Princess Ichika Lilliana of Argo sits in the palace garden on a stone bench, dressed in an intricately woven silk gown that has cherry blossoms and mountains inlaid on white. Beside her a servant girl dressed in a plain black kimono and a katana strapped to her back sits on the ground close legged, her fingers playing upon a gottan.
From the three stringed and long necked cedar instrument a relaxing melody plays out over the air as Ichika watches the ducks in the pond before her.
The ducks float with perfect balance close to the pond's rim. They interchange between fluffing their brown feathers and watching the servant girl. The creatures make no noise as they listen to what could only be described as a heavenly sound radiation from under the shade of a cherry tree that holds half ripe fruit.
Ichika lets out a dragging sigh, it has been a long and trying month for her. She was to be married to the handsome heir, Fernando, the Prince of Rosa.
The issue wasn’t that he was ugly, on the contrary Fernando was beautiful. He was tall, well muscled, and carried himself with a flawless grace. There of course was a snug bulge that hid something quite large she was sure of, on top of that. These were the traits any princess could wish to be arranged to marry.
The issue was that the prince had disappeared in the middle of the night before their wedding that following morning. Where exactly he’d gone was a mystery to many of the kingdoms and empires.
When this tragedy befell Ichika, she didn't cry out but rather had grown silent, her emotions unknown to all as she masked the boiling anger that began to form.
King Alejandro and Queen Maria had assured her that the wedding would go on once they found the prince. Even though her father agreed to this, they had no small idea on the amount of embarrassment that befell Ichika and the gossip whispered among the members of court. Gossip and embarrassment that stoked the flames of her anger ever more than when it started.
In court some said she had scared the handsome prince off. Of the thirteen daughters and thirteen sons, she was the ugliest of Emperor Akio Lilliana’s children, they whispered attempting to hide under the constant strumming and singing of the Emperor's biwa player Lu.
“Look at her symmetry of face?” she had heard her own sister Azumi say as Ichika watched Lu sitting under one of the throne room pillars.
“And she’s always been so much darker,” Azumi’s twin Haruto whispered back, nearly causing Ichika to turn away from Lu. “She’s nowhere as pale and flawless as our eldest sister, Nozomi."
Much of the court discussed these two flaws they believed that Ichika had, that she lacked good symmetry and that her features were not pale enough for any man to like. She had told her father of the gossip over roasted turtle duck after he had pressed.
"What is wrong with my lovely, Ichika?" He had asked around a bite of his turtle duck. "You have been so silent lately my daughter, it is not fitting of you. Please do not hide or lie. Is it the Rosa Prince? They will find him quite soon, I am sure of that."
"No," she said. That was when Ichika told him of the gossip in court.
“What?” he hollered at the head of the chabudai table, banging his fists upon the cedar and causing plates to raddle. The voices around the table fell silent. “You tell me who has said such horrible things, Ichika. I shall have their heads on the wall.”
Ichika had looked to Azumi and Haruto as their father said this. She knew it had been them who started it. They had never truly cared for her and much of the court's gossip about Ichika could often be linked to them.
Ichika took in everyone around the table and the servants standing behind them. On all their faces she saw nervousness etched. Emperor Akio Lilliana was never to be trifled with, even his children knew the horrors that he could inflict upon them.
“I have no idea where it started, father,” Ichika had lied. “To lay punishment would leave many in your tables, court, and towns without heads to bow with.”
Ichika saw no reason to punish Azumi and Haruto, after all, the true culprit was the prince. If he had stayed there would have been no scandal. No gossip and embarrassment.
Her father looked around in disgust.
"Very well," he said. "But if I hear of any such talk, let it be known that it shall be punished swiftly and justly. Let it reach the court and towns from this table as I'm sure it shall."
Of course the news of this was broken but the gossip didn't stop. Ichika could see it in the way they stared and smiled at her in the throne room while court was held. The way they talked to her under the watchful eye of the great Emperor Akio and his pet dragon Oba, picking and choosing their words as though it were her that was unhinged, that if they said the wrong word to her she would crack down the center like a dropped teapot.
No, the gossip had stopped in court in front of the Emperor, but it had moved to be talked behind closed doors by the court's members and their families.
"Is everything okay, Ichika?" The servant girl asks as she plays. "You're crying
"I'm fine," Ichika lies. "It's just so beautiful, Haru. You've always had a way with the gottan that no one else has."
Haru smiles as she continues on playing the gottan she often carries.
"I'm so sorry sister to interrupt," Ichika's older brother says as he enters the garden, dressed in a red metallic armor that bears the family crest of the cherry blossom on the right breast. Following him is a Kaito, one of Fuji's warriors, and a man in chains.
"It's fine, Fuji," I say. I eye the man in chains, his features resemble that of a citizen of Rosa. "What is this all about?"
"This is my award for waiting in Rosa for news of the prince," Fuji smiles in the now quiet garden. "I wanted to bring him to you before father. Earlier today he was painting the king and queen when a messenger came in, the first to have news of the prince. Tell her what you heard, painter."
Kaito holding the prisoner back pushes him down into a keeling position.
"They believe…" the prisoner began to stammer and eye around frantically. "They believe Prince Fernando is on the other side of the Veil. Where exactly...they don't know. A larger search party has been sent to look for him."
Ichika stares blankly, her body shaking with anger.
"That's it?" Ichika yells, approaching her brother. "He's been gone for a month, I should be bonded, married, and pregnant with a child by now!"
"I know, Ichika, that this hurts," Fuji frowns. "But they will find him and you shall have your child and be queen over Rosa. It'll just take a little longer, sister"
"No!" She screams. "Their prince has lost his chance!"
Swiftly, Ichika pulls the katana from it's sheath at her waist. Before Fuiji can stop it the prisoner gasps as the pink tinted blade cuts cleanly through his neck.
Ichika watches as a thin stream of blood flows down his torso for half a minute till his body slumps under its weight. The head rolls away with eyes still open across the well manicured grass, leaving a trail behind.
"What have you done!" Fuji cries out. "Father will punish us dearly, Ichika!"
"He would have done the same," Ichika says, returning her blade. "Join me."
"What?"
"Join me, Fuji. Together we'll cross the Veil, with Haru of course, and hunt Prince Fernando down and kill him."
"You've gone crazy, Ichika," her brother shakes his head. "Haru, talk sense to her. This will start a war that will not be easily stopped."
"She's right," Haru said. "Argo is being laughed at over the Prince that's left the Argo princess at the altar. He has to die, to show the world that Argo is to be respected."
"You know nothing of the other side," Fuji scowls. "There are countless dangers by which you know nothing of. They are primitives that have greeted many dark things. And to top it all off, you'd have to hide all your magical abilities and act as these primitives do.”
"That all may be true," Ichika smiles. "So join us, Fuji, or I shall cross the Veil without you. If you go, you'll be able to make sure I'm safe among such heathens."
For a minute Fuji fumes, taking in the cherry tree, the pond with it's ducks, and the aray of beautiful flowers.
"Fine," he says. "I'll go. But you have to take my advice when it gets too dangerous, sister, but I'll have to convince Father first."
"He shouldn't take much convincing," Ichika says. "Think he'll let us send the prisoner's head with a half ripe cherry to the royalty of Rosa? You can tell him it's your idea."
"You know he loves that sort of fucked up thing," Fuji smiles, licking his lips. "That shall hopefully work in our favor."
Ichika focuses on the pond and likely splashes Fuji upon his face.
"Ichika," he scowls at her.
"Smile brother," Ichika giggles.
"You're something else, sister" he says as he begins to join her in laughter. It had been far too long since he last saw her laugh, it brought warmth to him
"That may be true," she smiles. "But you love me."
"Would you like to join me in talking with Father," he asks. "After all, it is your plan."
"You can do it," she smiles. "You are better with father than I am."
"I seriously doubt that," he says. "Well, I better go and talk to him. Come on, Kaito."
With that Fuji and the guard left Ichika alone once more. With a giggle, Ichika stepped over the body and sat back down on the bench beside Haru.
"When do you think the Emperor shall allow us to depart?" Haru asks as she begins to play the gollan again.
"Hopefully in a day or two," Ichika says as she weaves water between her fingers.
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