I did not even attempt to keep a neutral face as I spoke to the man in front of me. I could understand an emperor not tending to matters himself, even if it was a matter of one of his eligible heir’s engagements. I could understand, even, the empress’s absence. She was not the mother of this boy. There was however, no excuse for the fumbling fool in front of me being the one standing here.

  There was not a chance that the ill-mannered brat had left an impression on me– not a favorable one. However, a child of his age was strictly a result of his parents. Parents who had not lifted so much a finger at word of his misdemeanor.

  Secondly, the neglected care of the spaces these discussions and the boy himself had been relegated to implied something worse than mere negligence. I had no desire to keep my daughter in the company of anyone who laid hands on her, let alone someone who might consider to marry her and still do such things. Still, leaving this child to himself would leave a sour taste in my mouth.

  The man before me had no capability of properly discussing the matters of this potential engagement. Likely because the child was not expected to live long enough for it to be worth the effort.

  It was vile.

  The lack of effort put into keeping it secret made it even more so.

  “I wish to see the children.” I cut off the man’s blundering.

  “P-pardon, Your Majesty?”

  “My daughter and the Prince.”

  “I can assure you there will not be a repeat of yesterday’s incident,” he said, but he couldn’t look me in my eyes. The fool could hardly even stand.

  “If you could assure me of such a thing, it would not have happened in the first place.”

  He shrunk further under my gaze, or perhaps my height, or my stature. “Yes, right this way.”

  We continued down the same hall as yesterday, deteriorated as much as a place in a place could be. In other words, intentionally.

  There were no guards outside the door.

  The man knocked and there was no response.

  “Where are the guards?”

  “I-I’m sure they’re insi–”

  I pushed the door open. There were no guards inside. There were no children. The door on the far side of the room was open.

  “Where are they?” I turned to him.

  “I-I’m sure they’re right ou–”

  “WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?”

  That brought guards to the scene, and everyone else. That was what it took to get things done. Not diplomacy. Not requests. Not with these kinds of people. With these kinds of people, demands were the only thing that worked.

  “What is the meaning of this disturbance?” The armored man came to a halt.

  “What is the meaning of this room being empty?” I asked.

  He glanced in the room, turning back with not nearly the degree of worry that was appropriate.

  “What’s all this commotion?” The surrounding crowd parted, making way for the eldest prince to make his way through. Touya.

  “The commotion is the negligence of your security.” I said. “This room has neither your brother, my daughter, or a single guard around it.”

  “How ridiculous.” He turned to the man beside me. “Why is this room empty?”

  “I-I do not know.”

  “You don’t know?” He repeated. “It’s your job to know.”

  “Well I–”

  “What good is your head if you’re not going to use it, honestly. Get him out of here.”

  “Your Majesty–”

  “OUT!” He demanded, and the guard took him by the arms, dragging him away.

  “Are you certain this is the room they were relegated to?” He looked up at me, not shrinking back as the man before did, but I was under no illusions of intentions. Cleaning up a mess, not righting wrongs. For a child, he was quite keen. Almost too much so.

  “Yes.”

  “Hmm.” His eyes did not hide their contempt as he looked at the unacceptable place, then toward the door. “Well, Ryuunosuke is quite the creature of habit. There’s only one place he ever goes. If you’d follow me.”

  “If she isn’t there…”

  “Regardless of where we find her, I assure you those responsible for this will be punished accordingly.”

  “Right.” It was less a matter of punishment, and more a matter of the fact that this situation should not have happened in the first place. Not only on their part, but mine. How could she have accepted to continue with this? With that boy, of all people? It could not be a matter of low standards, or we would not be out here in the first place. Desperation?

  We passed through the gardens, impressive enough, but hardly eye catching given the situation.

  Past the garden, yet within the walls, laid a stretch of trees far more expansive than expected.

  “This way.” The boy held out a hand.

  “Why would they be out here?” My eyes darkened, yet his smile never fell.

  “Ryuunosuke loves to be outside. Not the kind of animal you can cage.”

  The way he spoke about this boy was no different than the way he was treated. Again, I felt the taste sour my mouth. They were supposed to be family. Is that how little blood meant in this place?

  “I must admit, I am curious as to why,” he said.

  “Why what?” I had nothing to gain from using intimidation tactics on a child, no matter how grown he seemed to think he was.

  “Why you would choose him over me,” he said.

  “I did not make the decision.” I said.

  “No?”

  “I wouldn’t have chosen either of you.” I said.

  “So your daughter chose for herself,” he said. “Fascinating. Is that the custom in your lands?”

  “Our customs are hardly comparable to yours.” I said.

  “I see,” he said. “Well then, do you know her reasoning for her decision?”

  “Her reasoning for not discussing with you is arrogance.” I said bluntly.

  “Do you agree?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “She won’t marry you.”

  “Ah.” He said. “Why choose my brother?”

  There was something in those eyes of his. A hunger for an answer, and an intent behind what it would be used for. I was aware of the two creatures that bestowed Blessings upon his line. He was not Blessed by the more reptilian between the two creatures, and yet that was the animal in his eyes. He was no less an animal than his brother. Given the dynamics of this place, he might be even more so.

  “I cannot say. You'd have to ask her.”

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  “Hmm.” He only hummed, continuing along. The sounds of wood against wood rang between the trees. “We’re getting closer now.”

  “You have to hold it at an angle!” Aiko whispered the words in my ear that were being yelled. The Prince glanced up at her, as all who came across her did. He, at least, had the decency to keep the disgust off his face. Perhaps young enough to find her more curious than treasonous, or worse. I'd been made well aware that her escape from these lands was punishable by death.

  “I am holding it at an angle!” My daughter’s voice called back, full of frustration.

  I turned to the sound, breaking away from the way this boy was taking me.

  “That’s the wrong angle. You’ll break your wrists hitting like that!”

  “I wasn’t hitting anything! I was blocking.”

  “That will break your wrists even faster!”

  “Then just show me the angle.”

  “Do it yourself.”

  “Well you haven’t let me do anything else myself,” she huffed.

  I finally spotted her, her linens standing out among the green. She had discarded her veil, a wooden replica of some kind of sword in her hand, standing in some foreign combat stance.

  “Keep your voice quiet.” I whispered to Aiko.

  She nodded.

  “It’s like this,” the boy moved her hand. “And you keep it that way when you swing it.”

  “Alright, alright, fine,” she said, but her patience for being corrected was thin. A consequence of being naturally gifted.

  “Try it again.”

  “How many times do I have to try and hit you with this?” She asked, too polite to complain, but not above expressing her displeasure.

  “Until you’ve hit me!” He said. “It’s not that hard.”

  “Ryuunosuke, it would be very hard for someone who–”

  “I didn’t ask you Kosuke!” He said. “Go keep that other girl from getting hit again.”

  “Overhand.” He commanded. It was almost commendable, the way he gave instructions. His teaching methods were crude, but not wholly off course. In fact, they mirrored the phrasing a general of sorts would use, lacking only in refinement. It was not the kind of thing one, especially a child, spoke on its own. Where would he have found such experience though. It was more than just observation.

  His form carried a level of experience. A level beyond his years.

  “You’ll get stabbed if you hold it that high.”

  “You said to hold it high though.”

  “Not that high.” He grabbed her arm again, bringing it down to a more reasonable place. Almost perfect.

  I was not sure what I found more concerning. A child trying to teach my daughter to wield a weapon, or the fact the child was doing so, seemingly correctly. More importantly, if this boy was as doomed as he seemed, how had he been allowed to pick up such a talent?

  My gaze found Touya, who stood beside me silently, arms folded, face a trained mask. What he intended to gain from this was none of my concern. I was here for my daughter.

  “There.” The boy folded.

  “Now, overhand. Overhand. Too high!” He whacked her in the side.

  “Ow!”

  “I didn’t hit you that hard.” He said.

  “Ryuunosuke.” The other boy stepped in, but he pushed him back.

  “I didn’t hit her hard!” He waved the sword toward him, not taking his eyes off her. “Overhand.”

  “If you tell me what to do, you’ll be expecting it and I won’t be able to get you.” She said.

  “If you’re good enough, it won’t matter if they expect it or not.” He said. His statement was only partially true, but for his age, he was more than adequate in his knowledge.

  “Side. Side. Overhand. Over–”

  She whacked him in the side. “If they don’t expect it, it doesn’t matter if I’m good enough.”

  I was more than prepared to step in then and there, the hot tempered child clearly prone to true violence, but he laughed. “I like you. You do know what’s important. Not playing nice.”

  “Playing nice keeps things civil.” She said.

  “Maybe if you’re with civil people,” he said, getting back into stance. “Since you know what you’re doing, I don’t think you need me to tell you what to do anymore.”

  If she was older, then she might’ve had the maturity to end things there, but children were creatures of pride. She smiled. “I have to ask, does your Blessing help you with fighting?”

  “Obviously,” he said.

  “Then mine ought to help too.”

  She took off her sandals, her feet touching the dirt. The moment she did, she felt me, dropping her sword and turning toward us. The boy followed suit. She reacted faster, pulling the sword behind her back, and he did the same, eying me with the same caution he’d held when I’d pulled him off her before.

  I stepped out of the brush, the older prince following behind me.

  “What’s he doing out here?” He whispered in her ear, as if she could understand without a translator. His talent for retaining things only seemed to pertain to sword related matters.

  “You’re being suspicious.” She pushed his face from hers, turning to me with a smile. “Are you done so soon Father?”

  I only raised an eyebrow. “You do know I can see those, yes?”

  The swords they’d attempted to hide behind their backs stood out substantially over the heads of their small frames. Her face flushed, not because of what she was doing, but rather, because she had been caught.

  “Idiot!” The Prince shouted, dropping his sword and covering the rest of hers with his hands. “You didn’t hide it properly.”

  “I hid it just fine!” She protested. “You yelling so much is probably what led them here in the first place.”

  She wasn’t wrong.

  “IS NOT. Don’t try to blame me.”

  “Well it’s your fault!” She pushed him off her, batting him away with her sword.

  He caught it easily. Almost too easily. “Are you trying to fight again?”

  She lifted her fist.

  “That’s enough,.” I stepped in, and she dropped her hand, looking ashamed.

  “Sorry Father.”

  “Apologize to the boy.”

  “Sorry Ryuunosuke.”

  “Eh? I thought you said just Ryuu was fine?”

  “Well,” Touya came beside his brother, putting a hand on his shoulder and pushing him away from Nefret, before being pushed off further than an 8 year old should be capable of. “I’ll take him back to his room. I do apologize for the–”

  “HUH?” The smaller boy stepped back. “You’re not taking me anywhere. We still have stuff to… uh…”

  “Discuss.” Nefret put in.

  “Yeah. That.”

  Touya raised a brow, not hiding his smirk. “Discuss? You think that princess is going to want to talk to you after you’ve dragged her out to fight twice? Man, those brutes really did a number on you, didn’t they?”

  “Well she wanted to talk to me after the first time.”

  “Hmm. Did she tell you why?”

  “Doesn’t matter.” He said, going back over to her. “Let’s go talk about that stupid stuff you wanted to.”

  I pulled my daughter from his grasp, facing more resistance than I should have. From both him and her.

  “Oh Father, can’t it wait until we’ve come to a conclusion?” She asked.

  “After all this you haven’t come up with one?” I motioned to the mess she was, the clearing she stood in with a wooden sword in her hand and yet another dirtied dress.

  “Well, I suppose so.”

  “And what would that be?” I asked.

  “I don’t see why not,” she mumbled.

  “Excuse me?” I asked.

  Touya’s blue eyes looked between the two of us, then he grabbed his brother again. “You can’t mean to marry a foreigner.”

  “I can marry who I want. Don’t touch me.”

  He let go immediately, like he’d touched a fire. I’d heard the younger boy had been involved in multiple altercations with his siblings, this one in particular. Despite being 4 years younger, there was no indication he had ever lost.

  “Anyway, she said she’d marry me. So I get a feast.”

  “I suppose you do.” He sighed, turning back toward the palace.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up.” I said to my daughter. Further discussion would have to wait.

  “Alright.” She beamed, taking my hand as we headed back inside.

  “Put your veil back on.”

  Ai placed it on her head, but the skip didn’t leave her step. The Prince and his attendant followed behind us, ruby eyes glued to our intertwined hands like they were the most curious thing about us.

  Then he met my gaze, and stared with such burning intensity it was as if it were the sun.