The doe-headed servant showed him into an adjoining room that was separated from the main audience room. Hikaru was feeling restless, so he picked at his already tattered sleeve and paced back and forth. He listened to the receding footsteps of Shin and Rin. Worry twisted his gut; why did he get the feeling he would never see her again after tonight? The door at the back of the room slid open. He turned around to see the guardian ducking through the doorway. He clenched his hands into fists to hide his anger. It was his fault; if he had just accepted Hikaru's offer, then Rin would have been set free.

"My lord guardian." Hikaru bowed to the vile creature.

The boar grinned. His yellow teeth looked even more rotten up close and the stench of his breath was putrid.

"I've come for my favor."

Hikaru held his breath, waiting. "And what is that?"

"I want you to see something." He waved his hoof and a mirror appeared out of a cloud of leaves. At first he saw his own face reflected there. Seeing his image was startling. He hardly recognized himself—the dark shadows under his eyes, his torn and battered skin, and his topknot had come undone, his hair falling forward.

"You want me to see my own reflection?"

"No, look closer."

And so Hikaru did as he was bid, he peered into the mirror. His image disappeared and in its place he saw Rin and Shin alone in a small chamber with a single bed. Does he expect them to sleep together? His gut twisted with jealousy. He had no reason to believe Rin was his. Though he had asked her to be his wife, he had never gotten her answer. Had he misinterpreted her intentions? But if she did not care for him, why sacrifice herself for him?

Shin had his back to Rin, and she seemed to be saying something, but Hikaru could not hear what they were saying. From the way she gazed at him, captured by Shin's every word, Hikaru knew it was serious. Shin turned to face Rin, and tears rolled down her cheeks. Hikaru's stomach sank. Has he confessed how he feels? Does she feel the same? Shin had given up everything to save Rin, how could she not love him in return? Hikaru could not turn away as Rin fell to her knees and Shin wiped away her tears. She grabbed onto Shin's robe and buried her face into his chest. Shin wrapped his arms around her. And Hikaru could not look any longer.

"Do you know what he asked?" the boar taunted.

"What?" Hikaru asked, though he feared the answer.

"He asked her to choose between the two of you. Who do you think she chose?"

His head said Shin, it only made sense, but his heart thought differently. They loved one another, he was certain of that much. But the guardian had filled him with a fragment of doubt and that was what held his tongue.

"I'll wait for your answer until morning. If you're right, you both go free; if you are wrong, then you both belong to me."

d YR