The White Darkness

By Helbaworshipper

Lotis Theives Arc: A Prince's Reflection

It was a hectic morning when Kyo had heard the rather sudden news. He had been practicing with Billy when he heard a commotion. By the time he had gotten to the tent, Queen Seno, Chris, and Frei were actively trying to interrogate Mayura. The first thing he noticed was that her Lotis Mirror and Bracelet were gone. He could see the mirror was basically broken beyond repair. Looking at his now former fiance's face surprised him. She was so… calm?

"Your majesty, how could Lotis just get stolen from you?" Chris was asking as Mayura shook her head from side to side.

"Can you tell us anything?" Queen Seno's hand was on her daughter's. In a tone he hadn't equally expected.

"I met Alice," her eyes watered a bit. "And I understood what I took from her. Yet… after all I did… She still loved me." She simply wiped the tears from her face. "I forgot that I had stolen something so simple."

"Is it possible to get it back in some way?"

"I don't know," Mayura's eyes closed for a moment.

"How did you know it was something stolen?" Frei's voice now, in a calmer tone than he expected.

"Eric told me while I was practicing. That I had stolen something from Alice." Somehow this appeased Frei, who normally did not take something this astounding so easily. "My Lotis is completely gone, isn't it?"

"Well, it wasn't your Lotis if Lotsuan took it back, right?"

"You're right." Mayura's hand squeezed her mother's. "I spent all this time in war and forgetting that she was trying so hard. I guess we'll have to tell the kingdom soon."

"You should get rest," Kyo's voice came out, surprising her for the first time. "Knowing Alice, if she did remove it, she forgave you."

"She said she still loved me." She slowly leaned into the hug her mother was giving her now. For a moment, he remembered his mother's hugs when her body was already aching from her own battles.

The shock of something so out of the ordinary happening changed a few things in the camp. One was that there was doubt on keeping Queen Seno and Mayura Seno at camp after knowing what happened. Certainly there was a worry about what might happen if they left, but no decision seemed to be correct. Second was that now that it became knowledge that somehow Lotsuan could remove the power of Lotis, an uncomfortable thought had permeated all of them.

Why had Lotsuan not killed Mayura? Kazuki had died with a shattered mirror, but Mayura had been spared. What difference had there been other than who had killed Kazuki? The thought of losing his own Lotis made Kyo even less likely to ask Mayura if Alice had been present in Lotsuan. His mind felt a bit burdened, but he slowly picked up the cup of tea in front of him.

"You're not doing well with the news either," the familiar voice of Billy. The man sat down slowly at the table. "We're not exactly enthused either, considering that Lotsuan's decisions are usually something very important."

"How do you know if a Lotis power is yours or not?" He asked, taking a sip of the tea. His mind wandered towards the times his mother had been in long, tiring battles. "No one could tell that Mayura's wasn't hers."

"That's probably the point." Billy's hand lifted up slowly to make a fire to light a few of the candles in the tent. Using rajei to light it would make sense, but overusing rajei outside the tent for safety would be wasting a lot of lotis. For now, they used iru at night if it wasn't an emergency with the candles. "We all assume the lotis is ours. Yet, for some reason, it isn't."

"Then how can we be sure that this war can end if we just sway Lotsuan towards the Lotis?"

"I wish I could tell you how we can be." Billy put a book down near Kyo. "This was the story that the Roland Kingdom believed for a very long time. Chris wanted to keep most people from knowing the full background, but..." He pushed it forward. "He thinks it's time you took a look."

That his sleep that night was a bit rocky would be an understatement. What he had read in that book was not exactly a pleasant story. Even as he realized he was in some sort of place in his dreams, he could tell various pieces felt like they were part of the story. Lotsuan had been sacrificed for a reason no one understood. He had chosen to save the world and hoped it would go well. Yet the world hadn't learned…

"Is it customary to make Master Lotsuan wait?" A voice from a figure. His eyes saw a mask a short distance from him. The field of what looked to be lotis flowers surprised him. A part of him relaxed as he tried to figure out what to say. "She says to come forward." He slowly walked past the figure and towards where Lotsuan was sitting against a tree.

"Are you cautious when I give permission?" A voice that was slightly warmer than before. He sat down slowly near her. Without warning, her hand slowly placed his head in her lap. "You have read of such horrible things."

"I..." He felt strangely comfortable in this position. It was as if the area had simply removed all of the horrible dread he had felt. "How do I know… what I have is mine?" The hands slowly went through his hair, soothing away the thoughts.

"Mayura is a person who had power, but it was not hers initially. It was to protect Lotsuan and she did not." Her voice was serious in tone. "Yet, she truly loves her sister. And her sister… truly does love her."

"What about me? And Frei?"

"That is a harder question to answer." Her hands continued as he started to slowly curl up near her. He felt like a child. "Alice's emotions are a mess as it is, is it not? Love, friendship, family…"

"What are your feelings then?"

"I love all those who have truly tried." The answer surprised him a bit. "I was never one to have emotions like that towards one person. I thought I was to protect the world. Alice, however… Her emotions are a mess in regards to such things. Certainly she could stay this way, but… Do you want it to be so?" His mind took in her answer as he started to slowly lose focus.

Meeting with Chris was probably one of the last things he wanted to do in regards to the situation. However, Chris should know that he could in some ways meet with Lotsuan. Frei must have meant this when he said what he did at the meeting. Still, after his morning training he wanted to be sure to speak about what he had read.

"Is it the book disturbed you?" Chris was currently eating a rather sugary pie. It was probably there for breakfast. He settled to sit down, allowing the food to be the last thing he thought about.

"In a way," he slowly put the book down. "I am capable of meeting with Lotsuan and she spoke to me about it." His gaze narrowed and he placed the utensil down.

"Did you tell Frei about it?"

"Frei knows that I probably can talk to Lotsuan, thanks to the promise mark."

"Mark?"

"Lotsuan can allow those she desires a chance. What criteria that is… I'm not sure even Frei knows. He had it earlier than myself."

"Did your mother have it?"

"I don't think so," He slowly put his hands in his lap. "However, even she was unaware of what this book had. From what I can tell, Roland Kingdom used Lotsuan as a sort of battery to power the Lotis protection. However, it wasn't enough, was it?"

"On the contrary, it made it worse." Chris slowly lifted a piece of pie onto his plate. "If this piece of pie was us using Lotsuan, a good half of it was us having to keep Master Darva out of it. It was a constant struggle to maintain a balance. It took Eric removing the one piece that kept it moving to cause that incident."

"And it took Eric and a few years of not being noticed to push up a war." He looked a bit more grave as he spoke. "So, how do you think you'll win when he's got all the cards?"