DISCLAIMER:
The characters belong to Sai Yukino and Kairi Yura, Kadokawa Shoten,
Madhouse Studios, etc., i.e., not me.
I'm just borrowing them for a
while to spin a tale
薔薇姫公 (ばらひめこう): The Rose Princess Thorn
Prince
By firewolf
October 2008
@>;-'-
Chapter Eight – Shared Secrets
The Finance Minister, Kou Honju,
was never one to waste time, so it was unsurprising that he sprang his
question on his guests almost immediately after the door closed on the
servants who served them. “Reishin, why did you *let* Kouyuu be taken.”
Clearly not expecting the question, the Head of the Kou clan nearly
spilled the tea he had just been serve over the floor. “What?! You're
suggesting I deliberately *allowed* my son to be kidnapped, Honju?”
Honju took off his mask and gave his friend a pointed look. Reishin
turned towards Shouka for support, but found his Aniue also glaring at
him in challenge. Swallowing at the stern looks directed at him,
Reishin relented to tell the truth.
“The Sa Clan had planned this ever since news of Kouyuu's impending
marriage broke.” Reishin admitted at last. “Yes, I did not take extra
precautions. But that was a fault of *over confidence*. You know I
would *never* deliberately place my son in danger.
“I was—wrong to not take Sakujun seriously when I received his letter
warning me of his grandfather's plans. He—promised that Kouyuu would
not come to any harm if the abduction succeeded.”
“Yet you're not leading the field to storm the Sa province because?”
Honju continued to press. “Sakujun isn't trust worthy, Reishin. Kouyuu
could have been poisoned!”
“He wasn't poisoned.” Reishin took out a small object he had tucked
into his robe and showed Shouka and Honju a tiny painting of Kouyuu as
a boy of fifteen. “Kouyuu enchanted this for me when he took away the
mirror.
“His collar would normally be red. If his life or health were in danger
the ribbon on his collar would be in shades of grey. It would turn
black if he—is near death.
“Kouyuu’s collar is blue. That means he's in a coma. He is in little
danger unless we leave him there too long.”
The Emperor’s Minister of Finance relaxed at last to know the boy
wasn’t in as great a danger as he initially feared. “Still, Reishin, it
seems most unlike you to quietly do nothing.” Honju nodded towards
Shouka. “I have heard legends of your true speed in traversing the
earth should you wish it.”
Shouka smiled disarmingly. “This is Ran Shogun’s quest. It behoves us
to trust him.”
“Yes…” Reishin growled unhappily. “The Ran boy still has to prove
himself to me. If my niece deserves the best, my own *son* should get
no less.
“We shall see how long the boy takes and in what state he returns with
Kouyuu.”
“Reishin—” Honju let out an exasperated sigh. “Not that I think he
will, but what if Ran Shuuei fails?”
Reishin raised his fist and let a crackle of power surround it. “Then
*I* will go to the Sa Province and *take* back my son.
“I am no longer the novice in sorcery as in the days of the Clan wars,
Honju. And I did warn Sakujun that I would return any injury or hurt
done to my son a *hundred*-fold.
“By his actions there could be no more Sa Clan, just as there are no
more Hyou's.”
“And my brother would not walk alone.”Shouka gave Reishin a nod before
he faced the Emperor’s Minister of Finance. “The Black Wolf wouldn’t
even need to ask the Emperor’s permission, or bring the rest of the
Wolves into this family matter.”
Indeed, the huge charade Kou Shouka played continued to amaze Honju. He
thought the subterfuge that protected the identity of the Black Wolf a
masterful performance. The Kou brothers were well known for their
powers over the earth. However, Kou Shouka was only ever recognized as
a gentle archivist at the palace, and Honju knew the citizens of Kiyou
thought he just used his control over the earth to keep his garden.
This was most apparent during the succession wars when he tirelessly
raised minerals and tilled his land to maintain his gardens so that he
could feed the many peasants and common folk who flocked to his family
for their care and generosity.
It also helped that Kouyuu would often use his finches to send special
seeds and fruit tree saplings to his Uncle’s family which would bear
bountiful harvests of fruit and vegetables. If it were not for Shouka’s
power over the earth and Kouyuu's cleverness, Honju was quite sure the
Archivist's estates would now be barren instead of the lush garden that
it still was.
The Black Wolf, on the other hand, was the only Kou clansman known to
be able to move through the earth. And no one would even consider
associating the kind and harmless librarian with the Emperor’s feared
assassin.
“However, I do reiterate that I have faith in my ex-apprentice’s
abilities.” Shouka told them serenely interrupting Honju’s thoughts.
Reishin only grunted and snapped his fan in irritation at his brother’s
pronouncement; clearly worried and impatient for his son’s safe return.
“Only for Kouyuu, do I ever see this much emotion and passion in you,
Reishin.” Honju sighed softly. “You really should let your son know the
true depth of your love. *Before* it's too late for him to ever know.”
“He has his wedding robes and his dowry for his new life in the capital
city.”
“And you *know* Kouyuu doesn't attach very much value to material
trappings.” Shouka reminded him pointedly. “I understand Kouyuu
recently started to call you ‘father’, but that only came about because
the two of you were arguing over his wedding robes and trying to
emotionally blackmail each other.
“You could do a lot more, Otouto.”
“I—know, Aniue.” Reishin let out a deep sigh. “I will make sure of it
before I leave Kiyou.
“But that's provided the Ran boy lives up to your expectations.”
“I have little doubt Ran Shuuei *will* prove worthy, Reishin.” Shouka
petted his brother on the shoulder. “Else I would never have suggested
their marriage.”
The sun had already begun to touch the horizon when the birds lead
Shuuei to a stream and refused to go on. He accepted their guidance
with good grace and set up a simple camp for himself and the birds;
laying out water in a cup and sunflower seeds for them while he pulled
out travel rations for himself.
By his estimation, they would reach the outskirts of Sa Province the
next day. Shuuei ran a hand over the sword Ryuuki had gifted to him. It
briefly glowed a shimmering blue with his touch as if to say in comfort
that he need not worry it would fail him.
From the sword, Shuuei’s hand move to take out the mirror for him to
check on his love. The image which hovered before him showed Shuuei
that Kouyuu still slept peacefully within his cage of thorns and roses.
With a bit of concentration, Shuuei had tried to expand the view of his
love’s cell to get an idea of the layout of the prison he was kept in.
But the image stayed stubbornly unchanged, remaining focussed on
Kouyuu’s upper body and face.
At the least, Shuuei felt some relief that there were no lines of pain
or distress on Kouyuu’s pale face. So he had the hope that Sakujun had
used a sleeping potion on his love. He stared at the image for a long
time as night swept over the land, not caring that his modest camp fire
soon died and grew cold causing this glowing image to be the only
illumination in his small camp.
When the stars started to appear in the sky, Shuuei finally put the
mirror away and leaned his head against his tree in preparation to
sleep. If he did reach Sa province the next day, he knew he would need
to be rested, alert and ready to face the obstacles that were sure to
be thrown in his face by the Sa.
It seemed that he had only just begun to close his eyes when he noticed
a faint shimmering at his left where he had settled the finches with
their water and food. Shuuei’s hand immediately went for his sword as
he faced that direction, only to gape in surprise as the two finches
glowed brighter and grew in stature till they became a man in brown and
black robes and a woman in a white gown.
“You are—”
“We greet you with joy, Ran Shuuei, the one true love of our Kou Chan.”
The woman spoke gently.
Shuuei was immediately reminded of the legend Shoukun and Shuurei had
told him of the Thorn Mage. And ‘Kou’—he remembered that as Kouyuu’s
name before Reishin Dono rescued and adopted him.
The man smiled at him as if he heard Shuuei's thoughts. “Yes, we would
have you know that there actually is more to your Kouyuu’s story than
what the Kous know.”
“Would you listen and learn?”
Shuuei nodded and sat attentively, his mind awhirl to realise that he
was living a moment filled with enchantment and magic. After Shoukun
and Shuurei had shared the legend with him, he had wondered how
Kouyuu’s life was with the slavers and if he truly was abandoned that
young. Currently faced by a man and a woman who had seemingly been the
two finches, Shuuei believed he was about to find out. And like Shoukun
and Shuurei so many weeks ago, these two strangers showed equal skill
in telling the story together, seamlessly trading off and picking up
the piece from person to person as if they spoke as one.
As the Kous
thought, Kou chan was abandoned when he was but a babe since the Hyous
thought he had little magic potential. However, the Hyous were not able
to sell the babe to slavers as the Kous believed, for the slavers would
not have wished to waste their time and resources taking care of a baby
and raising him to an age when he would finally be of use. Instead, on
his return from the slave market, the Hyou lord decided to leave the
baby in a snowy field to die from exposure, or be killed and eaten by
the woodland creatures which might be scavenging for food during the
winter.
Shuuei clenched his fist and swallowed hard at the idea of the danger
the heartless man had left the baby to. His mind was filled with
fearful thoughts of the meat eating beasts of the woods and fields
which would be glad to make a meal of a helpless child.
Fortunately,
the Hyou man was not to know that he had placed the babe in the path of
an old man who was that day taking a short cut through the snow fields
on the way to the market. And he stumbled upon the child who had by
then almost faded away from the cold. As he and his wife did not have
children of their own, the old man thought the babe was a child of
fortune given to him by the gods, so he happily brought the child home
with him.
Since the
baby brought such brightness and joy into their lives, the old couple
called the boy Kou (光), their little 'light'. And they lived happily
for the first few years of the child’s life. However, they unaware that
as a child thriving under their care and surrounded by plants and
farmland, Kou chan was also beginning to touch the lines of power and
magic. Indeed, the old couple were simply happy to rejoice in the
bountiful harvests that they received from their modest farmland. They
did not note, nor understand that it was Kou chan whose childish
exuberance and innocent touch was the cause of their good fortune.
Sadly,
there were others who noticed this and regarded this tiny farmstead
with jealous eyes. And they rightly attributed the old couple's
unexpected prosperity to the child which seemingly dropped from the sky
and into their arms. Unfortunately, that jealousy was to grow till one
day, during the fourth year of the boy’s life, these evil men were to
act on that poisonous envy.
On that
fateful day, the boy had picked up a cold from the chilly weather and
so the old couple had warmly wrapped up the child and left him to watch
their home while they went out to the fields to work. However, though
the boy faithfully awaited their return when the sun began to set, his
parents never came home. With the night fast upon him, the boy left the
house to look for them. But found only a broken plough and the men who
slaughtered his parents.
He was
brought back to the home of one of the men and given into the care of
servants, but the boy never recovered from the shock of seeing his
parents’ dead bodies. And contrary to their belief that Kou chan was a
child of good luck and fortune, the evil men were to learn that the
child’s unconscious and innocent retribution for his loss would bring
ruin upon them of an unimaginable magnitude.
For as
easily as the child had raised and bred bountiful harvests for his
parents who filled his life with kindness and joy, he could also
suppress the gifts of the green. And as Kou chan withdrew into himself
in grief for his lost parents, in unconscious sympathy the crops
responded in like. The farmlands of the men who killed his parents
suffered the worst harvest their families had ever faced. The yield
from their lands did not even produce enough to feed their own families.
The evil
men were then to realise and recognise that the boy was the root cause
of their misfortune. And among themselves they made the decision to
sell him to slavers with the demand that they bring the child as far
away from their properties as possible in desperate hope that the
distance would allow normal providence to reign over their lands once
more.
That,
unfortunately, was never to come to pass. For the boy’s grief had
poisoned their lands, and their harvests from that day forth would stay
poor and unequal to the needs of their families. And thus, they would
never recover from their evil deeds and eventually perished in poverty.
For Kou
chan though, he was to begin then his life of hardship as a slave to
the whims of his master’s will and desires.
Shuuei’s eyes were filled with tears for the horrible past his love had
survived. But he felt too a spark of vindictive satisfaction for the
punishment the murderers suffered.
We— his
parents, could not leave him, Ran Shuuei. So we became spirit birds to
stay by his side. But as spirits, we could not protect our child nor
save him from his cruel masters. It was true agony for us to watch
helplessly when these harsh masters mistreated our child. We could only
offer comfort, love and shelter in the dreams Kou chan would escape to
every night. And yes, it was during this period of heart rendering
suffering that Kou chan came to notice and secretly hone his abilities
in magic to provide himself with food and medicines when his masters
regularly starved or hurt him and offered little to no aid for the
injuries he would suffer from the work he did for them.
Then in
his seventh year, the village Kou chan had been brought to by his
latest master was worried about the heavy snows that winter. It was
their belief that offering a sacrifice to the mountain god would
prevent spring floods. And this was why Kou chan was brought out to the
mountains and tied to what the village had considered a sacred tree.
Left
alone that night in the cold and snow, he performed then what he
thought was his greatest and final work of magic. When he made his
finches of wood, we knew he was unconsciously thinking of us, for they
were made in our image. And to turn wood to flesh and blood, he shared
with his creations a spark of his own life force.
Understand,
beloved of our son, Kou chan is but a mage of the green. All floras in
whatever form they may take are therefore his to command and control.
However, he cannot create life. And while he succeeded in creating his
finches of flesh and blood, they were not alive. But in his creations,
our spirits found empty bodies to inhabit now. So through these birds,
*we* could live again. And we were determined that he would not die in
that barren land.
Despite
his cries of distress, we hardened our hearts and flew away from him
then, out into the night to find someone who could and would rescue our
son. It was with the gods favour that we quickly found the Kou man in
his passing carriage with his bride to be. Where upon we stole a
handkerchief made for him by his beloved and lead him to our son.
“The rest is as what the women-folk of the Kous have immortalised in
the Legend of the Thorn Mage.”
“This—this is an incredible story…” Shuuei breathed as he stared at the
couple who sat on the grass before him. “And does Kouyuu know this?
Does he know that you’re—?”
The woman shook her head sadly. “This is a truth Kou chan knows only in
his dreams.”
“He was far too young to remember us before we were lost to him.” The
man agreed as he looked to his wife. “During his years as a slave, when
alone—he would unconsciously look out somewhere in the distance and he
would seemingly remember that time when he was left at our home to
await our return. But he never realised or understood that it was
us—his parents whom he was waiting for.”
“He has forgotten us, but we do not mind, Ran Shuuei. We want only his
happiness. And we know it is with you.”
“But how can you let—Kouyuu should know!”
“He has his new father in Reishin sama and a new mother too with Yuri
Hime.” The woman shook her finger firmly at him. “We have come forth to
tell you of our existence because it is important for you to know and
understand the one you love.”
“Kouyuu has only recently accepted Reishin sama and Yuri Hime as his
father and mother in his heart, and finally discarded the last remnants
of the idea that he was their slave.” The man added earnestly. “It has
taken him too long to trust and accept this offer of love, beloved of
our son. Please, do not add complications to his life.”
“We thank you for your concern for our feelings, but we are truly happy
as we are. We are our son’s friends, confidents and watchful guardians,
and we love this life that we have with him now.”
The man’s lips pulled into a sly grin with his next words. “If you want
to help us, you could take over our duties to remind our son to take
time off and not work himself to exhaustion.”
“Oh, yes. That would be excellent. We do pester him so and drive him to
distraction enough that he sends us to sleep by turning us back into
wooden finches.” The woman laughed merrily. “And yes, fortunately, we
did pester him when he very nearly packed the Kou's entire library to
bring with him to Kiyou; because that was what prompted him to turn us
back into wooden finches for the journey to Kiyou and made it possible
for us to be with him when he was kidnapped.”
“Kou chan would act so guilty when he restores us to life just hours or
at most days later. But you can take over this duty from us from now
on.”
“Don’t look so glum, Ran Shuuei.” The woman reached over to take his
hands in hers. “Life truly is quite grand as a bird with little worry
of responsibilities beyond watching our child grow.”
“But—now that you’ve told me all this, aren’t you concerned at all that
I will one day tell Kouyuu about you.”
The couple smile at him mysteriously. And Shuuei became suddenly
aware that his head was feeling thick and his limbs heavy from lethargy.
“But then, Kou chan does always remember and know us as his first
parents in his dreams. But he also always forgets after he wakes.”
“And you know us now as well, Ran Shuuei… in your dreams…”
Shuuei woke at dawn to the finches hopping on his arm and tugging at
his sleeve in impatience for him to get up. He rubbed the sleep from
his eyes tiredly before looking at the two finches, blinking at them as
a fleeting thought came to him that he had dreamed of them during the
night. But he couldn't remember the dream.
However… Shuuei held out his hands to them and they alighted on his
fingers to chirp brightly at him. He found himself feeling great
affection for Kouyuu’s finches. They seem no more just Kouyuu’s toys
and tools, but truly friends and companions.
Shuuei could feel a new lightness in his heart as he lifted his friends
to sit on his shoulder guard while he gathered and packed the gear he
had taken out. He realised then that he didn't feel quite as lonely as
he did before in his journey to Sa province.
Seiran slammed his fist on the table causing the tea cups to jolt with
the force of his blow. “It wasn’t Sa guards or men that we found but
the Satsujinzoku.”
“Peace, Seiran.” Shouka waved his hand in a calming motion at his
adopted son. “We had been wondering if the Sa would have acted so
openly by using their own clansmen. It does make more sense now to see
that they weren't quite that bold.”
“But the Satsujinzoku—Ensei and I destroyed that band! I was so sure…”
Seiran growled in helpless frustration as he stared at his clenched
fists. “And now Shuuei is travelling to Sa to face them alone…”
Shouka’s hand came to rest over Seiran’s as he made the younger man
meet his eyes. “Are you truly doubtful of Shuuei’s skill to defeat
these men? Or are you upset that you didn’t succeed in personally
dealing with this band of scoundrels?”
Seiran flushed guiltily. “I’m sorry I—”
“No, no, you’ve in fact given us an excuse.” Shouka winked at him. “Ran
Shogun’s quest is to rescue his beloved. However, the mechanisms of the
Sa is something that *we* could justifiably take an active hand with.
“Let us go see the Emperor.”
Seiran looked at the Black Wolf suspiciously. “Is Shoukun sama going to
be upset with us over this?”
“Who says she has to find out?” Shouka told him brightly. “I’ll just be
staying over in the archives for a couple of days to complete some
filing I had allowed to pileup.”
“But—the Sa province is weeks of hard riding away. We don’t have
something like Kouyuu’s finches to speed our way.” Seiran protested in
confusion, while Shouka led them towards the Ryuuki’s quarters. “How
are we—?”
“Oh, we have a much faster way of travelling.” The Black Wolf’s eyes
gleamed at him making Seiran shiver involuntarily.
~to be continued~