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Chapter Text

     This tournament was the last one of the year, and, if Maya were to be honest with her father, she’d say she couldn’t care less. What was so fun about watching people beat each other up and rewarding the winners for it? Their helmets meant you couldn’t even see their faces, just their swinging blades. And yet, despite her internal griping, there was in fact one participant who caught her eye. The squire seemed smaller than most of the others, but stood proudly and something about their movements drew the eye in. “Who is that? With the emblem of an arrow struck rose?”

     Her father was silent for a moment. “Saijou.” 

     Maya glanced at him. Was that a note of disgust in his voice?

     He sighed. “Saijou is very popular at the moment, but I expect she’ll be returning to her mother’s country in the near future. Either that, or she’ll get herself killed by taking on someone she isn’t ready to yet.”

     “I see.” In other words, she was not someone Maya should expect to see among her own future knights. A pity; not only was this Saijou winning, but she was actually enjoyable to watch. Powerful and quick, like a flame. In between rounds, Saijou would take off her helmet and chat among the other squires. Were there other girls approaching her? As far as Maya could tell, she kept getting handed stuff by them. Maybe she was pretty on top of being skilled; all Maya could really make out of Saijou herself was her braided blonde hair. How unfortunate that she had to sit so far away.

     Neither Maya nor her father spoke much during the remainder of the tournament, and despite being a guest judge, her father didn’t go down to hand the awards out to the winners. Meaning Maya had no excuse to get a closer look at the squire.

     Well, there was no use thinking about someone she’d surely never get the chance to meet.

~~~

     As a princess, there were expectations to be followed. Be polite, but give no ground; kindness was a gift and cruelty a punishment; the world was hers, but her subjects came at the expense of her world. They’d tried boarding school for a year at her insistence, where Maya had learned very little her private tutors hadn’t already taught her. Her classmates on the other hand? A statue, they’d called her when they learned her heart and pulse did not beat the way theirs did. Despite how she smiled when they did and was always polite. When she was a child, her parents had said that, as long as she took care, it was a good thing; she would remain a just and fair ruler, unswayed by intense emotions.

     When Maya was a little older, she’d gone through the books in the royal library for more information. What little she did find had been burned into her memory:

      Currently, there are no known counter-spells or cures for the glass heart curse. In a majority of cases, the curse manifests at birth, and few survive through to adulthood. 

     It was the reason her parents refused her fencing lessons. What need did she have of it, as a princess? There would always be someone to protect her. And her glass heart? What if it broke?

     “Nana would heal it,” she would say, but it made no difference to them.

~~~

     “That squire you liked so much left,” Kaoruko told her one evening with a sigh. “Saijou, right? They say she went back to take over her mother’s estate in her home country.” She draped herself over the arm of her chair. “Futaba-han cried if you can believe it. When did they become so close anyway?”

     Maya said nothing as she sipped her tea and Kaoruko grumbled. 

~~~

     The rapier was lighter than she expected, and her instructor set about giving her exercises to build up muscle and endurance. “If you pick a cup of water and put it back down, it’ll be light. If you pick up a cup of water and hold it for an hour, the weight of the cup won’t change, but it’ll start to feel heavier. The rapier might feel light now, but once you start swinging it around, it’ll feel heavier and you’ll need the stamina to keep it going.”

     Was that not like being a princess, she wondered? A sword, a kingdom, a weight; if she must hold so many, then she would simply train herself further to carry them all. Her glass heart could be a glass bowl like the one they put fruit and desserts in on the table.

     She knew her parents had simply gotten tired of her asking about the fencing lesson; they didn’t expect her to keep it up.

~~~

     Maya had forgotten glass shatters. Drop it to the floor, and crash! Shards and slivers everywhere. She thought it safe, her heart her own and safely nestled in her chest. She thought it sturdy despite everything.

     “It is an honor to return, your Majesty.” Saijou bowed, gleaming blonde hair spilling over one shoulder. She wore no armor, but a long sword at her hip, and trousers and blouse. Maya thought she could understand why, all those years ago, other girls had gone up to Saijou with gifts and favors at the tournament.

     “It is a most anticipated return.” The king motioned for her to stand. “I hope you will continue to strive for excellence.”

     Saijou did as bidden and Maya felt she looked at her. Certainly, she herself was looking. And Saijou smiled. A smile and eyes so vibrantly full of life.

     One smile and her glass heart was gone, snatched from her chest with the breath from her lungs. Could she smile like that one day?

~~~

     Saijou, she learned, had returned to teach her swordplay. “I won’t go easy on you because you’re a princess. If I do that, you’ll never learn anything.” 

     Maya realized then that her previous instructors had indeed been going easier on her. Saijou was faster, her thrusts more forceful, but Maya found her opening and took it. They froze, with Maya’s blade against Saijou’s neck. After a moment, she stepped back.

     There formed a crease on Saijou’s forehead and a frown on her lips. “Again,” she said and Maya raised her blade. And after that match? “Again.”

     “Again.”

~~~

     “It’s Claudine. You can stop calling me Saijou.” It was at least the tenth time Claudine had told her that, but Maya still called her Saijou. Claudine was too personal, too much. If she used Claudine, she might never get her heart back. “Well, that’s enough. Let’s get back to it, Maya.”

     Did she want her heart back?

~~~

     The engagement was both unwanted and unexpected. Her parents had never pushed for it before, so why was it all so suddenly finalized? 

     “You are a princess, Maya. You have to do what is best for your kingdom.”

     Claudine no longer corrected her when she called her Saijou.

     Maya’s hands clawed at her chest, digging into both fabric and skin, as she struggled to breath. Her heart felt like it was shattering in a hundred different places, like someone had heated it in a furnace only to drop it in frigid water and a thousand tiny cracks shattered the surface of it. How could it hurt this much? 

     Nana healed it as best she could, just as Maya had years ago told her parents she would, but the cracking doesn’t stop. Her sword lesson had to be set aside, and Maya wasn’t allowed to leave her room. Even the food they bring is lukewarm.

     Anything to prevent more damage to her heart.

     She thought, perhaps, it was already too late. And when they send Claudine away? To find a cure for her glass heart?

     How awful of them to try to cure it now when it inconveniences them. After all, Maya remembered:

     Currently, there are no known counter-spells or cures for the glass heart curse. In a majority of cases, the curse manifests at birth, and few survive through to adulthood. The most common causes of death are:

  Extreme temperature changes

  Intense pressure

  Physical stress

  Grief

     And Claudine wouldn’t be coming back.

Chapter Text

     The crying curse started just before Claudine turned ten. A brightly blooming flower on the outskirts of Maman’s estate; Claudine smiled at the sight of it. Beautiful! She’d give it to Maman. But when she touched it, the flower shivered beneath her finger, and stinging pain shot through her eyes. And her tears! They prickled down her cheeks, leaving a rash behind them. She tried wiping them away and found red streaks across her trembling fingers. Her mother screamed. 

~~~

     They told her from the start that the princess was fragile: born with a glass heart, she must be treated delicately. Such foolishness that she pursued fencing then.

     Was this charade really worth Claudine’s time?

     The king didn’t like her, she knew, but her fame preceded her; the queen was equally cold in her tone. Had her skills been any less refined, they never would have called her back to this kingdom from Maman’s estate. 

     The princess sat as still as a statue, but stared at her more intensely than any statue ever could. So Claudine did what she’d do for any fan, and smiled at her. If only she could see the princess just a little better.

     Maya, however, proved she wasn’t much of a statue at all. The cold determination in her gaze when they sparred; a small smile while eating a good meal; the way her head turned as she watched birds fly overhead.

     Claudine herself knew she was playing with fire by calling the princess by name; each time was a chip in the unspoken wall of their different social standings. But if it meant Maya’s face became a little softer, a little warmer, Claudine could let herself be burned. 

     Maya never returned the favor, no matter how many times Claudine told her it was fine.

~~~

     She dug through book after book at the library, studying pages with a magnifying glass when the writing was simply too fine for her eyes to decipher, but there’s nothing. Not a single page devoted to a curse like hers, nor a cure. In the end, she’s stuck with only a fairy tale of a girl who cried stars to guide her.

     There’s several on glass hearts, pages Claudine flipped past quickly.

~~~

     The engagement was announced within months of their lessons beginning, so soon Claudine had to wonder about the timing. Regardless, Claudine could take a hint. A little distance, just a little more space between them. Just enough to keep them both from burning.

     It wasn’t enough.

     “You can’t be serious.”

     But Claudine could see from the stiffness of Nana’s posture that she was very serious.

     “They’re gonna send me on a god forsaken impossible quest and they can’t even tell me in person?”

     At least Nana had the decency to wince at that. “They’re busy attending to Maya.”

     Claudine bit her tongue, if only because the anger boiling in her would be misdirected at Nana. But only for a breath. “And have they told her yet?”

     “Kuro…” Nana sighed. So they haven’t. “Her heart is in a very fragile state. If something isn’t done…”

      If something isn’t done… but it was fine until Maya wanted something for herself. “If they haven’t managed to find one in the years since her birth, I’m not gonna find one in the weeks she likely has left.” It was true, she knew it was. And yet her hands began to shake. Her voice rose. “They think getting me out of here will bring her back some stability. Without me, she’ll be fine.”

     “Kuro—“

     “ Don’t .” Claudine blinked and sharp pain prickled in the corners of her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. She covered her face with her hands. “Don’t you dare.”

      And so Nana went quiet while Claudine’s vision swam. Each breath shuddered through her, catching in her throat. She needed to calm down. Calm down or she’d lose more time she didn’t have. 

     Her hands were wet and red when she pulled them away. For once, she’s glad she couldn’t make out the details of Nana’s face. How disgraceful for a knight to show such weakness. How disgraceful for her to ruin what she was trying to protect.

~~~

      It’s Kaoruko who told Maya first in the end, before Claudine could determine her next step. “Reassure her,” the king ordered her as she was brought to Maya’s room. “Make her feel safe.”

     Lie to her, he didn’t say out loud.

     Claudine sat and stared at that pale, pale face. Something burned in her lungs, her stomach, her desire to scream at the unfairness of this all. Instead, Claudine drummed her fingers against her leg.

     Jagged breathing. Glassy eyes. Her voice was so very faint. “Are you going?”

     Claudine leaned in close. “If I can help you, I will.”

     Maya shut her eyes. Silence settled between them, but Claudine could hear every question unspoken. Where will you go? How long? What if you don’t find anything? Will you come back?  

     Silence.

     “Even now, you still won’t say what you want.” Claudine stood as Maya’s eyes snapped open. “Not that I’m much better.”

     “Claudine?”

     If this were a fairy tale, the prince would have kissed the princess and sworn to return. Claudine brushed Maya’s bangs back. “Just hold on. For as long as you can. Don’t give up. You trust me, don’t you?”

     They both knew her words were far too lighthearted. After all, this wasn’t a fairy tale.

~~~

     The Witch Queen Shizuha specialized in curses, Nana had told her, so here Claudine stood before another throne and another ruler who looked carved from stone. “I’m looking for a cure for a glass heart.”

     “There isn’t one.” Not a hint of doubt or hesitation.

     Every inch of her burns. So quick, so unwilling to even try! “I’ll trade mine then!” Claudine startled at her own words, but… why not? Her vision was ruined, her career as a knight over, and she wasn’t going to be allowed to stand next to Maya again. Determination firmed up her expression. Maya would live. “I’ll trade my heart for hers.”

     The Witch Queen sat very still.

     Claudine couldn’t read them, those eyes that seemed to shift between gold, pink, and red. She couldn’t make out the features of that face, couldn’t search for some clue of how this conversation was going. Her nails dug into her palm.

     “A shifting of curses.” A pause. “It may not take. After all, you’ve already got one.”

     Claudine stiffened. Should she really be so surprised? “I’ll risk it.”

     “There will be a price.”

     “I’ll pay it.”

     The Witch Queen stood, and glided over to Claudine. Even at this distance, Claudine couldn’t make out much of her features, but Shizuha tilted her head and smiled. “As you wish, then.”

     Claudine’s world shattered and spun into darkness.

     One kingdom over, Maya jolted awake in her bed with an unfamiliar beating in her chest.