Chapter Twenty-Three

The Burdens We Bear

Granny was playing with her hair again as she sat there staring at herself in the mirror. Her dinner had been light, mostly consisting of rice and steamed vegetables with small peppered chunks of meat. There were fresh fruits that had been brought afterward that Cana was currently thoroughly enjoying. They were juicy, sweet, and cooled, making them more refreshing than the small breaths of air from the fan in which she was waving at her neck. Yet still underneath the comforts she endured, there was the weight of the uncertainty of her situation that had kept her awake for the past two nights.

Or has it been three now? She pondered to the small opaque jelly fruit being held in her fingers. That dirty snake hasn't said a word about Bacchus.

Lieutenant General Qi Peng, as he was so fond of reminding her whenever she managed to catch him outside her door, would only give her his usual short cryptic answers or mostly nothing more than a chuckle when she asked after him.

"What are they doing to him, Granny? Why won't anyone tell me anything?" Having lost her appetite, she put the fruit down and picked up the bowl, offering some to her caretaker. She declined politely, shaking her head and smiling, but when Cana gently shook it, Granny laughed and gingerly plucked a slice of a sour star-shaped fruit from the arrangement and then another after Cana insisted once more.

Her eyes were starting to become harder to keep open as the old woman standing behind her started braiding her hair to help prepare her for sleep. Though it wasn't long after Granny started that a knock came at the door, but Cana did not bother to open her eyes. She had figured it was as usual only another servant come to collect her dishes and Granny and leave her to sleep, as was the routine. But the one who had entered wasn't whom she had expected at all. She likely would not have taken notice either had Granny not tapped her shoulder. Lazily, she blinked her eyes open. When she saw his reflection in the mirror, her weariness was instantly forgotten.

"You!" She blurted as she whipped her head around to look at the smiling man directly.

"Come with me." Qi Peng simply said before walking out of the room, leaving her door wide open. Completely stunned for that brief moment, she could do nothing more than gape at the doorway.

"Come with- hey wait a second!" She stood up, hardly allowing Granny to help her into a robe and raced to the door. He was already almost halfway down the hall when she stepped out of her room.

"Hold on!" She called as she ran after him. He stopped without hesitation, yet did not turn to look at her. She stood in front of him once she caught up and noticed his typical smug grin was even more so than usual.

"What are you so happy about?" She did her best to speak calmly when she saw that Granny had come walking after them. The old woman had also given him a suspicious look.

Qi Peng said nothing, his grin plastered to his face, and merely continued forward down the hall. Cana stood in place a moment before deciding that following him was better than going back into her room. Nervously, she reached up to touch the golden claw charm hanging on her neck, tugging on it in hopes it would finally break. Wish this stupid thing would hurry up and dispel already. Haven't I been on good enough behavior yet? She thought bitterly to herself. Granny walked slowly behind her as she always would and muttered something in Yikani that Cana could only assume was a complaint about the late hour and random summoning. Though it was strange to hear her caretaker complain, it made a small grin of her own briefly pass over her lips.

They had gone down the long hallway and turned twice when her guide stopped in front of an especially large and elaborate rosewood door. As expected, a blue and gray phoenix was painted on it, proudly ascending with its head tilted up and wings spread wide and beautiful flowing tail winding so graciously back and forth from one side of the door to the other.

When Qi Peng knocked, saying something in Yikani, Cana's whole body froze. He's taken me to see the empress. She reliazed after she had looked at Granny, whose eyes had widened and posture had straightened as best as it could go. After no answer came, Qi Peng knocked again, saying the same thing as before. To her surprise a familiar male voice answered and with a chuckle, he pulled open the door to reveal an enormous and heavily luxurious space. Cana's attention went directly to the shirtless man who was ever so causally sitting half-asleep at the table in the middle of the room.

He was speaking in Yikani, likely directing it at Qi Peng and had his head tilted back to rest against the top of the long bench-like chair in which he sat. His was positioned so that his body was facing a wall opposite of the door, so it was not surprising that he had not noticed her entering after Qi Peng and Granny. Her shock turned to anger quickly after he failed to acknowledge her after a few more exchanges between him and Qi Peng.

"Hmph. How much extra was it for the deluxe suit?" She mocked as folded her arms and wandered over to the chair across from him, sitting in it.

"Cana?" He looked up and finally turned to face her, suddenly seeming much less docile than when she had first entered the room.

"Expecting someone else?" She quirked her brow at him, but he looked instead at Qi Peng and accused something in Yikani. The other man only shrugged and left the room, urging the old woman out as well. Cana watched curiously as Granny put her hands together and bowed several times before leaving.

Bacchus watched her and seemed to tense up somewhat after they were left alone. There was something off about him aside from the annoyed look on his face. There were noticeably dark bags under his eyes indicative of his lack of sleep and a frown on his lips that could rival Shan's. More nightmares? His hair was down and framed around his face, reaching just past his shoulders now. She studied him another moment before speaking up.

"Is this where you've been the whole time?" She asked.

"No. I was moved from my other room only two days ago." His answer was as straightforward as she had expected. The solemn yet confused look on his face troubled her as they sat in brief silence.

"Another room like this?" She found she was eager to know if he had been treated well, hoping he had not been suffering while she had been living in comfort. Much to her relief, he nodded and told her that he had been treated well since their arrival.

"Why are you still here?" He asked her suddenly. The question had caught her off guard and her confusion matched his for a moment before turning into annoyance.

"What do you mean 'still here'? We were captured as prisoners, were we not?" Her eyes narrowed at him as he grunted and absently rubbed at his neck.

"Initially, maybe." He said, his lips tightening. "But you were supposed to have been sent back to Fiore this morning." That came as another shock for her. This morning? How could he have known something like that? The smiling Lieutenant?

"On whose orders?" She questioned, her brows knotting together.

"Mine." The word was as cold as the look he gave her, giving her pause to attempt to understand him. When she found she could not, her annoyance deepened as she glared back at him.

"Your order?" She snapped at him. "And how exactly were you able to go about that? Last I recall, you were a prisoner here same as I."

"We were never prisoners. Restricted guests would be more appropriate, but not prisoners." He said, closing his eyes and leaning back into the bench. He looked as if he was ready to fall asleep at any moment.

"Some way to treat a guest." She scoffed at him. "So as a "restricted guest" you're suddenly able to give orders and the Empress simply gives you a thumbs up?" Her tone was blatantly rude now.

He opened his eyes and narrowed them at her once more. She saw the way his temples flexed from his jaw clenching and after a momentary stare down between them, he grumbled and rubbed at the sides of his head. It was then that she noticed what was different about his face. It wasn't the first time she had seen him without them, but it was the first time she knew they weren't being covered by makeup.

"Your tattoos." She said under her breath. Without realizing it, she reached out to touch under his eyes to confirm what she saw. He grabbed her by the wrist just before she could make contact and understanding what it meant, withdrew her hand. "What's going on here Bacchus? What are you not telling me?"

He hesitated a moment as if he struggled to pull his thoughts together. It was how she knew what he was about to tell her would be of great importance. There was a density to the air now that was near suffocating with every second until he suddenly sighed and draped an arm casually over the back of his seat and rest his head back against the cushioned bench.

"As it would turn out, I'm to be the next emperor." He gave a small shrug and looked away from her as he said it.

The words echoed through her head a moment as she tried to grasp what he had so nonchalantly informed her of. The demure way he sat, his half-lidded gaze and indifferent shrug did nothing to match the title he had just so easily given himself. Any comprehensive words to communicate her shock turned to mush as she sputtered out a combination of blinks and half sounded syllables.

"Emperor?" She finally managed to spit out after a few seconds. Bacchus glanced back over at her and nodded slowly. She couldn't imagine the ridiculous way she must have been gawking at him at that very moment.

"But how? I thought-" Bacchus quickly held up a hand to interrupt her.

"According to a… reliable source… I am the bastard son of the previous emperor and because of the rebels, currently his only living male relative." He snorted at that, glancing down now at the empty table between them. "Which makes me next in line." He paused again before going on, clearly struggling with his next statement. "But only should I marry one of Empress Lang's daughters."

Everything spun around in her head faster than she could comprehend. It baffled her to think of the man across from her as anything more than how he seemed. As she tried to make sense of it all, he started to say more, but it was all muffled.

"So in the past few days, you've managed to get yourself captured, obtain the title of emperor, engaged to one of two war-crazed women rampaging throughout the kingdom, and gain enough status in the palace to give direct orders. While in the mean time I've been confined in a room with Granny worried sick about what kinds of awful things could have been happening to you? And you were going to just simply ship me back to Fiore without even a word?" She interrupted him, but he didn't seem to be surprised at her outburst.

"Granny?" He half chuckled, half snorted at that, irritating her further.

"That old woman servant. I don't know her name." She could feel the fluster on her face turning a deeper red from his mocking grin.

"Han. Her name is Han. But I'm sure she would like 'Granny' better."

"You're missing the point, Bacchus." Cana frowned at him. "Why are you sending me back?" His mild amusement had quickly gone from his lips as he looked at her with an unconcerned gaze.

"Is there any reason you would want to stay? Haven't you been away from Fairy Tail long enough?"

"I have. But what about you? What reason do you have for staying?"

"Duty." He said without hesitation.

"Duty." Cana repeated. "And since when have you felt any duty towards this kingdom? From what I gathered about your history here, you were not exactly in favor of coming back here from the start let alone staying at the palace with the royal family."

"That was before I found out I was needed." His lips tightened at that.

"So because of this new discovery of your true parentage you want to suddenly cozy up with them? The family that treated you as they had then suddenly when they're in desperate need of an heir, you come running?" Her anger started to boil from deep within as she recalled how violent his nightmares had been. The ones he chose to tell her had not been the worst she knew, but they were enough to sicken her to know that he had gone through such horrible experiences.

"I don't like this any more than you do." His voice was strained, telling of how frustrated he was becoming. Cana recalled the dance, and reminded herself to tread lightly. I don't exactly have the option of running out of here as freely as I did at the school.

"I've already sent notification to Fairy Tail of your whereabouts. They should have received it by now and are expecting your return." He went on. Out of all that he had told her, somehow that was the least surprising thing for him to say.

"And what about you?" Cana asked, her temper calming. "What are you going to do?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm staying here." His tone had calmed as well.

"Why?"

"Because I still need answers." He said in a rush under his breath. It was easy to see how much weight had been so suddenly bestowed upon him in just a short few days' time and how quickly it was already taking it's toll on him. He hasn't even gone a day being an emperor yet. The corners of her lips tugged downward into a small frown.

"What about your guild? And being a mage? You're just going to give that all up?" She hoped he had not considered that yet, but she was doubtful even of herself.

"They've also been notified of the situation. I'm sure they will understand my decision." The look he gave her was all she needed to know that he would not budge on the subject. Her once boiling temper had cooled completely as she let her shoulders sag back into her chair.

"You don't have to do this alone." She shook her head.

"I do." He said plainly as he looked at her. "I can't rely on you for answers I need to find for myself anymore, Cana. Or any one else for that matter." His jaw clenched again, flexing his temples. "It's not to say I haven't appreciated your help in getting here and all that you've done, but I need to do this part on my own."

"Even still, you're not the ruling type. How do you expect to run a country you have had no part of for over a decade?"

"You're right." His frown twitched into a grimace. "It's never been a goal of mine to gain status like this. But," he stopped to rub at his face. "It doesn't mean I can't at least try." His hardened gaze focused on the carved table between them. "Some one needs to stop this war, Cana. If that means I have to stay here in Yi Kai and become part of this twisted family, even if it means saving only a few people, I'll do it. I'm willing to sacrifice my freedom for that. This is still my homeland."

Though she knew there was truth to what he said, she could not help but think of all of the times she had felt the same and needlessly bore such heavy burdens of her own alone. You idiot.

"Bacchus, if you think playing into the schemes that the royal family has thought up for you will save people and is the path you were meant to lead, I will not stop you. But I will say that you are not the only one that can stop the war and that you don't have to go it alone."

His expression hardly changed, but she knew that he had understood. Cana found she pitied him and that truly, he was more lost than he made himself to be. She stood and made her way over to the door, turning to look back at him. She had never seen him look more tired than he had at that moment.

"Get some sleep. You look like hell." She said as she pushed opened the heavy door in front of her and heard him chuckle as she left.

Closing the door behind her, she walked down the hall in the direction she had remembered coming down feeling strange that she was walking unescorted for once. As she neared the corner to her room, she could feel a great presence headed her way. It was imposing enough to remind her of the great magic she has felt coming from her father and the other S-Class mages in Fairy Tail. She hesitated a moment before turning, only to be met by a woman who looked to be of Bacchus' age whom she had not seen around the palace before. She stood tall, nearing Cana's height and wore an elaborately decorated silver robe. Two of her fingers on either hand had white-silver jointed armor rings encompassing them that were fashioned to look like a bird's claws. In one of her delicate hands was a fan of white peacock feathers that she used to cover her features from half of her nose down, but her green eyes shone like bright emeralds over it. Even with half of her face hidden, it was without doubt that she was a beautiful woman. Half of her ink black hair up high in a large puff behind her head while the rest of it flowed down well to her waist. There was a row of delicate white silk flowers with pearls in their centers going across the top of her head at the base of her bun that drastically contrasted against her locks.

Cana stepped to the side to allow her to pass and bowed her head down. Without a word, the decorated woman passed her to continue down the hallway. As she did, it was then that she felt it. The great pressure coming off the woman was enough to make Cana's eyes widen and her whole body tense and freeze. Her lungs had no air in them as she waited for the immense magical power she felt coming from the other woman to release her. After she had passed, Cana continued to look down, realizing whom it was that she had come face to face with just then and felt her whole body shiver.

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been a long couple weeks, but thanks for waiting! I know I promised two chapters, but I seriously struggled quite a bit with this one so hopefully I can crank out another one some time this weekend for you to keep my end of the bargain.

So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it was worth your wait!

Thank you to my newest followers and for the favorites!

I'll try to get you the second chapter by Sunday, but until then,

As always,

Betty B.