The Nightingale

Chapter 8: Sunset

Rukia dreamed of that soldier again, with his honey-colored eyes and hoarse voice, the voice he had used before turning indifferent after she asked about the king. How could she be thinking so much about that soldier? She had seen him for two days and he was already robbing her of sleep.

— Really? It's ridiculous. — She complained while lying on the bed, not wanting to get up, very sleepy, and with her mind flooded by that soldier.

The Favorites were on their usual morning routine, washing and scenting themselves, putting on the best collection of dresses that they surely wore with them and hanging jewelry in their hair. It was as if they expected the king or princes to arrive earlier and see them by chance. If that could be called a "by chance".

Rukia again heard Senna's teasing, for her clothes, for her dark circles, for her walk, for her hair, for everything that made Senna upset that day. Rukia just ignored her, she washed her face with the cold water, because the Favorites always used up all the hot water, and she went back to her trunk to find a dress to wear.

They all ate breakfast, as they did every day and then Orihime left the room after saying goodbye to her, that day was Orihime's day to be with the queen, and she wished her friend luck, she was going to need it. Rukia took her books and went along with the Favorites to the classroom.

She walked more out of habit than to pay attention to the path, thinking about that soldier was going to drive her crazy so she, before entering the classroom, she put her destiny in the hands of the Deities. She whispered a prayer and made the symbol of the Deities over her heart before entering the classroom and there was a rather complicated sentence on the board; she remembered that she had forgotten to read the assigned text for that day.

Rukia wailed, that situation was really throwing her off balance.

Her father had insisted that they eat together that day, so when her class finished and she received extra assignments for not having read the assigned text, she took her things and headed to the room along with the Favorites.

She contemplated her face for a moment, she did not want her father to see how little she was sleeping or to worry about her, she did not want to give him problems in her stay in the castle; his father was one of the King's Councilors and he had to keep up appearances too, as everything in that castle.

She washed her face, adjusted her dress, and went down the castle stairs to the kitchens; walking near the training ground was the fastest way to get to her father's rooms. When she realized that the soldiers were there, her heart began to pound, what if she met the soldier again? That possibility, seeing the soldier again, made her see the soldiers who were training in the distance.

— No, surely he is somewhere else. — She told herself.

She had to stop seeing the men who were there, oblivious to everything and only focused on repelling the blows of her adversaries, but she could not, her nervousness and anxiety at that slightest hope of seeing the soldier made her look away towards the training yard, again.

Then, because she was looking at the soldiers, she collided with someone who seemed to not see the way either. Rukia closed her eyes from that shock and her feet stumbled causing her to fall sitting on the floor.

— Be careful! — She listened, but she was on the floor with pain in her butt from the blow. — Excuse me, I didn't see you.

Rukia opened her eyes and she found the cause of her insomnia. Those honey-colored eyes looked at her worriedly and the soldier extended a hand to help her up from the floor.

— No. It was my fault, I was looking the other way. — She excused herself and took the hand the soldier offered her to get up.

The soldier's hand felt warm, hard from the use of the sword, but pleasant to the touch. The desire to see him again made Rukia refuse, for a very brief moment, to let go of his hand but she did, she did not want to seem strange. She began to shake her dress to hide the blush on her cheeks.

— Then be more careful next time. — The soldier warned, who looked at her for a moment to check that she was okay, before returning on his way.

— Wait! — Rukia said that in a higher tone than normal. It was the second time she had seen him and she was not going to let him go without knowing his name. The soldier stopped and turned to see her with a question on his face. — I didn't want to scream, I wanted to ask you something.

— The princes return in a few days. — He spoke in annoyance and turned his back to her with the intention of leaving. That angered Rukia, he assumed that she wanted to know about them when the last thing she wanted was to know about silly princes.

— They don't interest me. — That sentence made the soldier stop but he did not turn to see her. He was a strange soldier, although he must have known it by seeing how he covered his hair. — I wanted to know your name.

The soldier turned to hear that sentence, there was surprise in his eyes and some disbelief; it was as if he had a hard time believing there was someone who didn't ask about stupid princes.

— My name?

— Yes, your name, I would like to know your name, we have seen each other a lot and at least I would like to know your name. — She tried to say that as naturally as possible but the blush on her cheeks refused to go away.

— Uh… Kon, my name is Kon.

— Really?

— Yes, you can tell me Kon. What is your name? — He asked her politely, perhaps she did not seem as interesting as he did to her and, since that name did not seem credible, she decided to do the same.

— Kia. — She lied.

— Really? — The soldier asked in the same tone and with the same doubtful expression as her.

— Yes, my name is Kia.

The soldier returned a slight smile in response and Rukia blushed at that gesture. She looked away, felt her cheeks burn; that smile made her legs shake and, for a moment, she thought she couldn't be standing if she looked at him again.

That smile was something more to add to the sleepless night that he would surely have that night.

— Well, nice to meet you, Kia.

Rukia was about to reply the same when the soldier took one of her hands and placed a polite kiss on the back of her hand. Rukia's heart was beating at a thousand per hour, she felt that her heart was going to leave her chest. What was it all about? Rukia did not know what to say, the blush on her cheeks was already uncontrollable and she felt like the protagonist of a story that her mother told her.

— The same… the same I say. Nice to meet you. — She spoke nervously and the soldier fixed his eyes on her, in a way that she felt he could see into her soul, without letting go of her hand.

It took Rukia a while to recover from that, even when the soldier had already left and she had continued on her way to her father's rooms; her legs trembled and her hand, where he had left that kiss, burned her in a searing way, as if his kiss had been etched into her skin.

She was aware that his name was not Kon, she did not know why he had not told her his real name but she did not care at that moment, she had not told him her real name either; maybe, like her, he didn't want to get in trouble.

She walked without ceasing to see the hand that the soldier had kissed, she was just as distracted as before she saw he and she did not realize when she had reached her father's rooms. The soldier who was guarding the door greeted her and immediately she stopped thinking about the soldier, she had to return to normal before seeing her father.

— The queen has spoken to me, she has told me that she has given you permission to refuse the gifts that the princes could give you if they want you as a mistress. — Her father said when they had finished eating and the servants had brought dessert.

Rukia sighed and nodded. That was a conversation she didn't want to have, at least not with her father. It was one thing for Yuki to comment on it and another completely different thing for her father to invite her to lunch to talk about it.

— Could you ask her to give me permission to return to Maranni? — She asked in a small voice.

— No. Service to the queen is an honor for the daughters of noble families, to make you leave would be a terrible dishonor to us. — Her father's voice was harsh. Rukia knew that was true, she couldn't make her family fall into disgrace.

A heavy silence settled between them, Rukia felt that all the happiness that the fleeting encounter with that soldier had caused her had vanished in that instant. She looked at the strawberry cream pie served for her but, although it looked delicious, she did not want to eat it. Rukia knew that this talk was not over and she just hoped that her father would continue talking to pass that talk so destructive for her.

— Sorry to suggest it. — She apologized.

Her father put aside the dessert, which he had not eaten either, and took one of her hands to get her attention; Rukia could tell that her father's harsh gesture had softened a bit.

— The second prince is Prince Ichigo. — Rukia already expected her father to say something like that, and she just nodded without understanding why her father had such a relaxed, almost relieved expression. She felt that the world was coming on her and she prepared to hear that the agreements would be valid and she would marry the second prince. — We all thought that he would be chosen by the king to be the heir to the crown, we were quite surprised when he chose his bastard son, therefore, in this peculiar situation, I do not know if the king decides to make valid The Accords of the Fall. The queen could ask the king to arrange a marriage between prince Ichigo and some princess, surely some heir to the throne, so that he could become king of some other kingdom.

That revelation gave her hope, one in which perhaps she could return to Maranni and live a quiet life, she knew that she would eventually end up married to some stranger but at least that way she hoped that perhaps she would have the same luck as her brother.

— Thanks, Dad! — Rukia got up and hugged her father tightly, feeling happiness for that possibility, it was a small one, but it was a possibility. Her father smiled and hugged her back.

— One more thing. On the Night of Souls you have to wear a dress according to the occasion, one that goes according to your status as the daughter of the Lord of Maranni.

Rukia left her father's rooms a long time later, they had been talking about their family and her mother, and in the end her father gave her a letter that her mother had sent for her.

Rukia did not read the letter at the time, but instead put it in one of the pockets of her dress, and headed back to the castle kitchens to be able to get to the room she shared with the other Ladies of the Court faster. She was happy about what her father had told her, she felt that the Deities would be good to her.

— Run! — She heard someone yell from the kitchen door.

Rukia saw Kon running towards her, with various things in one hand, and the other hand extended towards her. She didn't have time to react, Kon's hand tugged at her and made her run along with him and in the back, in the kitchen, a man was yelling at them to come back so he could punish them.

— What's going on? — She asked with a ragged breath, when they were both hidden among the forest trees.

They had run without stopping and came out through the Cliff Gate, the one that exactly overlooked the forest and the cliff; it was a long way. Rukia felt her legs shaking from exhaustion, she hadn't run that way since she was in Maranni, also her dress had ripped on one side; those dresses weren't made to run like that.

— Sorry. — Kon gasped as he dropped to the ground.

The cliff was a few meters from them, revealing the immensity of the turquoise sea and feeling the salty wind. Rukia sat next to him because she really was tired and that sight was incredible; it was completely different from the one she had in the windows of that shared room.

— I have a friend in the kitchen, he sometimes smuggles me food, but today the head chef noticed and I had to flee from there. I dragged you with me but it was for the best, surely he would have thought you were my accomplice and he would have punished you there.

— Ah… well, now I am your accomplice. — Rukia clarified with a smile on her lips before seeing what he had managed to get out of the kitchen. — Well, if I'm your accomplice then I get a share of the loot.

— Hey! I wanted the apple. — Kon complained, but he didn't do anything to take away the apple that she had taken and put into her mouth.

— We can share it. — She offered the fruit that was already bitten. Kon stared at her in amazement.

— No, it has your saliva. — Rukia giggled and Kon was offended by that gesture.

— How old are you, seven?

— It does not matter. The apple has your saliva and now you're my partner in crime, so it's yours. — He conceded and took a piece of bread stuffed with cheese and meat.

— Your partner in crime, it seems that our heads are going to be cut off for having stolen food from the kitchen. — She said that, consciously choosing the plural words.

— It's because you didn't see the devilish expression of the chef, brandishing that knife like a sword. He is crazy! — Kon explained making gestures to give more emphasis to his explanation. Rukia laughed at the way Kon explained the assault on the kitchen.

They were both silent for a while, eating something different and watching the sun get closer to the water. She had never seen a sunset like this, in Maranni there were only mountains and rivers and, although she was now living by the sea, she had not been able to see a sunset like that either.

— When I was a little boy, I imagined that while the sun was setting behind the sea, the water was boiling from the heat that the sun caused, sometimes I imagined that the water sounded like when you put something hot in water.

That confession surprised Rukia who could only turn to see Kon, but he had his eyes fixed on the horizon, seeing how the sun was approaching the water. Kon was quite attractive to her, the shape of his jawline and his nose she liked.

— I had never seen the sea, until the day I came to this place, where I live there are only mountains and rivers, and an image like this is sure that when I return it will not be repeated.

Rukia spoke looking at the horizon, something inside her told her that Kon's words were true so she decided to do the same as him, tell him something personal.

They both looked at each other in silence after those words and Rukia looked away, just when she felt her cheeks burning again, pretending she was looking for something among the remains of food. The intensity of Kon's gaze made her feel too flushed.

— We cannot hide here forever, we must return to pay for our daring to steal food. — Kon said that with a slight smile on his lips.

Rukia watched him get up and reach out a hand to help her up. Again that feeling of warmth in the touch of he made her blush but she hid it as much as the colors of the afternoon allowed.

They quietly returned along the forest path until they passed the Cliff Gate, Kon accompanied her all the way and made sure that the head chef was not in the kitchen so they could pass.

— See you later, partner. — Kon said goodbye to her by giving her a kiss on the back of her hand before leaving.

Rukia watched him go, she stayed in the kitchen feeling her heart beat so hard that for a moment she was afraid that all the beats of her life would end that day.

Thaks everyone for reading.