Two weeks after the end of the war and Nayoko was already back in her dorm at the Library like she'd never left.
She'd always been a loner, a teacher's pet, with her only friends being the crown princes of the Empire and Alice, who was then princess of the Eastern Kingdom. Now dressed in her Archivist regalia, she felt even more out of place. But as she saw Tanya approaching, she was comforted by seeing at least one familiar face.
"We'll be moving you to the office in the Central Spire," Tanya says, now standing beside her. "Our work begins tomorrow. You will be meeting with the Viscounts of the former Kingdom to discuss land distributions. Lena will act as a mediator and I will be inscribing and categorizing them for the records. Your vows cannot wait any longer and you will be sworn in later in the afternoon."
Nayoko remains silent as she watches a librarian and monk conversing in the passageway below. Tanya sighs and grips her shoulder firmly. Nayoko flinches at the touch, and Tanya immediately retracts her hand. Her gaze softens to sympathetic, but she still doesn't let down.
"I understand it's daunting, and I cannot imagine the burden that comes with this role, but..." Tanya thinks over her next words carefully, "you do not have to carry it alone. Confide in me. You don't have to treat me as a friend, or even amiably. Just know that you can trust me to share this responsibility."
Nayoko looks up, finally meeting her gaze, "You don't have to tell me this. It is your obligation, after all."
"Yes, but I want to help, and I want you to know that. I want you to know that my loyalty lies with both Lawrence and you. We are the same, after all."
A pause, then, "Thank you," Nayoko finally says.
YOU ARE READING
where you go i go
Cerita Pendekas the world ages around nayoko, she comes to terms with her friends' mortality and her lack thereof. a tale of loss, grief, pain, and the joy of loving warnings: war//ptsd//some descriptions of blood//mentions of self harm//death
