Beneath the Stars

By Gold Sparrow

Oji-San and the Little Princess

The first time they met, he regarded her with indifference.

"Hello." Kouhime had politely offered. He did not respond. She, knowing that she had spoken the correct greeting and acknowledged the polite rules of society, accepted his silence. At the end of their meeting, which consisted of the two of them staring out at the garden in complete quiet, he nodded stiffly at her.

"You're not a loud brat. That's good."

From then on, Ithnan was her teacher.

"Ramz"

"Again."

"Ramz"

"Again."

"...Ramz"

"Again."

"Ram...z"

"Again.

"Ra…"

Someone picked her up from the ground where she had been laying, and held her body in his arms.

"You're weak."

She slowly opens her eyes, and sees Ithnan's chin.

"I am." She agrees.

"You're spineless."

"Yes."

"And you have absolutely no backbone or philosophy in which you care for."

"I do not."

He pauses, glaring down at her through his mask and asks,

"Why do you even deserve to live?"

She shrugs, but the very action hurts her entire body.

"I don't know. You can kill me, if you so desire." He stares at her for many long seconds.

"No wonder Gyokuen loves you so."

"You are stupid."

"I know." He points to the book in front of her.

"Do not say 'I know'," He mimicks, pushing her toward the pages. "Say, 'I'm smart'."

"But you said I am not."

"Oh Illah, just read."

When she is eight, he takes her on a trip for her birthday.

"Do you know what this day represents?"

"Yes, it's the day that Mother found me." Ithnan hums at the use of the word 'mother', but nods.

"Exactly."

"Where are we going?"

"You're gonna like it. It's called, 'outside'." She slowly regards him.

"I've been outside before."

"You mean the meager little garden outside Gyokuen's quarters and our sparring area? That's not outside."

"What is outside?" He gives the telltale groan that she recognizes as his, 'annoyed' groan, so she stops talking.

Then they arrive outside.

Her breath comes in quickly, and she looks at what she sees with fascination. They are standing on a wall overlooking some sort of large meeting place, full of green-clothed people hurrying on their way. Some have children her age, other are elderly, half are men and half are women. The stalls are all brown, and overhead white overhangs shield people from the sun.

Her grip on Ithnan's hand tightens.

"Wha...What are they doing, Ithnan?" He hums a little, sitting on the edge overlooking the sight. She sits next to him.

"It's a marketplace, Kouhime."

"A marketplace?"

"An area where people go to buy and sell goods." The definition pops into her head from one of her books, and she 'ooh's with recognition.

"I didn't expect it to be so…" She tries to think of a word. Loud? Too negative. Charming? Not quite. Something that means boisterous yet orderly, warm yet contained. "...So…"

"Lively?" She stares at him.

"What does that mean?" He gives her hand a squeeze. His hand is so cool, just like hers.

"...I guess I shouldn't tell you."

"Lively…" She repeats. The word is strange, like 'live-ly'. Live, huh...She shakes her head and stares at the marketplace.

"We're not allowed to go." Something sinks in her chest. She wonders what it was and where it went, staring down at her belly.

"But we can watch, right?" He nods.

So they spend the whole day there, watching people go about their regular lives.

"Are you annoyed by this?"

"By what?" Ithnan scratches the back of his head, and removes his mask.

"Being made to do training with me."

"I suppose not."

"You suppose?"

"Well...I like you better than the others…? No, that sounds mean." Ithnan chuckles, sitting on the ground.

"I like you better than the others as well." Kouhime gives a tiny upward tilt of the lips that she considers a smile, and sits beside him, peacefully.

"Can I call you Oji-san?"

"What?" He knots his eyebrows at her.

"Oji-san. It means 'Uncle'. Gyokuen told me I could call any of the priests 'Oji-san' or 'Oba-san' if I wanted to."

"Yeah? If Gyokuen says you can then it really doesn't matter about my opinion." Kouhime stares at him. "What now?"

"I think your opinion matters. I can call any of the priest 'Oji-san', but since I want to call you it, aren't you going to tell me if it's okay?" Ithnan throws his hands up in exasperation.

"Sure, little Princess. Call me 'Oji-san'."

"Oji-san?"

"Yes?"

The little girl shuffles her feet toward him.

"My chest hurts." Sighing, Ithnan squats to her level.

"If you need a healer, I've told you that you need to speak up about it-"

"Not like that…" She grips the fabric of her dress, her eyes shiny. "I mean...It feels like I'm hurt. But I know I'm not. Does this happen a lot, Ithnan? Like someone is scooping something out of your chest?"

"...Yes. But you know what you do when that happens?"

"What?"

"You make a list of all the things you want to do."

"...I wanna go to the marketplace."

"I want to see my brother soon."

"I want to go to the marketplace." The man stands again, glaring at the child.

"You can't say the same thing twice."

Kouhime tilts her head all the way back to look into his eyes. Again with the not-quite smile, but it's wider than any of the other ones.

"I want to go to the marketplace with Ithnan."

He turns away, rubs the back of his head, and nods.

"Fine. I want to go to the marketplace with Kouhime."

"Ah...This is my Stave." He had told her one day when she pulled out the scythe-like wand for practice.

"Is it? I didn't know." She spins it in her hands. Then she pauses, and presses her ear to the smooth metal of the blade. It is cold against the side of her face- unlike the stave she usually hands over to Gyokuen- but it hums with electricity.

"Raiden," He looks at her strangely, and she shrugs. "That's his name. Raiden, meaning thunder and lightning."

Ithnan didn't say anything to that.

"Oji-san? Where are you going?"

He looks back at the voice, seeing the little girl he has tutored for the past three years padding over to him. She takes his hand, like she expects him to lead her to their training area. He lowers himself to her level and ruffles her hair.

There won't be any training for a while.

"I'm going away, Kouhime."

"Oh. Okay." She lets go of his hand, and for some reason he wishes she hadn't. Her palm has always been warmer than his. "Will you be back in a few weeks? My birthday is coming up."

"Sure. I'll be back soon."

"Ithnan!" The call comes from down the hall. Standing in wait, Dunya pleasantly smiles and Isaac stoically stands.

"I have to go now."

"Okay. Bye, Ithnan."

He hesitates, and leans back down. The eleven year old waits for him to speak again.

"So, you know when I told you to make a list of things you want to do?"

"Yes. Whenever my chest feels funny."

"Well, think of new things."

"Huh? But I always say-"

"Yes, but I think I'll take you to the marketplace this year." Kouhime's lips part. And then she has her arms around Ithnan's chest, squeezing tightly.

Startled, the magician looks down at her with alarm.

(It was the first time she ever hugged him. It was the first time she ever hugged anyone beside Falan and Gyokuen.)

Slowly, he pats her back and lays his chin on top of her head.

"Will it be as fun as it looks, Ithnan?" She asks, voice muffled by his clothes.

"It'll be even better than that." He promises.

She lets go, gives the not-quite smile that is probably as wide as it's ever been, and then skips down the hallway.

"What an adorable child," Dunya comments. "Is she your daughter, Ithnan?"

"No. She is my student."

"Well, it looks like she really looks up to you. How cute. You must introduce me when we get back."

"I'll make it a priority, Lady Dunya." He quickens his pace. The sooner he gets Dunya to Zagan, the sooner he can come back.

And the sooner that he'll go to the marketplace with Kouhime.

And we all know that they never go to the marketplace together (cries).

So yeah, this made me pretty depressed while I was writing it. But hey, Ithnan and Bad's relationship is a bit heartbreaking, so that's natural. If you're crying, I did my job ;)

Next chappie of Starry Skies should be up tomorrow, so look for it! If not, Monday. I have the week off for Thanksgiving! SO EXCITED!

Got any questions or suggestions? Something wrong about the chapter? Grammatical errors, something you didn't like? PM me or leave it in the reviews, I will reply and see what I can do to make the story better/clearer for y'all to understand. ILY MY DARLING READERS!

BYE~~~~~~~