing that she had no magic suited to attacking or defending—for Earth-based and healing abilities weren't that deadly—it was still… unnerving.

Hikari slowly got to her feet, clearly struggling to retain her own composure. Ameko and Reiko both took pity on the Vaporous Palace Princess, and hugged her gently, allowing her the safety to release unshed tears.

"They encourage us to be so competitive," Ameko sighed. "And to not care about the competition."

"Like it's so easy," Arashi sorted, folding her arms over her black top. "Tranquility and Serenity are the worst for holding onto the old ideals."

"Our palaces are not much better," Reiko said softly. "Perhaps it is time to take a leaf from the books of the People on Earth, and begin to make changes."

Claire made her way into the garden, desperately needing to be alone, and wound her way among the flowers until she found an out-of-the-way niche with a cloud-cushioned bench. She half-sat, half collapsed onto in, and there, finally, she let the tears come.

Her body shook with the sobs and she curled up on the bench, wrapping her arms around herself. Depression overwhelmed her. Everything was just becoming… too much.

Sora had finally escaped Suiren's clutches, with no small amount of relief. He'd thought she'd be over the clingy 'must-show-off-the-husband' stage by now. Hadn't they been married for the past fifteen years?

It was a shame that she didn't want children just yet… He'd always wanted some. But then again, trying to imagine Suiren as a loving, attentive mother..

His thoughts were cut off as the blonde from the infirmary passed through his mind, a teary, uncertain smile on her face. Her voice seemed to echo in his thoughts, almost sounding afraid.

The sea-green eyed Prince shook his head rapidly. This had been happening several times in the past three days. No matter what he did, Claire wasn't too far from his mind.

Especially when Suiren was getting stubborn about things, or insisting that he watch her parade around in court finery. He had the sneaking suspicion that not only would the blonde have laughed at some of the finery, she would have made some sharp comment about the general style.

The family garden had always been his favorite place to relax, and it was here that he had chosen too retreat to and think. Though it had been three days since his visit to the infirmary, he still felt that something was disjointed and out of place in his mind.

It made it so that he didn't really want to do more than lightly kiss Suiren, and she was always trying to start something more, to push him into a place where he didn't want to go.

And always, the face of Claire hovered on the outskirts of his thoughts, smiling, laughing, crying, frightened, upset…

Why could he picture her face so easily, in so many different ways, while when he tried to picture Suiren all he could find was a smirking smile, or her saccharinely sweet one?

He ran a hand through his hair, then stuffed both deep into the pockets of his black pants. He shouldn't be thinking about another woman anyways, he should be concentrating on helping Akio find out who killed their father. That was the other reason he'd been here for so many months, right?

The sound of dull sobbing caught his attention as he walked down one path, and Sora's footsteps slowed. Who could be crying in the garden where only family was allowed? Was one of his sister's hurt?

The thought of someone hurting Kimiko or Hotaru irked him… but those tears sounded almost familiar. A flash of blonde hair, and it was more than minorly irking, anger filled him. Why did thoughts of her getting hurt bring his blood to a boil?

He quickly rounded a corner and saw what he had half-expected to find. Claire, her back to the path, curled up on one of the benches, in a niche that hardly anyone knew existed.

And she was crying in a way that suggested she'd been at it for some time.

Sora hesitated, uncertain of his welcome. It was one thing to comfort a family member, but quite another to comfort someone he couldn't get out of his mind. He moved to step back, but the crunch of the gravel under his feet caught Claire's attention.

Her shoulders tensed, as she fought to swallow her sobs again, and hastily rubbed at her eyes. Who could have found her in such an often-overlooked spot? Who would have thought to look there…?

Sora winced a little as she looked over her shoulder at him. Tear-filled eyes went wide with shock and surprise and she turned away again instantly, to focus on the hedge before her eyes.

"I'm… sorry," he said hastily, "I didn't mean to intrude."

"It's…" her voice was choked, and she had to close her eyes tightly for a few seconds. "It's okay… I g-guess technically… I'm the one doing the intruding."

She wiped her eyes again, and slowly started to sit up. Sora brought his hands up in protest.

"No please, stay," his voice was gentle, concerned. "A place like this is good to let emotions out, because of its solitude."

For a brief moment Claire recalled their conversation of three days prior.

"If I stay inside today, what do I get out of it?"

"Once I'm done running around like a chicken with my head cut off," this caused her to giggle, "we can go walking in the garden, how does that sound?"

"Okay!"

"But sometimes, being alone is the hardest thing in the world," the words were so soft that Sora had to pause a moment to let them filter in. "Living alone, crying alone…"

Claire swallowed hard, and looked down at her hands in her lap. Control. She had to regain control. This was fixable, things could go back to normal.

She jumped a little as Sora sat next to her on the bench.

"Would you like to talk about it?" his words caused a fresh spate of tears to build up. "There has to be some reason that a pretty girl like you is so unhappy…"

More than anything, Sora wanted to see a smile on her face. Even if this annoyed or hurt Suiren, Claire… something about Claire put her higher up on the scale of importance. And he refused to think about it.

"It's… complicated," she sighed, reaching up to rub at her eyes again. "No… offense meant, but I don't think you'd get it."

"Try me."

It was little surreal to try and figure out how to explain things to Skye, who would have normally remonstrated with her… then again if he was still himself, Claire wouldn't have felt such despair.

The silver-haired prince had to hide a faintly amused smile at the expressions passing over her face. She really had quite the variety of ways to express confusion, frustration, and uncertainty all at once. From the way her hands moved restlessly, to the swirl of emotion in her eyes, to the way her brow furrowed in thought.

She was cute. No, more than cute, she was a beauty in her own right. He found himself… regretting his marriage to Suiren. This girl… no, human though she might be she was definitely a woman, definitely was an intriguing puzzle.

"I want to go home," she murmured after long moments of silence had passed. "Where I know my friends won't betray me and give my husband things that change him into someone else, where I can feel the life of the earth under my hands, where I can hear the roaring of the waterfall as I go fishing…"

"Your husband is missing? Who did this, maybe I can help…"

She turned her face away, a few tears slipping down her cheeks.

"No one can help but the person who caused the mess," her voice, though low, was sharp.

Then her shoulder's slumped slightly, and she hung her head.

"But I guess I can't be too angry with her… she was threatened with war, and friendship doesn't beat that out. Obviously."

The pain, mixed with sarcasm and anger, worried Sora, and he reached out to lay a careful hand on Claire's shoulder, as his mind assimilated the facts.

Definitely a Princess had caused this pain. The 'she' and threat of war meant that it was at least two. Rivals then, one of whom had been forced into providing something for the other to remove the blonde from the equation? Or the husband at least.

But that didn't make any sense. Why Princesses? Why not a Prince? Surely a woman as pretty as this could attract one of…

She stiffened, and he realized that his hand had gone from a bare touch, to a gentle caress. Instantly he stopped and started to stammer an apology, which she cut off with a light touch of her hand to his.

"It's okay," she whispered, looking down at her lap. "It's not… your fault. I'm sorry, I have to go."

She all but jumped off the bench, staggered, and would have fallen—her legs were numb from being sat on—had Sora not been there to catch her.

"You sit," he said firmly, pushing her back onto the bench. "You're distressed, and pregnant. When was the last time you ate anything? Have you been getting enough sleep?"

The litany of questions continued, all in a stern, scolding tone, until he realized that she'd ducked her head again and her shoulders were shaking. His brows drew together in worry. Had he made her cry?

In a way… she was crying, but at the same time she was trying to smother giggles. Even with an altered mind he was still so much the same, still so much the man that she loved.

It felt like she was being ripped apart even as he tried in a misguided way to help her. Why did Fate have to test her this way? Why did they have to be tested at all?

Slowly, Claire pulled herself back from the brink of hysteria, and rubbed her face again. When she looked up, he wasn't standing, rather he was crouched down, a hand resting worriedly against her knee.

"If I run to fetch something to eat and drink, will you be alright?" he asked. "If you don't want me to come back…."

"No!" Claire's protest startled them both. She blushed a little, and looked down at his hand instead. "I mean… you're welcome to come back… I promise I won't move."

His smile was warm, and gentle, and he regretted letting go as much as she regretted losing the feel of his hand.

"Well then I'll be back in two shakes."

A muffled giggle slipped out before she could stop it, even as he slipped away. It was weak, but oddly enough it gave him comfort to hear that something he'd said had amused her.

What the heck were 'two shakes' anyway?

They stayed in the garden together for several hours, not really talking. Claire seemed… content to just have him nearby, so Sora decided to remain with her until she decided to leave. It would beat being shown off by Suiren at court, or having to listen to her talk about who was wearing what and why it was in bad taste.

She had a couple more spates of crying, but both were short, almost as if she was embarrassed by them. Sora found himself wanting to comfort her, to hold her… but always the thought that held him back was the fact that he had to be loyal to Suiren. It was his duty after all.

Finally, Claire let out a long, tired sigh, and got to her feet.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I… appreciate the fact that you stayed by me, even though you don't, know me too well."

Her voice caught slightly on the last phrase, but she was, almost literally, all cried out. She would be lucky if she could make it to her bed in time before she fell asleep. In truth she wanted nothing more than to rest her head on his lap, but it wouldn't be right. Her husband he might be, but in his present state it would feel too much like attempting to take advantage of him.

"I was glad to do it," he said simply. "If you ever need a listening ear Miss Claire, I'll be glad to provide it."

Her smile was sad, and she left without saying another word.

I really don't know what to do right now. Everything just hurts so much… Skye, Skye, come back to me… please love, come back to me.