Archive of Our Own

Soft music floated around the room, stringed instruments playing a beautiful tune as soft conversation drifted down the long table. Talks of diplomacy and foreign relations, the newest famed composer that was due to visit for a new performance in the coming weeks. Maids would occasionally come to the table, asking the patrons if they needed anything before swiftly disappearing to the kitchens to fetch whatever was asked of them. Whether it was more wine, another cut of whatever animal they were dining on, or something more, no expense was unpaid for those seated at that table. 

No expense was too much. The walls looked as if they glistened with gold, the texture shining in the low light. From the chairs to the table, to every piece of furniture that filled the dining room, everything was decorated impeccably to reflect the wealth of their nation and their household. 

If only Keito felt as if he belonged.

“Tell us again, cousin,” one of Keito’s cousins asked, his face familiar though Keito couldn’t remember his name. “Where have you been all this time? We are all dying to hear of your adventures outside of the castle walls.”

It was one of those times that Keito wished his father was there beside him, hushing all of the curious questions that had been fielded his son’s way. Though it had been explained numerous times to his cousins, aunts, and uncles, many of them believed Keito to be withholding some great secret, and they wished to seek it out.

“But how can his memory be gone?” Keito had heard one of his aunts ask his father after dinner one night. “One cannot lose nine years of memories so easily.”

And yet it had been the truth. Keito had woken in a cave to three strangers whom he had no recollection of, yet the three of them had known him. They knew his name, his title, and a vast wealth of knowledge about him though they could only recount a few months of the missing nine years to him. They had helped him, cut his hair, and two of them returned him back to the castle. Those two, Yabu and Yaotome, had been the ones to fill him in on what they could.

He had been cursed, a spell placed upon him by a court mage so that he may never return back home unless he had someone break it. The third man, Yamada, had found a way to undo the curse, but it had come at a price that Keito had been willing to pay: his memories. Everything from the moment the curse had taken root in his body to the present was gone.

They had told stories of their time together, how Keito had believed he had been kidnapped by the pair. How Yaotome had thrown him in the river at one point so that Keito could clean himself. How Yaotome protected him when Keito almost had his purse stolen from a tiny thief. There were sweeter stories as well, their long nights in the woods as they camped under the stars. He was told of their silly conversations and how they got to know each other in such a short amount of time.

What had stood out to Keito during this whole time wasn’t what he had done before his memories had disappeared. It was the way Yaotome had spoken to him. There was a sadness to him that Keito couldn’t place, and, more often than not, he had caught Yaotome looking as if his heart was breaking. He had tried asking Yabu why, but the mage had just shook his head to Keito’s many questions. 

“It’s not my place to tell,” Yabu had said one evening, Yaotome having gone to fetch water for their meal. “If you want to know, I would ask Hikaru yourself. It’s his story.”

He hadn’t been able to ask, not finding the courage to put his question out in the air when Yaotome returned. It wasn’t until the walls of the capital were before them did Keito find the words he was searching for.

“Why is it that whenever you look at me it looks like you’ve lost the love of your life?”

A bold question, but one that Keito needed the answer to. Those sad eyes held so many secrets he wished he could crack into, but it was only with Yaotome’s expressed permission that he would gain access to them. 

Yaotome had brushed him off, saying how Keito reminded him of someone he used to know, before spurring his horse forward to the capital walls. There hadn’t been much time for further conversation, Keito being swiftly taken inside by a quite beautiful guardsman. He had time to look back, just for a moment, and Keito could have sworn he truly saw Yaotome’s heart break as the crowd swallowed Keito whole.

A tapping of a spoon on crystal glass brought Keito back to the present, helping him avoid answering the question his cousin had asked.

“I hope all of you are enjoying this wonderful evening,” his aunt, the queen, said. Her fingers were dripping in elegant jewelry, neck adorned with massive gemstones that reeked of finery. “As you all know, it has now been a full month since our dear Keito’s return to us.” She raised her glass, smiling down the table to where Keito sat. “To Keito.”

The full table chorused a, “To Keito,” in return before drinking from their own glasses. Keito took a sip from his, grimacing from the vinegar taste of the wine. He looked around at everyone. His cousins, his aunts, his uncles. All royalty. All people with incredible power. They were all people he had known growing up for they were family. Even there, sitting amongst people he had known for most of his life, he had never felt more alone.

Keito woke with a start, clutching the sheets around him as he tried to calm his breathing. He could still feel a warm touch on his hands, one he had longed to feel. How they wrapped something small in Keito’s own hands before the touch disappeared as well as the person next to Keito. He had felt so unloved when that touch left, so disliked. He had clutched onto that little object in his hands for so long until the mountains around him began to crumble. Only then did he wake up. 

How long had it been since that nightmare had begun to plague him? A month? Two months? More? Keito wasn’t sure. The dream didn’t come every night, only when he least expected it, but it was the same each and every time. His entire world would be destroyed when those hands left his, leaving behind something that would tear apart Keito.

Whoever it was that passed along that object, whoever those hands belonged to, was someone that Keito loved very much, that much he was certain of. Through having that nightmare so recurringly, it was the only option he could see as to why it broke him so much. There were a few times in the course of the nightmare he recognized it, recognized this wasn’t real, and he tried to look up to see who it was that hurt him so much. Each time he couldn’t look into the other’s face. The face was either obscured by the dark sky or Keito only saw their form retreating to the entrance of a cave.

He readied and dressed himself before the butlers could rise and wake him up. Although he appreciated their kindness, their job dictating what actions to perform for Keito every morning, Keito much preferred to do them himself. It reminded him more of simpler times, when he was just old enough to dress himself. Before social constructs dictated that others must help him dress and be ready for the day. 

The first thing he saw when he opened the curtains was the same as every day: a tall tower jutting up from the center of the castle. Though Keito had attempted to find it many times to climb to the very top, he couldn’t quite get the path right. Often, when he felt himself get close, it was as if something pulled him in a certain direction and he ended up much farther away than he intended. 

He often watched the tower at night once dinner and social obligation allowed him to return to his room, blue fireworks almost seeming to go off into the night sky, and he had asked his cousins about it. They had only brushed him off in a polite way.

“It’s only the court mage,” one had said over breakfast, gently brushing fresh jam to their bread. “Honestly, Keito, don’t worry much about him. He only speaks with those he wants to and the king. Now, let’s discuss today’s agenda.”

And that was the last that any of Keito’s family had spoken of the court mage to him. 

Through speaking with the maids and the cooks in passing, trying not to obstruct their daily work, Keito learned a few things about their court mage. First, he wasn’t the same one as when Keito was a child. The previous had fallen to mysterious causes, and the crown had sought a new court mage during his time away. Nakajima Yuto, the son of the man who had cursed Keito, had won the place of court mage against a mage by the name of Yamada. Keito often wondered if it was the same Yamada he had met in the mountains, but kept his lips shut. Yamada was a common surname. It couldn’t be the same man. 

Second, the new court mage was quite young. Many who claimed the position in the past were in their thirties or forties upon taking the title. The newest? Barely in his twenty-third summer and had been court mage since he was a teen. 

“Many think him to be too young,” one of the maids had said, allowing Keito to watch her clean. “But gran says the title has always gone to the strongest mage in the land. Whether they’re young or old, the title goes to them. They say this is why the mage council exists in the first place.”

Nine mages, eight sworn to never practice magic outside of the castle again. The last the court mage. The eight in the counsel had advised the young court mage heavily until he became of age. It was only then they lessened their strict advice, only stepping in when Yuto needed guidance.

Keito finished dressing before traversing to the kitchens for a small breakfast, making small conversation with the chef, a man by the name of Yokoyama, as he ate. No matter how much he claimed to be full, the chef would keep filling Keito’s plate with more food.

“I remember when you kids were small,” Yokoyama said over the loud sizzling sounds from his pan as he prepared food for the family’s sit down breakfast. “You used to come in the kitchen for snacks at all hours of the day. Made your parents angry, but I didn’t care. I liked your smiles.” The chef stirred something into the eggs he was making, some green vegetable Keito couldn’t make out. “I don’t think I ever told you this, but you were my favorite out of the bunch that would ransack my kitchen.”

“I was?” Keito asked, finishing his third plate and covering it before the chef could spoon more food onto it.

“Of course.” Yokoyama motioned for Keito’s plate, and Keito reluctantly gave it to him. He half expected to be given more food, but the chef passed it along to the dishwashers for cleaning. “You always said please and thank you. Was so different from the others that just demanded everything. Though whenever you came around, my apprentice would always mysteriously disappear. Never got the reason as to why out of him.”

Keito remembered the boy a little. He would never approach Keito, merely glare at him from afar. To the best of his memory, Keito couldn’t remember ever speaking with the boy, so he didn’t understand why he was disliked so much. As Keito got older, he started to see the apprentice less and less. At least he knew that even Yokoyama didn’t know the reason.

He stayed and chatted with the kitchen staff for a little longer, Yokoyama chastising a young cook by the name of Inaba for something he was doing wrong every so often. They discussed what the kitchen staff planned to cook for dinner that evening before Keito left. His cousins and their spouses had said they would be spending the day in the gardens, watching the little river boats and doing some light sports. Keito remembered being young, running to where the gardens met the River Lea and playing in the cool water as a child. His mother would always chastise him for getting wet, and, over time, he would play in the water less and less. 

He had no plans to join them in their activities in the gardens, the excuse he gave being it was too warm for him to go. In reality, he needed a little break from his family. Although they had their best intentions, his family had begun trying to bring back his memories in any way they could. They showed him paintings of far off lands, little snacks and treats from outlying towns. Every little gift seemed innocuous at first until they asked him if it had sparked a memory soon after or the next day or even a week later.

He knew they meant well, but their curious nature as to how he spent nine years away from home was becoming too much. Even months after his return, Keito wasn’t sure if his memories would ever return to him, and he had given up on that idea. He was now meant to build new memories and ignore the hole in his heart where his old ones had been. 

The great hall soon was before him, and Keito couldn’t help but smile as he wandered around. He had always found it to be beautiful, even when he was smaller. It was perhaps the most beautiful area in the entire palace. The space was wide, enough to fill a crowd of people, and a long carpet flowing from the entrance to a raised platform where the king and queen’s thrones sat. They were wide seats, red fabric adorning the cushions and backs to rest against when sitting for a long time. Jewels were strategically placed so as to not make the thrones look overly decorated. The entire area was sparsely decorated, but what was there only expressed the expensive taste of those that lived within its walls. 

He wandered around the great hall, looking over everything with a small smile. Memories of when he was small came flooding back, of when he used to run around with his cousins playing games in that very space, when something caught Keito’s attention in the corner of his eyes. 

One of the palace guards was crossing the area, an envelope and a slip of paper clutched tightly in his hands. He appeared to be on a mission, face looking a little stressed. On a normal day, Keito wouldn’t have addressed him. He had no business with the guardsmen and didn’t wish to distract them on their normal day to day affairs. The protection of the palace depended on the success of their work, so it felt wrong to try to strike up a conversation. This one...This guardsman was different.

“Excuse me,” he called out to the guard. 

The guard immediately stopped and bowed, an apology springing forth from his lips. “Your majesty, I apologize. I know I’m not allowed to use the great hall to travel around the palace, but the directions I was given said to start here and I didn’t know what to do-”

“Stop, stop, stop,” Keito said, feeling his face flush. “I didn’t stop you because you’re in trouble. I only wanted to talk.”

He saw the rigid nature of the guard’s bow soften, him raising his head to look Keito in the eye. “You wish to talk to me? But...why?”

The guard was as beautiful as Keito remembered him to be. Long, shaggy hair that was impeccably styled for a palace guard, striking features, and full lips. There was a certain energy to this man and the way that he carried himself that Keito knew he must be one the maids whispered about in passing, a gorgeous man that they all wished to earn his affection.

“I remember you,” Keito said, taking a few tentative steps closer to the guard. “You’re the one that brought me to the palace when I returned to the capital.”

There was a moment of confusion before something lit up in the guard’s eyes, a memory coming to him. “Duke Okamoto!” Keito could feel himself cringe at the royal title. It felt so...wrong. “Ah, I’m happy to see you’re doing well, your highness,” he said. “Though I must apologize. I really must be going.”

“A few questions? And then you can return to your work,” Keito said. The guard considered his request for a moment before agreeing. “I don’t believe I ever heard your name.”

“Takaki,” the guard said. “Takaki Yuya. Though I really must thank you for your kindness. I was always a guard to the entrance of the capital.” His attention kept flitting to the direction he had been walking in not long before. “Because of your return, the guardsmen promoted me to a palace guard. They’ve asked me to run an errand today.”

“Where are you going?” Keito asked, heart beating a little faster. He knew he was holding Takaki from completing his royal duties, but something within Keito told him to keep talking.

“To the court mage, your highness,” Takaki said and Keito cringed at the title once more. He had come to be on speaking terms with many of the palace staff, and, away from the ears of his relatives, they all spoke fondly with him, using his first name. It was strange to hear a royal title once more. “I’ve been asked to deliver a letter from the captain of the guard requesting a meeting with him later in the day. I’m only to return when I have a response.”

Court mage? It felt strange to deliver a message to the court mage. Couldn’t he come down and speak with the captain himself?

As if sensing Keito’s confusion, Takaki spoke once more. “Many don’t know this, but the king keeps careful watch over the court mage. No one knows how his father passed, even the court mage himself they say, and, as to not lose another so quickly, the king has dictated that anyone that goes in and out of the tower is documented. There are two guards at the base of the tower, and the path to there is spelled so that only those that know the way can find it.”

It explained why, after so many times Keito tried to seek out the tower on his own, he couldn’t find it. The more he heard about the current court mage, the more intrigued Keito became of him. It was as if Nakajima Yuto was a difficult puzzle to crack, and he only became more of a mystery the more Keito learned of him. At the very least, it couldn’t hurt to meet him once.

“Can you take me with you?” he asked.

The question seemed to startle Takaki, not expecting it at all. He seemed hesitant when he spoke. 

“Your highness-”

“Keito.”

Takaki blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“ Your highness is my uncle,” Keito said, flushing once more from his own boldness. “Please. Call me Keito.”

There was a hesitancy to Takaki’s expression before he tried again. “Duke Keito-”

“Just Keito is fine.” He could feel his face getting hotter and hotter. “I just...prefer my name without a title.”

He remembered how Yabu and Yaotome had addressed him so casually, and it had felt so comforting to hear his name with no title. Though it had happened by accident at first. Yaotome had forgotten to call him a duke before dinner one evening, and Keito had found he hadn’t hated the sound of his name by itself as much as he should have.

“Please,” Keito said when he noticed Takaki hesitating once more. “If your boss or whoever is in charge of you gets angry, I’ll defend you and say you were helping me on official...duke...things. I just...I would like to meet the court mage, even if it’s only once.”

It was a few moments before Takaki sighed. “I can see that you’re quite stubborn on this topic so okay. I’ll take you with me to the court mage.”

Keito couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his lips.

There were so many twists and turns as Keito followed Takaki, the path leading them through what felt like a thousand doors. There were a few times they had to stop, Takaki checking the note in his hands with directions to the tower a few times, before they continued on their way. 

Coming to the base of the tower, Keito spotted two guards. Both were older men, perhaps in their forties, with grizzled faces that looked worn from long years in the service. It was as if both of them had been tied to their posts for centuries instead of the five or so years they had perhaps been stationed. Behind them was a  spiral staircase, clinging to the stone walls, and Keito could only imagine how far it went up.

“State your business,” one said, his voice a little rough. 

“I am Takaki Yuya of the palace guard,” Takaki said, addressing the two of them. “I’ve been sent by Captain Ueda to deliver a note to the court mage.”

One of the guards checked a list that was tucked in their person, looking up and down at the pair of them before speaking. “Schedule says no one is supposed to arrive until the afternoon. Doesn’t Captain Ueda know no one comes to see the court mage in the morning?”

“He’s aware, sir, but he said this was urgent,” Takaki said. “He said I could only come in the morning. If I  came after lunch, I would lose my job, sir.”

The two guards conversed for a little in hushed voices, Keito only being able to make out the occasional consonant, before the second guard spoke. “If you’re adamant about going up this morning, we cannot stop you. A guard is on the schedule, but he isn’t.” The guard pointed at Keito. 

Keito’s mind was racing. He knew he had offered to protect Takaki if he got in trouble, but he hadn’t considered what to say when the time would come. He had always imagined that those within the tower would know him by appearance. He thought they would know him as the duke who had lost his memories, but it wasn’t the case.

Takaki was quick in his response, filling in when Keito didn’t reply. “This is Duke Okamoto Keito.” Takaki’s voice was confident as he spoke, as if this had been rehearsed for weeks. “He has come along because, although this is Captain Ueda’s letter, the response directly affects the duke, sir. He wants to make sure the message is received so that Captain Ueda can complete his duties, sir.”

If Keito hadn’t been the one requesting to see the court mage, he would have believed Takaki’s words. It was a convincing lie, one that the guards quickly believed as well. They motioned for the pair to go on ahead, not questioning Takaki or his word. 

“How did you do that?” Keito whispered as they started to ascend the tower, not wanting the guards to hear them.

“To be honest, I’m not sure myself,” Takaki responded. “I’ve gotten so good at talking to superiors that this kind of pleasantry just comes natural to me.”

Keito agreed. There was a charm to Takaki that one just couldn’t ignore, and the way that the guards believed his words so easily was only further proof of it.

The stairs seemed to extend for forever, the never ending spiral extending into the sky. Several times Keito had to stop to catch his breath, counting how many more circles of stairs there were until the top. Each time he stopped, Takaki stopped as well. He only continued when Keito gave a little nod, a gesture that he was ready to continue climbing upwards to the top.

A large door at the top was what caught Keito’s attention upon reaching the landing. It was large and solid, made of durable wood that was intricately carved. Merely looking at the size of the door, Keito knew it would be difficult to open even with Takaki’s assistance. 

“Stand back a bit and grab onto something sturdy,” Takaki muttered, motioning for Keito to go back to the railing. He walked up to the door, taking hold of the rope next to it that Keito hadn’t noticed before. “Captain Ueda said there’s two ways this thing opens. Let’s hope we get the safe way.”

It was only when Keito was holding onto the railing tightly did Takaki place his hand upon the door’s surface. The door seemed to shudder under his touch before a purple light began to spread from Takaki’s gloved fingertips to cover the entire base of the door. Keito watched the scene, occasionally looking at Takaki who seemed to shake as the color continued to spread, before the door shuddered once more and opened. Takaki had enough time to pull his hand back before it would be smacked by the heavy wood.

“I think...this might be the safe way?” Keito asked, peering into the room in front of them. “I can’t imagine what the other way entails.”

It was one big room at the top of the tower, the entire area dark from heavy curtains covering the windows. What weren't curtains were walls and walls of books, some of their tomes looking centuries old from what Keito could tell. The entire area looked as if it was a warzone, papers scattered around, clothing not picked up from the floor. On the far side of the room was a raised platform in which a large bed was, the covers haphazardly around the surface so one couldn’t tell if there was someone sleeping or not. 

This...hadn’t been what Keito was expecting upon reaching the top of the tower. He had remembered visiting the previous court mage’s study long ago when his mother needed treatment for an ailment, the room smelling of wood and everything orderly. This room looked as if a storm had struck it.

As far as he could see, there was no one home. It appeared as if the court mage had left his room to do...something, though Keito couldn’t quite figure out what that was. Perhaps that’s why no one came to see the court mage in the morning? He was out doing business and would return in the afternoon. Still, it didn’t hurt to be sure.

“Excuse me?” Keito called out, his voice perhaps a little too loud. “Is anyone here?”

There was a long groan that came from the bed, shifting of covers that made both Keito and Takaki jump from the sudden movement, before a head poked up from the bed. The man had shaggy black hair, ruffled as if he had done it himself, and baggy eyes from lack of sleep greeted them.

“What time is it?” the court mage asked, letting out a long yawn. He blinked a few times before a smile, or was it perhaps a small smirk, came across his lips.

“Just after breakfast, sir,” Takaki responded. “I’ve come-”

“Yuto.”

Keito saw Takaki blink. “What?”

“Call me Yuto,” the mage said. “Always feels strange to have someone beautiful address me by formalities. What can I do for you?”

Takaki continued to speak, for Yuto hadn’t yet addressed Keito yet. “I apologize for coming so early. I didn’t realize that you slept so late in the day but-” Takaki motioned to Keito as he spoke. “The duke, no, Keito and I wished to see you for important business.”

The mere mention of a royal title drew Yuto’s attention to him and, upon seeing Keito’s fine clothing, the court mage’s mood instantly soured. His brows furrowed and he let out an exasperated sigh before collapsing to the bed once more, drawing his covers over him.

“I don’t talk to royalty until the afternoon,” he said, voice muffled. “Come back once I’ve woken again.”

Takaki continued to press on. “But our business is-”

With a flurry, the covers were thrown off of him, and Yuto was sitting up in a flash. It was only then that Keito noticed the court mage did not have some sort of shirt on. “Always business with you people,” Yuto spat. “Don’t act as if I can’t hear what you royals whisper about me when you think I’m not listening, calling me young and inexperienced. I’m as powerful if not more powerful than my father ever was, and I’m half his age.” His anger only grew with every word he spoke. “You speak your gossip and then what? You visit me while I’m awake and beg for potions and spells to make your lives easier.”

Keito could understand his cousin’s words now, those dissuading him from seeking out the court mage. He found only anger behind Yuto’s eyes, such strong emotion for those he was supposed to aid in any way he could.

“I follow your requests because you are people in the country that I’ve sworn to protect, but the way you view the world, as if you own everything, is something I cannot stand,” Yuto said, his fury continuing. “So tell me, dear duke, what have you come to my tower to request of me?”

He wasn’t sure how he managed to find the words to speak, that glare making it difficult for Keito to string together what he wished to say. He managed to speak to them. “Nothing, sir,” he said, voice shaking. “The business was from the captain of the guard. I requested Takaki take me with him, so that I could meet you. I only...I only wished to meet you. I can see that was a mistake.”

Keito didn’t care to hear the court mage’s response nor look upon his face any longer. He turned and swiftly left the room, making the long climb down to the base of the tower and ignoring any of the questions the guards at the base asked him as he ran away. He got lost through the winding path but, through some luck, found himself back at his room. As he tucked himself inside, locking the door behind him, he resolved to never visit that tower again.

It was a few days before Keito allowed himself to leave his room for fun, the embarrassment over Yuto’s words too much for him to face anyone. He kept thinking about what those guards could have heard from their posts, what they could have spread to their fellow guardsmen who would talk to the butlers and the maids as well as the kitchen staff. Surely the palace must be abuzz with how the great court mage had chided a duke for his supposed rudeness.

He soon found, as he stepped from his room, that the palace staff greeted him all the same. One of the maids asked Keito if he was feeling better, the assumption that a cold was the reason for his absence and lack of conversations with the staff. He merely smiled and told her he was feeling quite better than before, before heading towards the kitchens to dine with the chefs. 

Inaba had been telling him some wild story, about how a large cat had snuck into his home last night and had eaten most of his food before Inaba had caught it, when the door to the kitchens slammed open. 

The person who had opened the door too quickly was a young looking boy, perhaps still in his teens, wearing the uniform of a guardsman. His voice was loud, oddly confident, as he spoke. “Captain Ueda sent me here with a request to the palace chefs for today’s lunch.”

Keito could see his friend, Chef Yokoyama, let out a huff before he spoke. “And what would that be?”

The guardsmen stopped for a second, face shocked, before he spoke. “I...I forgot.”

The response only triggered fury from Yokoyama. “Honestly, Hirano, you know that you’re not good at following commands from the captain. Have the man write out a message so you can remember.”

“I would, sir, yes, you,” Hirano said, his words a flurry as he spoke, “and he did, sir, but I lost it on the way here.”

Yokoyama’s voice rose. “How do you lose a message that your captain sent you with?”

“Well, you see, sir, there was a flower-”

“A flower?” Yokoyama slammed down his cooking utensil, and one of the cooks caught it after it bounced on the counter and before it hit the floor. “Honestly Hirano, I’m surprised you managed to survive as long as you have here, but your warrior mage leader should know better than to send someone as utterly forgetful as you with a request.”

Keito had to do his best to stifle his laughter. Though the south tended to be more conservative, northerns like Yokoyama tended to be more free with their words, their weapon of choice against those that displeased them. It was one of the reasons why the palace kitchen ran as smoothly as it did. The staff feared getting chidded by the northern man as much as the next.

“Honestly, I don’t understand why that boy even follows in his father’s footsteps,” Yokoyama grumbled after Hirano had left, and mysteriously all those that had been near Keito and the chef had disappeared to work in different sections of the kitchen. “Every time he comes to deliver a message, he loses it or forgets it. Damn legacy.”

Legacies were a plenty amongst the military and the guardsmen, those that followed in their father’s and grandfather’s and great-great-great grandfather’s footsteps into service, and even Keito had heard of the Hirano family before. Much like the Nakajima’s, their family had long served the country but as generals during the wars. It was no surprise that this Hirano had found his way within the palace guard. Perhaps his father imagined he would become captain of the palace guard one day.

“Perhaps it would be best to be kind to him,” Keito suggested. “He doesn’t look like he’s very old and he’s still learning. Maybe if you treated him as you treat me, he would remember his messages better?”

Yokoyama scoffed at the suggestion. “That would require the captain and everyone within the palace to baby the boy. If he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps, he needs to learn discipline and to prolong his memory besides a few seconds.”

Keito sighed and returned to his food. Though he appreciated how honest northerns were, they were also quite stubborn in their ways. He knew there was no way to sway Yokoyama’s opinion of Hirano until the young guard managed to prove himself as competent.

As he was finishing up his meal, the chef trying once more to sneak more food onto Keito’s plate, the doors to the kitchens opened again. The man that entered was dressed much like Hirano had been, a stiff uniform jacket, pants, and the crest of the royal family upon his chest, a stag upon a black sky. Though they were dressed the same, this man felt...different. 

His hair was wild, like embers separating from a roaring fire, and dyed blond. Though his features were soft, there was a hardness to this man’s expression that gave off the impression that he was not one to be messed with. He was one to be feared. 

Upon seeing this man enter, Yokoyama threw the utensil he was holding once more, and another cook rushed to catch it. “Ueda!” he roared. “Honestly, what’s going on in your head? You should know better than to trust Hirano to deliver a message to me!”

The tension in the room was evident, everyone seeming to stop their work to watch the exchange between the chef and the captain. Keito wished he could shrink in size, not wanting to come between these two powers: the one who guarded the palace and the other feeding all that lived within it. Neither man moved, neither spoke. Not until Captain Ueda slowly crossed the kitchen to where Keito was sitting at one of the prep tables and sat next to him.

“Honestly, Yoko, is this how you treat me now?” Ueda asked. “How else can I see my friend from time to time if not for Hirano’s blunders?”

It wasn’t long before Yokoyama laughed, clasping Ueda’s shoulder like a dear friend would, and the tension dissipated within the kitchen in seconds. 

Keito was coerced into staying, listening to long stories between the pair of their times together. He heard stories of how, when Ueda was just a guard, he would sneak into the kitchens because Yokoyama’s cooking had reminded him of home. Now that the pair were high ranking within the palace staff, they didn’t have as much time to meet.

“You could find a better reason than Hirano for stepping foot in my kitchen,” Yokoyama chided the man.

“What better reason is there but Hirano’s mistakes?” Ueda countered.

Try as they might, neither of them nor Keito nor any of the kitchen staff could come up with a better one.

It was when the kitchen began cooking preparations for lunch that Keito was shooed from the kitchens. Yokoyama had thrown out some words of how it would get too hot for Keito’s royal skin, a little smirk on his face as he closed the door behind Keito.

There wasn’t much to do before lunch nor the rest of the day. Keito chose to dine in the kitchens rather than with his family, and he found he much preferred this. He wasn’t ready to exchange pleasantries with his family and explain his many days absence just yet. Though the staff were panicked during dinner, running around to make sure each course was prepared in time, their laughter and their jokes put Keito more at ease than anything. 

These people didn’t care that he was the duke who had lost his memories. They didn’t care he had been cursed in the first place. Those Keito talked with saw him as a man and not a royal title, and he enjoyed that feeling quite a bit. He couldn’t help but feel as though, maybe, this feeling was something that was tied to his missing memories, but he pushed that thought aside. Better not to focus on that thought for too long.

When he finished his dinner, he tried to offer to help the staff clean, but it was declined. 

“Enjoy your evening,” one of the dishwashers said. “Go and rest, and we will see you tomorrow, Keito.”

Keito merely sighed and resigned himself to an evening of reading in his room, much like he had been doing for the last few days.

Upon returning to his room, he jumped when he saw a man sprawled out upon his sheets.

“What are you doing here?” Keito asked, slamming the door shut behind him. Though Keito didn’t lock his door upon leaving each morning, it was still strange to see the court mage laying around as if it was his tower home, throwing an apple into the air and catching it so lazily, and not Keito’s own. 

“About time you’ve returned,” Yuto said, sitting up upon hearing Keito’s shout. “You know it’s rude to keep me waiting, right? I think the appropriate response if you had been anyone else would be to have you hanged, but I’ll let this slide because you’re royalty and all. Can’t have a duke hanged. It looks bad on the entire country.”

By his words, Keito knew the court mage was joking, but his tone was quite serious. The conflicting messages made his head hurt.

“Hey, mister duke, catch!”

The apple Yuto had been throwing was tossed to Keito, and he only had a split second to react. He went to catch it, running forward and hands flailing to try and take hold of it, but the apple sunk through his hands and disappeared upon hitting the floor. His actions had Yuto howling, rolling around the bed as if the scene was the funniest thing in the world.

Keito could feel his temper flaring a bit. Was this some sort of joke? He couldn’t keep his words firmly behind his tongue. “What is wrong with you?” he asked.

“Nothing is wrong with me,” Yuto said, wiping a tear from his eyes. “Like I would waste time coming down to talk to you. I used an illusion spell.”

There was something seriously wrong with the court mage. He was rude, that much was certain, and he only seemed to live to torment Keito. Hadn’t he been embarrassed enough? Even though Keito had only wished to meet him, there was a strange hatred within the heart of the mage that plagued him.

“Leave,” Keito said. He tried to summon as much commanding presence in his voice when he spoke that single word.

Yuto looked at Keito before his illusioned form collapsed onto Keito’s bed, laying down once more. “No.”

“Then I will leave and be gone when I return.”

The library. Keito could go there for a few hours and find a new book to read, maybe something historical this time. When he turned to exit, he jumped. Yuto’s illusion had materialized in front of Keito in seconds.

“But I’m not done talking to you yet,” Yuto said, motioning for Keito to go further into his room and not out of it.

“And yet I’m a waste of your time,” Keito said. He stepped through the mage’s illusion but each time he reappeared before Keito once more. “You said it yourself. Why not waste your time with someone else instead of with someone you so clearly despise?”

“Because I’m curious about you.”

The response caught Keito off guard. Throughout their two meetings, especially the one they were currently having, Yuto gave no indication that he was even remotely interested in Keito. He seemed more interested in bullying him, cruel words being spit from Yuto’s tongue to drag Keito down.

“Do you swear by your words?” Yuto asked.

“What words?”

There was an annoyed look on Yuto’s face, as if Keito should have understood what the court mage had meant. “That you did not climb the stairs to my tower for any earthly desire in your heart?”

“I only had one desire when I went to meet you,” Keito said. “I’ve watched the night sky from my room and seen magic flying from a tower. I’ve tried several times to find that tower to explore it, but I could never get the path right. When I learned it was your home, all I wanted was to meet you, even if it was just a single time, but all I feel now is ashamed for wanting to know what the new court mage was like.”

When Keito finished speaking, Yuto didn’t say a word. He only gazed upon Keito, brows furrowed as he tried to decipher the words that had been presented to them. They were words, beautiful words, but it was as if Yuto was trying to discover a hidden meaning behind them.

With the blink of Keito’s eye, Yuto was suddenly gone, but a sigh from behind him drew Keito’s attention. Yuto had rematerialized on his window seat, gazing out into the darkening sky.

“You really can see my tower from here,” Yuto said, his voice quite soft. 

“Of course,” Keito said. He took soft steps as he crossed the room to the window seat where the court mage sat. “I have no reason to lie to you.”

There were so many questions Keito wanted to ask. There had to be a reason behind the court mage’s actions. For his anger, his sharp words, his distrust of other people, but Keito bit his tongue. He had to remember this was still a man who had treated him poorly in their two interactions. 

“Hey, mister duke,” Yuto said, his words not as sharp as they had been before. “You’ve lived your entire life here, right?”

“At least fourteen years,” Keito said. His words came easier the nicer Yuto spoke. “I was cursed for nine, and I only returned to the palace a few months ago.”

Yuto merely hummed in response, his gaze never breaking from his tower.

Keito wasn’t sure how long they were there together, Yuto sitting and watching the darkening sky with Keito by his side. When the sky was nearly swallowed by the blackness of the night, it was only then that Yuto spoke once more.

“Looks so lonely from so far away.” And with that he was gone, the illusion breaking and Keito was alone in his room once more.

That evening there were no spells being flung from the top of the tower, the familiar blue lights not twinkling downward as they always had been. It was silent and dark.

The inside of the captain’s office was impeccable, everything where it was needed and in its place. A large wooden desk was the main focal point of it and, from the impeccable detail that went into the design, it was certainly made from magic. Only magic could get that level of intricacy that the human hand couldn’t convey.

Keito sat on the other side of the captain’s desk, holding onto his knees tightly to keep all of his nerves from showing all at once. Though he had met Captain Ueda before, and the captain had even dined with Keito’s family upon being asked, the presence of the guardsmen was almost stifling. He seemed to radiate power, far more than anyone Keito had ever met.

“And you need this particular guardsmen...why?” Ueda asked, setting down the letter Keito had prepared for his request. “Any member of my guard would be more than able to accompany you into the city for your shopping. In fact, I could recommend half a dozen that are better than him and more capable of protecting you.”

“It has to be him,” Keito said, trying to keep his voice calm. “I trust him.”

He could see the sigh in Captain Ueda’s shoulders, the signs of him resigning to Keito’s wishes. Though he could tell the captain was a stubborn man himself, there was no reason to bicker with a royal who had his mind set. Captain Ueda stood, asking Keito to wait a moment while he went and fetched the guard himself.

It wasn’t long, perhaps five or ten minutes, before the captain returned, Takaki following right behind him. There was a look of recognition upon Takaki’s face, but he quickly masked it as Ueda told Takaki his orders. “You are to follow Duke Okamoto,” Keito cringed at the title, “to the markets today. Keep an eye on him and make sure no one gets too close.”

“Of course, sir,” Takaki said, and Ueda waved them away to go back to whatever he had been doing previously before Keito had barged into his office that afternoon.

The captain’s office was located close to the great hall, the heart of the castle. The two winded through a few corridors before coming to it, Keito pausing in his steps before getting to the door.

“Sir-Keito, sorry,” Takaki said, pausing at the door himself, one gloved hand upon it. “Aren’t we going to the markets?”

“Do you remember the way to the court mage’s tower?” Keito asked, mouth feeling more dry than it had in quite awhile.

“I do. I believe I do.”

“Take me there.”

Takaki blinked. “But...the markets?”

“It was a lie,” Keito said, and he could feel his face become hot as his great plan sprung from his lips. “It was the only reason I could think of for why I needed your assistance and that your captain would agree to letting you off of your post for the day. I don’t remember the way, and no one in my family will tell me the path. This was the only solution I could think of because I really want to try meeting the court mage one more time. Even if it ends poorly, I want to give him another chance. Takaki, I’m sorry for dragging you into this.” At the end, Keito bowed.

It was true. It all was. No matter which relative he had asked, trying to get directions himself, they all merely waved Keito off when he said he had no particular reason for visiting the court mage. Their responses were the same: you don’t visit the court mage without a particular reason. He’ll only be angry if you waste his time.

Keito could see the truth in their warnings. Yuto had been angry at being woken up by a royal so early in the morning, and, from his words the previous night, he didn’t particularly like his time being wasted. Though Keito could feel in his bones there was a meaning far deeper than what lay at the surface. Against his better judgement, he wanted to seek Yuto out and maybe, just maybe, their third interaction would go much better than the first two. 

Gloved hands were on Keito’s shoulders, forcing him out of his bow. “Keito, stop,” Takaki hissed, eyes darting around the hall for anyone that happened to be passing through. Luckily, there were none at this time in the afternoon. “Do you know how awkward it would be if someone happened to see a royal bowing to a guardsmen? I’m not prepared for those types of questions.”

Keito sputtered an apology before bowing again, but Takaki was there to pull him out of his bow once more. “Honestly,” Takaki said, “you are one of the strangest royals I’ve ever met, and I’ve met...well, you’re the only one that talks to me. So I suppose you’re the only one that I’ve met.” Takaki sighed. “I’ll take you to see Yuto, but I can’t imagine we’ll make it past the guards.”

The guards at the base of the tower would be quite the obstacle, one that Keito had kept forgetting would be in their path. Although Takaki had managed to sweet talk their way to the top the first time, it had only been because the court mage had been expecting to be visited by a guard that day. This time there was no indication that either of them would be arriving, and Keito could only hope for the best possible outcome.

Takaki led him through all of the twists and turns, the thousand doors it took to make it to the base of the tower. He seemed more confident in his knowledge of the path this time, only stopping once to pause and check if his memory was correct or not before they continued onwards. They came to the base of the tower in no time, and Keito wondered if he would ever truly remember this path.

“Good afternoon,” Takaki called out to the guards, the two the same as when Keito had visited days before.

“Good afternoon,” one called back, his voice more gruff than the others who muttered a small ‘good afternoon,’ as well. “It seems as though the court mage has put quite the spell on you. This is the fourth time that you’ve visited, isn’t it? You’re quite early today.”

Fourth time? This was news to Keito. As far as he was certain, the first time that Takaki had met the court mage was when the pair of them had gone together and yet Takaki was continuing to visit him? Perhaps they had begun some strange friendship when Keito had fled the tower the last time. 

“I’ve only come early because I’ve been asked to accompany the duke with his meeting with the court mage today,” Takaki said. His words were so smooth and clear, not a hint of nerves to them. Keito couldn’t help but wonder if he had some sort of magic within him to make his speech so believable. “He can’t remember the path just yet, and this meeting is quite important.”

The gruff guard seemed to frown, though it was difficult to tell under this thick beard. “I don’t remember anyone being on the schedule for today.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of parchment. “Not even you were on the schedule for this evening, Takaki.”

Keito held his breath as the guard opened the sheet, scanning down the list. This was the moment of truth. Although Takaki had his sweet words and charming ways, at the end of the day, what mattered was what had been written down.

There was a small look of shock upon the guardsmen’s face before he looked up at the pair of them. “Looks like I was mistaken.” He folded the sheet and put it back where it had come from. “Seems as though the court mage is expecting the both of you right now. Go on up.”

He didn’t hesitate, walking past the guards for the stairs, but Takaki tugged him to the center of the spiral staircase instead.

“What are you doing?” Keito whispered. “You don’t have magic to just fly us up to the top.”

“I don’t,” Takaki said, pulling Keito into the center and checking the floor for something Keito couldn’t quite see, “but Yuto does.”

There was a small jolt before suddenly they were flying upwards through the air on a small platform. Hundreds of stairs passed them by, the curved iron of the staircase dancing before them as they rapidly ascended to the top of the tower. Keito clung to Takaki for dear life, not daring to look down as the distance between them and the ground only continued to grow the farther they went up.

He heard Takaki laugh, and Keito looked up at the guard’s expression. There was so much joy in his face, a large smile spread across his features as wind whipped his hair around much like a storm would. “This is incredible,” Takaki said, the joy never dying from his face. “Magic is so damn cool.”

When they reached the top, Takaki climbed over the railing and helped Keito cross once his feet were on solid ground. Unlike the previous time they had visited, the door to Yuto’s tower room was open, and they easily walked inside. 

The inside of the tower was much cleaner than when Keito had first come to it, all of the papers and clothing picked off of the floor, and he could finally see the intricate stonework that made up the flooring. The curtains were open, and through the window Keito could see across from the door was the wide expanse of the River Lea before them.

The strangest sight was of the court mage, leaning against a wall next to the door. It was as if he was trying to look as natural as he could, checking the dirt underneath his fingernails and whistling when Keito and Takaki had come inside.

“How did you know we were coming?” Keito asked, not wasting any time with how his curiosity was peaking. As far as he knew, Yuto didn’t have the ability to scry to see what people were doing in the present. 

“Oh, you’re here,” Yuto said, still examining his fingers. His voice was quite cool. “Nice of you to visit, mister duke.”

“If you’re not going to be kind then I’m leaving,” Keito said. He had no energy for this hot and cold attitude from the court mage. He had better things to do with his time. Though he wasn’t sure what those better things were, he would discover them in time.

“Wait!” Yuto said, pushing himself off of the wall. “I’m just-I’m trying to be funny here, but you’re not getting my jokes!”

Jokes? Jokes were supposed to be funny, the other person laughing or chuckling at the humor hidden within the words. Yuto’s humor was the farthest thing from that of a joke maker. 

“If I’m honest, I’ve been sitting around all day waiting to see if you would come and visit,” Yuto said, and he motioned to the landing outside of his room. “When I heard the guards talking to you, I magicked the list and added you both to it, so you could come up and see me. I thought it would be funny to greet you like the heroes I read about in books, but you didn’t get my joke.”

“Because it wasn’t a joke,” Keito said. “You’ll have to excuse my language here, but you came off as if you were better than both of us and couldn’t be bothered to answer my question. Yes, you did answer it but only after I told you that I was going to leave.”

Yuto let out an exasperated noise, a chair magically appearing behind him to which he collapsed upon. “Why is talking to people so hard? All I want to do is talk to you and apologize for how much of an ass I’ve been, but I can’t get the words out right.”

“You both could try apologizing.” Takaki immediately slapped his hand across his face, eyes going wide as he realized how out of place his comment was. “I am so sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken,” he said through his hand.

“Both of us?” Keito asked. But he hadn’t done anything wrong? Not as far as he was aware. He was acting just as he always had been. 

“Yes, both of you,” Takaki squeaked out, as if he was terrified of some divine punishment coming to him. “Yuto, you shouldn’t have been as rude to Keito that morning we came to visit you, and Keito, you need to not hold a grudge against Yuto. I don’t know Yuto that well, I’ve only come up here to talk to him a few times myself, but he really does mean the best. He’s a little awkward, a bit hot tempered, but he’s just lonely up here by himself.”

Keito remembered the previous night, how Yuto had sat and watched his tower for so long. The emotion, the shape in which Yuto spoke his words, was now so familiar to Keito. Even for such a powerful mage, one that the country held in such high regard, he could still feel alone at the top of his tower. Yuto was truly a caged bird, not allowed any companionship unless there was prior notice.

“I’m not lonely,” Yuto said, his words rough, but Keito could feel them masking the pain. He sat up in his chair. “I’m fine up here. I exchange plenty of letters with my friends from school. Raiya and my mother even write to me a bunch. I’m not lonely,” he repeated, as if trying to convince himself. “I have people to talk to.”

“But when was the last time that anyone came and visited you here?” Keito asked. “When was the last time you got a visitor that wasn’t someone from the palace asking you to do something for them?”

Yuto opened his mouth to speak, raising a finger as if to count the amount of times someone had greeted him, but, after a moment, he returned to how he had been sitting previously. “I really am kept here like a prisoner, aren’t I?” His laugh was bitter. “I’m like a rock, aren’t I? Can’t even leave the side of a stream unless someone picks me up. Not like I can get the king’s permission to climb down the tower. He’s too worried I’ll leave this world like my father chose, but he’s pushing me towards that path by keeping me so isolated.”

Keito kept his mouth firmly shut, not wanting to intrude further into Yuto’s personal life for he understood the meaning behind Yuto’s own words. A family member killed by their own hands was most dishonorable and perhaps his uncle was protecting the Nakajima family’s honor by proclaiming it to be a mystery.

“I could visit you?” Yuto perked up at Keito’s words. “Just...no more jokes? Please? Maybe when we get to know each other more you can, but for right now...”

“Of course!” Yuto leapt up from his chair. “That will be easy! And when you visit, you can bring Yuya with you the next time as well! And the time after that and the time after that.”

A little sputter caught both of their attention, and they found Takaki quite red in the face. “You...you said my given name.”

Yuto let out a laugh, a rather loud sound that shocked Keito and made him jump. “You really are cute. I can’t stand how cute you are sometimes.”

Keito couldn’t help but crack a smile at how Yuto teased Takaki for turning so red, the court mage’s words were quite sweet the more that he addressed Takaki with his given name. Keito could almost sense a bit of flirting coming from Yuto, and Takaki only seemed to turn more red the more Yuto complimented the guardsmen.

“I think that I should go now,” Keito said, heart fluttering a little. It felt like he was intruding on a private moment now.

“Oh, ah, do you have anything else to do the rest of the day, mister duke?” Yuto asked, the strange nickname sounding almost sweet now. “You could always...stay here? We could talk and play games.” A large smile spread across his lips. “Yuya is more than welcome to stay as well. If you don’t have to get back to your post, that is.”

Keito didn’t think it was possible for Takaki’s face to turn a darker shade of red, but he watched with his own eyes as his cheeks turned a darker shade of scarlet.

“I suppose I can stay longer,” Keito said after pondering his options for a bit. He didn’t remember his cousins saying they were doing anything particularly interesting that afternoon. It couldn’t hurt to stay and talk to the mage some more. “And, please, call me Keito.”

“Great! Keito it is then!” Yuto waved his hands, and Keito watched as the large wooden door closed behind them, offering the trio a little privacy. “I’ve been reading about this game in a book, but I need at least three people to play it.” Another wave of his hand and a round table and three chairs filled the space in the floor that had been previously empty. “Let’s play. I’ll teach you. If I win, I want a prize from Yuya.”

The rules were simple enough, only taking a few minutes for Yuto to teach them. After a few hours, the time flying by so quickly, Takaki claimed victory over the two of them, and Keito almost thought it was adorable how Yuto whined that he wouldn’t get his prize.

He wasn’t quite sure how it happened, the passage and flow of time really quite strange, but Keito soon found himself visiting Yuto every day in his tower. Or, rather, any time that Yuto’s schedule allowed Keito to visit. He had only intended to visit once a week, what Keito thought to be a considerate schedule to visit a friend, but that number quickly turned to twice and three times and as many as Yuto would allow him.

Sometimes he would go right when Yuto would wake, just after lunch time, and often Keito met the maids who would come and deliver Yuto his food for every meal. Other times it wasn’t until dinner was over, and Keito would spend hours with the mage until his eyes were too heavy to keep open. Keito knew he had fallen asleep many times in Yuto’s tower, but, every time he woke up, he would find himself back in his own room come morning time. 

The pair would often talk about anything that interested them, the stories in books they read or palace gossip that Keito would bring with him from the palace staff. Yuto’s favorite story was of how Inaba had somehow amassed an army of cats in his home, and a few had followed him to work the next day. Yokoyama hadn’t been happy with the sudden guests, but cooks and other kitchen staff swore they had seen the chef petting one of the animals when he thought no one was looking.

When words failed them, no stories or anything interesting happening, Keito watched the court mage practice his magic. Blue spells glistened through the air, freezing objects as if they were floating and heavy books flying through the air as if they were the lightest of feathers. It was stunning to watch the ease at which Yuto crafted his spells, the wordless and worded spells coming so easy to him.

“You have so much power,” Keito said one evening, watching Yuto rearrange his bookshelves with the flick of his finger.

“I do,” Yuto said. “It’s the one things that I’m confident in, though it’s difficult to repress it all.”

Keito cocked his head to the side. “But why would you want to repress it?”

“Because I have these little fireworks that go off around me because I have too much magic,” Yuto said as he placed one of the shelves down. “I’m the court mage. I’m supposed to be this serious figure, and who can take a mage seriously when he has fireworks going off around him?”

“I think that’s just silly,” Keito said. They had grown close enough he felt comfortable giving Yuto his honest opinion without being too rude. “Those fireworks are what make you special! If I was in your shoes, I would rather be known as the mage that sparks off fireworks than the one who is rude and too serious for my own good.” Keito paused for a moment before continuing. “Of course that’s my own opinion but take it as you will. You need to be yourself and not who people expect you to be.”

The next time that Keito visited Yuto in his tower, he paused at the door, mouth dropping when he saw them. They weren’t large, merely small pops of blue magic that shimmered in the afternoon light around Yuto. The fireworks were the same color as Yuto’s own magic, a light blue.

“See,” Yuto huffed, trying to wave them away. “They look silly.”

“No, no, no,” Keito said. “You misunderstood me. They’re beautiful! Probably the most beautiful bit of magic that I’ve seen from you.”

Throughout the rest of the day, Yuto had a large smile on his face whenever Keito looked at him. 

Takaki often joined them once his work was done for the day, and Keito kept a careful eye on the pair whenever they were together. Although Yuto had become nicer, more accustomed to speaking with people he considered friends, there was a certain way he acted when he was with Takaki that was different.

Yuto was happy whenever Keito came to his tower, his mood seeming to lift upon seeing Keito’s face, but the way that he was with Takaki was cute. Keito could see the way that Yuto counted down the minutes until Takaki was expected to arrive, how he would slowly shift closer to the door of his tower room so he was ready to help Takaki fly to the top of the tower on the platform Yuto used. But when Takaki finally arrived, it was as if Yuto’s entire body became happy from the mere sight of Takaki’s head poking up from the top off the bannister. His little fireworks seem to explode so much more rapidly when Takaki was with him.

There was a difference in Takaki as well whenever he was within the walls of Yuto’s tower. Though Keito had known Takaki for about as long as Yuto, he saw how Takaki was when he was working. His posture was proper, back stiff, and he always spoke formally with the guardsmen as well as anyone that worked within the palace. When he was with Yuto and Keito, Takaki seemed so much more relaxed, almost happier, and it was only then that he let his northern accent come out, those long vowels Keito often heard when Yokoyama was angry for this reason or that. Keito heard that accent more when Takaki talked to Yuto, Takaki still being more formal in his speech with Keito. 

Though Keito wouldn’t say a word to either of them for how their behavior changed. Both seemed a little too thick in the head to notice the smiles they gave each other weren’t meant for anyone else. Though it was fairly funny to hear Yuto’s painful attempts at flirting where, more often than not, the comments went over Takaki’s head.

“I think he doesn’t like me,” Yuto said one day when Takaki wasn’t due to join them. Keito wasn’t sure where the confession was coming from though, perhaps, it was a sign of Yuto’s trust in him. “I keep trying to put myself out there and make him see I’m this great, amazing person, but I don’t think he’s noticed at all.”

“Give him time?” Keito offered. “Both of you are as thick as wood when it comes to the other.”

The seasons changed, fall turning to winter, and the winter snow melting for the spring flowers to bloom once more. Keito’s father summoned a few of their family’s personal guards, the crests on their chest a pair of doves on an ivory sky, and his family went to a nearby lake the week of Keito’s birthday. Though he missed his friends, it was nice to break free of the capital walls for a while and see the world around him.

Upon returning, the first thing Keito did when he had a free moment was visit Yuto in his tower, Takaki already there. Though neither would say a word, Keito could feel that the air between the two was far more different than before.

“Nothing happened when you were gone,” Yuto said, but his smile gave away far more than Yuto could have ever intended. “I swear on my life, Keito. You have to believe me.”

Though Keito wished to press on to try and get the court mage to tell him the truth, he backed away from the topic. If Yuto wanted him to know, he would tell Keito. There was no point in ruining the friendship they had built over the last few seasons. 

Seeing the two of them made Keito’s heart ache, though he wasn’t quite sure why. Nearly nine months had passed since he returned to the palace, and the missing block of his memories hadn’t plagued him for some time. Even his family had grown tired of their games to try and get his memories to return. As he grew more busy, a blossoming friendship between himself and the court mage forming, the nightmares that had plagued him so long ago had disappeared. He was building new, precious memories that he held dear, but there was still something missing within him.

The love that was forming between Yuto and Takaki only awakened that feeling within Keito. There was a part of him that felt like he was missing a great love in his heart, but, no matter how he tried to search for it, he couldn’t find who it was. He knew that person had to exist, for why would he miss someone that he created within his mind, but the issue still persisted.

“Do you think it’s possible to miss someone you no longer remember?” he asked Yuto the next time he saw him, and the mage paused in his spell creation.

“I don’t see why not,” Yuto said. “They say that we have two sets of memories: those our mind remembers and those that our body does. Even if the mind forgets, the body remembers the feeling as if it was just the other day our lover held us close.”

He knew Yuto’s words were supposed to put him at ease, but they only made Keito concerned about what it was that he was missing. 

“How much do you know about the magic of our land, Keito?”

Keito peered over the book he was reading, looking up from where he was sprawled out on Yuto’s bed. The court mage had been busy when Keito had arrived that afternoon, the king asking him to research ways to make the country’s crops magically flourish that year, and Keito hadn’t wanted to spend the afternoon alone or pretending to be interested in fabric trade with his cousins. He had selected a book from Yuto’s shelves and begun to entertain himself instead of relying on conversations with Yuto to do so.

“Are you asking so you don’t have to work or are you genuinely interested in what I know?” Keito asked. 

“If I say both, will you still answer?” he asked, and Keito sighed. He knew the truth to Yuto’s question, and the court mage wouldn’t stop thinking of ways to ask it again and again until Keito would answer him. 

Keito flipped his book over, spreading it on Yuto’s bed to save his place. “I know that the color mages exist. We have those that can see visions and predict the future, but their visions are often hazy. Only powerful seers have clear visions, but even then they do not know when they will take place.” He shuddered at the thought. He had heard rumors of a powerful seer that existed in their lands, one whose visions always came true. “Other than that, I don’t know much.”

“You’re on the right track,” Yuto said, nodding along. He cast a spell, letting his magic flow into the air as sparkles of blue power. “Our country’s magic is much more complicated than people understand.” He snapped his finger and the magic took form, making many little human shapes. “Everyone in the world is born with a little color within them, a gift from the first man to summon color to the world.”

Keito looked at his hands, remembering all of the times that he had opened Yuto’s door. A dark forest green had sprung forth when he went to open the door, and he wondered if that was the color that made him special.

Another snap and the people Yuto had created with his magic changed. Some were filled with blue magic, others half filled and even some had hardly any color to them at all. “But even if your magic can be used, there’s still a difference. Those that can’t use color in their magic are common mages, and the ability to use that color makes you one of the most powerful: a color mage.”

Yuto swiped his hands and most of the little people disappeared. “Even within the classification of our magic, we have four types.”

“Classification is quite a big word,” Keito said, his voice teasing. “I’m surprised you know it.”

“Oh, hush,” Yuto said, rolling his eyes. He waved his hands once more and four of the little figures were left, their bodies filled with blue color. “Within our country, there are four types of magic that exist. The first is what I am, a mage. I have the ability to cast spells, brew potions, and the like.” Yuto wiggled his fingers and the first figure moved as if it was casting attack spells in a battle. “The second are seers, able to look into the future.” A large cauldron appeared before the second figure, waving its hands in front of the liquid and looking deep within it. “The third are enchanters, infusing their magic into objects for the common folk or for battle.” The third figure appeared to be creating a sword, hitting a mighty hammer to make the blade smooth and thin.

The third figure entranced Keito. He had heard the word being thrown around in court, but, for whatever reason, Keito had never thought to look deeper into the subject.

“Mages like myself are the most common,” Yuto continued, making the little figures move except for the fourth. “Seers and enchanters are quite rare, but the palace has a few enchanters living in the capital in case there’s ever another war. Doesn’t hurt to have some nearby just in case and, even if the common folk can’t use them, the amulets they create are beautiful.”

Though the figures danced to Yuto’s whim, casting spells and scrying and creating beautiful objects from nothing, the fourth caught Keito’s attention for Yuto had failed to mention what type of magic it was.

“And the last?” Keito asked. 

With a flick of his wrist, the first three figures disappeared and the last remained. “This one,” Yuto said, motioning to it, “is possibly the most rare. The warrior mage.”

The name struck Keito, for he had heard it before, but he couldn’t quite remember where he had heard it.

“They say a warrior comes once in a generation, and they are unlike the others,” Yuto said. Though he waved his fingers, the figure didn’t move. “Their magic isn’t something that can be physically used like my own. It sings through their blood at the sound of a battle starting. Their senses are heightened, their physical abilities stronger. People say that warriors can sense their enemy’s heartbeat and can tell when someone is lying. They say when a warrior enters the battlefield, it would take a thousand men surrounding them before they would take a knee. Even then, they fight on.”

Keito wrinkled his nose. “I don’t understand why other countries’ fear our court mages when something like a warrior mage exists.”

“Only because the lineage of warriors is so inconsistent,” Yuto said. “If two mages birth a child, the chance of their child being a mage like myself is incredibly high. It’s like flipping a coin. Heads you become a mage and tails you’re just commonfolk.” Yuto’s magic flowed through the air, a transparent coin continuously flipping and falling until it disappeared. “They say if two warriors happen to have a child together, there isn’t a guarantee the child inherits the magic. It’s like putting a million scraps of paper into a bag and only one holds the key to the magic. But, as long as you have the warrior gene within your family tree, any of your descendents could inherit the skill.”

With a wave of his hands, Yuto’s illusions were gone, and Keito’s attention drifted to his hands. One in a million? One million didn’t seem like such a big number. There were thousands of people that lived within the walls of the capital, maybe hundreds of thousands, and there were many people that lived in their country. 

“I wonder if I could be a warrior,” Keito whispered, looking at the lines of his palms.

Yuto laughed. “I mean this in the nicest way possible, but I’ve seen you trip over your own feet too many times.”

“There’s still a chance,” Keito huffed.

“We only have records of a handful of warriors existing in modern times, and I only know of two that have been captain of the palace guard in the last thirty years or so,” Yuto said. He held out a hand and a book flew from one of his bookshelves. He checked the contents before floating it over to Keito. “That book tells about some of the legends from the past and many believe the stories we hear about as kids were filled with warriors.”

Keito knew them well. He had read the tales plenty of times when he was a child, and they were always worth rereading.

“You’re quite the excellent teacher,” Keito said, setting the book next to him on the bed. “If you weren’t the court mage, I would have expected you to teach at a fancy magic school.”

Yuto’s cheeks turned a bright pink. “Oh, what, no, hush.” he sputtered over his words. “I don’t know that much. Besides, my father was always getting letters home from my teachers about how I refused to study. I only know about warriors because I talk to Captain Ueda when he comes for whatever business he has.”

At the mere mention of the captain’s name, the memory clicked into place. Back when Yokoyama had chastised the young Hirano for Captain Ueda’s selection of him to deliver a message. It had been so long ago, but Yokoyama’s tone rang true as if Keito had heard the words yesterday: Ueda was a warrior mage.

“He talks to you about his magic?” Keito asked, sitting up more proper on the bed.

“Of course!” Yuto said, his voice getting so much louder with excitement. “I never thought I’d get so lucky as to meet a warrior. I got to meet the royal enchanters because my father would take me with him from time to time, but I haven’t gotten to meet a seer yet.” He sighed. “Why are seers so difficult to find?”

“They really like to hide in towers in palaces,” Keito responded.

There was a small excitement Yuto exhibited before he paused and started whining about how he didn’t like Keito’s strange joke. Keito couldn’t stop laughing when Yuto loudly proclaimed that he wasn’t a seer, he couldn’t be a seer and he would never be a seer.

Takaki stopped appearing in the tower the next coming weeks as often, his workload increasing though he wouldn’t say why.

“Captain Ueda said he’ll kill anyone if they talk about it,” Takaki said one night when he managed to climb up to the tower room. “I would prefer not to die if I’m honest. I still have a lot to live for.”

Keito could see it in Yuto’s face that he missed having Takaki around, and his little fireworks mirrored his sentiment. Though they still went off, sparkling in the light, they didn’t come as frequently nor did their little bursts of light extend as far into the air as they once had. 

A week before the king’s birthday, a celebration that lasted days within the palace and the capital, a royal announcement was made. This year, the palace guardsmen were holding a tournament as entertainment for the king, the people of the capital, and any of those that wished to travel to watch. Those that entered would fight with dulled swords, and the winner had the opportunity to challenge the captain himself. If the challenger won against Captain Ueda, they would be given the opportunity to request one wish from the king.

Not wanting all that lived within the castle to miss the festivities, the king had given Yuto special permission to attend, but he must never leave the king’s side during the duration of the tournament. 

The days passed quickly until the day finally arrived, people flocking from all walks of life for the chance to see who, if anyone, could beat the captain of the guard. 

An arena had been constructed outside of the capital, people flocking from all over to watch the tournament as well as the other festivities that would be going on throughout the week. The capital’s streets always turned into that of a summer festival, games to play and food shops lining the streets. Keito remembered participating in the festivities when he was younger with a gaggle of guards around him and his cousin for protection. 

Keito had been hoping that, as a palace guard, Takaki would be posted within the royal family’s box to watch, but, upon arriving, Keito found that all of the guards were merely faces in a crowd that he had seen before but couldn’t recall their names. There was one that stood out, a dopey smile upon his lips that Keito recognized the closer he got and tears streaming down his face.

“Is everything alright, Hirano?” Keito asked as he approached the young boy. There was something particularly odd about his tears.

“Yes, sir. I’m fine, sir,” Hirano said, sniffling.

“I don’t think people who are fine cry,” Keito said. He took a seat in one of the comfortable arm chairs of the section he was to sit in. The row behind him was designated for the king and his immediate family, the extended family of the king to sit below. He spotted Yuto sitting next to the king, his spot until he would return to his tower.  

“You’re going to think I’m a fool if I tell you.”

“Better a fool than something worse?” Keito offered. “But I won’t judge you whatever reason it may be. You have my word on it.”

“It’s just-” The young guard paused, looking to see if any of the other royals were paying attention to their conversation. When he noticed they weren’t, he continued. “If I’m honest, sir, I know I’m a horrible guard. If it wasn’t for my father, I know I would be stationed somewhere around the city and not within the palace. I’m forgetful, I’m not good with a sword, but I do try my best.”

As Hirano spoke, his tears only came forth more and more. “I’m just...I’m very grateful for the opportunity to protect the royal family during the tournament. I know only the best and finest could stand here, and I feel grateful to Takaki for suggesting me to Captain Ueda to prove myself. I know I wouldn’t have been given this opportunity if Takaki hadn’t signed up to participate.”

“Takaki is participating?” Keito asked, mouth agape.

“He didn’t tell you?” Hirano asked. “I assumed he would have told you. When we’re stationed together, all he talks about is the time he spends with you and the court mage, sir.” Hirano wiped his eyes, his tears not falling as quickly. “He really hasn’t told you? But he said you both were so sad when he told you. He’s been spending all of his evenings training since Ueda mentioned the idea at one of our meetings, even though the idea wasn’t finalized until two weeks ago. Takaki so badly wishes to claim victory.”

“If I’m honest, I had no idea he even wanted to participate,” Keito said, gazing out into the field that was slowly filling with participants. Amongst them were many guards from the palace and capital, but there were many citizens who had come to test their skills as well. “I wonder what he fights for.”

Hirano shrugged. “I wish I could tell you, sir, but Takaki wouldn’t tell me no matter how I poked and prodded him. Seems as though he wishes to keep it a secret.”

The morning was filled with fights that lacked excitement, swords not clashing as often as the crowd would have liked. The ones that drew the most attention were those of the guardsmen, those professionally trained to protect the kingdom at all costs. The crowd cheered as the guards jumped, slid, and slashed at their fellow guardsmen until one surrendered. 

It was just before the tournament’s small break for lunch that Keito finally spotted Takaki on the field, another guard his first opponent. They both wore light leather armor and Takaki’s long hair was pinned out of his face into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck. 

Although Keito had seen Takaki plenty of times in and out of uniform, acting proper when he was within sight of any member of the royal family, the way he carried himself on the battlefield was much different. He stood tall with pride, shoulders loose, and, even from far away, Keito could sense an air of confidence to him. It was as if Takaki had summoned all of the confidence in the way he spoke to his superiors with and channeled it into his posture. A brand new Takaki had been born before Keito’s very eyes that he hadn’t known existed. 

Takaki’s fight didn’t last very long, the entire thing over in seconds. His opponent had struck fast, raising his own sword above his head and charging at Takaki with all of his might, but Takaki was faster. He dodged the incoming attack and struck his opponent’s side so quickly that Keito had hardly seen the strike. It was a blink of the eye, and the other guardsman collapsed on the ground, clutching his side for where Takaki had hit him. It wasn’t long before the king proclaimed Takaki the winner of the round.

The tournament continued in the afternoon, the crowd growing in excitement each time that Takaki entered the field, each opponent falling as quickly as the last. With each opponent, Takaki gained more support from the crowd, and he was becoming the clear favorite to challenge Ueda.

Keito was amazed each time Takaki fought. He had known that those who entered the service were strong, the palace guards amongst the strongest and most respected within the ranks of the capital, but Keito had never considered how strong Takaki actually was. He had always been a kind man, one who easily fell prey to Yuto’s teasing and would turn red from those sweet words, but the intellect of a warrior hid behind his gentle exterior. 

It was no surprise to the crowd who stood victorious amongst all of the participants at the very end. Takaki was the one which made the crowd roar to life when they saw him. They yelled and cheered each time his blade sung against his opponents, and they were driven to near madness each time the king proclaimed him the winner.

“Let us break for the day,” the king said, his voice booming amongst the crowd. Daylight was waning, and the sun was growing low in the sky. “Let us finish this great fight in the morning.”

Takaki stood in the middle, his captain by his side. He almost seemed nervous when he spoke. “If it pleases the king,” Takaki shouted in return, “we would like to finish this today.”

The crowd's roar was deafening, a resounding echo that demanded to see their favorite fight once more. The king couldn’t speak over the crowd’s demands, so he nodded and guardsmen brought in torches and lanterns to light the arena, bathing the whole area in firelight.

There was no doubt in Keito’s mind that Takaki was a gifted fighter. His ability with a sword was unmatched against anyone that he had encountered during the day’s fights. He had never seemed to grow tired against any of his opponents, and each swing of his sword was carefully calculated to aid in each victory.

Watching Ueda and Takaki fight, the sky turning black as their swords clashed in the night sky, the difference between the two was obvious. 

It was as if Captain Ueda could read the shifts in Takaki’s clothing, predict Takaki’s movements before Takaki could even think them through himself. Though the captain didn’t make a move to attack, each flick of his wrist was carefully done in order to place his blade in a position to properly defend himself from the next swing of Takaki's own.

Even if Keito had only seen the captain defend himself, the difference in ability was striking between the two. Despite Takaki’s hard work and dedication to his training, the natural gift that Ueda had singing in his blood wasn’t something that could be easily overcome by commonfolk. The magic that Ueda possessed, that natural ability, wasn’t something that could be taught. 

In a flash, Captain Ueda switched to the offensive, his attack swift and hard against Takaki’s own sword. There were a few times that Takaki almost lost his blade, but he clung to it for dear life. There had only been one strict rule in the tournament, and many had fallen to it: lose your sword and you lose the fight. 

There was a wild energy that was released from Captain Ueda as Keito continued to watch the two in their intricate dance upon the field. In each time that he had met the captain, Ueda had been poised, though there was a hint of a jokester within him. A madman had been released from him once the sword fight grew in intensity, his face going wild each time he raised his arm to strike. The warrior inside of him had been unleashed upon the world, crying out for a battle. 

Takaki was barely able to meet each of the captain’s attacks, sliding his blade into place at the last moment to guard. Keito could see how hard his friend was breathing, it being difficult to withstand blow after blow from Captain Ueda. He imagined it was like having the strength of an army funneled into a single swing, and yet Takaki managed to withstand each one. Though it was easy to see that Takaki was losing stamina rapidly as the fight drew closer to its final chapter. A well placed strike was all it took for Takaki to go tumbling to the ground.

The crowd watched on the edge of their seats as Captain Ueda approached Takaki, still clinging to the hilt of his sword. The captain pointed the tip of his blade towards Takaki’s neck as the two engaged in a conversation that no one, not even Keito, could hear. The captain’s expression seemed to soften at Takaki’s words, that wild spirit leaving his expression.

Captain Ueda stepped back from Takaki, the crowd letting go the breath they had been holding and Keito found he could breathe a little easier as well. Takaki climbed to his feet, using his sword to regain his balance. Once he was steady, Ueda motioned for Takaki to attack him once more. 

It was a single strike, Takaki swinging his sword with all his might, but it was far slower than when the fight had just begun. Such an attack would have been easy for Ueda to dodge, but the captain turned his wrist at the last second. Takaki’s dull blade hit Ueda’s wrist, and he dropped his sword.

The clanging of metal against the earth echoed around the arena, the entire area going silent. Although their favorite had won, not a single person cheered. They all watched what had happened before them, wondering if what they had witnessed was true and not a figment of their imaginations.

The captain spoke first, his words simple and loud so that all could understand him. “I’ve lost my weapon. The victory goes to him,” Captain Ueda said before turning on his heel and exiting the arena. 

The king rose, his voice booming so that Takaki might hear him. “Congratulations! Although I am not sure how you bested my warrior, I wish you my warmest words for your long fought battles to get here.” Keito could feel the smile in his uncle’s words. “As promised, and as a token of my generosity, I bestow upon you one wish. It may be anything, my guardsmen, for nothing is too small for someone as strong as yourself. Is it money you seek? One of my daughters’ hands in marriage? Or perhaps it is land to call your own. Please, speak your wish so that I might grant it.”

Takaki seemed to fidget, his eyes looking up into the stands where the royal family sat. His expression softened before he spoke. “Your highness, I did not fight for riches or power. I am quite content with my life as a palace guard and the place that I take as my residence, but,” Takaki only fidgeted more as he spoke, “there is only one thing that I desire. I wish to be a guardsman for the court mage. It would be a great honor to protect him.”

The king spoke immediately, not giving Takaki time to bow for his request. “So you wish it, and so it shall be.”

Though Keito didn’t know the entire workings of the guardsmen, how they decided which guards went where, he knew that those who stood at the base of Yuto’s tower were among the most trusted men. To stand amongst their ranks was one of the greatest honors.

Keito looked behind to where the king sat, and he saw Yuto struggle not to smile. At the changing of the guards, it would make it that much easier for Takaki to return to Yuto’s side and the pair could easily spend more time together. The walls that had kept Yuto isolated were slowly cracking with every day, and it was at that moment Keito decided he would make the final strike to make them come tumbling down.

The next time Keito came to Yuto’s tower a few days after the king’s birthday celebration had ended, he came unannounced. Takaki had already assumed his new position at the base of the tower, the gruff guard standing by his side. Though Takaki’s partner gave Keito a little trouble upon his appearance, upon reading the letter the letter Keito clutched in his hand the guardsmen could only sigh and motion for him to go up.

The spiral stairs up to the top were long, but Keito found he didn’t need as many breaks as when he first climbed to the top of the tower so many months ago. He still counted how many times the path circled until he would inevitably reach the top of the tower, but there was a lightness to his heart with each step. He hoped that Yuto would appreciate his gesture today.

When he reached the top, the door to Yuto’s tower room was closed, and Keito gripped onto the rope by the door before placing his hand upon it. A dark forest green sprang forth from his fingers, and it quickly covered the entire surface of the door before it shattered. A great blast of magical energy burst forth from the illusion, the power whipping around Keito like a great storm until the energy finally died down.

Yuto was within his room, zipping around it much like a rabbit would. He never stayed in place for too long, running and leaping and shouting as he cast spell after spell around him. The energy coming forth from him was like a bolt of electricity that crackled in the middle of a thunderstorm, but it was oddly comforting. Keito called out to his friend, and Yuto silenced his spells with a flick of his wrist. It was only then Keito could see how brightly Yuto’s fireworks sparkled. 

“You’re celebrating quite a bit,” Keito teased, crossing the room to where Yuto was. “I didn’t realize Takaki becoming one of your personal guards was that important to you.”

“I can’t help it,” Yuto said, fingers trembling. “I really can’t. It’s possibly the best gift someone could ever give me, and the fact that he wants to be so close.” Yuto let out a squeal. “It means the world to me. You have no idea.”

“I think I have something that might be a little better,” Keito said. He held out the letter the guard at the base off the tower had read, and Yuto took it from him.

It was a long time before Yuto spoke, Keito watching him as he reread the letter twice, then three times and then a fourth. 

Yuto looked up from the letter, his eyes still so wide. “You’re joking, right? You have to be joking.”

“I’m not,” Keito said. “It was why I haven’t been able to come for a few days. I had to present a fair amount of evidence to the king, and some of the magic counsel had to cast a few spells to make sure that I wasn’t lying.”

“Keito…” Yuto whispered. 

“In the end, the king agreed with my proposal,” Keito continued. “Though it’s not total freedom, I’m afraid. If you wish to leave the capital, my uncle will need to approve it,” Keito said, taking Yuto’s hands into his, and the court mage looked into Keito’s eyes. “You’re free to have guests without them needing to make an appointment with you. You can see all that’s in the palace.” Keito swore he could see tears starting to form in the court mage’s eyes. “Yuto, the palace is yours to explore. You can leave your tower.”

“But...the guards,” Yuto said, his voice so small. “Takaki. He doesn’t have a reason to be there anymore if there’s no schedule for me.”

“Even when the king sleeps, the guardsmen still protect him,” Keito said. “The king still wants to document who comes and goes from your tower when you’re here, but it won’t be as strict of a check as before.” Keito smiled, squeezing Yuto’s hands. “Takaki will still be here. He’ll still be close to you, and he’ll still care for you as much as I do.”

One minute he was looking into Yuto’s eyes, and the next Keito was looking at the wall behind Yuto, the court mage pulling Keito into a tight hug. “I...I don’t know how I could ever thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Keito hugged Yuto back. “That’s what friends are for.”

Yuto pulled back from Keito, but he still kept him in his embrace. “Let me do something for you. Is there anything you want? A spell? A gift? A love potion? Anything in the world? Please?” Yuto’s eyes seemed to shine. “I’d do anything for you after all that you’ve done for me.”

Keito laughed. “I haven’t done that much.”

“Keito are you insane?” Yuto pulled back so he could motion to the entirety of the tower room. “I was just some lonely court mage when I met you. The only time I physically talked to people was when your family members came to visit for a spell or the king or Captain Ueda had some sort of request for me.”

The tower room seemed so small as Keito looked around it. Even though it was a fairly large space, even larger than Keito’s own room, the walls seemed so stifling when Keito imagined never being able to leave. “You kept giving me chance after chance to prove that I’m a decent person, even when I didn’t deserve a second chance for my awkward ways,” Yuto continued. “When I finally proved myself, you came up here and kept me company every day. Keito, you saw me for the person I am behind my power, and I am forever grateful for your kindness.”

Yuto seemed to laugh a little, but it did not stop his tears. “I tried so often when the king first put me up here to try and gain a little freedom, but each time he turned me down. Eventually...I just stopped trying and resigned myself to live the rest of my life like this. Keito, you are the best, most amazing person in the entire world.”

“It was nothing,” Keito said, and he could feel his face starting to heat up. “Everyone deserves to have a friend to talk to. The court mages have always been heavily protected, but this was just too much.”

“Now let me do something for you,” Yuto said, clasping his hands together. “Something love related, right? I can feel it. We’re going to get you hitched from this!”

Keito thought for a moment, considering all of his options. He didn’t need much, and, although he was friends with Yuto, he didn’t want to appear as if he formed that friendship for gifts and magic spells. There was something pulling Keito from the palace though, making him want to go out and explore the world, but he was oddly content with his life now. He had his friendships with Yuto and Takaki. He was on good terms with the staff, and he spoke well with the chefs, Yokoyama and Inaba and everyone in the kitchens. There wasn’t anything earthly that he desired. 

Except one thing.

“I don’t know if you can do it, but,” Keito said, feeling his heart beat faster, “a long time ago I was cursed by your father. You remember?”

Yuto nodded. They had talked quite a bit about Keito and his lack of memories during their time together. 

“Even after all of this time, I still feel a part of me is missing,” Keito said. “I feel it calling out to me, but I don’t know what it is. Yuto.” His voice was so shaky, almost fearful of what Yuto would say in response. “Is there any way you can get my memories back?”

The court mage only smiled and beckoned Keito a little closer. “Let me take a look.”

Yuto’s fingers were cool against Keito’s brow, thumb and pointer finger pressing lightly to his temples. There was nothing in Yuto’s expression that gave away what he was doing, what he was searching for. Keito could only focus on the silence in the room, the little humming noises Yuto made until the physical contact he had made was severed.

“Whoever reversed the curse was quite talented,” Yuto said. He tapped his chin for a moment. “You’ll have to introduce me one day to whoever undid the magic.” He reached his hand out behind him and a book flew into his hand. “There’s one small mistake that was made, and, if they had tweaked the spell just a bit, you wouldn’t have lost your memories in the first place.”

A mistake? There had been a mistake? How could there have been a mistake if this was his memories on the line?

“Don’t get me wrong,” Yuto muttered. He was flipping through the book rapidly. “For not knowing how the original curse was placed as well as being able to weave seven spells together, you’re lucky that you didn’t get turned into a toad or something.” Yuto scrunched his nose. “No, toads are gross. Maybe you would have transformed into a chicken. They’re much better.”

“Then it will be an easy fix?” Keito asked.

Yuto snapped his fingers and a tall book stand appeared, and he placed the book open upon it. He kept checking the contents as he spoke. “Oh, it’s going to be easy. I’ll just say a few words, wave my hands, and you’ll be a chicken in no time. I promi-”

“Yuto!”

“I’m joking, I’m joking!” Yuto said, waving his hands as if to calm Keito down. “I just need to concentrate to make sure I’m doing everything right.”

“I almost miss when your jokes were bad and only made me dislike you more,” Keito muttered, and Yuto let out a laugh.

“The question is,” Yuto said, holding up his hands, “do you trust me?”

He looked to Yuto with his floppy black hair and sweet eyes. The man who had been so different so long ago. He had been a man who despised his position, had hidden himself to become the image of who he thought he was supposed to be, and yet he stood before Keito changed. 

Yuto was a kind man. A temper once angered, but he only wished to protect those that needed his assistance. He had stood in the shadows of his father, one of the brightest in their time, and had been overly protected in the name of keeping Yuto alive. Yuto was powerful, but there was now life flowing through him that Keito had not seen before. 

“I do.”

The spell Yuto cast made Keito’s fingers tingle, the sensation slowly spreading all throughout his body. Though his entire being begged him to run, to get away before it could take root everywhere, he stood still and only allowed himself to breathe. Yuto would help him. He had said that he would. Keito only hoped that Yuto wouldn’t turn him into a chicken before he swore that he would really help.

The tingling extended upwards, taking over Keito’s heart and lungs, until he could feel it humming through his ears and eventually his brain. All at once, it was like something snapped within him, and years worth of memories came flooding back to him.

Years of living with the two guards in a town far away, them trying to find Keito a girl to settle down with. His escape so that the two might return to their families and the long nights he spent trying to survive the wilderness. His travels and adventures that he made by himself.

But then they changed. His kidnapping by two men, being thrown into a river to be clean. How he had tried to escape, but the two had caught up to him and captured him once more. How they explained they weren’t going to sell him. They were trying to help him. He remembered the long nights, the traveling. The adventures they had together until they found the mage who would inevitably break Keito’s curse.

But there was more. The sweet emotions that slowly formed between Keito and one of his companions. How he came to appreciate the other man and only wish to be close to him. He remembered their nights in the mirrored caves, waiting for the curse to be unbroken. Keito remembered those warm hands clasped in his as he convinced Keito to take the cure and return to his family. More than anything, Keito remembered how much his heart broke when he was pushed to choose his family over the man he loved. How he never got to properly put his feelings into words.

Hands were on Keito’s shoulders, the grip tight on them. “Keito, what’s wrong?”

Something wet was on his cheeks, and Keito reached a hand up to wipe them away. Tears? He was crying? Yuto looked so worried when Keito finally looked into his eyes.

The journey back to the palace made so much sense now. Why Yaotome had looked so sad. Why his heart seemed to break as Keito disappeared into the crowds of the capital. All of the pieces had finally come together, and yet they were more painful than Keito could have ever imagined.

“He...Hikaru,” Keito said, finding it was so much more difficult to speak than he could have predicted. “He never said goodbye.”

The wall of emotions he felt came crashing around him, and Yuto held him close until the tears finally stopped.

It took a week after Keito had explained everything before the mere mention of Hikaru’s name wouldn’t drive Yuto into fury. 

“I’m going to turn him into a rat if I ever meet him,” Yuto would shout each time Keito grew sad, wondering where Hikaru was and if he was doing okay. “He shouldn’t have just left you at the palace gates! He should have tried to find someone to bring your memories back!”

Though both of them knew that would be near impossible. Very few mages had the ability to return forgotten memories and those that did would charge a fee that Keito’s group couldn’t afford.

“What will you do now?” Yuto asked one evening, Takaki due very soon to join the duo. “I can’t imagine you want to stay here and hope that one day your love returns to you.”

“I don’t, but,” Keito hesitated. “I don’t even know where to begin searching for him. He could be anywhere in our country, the world, and it could take years to find him.”

Though it wasn’t as powerful as if Keito had a personal possession of Hikaru’s, Yuto managed to cast a tracking spell from Keito’s memories to help him. It would only last a week, but it gave Keito plenty of time to follow Hikaru’s path before it would dissipate. After that, it would be up to him and word of mouth for him to find Hikaru.

Keito had said goodbye to his family, his little band of friends joining him at the palace gates the day he would leave. Though he didn’t tell his father the true reason for his quest, only mentioning he wanted to thank the men who had helped him return to the palace, it wasn’t far from the truth. He hugged Yokoyama and Inaba, Takaki as well, and Yuto was the last to pull Keito into a firm hug. 

“Don’t forget me.” Yuto squeezed Keito tight. “I know you’re going to be meeting another mage and all, but I hope that I’ll always be your best mage friend.”

“You’ll always be my best mage friend, you dolt.” Keito squeezed Yuto equally as tight. “Don’t get into too much trouble within the palace while I’m gone, will you?”

Many residents of the capital looked up at Keito as he passed, their whispers of his royal clothing and strong steed beneath him. Though he had sworn he would be fine on his own, Keito’s father had insisted on sending him with some of their family’s personal guards to look after him on his journey. 

The River Lea soon greeted them once their group was outside of the capital, the flow of her water slow and gentle as she bowed before the palace. Children played within her waters and, further down the banks, Keito watched as fishermen pulled nets full of fish from the depths. All was peaceful.

“Sir, where should we begin our search?” One guardsman asked, Keito’s family crest upon his chest. 

Keito checked the spell Yuto had given him, the magic pointing where they needed to go. “South,” he said simply before spurring his horse forward. 

He would find Hikaru. He would make sure of it.