The Nightingale

Chapter 73: Forgotten Truths

Summer — x493 / August 5

Masaki watched Isshin pace back and forth inside the king's private office after their long talk that night. Neither of them was happy and it was all basically because of Ichigo. Masaki wasn't as mad at Ichigo as she should have been, punching a king in the face was clearly not something to celebrate but a part of her was actually proud of the way her son had defended his own wife.

Isshin evidently didn't think the same way because for him, the kingdom would always come before life and, with Ichigo's actions in Vermist, a targeted kingdom attack was clearly something that could happen at any time. No matter how many words were said to ensure peace, everyone knew there was a huge difference between "saying" and "doing."

Furthermore, peace was a privilege that was paid for in blood.

— And all this happened because Ichigo had an affair with the wrong princess? — Isshin asked somewhat incredulously. — My queen, how could you hide this?

In order to understand everything that Ichigo had said to the king in the afternoon, Masaki explained to Isshin everything that had happened and of which he had no knowledge, deliberately avoiding talking about Yoruichi's pregnancy because it was definitely not something she wanted to discuss with the king. Fortunately, Isshin didn't dare to say that they should have been married because he knew very well that by naming Ichigo as Second Prince, anything that could have happened was relegated to oblivion.

When Masaki went to Vermist to settle matters with Yoruichi, she had said that Queen Aiko was sick and asking to see her, so Isshin didn't ask too many questions and let her go.

— I didn't hide it. — Masaki responded with that calm that she had learned to maintain in that type of situation because she was really fed up with arguments and fights. Their marriage was dying and they both knew it. — I just didn't think it necessary for you to know, it was a teenage romance gone wrong.

— A teenage romance that could now get us into trouble. Masaki… By the Deities! — Isshin tried not to have an outburst of anger. — Ichigo only brings us trouble. Since he came back it's been one problem after another. Will there ever be peace in this place? Kaien never caused any trouble while he was here, but Ichigo seems determined to destroy the kingdom.

Masaki only took a deep breath at the king's words. He had no reason to make comparisons between Kaien and Ichigo because there was no comparison between them.

— If you expect me to agree with those words, that's not going to happen. — Masaki, who until now had been leaning against the desk, sat down in one of the armchairs and crossed her legs as she searched for the right words. — Perhaps if Ichigo had had his father present none of this would have happened. All along you had the power to go to Vermist and bring Ichigo back, but you didn't. Was it so infamous that Ichigo ripped up a map or did it hurt you to think that Kaien was capable of doing something like that? Did you ever write to him? Did you really want him to stay there?

— He didn't want to go back. — Isshin evaded the other questions but Masaki.

At that point, she didn't demand an answer either because she knew them perfectly well. Isshin would never have bad thoughts about Kaien.

— I wonder why he made that decision. — Masaki answered with that tone of voice that pointed out the obvious.

Masaki knew too many things, more than Isshin realized. She knew that Ichigo was heartbroken by what happened with the map, children's hearts were fragile and had to be protected, but she also knew that he was waiting for a show of affection from his father, something to tell him that he still had his father's love to mend that wound.

— I have forgiven him many things. — Isshin answered, stopping walking through that office. — I give him what he asks for, isn't that enough?

— Ichigo was born with more rights than Kaien and what Ichigo has asked for can't even be considered a big request. A house for his mistress and a trip to Vayalat to escort his sisters is the least he could be given. The issue with the Kuchiki family is basically your fault and he dealt with it to the best of his ability, because if you haven't noticed, all he did at the time was to keep his wife. — Masaki got up from her seat. — Also, in case you haven't noticed, the girl gives him something he needs.

— What? Sex?

Masaki rolled her eyes at Isshin's questions, clenched her fists for a moment to control herself, and then sighed. Isshin was sometimes really blind to the things Ichigo did, so much so that he didn't realize that everything Ichigo did was to keep the kingdom together. Ichigo protected the kingdom in his own way, it wasn't perfect or the best, but he kept Avanta from falling under any attack.

Ichigo could have allied himself with the Kuchiki and Jetaiya, and let the kingdom burn but he didn't, and Isshin couldn't see it. Isshin only saw the bad in all situations involving Ichigo.

— Trust and love. We all need it from the people in whom we place our lives. — Masaki walked up to Isshin and placed a hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes at her touch, instantly calming thanks to the magic she was using in that touch. — My king, how many more years will it be before you truly realize all the damage you have done to your own son? You chose his name even before we got engaged, why don't you love him like you love Kaien? They are both your children.

Isshin widened his eyes before attempting to answer those questions.

— I don't... I do love...

Isshin couldn't finish the sentence that time even though he had said a long time ago that he felt love for Ichigo. Masaki was tired of that talk. She was tired of everything, also of fighting against what was obviously stronger than her.

— It has been almost twenty years and you are still under the spell of Kala. — It was the first time Masaki had said Kaien's mother's name in front of him and she didn't know how much of it he actually remembered.

— Was that her name? — Isshin's question left her a bit confused at the time. He also seemed confused. — I didn't remember it. I have no memories of her either.

— It is the best. — Masaki whispered removing her hand from Isshin's face. — Get a good night's sleep and get some rest. See you tomorrow.

Masaki started to walk towards the exit of that office when she felt Isshin holding her hand to stop her from walking. She made no effort to free herself from his grip and simply turned to look at him with an exhausted expression.

— Stay with me tonight, my queen.

Summer — x493 / August 6

The night had covered everything and Rukia's room was only lit by a candle to prevent the gloom from covering everything completely. Rukia was sound asleep on his chest, hugging him like she used to do when they traveled together, and muttering the odd phrase in her sleep because she was still talking in her sleep.

Ichigo hated when they had to go back to the castle and hated that they couldn't sleep together every night, but at the same time he liked that distance imposed by the rules of the castle because the sensation of seeing Rukia cross his door or seeing her waiting for him in her room, undoubtedly made his heart beat without any control.

With each passing day, he felt that he loved her more. His Rukia who was getting a little stronger every day.

He gave his wife a soft kiss on the forehead and got up from the bed trying not to make too much noise. He left her asleep hugging a pillow and walked barefoot to the balcony of the room where the cool breeze from the sea came in and moved the thin cloth curtains. That was what he liked best about summer, the nights when the sea breeze cooled everything.

Ichigo hadn't stopped thinking about the afternoon talk he had with his father, the king, about what happened in Vermist and about everything else. He also couldn't stop thinking that the king's first reaction, when he explained why he had hit the king of Gardelia, had been to try to hit him as if he were a little boy.

A little boy who was dying inside him.

There were days when that little boy would wake up and long for a hug from his father or some show of affection, a word or a look that would tell him that his father was proud of him, that he loved him or that he was sorry he hadn't believed him and for having hit him; but none of these situations occurred and the little boy returned to agonize inside him.

There were also moments when it seemed that he and his father were getting closer, but the way they appeared so spontaneously was the same way they disappeared. Ichigo was at that point where he didn't want the perfect relationship with his father, just a word of pure selfless affection, the kind of affection that's supposed to exist between father and son.

Of that affection in which they could sit down to talk without having the kingdom in between.

Ichigo was sure, that dying little boy was not going to wake up one day and when it happens, when the boy died and he no longer felt that need for his father's affection, he would kill the king along with Kaien and take the throne by blood even if it meant going back to the old ways.

Although it meant that Rukia would not be happy and would hate him because she did not want any of their children, the ones they had in the future, to be tempted to raise their sword against their brothers for the throne under the phrase: "If my father did it, why not me?"

Rukia said that the kingdom was not worth the blood of their children.

It also meant that possibly his sisters would hate him for killing their father. Karin and Yuzu loved their father because the king had been a good father to them and that only made him feel worse, as if he had committed a great sin and that is why his father did not show him the affection that he had so desperately needed. Besides, he didn't want to think about the pain it might cause his mother at the moment when it seemed like she and the king were getting better at their relationship.

Perhaps Ichigo was justifying to himself the lack of courage to kill his father, the king. He could find a thousand excuses not to do it or maybe it was just a faint hope that, just as his father fell under the spell of Kaien's mother, he would wake up and realize that he was there too, silently begging for a little affection.

— What are you thinking, my prince of the sun? — Rukia's question caught him off guard at the time because he had been so deep in thought that he hadn't heard her get up from the bed and go to him.

Rukia's small hand gently caressed his bare shoulder and Ichigo took her hand, kissed it and stood enjoying the scent of his wife's skin that was so soft and warm that it seemed perfect to him.

— In many things, my beloved princess of the moon. — Ichigo turned on his heel to find his wife looking at him with a concerned expression.

— It's because of the talk with the king, isn't it? — Rukia started playing with the fingers of his hand. — Do you want to talk about it?

Ichigo grabbed her waist with his free hand and gave her a small kiss on the lips before putting his forehead against hers. The silence between the two was a bit long but it wasn't awkward, it was that kind of silence that precedes a too intimate confession.

— It's a bit of the same old. — Ichigo replied downplaying everything he had been thinking and how he was feeling at that moment regarding his father. — It's exhausting.

Rukia stopped playing with his fingers and hugged him as if she was trying to comfort him and hide him from the world, and Ichigo took refuge in that hug with only the sound of Rukia's heart filling his ears. That hug felt so good, so warm and so sweet, that once again he wished this moment would last forever. Rukia was truly a light in his eternal night and gave him so much peace that he didn't know what would become of him if one day she wasn't there.

A hug like that was all he needed. An escape from the monster that was the castle and from the abyss in which he was submerged.

—

"It's time. Cut the first thread."

The queen's words woke her up before she decided to cut the thread the queen offered. Rukia knew that obeying the queen wasn't a good idea, not after Ichigo told her about the day she first came into contact with the queen. Nearly destroying the throne room of the old palace wasn't exactly something she expected to hear, nor did she expect to hear that she had summoned shadows out of nowhere and controlled Ichigo's shadows as if it were something simple.

Uncle Kisuke had said that only the one who summons the shadow had the power to control it, so what she had done was unusual, not to say strange and against all knowledge.

— Did you have another hot dream, my Moon?

Ichigo's question, along with his animated laugh, sounded distant to her and it was at that moment that she realized that he wasn't in bed but was standing by the table leaving a tray of food. She still felt traces of Ichigo between her legs because they had made love before dawn. In reality, she had seduced him because she had a dream that aroused her desire for her husband and Ichigo didn't refuse to please her.

— Nope. — Rukia sat up in bed with a slight blush because it had been a good dream and Ichigo made it even better. — I dreamed of the queen, she says that it's time for me to cut one of the threads.

Ichigo immediately walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. Curiosity and concern visibly marked Ichigo's face because they both knew that the queen hadn't stopped whispering things in Rukia's dreams. They both knew that the queen was too powerful for Rukia and they were afraid that if they rushed things, Rukia would lose control.

— Do you feel ready to do it? — Ichigo's question took her by surprise because she thought for a moment that he would immediately refuse. Ichigo had told her many times that he wanted her to learn slowly and safely.

— I... I'm not sure.

— This is how it starts. After the Shadow ritual, we learn the prayer to control our emotions because magic flows freely and when we are ready, we connect with what is inside us. — Ichigo took one of her hands to play with her fingers. — The magic will flow. It will not be bursts of uncontrollable magic, it will be pure magic that you have to control with will because it is by your own will that you are releasing it. Once you cut the thread you can only train to control it but what you have to learn to do for yourself.

Rukia nodded understanding what Ichigo was saying. Communicating with the queen within her, cut the threads, and learning to control the power, were things she had to learn to do for herself. If the Original Mother could do it on her own, she could do it because she had the help of Ichigo and Queen Masaki.

— Okay, I'm ready. Let's do this. — Rukia answered confidently and full of decision. She had no time to hesitate. To hesitate was to die.

Ichigo nodded to what she said and, after they both finished their breakfast and Ichigo was sure she wouldn't pass out from lack of food, he led her to sit on the rug in the middle of the room. Both were face to face, Ichigo gave her a long and sweet kiss, and then Rukia closed her eyes just to start meditating and enter that throne room of the dark queen.

Everything was the same as the last time she had been there of her own free will but the queen was looking at her with a smile that caused chills. Rukia touched one by one the threads tied to the queen and the queen said which ability released each of the threads, until Rukia reached the one that the queen had suggested in that dream.

— The first one.

Rukia, for a second, hesitated to do so. She was a little scared because everything was new and unknown to her, but she told herself that she had chosen that path and that she must have enough courage to take the first step, so she cut the thread and felt how a little of that power that lived inside her ran through her with the speed of lightning.

She remembered the sensation she had when she put on the crown that time, and when comparing it with the one she felt after cutting the thread, she discovered that it was similar; perhaps a little more subdued but just as overwhelming and pleasant.

Rukia opened her eyes and saw everything different in the room.

Everything was still exactly the same but at the same time everything felt different, or maybe it was her who was different at that moment. She looked down at her hands and wiggled her fingers, then got that tingling sensation on her skin that she felt every time magic got out of control. She wasn't angry or jealous, but the magic was there, in her hands and throughout her body.

— How you feel? — Ichigo's question made her look up from her hands and stare at him. Ichigo looked at her curiously.

— I feel different. Do I look different?

— Nop, you look the same as always. You're still you, only something inside you changed. Touch me. — Ichigo extended one of his hands towards her for her to touch him but Rukia didn't. She had that feeling on her skin, the same one she had when she hurt him and she didn't want to do it again. Hurting Ichigo was something that didn't feel right. — Don't be afraid, fear is the worst thing you can have because it makes you lose control. Master the fear because if you don't, you will never be able to do it again and you won't be able to touch me.

Fear flickered in Rukia's eyes as she alternated her gaze between Ichigo and her own hands. She had to touch him but the fear of hurting him was there. Ichigo gently moved his hand away and Rukia was mentally grateful for that.

— Right now, no one can touch you and you can't touch anyone either. Your skin is dangerous and you will harm anyone you come into contact with. You have to become familiar with the sensation so that you can distinguish it in the future.

— How long will I be like this? — Rukia's voice came out filled with doubt and fear.

— It could be days, weeks or months. It took me about a week, you know... "A prodigy". It took my cousins a couple of months, I think my third uncle took the longest because it took him almost half a year to control this initial aspect. It all depends on you, just don't be afraid.

She didn't like the prospect of not touching someone for so long because it meant Ichigo couldn't touch her either. That wasn't fair. If she had known that something like this was going to happen, she would have given him one more kiss before cutting the thread.

— I'm going to show you what I did, maybe it can help you a little. — Ichigo promised calmly. — We have this whole day to ourselves, my dark Moon.

Summer — x493 / August 7

Masaki remembered what happened that day Kisuke's letter came into her hands. In that letter was written the most scandalous news that she could read and even so, the fact that Kisuke wrote to her and let her know how urgent her presence in Vermist's palace was, made her know that this news was as scandalous as it was true.

That letter had been burned after reading because Isshin could not know the content. Isshin couldn't know that Ichigo was going to be a father, not at a time when no prince had officially received the title and they could easily be accused of treason for overriding the king's will.

The rule of the princes is simple and cruel: the heir is the first in everything and anyone who goes against that is a traitor and deserves death.

Masaki made that trip in the company of two of her personal guards, they prepared everything as per protocol and as soon as the change was safe, she took a horse, a couple of essential things and galloped off followed only by a guard. She got to Vermist as fast as she could.

The first one she saw was Ichigo, her son was not the man he was at that moment. Ichigo was as arrogant as a prince who has had everything, but respect for her was there, as present as it should be. He was ruthless too, the look on his face told her that.

"Tell me why I'm here. The trip was too exhausting and I'm too tired to bear excuses and lies." Masaki spoke before sitting down on a chair. Ichigo stood in front of her.

"I guess it's because of my relationship with… with her. It was a moment of pleasure and I was clear with her. I told her that she had to wait but Yoruichi doesn't understand. She insists on the wedding and I honestly don't want to marry her, not now. I have a lot of things to do even before I tie myself up with someone. This whole situation is unbearable."

Ichigo's answer made Masaki see Isshin's reflection in her son for a brief moment. A "moment of pleasure" was how Isshin justified his mistresses.

"Have you thought that she might be pregnant?"

"She is not. She drinks tea so as not to have children. Also, if she told me she's pregnant, I'd make her lose the pregnancy. I don't need a child now, I haven't been officially declared heir to the kingdom yet and I don't plan on losing the throne or my life because of a child I didn't ask for."

Masaki's emotions were divided because she didn't think to hear that from Ichigo and at the same time, it made her happy to know that he knew the rules and intended to abide by them one way or another. She had come prepared to hide the girl in case Ichigo wanted it to be that way, but it seemed that Ichigo had no affection for the girl. If he expressed himself that way about Yoruichi, the least Masaki expected was that Ichigo would throw the girl down the stairs when he found out about her pregnancy.

Ichigo was not a child, he had stopped being one at some point during his stay in Vermist.

The talk lasted a couple of hours, they talked about everything possible and in the end, Masaki sent Ichigo along with Koga to join the mercenaries under the excuse that it would be part of their training.

Ichigo wasn't a child, but she was worried about the way Ichigo might take this dose of reality where a child of his was on the way. There was always a moment of weakness in those kinds of situations and he, the victim of that weakness, could prevent Yoruichi from losing the pregnancy or he would suffer too much from that loss, and Masaki didn't want her son to see that.

When she met Yoruichi, Masaki realized that Yoruichi was a girl in love. Her love for Ichigo was reflected in her eyes in a painful way and from the way she protected her belly, it was obvious that she knew she was pregnant and that she loved what was growing inside her. Whatever Ichigo did or said to Yoruichi, it made her create too many hopes, dreams, and illusions.

Ichigo was cruel and she didn't know when he had turned that way. She was also responsible for the cruelty of her son.

Masaki told Yoruichi the same thing that perhaps Ichigo had told her before, that she should wait a bit and that when Ichigo was officially declared the heir to the throne, the marriage would be a fact. Yoruichi should just wait.

"It's just that we can't wait, we have to get married."

Masaki herself served the tea during that meeting, sweetened and disguised it as well as she could, and made sure Yoruichi drank it all. The word "pregnancy" was never mentioned during that conversation, it seemed that Yoruichi wanted to keep the secret of the pregnancy to herself even though at least three people there knew about it. Masaki didn't tell Yoruichi what that tea was for.

Yoruichi was innocent and Ichigo had taken advantage of her, labeling her a moment of pleasure.

"I promise you, when Ichigo is declared the heir, he will go to Gardelia to make you the marriage proposal, as it should be." Masaki promised after Yoruichi drank the tea.

The tea took effect that very night.

The next day, Yoruichi was devastated by the loss of her baby. Everyone said that it was the will of the Deities, even Masaki told Yoruichi that it was not the "destiny" of that child to be born at that time but that when she married Ichigo the Deities would bless her with many healthy and strong children. Masaki promised Yoruichi that she would be the mother of a king and comforted her as if she had not been responsible for that loss.

What happened to Yoruichi was cruel. It was something that Masaki had only done once to protect Kaien from an equally cruel fate because, in those moments when everything seemed to run its course, she felt affection for Kaien.

—

— Breakfast for two? — His mother asked as soon as he entered the room that morning.

That question reminded Ichigo of the day he'd seen Rukia in the hallway, when she'd gotten mad because he'd gotten mad. That was a funny memory at the time. But now, Rukia was mad that she couldn't touch him and that wasn't so funny.

— Yeap, breakfast for two.

His answer made his mother smile, who immediately ordered the maid to prepare the place for him while he kissed her hand. Ichigo sat down next to his mother and she personally poured his coffee into his cup. His mother always did it and he appreciated it because it was a very nice gesture of proximity.

— What are we going to talk about, mother? — Ichigo asked after taking a sip of his morning coffee.

— Have breakfast first, then we'll talk.

Ichigo smiled, because although he knew that they had many things to talk about and he had many explanations to give her, as well as all the explanations that his mother owed him, first it was breakfast.

They both ate in silence, talking about other things that were light and happy, and when the maids cleared everything from the table and refilled the cups with coffee, Ichigo knew it was time to talk. He wanted to ask the first question, but his mother spoke first.

— You need to know that everything I did, I did with you and your safety in mind. Sending you to the mercenaries maybe wasn't planned at all but I'm glad I did because you came back different. I didn't like what I saw in your eyes that time.

Ichigo silently listened to what his mother said, from when she arrived at Vermist until she left when Yoruichi's business was over. He didn't feel particularly proud of his actions but what Yoruichi happened was something that there was no way to avoid, he was clear with her but Yoruichi had listened to the wrong person.

There was no point in thinking about it anymore because that wouldn't change anything, and there wasn't anything he wanted to change. He was grateful to his mother for saving him in this way, for preventing him from falling victim to his own ambition and naivety.

Summer — x493 / August 8

Yuki was going back to her room after a fun lunch with Mila and her friends, who were nice to her and told her interesting things about the places they came from. It was there that Yuki was able to verify that the girls of the court, at least Mila's group, knew each other from other places and other times.

Not all of them had been in court at the same time, but due to the position of their families of origin, they had gathered in the same place on several occasions, possibly for some social event that required their presence, and thus they had started a friendly relationship.

Yuki hadn't entered that world of social gatherings and gala nights, and neither had Rukia. She knew it was because her uncle was on other business and more than creating ties with the lords of Avanta, he was creating ties with the royalty of Jetaiya so he could free Maranni from the yoke of the king.

Nothing went as they expected because of Rukia, but there was no point in thinking about it again. Yuki at that moment was satisfied with the destiny that was drawn in front of her and of which she had informed Byakuya in great detail. Rukia's brother did not seem very convinced but decided to give her a vote of confidence, also informing her that he would write to Lord Kuchiki to update him on the situation and her position within the castle.

Her uncle had told her that everything they did, conspiring with the royalty of Jetaiya to have a war, was to liberate Maranni and regain autonomy over the lands and their lives, so Yuki thought that if all went well and she gave Kaien a son, he would give her what she asked for and she would ask for Maranni's freedom.

As she made her way down the hall to her room, Yuki noticed a maid standing by her door who was definitely not the maid Kaien had assigned her. Upon arrival, she realized that she was one of Rukia's two personal maids, the ones who always went with her everywhere, and she didn't like that because it meant that maybe Rukia would ask her to meet up to talk.

— What do you want here? — Yuki asked with a slight gesture of annoyance at being in front of Rukia's maid.

— Miss Yuki, her highness is waiting for you. — The maiden replied after bowing.

Yuki rolled her eyes at those words, she was not Rukia's maid that she could call whenever she wanted. She would be the crown princess.

— Tell Her Highness I don't have time right now. I have to prepare for Prince Kaien's visit. — Yuki answered, but the maid didn't move.

— I think I didn't say it correctly. Miss Yuki, her highness is waiting for you inside the room. — The maid opened the door and pointed inside for Yuki to enter.

Yuki couldn't believe that Rukia had gotten into her private room like that, in such an impolite way, but Rukia was definitely there, sitting in front of the vanity mirror adjusting her white diadem on her head.

That white diadem was Rukia's favorite, she wore it so often that it was practically a part of her; also that diadem was costly and heavy. It was made of silver with hundreds of tiny white diamonds that shimmered in the light and a strange white stone that seemed to have crystals inside that caught the light and held it because it gave off a faint glow in the dark. She had never seen a stone with those qualities.

Yuki used to think that this diadem was not a common diadem, but a small version of a crown because of how expensive and unusual it was.

— I was starting to get impatient. — Rukia commented calmly without taking her eyes off the mirror or adjusting that diadem. — I thought you would come faster. Was lunch fun?

— What are you doing here? Who gave you permission to enter my room? — Yuki asked with a voice full of anger.

Rukia turned around in her seat with a surprised expression in her eyes because she didn't expect Yuki to talk to her like that. Yuki smiled inwardly at that expression. Yuki would make Rukia understand that she was not going to continue with her conspiracies anymore. Rukia didn't belong to the Kuchiki family anymore.

— Oh! Do you show your claws again? — The surprise on Rukia's face changed to an expression Yuki couldn't name. Rukia was smiling but that smile, even though it was small, gave Yuki the shivers. — I should say I'm surprised but the truth is I'm not. I always thought that this could happen the moment you became Prince Kaien's Inamorata, because that's what you are, isn't it? You're the Inamorata, aren't you?

— What do you want here? — Yuki asked again, avoiding Rukia's question because it was obvious that Rukia was asking that question because she knew Kaien didn't give her the Inamorata title. — I didn't know royalty was so impolite.

— I came to visit my dear cousin but evidently my visit does not make you happy. — Rukia said that as she got up from her chair and started walking towards Yuki. Rukia still had that expression that made Yuki shiver but she didn't move from her spot. — So, seeing as our truce and partnership is over, I'll tell you a few more things to keep in mind, future crown princess.

Yuki also didn't like the tone of Rukia's voice when saying the title she would have when she married Kaien because it seemed like Rukia was making fun of her. Yuki had to remind herself that Rukia had no more power than anyone here, that she had no power over anyone's lives or the decisions that Prince Kaien made.

— I don't need your advice, I have everything perfectly controlled. — Yuki's voice was hostile, as was the atmosphere she felt emanating from Rukia despite that smiling expression.

Rukia made a slight sound with her mouth as she shook her head slowly. Yuki wanted to grab her by the hair and drag her out of the room but as long as she didn't marry Kaien she couldn't be on the same level as Rukia. Yuki knew that she had to be careful with Rukia or she would end up just like Nelliel.

— Of course you need them because now you're alone. — Rukia got a little closer to Yuki. — And even if you have shown your claws, they are not sharp enough for what is about to happen in the castle. So I'll take the liberty of reminding you that your friend Mila is the daughter of Lord Stark, and he is the lord of Kirasam and owner of the largest naval fleet in the kingdom as well as the manager of a very important trading port. Mila is quite wealthy, and a marriage to her assures Prince Kaien that the lord of Kirasam will be faithful to the crown without question. It is very likely that the Councilors will pressure Kaien to marry her.

Yuki was silent. She knew that Mila was a Stark of the main family and that she was a dangerous rival, but Mila had not declared herself for or against being the crown princess. Rukia spoke again.

— And don't try to harm her in case Prince Kaien strikes up a friendship with her. She is a smart girl and she started to associate with you as soon as it was known that you were Prince Kaien's lover, so if she suffers any damage, they can easily blame you for it and get rid of you faster than you think. — Rukia paused. — By the way, if you decide to talk about our little failed alliance, then I will be forced to deny everything or say that I was forced by you and your ambition. Either way, you are going to lose everything because you are a Kuchiki and the Kuchiki family betrayed the kingdom by allying with Jetaiya. And I don't think you want to have family blood on your hands if you decide to talk too much.

Rukia didn't let Yuki answer, she just walked to the door and left the room. Yuki let out a cry of frustration and anger that she hadn't anticipated that.

Author's note: The author apologizes for the delay, but here is the chapter.

The author is also a bit clueless and forgot to celebrate that The Nightingale was published for one year. So I decided to do something special for you people, if you want to participate. Since the story has a lot of transition OCs, I was thinking of including you guys in it as one more character.

I just need the name, the status within the story and which character you want to appear next to. It will be something casual, informal and not much will happen. Fill only.

That is all.

Greetings to all!

—