On Thin Ice (Prequel to Guild)

Chapter Twenty-One: Carved Courtesy

          Life grew sparse as they approached Shimizu. The gaps between trees became larger, their branches seeming to blacken and shrivel the further north they went. The birds and beasts of the steppes disappeared. It got colder, if that was possible.

The atmosphere weighed heavily on his chest.

"Now do you see why your flowers excited me so?" his promised asked as Dai took it all in. As he gulped at the miles and miles of nothingness stretching across the land. Haunting. Desolate. Barren. There was no other way to describe it.

No way to understand the light that flared in Yuina's eyes when they crossed over another uninteresting patch of ice, or the joy in her voice when she spun around and told him, "we're close!"

Dai looked out the window, frowning before looking back at his promised. No landmarks. Nothing.

And then...

Something.

White buildings with painted trim, colourful roofs and painted doors. The music of wind chimes and bells filled the air, the strips of fabric tied to their hooks waving them forward in the gentle breeze. All of them blowing north. Blowing towards a building grander than any of the others. A building that the sprawling municipality seemed to curl in to frame. A building that stood alone, tall above the city. Silver domes flashed in the afternoon light. Scales decorated their faces. And from the ramparts hung banners of the richest crimson, the insignia of the Two Golden Serpents emblazoned upon each one.

Arrow holes added to the decoration.

They'd gouged out the Ryuu's eye.

"Yeah..." said Yuina without him asking. "That happened before I was born."

"And you didn't replace them?"

His promised sat back, frowning and tucking a long strand of hair behind her ear. "I mean, they are pretty high up and..." She stared at him for a moment, blinked before dropping the subject and taking his hand instead. "My parents are loyal to the empire, Dai."

"They should be replaced." he grumbled, and the look on her face compelled him to add, "The flags. Not your parents."

She swallowed, nodding slightly. Sheepishly. "I...I'll speak to them about it," she said, and she looked away just as the carriage came to an abrupt stop that sent Dai clutching his stomach again.

And I'll speak to the staff about finding new drivers, he thought as he followed Yuina outside. As Jia and Osamu and the Yukimuras filed out of their carriages to join them in the palace yard.

Icicles dripped like Outskirts tears from the edge of each stair.

Dai's heartbeat flared as he watched a few slide from his promised's eyes. He moved forward.

So did she.

But she kept going, picking up speed until she had climbed those painted stairs and stood at the mercy of those great blue doors guarded by figures carved from lustrous, dazzling silver. Her arms were outstretched, her breaths heavy.

"It seems your popularity with her is waning," Osamu commented as Yuina whirled at the top of the stairs, hope in her eyes as she beckoned them closer, forward up those stairs and onto the stone platform that made up the palace threshold. Where a garden might have been had the Shiruba of old just-

A blow to the arm had Dai reaching for the blade he had hidden in his coat, but his sister grabbed his wrist before he could draw. "Race you," she said with a grin, as well as Osamu's sleeve trapped in her grip.