Flower of Bulann

Chapter 36

Kinna watched the heavy snowfall and cursed under her breath. She had only just arrived at her father's castle, but Kinna knew she would now be stuck here throughout the winter.

The carriage drew to a halt and Hinata stepped out first, but when Kinna made to step out it was Hirro who offered her a hand.

"It is good to see you again, sister," he said with a pleasant smile.

Kinna stifled a snort of laughter with her hand, Hirro's comments quite comical when coming from her one-eyed brother.

Hirro cursed under his breath and pulled her out, perhaps more forcefully than he'd intended.

Kinna stumbled on the slick stones of the road before glaring daggers at her brother, she was in no mind for his moods.

She turned her nose up at him before turning towards her father's residence.

"Come, Hinata. I seem to have dirtied my hand," she sneered, her handmaiden coming quickly beside her.

"Perhaps you could be nicer to the young master," Hinata chided her in a whisper.

Kinna wanted to slap her handmaiden, how dare she question her judgement... but Kinna caught herself before acting, Hinata was right, she had been cruel.

"You are right, Hinata. I will apologise to my brother later," she replied in a measured tone.

But Kinna felt afraid, of the way her thinking had become twisted lately. She couldn't recall ever taking pleasure in teasing others... indeed, it was her handmaidens that had playfully teased her until very recently.

"Hinata?" She asked as they passed through a small indoor garden. "If I should act unbecomingly again... you will pull me back?"

Hinata smiled and took her hand before squeezing it gently.

"You have done nothing so outlandish or unbecoming, my lady. But should you do so, then yes... I will pull you back," Hinata said softly, releasing her hand when her father's guards appeared upon the far side of the room.

They greeted her with deep bows before leading them to where her father sat cross-legged at a low wooden table, with a dozen or so cushions in the blue of the Hyenta clan placed at regular intervals.

Hirro waited by the door, now wearing a deep blue robe trimmed in white like her father's.

"Hirro, I am sorry for how I acted..." she began, but her brother raised a hand to silence her.

He then took her by the hand and lead her to her place beside their father.

"Pretend it never happened, I too acted rather childishly," he whispered with an embarrassed smile.

The next twenty minutes passed in near silence as the other family members entered, taking their places around the table.

Kinna's mother sat opposite her, a quick glance and a smile all that passed between them throughout the meal. Though that small interaction was enough to tell Kinna that her mother worried about her.

Her father waved his hand in the air, signalling that everyone should leave. As Kinna rose, Hirro placed a hand upon her shoulder to keep her down. Her father nodded at him, her brother bowing before closing the door behind him, leaving the two of them alone for the first time... ever.

"How have you been, my daughter?" he asked her, almost matter of factly. Kinna knew he must be restraining himself, her father had conceded too much to Vior for him not to be at least a fondness for herself.

"I am keeping... well, father," she replied hesitantly, quelling a sudden urge to tell him of her worries.

Her father nodded, and his eyes swept the room from side to side before he seemed certain of something. Then he took a deep breath and looked her square in the eyes.

"Do you speak the truth, Kinna?" he asked, foregoing the familial decorum their society was based upon. "You may speak true, my most trusted guards sweep the hallways outside every few seconds."

Kinna still hesitated though, knowing that to divulge information about Vior would be dangerous to her husband.

"You are my favourite child, Kinna. Though it may not have seemed so when I announced the tournament," her father said after a minute of tense silence. "I had ulterior motives, I confess freely. But my desire for you to have a respected husband was paramount to me... if my other words ring false, please, believe this at least."

Kinna reached out to her father tentatively, placing her hand upon his. He smiled at her and Kinna felt like bursting out into tears as she told him of her fears at not yet bearing a child, her father comforting her and relaying the story of his own struggles before God finally blessed him with her.

When she slept that night a great weight felt lifted, though her eyes were puffy and stung from crying. Hinata slept in a futon a short distance away, her face peaceful as always.

"Lady Kinna?" came a deep voice from the shadows, one she recognised instantly.

"Uncle Hyori, what brings you here?" she asked in annoyance. Her uncle had always been of a strange pallor and in some recess of her mind, Kinna knew he practised arts no human should use.

"I came to inform you that the shadows now serve Vior," he told her whilst taking a knee.

"Why would my father's assassins do such a thing?" she asked, a little panicked.

"Our master, your great uncle, has commanded it to be so... though I should not tell you this," Hiyori explained hurriedly, as though something would jump from the shadows at any moment.

"You have been betrayed..." he began, but before any more words came forth, her uncle stumbled out of the shadows and into the moonlight.

He let out a silent scream as his body slowly disintegrated, like sand in a strong wind.

Kinna woke with a start, the night was still young... she must have been dreaming a moment ago... after all, her uncle was long dead and the shadows would not relay such vague information to her.

Though as she lay back down to sleep, Kinna couldn't shake the feeling that those words in her dream were a dire prophecy.