The Star Gazer

Chapter 1: Pavo

|Pavo: The peacock constellation|

Created by Hera to watch over a rival, Argus had eyes all over his body. After being slain by the god Hermes, Hera moves Argus' eyes onto her sacred bird, the peacock, before putting it up in the sky.

The soft cooing of the pigeons was the only sound in the quiet courtyard. The lone figure sitting on a bench among the small group of birds gently scattered seeds with a flick of his wrist. His droopy eyes blinked slowly and his head bobbed as a wave of sleepiness hit him. The pigeons scattered with a loud flapping of wings as the bag of seeds fell from his slack hand. He awoke with a jolt and brushed off the feathers that had landed on him.

"Excuse me, Prince Koumei?"

He glanced to the side and saw a maid with her head bowed. Taking the prince's small hum as permission to continue the maid spoke, "You have been summoned by the Emperor. Please follow me."

Koumei rose with a sigh and dusted his robes off. Silently he followed the maid through the courtyard and halls until they arrived at the throne room. The maid bowed and stepped aside, leaving Koumei to enter the room by himself.

The large doors were opened by a pair of guards and Koumei walked in. He was on edge, it was rare that his father called for him and when he did it usually wasn't good news. As he approached the throne he noticed a strange girl with dark chestnut hair standing off to the side with another pair of guards at her side.

"You summoned me, Father?" Koumei said, more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, I have need of you. Recently our negotiations with the Kouga Clan have been put on halt. They still refuse to assimilate with our great empire, so we have taken their princess as a ... security measure." said the Emperor as he offhandedly gestured to the dark-haired girl. Koumei noticed the girl's fists clench, but her head remained lowered.

"So, she is a hostage?" Koumei asked with a raised eyebrow.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. With her here, the Kouga Clan won't stage any attacks and may be more... receptive in our next attempts of negotiation."

"Very well, but I don't understand what that has to do with me. After all, Princess Hakuei is in charge of the subjugation of the Central Plains." Koumei stated.

"This is where you come into play. Princess Hakuei would rather negotiate with the Kouga Clan, so she is stationed in the Central Plains. It would be unwise to hold the Kouga Clan's precious asset so close to them, which is why she has been brought to the palace. I don't trust any common guard to keep an eye on her, as there is a chance of them being bribed into returning her."

Koumei flapped his feather fan in annoyance as he realized what his father was going to say next.

"And so you want to entrust her to me."

"Correct. Treat her as a guest, but do not be afraid to use forceful tactics if necessary. I only ask that she not be excessively injured."

Koumei placed his fist over his heart and slightly bowed, reluctantly accepting responsibility for the clan princess. The Emperor hummed his approval and motioned for the guards to hand the princess over to Koumei. It was only then that Koumei noticed the chain fastened around the girl's neck as well as the bruise forming on her tan cheek.

A guard pulled on the chain and the girl stumbled over to Koumei. Koumei took a hold of the chain and the guard gave him a salute. With one more bow to the Emperor, Koumei walked out of the throne room with the clan princess following close behind him. She had yet to speak or even lift her head, but Koumei didn't care, he figured it would be better if she never spoke, he really wasn't prepared to deal with her.