1st chapter,
since the prologue can be confusing (i know i'm confused at first too)
i think hecate meant the prologue to be just like that because so far for all the fics he/she made, they're always confusing at first
but the story gets better later on
so here's the 1st chapter, still confusing (at least for me) but maybe it will shed some light on the story
douzo
1Yuuko snapped her eyes open, almost falling off the wooden chair she was on. It was that dream again, the same dream that had been eating her for
the last week. It made her night sleep left unfulfilled and when she tried to sleep by the day, the same dream followed. It was guilt and guilt, they say,
was not an easy thing to let go.
Yawning, she looked around the small room she was in, made entirely from woods and found a girl at the door. Under the pale orange light of sunset
seeping in from the small opening near the ceiling, her eyes were glistening with worry.
Yuuko straightened up her body, “Sasshi.”
“Are you okay, Yuuko-san?” the girl by the door asked. She was holding a piece of dirty rug on her hand. Behind her, another girl was peeking in.
“I fell asleep,” Yuuko gave the girl a smile.
“Um, everyone is already gathering outside. Itano-san told me to come and get you.”
Yuuko stood up from her chair, took the sword from the table in front of her and nodded. “Thank you.”
Sashihara Rino, a girl five years younger than Yuuko, moved to the side and let her pass. Yuuko nodded at the girl standing behind Rino, Kitahara Rie.
The two of them were not soldiers – unlike Yuuko and most of the people living there – they were just regular girls that wanted to help the noble cause
of winning their land back. And since they can’t wield any kind of weapon, they did another job: cleaning.
As she walked along a wooden corridor, Yuuko could hear a man’s voice, shouting very passionately. After a short flight of stairs, Yuuko opened up a
door that led her outside, to a small field packed with people. Every one of them was carrying swords and spears, some had arrows on their backs, and
the man Yuuko heard yelling was Aoki Kazuya.
“Tonight is the night!” Kazuya raised his fist to the sky as he shout. “Tonight will be the night we take back our land! For Hakuyama!”
At the last word, when Kazuya punched the air, everyone in the small field roared and held their weapons high above their heads. It made Yuuko let out
a heavy sigh as she walked to a girl standing a little far from the group, leaning on a wooden pole.
“Where were you?”
“Fell asleep,” Yuuko said and she swayed her head to the side, to the direction of a man standing on top of a stool in front of everyone. “Ne, Tomochin.
I still have a bad feeling about this,” Yuuko said to her.
The girl’s fingers brushed her long straight hair and tucked it behind her ears when wind suddenly blew a little stronger. “Tell that to him.”
Yuuko did tell that to Kazuya, a dozens of time in the least but the man heeded no attention to her words; he was set on his goal.
“We will throw the King of Amachi of his throne!”
Again, the crowd gathering in front of Kazuya cheered, waving their weapons in their hands. Yuuko shook her head and sighed for the second time.
**
The moon had gone up the sky replacing the tired sun in his duty to give the world light. Though far weaker than him, the moon gave a whole different
feeling to those looking at it. For Kashiwagi Yuki, the moon that night was giving her a feeling of sadness and it was supposed to be the night of her life.
That day, Kashiwagi Yuki became twenty one years old, old enough to inherit the throne to the kingdom she was born in: the Kingdom of Amachi.
Being a princess of Amachi meant that you can have everything and nothing at all at the same time. As the kingdom with the strongest army in the Far
East Terrain, the Kingdom of Amachi was greatly feared, leaving Yuki with no friends. The only friend she had was her Dachi, sworn from the day she
set foot on the Kingdom of Amachi’s castle doorstep to protect Yuki with her life. Even with the presence of her Dachi, Yuki still felt an enormous
loneliness every day and no matter how hard she tried to make friends, as soon as she reveals herself as the Princess of Amachi, no one would come
near her again. She blamed her father for this. If it was not because of his idealism of putting the whole Far Eastern Terrain into one kingdom’s flag, she
would not be this lonely.
Adding to the sadness she was feeling that night, right on her birthday, her father invited the Prince of a reputable kingdom from the Eastern Regions to
the castle. Although the King did not state his intention on inviting such a guest very vividly, Yuki knew what was going on and she didn’t like the idea.
“Princess?”
Yuki turned her head from the moon in the sky to the door. Her Dachi, dressed in a blue royalty robe, came inside the room. She found Yuki on the
balcony and walked to her. “You’re not ready yet.”
Yuki shook her head, leaning her head on her Dachi’s shoulder. The Dachi knew what troubled the Princess, she had been with her for so long, but she
couldn’t do anything about it. So she did the only thing she could do: hugged the sorrowful Princess.
Shinoda Mariko arrived at the Kingdom of Amachi five years ago. After a long journey around the world, she returned to the Far Eastern Territory; her
home. It was then that she joined the royal army of Amachi and the King asked her to guard his only daughter. Being a babysitter for a spoiled sixteen
years old was not the reason she joined the royal army but after spending a short time with the princess and learning how lonely she really was,
Shinoda Mariko took the title of Dachi – a friend for life – and she never left Yuki alone since.
“Mari-chan,” Yuki said softly, “can I not marry?”
Mariko put her cheek on top of the Princess’s crown. “I’m sorry, Princess.”
Not the best answer for the question but the only answer Mariko could give. In her heart, the short haired Dachi secretly wished that she could share
Yuki’s burden, if only for a tiny spec of it.
**
The Kingdom of Amachi Castle was built on the northern slope of the Far Eastern Terrain. As the biggest kingdom with the biggest number of soldiers, it
was greatly feared rather than respected. The King, Kashiwagi Souryuu, was a man with a great thirst for battle. He conquered the whole Far Eastern
Terrain within twelve years of battle. But he did that with purpose, a noble one, misinterpreted by his enemies that could only think of him as another
tyrant leader, hungry for more power.
The Kingdom of Amachi was having a huge feast that particular night; the birthday of the Princess of Amachi, Kashiwagi Yuki. The whole Kingdom was
celebrating. Noble knights, respected warriors, reputable merchants, priests and political members from all across the Far Eastern Terrain gathered in
the castle for the occasion. Of course, to ensure their safety, King Kashiwagi Souryuu placed three times thicker of security around his castle, spread
far to the small town of Hakuyama outside the castle’s walls.
After the sunset, Hakuyama went dead silent, a lot quieter than any other night. The people of the small town locked themselves in their homes, leaving
the town’s roads empty. Two guards of Amachi Kingdom, patrolling around the town, noticed this abnormality. Hakuyama was never been this quiet.
“Why is everyone set in so early? It’s so quiet.”
“None of them is invited to the Princess’ birthday party, probably sulking in their homes right now.”
“No, no. It’s too quiet tonight.”
An arrow pierced one of the guards’ chests. He growled in pain and crumbled into the ground. His partner drew his sword out and when he turned
around, a thick and heavy mallet hit his face from the side, destroying half of his face.
**
Two guards were overlooking the town of Hakuyama from the castle’s wall, right on top of the main gate. The humongous gate was already closed down
and locked from the inside with four guards on both sides to protect it.
One of the guards on the upper wall leaned his body forward, narrowing his eyes, trying to see beyond the darkness covering Hakuyama. He felt
something was amiss.
“Hey, why is the town is so dark? Does no one light oil lamp no more?” he asked to his partner.
The other guard, walked to his side, looking far to Hakuyama. “You’re right. Why is it so dark?”
A tiny red dot appeared in the distance, swaying a little. Then, it jumped up into the sky, high before it lost its altitude and started to go down. The
guards on the upper wall quickly realized that the red dot was fire attached on an arrow. They gasped when the arrow dug itself deep in the castle wall,
just an arm away from them.
“Fire arrow?” he looked down to the arrow, face turning red by the light from the fire. Then another arrow flew toward his direction, stabbing him right
on his chest.
**
The presence of the charming Prince of the Eastern Regions brightened the birthday party of Princess Kashiwagi Yuki in the Kingdom of Amachi.
Maidens from all around the Kingdom, nobles and alike, were lining up for his hand in a dance under the moonlight. As a Prince with remarkably
wonderful manner, the Prince accepted every woman, danced with one for a while before changing partners with another. He did that solely out of
courtesy because the girl he really wanted to dance with was, of course, the Princess. He had waited for her to come out to the backyard of the castle
but after a few hours waiting, she hadn’t shown up.
But he was patience, he never rushed thing and being patience was always paid him dividend, so he hoped that this long wait would be greatly
rewarded. The Prince had never once seen the Princess of Amachi in flesh and blood but her beauty had come widely renowned all over the Far Eastern
Terrain, went through the border and into his own ear at the Eastern Regions. And when his father told him that the King of Amachi had sent an
invitation for the Princess’ birthday, he felt like the moon had landed on his lap.
After dancing with another girl – the tenth girl, if he counted correctly – every guest at the party’s attention suddenly turned toward the castle’s back
door. The Prince let the girl he was dancing with go, walked through the guests at the backyard and stood under the stairs leading up to the castle. That
was his dividend, walking in a beautiful blue dress, hair braided neatly and a small crown rested on top of her perfectly crafted forehead.
“Princess Yuki,” the Prince couldn’t help but to mumble the name of the Princess as she walked out of the castle with her trustworthy Dachi, hand in
hand, facing everyone in the backyard garden.
The Prince was completely astonished and so was every single soul looking at the Princess that night, even the King of Amachi, her own father. The
King walked up the stairs and Mariko the Dachi stepped back, giving space for the King to stand beside his daughter.
“Lovely, My Dear. Truly,” he said softly to Yuki.
Yuki smiled; a small one. In her father’s eyes, the smile was mesmerizing, at the eyes of the Eastern Regions Prince, it was an utter beauty, but in the
eyes of Mariko, instead of smiling, Princess Yuki was crying, a loud one.
The King of Amachi turned around and faced his guests with a big and proud smile. He put one hand on Yuki’s shoulder, squeezing it a bit. “I present to
you, the next ruler of Amachi, Princess Kashiwagi Yuki.”
Yuki felt a sudden surge of wave hit her body, pinning her down the earth but she can’t show it, not when his father was this proud. She gave everyone
a warm smile, though fake, it was the best smile she could muster at that time. Everyone put their plates of food down and bent to give Yuki a bow. It
was overwhelming for Yuki she had to hold her breath for a whole second. It was after everyone raised their heads back up that Yuki started to breathe
normally again.
Then the Prince of the Eastern Regions let out a cough and it jolted the King. He smiled at the Prince and raised his glass of wine. “Yuki,” he said to
Yuki, “I have invited the Prince of the Eastern Region especially for your company. He is a polite man and a respectable warrior. No man can outmatch
him in a sword fight and that is not a legend, My Dear. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Prince Ezra Ry Bruell”
Yuki nodded weakly. The Prince came up a step and bowed down a little, smiling blissfully as he took another step closer to Yuki. “I’m – I am truly
honored to be standing in front of you, Princess,” the Prince stammered a little. “Can I shake your hand, Your Highness?”
It was dilemmatic. If Yuki greeted the Prince’s hand it would mean that she accepts the future bond prepared by her father but if she doesn’t, it would
be a great insult to the Prince. Mariko touched Yuki’s back and that was enough to calm the Princess’ heart. She raised her hand, about to touch the
Prince’s fingers when the corner of her eyes caught a glimpse of a hooded figure standing on a tree branch at the far end of the backyard. She flinched
and retracted her hand.
“Yuki!” the King scolded her in an instant.
“No!” Yuki shook her head, taking a step back in surprise. “There! On the tree!”
The figure quickly disappeared into the darkness just when everyone turned their head to the tree.
“Don’t embarrass me in front of my guests,” he hissed.
“No! There really was someone in that tree!”
The King looked back at her terrified daughter, glaring her with his fierce eyes before returning his gaze to the tall tree behind the backyard. Mariko
walked a little bit to the front, hand on her sword.
Then, a sound of explosion echoed in the dark sky, inducing screams among the guests. Not long after, a guard ran to the backyard, climbed up the
steps and bowed at the King.
“My Lord!” he said. “The front gate is being attacked by the Revolutionary Army!”
**
Yuuko took a deep breath, breathing the cold air of the night. She was hiding behind a tree just outside Hakuyama Town’s gate. Her hand was holding a
girl’s hand, her best friend’s hand; Itano Tomomi. The latter girl had her eyes closed, concentrating.
Kazuya walked to them and looked at Yuuko. He nodded at her, signaling that it was time for them to go. “We’ve rattled their cage.”
“It’s time, Tomochin,” Yuuko said.
“I don’t know if I can do it.”
“I can always cut the gate open for you.”
“Mariko is inside,” Tomomi snapped her eyes open. Yuuko knew what she meant then and she took a sigh.
“She’s not one of us anymore, Tomochin.”
“But she’s still Mariko.”
Yuuko squeezed Tomomi’s hand tighter. “I’ll give her a good death from a good fight.”
Tomomi sighed. She let Yuuko’s hand go and walked to Kazuya’s side. Kazuya nodded at her as he led her out of the tree to the path leading to the
castle’s gate. Yuuko followed them in silent. At the end of the road, the Revolutionary Army’s archers were shooting at the guards on the castle’s guard
while the infantry hid behind them, crouching down.
“We have drawn their attention to us and we have taken care of the gate’s guard,” a man spoke to Tomomi. The girl nodded as he walked through the
infantry and got in front of the archers. She walked calmly toward the gate, closing her distance. Kazuya and Yuuko were on her back.
Tomomi stopped in her tracks, leaving a bit of distance between her and the gate. She closed her eyes and concentrated her minds. Yuuko waited for a
few seconds and then Tomomi put her hands in front of her face, taking a deep breath. Tomomi made fire from thin air, calling them to her hands and
the fire got bigger and bigger, swirling in her palm. When the flame was big enough, Tomomi let out a scream and sent the ball of fire flying toward the
gate.
Yuuko held her breath when the fire cut the stream of air. When it finally hit its target, the huge wooden gate shook violently, creaking and exploded
into tiny pieces. With a relieved breath, Yuuko turned to Kazuya. The man drew out his sword, raised it up high above his head and he roared. “Into the castle!”
--
Topic: KATHARSIS (SaeYuki) Chapter 6 (Updated 22/08/2013) (Read 5166 times)