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"Bastard! Bastard! Illegitimate brat!"
The sneers of the children left mocking trails in their wake as they skipped away from her. A tiny fist closed in the mud, small shoulders shaking as the four year old child slowly pushed herself up. Tears in her dress -- Mother was bound to be upset again -- mud in her hair (everywhere, really), cuts and bruises on her arms and legs...
She looked the furthest thing from a princess right then, but royal blood flowed in her veins nonetheless, a fact her mother never failed to remind her of.
"Faye, remember that you're the King's daughter! You must always be perfect and make your father proud, to show everyone that you're the rightful heir to the dynasty!"
Standing there in the shadow of the castle, young Princess Faye, torn and battered as she was, did not cry. A Princess must always be composed and elegant. As the rain fell around her, she could pretend the water running down her cheeks was just the rain, and nothing else...
~*~*~
"Papa...I mean, Father...is that..."
"Yes, Rion, that is Princess Faye."
"Oh...we were born on the same day, weren't we!"
"Be still, Rion! We must be like the shadow, to protect the royal family from all danger."
"Yes Father..."
"Your training is far from complete. When it is, you shall be as a shadow to the princess. Do you understand?"
"Yes Father!"
~*~*~
The first time she saw the amethyst shining on the dresser in Mother's room, Faye could not explain the pull she felt towards the glittering gemstone. Like a magpie to a shiny object, she gravitated to the jewellery box, clambering precariously onto a stool in order to reach the box. She came close to falling off as she made a few experimental swipes for the dangling pendant on the top shelf, reaching up on her tiptoes before finally snagging the chain with a finger.
That was when she did fall, and as her hand closed around the jewel, everything changed.
~*~*~
"Yaaaaa!!"
BAM
"O-owwww...."
"Pay attention, Rion! How are you going to be of any use to anyone like this? Get up now!"
"Y-yes Father..."
"Now, again!"
"Nappa, don't you think you're too hard on your daughter? She's barely old enough to lift a training sword!"
"She's my daughter. If she cannot do something as simple as this, what use will she be in the future?"
"F-father...I'm sorry...I'll do better..."
"Good. Again, Rion!"
"Hai!"
~*~*~
The fall kept her in bed for close to a week, attended to by worried servants and fussed over by a her usually absent mother, now hovering almost incessantly. Five year old Faye ignored them all, however. Enraptured by the amethyst hidden in her fist, she lay in bed without complaint as she peered into the depths of the stone, following the winking light that seemed to beckon to her. The world seemed to warp and change as she looked at it through the stone, endless possibilites opening to her as never before. It was beautiful and magical, a music only she could hear.
In the amethyst's violet heart, she saw a bright pink flare nearby, and looking up for the first time since her confinement, she saw the older sister she had never actually met before, peering worriedly at her through a crack in the door. The older girl held up a similar jewel to hers, a rose quartz to her violet amethyst, and the answering spark was very much like a wink from one child to another.
That was the first day they were formally introduced, on one of Princess Ryuu's rare visits to the palace ever since Queen Zen had been all but banished from the royal household on suspicion of infidelity. The royal children had little chance to speak to each other, separated at the dinner table as they were, but the amethyst in Faye's hand seemed to burn in response to her half-sister's rose quartz, making her squirm in terribly unprincess-like fashion. It earned her a disapproving look from her mother, making her ears burn in shame as she ducked her head, only to catch her elegant older sister's eye, the wink coming her way settling her far more than the disappointment her mother expressed.
When the beautiful older girl brushed past her on the way out later, Faye heard clearly the words Ryuu whispered to her under her breath.
"The stone speaks the truth. Listen and learn!"
Faye listened. And she learned.
~*~*~
Rion knows she shouldn't be doing this, but curiosity coupled with restlessness at her father's temporary absence -- a top secret mission, she was told, and no, she was not good enough to come along yet -- found her wandering around the palace halls at night.
It was training, she assured herself, as she stealthily evaded the plodding patrols and blended into corners with her tiny frame. She would have to make a list of suggestions to improve palace security to her father when he came back. If someone as half trained as she was could avoid getting caught, what would happen if a real assassin made their way in?
The thought of assassins made her break out in cold sweat. As part of the elite royal guard (or she would be, in the future), the protection of the royal family was of paramount importance. She was still too little (six was a big age though! bigger than five for sure!) to be assigned to her charge yet, but Rion suddenly found herself wondering if Princess Faye was safe. Assassins could be anywhere, or so Father told her. Which was why they had to stick to the shadows, to meet the threats that came from the dark. Those hulking palace guards in their clunky ceremonial armor might be good enough against straightforward assaults, but they were no protection against the knife in the dark...which was where her Father and his elites came in.
Mind made up, Rion decided she had to check on the Princess. Never mind that they've never officially met, or that she wasn't yet officially assigned to the princess as her guard, but Rion had had the idea of duty and obligation drilled into her by her father since she was old enough to take her first steps. She was going to be the one to protect the Princess when she was older, and it wouldn't hurt to get an early start.
Evading yet another obnoxiously loud patrol, and nearly stumbling in on a pair of servants' secret tryst in the process (thankfully, they had been too distracted to notice her), Rion found herself crouched along a railing as she judged the distance to jump in order to get onto the right balcony.
This would have been easier if she were just a little taller, she lamented to herself, but at least the jump wasn't too awful, and the moonlight allowed her some light by which to see as she tucked and rolled to blunt the tumble. The impact caused little more than a whisper of sound, light as she was, but she still cringed at the rustle. Father would not have been pleased.
Still, she had made it, and it was only the work of moments to slip into the darkened room, the only source of light a flickering night lamp kept dim by a corner. She paused to let her eyes get used to the gloom, noting the huge four poster bed where the princess no doubt slept. Creeping closer, she peered across the silk expanse, trying to find her sleeping charge. Given the size of the bed (it had to be at least 4 times her own, and she had seen rooms the size of this bed), this actually took a while given the bad light.
And there she was, her eventual responsibility, the princess Faye, curled up in a section of the enormous bed and so wrapped in the sheets that she appeared to be no more than an amorphous lump. Rion quietly rounded the bed, having spotted her from the wrong side, and there was no way she was going to climb onto the bed, of course. She might accidentally wake the princess, and that simply would not do.
Curious eyes took in the wave of long dark hair spilling from the sheets, and the only thing she could make out on the princess's face was a glimpse of her forehead. Rion watched the other girl quietly, fascinated. To think that they had been born on the same day! It must have been fate, she thought. It was right that she would have to protect this girl. It was written since the day they were born, one a princess, and the other her guard.
Secure in the knowledge that the princess was safe and thus all was right in the world, Rion was going to creep away when dark eyes suddenly snapped open, and -- Rion could not be sure about this herself, even later -- began to glow with an eerie violet light.
Frozen in the moment, princess and guard stared at each other, dark eyes unblinking. Rion's own were wide and round -- Father would punish her if he knew what she was doing! -- but the princess's eyes were calm and unafraid, and that eerie violet light was gone. Had it even been there to begin with? Rion was a little too rattled to notice. Was it good manners to introduce herself right now, or would it best to run away before the princess summoned the palace guard? Father hadn't gotten to this part in her training yet!
"Who are you?"
The Princess was speaking to her! Training overcame instinct, and she was on one knee in an instant, bowing down to her princess.
"I'm your Highness's servant, Rion Nappa!"
The princess had gotten up, rubbing at one eye blearily before peering down where the small form of her bodyguard-to-be was still knelt by her bedside.
"Nappa? The Captain of the Guard?"
"That would be my father!"
Rion was trembling. This was terrible. She had been discovered. Father would not be pleased. What if the Princess was upset? She had failed in her duty.
Silence. Rion kept her head down, wondering what she could do in such a situation. The sudden glow of violet light illuminating the room made her glance upwards, and she couldn't quite hold back the gasp from her throat at the sight of the amethyst glowing in the Princess's outstretched hand.
The stone dimmed in a moment, but Rion could not take her eyes away from the gem...or from the ethereal appearance of her princess in the light of the stone. It was...magical. Beautiful, even. Wonderful and mysterious. She was filled with awe.
"You're not lying. I'm glad."
The princess was smiling at her. Rion smiled back hesitantly, confused. Lying? Why would she lie to the princess? Unsure if there was a right response to this, Rion merely dipped her head in acknowledgement, awaiting further orders.
"You should go back, Rion Nappa. You'll be in trouble if you're caught, won't you?"
That was true. Dawn was in a few short hours, and she had to get back to her quarters without alerting anyone. Risking a glance upwards, Rion was again in awe of how regal the princess seemed despite being the same age as her, and still sleepy to boot.
"I'm glad Your Highness is safe! I will go now!"
Rion ducked her head again, approximating a bow from her kneeling position, hoping it was appropriate for the situation. Then again, considering the irregularity of the situation, perhaps there was no right answer. She backed away, silent as the shadow she was raised to become, ready to exit through the balcony from which she had come.
"W-will you..."
The hesitant words halted her in her tracks, making her turn back to the small figure dwarfed by the enormous bed. The tiny shape of Princess Faye seemed very forlorn in the massive setting.
"Will you come again?"
Her voice was very small and childlike, unlike the regal air she had affected earlier, and Rion realized that, just as she had been trained in the art of the shadows by her father, so had the princess been raised to affect an aura of majesty. Underneath it all, they were still only six years old, and Rion felt a sudden kinship for the tiny princess who would no doubt become the center of her world someday. She smiled back reassuringly, with all the childlike confidence she could muster.
"If your Highness will have me."
Even in the darkness, Rion was certain she could see the princess smile back.
"It's a promise then."