Prince Nayoko of Hoshido

The dead didn't mean anything at first. Not on a personal level.

It was still disturbing to witness. The blood and the burns and the headless bodies. The screams of the wounded soldiers as they were put to the blade. And the sound I had never heard before and could not toughen myself against -- the howls of the Chevois villagers in the flames.

It was not the death I had brushed shoulders with before; not the overwhelming agony of a blade and then nothing. It was an agony that caught and spread, burning skin down to muscle, then muscle down to bone. That kept its victims alive long enough to moan, to shriek, and to beg for mercy. That transformed them into something...not human. Something different from the soldiers with holes in their hearts, lying on cold roads and watching the stars.

Then I saw Kass among the soldiers.

She was dead: her throat cut and her eyes empty. Lying among men I didn't know and couldn't name, cut down as another member of the army.

Destroyed, like she was nothing.

I was on my knees before despair had overtaken the shock, my hand wrapping around hers in an automatic response. Words fell out of my mouth, until I was suddenly no longer disjointed from my body but crying them out. "No...no!"

"Some chosen saviour you are," a voice said gleefully above me.

I looked up at Iago, even more ghostly than usual in the dark town of flickering flames. His face and cloak were splashed with blood.

"What happened to her?" I asked hoarsely. "Who killed her?" Realisation dawned as I looked him over again. "Was it you?"

"You're her enemy," Iago replied. Lifting a red hand, he pointed at my sword.

I glanced down at Yato, startled to find that it was unsheathed. Fresh blood coated the blade.

Panicky disbelief turned me cold. "No... I didn't -- I wouldn't!"

Iago laughed. When I looked up again, he'd gone.

"Norton!" someone screamed.

I stumbled to my feet and turned around. Across the road, another building was burning. Elise was caught in the fire.

Stuck between collapsing pillars and helpless to defend herself from the flames, she screamed again. I tried to move, but I was so filled with horror that my legs didn't seem to be working.

"Nayoko!" Semyaza's voice filtered into my ears. "Nayoko --! No, please, have mercy..." She cut off with a cry.

I turned around again, searching for her. No matter how much I strained my eyes, she didn't seem to be among the soldiers. "Semyaza! Elise! No!"

Strong hands suddenly grabbed me by the back of my collar. Siegfried slashed across my throat.

***

"Hey, Nayoko! Wake up!"

I came to with a jolt, hot and shaking. Hinoka was sitting on the bed beside me, wearing her uniform. Sunlight was streaming into the room.

"It was just a bad dream," she said.

I nodded, understanding immediately. The disaster at Cheve had been a week ago. We were at the border fort, and we were all safe. But the terror still lingered.

Hinoka slung an arm across my shoulders and squeezed. "Want to talk about it?"

Although there was no disguising the concern in her eyes, there was something so casual in her tone that I suspected she might have gone through this with me before. The hug, the squeeze, the question.

And probably the answer, too.

"No, thank you." Ashamed that she was having to comfort a grown man, I looked away, and my gaze fell on the open door. "What are you doing in here?"

"I heard you shouting, and I came in to see what was the matter. You were so upset, I had to wake you." She leaned to the side so that I was forced to meet her eyes again, her brow furrowed. "Seriously, do you want to talk about it?"

"No," I repeated. "I'm fine."

She watched me for a moment, then shrugged and leaned back, reaching for the water at my bedside. I was still trembling, and the shock of my dream had brought on an even deeper exhaustion than I'd felt when I'd first closed my eyes. I accepted the offered drink gratefully. When I'd finished, Hinoka put her arm around me again, and this time I felt only relief.

We sat quietly for a few minutes until I'd regained some of my wits. As I finally put the water aside, a flicker in the doorway caught my eye. Kaze was standing there. He'd obviously come to wake me, and although he didn't bat an eyelid at the sight of us, something in my face did seem to make him hesitate. "Good morning, my lord. Is everything all right?"

"Yes," I said firmly. "Everything's fine."

He glanced at Hinoka for confirmation. When she didn't say anything to the contrary, he inclined his head. "Very well. I am glad to have caught you, Princess Hinoka: I have a message for you both. As soon as you are able, you are required down in the throne room."

"Thank you." Hinoka stood up, glancing back at me with some lingering concern. Then she left.

Kaze said little as he helped me to get ready, which was normal, although the silence did feel cautious. I said little in return, and so I reached the throne room in record time.

My other siblings and their retainers were already waiting just within the doors, gathered together in a circle. Ryoma was standing at their head, his ninjas positioned on one side and Semyaza on the other. My heart squeezed at the sight of her. Her brown eyes sparkled as she listened to something Sakura whispered, and a vibrant red ribbon fluttered in her hair when she nodded. She was safe and happy, and very much alive.

Everyone looked up as Kaze and I entered, including Ryoma. I really must have been looking shaken, because he, too, frowned and said, "Is everything all right, Nayoko?"

"Yes, thank you." Aware that his words were now making Sakura and Takumi watch me closely, I moved the conversation along. "What's going on?"

"We're relocating," Ryoma said. "And we're going today."

We all stared at him in stupid silence for a moment.

"Relocating?" Takumi repeated. "We need to hold the border!"

"And some of our soldiers will. However, I want our main force concentrated in Fort Jinya."

Stunned, I remained speechless. His decision was going to shake the army's morale, because there was no question about the reason for moving the strength further inland. He had already resigned to a border breach.

He thought holding the Nohrians back would be hopeless.

"We need better facilities to plan and prepare." He met my gaze, as if he knew what I was thinking. "That's all. Fort Jinya is larger, and so better equipped for us to be in command from."

I frowned. "But the soldiers are going to think --"

"My decision is final." He spoke over me. "And effective immediately. Saizo, Kagero: spread the news and rally the troops."

***

We were on the move by mid-morning, leaving only a small portion of our army behind to man the fort. As I'd suspected, rumours of Ryoma's ill-faith had already started to spread, but he didn't seem bothered. In fact, he didn't say much to me about anything, which was odd. Usually, he was happy to discuss the movements of the army with us all, and our decisions were group ones. They didn't have to be, of course -- he was the King of Hoshido now. But I'd grown used to his ways, and this sudden, individual plan of action was unsettling.

It only took two days to reach Fort Jinya, and our preparations began the moment we set foot in the grounds. Soldiers were given new stations, and my siblings were allocated a long list of tasks. One such task involved the weapons wagons we'd been lugging around with us for much of the journey. Their contents needed taking into the fort, and Ryoma ordered Takumi and me to oversee the unloading of them.

Although Takumi was less hostile now, we still rarely spoke. We organised the soldiers that were to help us easily enough, but as we walked down to the baggage train, an awkward silence fell.

When we reached the carts, the soldiers lined up in pairs to start unloading crates of weapons. As we'd already told them where to take the boxes, there wasn't a lot left to do, so we joined the back of the line to help. Still, the awkward silence stretched.

The soldiers talked and jostled one another. The line shuffled forwards.

Takumi cleared his throat. "I think an apology is in order."

I almost jumped a mile. "I beg your pardon?"

"You've been nothing but faithful to us since the moment Kaze and Rinkah brought you here." He fixed his gaze on the floor. "In return, I have spent much of my time doubting you. I'm sorry."

I blinked. "Apology accepted. But what in the gods' names has brought this on?"

He lifted one shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. "I've been thinking about it for a while. I have a good memory -- I was only three when Kaiya was taken, but I recall everything we did together. I loved her very much as a child. But I pushed her away when she was returned to us, and she left. Then Azura turned on us, too, and I was always horrible to her." He looked up. "I feel guilty. My attitude is the reason why they're not here."

"No, it isn't. They chose to fight with Nohr for different reasons." I cautiously laid a hand on his shoulder. "In any case, you were only trying to protect your family."

He shook his head. "No. I was jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Of you," Takumi said. "I never was at first, but after you were taken, Mother...replaced you. She took Azura, and when King Garon wouldn't trade, she welcomed her into the family as if she was one of us. I hated Azura for filling your places. Then, as Ryoma and Hinoka advanced in their training and my age meant I started to get left behind, I wondered if Mother just knew I wasn't good enough to be third in line.

"You know that on the day I met you again, I'd just come back from a mission. What you probably don't know is that it was the first time I'd led a battalion alone. It was a big achievement to me, and one which Ryoma and Hinoka had been highly praised for in the past. But all Mother wanted to discuss was you two, not what I was proud of. She wouldn't even listen to a single word of my report. I felt resentful." He looked away. "I understand now that she was just consumed with happiness after sixteen years of loss. But she died knowing that I was upset with her, and I will never be able to forgive myself for that."

"I never realised you felt that way." I hesitated over my words. "Look, when Mother died, it was a time of turmoil for us all. Kass hadn't really accepted this new family, and I was struggling a little myself. Regardless of your own feelings, nothing was perfect. But Mother knew that, underneath everything we were going through, we loved her. All of us."

Takumi gave me a half smile. "Maybe."

"Kass and Azura know that about you, too. One day, they'll return, and you can explain yourself to them. They will forgive you for your behaviour, I know it."

"I hope so. I don't want anything to happen to them before I can make amends. I -- " He gasped, lifting his hands to his head.

I grabbed his shoulder, alarm flashing through me. "Takumi, are you all right?"

Several soldiers turned in our direction. Takumi slapped me away, but he was still wincing. "I'm fine. It's just a little he-headache." He inhaled sharply, closing his eyes.

"Let me take you to the medical ward."

"No."

"Takumi --"

"No!"

I sighed. He wasn't fine, and I was ashamed that I hadn't realised his injuries from the border battle were still troubling him. I would take him to see Sakura later...even though she had already examined him several times.

Until then, I would just have to keep an eye on him.