Empire 《Mikayuu/YuuMika》

⥈ Chapter Six ⥈

Mixed feelings were swirling inside Yuuichirou's chest. Feelings of humiliation, anger, resentment, and disappointment all plagued him as he tried to wriggle out of his confines. The man who attended his imprisonment promptly scolded him. How had he ended up this way?

Just this morning, he had been assisting his father with the crops and livestock. The sun had woken from its slumber not too long before, rising above the horizon to cast morning upon the land. His father was informing him it would not be long before Yuuichirou would find a nice woman and marry her. Of course, Yuuichirou was not worried about girls in the slightest. He then rode on Asuramaru, his black horse, over the rolling hills and through the endless pastures, feeling the wind against his skin and freedom coursing through his veins.

Now, he had his head and wrists shackled in a wooden construction in the town square for all to see. What he had wished was to grant honor upon himself and his family. Instead, he was the subject of public ridicule. His shoulders, arms, and neck ached from the positions they were forced in and his knees began to wobble as Yuuichirou growled spitefully at the children and others laughing as they crowded around the square to see who the fool was.

He was angry because he was confronted at last with reality. The chimerical dreams of achievement and becoming a knight were not only thrown aside, but laughed at and spit upon for the entirety of his childhood. Did he mind? No, not entirely. However, this event of public humiliation sent him over the edge.

He felt ashamed and angry with himself. How did he not see it? How could he be so foolish and believe that if he formally announced that he was to be a knight to people of important roles that he would not be placed in this position? How did he let his fantastical dreams and aspirations blind him so? Every single person he told, except for Mikaela, ridiculed him and teased him. How could he not see the impossibility of him actually achieving his hopes and dreams he had grasped tightly onto ever since he was a boy who could hardly hold a shovel?

He closed his eyes and hung his head in defeat. Knighthood was only a chimera; it was something that he could only dream of, but could never achieve.

He then heard the clomping of hooves against the ground and mutterings of the crowd that accumulated around him. He lifted his head to see what was occurring, only to see an elegant white horse arrive at the scene. The armor that adorned the animal was silver and ornate in a manner that it had to belong to someone of very high nobility. The person who was dismounting the horse had a certain grace and beauty to him. His clothes matched the horse's coat: white with accessories so divine that Yuuichirou would never be able to afford even if he labored for the entirety of his life.

The noble had fluffy blond hair and fair skin, and he held a neutral expression on his face as he approached the serf with a remarkable, unmatchable grace. His legs were framed with black thigh-high boots and a magnificent cape that matched his white apparel trailed behind him. A palpable silence permeated the air as the man stood before him and beheld his humility. Despite everyone's shock at the man's presence, Yuuichirou merely looked up at him with a neutral expression. Yuuichirou could not elucidate, but it seemed as if he had seen him before. Perhaps he had seen this man in a dream.

"Yuuichirou Amane," the man spoke in a light voice. "Am I correct?"

The raven-haired male nodded.

"I understand that you believe you can be a knight."

He nodded once again, nervousness clawing at his stomach, but he kept the unfazed appearance on his countenance.

"Release him," the man ordered the soldier that attended Yuuichirou.

The soldier looked at the man in shock. "B-but Your Majesty, I—"

"I do not wish to repeat myself," the man simply returned, staring at him with his cold blue eyes.

The soldier gulped and obeyed, freeing Yuuichirou from his wooden confines.

Yuuichirou collected himself, confused by the man's act of kindness. As he corrected his posture and gathered intentions of thanking the man, the familiar stranger pulled a sword from his sheath. Yuuichirou's eyes widened remarkably. Fear bubbled within him and he knew that his blood would soon stain the blade of that sword and the pavement on which he stood.

The man noticed his caprice from calm to terrified. He, in return, cast him a consoling look with his familiar blue eyes that Yuuichirou had kept in his memories and had only seen in his dreams. He straightened his frame and replaced his former countenance of fear with one of stoicism.

"This man is of noble blood," the man announced, which cued the gasps of the members of the crowd. "The blood that runs through his veins are from an ancient royal line in Japan whose lands have been conquered many years ago and forgotten. The Amanes have toiled long and hard for reasons unknown. I have read about them in the royal library. His public humiliation is invalid, and therefore I shall reward him."

Yuuichirou's eyes widened once again. Were his lifelong toils at an end? Had he finally achieved the sole object of his dreams and aspirations?

The liquid sapphire eyes were upon him again and he felt the powerful urge to smile, but he contained himself as the man gestured for him to kneel on the pavement. He obeyed, closing his eyes and keeping his excitement within.

"Yuuichirou Amane," the man announced. "Upon my request, you will serve Sanguinem as a knight. Do you accept the terms?"

"Yes," Yuuichirou answered, opening his eyes to peer into the man's gentle blue ones.

"You have an unmatchable amount of determination that one could hardly imagine," he continued, raising his sword. "And with your loyalty and nobility, it is very knightly." He touched his blade to Yuuichirou's shoulder and his voice reduced to a whisper. "I admire that about you, and I always have, Yuu-chan."

The raven's eyes widened and emitted a small, surprised choking sound as Mikaela lifted his blade in an arch over his head and touched his other shoulder. "M-Mika?"

The man cast a small smile at his childhood friend. "I present to thee, Sir Amane Yuuichirou, the honor of knighthood. You shall continue to bring glory to your family by your noble service, if you can bear the responsibility. May your blade always strike true."

Mikaela lifted his blade from his shoulder and replaced it in his sheath at his side.

"Your transient quarters shall be at the castle," Mikaela told him as he mounted his horse and held the reins in his gloved hands. "You shall reside there until I deem you fit to return home."

With a snap of his reins, the horse began to gallop toward the castle. Yuuichirou watched as his childhood friend's figure grew smaller in the distance.

He could not believe his own senses. If he had fallen asleep in the meadows again, he would be very angry with himself. However, if it were a dream, the child Mikaela would have been his savior, not this older, much more beautiful Mikaela whose eyes were cold, yet held the light of the sun. The conviviality of his friend must have faded over the years they had not seen each other, but whatever traits that replaced it must have been as stunning as the prince presented himself.

He continued to watch as Mikaela and his white steed galloped toward the castle with a feeling he could not identify claiming his insides. He was a knight; a noble soldier of Sanguinem. He had reunited with his friend that was too busy to meet him in Shibuya. Did he even remember Shibuya? There were too many questions than Yuuichirou himself could answer.