Chapter Text
There is a lot of things that people don't believe about Kataoka Tesshin. For starters, they don't believe that he’s the first Mage to ever receive the position of Court Sorcerer despite being a mid-tier mage at best. Because that would mean admitting that he is actually a shade more skilled than any full fledged sorcerer out there. They also believe that he’s as unforgiving as fire and cold as ice. Which is actually far from the truth. This is actually what people cannot know about Kataoka Tesshin. That he is as emotional as a volcano about to erupt. It is a picture that gives the people of his Kingdom Comfort and confidence. And if that means hiding a part of who he is, he’s more than happy to play the part.
Here’s something that doesn’t match the picture they painted of Kataoka Tesshin. He’s superstitious. He believes in signs and omens that even a lot of people who specialize in Divinology themselves don’t believe in.
It is one such day filled with a lot of said signs. The sun sets 2 hours earlier. The moon looks red. There are dead crows on the road. There’s dragon circling one part of the sky and there are bats flying right overhead. And entire garden of flowers rot. Everything indicates a potential bad happening. And the court sorcerer, with all his experience cannot, for the life of him, shake it off.
His suspicions seem warranted when it is that day that Kataoka Tesshin and Queen Rei get to listen to the Last Prophecy.
It is also the very same day that Sawamura Eijun survives a fire his whole family doesn’t.
Aotsuki Wakana believes in the power of rumors. She knows rumors that have ruined the lives of good people. She has personally seen rumors that has affected a person’s social standing in a positive way. Above all, she knows how positively destructive rumors can be. After all, it was rumor that annihilated her family. It is the irony she hates. That people distance themselves from being called a person who gossips, yet claim it as the gospel anyway.
She’s 10 winters old and she’s recruited to be the Queen’s Spy in the middle of nowhere, at Nagano, as a retribution for her father’s crimes against the Crown of Seidou. She understands that her sentence was lighter than the crime, but she still hates the penance she has to do in her father’s stead. It is frustrating and the job involves secrets, a continuous cycle of constant vigilance and immediate reporting. She doesn’t understand why she has to be on the lookout for a potential Warlock that can destroy the world when she’s pretty sure she isn’t the only one monitoring the situation in Nagano.
Her cover is that of an orphan. (Which is not a lie anyway.)
She is twelve summers old when five winters old Sawamura Eijun joins the orphanage after a fire mysteriously kills his family, leaving him the sole survivor. And sometimes, Wakana thinks that all her misery is worth it after she meets him.
Wakana loves seeing Eijun’s expressions when she narrates stories. His brown eyes shine golden in his excitement and curiosity to learn more. She revels in the awe in his gaze as she pauses dramatically in the middle of the story she’s been telling. He’s seven summers old and his features look boyish and not haunted as it seldom looks when he’s deep in thought. Now, his eyes are wide and glinting in the light of the night, his lips are puckered in naïve joy and Wakana realises she rather prefers that expression on him.
“And the Prince begs the dragon, “I need your help, sire. The demon is wreaking havoc in the lower towns of my Kingdom and it is strong. Even forbidden magic is rendered useless against its power. Help me save the lives of my people. It is my solemn duty.” And do you know what the dragon said?” Wakana asks the kids in the big room all huddled around her bed, as she gazes down at their faces.
“What did the Mighty Dragon say?” Nabe asks.
“Obviously the Dragon agreed,” Eijun says with the sort of endearing superiority that kids often possess. “Didn’t it agree, Wakana-chan?”
She laughs as she continues. “The Mighty Dragon asks the Prince, “Silly boy! Don’t you know that Dragons never offer allegiance to anyone? And I’m the Mighty Dragon. What makes you deserving of my help?” The Prince is flabbergasted-”
“Flabber-what?”
Wakana thinks for a moment. “Surprised. Flabbergasted.” She lets it sink in for a moment before she continues. “The Prince is flabbergasted and he says very simply, “But my people are worth the help. It’s not about me, Mighty Dragon. It’s about the people who’s lives are at stake here. I’m not asking for all the wealth and power in all lands. I’m requesting your aid in saving my people that I’ve vowed to protect at any cost.” The mighty dragon is surprised this time-”
“Flabbeegasted!” Kato shouts. Wakana grins. “Nearly correct. Good, Kato.”
“It’s flabbergasted,” says Haruka. Eijun nods. “That’s correct, Haruka.”
Wakana ruffles their hair. “Should I continue with the story or what?” She teases. Shouts of “Please!” ring across the room. Wakana likes the room lively.
“The dragon promises the Prince its allegiance. “You are brave and kind, my Prince. It would be an honor to come to your aid. However, I have a stipulation.” It means condition,” she adds, looking at the kids. “The Prince is eager and happy and relieved. “Tell me, Oh Mighty Dragon. It’ll be my pleasure.” The dragon, however is a little hesitant to trust the Prince. The Prince may be kind and eager now that he wants help, but there’s no reason to believe that the Prince will hold up his end of the bargain. But the Dragon looks at the conviction of the Prince, and chooses to trust him. “I’ll collect my favour ten summers from now, my Prince. I’m choosing to trust you.” The Prince is happy and together they both send the demon back to hell.””
“How?” Eijun asks. “How can a Dragon send a demon back to hell?”
Wakana smiles indulgently. “A Dragon is the pinnacle of magic, Eijun. Its powers are incomparable. A dragon’s allegiance protects you from demons. It’s purer than a Unicorn. A dragon can drive away evil. Or so the legends say.”
Nabe frowns, “But dragons don’t associate with us common folk.”
Shinto nods. “Mum said that Warlocks used the powers from Dragons for evil after they entered a pact with them. And Dragons hate being taken advantage of. So, they refused talking or even helping us.”
Wakana catches uncomfortable looks thrown towards Eijun. She rushes in to continue. “But that’s not what the story is about, Shinto. A Dragon will pledge its allegiance to you if you are brave and kind and fair. If you’re all of that, you can win a Dragon’s favour. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”
The kids nod and rush towards their cots with magic in their eyes. A swish of Eijun’s wrist, and all lights go out and it is dark.
Wakana can feel Eijun’s hesitant footsteps near her bed. She looks in his direction. Even in the pitch darkness, she can see the gold in his eyes. “Is anything the matter, Eijun?”
“Did the Prince fulfill the condition?” His voice is curious, and a little bit hopeful. She is reminded, once more that she hates crushing his expectations more than anything. She contemplates lying, but she can’t bring herself to do it.
“No,” she answers finally. “The Prince forgets about the stipulation. And he is not brave and kind and fair anymore. The Dragon curses his family by taking way their magic.”
His silence is suffocating. He sighs and asks her another question, this time with unwilling resignation. “The Prince was a Warlock, wasn’t he? Only people with large magic can talk to Dragons.”
Wakana has never hated herself more. “Yes, Eijun. The Prince was a Warlock.”
But Eijun smiles at her. “Thank you, Wakana-chan.”
“Whatever for, love?”
“For protecting me by not saying that the Prince was a Warlock when you were telling the story.” His voice is awfully earnest, and full of affection. It’s also the slightest bit sad.
She doesn’t deign to answer. Eijun is just a kid. A kid too young to come under the weight of suspicion. He is the most talented sorcerer she’s seen and sometimes she thinks that the looks of the others crush him and makes him despondent. But she knows she’ll always protect him. Because she knows how much rumours can take and take without ever being kind.
And as she hears him shuffle to his bed, she swears she hears him say, “I’ll protect you, too.”
She goes to sleep with a smile despite her heavy heart.
The problems start to arise when Wakana is fourteen winters old. Nagano has always been relatively safe from magical attacks. But all of a sudden, there’s a lot of them everywhere. It’s subtle at first. Old Man Kise’s field catches fire and all his crops are destroyed. The Village Chief, Tanaka takes one look at it and tells the curious villagers that it was Magic, but he can’t find the source. Wakana catches atleast three villagers cast doubtful looks at Eijun from the corner of their eyes. Wakana glares at them until they shift away, guiltily.
That night, Wakana catches Eijun grow the crops himself, with magic and drop on the ground tiredly after he does it. Wakana rushes towards him, and cradles his body in her arms. He’s so young.
“Wakana-chan?”
“How long have you been at it, Eijun?”
He looks at the sight of Kise’s field, all back to its former glory. “Two hours, I think. Went to the library and studied books on how to grow crops. Removed all the remnants and bought the seeds and planted them and grew them. It was pretty unsuccessful for the first half of the process, and then I got the hang of it.” He grins victoriously.
She conjures up a pot of water and feeds it to him slowly. He gulps it greedily.
“You know you’re not responsible for this, right?”
Eijun nods and smiles as he settles further into her arms. “Yes, Wakana-chan. But if I can make it better, shouldn’t I?”
“Do you want to learn magic, officially? There are schools for Mages and Sorcerers.”
Eijun sighs. “But there are no schools willing to take up a student who is a suspected Warlock.”
Wakana argues. “A suspected Warlock with no evidence of the claim.”
“People are cruel, Wakana-chan. You told me that when I came home crying from school.”
Wakana laughs. “Brat. I also told you to be kind above everything else.”
He looks up at her and his eyes blaze golden even without the magic and she thinks that if the Mighty Dragon saw something like this in the Prince, well, it’s no surprise he caved. “Isn’t that what I’m doing, Wakana-chan?”
It’s a split second, but she makes her decision. “I’ll teach you a couple of spells myself.”
Eijun’s answering grin warms up her cold heart.
The next morning, when the Village Chief, Tanaka looks at the crops and confirms that it is in perfect working condition, Wakana squeezes Eijun’s hand. He’s clutching hers, too. Tanaka-san, amidst the crowd, looks straight at them and winks before giving Eijun a kind smile.
Things would have been easier if that was all there was to it. Two weeks later, three of the food crop fields start to decay at alarming rates. There’s still no source of magic. Wakana should have thought about why there’s no source, but she’s still young too. All she can do is help Eijun fix the mess.
This time, both of them sit together in the library and find a spell that can replenish damaged crops. It’s partly a surface spell of time magic and is barely legal. It’s a risk playing around with forbidden magic, but they decide to take the risk.
Eijun is a natural. Once he understands the basics of how the spell works, he doesn’t even have to utter the spell. He closes his eyes as he places his hand of the ground, and the crops reverse in a matter of seconds.
“I understand the mechanism, I think,” he says to Wakana. “I can just.. feel it.”
“Okay, Eijun-sama,” she teases. “No need to brag, Shishu.”
He shoves her playfully as they slip into their beds without waking anyone up. She later realises that Eijun has casted a silencing spell subconsciously, which is why they haven’t been caught yet. She knows this because she’s the one to remove it in the morning when no can listen to what they’re talking about.
Tanaka-san covers for them this time too. She doesn’t want unwarranted suspicion casted Eijun’s way.
It’s time for Wakana’s visit to the Royal Palace of Seidou. She makes up the usual excuse about going to a temple that she used to visit with her family. Eijun waves her off with a smile and promises to stay safe.
It is this visit that cements the cycle of events about to follow. A vicious cycle of manipulation, secrets and above all, the fight to save the world.
She is received with the usual indifferent welcome by Queen Rei. Kataoka Tesshin, the Court Sorcerer is also there, along with the adopted Prince of Seidou, Miyuki Kazuya, and his best friend, Narumiya Mei. Wakana doesn’t understand the need for the last two, because they’re barely one year older than Eijun. Kids needn’t be privy to burdens.
But Queen Rei waves off her concern. “It’s not something for you to be concerned about. They wished to participate in the proceedings, and they received permission to do the same. Tell me, Aotsuki Wakana, of Nagano. Is there something you forgot to include in the reports you sent to the Royal Palace?”
She had to do this carefully. She had to be transparent about the trouble in Nagano, but she had to hide her and Eijun’s involvement in solving the issues.
“No, Your Majesty. The Village Chief staunchly maintains that he has no idea from where the magic originated. The spells used in the two instances also differ. One was some kind of elemental fire magic. The other is plain decay magic. There’s no viable links between the two events. They’re considering them isolated.”
Queen Rei gave her a considering glance. In the moment of evaluating silence, Kataoka Tesshin asked her, “How were the issues solved?”
She chose her words carefully. “One morning the fields were destroyed and the next morning, it was like nothing had happened. If it weren’t for the same accounts by numerous people and my own competence, I’d have suspected an Illusion Spell, My Lord.”
“Your competence?”
Wakana looked at the source of the question. Haughty and confident, Prince Miyuki did strike a formidable figure, even for a nine-year-old. It would have even been effective against her if she wasn’t surrounded by kids all day.
Nevertheless, she answered. “Yes, Your Highness. I’m quite adept at recognising Illusion Spells. My father used them against me several times.”
Prince Miyuki looked slightly mollified. Wakana turned towards the Queen and the Court Sorcerer. Queen Rei leaned forward on her throne. The immaculate fabric and the majestic gems on her crown and the throne, she cut quite the regal figure. “What do you think happened, Wakana?”
Wakana bowed further. “I dare not give my opinion, Your Majesty. I shall only report what I do know.”
“Humour me a little, Wakana.”
She paused for a second, contemplating her answer. She looked to Kataoka Tesshin, but he merely seemed curious. Narumiya Mei looked bored of the proceedings. She took a deep breath. “I haven’t the faintest clue about the cause of the haywire magic.”
But the Royals were smart. They understood what she wasn’t saying. “But you do think that someone restored it back to its original condition.” Prince Miyuki’s voice was positively gleeful.
She spoke slowly. “Yes. But I’m positive the Village Chief Tanaka-san knows more than he’s letting on.”
Queen Rei nodded. “Any suspicious Warlock activity?”
Okay, now Wakana had always been sure that she wasn’t the only Spy in Nagano. The other person, whoever it was, would have mentioned Eijun’s name. She just had to underplay his talents.
“There’s a kid that a lot of the village-folk say is a Warlock. But he’s merely eight summers old and there’s no magical creature hanging around him. He checks off. But I’m still keeping an eye on him, just in case. But as of now, there’s nothing to report on the Warlock front.”
Queen Rei nods. “You’re dismissed. Send in your weekly reports until the next time we meet.”
Wakana bows once more. “It’s an honour, Your Majesty.”
She rushes back home. She has things to talk about with Tanaka-san.
She slips out Without Eijun after everyone in the orphanage falls asleep. She walks nearly 15 minutes to get to the house of the Village Chief.
The village chief opens the door rubbing his eyes. And when he sees her at the door, shivering in the cold, he promptly ushers her in and hands her a cup of warm tea. The tea is unbelievably soothing in preparation of the harsh topics they’re going to talk about.
“So assuming you’re here to talk about something, how can I help?” The village chief asks.
“I know you’re one of the Queen’s spy, too. I want to know what you’ll tell her about the magical accidents.”
“Magical accidents,” he muses. “Is that what we’re calling those?”
“You know damn well they are,” Wakana snaps. “You recognised Sawamura’s magical signature after he grew back Kise’s field in a night.”
He sits back. “I did, as a matter of fact. Surprised you caught it. But, seeing that you’re the Queen’s best, well.” He shrugs.
“Tell me what you’ll tell the Queen.”
He laughs. “Sawamura. That’s what you called him just now, didn’t you?”
“What’s that have to do with anything?” she asks, indignantly.
“Nothing. But I hear you calling him by his given name across the village. I’m not the only one who’s caught it.” He gives her a significant look.
“There are others? In Nagano?”
“I’m sure that with the recent attacks, they’ve planted their fair share here.”
She stews in the silence of what she’s just learned.
“What do I do?” She hates that her voice comes out defeated. Because if the town has more spies than she accounted for, her story is going to look incredibly flimsy compared to the others. She’s not so sure that her reports would even stand up.
Tanaka eyes soften as he looks at her. “I’ll tell them what they need to know.”
“That is?”
“That there’s no chance in hell that Sawamura Eijun is a Warlock. We don’t even know what they do to suspected Warlocks up there in the Royal Palace.”
She breathes a huge sigh of relief. But Tanaka-san is not done. “I’ll tell them of my suspicions about the source. And I’ll make sure that they think your fix-its are irrelevant. Which is the truth. I don’t want Sawamura implicated anymore than you do, Wakana-chan.”
She’s not even ashamed that she has tears in her eyes. “Thank you, Tanaka-san.”
He grins as he ruffles her hair. “What else do you want, brat?”
“Can you remove our magical signatures from our ‘fix-its’ so we don’t get caught?”
He levels a blank stare at her. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Things only manage to get worse from then onwards. Sawamura Eijun manages to defeat a Sphinx, a Wendigo, three low level demons, and a bloodthirsty Goblin. He accidentally solves their eyes water scarcity issue by summoning rain clouds out of nowhere. And they didn’t even do much of a research over those. It’s all instinctual for the bratty sorcerer. After all this, he also manages to play the Village Hero whenever they have a crisis. Tanaka-san told Wakana privately that he lost count of all the favours he did for the two and that she merely owes him a ‘shit ton’ now. Tanaka-san is also a customary member who was in on their secret. Tanaka-san had already been quite fond of Eijun, and now, he spent most of his spare time teaching him taxes and strategies.
Eijun accomplishes the impossible feat of getting Tanaka-san teach him Shogi. He even wins a couple of rounds.
He also manages to make friends with a fucking Dragon.
He’s twelve winters old now, and leading her to an enclosed area of the forest, where he’s apparently been keeping the Dragon.
“He’s a casual acquaintance at best, Wakana-chan. We don’t talk.”
“You expected it to talk to you?!”
Eijun shrugs. “Not really? It looks really old. I just give it fruits and sit with it for some time so that it doesn’t feel alone. I talk to it sometimes, though. Tanaka-san says-”
“Tanaka-san? He knows about this?!”
Eijun cringes. “We were scared you’d be mad. See, you are mad.”
Wakana takes a deep breath as she purposefully makes Eijun stumble a bit. “You both should stop acting like kids then. He knows about your reputation and he should protect you. What if any of the villages see you talk to a Magical Creature? What if they accuse that you have formed a pact with it, which is why you have your powers? What if-”
Eijun puts his hand on her arm to stop her from talking. “It’s okay, Wakana-chan. I have you, don’t I?”
All fight goes out of her in a second. “Yes,” she straightens up. “Tell me now. What did Tanaka-san tell you about the Dragon?”
And just like that, he smiles and starts talking a mile a minute as he leads her into the abandoned clearing into the forest.
That’s when Wakana sees the dragon. It’s majestic as fuck, and though it looks so old, she can still feel its magic. And it lulls her. It’s so powerful. It’s a bronze dragon. The rarest of its kind. Its scales are golden and its eyes look like they hold the secrets of the universe.
Eijun casually saunters towards it, throws the fruits he’d brought along and sits on the ground, leaning on the belly of the dragon. He looks up at Wakana’s face, and waves her over and pats a spot on the ground next to him.
Wakana cannot fathom what’s going on. But like hell she’s going to pass up the opportunity of leaning up against a fucking Dragon. She listens to Eijun talk about his day to the Dragon. He also talks her up. The Dragon gives no indication of even listening to the kid talking to it like it’s fucking normal. But Wakana can sense it. The Dragon’s belly that they’re leaning against is warm. Sometimes, the Dragon’s tail swishes over and touches Eijun’s hair, and wooshes away before he can even realise. The Dragon is fond of Eijun. Of fucking course it is.
“Does it bother you,” Wakana starts, and Eijun’s attention is immediately on her. “That sometimes I’m overprotective? That I act like your mom?”
“You are not my mom, Wakana-chan.”
Wakana winces. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Eijun laughs. “I know, Wakana-chan. I meant that you’re family. And also,” he adds, nudging his shoulder with hers, “I’m pretty protective of you too. Who do you think scares away all those guys who want to court you? Who do think covers for you when you skive off your duties in the orphanage? I also helped you when that demon was about to attack you. I may not do it as explicitly as you do, but I protect you too. We’re family, aren’t we? You, me and Tanaka-san? We protect each other.”
Wakana punches Eijun’s gut before leaning back up against the Dragon and closes her eye. She falls asleep to the sound of Eijun chattering away at the Dragon.
Wakana is pretty positive that her mouth is bleeding. There’s a sting on her mouth from where she was attacked while she was trying to get herself free. Her wrists are red from the effort it’s taking to remove the magical bindings cast on it. Beside her, Tanaka-san looks resigned. He’s not even looking up at their captors. Wakana is sure that it’s a displaced sense of respect, rather than his normal open defiance. Her knees start to ache from kneeling on the ground.
“Why are you treating us like this?” She snaps at Queen Rei. “What did we do? I thought we were acting on your orders.”
Queen Rei hums from where she’s sitting. “My orders. I wasn’t aware that hiding a Warlock was one of it. Was it, Tanaka?”
Tanaka-san looks up at her calmly. “Sawamura is not a Warlock.”
“Then why have you both fabricated reports for three years?” Kataoka questions.
Wakana grits as she tries to remove the binds on her wrists. Curse Prince Miyuki for being thirteen years old but being strong enough to cast a powerful magical binding on her wrists. “Because people here in Nagano think that Eijun’s a Warlock just because he survived the fire that killed his family. And all we’ve been doing is eliminating magical threats as and when they strike.”
“Yes,” Kataoka acknowledges. “But why hide it? As you said, it’s a great service to the Kingdom.”
The door of the house where they’ve been contained in opens with a bang. “They have been protecting me.”
Eijun rushes into the room, breathing heavily as his eyes take in every inch of the two captives. When his eyes reach, Wakana’s wrists, he swallows and looks away to the Court Sorcerer and the Queen, as the Court Sorcerer repeats the question.
“The first time we exorcised a low level demon, we were celebrated for a whole hour before the village started debating my powers. And the more people knew about my magic, the less safe I’d have been. They chose to protect me.” Eijun looks at them. “I understand that they lied about our involvement in the mitigation of the magical attacks, but I’m sure they never lied about anything.”
“Omissions do count as treason, you know?” Prince Miyuki jeers.
Eijun frowns at the Prince, before turning to look at the Court Sorcerer. Even though they’re tied in the worst bind they could think of, Eijun cannot manage to get rid of the unabridged awe in his eyes as he looks up at Kataoka Tesshin. “They didn’t omit anything in their reports, though.”
Upon Queen Rei’s questioning glance, Eijun elaborates. “Didn’t Tanaka-san let you know that he was investigating the source of the magical attacks and that he has been helping to stop the attacks? The only reason that the both of them are under this much scrutiny is because you found out that the person who they’ve been helping is a suspected Warlock. Isn’t that right?”
“That’s still omission, Bumpkin. Also, your Wakana-chan didn’t even report that. She’s committed treason of the highest order, atleast among all those present in this room.” Miyuki shrugs as Eijun frowns at him again.
“It’ll be okay as long as I prove that I’m not a Warlock, right? Isn’t that the root of all problems?”
“Looks like the Bumpkin can be smart too.”
The Court Sorcerer merely nods. “It’s not the ideal situation and it’s hardly fair. Even if you’re a Warlock, your services to the Crown cannot be denied. But the fact would be that you’re a Warlock and that is something we cannot overlook. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Wakana watches Eijun nod. The thing is, they’ve known since he was eight and grew Kise’s field overnight that this day would come. And just like then, Wakana cannot bring herself to regret it. Helping someone in need felt magical. And doing them with Eijun was even better. He inspired her to be better. Even now, the only thing she regrets is not covering their tracks better. And that says something about the bond she has with Eijun.
“Do you consent to take your memory taken?” Kataoka Tesshin inquires.
Eijun jerks back as if he’s burnt. “You want to look through my memory? What? No!”
“It doesn’t hurt. It’s a painless process. We’ll look through your memory to see if you’ve made a pact with any magical being. That’s all,” Queen Rei assures Eijun.
“No,” Eijun refuses. “I have memories of people who’s secrets I swore would be safe with me. I can’t betray their trust.”
“We don’t care about whom you have a fancy for,” Prince Miyuki drawls as Eijun flushes red. “We only care about any pacts you’ve made. Don’t you want to protect your Wakana-chan and Tanaka-san?”
Eijun ignores him as he looks at the Court Sorcerer. “Memories can be manipulated, right? So, even if you don’t see me making a pact, it’s not indicative of me not being a Warlock.”
“Hey Bumpkin, are you even trying to save yourself?”
“With all due respect,” Wakana says, “shut up, Prince Miyuki.”
Kataoka Tesshin looks amused for some reason. “I assure you, Sawamura, that we’re quite equipped with handling Memory Modification Magic.”
Wakana watches as Eijun thinks. Prince Miyuki looks contemplative, but atleast he’s silent. Queen Rei looks indifferent, which from experience, Wakana knows is a good thing.
“A Warlock’s magic is evil, right? I mean,” he adds quickly, interrupting another one of Prince Miyuki’s snark. “A Warlock’s magic would feel wrong, right? Because it breaks the laws of magic. Why can’t you try to feel my magic? Because, I can feel yours, Court Sorcerer. You should be able to feel mine, too.”
Queen Rei looks intrigued. Kataoka Tesshin looks confused. “Well, I assumed it was intentional on your part, Sawamura. You’re suppressing your magic. I can’t get a full read on it.”
“Suppressing his magic?” Miyuki looks fascinated.
Sawamura asks thoughtfully, “How do I undo that?”
“Well, I can’t do that. Only you can. And it is unprecedented that a kid your age can suppress their magic, even unintentionally. Which, only adds further suspicion about you.”
“But it makes sense, doesn’t it?” Queen Rei asks the Court Sorcerer. “If he’s been hiding his magic and saving the village secretly, that suppressing his magic is actually a natural response to stress.”
“Is there a spell I can use to reveal my magic? Like in an orb? Where you can sense it?”
All five of them look at him in surprise. “There’s actually a spell for revealing a person’s magical aura,” Tanaka-san manages to say.
“I am a little smart, you know? And I’m trying to save you Tanaka-san, Wakana-chan. A little gratitude?” he teases. Inspite of herself, Wakana laughs.
Eijun turns to the Court Sorcerer. “What’s the spell? You can detect a Warlock’s aura too, can’t you?” He demands.
“Yes,” Kataoka says. “Focus on your magic.” Eijun closes his eyes. Kataoka continues. “Imagine making your magic visible to us. And say this spell-”
But even before the Court Sorcerer utters the spell, a bright white light surrounds Eijun. And everybody in the room can feel the magic. It’s powerful, and more importantly, it’s warm. Like a star. It feels like protection and happiness. Eijun is no fucking Warlock. He’s probably the strongest sorcerer of his age.
He still has his eyes closed. “What is the spell, sire?”
Kataoka Tesshin looks as impressed as Wakana feels. She’s proud, though. Even she knows it’s a highly complex spell. And not even Tanaka-san can cast it. Wakana had always thought that Tanaka-san had not been able to cast it as it requires a high degree of trust to the person they’re showing it to. And to cast it, fucking non-verbally, without an ounce of hesitation? She doesn’t even regret not covering her tracks properly.
Eijun opens his eyes at the lack of response. Sees what he’s done. “Huh. Wonderful. Can I turn it off?”
Queen Rei nods. Eijun closes his eyes and the aura vanishes. But the feeling of power and happiness remains. Even Prince Miyuki is silent. She looks like she’s made up her mind.
Wakana looks straight at the Queen as she stared at her. “Now, as for your punishment.”
Eijun turns to the Queen, looking like he’s been whiplashed. “But I’m not a Warlock, am I?”
“No,” the Queen allows. “But it doesn’t change the fact that she’s committed treason. Tanaka, as you said, didn’t omit much. But Wakana here did.”
“If you can excuse Tanaka-san for his omissions about me, you should extend the same courtesy to Wakana-chan, too.” Eijun is shouting.
“Yes, but Tanaka is not a traitor. Wakana, in the other hand, is the daughter of one.”
Kataoka Tesshin seems like he understands what the Queen is doing. Prince Miyuki looks as confused as Eijun.
“She’s not the traitor, though. Her father was. I didn’t know Seidou holds the heirs responsible for the crimes of the forefathers. That’s morally wrong.”
“So is lying to the Queen of Seidou,” Queen Rei snaps and pays no mind to Eijun, keeping her eyes fixed on Wakana. “It was your second chance, wasn’t it? To make a life for yourself. It was a kind one, too. You know what happens now, don’t you? You’re a risk I’m not willing to take, Wakana. Not like your father, remember?”
Wakana looks back defiantly. “I’m aware, Your Majesty. I’m alright with the death penalty.”
“What?” Eijun screams. “Wakana! No!”
Wakana smiles. “It’s alright, Eijun. I made my choice. And Magic with you was fun, Eijun. Thank you.”
“No,” he shakes his head, his voice still loud. “Are you stupid, Wakana? No! I’m not letting you die for something that is not either of our faults.” His voice gets desperately soft in the end. “I promised to protect you, Wakana.”
Wakana chuckles. “But you did protect me, Eijun. So many times. And you made me so happy. I’m okay with it, Eijun.”
Tanaka-san makes a choking noise. “Your Majesty, kindly forgive her. She’s merely a child.”
“You have escaped on a mere technicality, Tanaka. Do not make it worse on yourself.”
“I’ll take the punishment,” Eijun blurts. “If you spare Wakana-chan, I’ll take any punishment.”
“Eijun,” Wakana breathes. “No.”
But Eijun staunchly looks at and the Court Sorcerer and the Prince who have all been rendered speechless at the display of affection.
The Queen, however looks victorious. Like that’s what she’d been waiting for. “Yes, Sawamura? You’ll take the punishment?”
Wakana keeps repeating a vicious cycle of ‘no’ under her breath. Eijun doesn’t flinch. “I will.”
Tanaka-san makes one last desperate attempt to spare them all. Queen Rei doesn’t care. Of course she doesn’t.
“I don’t want to kill you instead. You’re a powerful sorcerer. Or would be. I’ll spare all of your lives on one condition.”
Eijun’s eyes are a brilliant gold. “What is it?”
“I want you to participate in the Royal Sorcerers Apprenticeship Tournament when you are, let’s say, nineteen. As an incentive, I’ll be taking Wakana to the palace with me.”
“I don’t need an incentive. I don’t break promises.”
“It is an assurance, boy. That you won't break your promise.”
“You can always bind our agreement with magic. That's easier to not break,” Eijun points out.
“One of the things you learn from being a Court Sorcerer is that you can always find a way around magic,” Kataoka says. “You can’t, however, find a way around human bonds.”
“I can promise no harm to your friend,” Queen Rei assures.
Eijun’s response is immediate. “Then I bind you to it.”
There’s a ring and the promise is sealed. Though, it looks unintentional on Eijun’s part. It also looks like he's unaware of the magic he has leaked into the simple assurance.
Queen Rei is surprised. That's apparently a variable she hasn't accounted for. Wakana grins. No harm can come to her when she's in the palace.
Eijun continues, undeterred. “I don't want to say what the consequences will be if you break the promise, because I've been taught that a Sorcerer’s words have power. I do not wish to use my words callously and cause destruction upon the Kingdom. But you don’t want to know the consequences in case you break your end of the bargain. I'll be there when I’m nineteen.”
Tearful goodbyes later, Wakana is in the carriage next to Prince Miyuki and opposite to Queen Rei and the Court Sorcerer.
“I want his loyalty to the crown. To Prince Miyuki,” Queen Rei explains. “His power is an added advantage.”
Kataoka fixes his gaze upon Wakana. “Why did you risk so much for him, even at the beginning?”
Wakana doesn’t look away from the scenary passing outside. “He stopped a rumour about me,” she murmurs. “I was new at the orphanage and there were so many versions of things said about me. Eijun...his parents weren’t dead then. But he stopped a rumour about me. That's how it started.”
She looks him in the eye as she answers. “He made everything that happened to me worth it.”
Prince Miyuki pokes at her. “Do you think he’ll come for you?”
She answers finally with a grin. “Nothing you’ll do can stop him.”