Part III, Chapter Twelve: Kyato's Plans Go Astray

Part III: Shiromori

"Debatable is the value of silence." --Shiromori poet, c. 540 AE

May 9, 1115 AE
Koheno Keep, Koheno, Shiromori



Good girls were not out of their beds at this hour. Good girls did not feign headaches to avoid disturbance for the night. Good girls didn't don revealing ritual garb and attempt to sneak off to their suitors' castles during the Crossing of the Three Orbs--and even if they did, good girls certainly didn't dash into old broom cupboards when they feared they were about to be caught.

Kyato had never been a good girl. But her brother thought her one, and Kawa's father thought her one, and if she had her way, they would keep thinking that. She'd thought there wouldn't be much chance of running into either of them. Her brother was usually abed by now, or at least holed up in his study, and Kawa's father should have been... well, not here, certainly. She'd snuck out hundreds of times without a fuss, and on the off-chance she had a close call, it was always a servant. But the voices she'd heard, the footsteps that accompanied...

They weren't maids, that was for sure. They were men--the last two men she cared to be seen by.

"So what am I supposed to do with him?" Her brother's tone was impatient as ever. "This may come as a shock to you, but I don't have much use for a half-breed infant."

A half-breed what? Kyato scowled as Kawa's father sniffed. "Shove him in a monastery, train him as a servant... I don't really give a rat's ass. Just keep him away from my daughter."

...Maru? But that would mean the baby was--

"And why should I be responsible for that? He's your grandson."

"He could have been your son, you know."

"But he's not." For once, her brother was right about something. But if even someone so dense knew that... then what was Dracian doing here? "Look at him. Those hideous black eyes..."

The King sighed. "Lock him away if his look offends you, but just make sure Maru never sees him. As far as she's concerned, the boy is dead."

"Then wouldn't this be easier if he was?"

Silence. Kyato dared not breathe as Kawa's father took his time. In her mind's eye she saw him, tall, statuesque, yet broken--looking up, looking down, looking away, anywhere but her brother. Pathetic. "He is half his mother's blood; for that, you will allow him to live."

Her brother's boot tapped against the floor. "I see. Well, perhaps one of the kitchen wenches will want him, even if he is a filthy little slab of dog-spawn. He can sleep in the stables tonight."

"The stables? Kuchimatsu, he's a baby!"

"...Kyato?"

Well. So much for keeping her damn mouth shut.

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Part III, Chapter Eleven: Maru Struggles Still

Part III: Shiromori

"Sleep is not a course of action, no matter how tired one may be." --Tasian general, c. 610 AE

May 9, 1115 AE
Shiromori Castle, Ayumora, Shiromori

When the kitchen girl had first come offering the wine, it had seemed like a good idea. The first glass had calmed Maru's nerves somewhat, and the second had taken care of the anxiety that remained. The third hadn't helped, but neither had it harmed--not really, not like a few droops of the eyes were too great of a problem. The fourth might have brought a yawn or two. The fifth might have had her dozing off intermittently.

By the ninth, she was positively ill.

The kitchen girl had sent for Maru's maid, or at least the girl who was acting as Maru's maid while she was here. Her Highness is looking tired, she'd claimed. It's sick with worry she is. Give her a moment's rest. Don't worry about the children, I can watch them. Little thing must have been sniffing around for a raise, or perhaps a transfer to some slightly less humble station. Or her pick of the guards, perhaps; such rewards were not unheard of.

Maru supposed she ought to be grateful. Perhaps some part of her was. She was, after all, in no state to be watching the children. Why shouldn't she be grateful for the help? It was a damn tough question.

And yet, even as sleep-soaked lashes met sleep-soaked lashes, some stubborn part of her still struggled to puzzle it out.

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