Fates Entwined (A TodoBaku ff) ✔

LXXVI

The journey was only a few short days but felt like a lifetime to Shoto. 

As they travelled through forests and over hillsides, following river paths and resting under the canopy of stars, he saw reminders of his friends everywhere. From bright pink roses to the greenest of evergreen trees, from caverns and caves to the campfires they lit each night. Yet the further away from the Tribe lands they went, as dirt paths became stone paths became paved paths, and rows of trees were replaced with merchant stops and lamplights, Shoto felt like he was leaving one world and returning to another, this time as a completely changed person. 

Gone were the days where he was returning from travelling to visit potential partners and allies, gone were the days where his greatest concerns were how to dress or how to avoid his father in the hallways. He came upon the gates to his kingdom with the burdens of war, of loss, and of a whole community of people looking up to him for guidance, and as he stepped under the gilded arch, the oncoming city crowded with people awaiting their return, the fresh and clear breeze of the forest replaced with smoke from metalworkers and towering townhouses blocking the sun leaving her to speckle along the roads wherever she could, all of his burdens and expectations lay full force on his shoulders. 

With Iida leaving their group and clearing a path towards the main city, Shoto could focus on maintaining his appearance, greeting everyone with a wave or a bow as they cheered, smiled, or those few who were sceptic watched from shadowy alleyways. The houses became tighter, from thatched roofs to tiled, winding up the gently sloping path towards the inner city. They passed fountains and archways and murals painted on shops and taverns. He recognised the paths that led to country houses just beyond the edge of the city, those belonging to the richer families, ones who owned the land, or those in his father's court. Spring flowers hung in baskets from lamplights, slowly blooming now the weather was warm and bright. 

There were children playing in the squares, chasing each other around fountains, running between their parents' legs, and for the first time in his life, pushing beyond the shadows and burdens that lay ahead of him, Shoto felt a shift in the wind, the beginnings of freedom seeping into his kingdom, comforting those who were his people now, and he hoped to hold onto it for as long as he could.

"Your highness," Iida called out from ahead, gesturing the two guards stationed at the castle gates to open the way for them, "welcome home."

The silver gates parted, and they walked through the outer stone wall into the castle grounds. Familiar courts of green surrounded him, flowers beginning to bloom and the trickling sound of water flowing into the nearby lake accompanied the greetings that followed him from left and right. His castle loomed up ahead, the sun from behind him setting it in a golden glow, the windows glimmering with colourful stained glass pictures, the turrets piercing the clear sky, and at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the entrance were a group of people all bearing eager expressions. 

This place, which was his prison for so long, which held horrid memories and took hold of his worst nightmares, now seemed to look like a peaceful haven, the sun that had kept him company for their journey cascading down upon them all in gentle beams. He took a slow breath and urged Kita forward once more, he and Iida splitting off towards the castle whilst the soldiers set off to sort their supplies and rest their horses. 

The castle workers all bowed deeply when he dismounted, and he was quick to return the gesture. There were people here whose names he did not know, but faces that kept him in quiet company whilst he was a child, sometimes leaving doors open to the gardens or leaving treats outside his chamber doors. These people who he had never conversed with but were there in the edges of his vision, a silent comfort during the most difficult of times.