Special thanks to Cuddlyness for acting as impromptu beta reader, and for being snuggly-soft! ::HUGS:: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yumemiya Arika yawned. Probably a foolish, rude and impolitic thing to do during a full session of the Garderobe Council, but yawn she did. And Mashiro, high queen, ruler and monarch of Windbloom, (and also the otome's master) wouldn't let her forget it. "Did you have a pleasant nap?" Mashiro asked sweetly as they both left Garderobe for the trip back to the castle. Luckily, Arika remembered to hold the door for her queen. "Heh...that was my mistake," Arika said sheepishly. "I didn't know those council meetings could drag on for so long." "At least act like a Meister Otome in public," Mashiro growled, quickly dropping her "regal monarch" mask. Take Haruka Armitage for example. She just stood back and looked impressive the whole meeting." "Isn't that because Kruger-Gakuenchou threatened to have her gagged if she made another outburst?" Arika pointed out. "Still, I wouldn't mind being an otome like her." "You're missing one or two things before you can do that," Mashiro replied slyly. "I-I'm still growing!" Arika cried, self-consciously looking down at her rather small bosom. "But don't worry too much about yawning," Mashiro changed the subject. "At least you cut off that pompous new emperor of Cardair." Arika noticed her master's scowl and wondered just what the emperor had done to earn such disfavor. Then she recalled (between naps) that the emperor attached a rider to the Technology Proliferation Act, which ear-marked longevity treatments for royalty. The queen was nearly fuming when she found out and had challenged her fellow monarch on the council floor. However, when Cardair made a snide remark about "youthful sentimentality for the departed, overriding common sense," Mashiro had to be restrained. But instead of screaming, Mashiro coldly stared the man down. "The lost technology of Garderobe belongs to the people. As long as I rule I will keep my promise to them," she said. "Anyone who forgets that is not a friend or ally of Windbloom." On that note, the rider was abolished by a unanimous vote of the council. Arika guiltily recalled looking on Mashiro with unabashed awe. She might have continued staring had a hand not touched her shoulder. Arika looked up into the garnet eyes of the Beguiling Amethyst, Shizuru Viola. "Is something interesting?" the Third Column asked. "I rarely see you so absorbed in one thing." "Ah! No...that is," the younger otome stammered. "It's just Mashiro-chan surprised me. She was just so amazing." "Absorbed was perhaps the wrong word," Shizuru mused with a warm smile. "It's more like you were enthralled." "I was not! I was just... Arika's protest was cut short as she noticed the queen looking at her. Or rather, as the queen noticed that Arika had been staring at her for the past few moments. Emerald and opal eyes met, then turned away as the president of Aires said something to the queen. What was that just now? "She's born with it isn't she?" Arika asked Shizuru. "Even if she's not of noble blood, the nobility's still there." "Everyone is born with a Heaven-sent talent," the older otome said as she placed her arms about Arika. "Just as you were born to be an otome she was born to be a queen. But just the same it's a choice as to what one will do with that talent." "Of course truly talented people have the most difficult time admitting they need someone else in their lives," she said into Arika's ear. Arika turned beet-red as she felt Shizuru's lips on her cheek. "Good luck," the Third Column said while leaving Arika to blush and ponder those words. "Take the next right," Mashiro instructed the driver. "Where are we going? Arika queried. Consumed by her recollection, she didn't recognize this part of town. The queen smiled back at her with a twinkle in her emerald eyes. "To Mimi's house." ---------- Close to Wind City's center, next to the refurbished river, stood a complex of dormitories, schools and parks. Contracted by Queen Mashiro Blan de Windbloom, the modestly named "Mimi's House" was many things at once. It consisted of free schools for children as well as an extension of Windbloom Royal University for adults. The rapidly modernizing country needed skilled workers to build and repair the machinery of progress. At Mimi's House, the city's poorest citizens could learn new trades while living in comfortable, low-cost housing. Beside the river rested a large park with vast playing fields, plentiful trees and gentle hills. Beneath a tremendous cypress sat the queen Mashiro as she read a story to the gathered youth. The youngster, children of the families who trained there, were dozing in the balmy afternoon. Even though they loved the old story of the Princess who dared to take up a weapon to fight for the one she loved. As she read the familiar words, Mashiro's mind wandered; down through days weeks and months she descended. To a time where her life was life was less than secure, her very survival in question. ------------------ THE BLACK VALLEY ------------------ Such an odd name for such a tranquil place. The sheer rock walls of the valley shrouded the gentle grasses and aromatic woods of this place of legend. It was nothing at all like the horror stories a young Princess Mashiro Blan de Windbloom used to thrill to at night. Indeed she too was a stark contrast to what a monarch should be. Her clothes clean but ragged, aches and pains from manual labors reminded her body that she needed rest. But she couldn't rest quite yet. Fetching water was her chore tonight, she recalled as the empty bucket bumped her leg. The young queen of Windbloom continued down the flag stoned path to the well. She'd need to clean and dress Arika's wounds well. Mashiro was a bit skeptical when her otome started training with the feral cat god Mikoto. More often than not, Arika would come back from sessions looking like shed lost a war rather than a sparring match. However, seeing the bubbly girl trying so hard to better herself gave Mashiro a bit of confidence. Arika wouldn't give up when so much was dependent on her, so Mashiro would always be there to put her back together. Having drawn her water, the queen made her way back towards the rustic house where her charge awaited. However, she paused at an odd noise. After a short search Mashiro found her hostess, Mai Tokiha and her companion (master?) the cat god Mikoto sitting on a precipice. "Mikoto wait!" the prodigal otome laughed as she attempted to wipe the other girl's face with a cloth. "Let me clean that wound first." "It's just a scratch," Mikoto dismissed as she went in to steal another kiss. For the moment, Mai was fending off her efforts, if only half- heartedly. "Arika must be getting stronger if she could actually land a hit," she surmised. "Mmm," Mikoto nodded, deciding to let Mai tend to her for the moment. "She's still got a way to go but I think she can do it. Of course if she's going to win she'll need the last piece." The diminutive deity glance straight at the tree Mashiro had ducked behind. "But that's your job to take care of," she said as she gave her otome a peck on the cheek and bounded off into the night. "You can come out now," the strawberry-blonde otome called. Chagrined and blushing, Mashiro emerged from her hiding place and joined Mai on the precipice. The two sat in silence and gazed at the broken landscape of the valley, illuminated by the silvery full moon. Despite the tranquil surroundings Mashiro's mind swirled with questions (and not just about what she'd walked in on). "So...are you two...?" Mashiro ventured. "I could ask the same about you and Arika-chan," Mai teased. "We are SO not like that!" Mashiro bristled. "I'm sorry," Mai laughed gently. "You're still both too young to think about that. But being royalty is a lot like being in a relationship." The queen shot Mai a bemused look. "If you don't think of your partner's happiness things could go bad," Mai continued. "The same as when you don't think of your subjects' happiness." "I get that," Mashiro said quietly, a shadow passing before her emerald eyes. "Being a queen means you're responsible for people's lives. Even though they serve you, they also depend on you to do what's right." "It seems Arika's not the only one who's improving her lessons," Mai smiled at her. "Mashiro, how do you feel about Arika?" This caught the young monarch completely off-guard. She nervously fidgeted as a slight breeze played with her silver hair. "I...don't know," she answered honestly. "But I’m glad she's with me." "That's a good answer," Mai replied. "I sometimes feel the same way about Mikoto. Even if she drives me crazy sometimes, it feels like something wants us to be together. I guess you could call that fate." A shiver ran down Mashiro's spine upon hearing the word "fate." How many times, since e their first meeting had she and Arika been thrown together? How many times had they saved each other from despair? What was the strange hold that the clumsy, rude girl had on her. Could she fight it? SHOULD she fight it? "Mashiro," Mai interrupted her rumination. "You'll have to support her." "I know," Mashiro said, wondering what the older woman was getting at. "You know, Mikoto's a bit psychic," Mai said, her voice very solemn. "she can't do it every day, only when the emotion's very strong." Mashiro was startled when Mai suddenly took her hand. "You're going to have to ask Arika to do something terrible for a good cause. You have to be strong because she won't be." "I don't understand," Mashiro broke in. "What's going to happen to her?" Mai only shook her head. "Mikoto wouldn't tell me. She said it was just too sad." "I don't know if I can do that. I don't know if I can hurt Arika." Mai pulled the young queen into a hug. "It's just one of the hard choices you have to make when you're the queen," she said softly. "Even more if that choice affects the one you care about." ------------------- Present day ------------------- A loud snore jarred Mashiro from her reverie. Several of the children not already asleep were dozing. Along with young Meister Otome sleeping with her head perched on her master's lap. Since she'd rarely had the opportunity, Mashiro took her time studying Arika's sleeping face. The normally energetic girl's face was serene in slumber. A slight sheen of sweat covered he brow, and her braids had almost unraveled; proof of her rough and tumble play with the children. The queen reached down to smooth away a few errant hairs. "Mashiro-chan." The queen started at hearing her name issue from those lips. Just as it had the previous night, when Mashiro was in her quarters. She didn't know why her steps had led her to the otome's room, but being there, looking over her sleeping face as she did now, just felt so right. Mashiro moved closer...closer to that sweet, sleeping face. ------------- Yumemiya Arika was dreaming again. The same dark, twisting corridors, echoing footfalls and fear. Or was that excitement? Her body moved of its own accord. She caught the fleeing figure and they both tumbled to the floor. She found herself gazing up into those mirthful, hungry, emerald eyes. And then... She was temporarily blinded by sunlight. Yet as she recovered her senses, Arika found those eyes staring down at her again. Only now they were so much closer and so very real as Mashiro hovered above her. Their lips were only a breath apart. "Arika," she whispered, her breath tickling the otome's skin. The meister otome, Arika could only gaze back dumbly. "Arika, Mashiro repeated softly. "You are so...heavy!"
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