On Thin Ice (Prequel to Guild)

Chapter Eight: Speared Fish

            On the night of the full moon, Yuina Mongonai left her doors open. Open to the cool, perfumed air of the springtime, to the rain drumming against the stepping stones. Yuina left her door open to the Kimsura gardens, and everything waiting outside.

Dusk hadn't fallen yet. Or, at least, not as far as she could see. Hikarishi's famous lights burned on, strong as ever, strong as always. Their lanterns burned incessantly. She had to close her eyes to be rid of them.

To be free.

To forget where she was and why she was here. To pretend she was back in the Hall of the Silver Flower, riding Komet under the light of the moon and stars with Khasan by her side, dreaming of a better world.

And to remember that here, she had the chance to make it real. She would give herself the power.

          Coiled around the ivory handle of her prayer wheel, Khutulun's pendant pressed its pattern into her skin: a brand they'd never let her take, and thank the spirits for that. Lady Kimsura's inspection would have ended rather abruptly if she'd spotted the rebel flower on her naked flesh.

Shuddering, Yuina turned her wheel again. Garud spirit; the form the souls of clan Ueno took beyond death. Courage on the Shirub Zodiac. Courage. She felt it warm her shaking hands.

Closing her eyes, Yuina traced the four-legged creature's form as she prepared to spin the wheel again. She heard its growl, saw its ferocious, determined eyes, and tried to take on its essence herself. "Courage, Yuaa," she whispered. "Cour-" 

Something touched her shoulder. 

Yuina screamed, jumping a foot in the air, dropping her prayer wheel on the floor.

"Sorry!" Yuki squeaked, and the princess breathed a sigh of relief. The girl crouched down to pick up the wheel, slowing her ascent to admire the coral and turquoise beads decorating its three faces. Her brows furrowed as she handed it back to Yuina. "It's night. We come to get you ready for nighttime. Why were you scared?"

"I...I wasn't!"

Yuki looked skeptical, but she didn't question her any further. Her mind wandered to other things. Yuki looked down at her feet, wiggling the toes in her white socks. "Well, if you're finished with your toy, I have something for you," she said, untying the bundle hanging from her sash: a parcel bound with a silver ribbon.

A Mongonai silver ribbon.

Yuina's heart skipped a beat. Mouth agape, she stuck out a hand.

"Mommy said I shouldn't bother you... but I was wondering if maybe it was from your cousin. If the package is maybe for me?"

The princess looked up from her unwrapping. Blinked.

"For me," Yuki explained, and she twirled the garland of northern beads around a little finger. "For taking good care of them. You said-"

Right. She'd completely forgotten that she'd promised her a gift to thank her for looking after the beads. She couldn't remember if she'd written Khasan about it.

Her face must have conveyed her worry.

"Did you forget?"

"No! Of course not! I-"

"I think you forgot." Brushing a pigtail-braid over her shoulder, the child hung her head. "It's alright," she sighed, "I'll still take care of them. I-"

Yuina pressed the bundle into Yuki's palm, not letting her finish. "It's for you," she said, not caring if it wasn't.

The joy in the girl's black eyes was a gift in itself.